While the Buccaneer pass-first and pass-often mentality has worked in spurts, a shift to a game plan that doesn’t neglect the run will pay off offensively.
Bare with me a moment and try beating off the dogs that are telling you “this guy thinks he knows more than Bruce Arians” because I can assure you that I fall well short of that mark. Entertain me for just a moment, then judge. I love passing the football and Steve Spurrier is a football god to me because he transformed the strongest football conference in the nation into an even stronger one through the air. Bruce Arians has always been a coach that I respect and that will never change. The truth is, I respect him even more now after what he is doing with the Buccaneers.
It unfortunately becomes the case though, that with how heavily the offense is geared towards the pass that the run game is basically an afterthought. The offensive line wasn’t put together with the run game in mind. While this isn’t this staff’s fault, it is certainly a contributing factor to the abysmal run game that the Buccaneers currently utilize.
There were a few times that the running game got more attention from the play callers and interceptions didn’t sink the boat. The first one that comes to mind is the initial Panthers game. The Buccaneers rushed the ball 31 times. Jameis Winston only had 25 attempts through the air in this game but still managed to produce a hundred yard receiver in Chris Godwin with 121 yards. The rushing game had a net total of 100 yards with Peyton Barber leading the way with 82 yards on 23 carries in the upset win in Carolina. This was a very balanced game and the Buccaneers should look to recreate it in the future.