The final play of the drive by the Buccaneers against the Packers was already hotly contested, but the recent accusation only makes things worse.
For what its worth, the Buccaneers did very little to deserve anything more than what they got in the Packers game.
The defense looked great, but an offense that can’t score more than one touchdown in a game isn’t going to make it very far in the modern NFL.
Tom Brady and the Buccaneers came up short in a game that was far from a must-win, but it seems like we won’t be able to move past the first loss of the season anytime soon.
After Aaron Rodgers came out earlier in the week and said that Tampa’s video screen tipped him off to what the play call was for the desperate Buccaneers, Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell is only causing more questions to rise up about the Buccaneer offense.
"It amazed me that nobody really wanted him."
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) September 29, 2022
No surprise to @AaronRodgers12 or the @Packers that De'Vondre Campbell was there to seal the game Sunday.@Came_Along_Way | #NFLTurningPoint pic.twitter.com/RkfbbTz2dk
Campbell claims that the Buccaneers run a snag with the inside wide receiver every time they motion into a 2-by-2 stack. Based on how the play went, it sure looks like Campell did know exactly what was happening.
Everyone on the planet knew a pass was coming. Needing seven yards to force overtime made this much obvious. Even Byron Leftwich wouldn’t be silly enough to call a run in a situation like that. The Packers DBs and coverage backers knew where they had to protect.
Campbell came out, shut down Cameron Brate’s route at the line of scrimmage, then read Brady’s eyes as he shifted left to shut down the pass from Brady to Russell Gage.
Some would call this sound defense, but with Campbell’s information and hindsight, this sure does look like a player that was working with inside knowledge derived from film watching and Tampa’s lack of ingenuity on offense.
The Buccaneers should be embarrassed if there is even an ounce of truth to this. An offense with Tom Brady should always aspire for more.
People may have made some jokes about how predictable this offense is with the run game, but if the same is true with the pass and in specific scenarios like this, the Buccaneers are going to need to make some major changes to save their season.
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