Plenty of things are working well for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now, but not everyone is happy with everything.
It's almost impossible to overstate how well the season has gone so far for the Bucs. Heading into Week 6, Tampa Bay is 3-1 and in sole possession of first place in the NFC South. A total beatdown of the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago announced the team as contenders in the division and a win on Sunday over the Detroit Lions can widen that scope.
While the offense has taken a step forward from where it was last year, not everyone is ready to pat themselves on the back. Being the leader he's shown to be over the course of his short career, Tristan Wirfs isn't ready to let the Bucs take their eye off the ball or allow the early success to stunt their growth.
Tristan Wirfs isn't happy with Bucs 'unacceptable' run blocking
While speaking with the media this week, Wirfs called out the offensive line for not pulling its weight in helping hte run game. Tampa Bay still has one of the weakest rushing attacks in the league, and Wirfs isn't going to let Dave Canales, Rachaad White, and the rest of the running backs room take flack alone.
“We know there is a ton of work to be done,” Wirfs said. “We have a lot of room to improve. I think we are close to last in yard per carry or something, and that’s unacceptable for us.”
He's not wrong. The Bucs are averaging just 3.0 yards per carry this season, which is down from where the team was last year. That means despite the changes that were made to make improvements, Tampa Bay's run game is somehow even worse than it was when it ranked last in the league in 2022.
Yikes.
Tampa Bay shuffled up its offensive line specifically to help fix issues from last season. Donovan Smith was released, Ryan Jensen is on IR, and Wirfs is playing a new position -- it's not really a surprise that things are off to a slow start.
What everyone can take solace in is Wirfs as a leader. It's a role he's been growing into over the last three seasons and it's pretty clear he's next in line to take the torch from guys like Lavonte David and Mike Evans. He can't fix things on his own but if the Bucs have a guy who can inspire some change.