The Keys To The Bucs Run Game Improvement

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Don’t look now, but the Bucs’ run game has been downright decent over the past month and a half. Since Week 11 the Bucs are only one of only eight teams to have a positive expected points added per rush. They are in a group that includes such prestigious ground attacks like San Francisco, Detroit, Miami and Baltimore. Over that time frame they have averaged 117 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry. The Bucs’ rushing attack was crucial to their victory over the Falcons as offensive coordinator Dave Canales called runs on five of eight plays on their penultimate drive of the game and 11 of 17 plays when you incorporate the drive before that. And while the Bucs’ passing game had been struggling the run game was able to shoulder the load. This begs the question “What has changed?” There are three main changes that are driving the improvements. Bucs Have Changed Their Pre-Snap Line Splits Take a look back to early in the season and you will see some subtle differences in how the Bucs’ offensive line was lined up pre-snap. Here is a clip of them lined up against the Eagles in Week 3. Notice the tighter splits, which is the space between each lineman along the line of scrimmage plus the tight ends. Fast forward to these past few weeks and you can see a clear difference in the spacing between linemen. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself. Like I said, the difference is subtle but significant. The additional space between linemen allows their blocks more space to breathe and create more room for Tampa Bay’s running backs to move through.
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Whether this change was pushed down from offensive coordinator Dave Canales, run game coordinator Harold Goodwin or offensive line coach Joe Gilbert, it has been working. Giving more natural room for gaps to develop and runs to breathe has made a clear difference in improving the Bucs’ run game. Bucs Are Embracing Counter The basis for Canales’ entire offensive system is on the mid zone run. It asks the offensive line to move horizontally and take on defenders who enter their zone as the run develops and the running back to use his vision to find holes that naturally develop and cut up field through them. While the hope was that the scheme would improve throughout the season but that has not transpired. There are various reasons for this. The interior of the line has not been able to quite work in sync enough. The tight ends have not adapted to the scheme. Running back Rachaad White has had trouble timing up his cuts to take advantage of the gaps he is given. It has all conspired to severely limit the potential for a lot of players who otherwise could be a part of an effective ground game. Enter counter. Counter is a gap-based run play that asks offensive linemen to take on specific assignments based on the defensive alignment. It also gives the running back a clearly defined single gap to hit where he does not have to try and think too much to identify the best path up field. Rather, he simply has to follow his lead blocker through the defined gap. Additionally, counter asks one or more offensive linemen to pull across the backside of the line and become the lead blocker for the running back. The Bucs offensive line features multiple players who are uber-athletic. The average Relative Athletic Score for the Bucs’ offensive line is 8.36 (right tackle Luke Goedeke did not qualify for an RAS score due to being injured during the testing phase of the pre-draft process during his draft cycle). Running counter affords those players the opportunity to get on the move where that athleticism really shines. The results have been revelatory for Tampa Bay. Here is a compilation of but a few of the counter plays the Bucs ran in Week 14 against the Falcons. You can see the smoothness each play is run with that runs counter (sorry for the pun) to how the Bucs’ run game has looked all year. The #GoBucs have found renewed life from their run game through a simple play with numerous variations. Counter. pic.twitter.com/awna46ymQe — Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 17, 2023 Key Personnel Change Right guard Matt Feiler suffered a left knee injury late in the Bucs’ first matchup with the Falcons. It would knock him out of the next three games. In his place Tampa Bay went with veteran guard Aaron Stinnie. The much smaller Stinnie is a better mover than Feiler. He also can gain better leverage due to him being shorter. Here is TOW (Tackle on Will) again with RT Goedeke pulling to the left like a stick of dynamite and blowing up the Falcons weak side LB. LG Stinnie was a beast again, getting to the second level.#Bucs ran for 71 yds in 4th quarter, 38 behind Stinnie, including a key 4th-and-1. pic.twitter.com/lwE0LYZsAZ — PewterReport (@PewterReport) December 11, 2023 Bucs LG Aaron Stinnie – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR These two attributes, combined with Stinnie’s aggressive playstyle have aided him in being a clear upgrade in the run game. Stinnie was a key component to the Bucs rushing for 71 yards in the fourth quarter of this past game alone. Stinnie is the weak link on the Bucs line from a pass protection standpoint and a small downgrade from Feiler, but what he has helped bring to the ground game has made that trade-off more than palatable. With a passing attack that is 14th in the NFL in EPA/pass if the Bucs can continue this trend of getting league average efficiency out of their run game the combination can be a Top 12 offense down the home stretch of the season. The post The Keys To The Bucs Run Game Improvement appeared first on Pewter Report.

Source: https://www.pewterreport.com/bucs-run-g ... ment-keys/