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Bucs OC Josh Grizzard.
How quickly things change in a few months.
Last year, Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was the King of Third Downs. He was in charge of the Bucs’ third-down offense and then-Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen gave all the credit to Grizzard.
The Bucs led the NFL with a 51 percent third-down conversion percentage.
This year? Grizzard is no longer the king. And some Bucs fans think he is another four-letter object more likely to be found on the floor of a seedy New Orleans public restroom.
The Bucs’ third-down offense has collapsed since Chris Godwin got hurt in Seattle. The Bucs were 5-for-13 today against New England. This, after being 1 of 5 in the first half and earlier in the fourth quarter, the Bucs were 4 of 11.
> “It’s what happens when you don’t execute,” Bucs receiver Emeka Egbuka said after the game. “That’s the bottom line.”
You’re not going to win too many games with that pathetic of a third-down offense. Unless you’re playing CFL-like football and converting first downs on either first or second down.
Well, it might help if the Bucs would call plays that gain yards.
In the fourth quarter, Joe was beginning to wonder if someone could slip Grizzard a compass so he could locate which area of the field the end zone was on — that the end zone was not on the sidelines.
Calling plays on third down needing 8-12 yards with receivers running short routes on the wrong side of the sticks is not going to get the job done. Did Grizzard think a well-disciplined, good-tackling team like New England was going to start missing tackles and allowing Bucs receivers to move the chains by breaking tackles?
Was the offensive line that bad that Mayfield couldn’t wait for receivers to run routes past the sticks in order to throw for first downs?
Look, Joe knows Grizzard is learning on the job. We’re, what, nine games in? He should have a better handle by now.
Joe has to give Grizzard some slack. He’s missing Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving. Still, lesser teams are getting production with an offense with lesser players than the Bucs have.
The Bucs, entering today’s game, were No. 25 in third-down conversion percentage at 36 percent.
So while Grizzard may be handcuffed, at some point he’s got to learn how to produce with what he has.