Answering the biggest questions around Tom Brady and the Buccaneers' issues

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers person gone from being a Super Bowl contender and starting the play astatine 2-0 to dropping 4 retired of their past 5 games, creating plentifulness of uncertainty aft backmost Tom Brady came retired of status to effort to grip "unfinished business."

As the Bucs (3-4) look to crook things astir erstwhile they big the Baltimore Ravens connected Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video), here's a look astatine what’s gone incorrect and the chances they tin crook it around.

1. What’s going connected with Brady and the offense?

Tampa's scoring accumulation has fallen disconnected a cliff this season, going from averaging 31.4 violative points a crippled done the archetypal 7 weeks past play to 16.7. They've lone reached the reddish portion 19 times successful 77 drives (24.6%) successful 2022. In the archetypal 7 games past season, it was 39 times successful 79 drives (44.3%).

But it's what's happening connected archetypal and 2nd downs that;s forcing them into unfavorable third-and-long passing situations. The Bucs person had 109 plays wherever they didn't summation oregon suffer yardage connected archetypal and 2nd down -- ninth-most successful the league. These are everything from sacks to incompletions to antagonistic rushing yards to throwaways, but they bash not see penalties.

They are besides past successful rushing, averaging 64.43 yards per crippled with 41 unreserved plays of nary summation oregon antagonistic yards -- fifth-most (the Jacksonville Jaguars pb the NFL with 51). But by getting down the chains aboriginal -- it’s fundamentally giving teams support to tee disconnected connected Brady connected 3rd down due to the fact that everyone knows he’ll beryllium dropping backmost to pass.

2. How overmuch of this is connected the violative line?

A lot. You tin spot Brady doesn’t spot the protection. Rookie Luke Goedeke is inactive struggling to marque the modulation from assemblage close tackle to NFL near defender -- wherever he’s faced challenges moving wrong and switching sides.

Last week the coaching unit began alternating Goedeke and backup Nick Leverett each 2 series. Goedeke volition miss Thursday with a ft injury.

The Bucs’ interior with Goedeke, second-year halfway Robert Hainsey and close defender Shaq Mason has produced an interior walk blocking triumph complaint of 87.4%, according to ESPN Statistics & Information -- the worst successful the NFL. Last year, that fig was 91.8%. Between the near defender and halfway positions, the Bucs person accumulated 43 walk blocking losses -- 2nd astir successful the NFL. Goedeke has been the main culprit with 28.

Teams are besides blitzing Brady little this twelvemonth due to the fact that they recognize they don’t request to, giving them much resources downfield and making it harder connected the Bucs’ receivers connected 3rd down.

From a run-blocking standpoint, the yards-per-rush metric is simply a large indicator of a team’s tally blocking quality arsenic it takes the moving backmost retired of the play to immoderate degree. Some of it is inactive connected the moving backmost based connected however rapidly helium tin deed the hole, but the Bucs are averaging 1.7 yards per unreserved earlier interaction -- second-lowest successful the NFL. That fig was 2.7 past twelvemonth (13th).

3. What astir Brady’s receivers?

The lone receiver proving reliable is Pro Bowler Mike Evans, and adjacent helium had a hiccup past week erstwhile helium bobbled what would person been a touchdown connected the opening drive.

Brady’s transportation with their different Pro Bowl wideout, Chris Godwin, has suffered since Godwin’s torn ACL past season. They’ve gone from a 77.2% completion complaint successful 2021 and a 77.4% completion complaint successful 2020 to 65.9% successful 2022. He’s inactive not backmost to wherever helium was anterior to the injury, and he’s peculiarly struggling against property coverage, with 2 yards aft the drawback against property sum versus 6.1 past season.

Newcomer Julio Jones hasn’t suited up since Week 4 due to the fact that of a genu injury, and he’s lone had 4 catches truthful far. He’s questionable against the Ravens. Russell Gage, who besides signed with the Bucs arsenic a escaped agent, has missed signifier reps with Brady due to the fact that of aggregate injuries and volition not play against the Ravens.

Without Jones and Gage though, opposing defenses’ resources aren’t being dispersed arsenic thin. They tin inactive rotation sum Evans’ way.

They’ve been plagued by drops too. The Bucs’ 11 drops necktie them for seventh-most successful the league. They had 8 done 7 games past year.

4. Why isn’t the defence stopping anybody?

They’ve been plagued by injuries and connection issues, but antiaircraft backs suffering injuries in-season is not new. They dealt with it past year, and the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to decision them without their apical 4 cornerbacks.

It’s connected the coaching unit to get them successful presumption to marque plays. They are routinely blowing coverages due to the fact that 1 subordinate isn’t wide connected the antiaircraft playcall oregon lacks attraction connected details. Inside linebacker Devin White should not person missed Najee Harris successful the level against Pittsburgh to let rookie backmost Kenny Pickett to propulsion his archetypal NFL touchdown.

They person not been capable to halt the run, which has been what they did champion implicit the past 3 seasons. Players aren’t successful their due gaps. They besides aren’t pressuring quarterbacks arsenic effectively. In bully news, cardinal cog Akiem Hicks, who has been retired since Week 2 with a ft injury, returned to signifier this week.

Overall, determination is simply a deficiency of cohesiveness, and 1 truly has to wonderment if that stems from having a antiaircraft caput manager with 2 antithetic coordinators moving the defence -- Kacy Rodgers, who is liable for the beforehand seven, and Larry Foote, who is liable for the backmost end.

5. What bash the analytics accidental astir the remainder of the season?

After starting the play 2-0 successful beating the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints connected the road, the Bucs had a 98% accidental of making the playoffs and a 93% accidental of winning the division, according to FPI. After losing to the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs, their Week 5 triumph implicit the Atlanta Falcons gave them a 97% accidental of making the playoffs and a 94% accidental of winning the division. But aft losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers connected the road, they’re present astatine a 67% accidental of making the playoffs with a 61% accidental of winning the division.

The Bucs’ remaining opponents are a combined 30-39, with 5 of those games coming astatine Raymond James Stadium. But they tin instrumentality vantage of the NFC South, arsenic the Bucs are presently sitting atop the part and clasp the tiebreaker implicit Atlanta (3-4). There’s besides anticipation information Logan Ryan, who was placed connected injured reserve with a ft injury, and halfway Ryan Jensen, who has a genu injury, tin travel backmost precocious successful the season.