SR’s FAB 5: Liam Coen’s Bucs Offense Just Keeps Getting Better fasterkora.xyz

INTRO: The Bucs’ No. 5 scoring offense will square off against the Chargers and the league’s top-ranked scoring defense in Los Angeles on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s game against the 8-5 Chargers will be the toughest test in several weeks. Thankfully the team has an awesome play-caller in Liam Coen, whose offense seems to get better each week and just put up its seventh game of 400 yards in Sunday’s win against Las Vegas. This SR’s Fab 5 is totally offensive heading into the Chargers game – enjoy!

FAB 1. Liam Coen’s Bucs Offense Just Keeps Getting Better

Back in October, I wrote about how Liam Coen and his offense was super impressive for averaging 30 points per game, which essentially matched the point production of the Bucs’ Super Bowl team in 2020 and the 13-win squad from 2021.

At that time, Tampa Bay had the greatest quarterback in NFL history in Tom Brady under center, a Hall of Fame tight end in Rob Gronkowski, a Hall of Fame-caliber receiver in Antonio Brown and three Pro Bowl offensive linemen in center Ryan Jensen, left guard Ali Marpet and right tackle Tristan Wirfs. In addition to a younger Pro Bowl wide receiver in Mike Evans, who was 27-28 at the time, and a younger 1,000-yard receiver in Chris Godwin, who was 24-25 during those seasons.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: USA Today

This year’s Bucs squad features an older, 31-year old Evans, who missed three games with a hamstring injury, and a 28-year old Godwin before he was lost for the year with a dislocated ankle in Week 7 against Baltimore. Coen’s offense has Baker Mayfield as the signal caller instead of Brady, and while Cade Otton has stepped up as a receiver this year, especially in Godwin’s absence, he’s no Gronkowski.

Not only is the wide receiver room down Godwin right now, there isn’t anyone close to having Brown’s skillset. In fact, Coen’s offense has continued to put up touchdowns with the likes of Sterling Shepard, Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, Ryan Miller and Rakim Jarrett playing – and starting – at wide receiver.

Let’s be real – none of those five would start anywhere else in the league.

None.

So the fact that Coen’s offense has still averaged 27.9 points per game without Godwin for half the season and with Evans missing three games is just simply fantastic and remarkably impressive.

It speaks to Coen’s creativity and the constant evolution of his passing concepts and the team’s resurgent rushing attack. Coen did the unexpected and didn’t just make the ground game credible. He made it dominant. Tampa Bay has rushed for 150 yards or more in each of the last three games since the bye week and ranks seventh in the NFL with 138.3 yards per game.

The running game has propelled the Bucs’ three-game winning streak and the team is averaging 181.7 yards during that span. Only the Eagles (221 avg.) have averaged more rushing yards per game over the last three weeks.

To have Tampa Bay’s running game go from dead last a year ago to inside the Top 10 this season is just astonishing. Nobody saw that type of turnaround coming.

Coen’s creativity has been on display with his expanded usage of the team’s “Pony” package, which is a two-back set out of 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end) that he incorporated at the University of Kentucky when he was the Wildcats offensive coordinator.

“I did a good amount of it in Kentucky in 2021, my first time there,” Coen said. “You can kind of see where it can evolve a little bit to…But, yeah, I’m probably a little bit more surprised at how much we’ve been able to use it and been in it this season so far, yeah.”

The Bucs have gotten some crazy good production out of Pony this year, as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo has documented several times this season.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs running game has been electric this year thanks to better blocking up front along the offensive line, but also on the perimeter from the tight ends and wide receivers, which have helped turn 13-yard runs into 30-yard dashes with downfield blocks. Not only has Coen’s offensive scheme and play-calling been incredibly effective, but also his addition of position coaches like Kevin Carberry and Bryan Picucci (O-line), Bryan McClendon (receivers) and Justin Peelle (tight ends) – all of whom have been upgrades from last year.

“Probably just the mentality, the energy around running the football,” Coen said. “Just like when we talk about the run game, and the guys up front and just the cohesiveness… I read something that Todd [Bowles] mentioned that I do think goes unnoticed is the tight ends, the receivers, some of those things that do go into it…I will say from a mentality standpoint upfront – those guys and their coaches – I think it’s been really cool to watch that transformation in terms of seeing guys really bought in to what we’re trying to get done. The coaches are doing a fantastic job of getting these things detailed. There’s a lot of detail that goes into running the football, and then there’s ultimately times when you don’t block a safety that’s in the box and your [running] back makes them miss, and things are good for you. We have those type of players, and they’re doing it at a high level right now.”

As impressive as the team’s meteoric rise in running game rankings is, Coen’s ability to generate first downs on first down plays this year represents an even bigger improvement for Tampa Bay’s offense. As Fox Sports’ Greg Auman notes, the Bucs ranked dead last in first downs generated on first down last year under Dave Canales but now rank second in the NFL in that category this year.

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We’ve emphasized that a lot here – both sides of the football – winning first downs,” Coen said. “When we get one, how can we win that one again? That’s been an emphasis of Coach Bowles since we got here: talking about those early downs, that early-down success, emphasizing it and putting it in situations in practice so that you’re not just aimlessly running plays. You get a first down, now it’s not time to breathe [and say], ‘Oh man, we got a first down.’ Let’s try to go get another one. That’s the mentality and the standard to try to go press the envelope. Balance, I think, sometimes helps with that, too. When you can create balance and keep the defense off their toes in a way and try and be one step ahead, that can help as well.”

Here’s the crazy thing about Coen’s offense. It’s quite possible that the Bucs finish the year as a Top 10 – potentially a Top 5 – offense without a 1,000-yard receiver or runner this season.

Despite missing Godwin, who was having a monster start to the 2024 season, and Evans being slowed by a hamstring and only having one 100-yard game so far, the Bucs passing game hasn’t really missed a beat due to Coen’s uncanny play-calling, good blocking upfront and some heroics from Mayfield, who is completing a career-high 70% of his passes, at times. Coen’s usage of Bucky Irving, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker in the passing game on swing passes and screens has made up for the lackluster receiving corps behind Evans on the depth chart.

What’s even more impressive about Coen’s offense is not just the four touchdowns per game that the unit is averaging. It’s the amazing consistency.

Tampa Bay’s offense hasn’t had a 42-point outburst and a recession to 14 points the next week to comprise a 28-point average. No, Coen’s offense has only scored less than 20 points per game just once this year – back in Week 3 in a 26-7 loss to Denver.

Even when it doesn’t look pretty like last week in a win over the Raiders, which was marred by three Mayfield turnovers, Coen’s offense still put up 425 yards, including 152 on the ground and scored four touchdowns.

In fact, Coen’s offense has put up 400 yards or more seven times this season, which is tied for the most by any team.

Yet points win games – not yards. And Coen and his unit will have to cut down on the mistakes – penalties and turnovers – that have stalled some drives over the last two weeks in order to get a win in Los Angeles against the league’s No. 1 scoring defense. The Chargers defense has only allowed two teams to score more than 20 points all season and will face a Bucs offense that has scored 30 points or more on six occasions this year.

Sunday’s game at Los Angeles in a stadium where Coen coached for years with the Rams will be a big challenge for the Bucs’ young play-caller. The guess here is that he’ll be up for it with some new, innovative twists for the Chargers.

FAB 2. Liam Coen’s Offense Should Be Even More Potent Next Year

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There are still four games left in this Bucs season, but sometimes it’s fun to peek ahead to what lies ahead for this team.

Just imagine what could happen next year in Liam Coen’s offense with the return of a healthy Chris Godwin (the Bucs will be working on re-signing him this offseason), the continued growth of Jalen McMillan as a young weapon in the passing game, and the addition of better talent at wide receiver through the draft. Tampa Bay could certainly use an upgrade at receiver over the likes of Sterling Shepard, Trey Palmer, Ryan Miller and Rakim Jarrett on the depth chart next season, which will also be Mike Evans’ contract year.

When Bucs fans hear the terms “next year” and “Liam Coen” in the same sentence, they naturally cringe. Fans are fearful that Coen, who has been way more impressive and effective than fomer offensive coordinator Dave Canales was last year, will also be hired away as a head coach come January.

I’ve already gone on record saying I seriously doubt Coen leaves Tampa Bay. One way or another, I believe this franchise will find a way to keep its talented offensive play-caller, and I’ll leave it at that for now.

And here’s one last thing on Coen to think about. His play-calling is inventive and far from stale – yet he’s only in his first year as an NFL offensive coordinator.

Just imagine how good Coen will be in 2025 with a full offseason to pour over every game tape and learn from his successes, grow from his mistakes, improve his scheme, and tinker with his playbook for the coming season.

FAB 3. Credit Bryan McClendon, Wide Receivers For Bucs’ Big Runs This Year

Tampa Bay running backs have ripped off 10 runs of 20 yards or more this season heading into Sunday’s game at Los Angeles against a stingy Chargers defense. Eight of the team’s big runs have gone for at least 30 yards, including a pair of 56-yard jaunts – one each from Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.

And there’s four games left in the season.

Bucs WR Ryan Miller, RB Bucky Irving and LG Ben Bredeson – Photo by: USA Today

That’s a far cry from last year when the Bucs only had five runs of 20 yards or more, including just two of over 30 yards and none longer than 38 yards.

The big reason for the big runs into the second and third levels of the defense is not just the blocking at the point of attack from the offensive line and in the in-line tight ends. It’s also the downfield blocks by Tampa Bay’s wide receivers.

New Bucs receivers coach Bryan McClendon came from Georgia, where the Bulldogs are known for successfully running the ball. McClendon, who coaches both running backs and receivers in Athens, has put a huge emphasis on blocking since his arrival in Tampa Bay as one of Liam Coen’s hires this offseason.

“That was huge. That’s a very good point,” Coen said of the addition of McClendon to the Bucs coaching staff. “That was what we were looking for, in terms of understanding what this offense and system does ask of our skill players. It does take somebody special that can get that out of everybody.

“I’ve heard some wideouts say, ‘I don’t get paid to block.’ There’s an argument to be had, but if we want to stink in the run game, then go ahead. His mentality, the way he operates every day, his demands and standards in that room has elevated things to have a mentality like the rest of the group and sometimes really mix it up in there.”

Bucs wide receiver Rakim Jarrett said that McClendon made it known to his receivers that if they want they rock, they need to block.

“We all have a job to do,” Jarrett said. “If my job is to block for Bucky or Rachaad or Sean [Tucker], then that’s my job and I’m going to go out and do it. It’s fun. What’s the saying, ‘No blocky, no rocky?’”

Bucs WRs coach Bryan McClendon, OC Liam Coen and RBs coach Skip Peete – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“[McClendon] leaves no stone unturned when it comes to coaching. Whether it’s running the right routes or blocking the right person. He paints the picture so well in the meeting room that it’s easy to go out there and play hard and play fast. It’s our job to go out there and get the blocks, produce and make it happen.”

Bucs wide receiver Ryan Miller was a former tight end at Furman, so he’s used to blocking. But he notes that blocking is something that McClendon prioritizes in team meetings.

“It’s huge and Liam comes from that Rams offense with Cooper Kupp and they pride themselves on blocking over there and that’s what we pride ourselves on, too,” Miller said. “You can’t throw the ball without running it first. So, us as a receivers, not only do we have to catch the ball but we have to run and block and be able to spring our receivers to the next level.

“[McClendon] came in and instilled [run blocking] in us from the start. We start all of our receiver meetings with the run first. We go over the run install because that’s where everything starts. We have to be able to run block and he’s been adamant about that from the start.”

Bucs rookie nickelback Tykee Smith saw McClendon work with the Georgia receivers on a daily basis at practice for the last few years and marveled at his attention to detail.

“That was the number one thing at Georgia – if you were a receiver and you wanted the ball, you better block first,” Smith said. “He instilled toughness into our receivers, and they were a big part of our running game as blockers. Coach BMac’s receivers take pride in blocking and they do a good job and have the mindset to be tough blockers.”

Even the Bucs offensive line takes note of the downfield blocks by the receivers and appreciates their effort.

Bucs WRs Coach Bryan McClendon – Photo by: USA Today

“It feels awesome,” Wirfs said. “One that kind of stands out in my mind is Bucky’s long run against the Giants where Baker was downfield, too. But Trey [Palmer] was down there and JMac (Jalen McMillan) was down there and they were hyped up about it. It takes all 11 of us. That’s really cool to see those guys flying down the field and making stuff happen.”

Miller wound up catching his first NFL pass on a 39-yard catch-and-run reception at New Orleans in Week 6 and hauled in his first NFL touchdown a few weeks later at Kansas City on Monday Night Football. Throwing a great downfield block to help Tampa Bay’s running back gives him just as much satisfaction.

“To me that’s a good feeling, and at times I think the coaches appreciate us more as blockers than when we catch the ball,” Miller said. “It’s a good feeling to make the block that springs the big run. You don’t want to be the guy that misses the block that would have resulted in a big run. Running the ball is a team effort – it’s a collective effort.”

FAB 4. Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke Will Have Their Hands Full On Sunday

It’s one thing for a defense to have a game-wrecking pass rusher. It’s another thing when a team has a pair of bookend edge rushers who can get to the quarterback.

Chargers OLB Khalil Mack – Photo by: USA Today

But it’s something completely different when a team has four highly capable pass rushers like the Chargers do. Los Angeles is fifth in the league with 39 sacks, led by second-year outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu’s 7.5 sacks. Fellow starter Khalil Mack, a future Hall of Famer, has five sacks, as does reserve Bud Dupree. Joey Bosa, a former starter who has battled injuries this year, has four sacks.

Mack, an eight-time Pro Bowler, has 106.5 sacks in his 11-year NFL career. Bosa, a four-time Pro Bowler, has 71 career sacks over nine years. Dupree, who is on his fourth team in the last five seasons, has 58 career sacks in 10 seasons. All three were former first-round picks. Tuipulotu is only 22 years old and was a second-round pick last year. He has 12 sacks through nearly two seasons.

That’s nearly 250 collective sacks between L.A.’s quartet of edge rushers. Needless to say that Bucs offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, who have only surrendered one sack between them this season, will have their hands full on Sunday.

“They’ve got Bud, they’ve got Bosa, they’ve got Mack – they have all sorts of guys,” Wirfs said. “Tuipulotu – he’s having a really good year. They have a big rotation. You don’t know what side guys are going to be on. They’re all over the place.”

Goedeke knows that there won’t be any plays off for either he or Wirfs in Los Angeles.

“Obviously we’ll have to be locked in down and down out – no matter what,” Goedeke said. “Being first-round picks and being solid starters at defensive end, obviously if you make a mistake they can exploit that whereas maybe a regular fill-in guy may not be able to exploit that mistake as easily. It’s definitely going to be a challenge.”

Wirfs agrees.

Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“They’re probably going to run some games,” Wirfs said. “You see Bosa and Mack line up in in an 11 technique damn near. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but we know it’s going to be a battle.”

Even though Wirfs is only in his fifth season in the league, he’s played against three out of the four Chargers edge rushers and at least has a mental Rolodex of information on the challenges and moves each one presents.

“I’ve played most of these guys before,” Wirfs said. “I played Bud twice when he was with the Falcons. I played Bosa before when we played the Chargers. I went and watched that old game from my rookie year. I watched both of the Chicago games where I’ve played Mack. I like watching myself go up against the guys so I can see what worked and what didn’t and what moves did a get. A lot of those games were from when I played on the right side, but still, it’s nice to see that.

“Luke and I study all four pass rushers every week anyways – the starter on the left and the backup, and the starter on the right and the backup. So we’re studying four guys every week – but these guys are really, really good.”

Of course Wirfs remembers going against Mack on Thursday night in a 20-19 loss at Chicago. He surrendered his first NFL sack to Mack, who then vaulted Wirfs at the end of the play in embarrassing fashion.

“I remember that – I’ll always remember that,” Wirfs said. “It’s so crazy because I watched that game last night and it was five years ago. I remember at the time I thought it was the end of the world after that play. But now it’s like, ‘Shit happens. You’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some.’

“I remember my buddy texted me after the game and said, ‘Hey it wasn’t that bad.’ And I texted him back and said, ‘Okay, you texting me that it wasn’t that bad is telling me it was bad!’ (Laughs). I love seeing that now because I don’t care anymore. Super Bowls make everything go away!”

Wirfs played much better against Mack the following year in 38-3 beatdown of the Bears and will look for a repeat of that performance on Sunday as the Bucs look to win their fourth straight game since the bye week.

FAB 5. Baker Mayfield’s Resiliency Is On Display

There’s no doubt that Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has had some hot starts this year. Tampa Bay has scored a touchdown on the opening drive six times this year, snapping a 23-game streak without an opening drive TD in Week 4 against Philadelphia.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But Mayfield has quickly cooled off a few times and had some bad second quarters, such as at New Orleans, at Carolina and last week versus Las Vegas that have been filled with mistakes and turnovers for some reason. Yet the Bucs QB has shown some remarkable resiliency to shake off some rough patches in-game and rally for a better finish at the end.

The Bucs outscored the Saints 26-0 in the second half after trailing 27-24 at halftime. Tampa Bay trailed at Carolina at halftime, 13-10, but outscored the Panthers 16-7 in the second half and overtime to win. The Bucs led the Raiders 14-10 at halftime, but pulled away in the second half, 14-3, with Mayfield throwing a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

In my three decades of covering the Bucs, I’ve seen plenty of Tampa Bay quarterbacks go into an in-game downward spiral that they’re not able to come out of. Former Bucs QBs like Trent Dilfer, Josh Freeman, Josh McCown and Jameis Winston have seen their days go from bad to worse on several occasions.

But Mayfield has shown an uncanny knack of snapping out of an in-game funk.

“To me, it’s the mentality of ‘next play is the most important’ and then when it comes down to in-the-game situations, things that you really want to go over mentally throughout the week,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, that helps with experience and time, but you cover those situations, you understand where you want to get the ball, where you want to do it and sometimes it’s a chaotic situation, but you don’t want to… It’s just heightened awareness – you don’t want to let the situation dictate how you’re feeling but just really [pay] attention to details and get back to basics in those moments.”

Mayfield admitted that he does get down on himself when his play is taking a turn for the worse with incompletions or interceptions.

Bucs OC Liam Coen and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I’m not exactly a great example of positive self-talk,” Mayfield said. “I just hit the reset button, go through it, look at the pictures on the sideline and just move on. We need everybody to do their job each play, so I have to be the tone setter when it comes to that. If I’m making a bad play, it’s the next one. Let’s move on, let’s make it happen.”

The Bucs will need Mayfield to snap out of a two-game streak with a pair of interceptions versus the Panthers and Raiders as the team travels to Los Angeles to face a Chargers defense that leads the league in scoring defense, allowing just 15.9 points per game and ranks tied for fifth in the NFL with 13 interceptions.

The Chargers rank third in the league in turnover margin at plus-13. The Bucs are currently minus-2, which ranks in the bottom half of the league.

Los Angeles head coach Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself, has taken note of Mayfield’s ability to flip the switch at the end of games and play his best football.

“He’s a winner,” he said. “I think the thing that strikes me about him – you see a ton of quarterbacks try to emulate him, copy him. You know he’s that guy. He’s that guy that he plays his best when his best is needed most.”