4 Pirates who don’t deserve to be blamed for Falcons loss – The Pewter Plank

There’s a lot of negativity after the way things went for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8. It’s hard to feel good when a team loses the way it did, with everything from missed calls to poor decision making a factor. the loss.

It wasn’t all bad, though. Tampa Bay has lost two games in a row, but is just 4-4 and right on par with last season. The Bucs started 3-1 and fell to 1-6, but still made the playoffs; this year the team started 3-1 but fell on hard times again.

All hope is not lost yet, even if things look pretty bleak given everything that happened. There will be plenty of time this week to discuss the things that went wrong – and rightfully so – but let’s not let that block a few things that did go wrong.

Cade Otten, TE

With both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans out, there were questions about who would take the ball and keep the passing game alive.

Cade Otten was the answer and the truth.

Otton had already begun building an impressive season heading into Week 8, but blew the lid on things with his performance. He finished the game with nine catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns, fully targeting National Tight End Day

He also firmly established himself as a key part of the offense even when Evans returned. Otten isn’t solely making up for the loss of Godwin — no one can do that — but it’s also true that Tampa Bay isn’t as in the game as it was if Otten didn’t make the plays he did.

Bucky Irving, RB

We knew going into the season that Bucky Irving would make a big impact on the Buccaneers’ game, but we didn’t know how important he would be in helping to fix it. Irving has been a revelation so far this year, rushing for nearly 400 yards on 5.2 carries, nearly doubling the team average total from last season.

Not only does it show stats, but what it looks like while doing it. Every time Bucky touches the ball, the fans can feel an electricity that suggests something huge is about to happen. More often than not, he does, which is something that helped the Bucs stay in Sunday’s game much longer than they otherwise would have.

He somehow fell to the Bucs in the fourth round last year, and every week Bucs fans remain grateful that it happened.

Rachaad White, RB

With the rise of Bucky Irving, many began to question Rachaad White’s place on offense. It was a terribly short-sighted approach, but one that wasn’t entirely unfair considering how White had been part of the running game for two years and hadn’t helped fix it like the Buckeyes had.

To call him out, though, is to ignore how good he is. While Irving is a lightning strike out of the backfield, White drops the hammer as part of Tampa Bay’s passing game. So far this season, White has totaled nearly 500 yards, nearly half of which are through the air.

He has been lethal as part of Tampa Bay’s screen game, something we saw to such effect on Sunday that he was praised over the Buckeyes in that department.

He fumbled on the first drive that directly led to Atlanta’s touchdown, but other than that mistake, he was an essential part of the offense. This is something that will continue to be the case going forward.

Liam Cohen, OC

String-pulling puppeteer Liam Cohen has completely transformed the Buccaneers offense in less than eight weeks. Tampa Bay was already one of the highest scoring offenses in football, ranking only behind the Commanders and Ravens so far this season. Even with the huge hits Detroit took against Tennessee, the Bucs still have the stronger offense on paper, which is thanks to the way Cohen runs things.

Sunday was a perfect example of this.

We’ve watched the Bucs fall into holes before and not be able to dig their way out. For all the good Dave Canales did last season, Tampa Bay would fall behind and then get lost in the shuffle. That wasn’t the case this year, as even though the Bucs lost four games, they never came out of it.

Last week against the Ravens, the offense stormed back to within 10 points, and this Sunday, the Bucs were down just five points and in position to win the game on last down. Cohen’s ability to plan the offense was already impressive, but to do so without the otherworldly Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.

It’s getting to the point where fans are actively calling for Cohen to take over as head coach so the team doesn’t lose him. We haven’t gotten to that point yet, but nobody’s stock is higher than Cohen’s right now, and the Bucs are a better team for having him in the building.

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