Watched the last drive again. It’s the Jets, but I really like what I saw from Grayson, and to some degree Perriman too. It’s strange that it came to this because the Bucs supposedly had all that depth. But Miller, Howard, and obviously AB have all seemingly washed out. Brate somewhat too.
The Bucs won’t be able to rely on the big play and will need to run the ball in the playoffs. They don’t have the skill players to consistently strike and will need to chip away and use playaction.
I don’t know if they can pull this off. But I do think teams will struggle if the Bucs can establish the run with Gronkowski. I’ve often wondered if the Patriots would use that pony formation (example, both White and Burkhead on the field) and I wonder if the Bucs would use it as well if they have Fournette, Vaughn, Bernard, and Bell, or at least three of those guys healthy. Jones is still a very good running back if asked only to run up the middle and power through the line. Without Brown, Godwin, and Miller, they lose 75% of their deep threats and need to adapt.
But I think their dominant offensive line, plus mauler Gronk, and having Evans take the top off the defense, is a formula for a short amoeba passing game with 3-4 competent/limited receivers consistently getting those 7-10 yard targets. We’ve seen Brady do it before. They need to work from the inside out. They need to basically copy what the Packers are doing.