Play Action Is Key for Buccaneers to Beat Stellar Rams Defense
In a matchup between two of the best defenses in the league, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the 6-3 Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football in just a few short days.
The Rams defense highlighted by stars such as defensive tackle Aaron Donald, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and defensive end Michael Brockers, have been playing lights out all season long. Coming into Monday, the Rams currently have the third-best passing defense and the fifth-best run defense, so the Buccaneers must come firing on all cylinders to get a win in primetime.
Donald is the best defensive lineman in the league and all the Bucs' concerns against the Rams will begin with the five-time All-Pro, who has nine sacks, three forced fumbles, and 25 total tackles just nine games into the 2020 season.
The Bucs could be tasked with stopping this menace without its starting left guard in Ali Marpet, who is still in concussion protocol, despite being a full-go in Thursday's practice.
In Marpet's absence last week against the Carolina Panthers, head coach Bruce Arians decided to play A.Q Shipley at center, pushing starting center Ryan Jensen over to the left guard spot, which led to an improved unit compared to when Joe Haeg started in place of Marpet against the New Orleans Saints.
To counter this electric Rams defense that can both stop the run and get to the passer, the Bucs should rely on quarterback Tom Brady and the run game to open up the play-action pass, which has been deadly with the 43-year-old Brady behind center. Throughout the 2020 season, Brady has completed a total of 75 passes on play-action, resulting in 653 of his total 2739 yards on the year. This is a respectable chunk of yards considering play-action is used sparingly in Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich's offense.
If running back Ronald Jones and the offensive line can do their part, a heavier dose of play-action could neutralize the aggressive Rams defense, allowing Brady to meticulously move the ball down the field against the third-best passing defense in the league, based on opponent yards per game.
Coming into the Monday night showdown, the Rams are giving up on 199.7 passing yards a game, while Brady averages 273.9 passing yards a game.
Not only will play-action throw off those in coverage but it will also keep the Rams pass rush honest with the threat of the run as well. The Rams are no stranger to getting after the quarterback, as they rank fourth in the league in sack percentage, with most of those sacks coming from Donald.
The bottom line is that Leftwich cannot give up the run as he did in week nine against the Saints when the Bucs only rushed four times (five, if you count a Blaine Gabbert kneel) in one of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history.
Jones has been one of the most productive backs on the ground in the entire league this season, as is especially good after initial contact. The former USC back gets better with each rep as he begins to get in a flow as the game goes on, so it is vital to continue to feed him carries.
Relying on Jones to open up play-action will be a tall task, but keeping a balance of run and pass is something that Leftwich must get used to as the season continues on.
With the Bucs' offense being as versatile as it is, moving down into single-back sets under center could create advantages on the outside for receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown, assuming they get some man looks throughout the afternoon. Leftwich tends to stay in shotgun sets during pass plays, mainly to get the most amount of wide receivers on the field when throwing the ball.
Moving between one and two tight end sets with RoJo in the backfield could cause the Rams to move down a safety, allowing for the passing game to open up as long as the Bucs can keep the run game attack going. Moving between 11 and 12 personnel allows for different looks in the run and the passing game, throwing off the electric Rams D.
Time and time again the past few weeks, Brady has thrown deep (20+ yards) eleven times oven the past three weeks, all with no success.
Despite this concerning stat, the looks are there.
Take a look at this deep ball from last week out of 11 personnel, as Brady and AB seem to have a miscommunication on a wide-open pass out of play-action. Whether this breakdown was on AB or Brady, the look was there and it shows just how close the Bucs are from getting back to making big plays past 20 yards again.
Here you can find the Bucs in a two-tight end set, featuring Cameron Brate and Rob Gronkowski. Two wide receivers are on the field with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.
Godwin comes free on a 15-yard curl route as he got in the cornerback's blind spot, creating separation to give Brady a window to deliver a strike. Of note, pass protection is relatively clean across the board as Jones picks up the linebacker. With only two routes on the field, the Bucs still pick up 18 yards.
One last example comes from all the way back in week one against the Saints, where Brady finds Godwin on a deep corner route after diagnosing man coverage from the pre-snap motion, as D.J. Swearinger comes into the frame following Godwin across the line of scrimmage. Godwin runs a beautiful route to get away from Swearinger and Brady throws an amazing ball, leading Godwin up the sideline to make sure the defender could not make a play on the pass. The 29 yard gain was one of the cleanest plays from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.
All in all, play-action (with some pre-snap motion) is a weapon that the Bucs should use early and often against a stingy Rams defense come Monday night.
Even if the Bucs only call a handful play-action plays, the success of such plays could change the flow of the game by keeping the Rams D guessing with a run-pass balance. A well-timed play-action call can burn a defense especially when the greatest of all time is playing quarterback.
