National Football League

Minus Jeff Tedford, Bucs' promise of offense instead a sickly void

Published Dec. 1, 2014 7:15 p.m. ET

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TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' largest issue on offense is unseen. It's found in the empty space Jeff Tedford would have held in meeting rooms. It's found in the vacant spot in the booth he would have called his office on Sundays.

It's found in the groans whenever the Bucs' offense kicks up mud each week without consistent progress made, instead sinking to become one of the NFL's worst despite weapons such as Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans at its disposal.

Twelve games into the Lovie Smith Era, it's safe to say the first year will be recalled for one glaring missing piece. In retrospect, the Bucs' season was doomed to fail from the moment Tampa Bay announced Sept. 23 that Tedford would take an indefinite leave of absence after two stents were placed in an artery near his heart during a procedure Aug. 25.

Tedford's brainchild was left to flounder without its brain.

An offense billed as up-tempo has been slow and ineffective too often.

A unit cloaked in mystery in the offseason has been unveiled as a hot mess.

"We've got to do better, I know that," Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans said Monday, a day after Tampa Bay's offense was to blame for a 14-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. "Our defense played great, especially the past few games they've been playing great. We haven't been helping them that much."

The Bucs' offense looks beyond help, at least without the eyes that could heal it most. It's surreal to consider the unit's collapse without Tedford, its philosophy billed as potentially exciting and explosive in the spring only to be rolled out as unimaginative and boring.

The stats reveal a swift decline. The Bucs rank in 29th in rushing (83.2 yards per game), 28th in scoring (18.3 points per game), 26th in yards gained (313.6 per game) and 18th in passing (230.3 ypg).

The output reveals inefficiency. The Bucs have been held to 14 or fewer points five times and 17 or fewer points nine times.

The predicament reveals no easy answer. It's hard to blame quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo, the acting coordinator, for the problems. Last year at this time, he served as the offensive coordinator/outside receivers coach at Southern Mississippi, which averaged an anemic 17.1 points per game during a 1-11 season.

Likely, Arroyo spent the spring expecting to mold Josh McCown to fit the scheme's vision. Likely, he spent the spring expecting to help develop Mike Glennon and pick up lessons from Tedford, with whom Arroyo spent two seasons at California as a quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator. Arroyo's job description changed on the fly.

Tedford's health issue and choice to step away had to be a shock to Arroyo and the rest of the offensive staff. Arroyo accepted a larger role, void of his mentor's presence. Others pitched in as well.

The scramble on that side of the ball has become obvious.

So Tedford's absence must be given proper respect. Its ripple effects are everywhere, in full display with each Bucs loss, the curiosity about how this offense would have looked under his control growing by the day.

It's as if a customized 1968 Pontiac Firebird tweaked by Tedford, for Tedford, now includes Arroyo behind the wheel. The pairing feels awkward. The results are nowhere near they must be.

There's a skill that comes with offensive playcalling, almost a sixth sense developed through confidence and familiarity with the system. Arroyo, though improved since Week 1, lacks the deft touch that Tedford likely would have shown with the same play sheet. The experiment was bound to slide off the rails before it began.

That's not an indictment of Arroyo, who was placed in an unfavorable position. That's a comment on how difficult it is to evolve when unforeseen obstacles arise.

A fresh start next year with someone else, with a different scheme, is needed.

"We are holding them to the same standard," Smith said of his offense. "Defensively, you're looking at what's happened since the bye (in Week 7). There was a period of time before that when things weren't like that. So we're holding all of our players to the same standard. It's just they're in two different places right now."

That gulf means missed opportunity.

The Bucs' defense, though maligned early, has made strides as Smith's scheme has become more familiar to personnel. Entering Sunday, Tampa Bay had morphed into one of the NFL's top defenses from Weeks 8-12, ranking fourth in yards allowed (302 per game), fifth in passing (201.2 ypg), 11th in scoring (19.2 points per game) and 14th in rushing (100.8 ypg) in the span. The improvement is promising.

That same group forced three Bengals turnovers. They did enough to win.

"Our defense played well," Bucs offensive tackle Oniel Cousins said. "We need to do better on offense. I start with myself and everybody else. But I felt like we got after it a little bit. But unfortunately, the results aren't what we wanted."

The urgency to correct the imbalance should be clear. It's unreasonable for Smith to expect his defense to score after securing an interception or a fumble. It's also unfair.

He made the reference to it Sunday after Johnthan Banks' first-quarter pick of Andy Dalton -- "Even there," Smith said, "we're talking about trying to get it in the end zone on defense." -- and the statement spoke to how much trust in the Bucs' offense has been lost.

Unfortunately for the coach, there's no end in sight to the puzzle on that side of the ball. The running game has struggled, the retooled line has disappointed, and even with Jackson and Evans as weapons, McCown and Glennon have failed to exploit the pair's talent enough.

The Bucs have many, many offensive holes.

The biggest one remains out of sight.

You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.

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