Coen and Tampa Bay

[gamecockcat]

Can someone explain to me why Baker Mayfield this year is completing >40% of his throws to TEs and RBs and we didn't do that when he was here? We did throw to Davis quite a bit but almost never to TEs. He definitely looks in his element in the NFL - no hard feelings from me. But, we threw to the WRs with a lot more frequency from what I recall than we ever did to the TEs and RBs. And, many times, the WRs would be covered and/or would drop the pass right in their hands.

 

[PopesReignOverCardinals]

Can someone explain to me why Baker Mayfield this year is completing >40% of his throws to TEs and RBs and we didn't do that when he was here? We did throw to Davis quite a bit but almost never to TEs. He definitely looks in his element in the NFL - no hard feelings from me. But, we threw to the WRs with a lot more frequency from what I recall than we ever did to the TEs and RBs. And, many times, the WRs would be covered and/or would drop the pass right in their hands.

Last year under Coen (2023), 37.4% of completions were to RB/TEs. We distributed the ball among 3 good receivers in Brown, Key, and Robinson too.

Tampa Bay leans heavily on only two receivers in Godwin and Evans, and they have both been hurt. They have to lean in on the RB/TEs more now out of necessity. Baker Mayfield is also a pretty savvy QB with an exceptional TE in Cade Otton, and two running backs with good hands.

Maybe Coen learned from the 2021 season and tried to increase targets elsewhere, but Chris Rodriguez's pass catching ability did not help the stats much that year. Levis could have thrown to TEs more, but it might have cut into his desire to scramble and make a big play on his own. We still finished 9-3, and we'll never know what Coen would have done differently over a larger body of work.