After losing three straight games following their big win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are desperately looking to get back into their winning ways before heading to the bye in Week 11.
On paper, the idea makes all the sense in the world, as they are still very much in the NFC South playoff hunt, and no one wants to spend an extra week talking about four-straight losses, but to get that done, the Bucs have to take down the San Francisco 49ers, who aren't quite as good as they used to be but are still a scary foe all the same.
Discussing the challenge presented to them in Week 10, Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen noted the challenge of having to slow down Nick Bosa coming off the edge, who gave him fits back in 2022 when he was the Los Angeles Rams' offensive coordinator.
“That was the year we had about 15 different offensive line [combinations], and you know, I don't even know some of the guys that were playing, their names. But absolutely, I completely understand what you're saying,” Coen told reporters.
“[He is a] beast – I mean, he's just a beast. Relentless, you know? Relentless in his effort, relentless in his rush, relentless in his ability to chase screens down, balls down. There's not one of these guys on this field that does not run to the football. They are running to the football every single play. So, if we're going to match that, if we're going to play at that level and higher, we need to play through the echo of the whistle every single snap and toe the line – toe the line between playing at the whistle and through the whistle.”
During his lone season as the Rams' offensive coordinator in 2022, Coen actually faced off against Bosa twice, with the 49ers All-Pro amassing 3.5 sacks, eight QB hits, and three tackles for a loss for his efforts. While some of that might come down to the linemen on the field for the Rams at the time, with seven different players, Brian Allen, Bobby Evans, Rob Havenstein, Alaric Jackson, Oday Aboushi, Coleman Shelton, and Joseph Noteboom, starting over the two games, Bosa has given pretty much every NFL team fits, including the Buccaneers, even if he has respect for their offensive line.
Liam Coen is proud that Nick Bosa respects the Buccaneers' O-line
Asked about Bosa's comments calling the Buccaneers' offense the best he will see in 2024, Coen took it as a compliment, celebrating his guys for producing in the trenches while keeping the offense moving smoothly.
“I have been proud of the way these guys have played. It hasn't come up a ton, right? And it was kind of a funky game the other night where, like, we wanted to run it more, but we either drove it and scored or we were, like, three and out. Or we had, like, really quick drives. And then you look at the hold before the half on the [quarterback] draw that knocks us out of field goal range – that's three points,” Cown told reporters.
“We have an eight-yard run going in the red zone, and Tristan [Wirfs] gets the facemask call, which, you know, hey, it is what it is. But those are opportunities for us to continue to run. Now, we're in known passing situations. I've got to do a better job of maybe getting some runs off in some different windows to help us, but yeah, I've been proud of the way they've been playing.”
While PFF doesn't necessarily agree with either Coen or Bosa's assertion, as other than Tristan Wirfs, who ranks 8th among offensive tackles, and Cody Mauch, who ranks 33rd among guards, the trio of Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton, and Luke Goedeke all rank in the bottom third of their respective positions. Still, when you receive a compliment, especially from one of the top defensive linemen in the NFL, why not take it, right? Especially when it makes your players feel better along the way?
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