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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been far from efficient on offense this season, and one of the reasons behind their lackluster production on this side of the ball has centered on their sluggish ground game.
The Buccaneers head into their Week 5 home matchup against the Atlanta Falcons ranking at 31st in rushing yards per game with a 65.3 average. The reigning NFC South champions have run the ball on 33.9 percent of snaps on offense this season, and when offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has called on Leonard Fournette or Rachaad White for pivotal rush attempts, they each have struggled to muster up much on the ground.
In the big picture, Tom Brady, as he touched on during a press conference ahead of Week 5, believes that it is crucial to get the run game going in order to help make the Buccaneers a multidimensional offense.
“I think you've always got to try to stay balanced over the course of the season,” Brady said. “A few games we've done a better job. We've just been getting behind quite a bit and it's been frustrating that we haven't performed very well early in order to keep us more two-dimensional.
“When you're one-dimensional, it's tough. I think we — even last year — you kind of fall back to the pass game because you know we're successful with it. But at the same time, you've got to play with the lead and you've got to keep the other team playing both. We're going to try to work at all those things to make us a better football team, for sure.”
The Buccaneers are set to meet a Falcons defense in Week 5 that has allowed a 126.2 rushing yards per game average this year. Still, Brady sees that Atlanta is not a team that the Buccaneers should take for granted.
“They're good,” Brady said. “I think they have a good scheme and I think they're very athletic. They're physical and they play well together. They're well-coached. I think their offense does a good job with their defense, good complementary football.”
Tampa Bay is looking to maintain its first place standing in the NFC South in Week 5.
