Bruce Arians Explains How He Plans To Use Rob Gronkowski In Buccaneers Offense
BOSTON (CBS) -- In case you hadn't noticed, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are loaded -- L-O-A-D-E-D -- with offensive talent for Tom Brady to utilize. A team that already had Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate added Tom Brady and then picked up Rob Gronkowski for good measure.
It might be too much talent, which is a great "problem" for an offensive mind like Bruce Arians to have.
The Bucs head coach spoke to reporters on Thursday, laying out what he envisions to be his base offense: one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers, more commonly known as 12 personnel.
That type of flexibility allows Arians to utilize his two elite receivers while also utilizing the unique skill sets of two members of the Howard/Brate/Gronkowski trio at any given time. The abundance of talent will also lead to opportunities for creativity.
"Each week is finding out the best matchups," Arians explained. "I love 13 [personnel], I love three tight ends out there. We have a package where if you don't know how to stop it, it can hurt you. I'd like to see use some more four wide receiver sets if those guys show up. Because if you have a very good fourth wide receiver, there are very few fourth good corners and nickels and dimes to come get 'em."
With Jameis Winston at QB last year with his 30 interceptions, the Bucs still managed to rank third in the NFL in offense. With Brady now under center, the expected drop in turnovers is significant, which should lead to a much more potent offense.
"That was an area I didn't think ... we couldn't do much last year," Arians said. "I think we can get better at utilizing all our personnel groups. The 11 is kind of the standard in the league now, but I'm really anxious to see the third, fourth, fifth receivers to fight it out for that spot. But I know 12's gonna be a hell of a ... 12 personnel, we got. We got that for sure."
Football was just one topic for Arians on Thursday though, and it was the more minor one. The 67-year-old spoke about the state of the country, where protests continue to take place in the wake of the George Floyd murder by a Minneapolis police officer.
Arians urged Americans to continue pushing for righteous causes, even after this surge of protests calms down.
"It's one thing to march and protest, but it's another thing to take action," Arians said. "When the protesting's over, I would urge everybody to take action, do something positive to help the situation."
