TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter said their goal this season was to go "60 percent in the red zone." Through three preseason games, the Bucs are 2-of-7 (28.5 percent) in the red zone, with only one of those touchdowns coming with the first-team offense on the field.
Yes, the Bucs were without Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson Saturday night against the Cleveland Browns, and Adam Humphries left in the second quarter with a hip injury. They were also without starting right tackle Demar Dotson and starting left guard Kevin Pamphile. Even so, the lack of scoring this preseason is a big concern.
Jameis Winston had opportunities to connect with Evans in the first two preseason games. On Saturday night, Winston also had two opportunities to hit Cameron Brate -- one of his lone healthy weapons -- and the two missed.
"That was just a bad throw to Cam," Winston said of Jabrill Peppers' pick, which came on the opening drive. "We were open. We had two guys open there, and I've just got to be precise."
Winston almost had Donteea Dye Jr. on a pass in the corner of the end zone, but it was ruled incomplete.
Winston and Brate stay after practice every day for at least 30 minutes to work on passes in the red zone. They've done that for a long time. The fruits of that labor came to fruition last year when the two connected for eight touchdowns, tied for most in the league among tight ends and matching Jimmie Giles' franchise record.
Winston also threw 12 touchdown passes to Evans last year, tied for second-most in the league. Even with Evans sitting for the third preseason game, there's no reason the two couldn't connect in the end zone in Cincinnati or in Jacksonville.
"We've just got to quit shooting ourselves in the foot and just get over that hump," Winston said. "But man, it looks good, it feels good out there. We're doing some great things. We're not getting shut out. It's not like we are having three-and-outs, by any chance. We are hurting ourselves."
They've moved the ball well. In fact, the Bucs have averaged 346 yards per game on offense this preseason -- eighth-most in the league. But they're averaging just 12 points a game -- 28th in the league.
In 2015, Koetter's first year as offensive coordinator, the Bucs ran into that same problem. They posted the fifth-most offensive yardage in the league that year (376 yards per game) but were 20th in the league in scoring, averaging 21.4 points per game.
Is Koetter concerned?
"It's going to concern me if it happens Sept. 10," Koetter said. "But tonight, it is what it is."
When asked what he saw on the field Saturday night, he gave just a one-word response, and it painted a bleak picture.
"Blah."