How Will Dirk Koetter Protect Jameis?
January 25th, 2016
Dirk Koetter was hired as Tampa Bay head coach, in part, because Team Glazer wisely knows its Buccaneers are (for now) all about the development of America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, aka America’s Punching Bag.
No quarterback 72 inches or shorter took more shots than America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, this season, according to official NFL data.
Jameis absorbed 109 “quarterback hits’ during the regular season. He was beaten up soundly. (He was even lucky to make it out of preseason in one piece). Only Russell Wilson endured more, and it’s a safe bet Wilson avoided direct shots a lot better than the bigger and less agile and experienced Jameis.
That has to be addressed by Koetter and weaved into the whole offensive approach — and Jameis’ mindset. Jameis simply can’t get pounded every year, especially with a great running game and That will catch up to him.
Blake Bortles, as a rookie in 2014, took a beating similar to the one Jameis endured. But in 2015, Bortles and Jags offensive coordinator Greg Olson (the former Tampa Bay Benn’d Around guru) figured out how to cut Bortles’ hits down to 89. And he played every snap and attempted a whopping 606 passes en route to a big statistical season. That was 71 more throws than Jameis had.
So how does Koetter get this done through quality coaching? Joe can’t wait to see the approach, from technique adjustments to playcalling.
Bortles is a popular in-season guest on SiriusXM NFL Radio, and he talked about how much smarter he was on the field as a second-year player versus being a wide-eyed rookie. He referenced that it saved him plenty of shots.
Jameis was hardly a deer-in-the-headlights rookie, but he was a 21-year-old dealing with a significant learning curve. If Jameis simply enjoys a natural, progressive maturity, then Bucs fans should be doing a lot of dancing in the streets this fall. Hopefully, Koetter and his new offensive coordinator rapidly will accelerate the process.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:50 am
Protection should improve naturally through the maturation of the young lineman, a balanced offense, and Jameis maturation as well. Adding some RELIABLE targets will help.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:51 am
Koetter already put Dotson back at RT which should be a huge improvement over cherilus and if marpet stays healthy we should be good. Hopefully we can find another diamond in the rough to compete for Mankins job and we’re good.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:51 am
#1, jameis needs to do a better job of protecting jameis. He is reckless, (a good and bad thing) im sure as he goes on in his career he will make wiser decisions. Im not worried about it at all. There arent much changes koetter needs to make to protect jameis. Natural progression of both jameis and the o line will do most of the work for him.
I would love to see the bucs screen game evolve more next season. I dont think we used screens enough last season. It will help ease up some of the pass rush and get the ball out of winstons hand quick.
January 25th, 2016 at 12:10 pm
I agree with Trubucfan22, Jameis run against the Falcons is a perfect example.
If he wants to use his physical abilities, he has to learn how and when.
The same with the passing game, he has to learn when to throw the ball away to avoid a hit.
January 25th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
He has to make quicker decisions and work on his mechanics to avoid a few hits as well. Very curious to see how Jameis develops going into year 2
January 25th, 2016 at 12:22 pm
wow a week ago we were reading how the O line did so well in sacks allowed but now we see they gave up 109 quarterback hits? Which is it – a good or bad O line?
January 25th, 2016 at 12:38 pm
#1 priority, protect Jameis
#2 priority, pass rush
#3 priority, WR catching balls
#4 priority, pass coverage
#5 priority, Super Bowl
January 25th, 2016 at 12:39 pm
jameis will do his part by working on his recognition. for the rest of the roster….
step 1 -resign doug martin
step 2 – keep looking for athletic young players at OL
step 3 – add speed at WR to make blitzing riskier for defenses
January 25th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
#1 sign Martin!
Keep the running game going to keep the defense honest.
Without a running game Winston will be in a body bag by November…
January 25th, 2016 at 12:43 pm
That’s a touchdown for pick 6!
January 25th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
If I heard correctly, Tom Brady (yes, he of the hall of fame career and the great offensive live and quick release) was hit 21 times yesterday. That is 20% of Jameis total for the ENTIRE season. Guess it can happen to anybody!
January 25th, 2016 at 1:22 pm
Look I haven’t posted since the firing of Lovie Smith but I must say Koetter has made some outstanding hires and coaching decisions. Monken is huge im from Hattiesburg so I’ve seen his work first hand at USM.I think he will clean up a lot of drops out of Mike Evans and also turn guys like Humphries into nice studs as well. I also feel good that Bajakian is staying as well to further his development with Winston. I dont know if we still Warhop coaching the line but I know we still have to do some improving. I would like to see if we can go after a veteran Center on the line. Its the one position that we need to improve the most on offense as well. Overall there are many pieces in place up front and we have a pro bowler in Mankins up there. I think the new and fresh coaching philosophy will pull the best out of Winston’s decision making because the plays wont be basic or simple and the techniwue of many positions will improve.
January 25th, 2016 at 1:41 pm
We need to design and use quick slants more often……nearly all other teams used the quick drop against us…..it seems most of our passes were downfield or out routes….some over the middle, but they all took some time to develop.
Also, we need to use the FB screen more often…..
Lane ran the ball only once and caught 2 passes……ALL YEAR!
January 25th, 2016 at 1:56 pm
Our line was much improved last year but we still have a long way to go… The rookies must continue to develop and improve and we need a real right tackle…
January 25th, 2016 at 2:04 pm
I think we need to
1# get Doug locked up
2# Jameis & mike need to work a lot together, I want mike & Jamies to get to where they throw in the dark
3# free agency fix the pass rush and the secondary will come that’s how Carolina beat teams not with there secondary but there pressure
4# keep ASJ healthy
5# beat the panthers that’s who we need to beat to get to the playoffs
6# super bowl
January 25th, 2016 at 6:37 pm
arry Says:
January 25th, 2016 at 12:22 pm
wow a week ago we were reading how the O line did so well in sacks allowed but now we see they gave up 109 quarterback hits? Which is it – a good or bad O line?
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Exactly. The o line gets credit for doug martin having a great season, even though martin averaged over 3 yard per rush AFTER CONTACT. That means martin got 3 yard per carry by himself. The line got him 1.9.
They get credit for winston only taking xx sacks. But he was hit and pressured more times than anyone can count. If you look at any qb in the league (even tom brady) if you get pressure on them they will not throw well. He might not take 100 sacks but mere pressure has a big impact on qb production.
Regardless of what the joes try to sell. Our o line was decent, but not as great as he says. I agree they might not be 24th best but certainly middle of the road, with a lot of room to improve.
January 25th, 2016 at 8:12 pm
Not sure how to get JW to reign in the reckless abandon, it’s part of what people expect from a QB like him. It’s brought Cam Newton fame & fortune (see: the head-first dive for a TD in the NFC championship game, then landing on the back of his neck, or the stiff arm for a 1st down). Fans love it. Who didn’t love JW’s ATL run to daylight?
He definitely needs to pick his spots to be reckless carefully.
I also wouldn’t count on the OL getting a whole lot better next season. Hopefully, Koetter can get the running game going with consistency, and polish up the quick passing game…give JW a lot of work on 3- & 5-step drops to help open up those long passes when JW needs more than 4 seconds in the pocket.
January 25th, 2016 at 8:38 pm
when you have running back like sims with good receiving skills. he should be getting more screen passes and wheel routes. As for our line they made holes
to get to the next level. that didn’t happen last year. interesting I heard that Warhop will be the run blocking coach which is the strength of our line. I wonder who will be in charge of pass blocking.
Much more talent on the coaching staff.
January 26th, 2016 at 12:20 am
Hopefully Ronnie Stanley falls to us at #9. If not I personally think Jack Conklin will shoot up the boards once the combine and individual workouts start. He would be a great 2nd option.
If for some reason both guys were gone. I would draft A’Shawn Robinson. The 2nd best way to help your QB is to help your D stay off the field. He is as beast mode as one can get inside the trenches. Him and McCoy would be an unstoppable force, allowing our DEs more pressure on the QB and our secondary will have to cover WRs for less time.
Draft a QB like Kevin Hogan or Nate Sudfeld from Indiana. Both would be good projects to build on. And both could be had in the last couple of rounds in the draft. That would also allow us to finally trade Mike Glennon. He is heading into his last season under contract and more so deserves it for his professionalism throughout his career here. We could get around a 3rd-4th for him I think. I would do that. I mean we got Kwon Alexander in the 4th last year. Albeit hard to do over and over but you never know. I would much rather have to chance to get another Kwon, instead of letting Glennon rot on the bench and lose him for nothing next off season.
I would also look into signing a veteran QB like TJ Yates or Matt Cassel to help teach the young QBs more about being a pro.