The Todd Monken Influence
July 26th, 2016
Work to do.
So when Dirk Koetter was named head coach, he reached down to the college ranks to pick an offensive coordinator, choosing highly successful Todd Monken to be his right-hand man.
It seems Monken was given one major order from Koetter: fix the chemistry between America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, and gifted but erratic receiver Mike Evans. But to read a Bucs season preview by Conor Orr of NFL.com, Monken has more than just one repair project.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins wasn’t the only player toward the bottom of Football Outsiders’ catch list. Mike Evans, the team’s 2014 first-round pick, also struggled last year despite putting up 1,206 yards on 75 catches. Evans was targeted a staggering 148 times, meaning that Winston could only expect a catch one out of every two times he threw Evans the ball. His talent level is out of this world and his production should be in line with the rest of that stellar wide receiver class. Monken, who is also serving as the team’s offensive coordinator, will be sure to put his stamp on the team’s biggest weapon.
It’s no stretch to suggest if Evans was more adept at catching the ball last year, not only would Todd Monken not be here but Lovie Smith would still be running the Bucs. Depending on your point of view, either Evans helped move the franchise forward with his K-Y fingers or he helped sink a coach’s career.
Joe thinks Orr is on to something in that if the offense hums and receivers (and tight ends) catch more balls placed in their hands, Monken will get much of the credit.
It is sort of sad that the Bucs’ first two 2014 draft picks were among the NFL dregs when it came to catch rates last year.
July 26th, 2016 at 9:42 am
Evans will be fine. I just dont believe ASJ will rebound you cant fix stupid. If ASJ only issue was injuries i would have more patience with him but his mental make up gives me no reason to believe in him.
July 26th, 2016 at 9:45 am
I have a feeling Roddy White will be wearing Pewter and Red in the next couple days
July 26th, 2016 at 9:51 am
Back from a long much needed vacations. Hope All is Well.
Joe’s – Congratulations on picking up the Veteran Hall of Famer (Free Agent)#PowerMove
July 26th, 2016 at 9:57 am
I am curious what, if anything Kenny Bell will do. Before he came here to Tampa, he lit it up in College. It is a sobering thought to realize that Carolina will have their big receiver back this year.
July 26th, 2016 at 10:02 am
I think Big Mike steps up in a BIG way this year.
July 26th, 2016 at 10:04 am
@SB
I think Roddy gets signed but after week one. Veteran salaries aren’t guaranteed if they aren’t on the roster for week one I believe. His familiarity with Koetter would allow him to miss camp and still be a good player quickly.
July 26th, 2016 at 10:17 am
Does anyone know the Bucs Pre-sale offer code?
July 26th, 2016 at 10:30 am
Practice, practice, practice. Those two need to catch 150-200 balls every day for a while. And never catch less than 75 or so during the season every day.
July 26th, 2016 at 10:32 am
Thank you!
July 26th, 2016 at 10:37 am
Wish all the other 31 teams would use useless catch rate to evaluate receivers.
Bad throws,INT’s and even the Zebra’s can affect this stat,a penalty, if accepted on a receiver will go against the receiver’s catch rate.We could use the proven
method of evaluating tape and have only the best available to us.
July 26th, 2016 at 10:38 am
as long as his hammy’s are good to go the chemistry should be fine…his reps were limited last year due to injury….GO BUCS!!!!
July 26th, 2016 at 10:41 am
Maybe Mike knew what he was doing with his dreadful catch rate last year 😉 Had Lovie stayed it would have set this franchise back even more years.
July 26th, 2016 at 10:54 am
Brian, I agree completely. It would have just prolonged the Bucs having any chance at real success
July 26th, 2016 at 10:56 am
“Evans was targeted a staggering 148 times, meaning that Winston could only expect a catch one out of every two times he threw Evans the ball.”
If ME13 had 75 catches and roughly 15 drops, that’s 90 he’s responsible for… who’should responsible forthe other 58 missed targets?
July 26th, 2016 at 11:28 am
@Bucco DAV
yes Joe should also credit his rookie QB for Lovie’s demise.He is the other half of the tandem.But that would be silly because they are unquestionably,two of the four or five best skill players on the team.
July 26th, 2016 at 11:36 am
Evans is a top 5 WR if he catches those passes. He’s a monster either way, but just imagine if he improves!
ASJ? We’ll see.
July 26th, 2016 at 11:55 am
so if 39% of Jameis’s passes failed to reach Evans,that is also a serious problem.A repost of Feel the power’s link follows.
IT is a really good analysis of some of things Jameis can work on and fix in the coming years.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/film-room/2016/film-room-jameis-winston
July 26th, 2016 at 11:57 am
also forgot to mention video attached to above link to back up his analysis.
July 26th, 2016 at 1:25 pm
Tennessee ready killed Lovie!!!! My dad called for his head at halftime
July 26th, 2016 at 2:03 pm
Tmax
I’m getting nervous! LOL Don’t know if it’s the world’s freshest most revitalizing air I’m breathing up here on Lake Superior or what but I’ve agreed with your posts the past two days!
I’m with you on ASJ. It’s his head that concerns me as well.
July 26th, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Exactly! Tell me again about how great Jason Licht’s drafts have been. They’re starting to look as bad as his Free Agent signings.
July 26th, 2016 at 5:04 pm
I think the most important thing when evaluating drafts is to see if thier talent transcends to the NFL.
The worst way to screw up a draft is to get players who cant hack it in this league…… getting the talent is half the battle. If they have the talent and dont work i wouldnt point a finger at the GM(generally speaking).
Evans and ASJ both have proven to have enough talent to play in the league. Good picks IMO, along with a few others from that draft class.
July 26th, 2016 at 5:06 pm
jameis growth has been great.that said ,his accuracy needs to improve and the video link above proves it.The only constant between our three 50 -52 %
catch rate receivers is jameis. So he is partly responsible for poor catch rates.
Jameis needs to do his part and improve his completion percentage from under 59 % to 64 or 65 % to help his receivers.Once he does that catch rates won’t be an issue.
July 26th, 2016 at 6:04 pm
Jamies did have some poor hands to work with last year. Evans had a lot of drops and so did V-Jax and Jenkins. Dye got in and muffed a few along with our other #3s.
Humphries is touted to have good hands but even he had a bad drop or two. We need Humphries to be that go to guy or somebody else to step up and do it.