“Nothing Had To Be Said”
November 19th, 2017
Talks mood of huddle in final drive.
There was exactly three minutes left in the game. The score was tied 20-20.
The Bucs took over on their own 25-yard line. It was likely the final chance to win the game. Usually when a team is about to begin a do-or-die drive late in a game like this, someone says something significant in the huddle.
Not this time.
“Nothing had to be said,” Bucs tight end O.J. Howard said on the Buccaneers Radio Network after the game, as he described the huddle scene before that first snap of the drive. “It was already understood. Everybody just had to look in [each other’s] eyes in the huddle to start the drive off.”
Call it camaraderie, brotherhood, band of brothers, whatever. The Bucs knew, said Howard, they had to come together.
“We made some key throws and key catches,” Howard said of the drive. “I think it was grit. Everybody has been so focused.”
Joe notices folks are ripping Koetter on Twitter for — you will be shocked to know this — “playcalling!” See, Joe told you this would be shocking news.
But Koetter knows as well as anyone who his quarterback is. Some Bucs fans actually wanted Koetter to open up his offense. For Fitzpatrick, if you can imagine? Talk about playing with fire.
Hey, the Bucs won. On the road for the first time all year. With Fitzpatrick at quarterback and he didn’t throw an interception. Koetter knew when to open the spigot and when not to.
November 19th, 2017 at 5:40 pm
“Finger licking good “….
November 19th, 2017 at 5:40 pm
Yes, the Bucs WON! All is right in the world again…until the Bucs lose.
November 19th, 2017 at 5:41 pm
open up the offense, or just don’t call the same predictable run up the gut on 1st down with your sub-par o-line?
You know, the same underachieving o-line that gave up:
6 tackles in our backfield.
6 QB hits plus a sack.
6 drive killing, touchdown denying, offensive penalties.
November 19th, 2017 at 5:45 pm
But Koetter knows as well as anyone who his quarterback is. Some Bucs fans actually wanted Koetter to open up his offense. For Fitzpatrick if you can imagine? Talk about playing with fire.
Well lets see. The Bucs are 2-0 with Fitz and 2-6 with the “open” playbook and America’s Turnover Machine. Mmmm…. let’s see. Think I’ll stick with Fitz and the limited playbook.
November 19th, 2017 at 5:45 pm
The problem is playing not to lose which gives momentum to the other team and equals death in the NFL. Our problem is we can’t run the ball to ice games or control them even………..Some other team will USD a short passing games to act as a run game but Dirk won’t do that. Dirk doesn’t know how to adjust in this league which also equals death.
He has to adjust and not force feed his playbook. He’s not capable he’s not good enough.
November 19th, 2017 at 5:45 pm
The ‘We were done by Halloween’ Bucs have shown us something. They came together in the face of unbridled adversity. I’m buying my season tickets as we speak. It was the on field team celebration that won me over.
November 19th, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Only one issue with your “oh he knew who his QB was” argument Joe.
And that is that this has been going on long before FItz came in as the starter. The thing this offense was best at during the first 8 games was going 3 and out. Koetter has been coaching not to lose since the 2nd half of the bears game.
Koetter won this game in spite of himself. And if Miami hadn’t turned the ball over 5 times, this game would have been a slaughter.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:02 pm
You know Bucnut Interceptatrick has also been a big turnover machine himself. Fameis haters simply can’t help themselves with their buffoonery.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:06 pm
This team is horrible.
Every player over the age of 28 needs to go.
Many coaches to join in on the exodus.
Pathetic win or lose.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:15 pm
If they can beat the Falcons in their new 1.6 Billion dome. Then beat the Packers, Lions next. This team could be 7-6 with the Falcons,Panthers,Saints left. There’s a lot of football left to be played. The Fans need to quit this Gruden nonsense and get behind Dirk Koetter.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:19 pm
If you don’t see any problems with the play calling, you need to get your head out of the sand!
November 19th, 2017 at 6:26 pm
Oh but because Glennon turned the ball over and they beat the Bears The Loser was a genus. Shut up fools and enjoy the win.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:27 pm
Lakeland…..Dirk earned it when his team got outcoached several times and followed that by choking with the season, basically, on the line against the 2 division games.
He may get unbridled support by some but if he wants full fan support he will have to earn it back……..This team hasn’t beat anybody worth mentioning all year. We shall see the true colors of this team in their remaining division s hedule where there is better competition.
Based on our showing thus far I’ll tell you not to hold your breathe.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:32 pm
Agree Lakeland
We very well can get to playoffs haha. I believe we can. Just beat these cupcake teams and we are on our way
November 19th, 2017 at 6:44 pm
I avoid Twitter like the plague it usually is. If the tweets are complaining about Koetter hog-tying the offense, they’re right. We’ll know soon enough if Koetter is finally seeing the light!
November 19th, 2017 at 6:48 pm
Lamarcus,
There’s 6 teams ahead of the Bucs
In the Wildcard chase
Carolina Panthers 7-3
Seattle Seahawks 6-3
Detroit Lions 6-4
Dallas Cowboys 5-4
Atlanta Falcons 5-4
Green Bay Packers 5-5
The Eagles play the Cowboys tonight
The Seahawks play the Falcons Monday night
Green Bay play Minnesota Sunday
Carolina still has Minnesota,Atlanta,Saints,Packers,Bucs
The Bucs still has the Falcons (twice),Panthers, Saints,Packers, Lions
November 19th, 2017 at 6:52 pm
Yes we won a game we should have won. It wasn’t pretty but it was win! Stop the negativity posters! ‘Get a life! Enjoy the win and hate on something else we don’t have to read about!
November 19th, 2017 at 6:54 pm
There’s a whole lot of football left to be played.
November 19th, 2017 at 6:57 pm
So, with Fitz playing, Koetter is justified for his play calling? Sorry but I have to call BS on that. Fitz actually gets the ball into the hands of his receivers far more often than Winston. We would be 2-8 with Winston in my opinion due to his extreme inaccuracy. I realize some coaches think that way but I am not a fan of that. No guts no glory!
November 19th, 2017 at 7:05 pm
Rayjay1122,
I think Dirk Koetter conservative play calling has nothing to do with Fitz. I believe he’s been more conservative because the Bucs hasn’t been behind in these two games. But next week against Atlanta, we may see Koetter open up the offense.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:05 pm
OJ is always open
November 19th, 2017 at 7:06 pm
Cmon’, Joe….the playcalling in the 1st half between the 20s was good…..red zone was terrible….for some reason we always run on 1st down…..it wasn’t until the final drive of the game that Koetter laid off the run until we got into sure FG range.
4 TOs and 17 penalties and we had to rely on a last-second game winning FG….we should have blown the doors off Miami….\
And, yes I’m calling out the playcalling.
And, yes the penalties were unfortunate…..there was a holding on Smith & Dotson that were not holding….there were some bad calls on Miami also.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:07 pm
I know Miami once led 7-3, but I’m talking 2 scores behind.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:08 pm
30-8 Patriots and guess what??? Their offense is still being aggressive. Not trying to insinuate that the Bucs and Patriots are on the same level especially at QB but it is just the coaching style to stay aggressive versus going into conservative mode is way better.
Koetter- ” I want a badass football team”.
Then be a badass coach instead of a wussy.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:13 pm
You can’t really fault Dirk Koetter for coaching scared. For the past 2 weeks all we see on television,internet, newspapers.
Jon Gruden will be the Bucs next coach
Dirk Koetter is out
And not once has the Glazers or Jason Licht gave him vote of confidence
Bill Belichick don’t go through this
He can do whatever he want to do
November 19th, 2017 at 7:16 pm
I like what Dirk Koetter is doing. It aint pretty but it’s saving him his job. They’re still in playoff contention. Even with all of the negativity that he had to endure. Dirk has done an amazing job the past 2 weeks.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:23 pm
He can save his job with 4 more wins – the d looked jeckyl and Hyde all game
Great play then bad play
The play calling wasn’t as bad as usual Fitz missed a lot of open receivers
We have no run game wit Doug or anyone else and its gonna be our ultimate demise this year
Still see a 6-10 finish
November 19th, 2017 at 7:25 pm
Just not sure why Koetter is giving Doug Martin so many touches, he is completely unproductive and should be benched. Every play he gets is one less times Godwin, Howard, Jackson or Evans doesn’t get the ball.
Godwin is a beast who makes this team unstoppable except when Koetter is ruining a good offense by running plays that don’t work.
How about game planning to get the ball to the future stars, OJ Howard and Chris Godwin instead of a used up Martin.
Kwon, McCoy and David balled out there today. T
November 19th, 2017 at 7:26 pm
Seems to me that Dirk doesn’t know his own team…….He was trying to ice the game, fine. But he should know by now that we can’t run the ball. Why would he call all those vanilla second half run plays when that’s what the Dolphins were expecting?
That’s just not knowing your team and having no ability to adjust.
Just put yourself in Dirks shoes…….If you had a second half lead would you think this Bucs team has the ability to run the clock out? There’s only one answer to that question if you follow this team.
It was a garbage approach to the second half and is a losing approach. But let the statistics tell the story…….We had one freaking first down for nearly the entire 2nd half……….You can spin that however you want but you cannot say that it worked.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:29 pm
tank season, hire gruden, draft baker mayfield
November 19th, 2017 at 7:29 pm
Not much talk about ME13……would be GREAT trade bait during the draft
November 19th, 2017 at 7:31 pm
@Kyle,doubt that would happen but im for it…..or at least a 2nd or 3rd on a youngster who has potential….like eric dungey
November 19th, 2017 at 7:45 pm
I am happy with some of our younger players……Howard….Ryan Smith, Justin Evans….
Yes…..we gave up some passing yardage….we pressured Cutler and it worked….somehow we gave Moore way too much time and he burnt us often…..I’m not blaming our Dbacks when the opposing QB has all day…..
You would think on third and long we could get some pressure on the QB but we don’t.
November 19th, 2017 at 7:53 pm
Not this Baker Mayfield
Police in Fayetteville, Ark., arrested the 2016 Heisman Trophy finalist in the early hours of Feb. 25. Video from the Fayetteville Police Department shows that Mayfield walked, then tried to run away before being tackled by an officer following an altercation. Mayfield was charged with disorderly conduct, public intoxication and resisting arrest .
Mayfield was seen on the sideline potentially yelling “F— you” at Kansas defenders and grabbing his groin area to put a little bit of emphasis on his words.
I certainly hope not
November 19th, 2017 at 8:08 pm
The Joe’s striking again. So classic of you 2
Subtle jabs at fitz. The offense going into hibernation in 3rd quarter Has a limited playbook cause fitz is so limited.
Get over it. How has the offense looked any differently under Jameis. He has gone into hibernation for entire games. scoring 3 pts and 3 Pts. Is Jameis more talented. Of course. But he is losing on and off the team
How bout supporting the team and giving backhanded compliments cause you only do that for one player on the team
November 19th, 2017 at 8:09 pm
Off the field
November 19th, 2017 at 8:09 pm
I’ve had enough spoiled prima donna athletes. No Mayfield for me!!!
There is more than one way to effectively run the football…either direct handoffs to the RB or very short easily completed passes for a five yard pickup.
All we are saying is we’ve seen ENOUGH of Doug Martin between the tackles especially when the other team expects it. Koetter does not seem to be able to adjust to the talent he has. Our RB’s are mediocre at best and it appears our OL is not a lot better…so instead of always handing off just toss it a few yards with low risk high % completions.
Koetter is not stoopid…he has a long history in the league…but he’s got to stop playing scared. And if he wants to win he’s got to realize that his offense can’t EVER get off the field on 3rd down…even 3rd and 14’s. He sometimes seems to be calling the second half like he had that vaunted 2004 defense…we DON’T…not even close! It’s stoopid to believe let’s just run some clock because our D will hold them…NO they won’t. Did they hold Buffalo when we had a seven point lead? Did they hold the Dolphins today when we had that 4th quarter lead…why no…they gave up a freaking 3rd and 10 for not only a conversion but a TD bomb to tie the game.
I just find it retarded to play offense like this defense can hold a lead. I’m only half kidding here…if Miami had been smart they would have taken a personal foul penalty on 4th down so they had a 4th and 15….VERY manageable against this horrid Buc’s defense and instead had 4th and 1. Do we really think we could have stopped the Dolphins with 4th and long….how many times did we stop them today when they had at least ten yards required to gain a first down.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:12 pm
I would love to see this stat:
Yardage running on 1st & 10
Yardage throwing on 1st & 10 (including incomplete)
This stat will speak volumes……run it for the last 2 years. Please, someone who has the time and ability…..run this stat.
The folks that believe we should run to establish the pass fit the definition of insanity….and that includes Koetter.
We do not have a run-blocking line….it blocks for none of our runners….that’s why we don’t change to Barber or Rodgers.
Other than Marpet….we don’t have anyone on our Oline that would start for another team…..and Marpet wouldn’t start at center.
Koetter’s playcalling & gameplans have handcuffed Jameis, Fitz and our offense. We scored today off of turnovers.
With the passing weapons we have, this is criminal.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:19 pm
Wins are all that matter to some posers…until we win. Then its something else. We can only win (or lose) one game at a time. Enjoy this one or root for any other team. Get gone. Go Bucs!
November 19th, 2017 at 8:19 pm
Boom Bucs win and I was there just like last week! The best thing about this game was the good people I was around! Respect your folks people! Go Bucs! Irish 🍀!
November 19th, 2017 at 8:37 pm
All I know is that Dirks offense was much more effective and consistent and more well rounded in 2015.
Did he suddenly forget how to call plays? Probably not…….The difference is that he didn’t write the game plans for those games. He doesn’t know how to come up with an effective game plan and he darn sure doesn’t know how to adjust within games. He’s just not a good HC IMO.
Joe is keeping a running tally on how many games it has been since we rushed for 100 yards………It’s at 21(Martin) but I think Quiz had one or two 100 yards games along the way.
In 2015 we were a great rushing team and since Dirk has taken over our rush had been basically flushed down the toilet. Game planning is obvisously part of this in my opinion along with personall and front office decision making…………….You look at what we have invested on our Oline and you see the fact that the Glazers let them spend a lot of money in free agency and there is no excuse for this team going backward…..especially on offense. They built this team to win with offense and were given plenty of time and lot of resources and there are no result…….The writing is on the wall, these guys don’t know how to built a team and they are colloisal failure.
If our front office was ever going to get it done this team would have showed up a month ago. This team is headed backwards. Maybe they get another year but this doesn’t look like anything close to a football team, I see no chance this team shows different form under this regime…..If they had it in them it would have shown up in the last two seasons as expected.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:44 pm
Thank you ‘Ken Says” for mentioning Godwin who, I agree, is the diamond they hide out living rough. Martin really past his sell by date or is offensive line uninspired when his number is called. Whatever. doubt anyone would blast Koetter if he did something imaginative with the playing roster. Notice difference in Fitzy with the trimmed beard. Hmmm maybe shave off all the scraggly leftovers and let’r rip to Godwin and co.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:47 pm
I’m tired and 87 is right
Keep going To games then brother. Need all the luck we can get with this schizophrenic team.
November 19th, 2017 at 8:53 pm
Hey Tampabaybucfan, I’m your stats guy. Since the start of the 2016 season and through today’s game, the Bucs have averaged 3.58 yards per rush on 1st and 10 (29th in NFL), compared to 7.34 yards per pass play (13th in NFL). Pass plays include incompletions and sacks.
The ranks here are more important than the averages …. NFL-wide averages on 1st and 10 over this span are 4.23 (rush) and 7.09 (pass).
There is a similar dichotomy for the Bucs for ALL plays (not just 1st and 10), FWIW — among the worst in NFL in rushing average, top half in yards per pass play.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:04 pm
@Buc2015
Thank you so very much…as I expected, we are underperforming on the run and overperforming on the pass.
It sure seems to me that we get stuffed more often than not.
I am of the opinion that this hasn’t been a good run-blocking line since Mankins left.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:10 pm
Tampabaybucfan,
Go to this site to get all of the stats
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/
November 19th, 2017 at 9:25 pm
@LakeLand
Be perfectly honest, knowing that we have only one against teams with a losing record, how can you honestly say to yourself that you think that we could still make the play offs?
November 19th, 2017 at 9:26 pm
Especially considering our last 2 wins were against schlock at QB, and we didn’t exactly win either game in commanding fashion.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:27 pm
@LakeLand
Thanks…. .this site will probably cause great angst for my wife….I’ll be spending some time there.
I’m not one of those stats are for losers guys.
November 19th, 2017 at 9:44 pm
Sometimes a young team will take some steps backwards before getting good. The raiders looked primed this year. Heck Bortles and the jags are legit after long struggles.
Stay the course. Looks like Our GM hit on some picks this year. Howard for sure.
Is it good football? Hardly but give it time to gel.
November 19th, 2017 at 10:24 pm
We have beat the Jets and Dolphins for Pete’s sake. Let’s see what happens in Atlanta next week against a quality NFL Team. Still think our Secondary is weak with All Pro Ward and Rookie Evans. The only real football player is Grimes at Corner. Beat Matty Ryan has a field day next Sunday!!!
November 19th, 2017 at 10:34 pm
Perfectly summed up Joe!
November 19th, 2017 at 11:40 pm
Seasonisover must suck to have no joy in life
November 19th, 2017 at 11:44 pm
Lakeland oh now we have to get behind Koetter after all year you being patheticly down. The offense is bad and much worse with jameis. Too bad jameis didn’t run into the jets or dolphins. The defense is playing better. They did nothing with jameis in there and no it has nothing to do with playing for Fitz. I’m from New York and saw what buying into fitzpatrint can do to a fan base
November 20th, 2017 at 6:51 am
One difference I see between Winston and Fitz is that Jameis can squeeze the ball into tight windows to Marpet and Evans with zip, throws that Fitz couldn’t make when he was 24 years old.
Yet the easy throws where Fitz can lob a ball over a defender or he can throw a short one to a back, these are basic throws that Winston will often miss. Then you have the constant overthrows by Winston that are are plain ugly.
Fitzpatrick isn’t an answer here but with the receivers the Bucs have all they need is the quarterback to get the ball to the receivers where they can make a play.
We’ll see what happens but if I’m the Bucs I bring in competition for Winston next year, with Godwin, Howard, Jackson and Evans there is no way in hell that you should have an offense averaging less than 20 points a game. Its criminal and you have to blame Kotter.
You think Zack Prescott wouldn’t love to have those guys to throw to instead of what the Cowboys have.
November 20th, 2017 at 6:56 am
Your right…
Lets just do 1st down Run for negative yardage, 2nd down Run, and a forced 3rd and long pass or better yet a screen every drive until Koetter has no option to let loose every game.
Brilliant play calling. ahahaha