Yes He Can, Coach
January 6th, 2018
Get it higher on the play sheet, Coach.
There are a lot of things that stick in Joe’s craw about your 5-11 Buccaneers.
Joe hopes one of them no longer exists following Sunday’s dismantling of the NFC South champion Saints.
Dirk Koetter has this odd aversion to the tried and true play known as the quarterback sneak. He doesn’t like it, not for America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston.
When asked about it, Koetter has said he prefers the ball in the hands of the professional runners. Well, Joe thought Koetter might have softened his stance on the sneak after he called one for Ryan Fitzpatrick in Miami. Whaddya know. It worked!
But then came the following Sunday at Atlanta. There the Bucs were, 2-and-2 with 7:51 remaining, driving well and trailing 27-20 on the Atlanta 19 yard line — and they came up empty without even running the ball. Heck, two or three sneaks should get you the yardage there, and burn clock.
That’s not the best football example, but you get the idea. Koetter won’t sneak Jameis.
Fast forward to Sunday’s heroic one-yard, touchdown run by Jameis on a broken play. It might be the best pure effort play by the Bucs all season. Jameis fights off four tackles to will his way into the end zone after being pushed back.
Watch the video linked here. It’ll improve your mood. You think Jameis can’t handle a sneak? Yes he can.
The only fair concern would be ball security. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to put the NFL leader in fumbles in that position. And Koetter’s never going to throw Jameis under the bus publicly and say he doesn’t get the sneak call because he gives the rock away like it’s Halloween candy.
January 6th, 2018 at 9:52 am
Joe says that Dirk has this aversion to a QB sneak… with the year he just put us through it seems like he has an aversion to actually scoring points (see Lovie Smith) and winning the game. YES i am still really pissed that he and his ENTIRE inept crew are coming back next year! still cant believe it!!
January 6th, 2018 at 9:52 am
Not a good idea to sneak a QB with a bum shoulder , tee off time….
January 6th, 2018 at 9:53 am
come on Joe, that was not even close to what a QB sneak is!!!!!! You might has well say that a QB sneak and an HB draw are the same play!!!!!! Why don’t you ask the Head Coach if his Center and Guards could get a consistent puss, would he then use a QB sneak!!!!!!!!
This article is worst than when you complained about JR32 got a toss sweep at the goal line and you complained incessantly, until a couple of games later they JR32 ran it at the goaline up the gut for a 1/2 yard loss!!!!!!!! You better start to do the math!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 6th, 2018 at 9:57 am
Agree. Another example of a simple play that dirk doesnt like, one that can prolong drives, thus playing keep away from smittys defense and turning losses into wins. Most games come down to a few first downs here n there n whatdoooyaknowwww dirk you dont have to answer questions about another loss. That was a great great effort by winston. There was no way they were letting him get that, but he got it. Ill take a qb like that every day.
January 6th, 2018 at 10:03 am
Joe
Just look at Winston’s rookie year rushing numbers and tell me he can’t.
54 rushes 213yards 3.9 per carry 6 TDs and 2 fumbles.
Enter koetter: in 2 years Winston rushes achieved
2TDs and 15 lost fumbles. Went from 2 to 6 then 7.
So what’s the difference? Koetter! Coaching the winner out of Winston, handicapping him. Forcing him to be a pure pocket passer with no oline. It’s koetter who’s retarding Winston’s growth with his 1980s playbook.
No, apparently he can’t coach well or Winston just isn’t his q.b. One or the other potentially both.
January 6th, 2018 at 10:24 am
How big are Jameis’s hands? I seem to recall Shawn “Burger” King had the same issues due to his small hands.
January 6th, 2018 at 10:26 am
And Chucky didn’t like the shotgun. I’m not a big fan of stubbornness when it comes to basic plays. Hopefully we can get a position coach that can teach better ball security so Koetter can use this basic play whenever needed.
January 6th, 2018 at 10:32 am
Joe
You left out another legitimate fear about sneaking the QB…injury…give the defense a chance to “give him the business” in a pileup.
Having said that I agree with you completely that a sneak should have been used in the Atlanta game. It’s risk reward and the reward of a TD in that important game would have certainly been worth the risk.
cc
I guess I come down somewhere in the middle…I do not like it when I see Cam diving into piles for a first down at the 40. If it’s a first down to run out the clock again the reward would justify it…short of that protect the QB.
January 6th, 2018 at 10:50 am
Don’t matter. The Titans QB is in the playoffs. Ours is not! But then again, the Titans actually play..a little Defense!
January 6th, 2018 at 11:01 am
Yeah Dirk, watching Matt Ryan running the QB sneak for probably 100 yards against us a couple weeks ago makes me think it’s a sh!tty play call. And Jameis is a good runner when he has to.
January 6th, 2018 at 11:02 am
I don’t think I have ever agreed with you so much DB! I have been preaching from the same book.
January 6th, 2018 at 11:28 am
Like forgetting the first down run he had in like 3rd and 20 a couple years ago against Atlanta so you try and give koetter more credit than he deserves. Sheer will got him that touchdown and knowing how hard he competes he prefers not to let him do a simple qb sneak something that’s successful. This coach prefers to put the ball in the hands of professional runners but Humphries, Martin and Peyton have lost fumbles that cost games
A passive coach and an aggressive quarterback just can’t be successful enough to get to the playoffs in this division and I’ll say this had Winston run the played his coach called just to set up for a field goal and the kicker had missed I’ll place that blame on the coach and I’d feel a lot worse about our chances to even have a winning record next year, I already have no confidence in this staff because they’ve shown they are Lovie type system coaches so who they draft or bring in won’t matter
January 6th, 2018 at 11:31 am
Americas quarterback. Heroic. Amazing. Best ever. What am I missing on that clip.
I think I’ve had enough on this site for a while. He won 3 games. The games he actually played well in (which was 3 games), they lost all 3.
Why would you want to expose him to more fumbles by running sneaks? He freaking had 15 fumbles on the year. I didn’t know that was physically possible.
Keep gargaling his junk.
Joejameisfan.com
January 6th, 2018 at 12:09 pm
Bye Bird, take a few Jameis haters with you
January 6th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Mike
Certainly take your point about the Titan’s defense being better than ours. I do not give them nor Marcus much props however for making the playoffs in a candyasssed Division placed within a candyassed Conference. Let the Titans play the Bucs schedule and put up that record. Other than the Pats and the Steelers I just can’t buy into the AFC.
Perhaps I’m reading too much between the lines Mike but I sense a bit of Marcus-Jameis comparison. Marcus WILL have scoreboard as far as making the playoffs first but both of these players have strengths to yet be exploited and weaknesses to yet fix.
I can see that debate from both sides but the bottom line for me is having seen #3 in action on OUR team…I’d still take him over Marcus…and I’m not a Marcus basher…just think #3 has more skill sets and far better leadership.
Right now in the court of public opinion…Marcus and Jameis are pretty much where they were on draft day. Both have had success and failures…both have proven that at minimum they are NFL level QB’s…and both have teased us with perhaps the ability to become great.
Neither are great right now and they’re just getting started. It’s my fondest dream that this debate gets continued next year in Atlanta where #3 can take on Marcus in the Super Bowl. What a great story!!! #1 and #2 draft picks meet in the SB.
January 6th, 2018 at 12:16 pm
SB
All I right in the world. ✌🏽
January 6th, 2018 at 12:27 pm
I agree Winston must clean up his fumbling to be successful in this league . however, half of his fumbles have come from pressure from defenses knocking him on his ass but nonetheless, he should secure the ball more when under pressure. Iam more concerned about the dump ass interceptions he throws when he just throw the ball up in the air somewhere. I am pretty sure that if he doesn’t improve this he nor Koetter will be around much longer. Do better Winston GO BUCS
January 6th, 2018 at 12:48 pm
Mariotta and the Titans are playing and the Bucs are not…not because of the QB’s….but because of the drafts and FA signings the two teams have had these past 3 years….coaching has little to do with it….
January 6th, 2018 at 1:20 pm
Not sure but I think Mariotta has been out quite a bit last year and this year so I would say and I might be wrong but hes not the reason the Titans are in the playoffs
January 6th, 2018 at 1:54 pm
I’d give my left nut for Derrick Henry to be on our team. Bottom line Jon Robinson did a much better job building a team than licht.
Whatever the opposite of the Midas touch is that what the glazers have when it comes to this team. For goodness sake they can’t even spell their last name correctly.
January 6th, 2018 at 2:22 pm
Adamant followers of JW know that prior to being tampered with in TB Jameis carried the ball, had successful QB sneaks and DID NOT FUMBLE!!!
January 6th, 2018 at 2:27 pm
The Titans are in the playoffs, we’re not, yet their coach is in danger of being fired, go figure?
January 6th, 2018 at 3:03 pm
@Hodad. I saw the following written on Rotowrold about the Titans possibly moving on from Mularkey. It makes me laugh when some people are talking about how Mariota lead his team to the playoffs. Puhlease. The Titans got to the playoffs despite Mariota.
The Titans barely squeaked into the playoffs, and the team took a step back in all facets from last year despite making the postseason for the first time since 2008. Mularkey and OC Terry Robiskie’s dinosaur offense plays extremely slow and got by in 2016 by being the best red-zone team. They took a big step back in that area this year, and Marcus Mariota had one of his worst seasons yet. GM Jon Robinson worked in New England from 2002-2013 and knows McDaniels well.
January 6th, 2018 at 3:05 pm
DB those are some ugly a$$ numbers, damn
January 6th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
Joe, any QB sneak that sttarts at the 2 yard line and needs the QB to break FOUR tackles to be successful and score is fundamentally flawed … either in design or execution. Obviously, but this play linked was not a sneak. -Joe
January 6th, 2018 at 4:34 pm
Best way to shorten a QB’s career is to let the run be a big part of his game IMO.
No better example than RG3. Also Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers have suffered a lot more injuries because running is a big part of their game. And Jameis got hurt trying run away from a defender. Fix the line and get a stud RB and let Jameis hone his skills in the pocket.
January 6th, 2018 at 5:43 pm
Actually Jameis wasn’t alone at the top for fumbles since on the handoff at the goal line in GB and you clearly see in the replay Barber fumble the handoff, not Jameis, yet Jameis got dinged. Take that away and he’s tied with R Wilson for the lead. Also take away that completely fake news BS at the end of the Carolina game when he came up with the ball and he’s no longer in a 3-way TIE for the lead in lost fumbles, he moves into tie for 2nd place.
January 6th, 2018 at 5:46 pm
Vinny used to run naked bootlegs and called draws from shotgun all the time, and Jameis can run better than Testaverde, even if Testaverde was a better runner than people think.
https://youtu.be/lY25RtQU2Sw?t=25s
January 6th, 2018 at 6:03 pm
Nevermind on my comparison to Vinny, I looked up his combine, and wow, he ran a 4.7 40 – that’s flat out fast for a 1980s QB. He was so lumbering in the way he ran I guess he never looked fast, but watching the video above again he’s clearly running away from the Vikings LBs. I was at that game and remember this play pretty clearly and it seemed to be in slow motion, but I guess it wasn’t.
January 6th, 2018 at 11:31 pm
Perhaps koetter isnt confident that joe hawley has the push to do those sneaks. Marpet is bigger and stronger but he was still new to the center position. Maybe it isnt Winston he is worried about. Maybe it’s the center getting push, which is what is needed for a successful sneak. Just a thought.
January 7th, 2018 at 1:37 am
Rod, I agree with you Bonnie didn’t look fast but He was and if you look at his combine numbers and listen to the guys He played with Connie was one of the best athletes on the team.
DB55, you and a few others make a repeated reference to the Bucs current offense as a 1980’s offense. Is that to be read as “outdated” and/or “antiquated”?
I read it often and I don’t believe in assuming but that’s what it appears to be.
If I’m wrong please enlighten me.
January 7th, 2018 at 2:22 am
Joe why do you use the word your? It’s our 5-11 Buccaneers. Right?