Irked By Scotty Miller
August 4th, 2019
Gets earful from Arians.
Every year a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent sort of becomes the favorite underdog of fans to cheer for.
This year, that player seems to be speedy yet tiny wide out Scotty Miller. Coming from the football factory of Bowling Green, Miller’s speed is enticing. But one element of his game already has Bucco Bruce Arians’ briefs all bunched up. That is the technique Miller uses to catch the ball. And Arians admitted he tore Miller a new one to stop this.
In short, Arians said Miller jumps to catch the ball way too much.
“I’m tired of seeing Scotty [Miller] jump up with his damn body; just catch the damn thing because you can make people miss,” Arians barked in his post-practice remarks Saturday night. “I kind of jumped on his ass a little bit because he’s great after the catch but he’s not using that.”
Little things like this make great coaches and, in turn, develop stud players. Arians is right. If not for his speed, Miller likely would be co-producing a cable-only overnight newscast in suburban Chicago. Jumping for a ball waters down the main reason he is getting an NFL tryout: his speed.
Miller can pull away from defenders and turn a short pass into a long touchdown. By jumping for the ball, he not only takes away his greatest attribute but he gives defenders a chance to close on him, provided Miller himself doesn’t tumble to the ground when coming down with the ball.
And props to Arians for pulling no punches in telling Miller to cut that crap out.
August 4th, 2019 at 9:11 am
Arians is a detail man.
August 4th, 2019 at 9:34 am
Wow
August 4th, 2019 at 9:41 am
Steal of the draft
August 4th, 2019 at 9:48 am
Miller probably just knows that when he doesn’t haul those wild passes from Winston in and Heaven forbid, they get picked off, the Winston apologists will accuse little Scotty of not going for the ball…blaming him for Winston’s pick.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:03 am
He has probably always caught that way while running routes and may prove to be difficult to stop. If Mike E can make the turn around he did with catching the ball he can do this!
August 4th, 2019 at 10:06 am
This is a great example of how Arians can spot and correct small mistakes that can make a big difference in a player’s success. It is what professional development is all about, BA style. Trust BA. With BA’s help Scotty will be a star when needed.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:13 am
@BA Fan…could also mean Scotty doesn’t have the hands, and won’t be a star. Good coaching either way.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:13 am
This is actually on of my pet peeves; you’ll be surprised how many receivers actually have the tendency to unnecessarily leave the ground to catch balls…
Imo some do it as a means of protecting themselves from the big hit by going up and catching the ball with their body; because bringing their hands up and catching the ball can expose them to the big hit…
I think it comes down to trust; you have to trust that your QB isn’t gonna set you up to get creamed…this is more psychological than anything, especially if youre a small receiver
like Scotty who may have not played with very good QBs in you football life…
Imo, although Jameis does throw alot of jump balls to his big receivers, I think he does do a good job of not setting his receivers up for the big hit when they’re running across the middle of the field…But of course this is football; there are times when the throw is perfect and the receiver just has to take one for the team…
Great observation by a good coach…
August 4th, 2019 at 10:16 am
Instinctive habit WR’s have especially smaller guys. Protect the ball and brace for the possible hit at the same time. Evans used to do something similar he would lower his shoulder to do the same.
August 4th, 2019 at 10:46 am
Ok, I have heard about Matt Gay and Scotty Miller.
I have heard about how bad the offensive tackles have been.
Has Joe seen or heard anything on Anthony Nelson, the 4th round Iowa draft pick?
You would think that hearing nothing is not a good sign. Is he in danger of being a cut at the end of the preseason (I doubt he would make it to the practice squad) as some other team would likely give him a 53 man roster spot? Or do the Buc’s magically make him get a last game injury and put him on season long IR as they did Kenny Bell?
August 4th, 2019 at 10:56 am
geno711
If your a low round pick cut by the lowely bucs who have a high school level roster your future is at ups not in the nfl…
August 4th, 2019 at 11:02 am
Even stars needed coaching so this is a good thing, rookies need the coach to call them out not that practice aggressive garbage from Dirk koetter and lovie wouldn’t coach em up he’d just cut them doing things like that. Rhino were definitely have the right guy. It’s going to be tough replacing BA in a few years, even if coach in waiting is here do they have that coaching technique
August 4th, 2019 at 11:37 am
Saw him get pancaked by Ali Marpet last night.
Haven’t noticed Nelson. To be fair, not paying much attention to the backups. Joe is more concerned with starters. Maybe second-teamers.
August 4th, 2019 at 12:30 pm
hope the advice don’t backfire(messing with his rhythm), really need to replace Adam Humphries with somebody. last year Adam was awesome, wishing we found a way to pay for him–wtf–Licht is likely to pay for that mistake, I’ll be watching Titan games now too
August 4th, 2019 at 12:31 pm
He needs to tell Evans not to fall down as he catches.
August 4th, 2019 at 12:34 pm
BA is a unique cat man
I would love to play for him
August 4th, 2019 at 12:52 pm
#coaching!
Great to see BA not just cruising on that 🚗 just doing another Lovie ‘retirement tour’ here
August 4th, 2019 at 1:08 pm
Good for Arians, but I’m not sold that this is something incredibly insightful that he deserves credit for.
If jumping too often unnecessarily when catching a ball isn’t noticed by people who coach in the NFL for a living then they probably shouldn’t be coaching football.
August 4th, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Jumping to catch sure sounds like a guy bracing himself for a hit. He’s short and he knows he’s gonna take a beating. Being on your feat and catching a ball could mean getting de-cleated. But, coach is right; if he has any chance at making this team it’s only because of his speed. He’s gotta catch and make the guy miss. The more he jumps, the more he’s one step out the door.
August 4th, 2019 at 1:36 pm
Bucjay, thank you! ME is great but, he leaves yards on the field.
Now, since we are focused on minute details, someone needs to scream “high & tight” at every ball-carrier; every time!
August 4th, 2019 at 1:54 pm
Any update on how Kahzin Daniels? I was curious on how he looks during training camp and if he seems to be picking it up and achieving?
August 4th, 2019 at 1:59 pm
Bert Emanuel did this very same thing all the time 20-some years ago. I’d be yelling at my TV. Thank God for good coaching this year!
August 4th, 2019 at 2:11 pm
This is exactly what makes Arians a great coach…..he will call a player out publicly…..criticizing him for making mistakes that keep him from being the best…..but the player knows it’s for his own good…..not Arians’ ego.
August 4th, 2019 at 2:20 pm
Just because a coach is working in the NFL means the guy knows what he is doing. Pretty sure as Bucs fans we’ve seen ample evidence over the past five years on defense alone.
August 4th, 2019 at 2:23 pm
How can you say steal of the draft when dude hasn’t even played a down… let’s see if he even gets playing time come September… buc fans always drink the kool aid before its cold smh
August 4th, 2019 at 2:34 pm
seriously doubt scotty miller got coached up to any signigant degree where he was going to college–get the feeling he was praised often and daily for being a touchdown machine.
August 4th, 2019 at 3:17 pm
Anything on Terry Buckner Jr. since only Will Gholston is the third down lineman or is he
August 4th, 2019 at 3:46 pm
Many of the great NFL football head coaches have this in common. They balance the big picture approach with phenomenal detail focus. They can see the forest and the trees equally well
In Bucco Bruce Arians I trust!
___________
Go Bucs!!!
August 4th, 2019 at 3:50 pm
Brady is taking 23 mil to be returning super bowl champion Qb for Pats.
What a bargain. Wow.
Although his wife is worth more then he is …
August 4th, 2019 at 5:51 pm
rest:
Forgot Beckner was on the roster!
August 4th, 2019 at 6:41 pm
Cichy is back and making plays.
August 4th, 2019 at 7:15 pm
Joe Says:
August 4th, 2019 at 5:51 pm
rest:
Forgot Beckner was on the roster
If this is true it is very lazy reporting, very lazy as this is literally your job. What else is there to look at when he’s on the field? Common man. I’m not trying to be a jerk but maybe this is why you miss so many little things that actually are important.
August 4th, 2019 at 7:55 pm
Not a little thing, it’s a fundamental of football. Don’t leave your feet, I learned this the hard way.
August 4th, 2019 at 8:44 pm
Bruce is the freakin Don !
August 4th, 2019 at 11:39 pm
Nope.
August 5th, 2019 at 7:47 am
Cichy making his presence known. Dixon giving it his best. These are Badgers to be proud of. Jump around time, guys.
August 5th, 2019 at 8:40 am
And let’s not forget Dare Ogunbowale… all these Badgers…things have to be getting better.