Discipline
December 24th, 2020
Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians.
For a good chunk of the Lost Decade, one could Google penalty stats on NFL teams and it was not uncommon to find the Bucs as one of the most penalized teams in the NFL.
And, obviously, in the Lost Decade, all but two years the Bucs were the NFL’s fire hydrant to the dawgs of the league. Coincidence?
Last year the Bucs were inexcusable with penalties, leading the NFL with 133.
This year? The Bucs have the eighth-fewest penalties. Whether you believe that’s all due to park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking Bucs quarterback Tom Brady or Arians had his staff buckle down on the players, it’s hard to say.
What is easy to say is that, per former NFL general manager Mike Tannebaum, the Bucs are one of the most disciplined teams in the league.
Tannebaum has a “Discipline Index.” It factors in penalties and turnovers. He has the Bucs as seventh-best in the NFL.
The Bucs are averaging five penalties a game. That’s down from eight last season. And since Tannebaum factors in turnovers, those obviously are way down from last season as well.
So since the Bucs are much more disciplined and are looking to record their 10th win Saturday for only the third time since winning the Super Bowl in January 2003, and to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2008, is that just a fluke or is there a direct connection?
Joe’s not a big believer in coincidences.
December 24th, 2020 at 2:48 am
It was the Bears game that Brady yelled at the team about penalties on the sidelines. The coaches have been harping about penalties since Arians got here but it took Brady to drive home the point and change the direction of the team.
December 24th, 2020 at 3:49 am
Part of Brady’s $25m goes towards getting the Tom Brady calls he got in NE. For some reason we don’t seem to be getting those calls at the same rates he got with the Pats, but still, any objective person can see we’ve really got a lot more calls in our favor this year than we have, combined, in the last 15 years.
December 24th, 2020 at 6:05 am
There is no question that Brady has an influence here…..but you have to credit the coaching…..if you can fault the coaching you need to credit them also.
December 24th, 2020 at 7:08 am
Not sure what to make out of Tannebaum’s ‘Discipline Index’ Joe. The #1 team on his list … Patriots … currently have a 6-8 record, while the #31 team on his list … Bills … sport a 11-3 record.
Even the ‘Discipline’ rankings of the Falcons (#5 on his list) and the Bucs (#6) left me wondering. Apparently the Falcons are more disciplined in getting fewer penalties AND fewer giveaways than the Bucs, yet their record (4-10) is far worse than ours.
Thus the question: How useful is Tannebaum’s ‘Discipline Index’ in terms of predicting team PERFORMANCE? Chiefs have the best record (13-1), yet Tannebaum’s index lists them at #21 in the light Red … Level of Coaching/Playing supposedly is ‘VERY LOW’. Ya right.
December 24th, 2020 at 8:57 am
Hhhmmm…
December 24th, 2020 at 10:22 am
↓ penalties + ↓ turnovers = ↑ wins
All things equal, ^^^that’s^^^ the Winning Football Formula over the long haul…
December 24th, 2020 at 3:14 pm
I don’t believe QBs get call like elite basketball players. It was obvious penalties and turnovers are the reason for Chic & Rams losses. If this team continued to be undisciplined Brady would be one and done. No matter the record the more discipline a team is the better the chance they can win.
December 24th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
Start Detroit game with hurry up offense.