Be Careful Of Fast-paced
June 23rd, 2016
Too much throwing may be bad.
Dirk Koetter has made it clear that not only can America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, handle more on his plate, the head coach plans to shovel more on his plate this fall.
Two elements Koetter wants to enhance are no-huddle and being a bit more fast-paced. It’s fine to say that, said NFL Network’s Jamie Dukes, but beware of doing that, the ex-offensive lineman said on a recent episode of NFL HQ.
“The key to [going up-tempo] is that in Atlanta [as offensive coordinator] he got a little too drunk with that trying to throw the ball too much and hurt the team,” Dukes said of Koetter. “They were no longer physical. The reason [the Bucs’ offense] did well last year is they ran the football – wham! – and then they let Jameis do his thing.”
Dukes has a point. Did Koetter run the offense the way he did last year because the Bucs had the tools to run the ball, or was it was because Jameis was a rookie or a combination of the two? Or was the approach dictated by Lovie Smith?
Dukes is on to something here. The Bucs clearly are built to run the ball, though they have weapons to throw.
No need to abandon the run game, but it seems the Bucs have enough weapons spread out to take what the defense gives them. If that means throwing 40 times a game to counter a defense putting eight or nine men in the box, so be it.
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:50 am
I believe after this season at we will become a true passing team, but until that time, we will continue to lean on the run. Rightfully so, as we have Martin, with Sims and now Vitale coming out of the backfield, we SHOULD lean on them. As our weapons increase at WR, along with the maturation of our QB, we’ll be able to speed things up.
June 23rd, 2016 at 4:13 am
Football is simple: 4 yards and a cloud of dust, untill the defence makes an adjustment that gives you the opportunity to make a play in the passing game!
June 23rd, 2016 at 6:31 am
Koetter isnt stupid. He will let the flow of each game.dictate what needs to be done. But he wont be afraid to open it up.
June 23rd, 2016 at 6:58 am
The good thing about Koetter is his offensive versatility…
as the OC in Jacksonville he had a smash mouth offense that featured 2 very good running backs in Fred Taylor and MJD…in Atlanta he had a up-tempo “fun & gun” offense that air raided opponents every week…I expect the offense in Tampa to be somewhere in the middle…we have running backs, receivers, tight ends, an athletic offensive line, and a talented QB…the sky really is the limit for this offense…There’s no reason in the world why we can’t have a top 5 offense again this season; If the defense joins the party we should be pretty hard to beat…
June 23rd, 2016 at 8:10 am
What OneBuc55 said exactly…..
June 23rd, 2016 at 8:36 am
You can still call a draw play out of no huddle. D will be expecting a pass
June 23rd, 2016 at 8:52 am
OneBuc55
nicely said
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:20 am
Co-sign what OneBuc55 said…
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:23 am
Atlanta didn’t have Doug Martin.
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:44 am
The Bucs with an up and coming offense, it’s about damn time. Koetter likes coaching the deep south NFL teams, I’m thinking third time’s a charm adding a Super Bowl title to his resume.
June 23rd, 2016 at 9:45 am
Wasn’t it the lack of physicality on defense that kept sending Atl out of the playoffs? At any rate, I agree with everyone here, balance is the key.
You always here analyist talking about having the running game set up the passing game, but I think it works the other way as well. If your burning the defense with mid to downfiled passes the defense backs up and opens things up for the running game. Joe Gibbs early 90s superbowl team was the master of that. He would open most games with bombs down the field during the first offensive series, which often worked. Before the game was hardly started they would be up 7-0. I lived up near DC that year and talk about a fun team to watch! But then again, they had three 1000 yard receivers and a great oline, plus John Riggins who they would pound with in the first half and Ricky Ervin(?) who was a small fast guy they would bring out in the second half. By the 4th quarter the opposing Defenses had given up but that was done by balance between passing, and two types of running back, a brusing running back and a fast shifty running back after the defense had been pounded for a while.
June 23rd, 2016 at 12:16 pm
Who cares about the pace? I care about WINNING. By 1 or 50. Just WIN. Jameis can throw for a grand or 2 yds for all I care. Just WIN more games then you lose Bucs. Do this and you will have had a successful season. Anything else is unsatisfactory…period!
June 23rd, 2016 at 1:27 pm
The Bucs offense should focus on scoring points, last season we were 5th in offensive yardage, but we were 20th in scoring. Our defense should focus on (not giving up points), last season our defense were 10th in total yards allowed, but we were 26th in points allowed. We need to score more points and give up less points. That (Pass Happy ) offense is what got Koetter and Smith ran out of Atlanta, I don’t believe they will use it here in Tampa. If they had thoughts of it ( then why pay Dougie the big bucks to stay here) ?. We had over 2,000 yards rushing, but we only ran for 12 TDs. Jameis ( The QB) ran for 6 ( half of them ) and Dougie ran for 6, no one else had a rushing TD. That has to change, what good is moving the ball up and down the field, then having to settle for a FG try.
June 23rd, 2016 at 1:51 pm
your site is doing it again Joe.
Not letting me post on this thread despite multiple tries.
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Maybe it will help Koetter see we can be patient in that regard when the need to be physical is there, Joe. Most great offenses in the NFL adjust to the opponents weakness. Take the Patriots for a prime example. They will throw all day on you can’t rush the passer….but will ram it down your throat with their rbs if you can’t stop the run. If you can stop the run and have a decent pass rush….they’ll have Brady immediately get rid of the ball on quick 2-3 step drops…and blitzkrieg an offense all the way down the field utilizing short to intermediate routes.
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:51 pm
Pickgrin Says:
June 23rd, 2016 at 1:51 pm
your site is doing it again Joe.
Not letting me post on this thread despite multiple tries.
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have had that issue as well…..there needs to be a message board style (I realize there are separate boards on the site, but within the article) of replying so its easy to respond or get feedback, plus edit posts if need be. Don’t know if the Joes are working on this in the future…but maybe the changes will be up by the time the Buccs get their indoor practice facility…I only kid, Joe.
June 23rd, 2016 at 4:01 pm
I think there will be different looks this year and there should be. Winston is a student of the game and needs to add to his repitoire to keep the defense honest.
But if this team is looking to convert to a run and gun style I believe they had done an awful job in the offseason and the way they have built the team.
We have quite a few maulers on our oline who should best be used on running plays to soften up the defense. And why bring Back Doug if we wanna gun and shoot? Sims would be the perfect fit there…..and you could save Doug’s money and get a cheaper blocking RB for the backfield. Plus we don’t have speedy athletes to tear up the outside. If the team want to try and repeat what Dirk had in Atlanta then they have very poorly built the team IMO.
June 23rd, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Atlanta didn’t have the #2 RB in the league…or as good an offensive line.
June 23rd, 2016 at 6:18 pm
Speaking of the offensive line…you people realize that we thought our last one was great? And this one is better already????
Awesome.
June 23rd, 2016 at 6:21 pm
@Buccaneers
I don’t think they will be run and gun. I think they built to maul so that the RB can help the QB.
Koetter learned from his experiences in Atlanta. He wants to go fast paced, but that doesn’t always mean throwing.
Fast paced is a great idea too…I’m tired of these fast paced offenses chewing us up. About time we did it to others.
June 23rd, 2016 at 11:35 pm
Tbh I expect our running game to be the first plan of attack. But as a good HC should be, Koetter is preparing for the other teams to compete. There will be times when we are down and need to make up points fast. there will times when Doug Martin and the O line are struggling to find and open holes, and the passing game will need to pick up the slack.
That is what is great about being a 2 dimensional offense. We can pick and choose how we want to attack teams. And if the defense commits to stopping Martin, then Jameis will open them up over the top. Jameis ran the regular playbook all last year, he knows it already. The next step in his development is the no huddle and audibles. That is why there is a focus there, because Jameis is ready for it, and ready to make the next step in his career.
People may not realize this, but you can run from a fast paced offense. Chip Kelly’s offense was the most uptempo an NFL team has ever been. And he ran the ball all the time. I’m not worried one bit about Koetter’s play calling right now. he has a ton of experience, it’s not like he is some kid who might get too excited. He’s been around and has seen it all. Nothing will rattle Koetter.