Stop Zone
December 25th, 2017
Last week during the Dixie Chicks-Bucs game, Joe remembers turning to good guy Alex Marvez of The Sporting News and NFL Radio and telling him, “The Bucs move the ball, they just can’t score touchdowns.”
Boy, oh boy did that play out yesterday. It was so bad even Bucs coach Dirk Koetter fell on his sword and all but blamed himself for the loss.
“Ultimately, I should have given better calls in the red zone,” Koetter said. “I stunk in the red zone.”
Joe can’t disagree. America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston was hot. Joe is a big, big, big believer, no matter who the player is, if he is on fire you feed him the ball until the defense proves it has an answer. The way Jameis was playing, there was no need to take the ball out of his hands.
What on earth over the past two calendar years has Doug Martin showed where he can run effectively up the middle? Joe likes Peyton Barber and he is the best option currently on the team at tailback, but as Koetter himself said earlier this year, he’s not Gayle Sayers.
When Koetter was asked about Jameis, he said, “That guy’s a warrior.”
And when the warrior is hot like he was yesterday, you put the ball in his hands and enjoy the ride.
That didn’t happen yesterday in the red zone. And the Bucs lost yet again.
December 25th, 2017 at 2:46 pm
Koetter admitting he was the reason they couldn’t score, his dedication to the muscle hamster, and the fight in the locker room are just three more nails in the koetter coffin. I liked dirk a lot and wish he could have been the man but he’s not. Time for the return of chucky.
December 25th, 2017 at 2:47 pm
Putting dm in the game in crunch time says it all Koetter employment. WTF was that??? I always been a Koetter guy but he had me with that decision. And then Martin looked even worse then he had before. These type of decision should be getting Koetter a write up Probably his Second and Final write up Even the dumbest person knows not to play Dm in frigging crunch time
December 25th, 2017 at 2:53 pm
Maybe Koetter needs to let someone else call the plays
December 25th, 2017 at 2:57 pm
With all the negatives last game (the fumbles,miss fg, no pass rush) I didn’t get upset. Actually I was good w everything until I saw dm in the game late in crunch time. That pissed me and I’m still ticked about that decision. Koetter needs a pysche eval asap
I would of been good w Sims carrying the rock. Or Rogers or Bobo,martinio, ,anyone but dm His love for the dm is gonna get him in trouble.
I rather have Mutumbo shot my game winning 3pt basket than dm on the field on crunch time.
December 25th, 2017 at 2:57 pm
Barber is a fine number 2 back…. but we really don’t have a number one back.
December 25th, 2017 at 2:58 pm
Hire gruden let koetter by the an coach ( I know he’s not gonna do it) but as most have said. I was a koetter guy until the Doug Martin issue. There was no need to put him in the game. He lost me when Doug came back and took more carries away from barber.
December 25th, 2017 at 2:58 pm
Every week same thing up and down the field. And only field goals to show for it. We never throw a pass in the middle of the field in goal line. It’s a throw to Mike Evans that uncatchable on first down. Then a run up the middle or toss on second that gets nothing. Then a bunch play to the right where no one is open and he has to throw a contested bullet that no one can catch. Field goal repeat with the occasional two runs up the middle. How about throwing and actual quck slant to Mike Evans let him get underneath the defender instead of a back shoulder bullet
December 25th, 2017 at 3:06 pm
OK with Koetter in as HC but man we need a better play caller and we need a better Defensive coach as we will have many new faces that will need coaching up. Koetter must step down as playcaller, it is not acceptable anymore even with his admissions of guilt. Doug Martin should be benched he is not making any progress.
December 25th, 2017 at 3:13 pm
damned if you damned if you don’t… in previous weeks, Dirk gets pass happy in these situations and the media gives him a hard time… and said he should’ve ran the ball (which is right)… runs the ball, media: you should’ve passed 😂😂
December 25th, 2017 at 3:15 pm
nice selective editing Joes. Koetter also said they turned it over to much(see Winston) and had some stupid penalties and poor execution(see offensive line)
December 25th, 2017 at 3:16 pm
too
December 25th, 2017 at 3:19 pm
mark..I do believe Peyton given more playtime and the heck with DM, could be an incredible back..why Koetter sticks DM in there when we need to score badly, is beyond my comprehension…I don’t get it..
December 25th, 2017 at 3:25 pm
Maybe you take JW out and put someone in that can throw and run the wildcat when you are in the red zone. I guess, as much as Joe is in Love with JW I am in the opposite camp.
December 25th, 2017 at 3:33 pm
Run the wildcat? We can’t even seem to run our regular plays consistently and without error. And who would QB the Wildcat on our team? Charles Sims…Doug Martin….Fitz? What Wildcat QB would you suggest? Wow.
December 25th, 2017 at 3:44 pm
Let’s add two really good OL to our current mix…let’s add two really good DL to our current mix and this team improves overnight.
We may need to do some trades for draft picks and move around…perhaps drop down for a QB hungry team and pick up another pick from them to move up. We need to grab at least two OL and two DL in the first four rounds…we need quality in our line play which right now is embarrassing.
December 25th, 2017 at 3:49 pm
21 of 27, 360 plus yards, 1 TD 0 INTs……….131 QB rating
Only thing is QB rating doesn’t factor in THREE FLIPPIN’ FUMBLES!!!!!
F the special teams gaffe. Jameis put us in position to win that game but let’s be real. He lost us the game. Sam Jameis from freshman yr.
December 25th, 2017 at 3:49 pm
Also………….MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 25th, 2017 at 4:50 pm
The 9-7 team caught a lot of breaks against lesser competition. The 4-11 team against better competition is getting no breaks at all. Regardless, cut down on the avoidable mistakes (ball security, pushy receiver, sloppy special teams play) and the team would have had a winning record despite all the injuries and poor depth. This just wasn’t their year. Improvement will require honest self-assessment by management, coaches and players and determination to cut down on the avoidable errors that killed them week in and week out not wholesale personnel changes. I appreciate Koetter’s straight talk instead of the usual BS. It would be an expensive mistake to pay him for 3 years to go away and then skimp on expenses elsewhere. That’s why they are where they are.
December 25th, 2017 at 5:16 pm
St.Pete Bucs Fan said: “Let’s add two really good OL to our current mix…let’s add two really good DL to our current mix and this team improves overnight.”
Folks, this is a nice fantasy team but there is simply not enough talent. Dog Jason Licht all you want but he had to almost completely overhaul this roster from 2014. Mistakes? Absolutely. All GM’s make them. It’s not the X’s and the O’s, it’s the Jims and the Joe’s.
This is not a popular opinion, but I believe Koetter stays another year. Why? I saw a team quit on Raheem. I saw a team quit on Schiano. I saw an oblivious Lovie Smith refuse to change. Sunday, I saw an injury-ravaged Team, especially on OL and on DL, play their ass off. Not always well, but hard. Get rid of DM’s contract as well as as Ayers, Swaggy and the underachieving other DL, and this can be a competitive team in 2018.
December 25th, 2017 at 5:50 pm
The Bucs have been way too pass happy in the red zone all season and came away with too many FG’ s or nothing. This time Koetter called things a little different and it didn’t work either
December 25th, 2017 at 5:56 pm
its really bewildering that the strongest part of Jameis’s game is the roll out
and NONE called in the red zone yesterday…….
@ Rob in land o lakes
we cant fit the quitting on the team on this years one IMO because those teams had
ALOT LESS TALENT…..a team this talented can roll out of bed and couldn’t quit if they tried
those other teams didn’t so half arse effort came easy
December 25th, 2017 at 6:02 pm
3 years under koetter’s control *(yes even under lovie he had the keys)
averaging under 20 points for 3 years with THIS talent on offense
there is NO EXCUSE for that
December 25th, 2017 at 6:03 pm
Rams , philly EVEN san fran has been winning with less talent
December 25th, 2017 at 6:45 pm
This is absolutely true!
This team on offense is one of the most talented teams since the Super Bowl. The WR corps and TE unit is far more talented than most teams. Look at the Eagles. I’d take Mike Evans over Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson over Nate Algolor. I’d take Godwin over their 3rd guy. Zack Ertz is great but Cam Brate and OJ Howard is a better unit than Ertz and Celek. Even if you want to debate that point my point is that this team is loaded with talent at play making positions on both sides of the ball. Don’t listen to anybody who says this team is not talented enough. Everyone was saying this was a playoff-caliber team. Everyone! All of this talent and they have failed to execute consistently. That’s on coaching.
December 25th, 2017 at 8:07 pm
Bucs lost this game because they lost the turnover battle
December 25th, 2017 at 9:17 pm
Dirk has choked in the red one since the Redskins game when he was the OC. The Bucs had the ball inside the Redskins 5 (i believe, doing it memory) and Dirk called 4 of the worst plays in a row anyone could call. Since then Dirk doesn’t seem to ever have a plan. The offensive line stinks and thus you can’t run it in in the redzone, and you don’t have those quick twitch WRs you need to get open – so the game plan is throw it Evans or throw it to Brate. Throwing to Evans in the redzone, regardless of coverage, isn’t a bad thing. Throwing to Brate isn’t a bad thing either. But running it twice in a row for zero yards and not using your timeouts and letting the clock run down – well that’s a loser does.
December 25th, 2017 at 9:31 pm
Valrico’s QB is a warrior? Warriors who lose most of the time end up not living too long.