Koetter Wouldn’t Name Himself Playcaller
August 31st, 2018
It seems Dirk Koetter thinks there’s a competitive advantage to not letting the Saints know who will call the Bucs’ offense in nine short days.
NINE!
After last night’s Bucs-Jaguars preseason finale, Koetter was asked whether he will resume playcalling duties when the regular season begins. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken commanded Koetter’s playbook through the preseason.
“Yeah, we’ll see. We’ll see how it works out,” Koetter said. “I mean, we’re gonna run the same offense that we always run; it’s the Tampa Bay offense. You know, we’ll see. We’re going to do what we think gives us the best chance to win.”
That answer is a little bit of a head-scratcher. Joe really doesn’t believe Koetter is thinking of handing the keys to arguably the most loaded offense in Bucs history to Monken, who is new to the role at the NFL level this season.
Koetter should parlay his years of experience calling plays — three full seasons with the Bucs included — to the team’s advantage.
Joe supposes it’s possible that Koetter is undecided. Maybe Koetter thinks Monken’s trial run proved he is the team’s best playcaller? That would be hard to believe considering the many vanilla defenses faced in the preseason. It’s just not a true enough test.
Most likely, Koetter is just trying to keep his old friend Sean Payton guessing.
August 31st, 2018 at 1:26 pm
Koetter SHOULD hand play-calling duties over to Monken. 4 years of play-calling continuity mean nothing when during those 4 years you’ve consistently struggled to average 21 points per game.
Pressure is on the coaches.
August 31st, 2018 at 1:33 pm
SchwiftyBuc is 100% right on! Koetter would be better at managing the team and letting Monken continue with the hot hand imo. He can always pull a Lovie and take back the reigns midseason or before if it’s not working out.
August 31st, 2018 at 1:36 pm
That’s really silly if that’s true. After all, Koetter did say “we’re gonna run the same offense that we always run.” The Saints have three years worth of tape on what the Bucs run. It’s not as if the Bucs are going to break out the Statue of Liberty play.
August 31st, 2018 at 1:36 pm
The man ooozes, lack of, leadership. IMHO.
August 31st, 2018 at 1:39 pm
Agree with SchwiftyBuc 100%! Let Monken continue to call the plays and if it starts going South, Koetter can always take the reigns back ala Lovie Smith
August 31st, 2018 at 1:41 pm
Why would Koetter not want the practice/routine to get back in the groove during the preseason?
August 31st, 2018 at 1:43 pm
yeah, dirk aint fooling nobody but himself…..it seemed like monken did a decent job but no one was game planning against our offense….
im not worried….dirk will shoot himself in the foot regardless!!!!….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
August 31st, 2018 at 1:49 pm
You know…when I heard how Monken was calling it in pre-season, and Kotter in regular season, first thing I thought was how it was probably a smoke screen to give the Saints a guessing game with more research to do then normal to prep for us for game one.
August 31st, 2018 at 1:50 pm
“I mean, we’re gonna run the same offense that we always run; it’s the Tampa Bay offense.
First of all…yikes!
Up the gut on 1st down
Long pass on 2nd down
Bubble screen to Hump or another long pass on 3rd down
Toss pitch from the 6yard line…..
Is it just me or does DK seem like that substitute teacher in high school who just says “hey we’re just gonna watch movies today. Put your head on your desk and sleep if you want to…”
August 31st, 2018 at 1:53 pm
Go with Monken until/if it stops working.
I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen so far, and if I’m Dirk, I’m not worried about
Butthole Lips Payton.
August 31st, 2018 at 2:00 pm
This clown thinks he is Bill Belichick. He is way too smart for a guy that has a tremendous losing record. He is an overrated quarterback coach that got lucky that Matt Ryan fell into his lap while in Atlanta. He must have pictures on one of the Glazers…
August 31st, 2018 at 2:24 pm
Koetter’s problem with play-calling is he’s too predictable and doesn’t adjust quick or often enough.
This might be one of those cases where they share the duties in that Koetter will have input in certain situations and where he might recognize something. I like the idea of Monken being the primary though.
August 31st, 2018 at 2:38 pm
Yeah I thought it was weird to obsess over the playcalling in preseason as if we can see some demonstrable difference with Monken; considering it’s preseason and not a normal game at all
August 31st, 2018 at 3:35 pm
@Jmarkbuc… you had that same teacher huh?? He was one of my favorites!
August 31st, 2018 at 3:45 pm
LordC
Thanks for stating what should be obvious to everybody!!!
I really, really like Monken but his performance in PS is indicative of NOTHING!!!
He MAY end up as the greatest play caller of all time but the PS surely does not prove anything.
I just think the entire play calling stuff is overblown. When the line blocks and JW is on his game…the play calling will be fine. Add in the Ernest Graham like evolution of Barber and we’re good to go no matter who calls the plays.
August 31st, 2018 at 4:14 pm
I don’t think Monken success in preseason with a vanilla offense proves he is the better playcaller. No question the QB’s are executing better. Koetter slow acceptance of Barber is a problem that is on him. If koetter calls plays , there should be an enhanced role for Monken. Imput on plays and time management are a couple of examples. Time management is also on Jameis to keep an eye on the playclock
Delay of game,false starts, lining up wrong, and holding penalties are correctible mistakes that can kill drives. Jameis also has been pretty consistent in preseason , I look for that to have a big impact on the offense.
August 31st, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Its amazing the stupidity of the buc sheep…
Monken has been doing a good job of mixing in the short passing routes moving the chains
The slants, crosses, picks and screens are highly probable and efficient. These routes create high percentage completions while also beating blitzes and def front pressure.
Klueless koetter calls too many deep routes that are low completion percentage and creates injury to qbs while the off line breaks down holding their blocks for that length of time
“Preach, Kobe Preach”
Bill Walsh
August 31st, 2018 at 4:20 pm
Dirk does not do a good job managing games. I don’t know about play calling but game management is awful under this guy.
How you you let Tom Brady come in here…..1st two series for Tom was a 3 and out then an INT yet they dominate the first quarter in time of possession? I’ll tell you how, you got outcoached babe!
How are you gonna get a pentalty in your favor giving you 1st and goal but you only have 2 seconds left with wasted timeout in your back pocket? That’s pispoor management.
The players cost us points but so does the stinking coach. Time to wake up dude. We are led by offense and it’s time to manage games better and give them more plays and possession.
August 31st, 2018 at 4:23 pm
Kobe…..Monken has been calling just as many deep routes bro. maybe one day they will look at the statistics and see that Winston Thursday deep ball much better between the seams……… He is horrible on the sidelines statistics prove it yet we keep throwing it
August 31st, 2018 at 4:24 pm
Throws the***** not thursday
August 31st, 2018 at 4:44 pm
JJ, with Monken calling the plays which im hoping means more targets to Godwin and OJ, we have a chance to get 9 wins…
If stubborn Klueless call the plays, we will get 4 to 5 wins
***Imo, i think this getting more involvement of Monken this year is pressure from Licht bulb
August 31st, 2018 at 4:56 pm
Agree with Jimmy Jack on Jameis sweet spot between the seams. He has hit some sideline toe tap passes to right sideline to Evans and the one to Godwin. It will help the offense.
if he starts connecting on these passes,I agree that they should be limited until he does. Sooner or later ,I think it will click and i am thinking sooner like this year.
August 31st, 2018 at 5:02 pm
As long as they beat that smug-ass Peyton, I don’t care who calls he plays!
August 31st, 2018 at 5:10 pm
Just let see when the season starts
August 31st, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Been calling for 2 years now for Koetter to be either the HC or OC but not both. He can’t effectively wear TWO hats. Monken’s been doing a decent job of calling plays in preseason … play design, play selection & players’ execution has all been coming together more times than not. Let’s see how that translates to the regular season.
Oh wait, I think Monken was calling plays from up in the skyboxes with Scapegoat Smitty. Obviously that’ll never work. My bad; we’d better stick with Dirk calling plays from the sidelines.
August 31st, 2018 at 6:51 pm
If ya call plays Dirk hand over the HC headset to Monk!! Proven to not be able to manage a clock and game while also calling plays. Ive got a feeling Monk wouldnt sabotage the team so much with bad clock management.
August 31st, 2018 at 6:57 pm
@go deep
You and your negative good ole boy buddies are the clowns
August 31st, 2018 at 7:08 pm
and I agree, There is a different approach by the two play callers even though they call the same plays. i.e. Koetter may use the run more to setup the pass. Monken may like to throw more often on short and distance whereas Koetter may have a tendency to lean on the run. They may be subtle differences but enough to force opposing teams to study both.
August 31st, 2018 at 7:28 pm
Everything they did this preseason was geared toward surprising the saints.
August 31st, 2018 at 7:45 pm
In an unrelated post, I just drafted a handful of Bucs and Jarrard Goff in my office Fantasy league. Named the team “Buc Goff”…
August 31st, 2018 at 8:12 pm
@ defense
You may be right , but I think that any OC or HC should have a QB that is totally focussed on improving his game and sluggish starts.. Eventhough Koetter has struggled in some areas,.so too has Jameis. He needs to lead by example get this team ahead and build on a lead and limit turnovers. Slow starts and turnovers
don’t help the gameplan or the playcaller whoever it may be.
August 31st, 2018 at 8:19 pm
The addtiion of a clean pocket and a RB that can average at least 4.0 yards per carry will also help both the playcaller and QB. I beleive has something to prove,
and his renewed focus will benefit the team and coaching staff.
August 31st, 2018 at 8:24 pm
@calbucsfan:
I agree. Hate Sean Peyton.
August 31st, 2018 at 8:36 pm
edit: jameis has something to prove
August 31st, 2018 at 9:03 pm
I hope Monken calls the plays dirk is too predictable. 1st play run, 1 yard, 2nd play run 3 yards, 3rd play pass for 5 yards 4th play punt. Sick of the same game plan need some new playcalling, more downfield throwing and more throwing on 1st down to set up the run.
August 31st, 2018 at 9:41 pm
Koetter’d explanation of why he won’t reveal who will call the plays was honest. Anything he says will be picked apart, which is what’s happening with what he did say!
August 31st, 2018 at 10:00 pm
`@Bob … “Slow starts and turnovers don’t help the gameplan or the playcaller whoever it may be.” BINGO Bob! One thing I noticed though this preseason with Monken calling the shots is that we came out focused & going for the throat with our first team guys out there. I was impressed. ‘Playing from behind’ is a killer because it limits your play-calling options (‘dink & dunk’ is a fun strategy to eat up the clock, but not when you’re behind by as much as we were in last year’s Arizona game).
So many fans seem to believe that we lost games in the 4th qtr last year. I disagree; EVERY point scored by your opponent counts just as much as every other point, whether it’s scored in the 1st qtr or in the last 2 minutes. We lost FOUR games last year by 3 points … victory in cases like that comes down to the difference between scoring a TD versus a FG. EVERY POINT COUNTS AS MUCH AS EVERY OTHER POINT.
August 31st, 2018 at 10:49 pm
I just hope he wont coach scared. Be more aggressive and run the ball more. More than anything call plays that work in the Redzone.
August 31st, 2018 at 11:00 pm
TampaDave Hahaha! Thanks I needed a laugh. Great name. Good luck on your season.
I hope who ever is calling plays caĺls the ones that score the most points.
September 1st, 2018 at 12:31 am
Dirk is absolutely terrible at calling plays as a head coach. The last 2 years the Bucs have been completely predictable and incredibly conservative. Dirk needs to give up the play calling duties OR he needs to have someone in his ear constantly telling him he’s called the same play on 1st and 10 now 8 times in a row, and the defense is just run blitzing because it’s obvious when the Bucs are running. Also Dirk needs to go into his plays database and delete the sweep, which 9 out of 10 times results in at least a 4 yard loss. Anywho STOP running up the gut on every first down in the first half when the other team puts 15 guys in the box to stop you, BUT if you’re going to run it up the guy on every first down in the first half don’t come out in shotgun on 1st and 10 in the 2nd half and tell the opposing defense you’re now NOT going to run, use this thing called the playaction pass.
Seriously Dirk stinks calling plays since he’s been HC, which was not the case in year 1 under Lovie when he was much more balanced and less predictable. Ideally he just realizes he’s not good enough to be the HC and the OC and to let the OC do his job, and it’s not like Dirk can’t over rule a play. But if Dirk takes over control of the offense it’s going to be the same garbage play selection he’s done for the last 2 years, teams will run blitz up the gut on every first down in the first half and whoever is running the ball will average about 2.4ypc because of it.
September 1st, 2018 at 5:38 am
Koetter ran an effective offense in 2015,but it had little to with Lovie being the coach. Calling plays from the booth is a an advantage since you have the benefit of spotters and can see the flow of the game better. Koetter hasn’t adjusted well enough enough yet to calling plays on the field. Koetter and Jameis both benefited from a much better run game’ that opened up the play action passes It also seemed predictable at times but the execution was much better. Jameis had both VJAX and Mike Evans to catch the ball and presenting some very big targets. Also Jameis was more accurate on his deep ball , which helps to keep eight men out the box.
September 1st, 2018 at 6:10 am
@defense
Fast starts wins more games than frantic comebacks. When Jameis comes back ,
I fully expect him to be more focused, which I hope leads to better starts. It looks like Jameis is starting to find the range on the deep ball to DJAX. One thing
I noticed is that on deep ball attempts ,Jameis is often trying to fit the ball between Two defenders. I was reading an article that quoted some Sid Gilman
rules. One of his premises was don’t throw into double coverage, find the man left open.
September 1st, 2018 at 6:16 am
Bob … Sid Gilman was a smart man.
September 1st, 2018 at 1:27 pm
4-12
September 1st, 2018 at 1:45 pm
Monken calling plays makes Koetter a better game day coach