Koetter Won’t Reveal Opening-Day Playcaller
September 3rd, 2018
Dirk Koetter isn’t talking about a certain subject.
But Joe did get an “appreciate you asking” from the head coach. So that was pleasant.
A super-competitive guy, Koetter must think there’s some sort of on-field advantage to not revealing who will call plays for the Bucs on Sunday in New Orleans. That’s the only reason Joe can come up with for keeping his playcaller decision private.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken called plays through this preseason.
JoeBucsFan.com: Coach, can you share whether you’ll call plays on Sunday?
Dirk Koetter: No. I can’t. Appreciate you asking, though.
Joe would bet $200.00 Koetter is the playcaller on Sunday, but no more than that. There is a flimsy chance Koetter believes Monken is better than he is at that critical duty and/or Koetter wants more time to get involved in every aspect of the team.
September 3rd, 2018 at 1:59 pm
Not in suspense
Won’t matter anyway
We aren’t beating the saints
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:01 pm
Monken is somebody he trusts. Maybe seeing some of Monken’s system work so well influences him in a positive way. Hopefully, we’ll see less run, run (for less than three yard, pray for Jameis to save us. When you lose a lot of one possession games, implicitly every wasted possession potentially cost you the game. Koetter was bullheadedly committed to establishing the run even if that meant we routinely gave away several possessions going run, run, pray so much early in games. You combine bullheaded offensive play calling with a defense that is 32nd in 3rd down stops, you end up with a team that scores very few points by half time.
Two totally unrelated notes.
1. Last Thursday, we played 12 yards off a wide receiver on 4th and 3. Quick out, five yards, easy first down. Even Ronde Barber, who has an office at One Buc and has to toe the line a little, was really upset. If I’m the head coach, GM or owner and I see that in a real game, the defensive coordinator is gone.
2. Jeremy McPlaybook was cut by the niners and not signed to the practice squad.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:01 pm
i for one think koetter is a good play caller. before he got here i could name run or pass 90%of the time. after it became 50/50 so he was good in my book. i see nothing wrong with Monken though and it would free koetter up to focus on the team as a whole. GO BUCS.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:03 pm
I hope for the sake of this team that you lose those 200 bucks Joe.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:04 pm
oh and offence is not our problem. what did sapp use to say just give us 20 points. hell we got that. defence is the question thats where we need to focus
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:05 pm
Well if we come out and run it up on the middle on every first down in the first half regardless of how many people are in the box then you know it’s Dirk making the calls.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:20 pm
kelley rose Says:
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:04 pm
oh and offence is not our problem. what did sapp use to say just give us 20 points.
Sapp said that over 15 years ago, he’s retired and in the hall and this game has changed don’t you think.
Destinjohnny yes it’s impossible to beat the saints it’s not like we did it last year and they make it to the playoffs every year so they are unbeatable…. Oh wait
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:23 pm
Rod Munch you just stold my thunder. I gurantee you the first play from scrimmage against the Saints to start the 2018 season will be a run right up the middle for one yard or a loss of 2 to 3 yards so you know good old Dirk is calling the game you can take it to the bank.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:24 pm
“America’s Jeff Fisher Klueless playing games while the Saints are serious in their march toward the superbowl”
Kobe Faker
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:26 pm
Rod Munch wins the internet!!!!
I have several “friends” that tell me there was nothing wrong with the coaching last year – it was the Defense/Kicking/Red Zone Offense
Which I agree with to a point – but the play calling and game management was just brutal at times. I have read more than a few articles on different sites that support the coaching (play calling specifically) as being a major problem – and dont even get me started with the almost complete absence of any in-game adjustments
SMDH
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:36 pm
kelley rose – Sapp said give us 17 points. The Bucs defense in turn, in 2002, gave up just 12.2ppg.
As for the game changing, you can’t take what Sapp said as meaning anything. Well in 2018 there were three teams that gave up 17 points or less. In 2002 there was two.
So no, the game hasn’t changed. It’s still down to if you can score more than the other guy, you win.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:40 pm
Buctooth – I’d say that’s a safe bet. Also you can fully expect Dirk to run that God awful sweep that always loses 5-7 yards on a 2nd and 6.
BucNole – Dirk was a very good playcaller in the booth in 2015, but he’s terrible on the sideline. Completely predictable, never mixes it up and then worse, when he finally does change it up, like he’s not going to run it up the middle on every first down, instead of a PA pass that would take advantage of the defense thinking he’s predictable and playing the run, instead he’ll come out in shotgun on 1st down letting the defense know a pass is coming. His play calling is garbage as head coach as he’s clearly not spending the time he used to game planning and he just doesn’t seem to have a good feel of the game from the sideline, which could be as simple as he just can’t see what is happening as well from the sideline.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:45 pm
I could care less who calls plays. Just have someone who has better clock management skills than we’ve seen in the last two years.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:48 pm
@Joe … “Koetter wants more time to get involved in every aspect of the team.” BINGO Joe; that’s the primary reason IMO why Monken will be calling the plays against the Saints this Sunday. I thought that the first team offense looked MUCH better this preseason, and a huge part of that was the play-calling. I know it was just vanilla, but there was a certain crisp, methodical, ‘smash-mouth’ style to it that I really liked.
Our first team offense was playing with confidence, and getting results: putting points on the scoreboard, not turning the ball over, and controlling the clock pretty well. Not what I saw last year or even in 2016. IF our offense can continue that type of play, no reason we can’t average at least 24 PPG, win the turnover battle and the TOP battle every game. IF our S/Ts improves (looks like it has), and our defense can pressure the QBs & stop the run, we” do OK this season. Still thinking 10-6.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:53 pm
Rod
Nothing to disagree with there…I would add that his clock management has been suspect. Oh, and things like not realizing your injured QB is starting a fight right behind you, and you are completely unaware. Or never rallying the troops, just standing there chewing his fingernails. Things like that.
September 3rd, 2018 at 2:54 pm
The main disadvantage to have Monken call the plays from the press box is clock management during two minute drills and the ability to call a time out when the play is not lined up right.
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:05 pm
Miguel
They weren’t getting those things right with DK on the sideline.
And I disagree. The headset goes straight to the QB, and the HC. Either one could call a TO when they got the word from upstairs, if that were necessary.
Dirks play calling and offense in 2015 was pretty darned good with him upstairs.
A good HC who isn’t worried about the play call (trust your OC) would be managing clutch situations without necessarily being told by someone else.
Or a seasoned QB for that matter.
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:13 pm
I’m sure Sean Payton and Drew Brees are cowering in the corner and chewing their finger naisl to nubs worrying about who’s going to be calling the Bucs offense next Sunday.
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:16 pm
The headset goes dead after something like 15 seconds.
Alot can happen in the dead time.
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:22 pm
The fact that DK didn’t answer means Monken is going to help him. At first, I thought Joes were gonna talk about which QB will start Sunday? THAT would really straighten ole yahoo Sean Payton up!! I will be focusing on Smith and the D. Joe, if DK and Monk split the calls, does that mean you’re only out $100? 🙂
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:30 pm
Dont really care. My fisrt reaction is to say it will be Monken calling plays and that Koetter would be a fool to not let Monken continue into the regular season
However this defense is going to get smoked badly due to the league’s worst DC on staff..Its going to really be entertaining reading people’s comments about how it’s still the talent even though the entire dline has been improved and the offense is.clicking..
No way it.could possibly be coaching…..EVER!
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:37 pm
With the current oline does it really matter who’s calling plays?
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:43 pm
DB55
That’s what made the Lions game a little more interesting…
Pre season, I know, but mysteriously they didn’t collapse.
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:51 pm
@DB55
All I know is that Leidtke handled his business vs Ziggy Ansah and that’s no small task for a starting LT let alone a back up.
September 3rd, 2018 at 3:53 pm
I don’t think there is too much of an advantage to be had by shrouding who’s calling the plays come Sunday, but hey, who knows it may just. If we are going to go to the Superdome and leave with an opening week W, it’s going to be on the shoulders of our Defense. We need to establish pressure early and often and maintain a solid rotation despite being down Vea and Unrein.
Also maybe missed the boat but, what’s the situation currently with LS? Have we picked anyone up since dropping Drew and Garrison?
September 3rd, 2018 at 4:34 pm
Wow am I an old dude. I thought he was using “playcaller” as slang for QB and I thought the story was going to be about Griffin challenging Fitz for the start Sunday. Hard to remember when QB’s used to actually call the plays but even recently powerful QB’s like Peyton Manning had a lot to do with which play actually gets run. When JW returns it’ll be interesting to see how much power Koetter/Moncken give him. Reportedly Koetter loves JW’s football smarts and wants him to audible even more.
@Schwifty
“All I know is that Leidtke handled his business vs Ziggy Ansah”
Agree totally but I gotta confess…my biggest fear for Sunday is not how we are going to stop Drew Brees…I’ve seen us do that before…but who is going to block Cameron Jordan a legitimate DPOY candidate. No disrespect to Liedtke or any other Buc’s OL but talent wise there is nobody on this team who can handle Jordan.
I suspect they’ll game plan and make sure he’s doubled every play I hope that perhaps that at least gives us a chance to slow him down. He will wreak havoc otherwise.
As someone famously said they pay the other guys too…and Jordan is worth every penny the Saints give him.
September 3rd, 2018 at 4:55 pm
jmarkbuc – Yeah, clock management is yet another thing Dirk gets an F for. He lost that game against the Rams at the beginning of the 2016 season by not using his time outs. Winston gets the team down to the Rams 6 yard line I think and the clock runs out while Dirk had a TO in his pocket and didn’t bother to spend it earlier in the drive with the clock under a min. Then we had the situation before halftime in Carolina in 2016 where Dirk didn’t understand how the clock worked and looked like a moron. Then last year in Carolina just before halftime the Bucs get the ball down to what, the Carolina 4 yard line or something, and Dirk calls two runs and let the clock run down before passing on 3rd down and getting a PI call – then the Bucs have to kick a FG because they don’t have time to run any new plays. Dirk is terrible with clock management and it’s really something you should figure out very very early in your coaching career. In fairness Andy Reid, who is a great coach, has been labelled as a dope when it comes to clock management, and I’ve heard the guy speak and stuff and he’s clearly not a moron, so I don’t get how anyone can get that far up in any system without knowing how to manage the clock.
September 3rd, 2018 at 4:58 pm
The offense is not the issue against the Saints.
If the DLine doesn’t get in Brees grill and rattle him, 30 pts won’t be enough
September 3rd, 2018 at 5:06 pm
I’d let Monken run with it until he fails, which may be never. This will make Koetter’s job much easier and help him as a head coach. They can strategize before the game and Dirk can slip in a play here and there. Manage the entire team and give Mike Smith help too.
September 3rd, 2018 at 5:16 pm
nor should he
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:31 pm
The offense never looked so good. Dirk is too predictable, need a change of pace.
September 4th, 2018 at 10:34 am
Todd Monken WILL be the playcaller…..