“I Woulda Got Pulled Out Of The Game”
September 24th, 2018
O.J. Howard talks 0-2 mentality (yes, 0-2) and learning a valuable lesson.
O.J. Howard has learned a valuable lesson, he says, one that was reinforced to him over and over again last week.
The Bucs’ manbeast tight end heard about it in the film room, out of the film room, on the sidelines and even during an interview on national radio.
During his recent visit to CBS Sports Radio, Howard was asked about slowing down as he approached the end zone on his 75-yard, catch-and-run touchdown against the Eagles. Howard was about a half-second from a very embarrassing fumble because he stopped protecting the football and running full speed.
Howard shared that he got an earful from Coach Koetter and players and coaches during the game and then later in the week. “I learned my lesson,” he said.
And Howard added that if he pulled a stunt like that at Alabama under Nick Saban, “I woulda got pulled out of the game.”
As for continuing the Buccaneers stunning run of explosive offense, Howard says the team has an 0-2 mentality entering the Steelers game and highly focused on details. That approach combined with superstar talent depth at receiver and tight end, Howard says, will keep the Bucs offense humming.
September 24th, 2018 at 1:56 pm
Love that “we have an 0-2 mentality” thing.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:05 pm
Glad OJ got yelled at for starting his end zone celebration before he was in the end zone, and it was nice of them to not ruin his moment by yelling about it at that moment. Hopefully waiting and yelling still gets the point across and he doesn’t do it again because hopefully he’s going to be scoring a lot more TDs.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:06 pm
Team > Any ONE Player – I love the attitude
September 24th, 2018 at 2:19 pm
I can’t wait for all this talk to be over and finally see how they do. That Philadelphia game seems like forever ago.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:23 pm
So, is Howard saying that compared to Nick Saban, Koetter is soft?
That ain’t good.
If I’m Dirk, I might be tempted to show this team how soft he is by sitting him to begin the Steeler game.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:40 pm
Hey DayOnePaul…. you’re an idiot.
How about scoring points vs. Scoring victories for an imaginary football stereotype.
Team is better with Howard on the field.
Foolish.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:40 pm
No fumble No foul…!
September 24th, 2018 at 2:41 pm
Take a look at the film from the University of Tennessee Titans and who fumbled the ball through the end zone. Howard was real close to the same exact play. I am glad to hear that he learned from it.
September 24th, 2018 at 2:57 pm
Early TD celebrations should only happen in Madden.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:02 pm
Secure the rock Big Dog and never slow down until you hit pay dirt!
I almost shat myself on that play.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:04 pm
Well Paul, I’d assume he meant if he had lost the ball, which he likely would have been sat for the next series by Koetter.
Don’t overthink it man.
September 24th, 2018 at 3:12 pm
I really like this young TE but tonight watch for Cam Brate to get a lot of looks because the Steelers will probably be paying more attention and shading coverage toward O.J..
September 24th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
Brate should get more involved as Fitz cools down. On issue with the Bucs is that they haven’t ran a ton of passing plays because they’ve been scoring so quickly, so instead of one pass to Howard for 75 and a TD, you figure if that was a typical scoring drive there’s probably 5 people getting a pass and another 20 yards rushing on that drive. It doesn’t matter except for those that care about stats more than they do about winning – but you’re not going to get all these deep bombs in every game, so more people will get balls thrown to them because of it, and the running game might show up more.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:05 pm
I’m sure if Saban were to pull O.J. for something like that, it would be in a game vs Mercer when they are guarenteed to win and not pulling him vs a ranked opponent.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:14 pm
Joe just a thought but with Leveone Bell rumors circulating. Do you think Jones might be a part of a pre determined trade? Obviously the Steelers wouldn’t let this happen until after tonight but both running backs seem to be on the shelf intentionally. Since I dont believe we are paying Winston next year this would help our future QB not to mention this year.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:16 pm
Winston for Bell Im calling it now!!!
September 24th, 2018 at 4:25 pm
When Winston comes back what happens to Griffin? I hope they’re reaching out to teams like San Fran for future consideration. Be nice if we could get some compensation for Griff before they just waive him goodbye. I understand he has no more PS eligibility, and I doubt we’ll carry 3 QB’s on the 53.
September 24th, 2018 at 4:28 pm
Agreed horse liver.
September 24th, 2018 at 5:57 pm
@Jean Lafitte … “When Winston comes back what happens to Griffin? I hope they’re reaching out to teams like San Fran for future consideration.” As the old sayin’ goes, Griffin “ain’t goin’ nowhere’. The odds of Fitz remaining a Buc next year, assuming of course that Jameis is retained, is essentially ZERO. Fitz is going to be high in demand regardless of what happens from here on out (I personally expect Gruden to make a play for him … a match made in heaven). Of course, Griffin’s contract only runs through 2018, just like Fitz’s. Therein lies the danger of signing skilled backups to only 1-year contracts (if they have a good year, it’s Bye-Bye Birdie).
September 24th, 2018 at 6:32 pm
@Jean we may very wel carry 3 QBs for a little bit. You got a short week after tonight then a bye week. Maybe they work a trade out during the bye week for one of the QBs on the roster. I see a vested vet getting a wink wink nod cut knowing they will be back after a roster spot opens up.
September 24th, 2018 at 6:37 pm
I’m sure Desean can relate. Dropping the ball at the 1yd line hot dogging what would have been a TD.