“You Better Deal With Protection First”
September 28th, 2018
“Look, Ali, you better look like a Pro Bowler this week, at least to make up for what’s been happening at right guard.”
You want to play running back for Dirk Koetter? You better know how to pass block.
Tonight on SiriusXM NFL Radio, the head coach talked about what’s next for his offense.
What’s next, of course, is the Chicago Bears and their ferocious pass rush from a team ESPN says blitzes less than any other in the NFL.
That approach could change Sunday as the Bears try to throttle the NFL’s leader in passing yards after three games, Ryan Fitzpatrick — and perhaps take advantage of some bad pass blocking by the Bucs’ offensive linemen and running backs on Monday night against Pittsburgh.
Will the Bucs take their foot off the gas on their high-octane offense a bit, Koetter was asked.
“I sure hope not,” Koetter replied. “That’s not the plan, to change. You just have to be mindful every week of the different conditions.”
“… I think the main thing you better deal with protection first because they can bring it from the inside and they can definitely bring it from the outside.”
Joe’s going to translate that as meaning the Bucs want to keep playing long ball and that leaves them no choice but to make sure they’ve got extra help for the offensive line more often than not versus the Bears.
Koetter added that the Bears “disguise coverage very well,” and “we’d love to get our running game more consistent.”
As you’ll hear Derrick Brooks talk about in the new TAMPA TWO video below, that running game is sort of the next step for the Bucs’ offense. Get defenses to respect the run game in order to open more opportunities passing, and possibly easier ones against an impressive rush.
September 28th, 2018 at 10:25 pm
You don’t see rookies come into the NFL as good pass blockers (not often)
It’s a skill they learn from playing
September 28th, 2018 at 10:25 pm
Fitz aint starting this game… If so I will vote no confidence for now on on the poll…
You start yor best player REGARDLESS of stats or emotional and fantasy intrest….
We wo 9 games with JW and would have won 9 more last season if not for our D….
Ypu start Fitz you lose my interest… I might even quit working dor the Bucs because I dont need that spitty job and the min wage pay… I do it for the love of the Bucs… Not Fitzmagic
September 28th, 2018 at 10:30 pm
Sorry for the spelling errors…. But real fans Know wtf Im saying…
Your starters start… Your back ups BACK UP….
If JW sucks…. Fitzmagic can continue his 400 yards a game and lose the rest of the way… IDC… At least we will be able to draft a good QB next year knowing we need one for sure
September 28th, 2018 at 10:32 pm
FreeTheSecretWeapon,
None of the rambling you just made made any sense. We are all dumber for reading it. I award you 0 points. May God have mercy on your soul.
September 28th, 2018 at 10:52 pm
FreetheSecret,
Calm down. Jameis will likely start in Atlanta. Fitz is in rythym, and Jameis has only had two practices. If Fitz’s knee acts up or he has a meltdown, Winston will relieve him. It’s just one game, that either of our QBs can win.
September 28th, 2018 at 10:54 pm
This game is a terrible match up for the bucs. I doubt Fitz finished the game.
September 28th, 2018 at 11:02 pm
Free The Secret Weapon?
Is your weapon whiskey or crack cocaine?
September 28th, 2018 at 11:22 pm
The Real Malloy
amen 🙂
September 28th, 2018 at 11:49 pm
DD69 will certainly have his hands full. I’d like to see the Bucs consider starting Cappa over Benonoch (who has struggled as of late). I think Cappa, being probably a little more mobile, and fresh could help shade protection over to help Dotson quicker when needed, with what will be an inevitable steady diet of K. Mack
…but then again we always have the venerable veteran Evan Smith. I think the TE’s will get less touches this week, mainly to have them stay home and block. Especially where ever Mack lines up. This game is setting up to be a grinder. Let’s hope Barber has a breakout game. He’s do! Go Bucs!
September 29th, 2018 at 12:18 am
Green Bay’s opening game against the Bears found them 20pts(?) down at the half with a battered and bruised Aaron Rodgers in the locker room
Aaron came out after the half, and with a bum leg, dinked and dunked the Bears in a hurry-up offense that never let the Bears D get a rest
They got gassed and the Packers (barely) won
The secret to this game is NOT explosive plays but to gas the defense early and never let them get a rest!
Preferably without injuries to any of our quarterbacks
September 29th, 2018 at 3:33 am
Round 2 top RG ’19 draft. How awesome would it be having an elite line for either of these QBs.
September 29th, 2018 at 6:51 am
Freethe weapon. Sage advice for you befoe posting. From the immortal WC Fields, “Don’t let the bambozzle you, but never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast.”
September 29th, 2018 at 7:07 am
@Trenchwar
Did you not watch the pre-season?
Cappa is super slow. He does not slide well. His latersl movemrnts are weak. And his lower body is weak. He doesnt get much push.
He is better suited to be a RT. But he needs to develop his kick-out.
Anybody see Donald Penn trying to play RT?
He has been kicking out with the left leg for over a decade. Now, they are asking him to learn to kick oht to his right. And he sucks at it! Donald is getting destroyed.
Thank God we didnt hire Gruden!
He chose Jordy Nelson over Khalil Mack
And he drafted a LT instead of that badass LB Edmunds from Virginia Tech, who is killing it for the Bills.
Imagine a 6-5 LB in the center with Khalil on the outside?
But, Gruden the Dictator is dumb.
Go Bucs!
September 29th, 2018 at 7:50 am
@gp … “The secret to this game is NOT explosive plays but to gas the defense early and never let them get a rest!” Love the strategy of gassing the defense early by keeping them on the field gp, and I couldn’t agree more, BUT … we tried that in the Steelers game & it backfired on us in the 1st half, big-time. That requires that our OLine be totally solid in BOTH run-blocking AND pass protection, and they sucked at BOTH in the 1st half of that game. Benenoch is proving to be a weak link, but Cappa (the rookie?) would fare worse against the Bears DLine.
We could very easily get our arses handed to us in this game UNLESS the OLine ups its’ play a bunch. IF it does, the explosive plays will be there for the taking, and Fitz is exceptional at seeing those opportunities develop & taking advantage. our defense is so badly beaten up right now that if they have to stay on the field longer than 25 minutes, we’ll need 4 BYE-weeks in a row to even field a defense for Game 5. Hmmm, I wonder if Scapegoat Smitty saw the movie ‘Avatar’? Maybe we could Jason Licht to sign a few human/Na’vi hybrids and we’d be all set for years to come.
September 29th, 2018 at 8:05 am
If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would say this is FAKE NEWS.
September 29th, 2018 at 9:10 am
DR
After watching the game again last night, iy=t appears to me that the first quarter went pretty darn well…
Defense got it’s three and out and looked good to start the game. We got a TD. Not a bad start at all.
The second quarter int’s are where the wheels fell off. Fitz managed to rally back and make it a game. In short, I feel better about it this morning than I did last Tuesday.
Think about how close Godwin was to having a 4 TD night. That hit by Joe Haden really shook him up.
One of the reasons we won the first two games is because receivers caught virtually everything. If they had done that Monday we would have won going away, despite the INT’s…
The injuries on D are worrisome. Good thing JL spent the offseason rebuilding the depth on D. The bye week can’t come fast enough
September 29th, 2018 at 9:39 am
The full screen option doesn’t work. That bugs me…
Browser: Google Chrome
September 29th, 2018 at 10:30 am
@Jmarkbuc … “One of the reasons we won the first two games is because receivers caught virtually everything. If they had done that Monday we would have won going away, despite the INT’s.” Completely agree (we did OK in the 1st qtr, but fell apart in the 2nd qtr … still think only one of the INTs was on Fitz). And that’s what it’ll take IMO for the rest of this season: for our offense to play lights out, score a LOT of points, make minimal turnovers, and control the clock. If ANY of those doesn’t happen in every game, we’ll probably lose that game. I thought we’d have around a #15 defense this year in terms of POINTS SCORED, but with all these injuries I’m surprised the NFL hasn’t traded us to the NCAA for my Bama Boyz. As you said, “The injuries on D are worrisome.”
September 29th, 2018 at 11:18 am
DR
I don’t think we did that in the Steelers game but, that was a different game than this
I’m worried that any pass play over 5 yards will give the Bears enough time to get to the QB regardless of how well the O line plays -until- we have them breathing too hard to think
September 29th, 2018 at 11:43 am
@ feel…then tell JW nit yo get suspended. I hate stupid people.
September 29th, 2018 at 11:58 am
T Rex
Ya might want to spell check before submitting a post like that!
September 29th, 2018 at 1:06 pm
@ GP – Ha! I was on my phone. What a disaster.
September 29th, 2018 at 3:11 pm
Trench War , from what I saw in pre season Cappa is a long long long way from playing ……… if he wasn’t a project of Licht he would be gone !!! He may develope but he was as bad as I’ve ever seen
September 29th, 2018 at 4:03 pm
I would love to see Barber tear up the Bears but I don’t expect that since Chicago stops the run better than anything else they do. We should be able to chip with our TEs and use up tempo to help wear out their defense and run up the score. Better to use a shorter passing game and rest
We
September 29th, 2018 at 11:17 pm
We have to play the small game and play it fast. Start the game with no huddle straight into attack mode. Like it was said tire them out with quick strikes, but also end arounds and receiver screens. Don’t give them a chance to pin back their ears. Keep them on their heels Make that line chase our offense’s tail constantly with high probability passes 4, 5 yards at a time keep the sticks moving. Long drawn out drives not going for the quick strikes. Our defense needs to stay off the field as much as possible because it has the ability to make Trubisky look like an all pro as it always makes qbs look.