Channeling Dirk Koetter
August 13th, 2019
Speaks like predecessor.
When former Bucs coach Dirk Koetter ran the team, he made two things abundantly clear:
The first was get to the season-opener as healthy as possible. it was the Jack Del Rio Rule. And it worked for Koetter as his Bucs teams were 3-0 in season-opening games.
The second tenant of Koetter’s days with the Bucs was that he hated fights. Joe never saw Koetter get so upset on a consistent basis as when anyone asked him about a fight. Talk about kicking a sleeping dog, wow.
Well after practice yesterday, Koetter’s successor Bucco Bruce Arians seemed like, for a brief period, Koetter was in his shoes. In discussing the intersquad practices with the Dolphins this morning and tomorrow morning, Arians sounded just like Koetter.
“Everything is just to get each other better, not to get anybody hurt,” Arians said. “There will be absolutely no fighting. If you fight, you’re out of here. It’s just a matter of practicing against somebody to make you better and having good respect for each other.”
The first element Joe agrees on. Sure, you have to get guys in game shape but what good are they standing on the sidelines in sweat pants? You cannot prevent injuries but a team can avoid them.
As for fights? Well, it at least shows guys are dialed in and not mailing it in. No, there shouldn’t be any cheap shots but damn, if someone is pulling dirty crap, let them have it. Don’t back down and don’t be a pansy saying, “It’s good.”
It’s not good!
This team has lost 22 games the past two years. A little fire and attitude are needed. Hell, those are a couple of reasons the Bucs brought Arians here in the first place, right?
August 13th, 2019 at 12:03 am
Leave the coaching advice to the adults. They’ve got this covered.
In BA I Trust!
August 13th, 2019 at 12:13 am
Hear, hear, Sport.
We don’t need another cook in the kitchen, Joe. Stick to your keyboard and making up cute little nicknames.
Fighting at practice is stupid. It shows a lack of self-control, not toughness.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:27 am
Joe this is a late post so you may have had a couple of cold ones. But since you’re so jacked up maybe you can run some plays at Safety.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:29 am
Once upon a time knew a player who punched another player in the head and got his finger stuck in the guy’s facemask – it was ripped off in the ensuing tussle.
Most football fights last about 0.5684 seconds between the two pugilists, then the mob comes in to get a couple free stomps in.
I’m with Dirk and BA on this one. Practice fights are worthless.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:58 am
Father Dungy alo did not allow fights after taking the reins of the worse team in football at that time and he had among others bad ass Sapp and Hardware Nickerson … how did that work out Joe?? I know you have to blog about something but damn!!!! Give it up dude you are negative to an extreme and claim to be a Bucs fan, starting to doubt you Joe.
August 13th, 2019 at 1:42 am
The “no fighting rule” is not coach specific. Nobody owns a patent on it. I would suffice to say that all 32 head coaches feel the same way.
August 13th, 2019 at 3:09 am
Oh boy, Joe sure triggered the Koetter haters.
I’m with you Joe, if cheap shots are being taken, nothing wrong with defending yourself.
August 13th, 2019 at 4:38 am
@Joe … “You cannot prevent injuries but a team can avoid them.” Not at all sure what that means Joe. How does a team avoid injuries? And if they could avoid them, wouldn’t that be the same as preventing them?
If you’re implying that a team can ‘practice smart’ and thus reduce the likelihood of injuries, then I agree 100%. And learning & using proper technique in tackling, blocking, etc certainly helps to minimize the possibility of injuries. But ‘stuff happens’ (like Vea’s leg injury) that’s just part of the game. I don’t know how you avoid situations like that, or prevent those types of injuries. Well, short of taking the humans out of it & making all the games Madden football that is.
August 13th, 2019 at 5:00 am
Wrong Joe. You say “it’s good!” Then on the next play you go for the knees. Cheap shots deserve another. It’s the only easy they learn. Dial retribution dial to maximum.
August 13th, 2019 at 6:09 am
I have no problem with his rules. If you think not allowing fights at practice is causing the losses you need another coffee…wake up. Thr lisses run much deeper than that
August 13th, 2019 at 6:23 am
During real games there aren’t many fights…because it’s not accepted. Somehow, punching someone’s helmet and breaking their hand it a good thing? If they get pissed they should just knock the sh__ out of the guy on the next play. Self control and cutting down on stupid stuff is more important. I’m with BA on this one!
August 13th, 2019 at 6:54 am
Joe wakes up this morning, re-reads this post and says to himself “what in the he!! was I thinking??”
August 13th, 2019 at 7:08 am
I respectfully disagree with Joe(s). Barring fighting in practice and having consequences for fighting in practice is about building/fostering discipline. If players can’t control themselves enough to NOT fight, then they’re unlikely to be able to control themselves enough to avoid student penalties in a real game.
Discipline is good.
August 13th, 2019 at 7:11 am
Fighting shows a lack of discipline…..if you fight in practice…you fight in a game and you hurt your team.
August 13th, 2019 at 7:27 am
Let em fight.
August 13th, 2019 at 7:53 am
Arians is correct. Someone gets chippy with you, you even the score on the field…knock them on their backside, or, like Warren Sapp, you wait your chance and even the score. Childish fighting and such will only hurt the team. Deal with it…but deal with it like a professional football player. Just channel Warren…he will tell you how to handle it.
August 13th, 2019 at 8:45 am
Fights in football are dumb and shouldn’t be tolerated. All fighting in practice or in a game shows is that you have no discipline. Whoever instigates a fight is usually because they were soundly beaten and embarrassed in practice. Battles should happen under fair rules of play and in between the whistles.
August 13th, 2019 at 9:00 am
Bryan Cox would fight every day.
Bill Romanowski could make you punch him in the helmet in front of the refs,
Don’t punch people in the helmet!
August 13th, 2019 at 9:20 am
They’re all pros. Fighting is childish.
August 13th, 2019 at 9:53 am
Joe– let’s have two or three real articles per day, not 8-10 stories based on one uninteresting quote…
August 13th, 2019 at 9:58 am
Softest fanbase in sports….. bucfan prefers soft choirboys who collect basement titles versus men who do whatever it takes to win…. bucfan is closer to synchronized swimming fan than nfl fan…
August 13th, 2019 at 10:58 am
Well what do we expect him to say? He can’t say “I want them to fight” r even “It’s part of the game” which then breeds the kind of indiscipline we’ve see too much of. Hr’s saying what a head coach has to say.
August 13th, 2019 at 11:08 am
Buc fans aren’t softer than any other fan… after all, none of us are putting our bodies on the lines on Sunday. Now you could argue myopic… or that it isn’t as culturally ingrained over a century, as it is in the midwest. But really..such a generalization.
Choirboys? Not hardly. No one wants to have players unavailable, because of suspensions, arrests, and such. And no one would criticize a guy for public and community involvement…anywhere. And it is a violent game, no matter how you cut it. And I don’t remember an outcry when we signed Suh. So I tend to think that is off base.
So are you telling us that other cities wouldn’t be proud to have guys like DB and TD as residents in their communities? Please.
August 13th, 2019 at 11:58 am
More high quality click-bait, errrrrr, JOURNALISM!
August 13th, 2019 at 12:18 pm
The fighting label didn’t do Ryan Jensen any favors last year. Show me the toughness in the 4th quarter by imposing your will on the other team.
August 13th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
i see your point about fighting (and i agree it shows a player has “dawg” in him) but what it really shows is that a player lacks discipline & control … and how many games have the Bucs lost the last few years because of boneheaded decisions at key times in games?