Credit Where Credit Is Due
November 7th, 2022
Bucs special teams coach Keith Armstrong.
This has been a big gripe from Bucs fans for a few years and Joe isn’t suggesting fans are wrong.
The Bucs’ special teams are not anything to brag about overall.
Most folks are like Joe and think of the return game as the key to special teams. And in a lot of ways that is true. But despite Bucs special teams coach Keith Armstrong having a spotty record dating back to his days with the Dixie Chicks, the Bucs’ kicking game is strong.
The MVP of the offense is kicker Ryan Succop. That’s very sad to type but tell Joe he hasn’t been the best, most consistent scoring machine the Bucs have had this year. His 54-yard field goal into the south end zone at Pittsburgh, generally a place where field goal attempts to die, was fantastic.
And yesterday Bucs rookie punter Jake Camarda got the game ball for his excellent punts. A punter getting a game ball — imagine!
So today in Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ day-after presser, kicking (and punting) was a big topic. Bowles gave Armstrong props for the strong kicking game.
“We think he’s been doing a great job,” Bowles said. “Keith is a hard worker, he understands the game, he has great knowledge of the game, he’s been doing it a long time.
“He’s probably one of the top coaches we have, and we have quite a few of them. He’s one of our top coaches – spends hourless times trying to get these guys better, along with [Keith] Tandy and Chris [Boniol] and they do a great job over there.”
Well, Joe won’t go all in there. The Bucs have a lot of good coaches. Not sure Armstrong is the best (but he’s an awesome guy), and even when Bowles gave Armstrong major props for the kicking game, Bowles indirectly scolded Armstrong for a having a field goal blocked.
There is one element to Camarda’s game that Bowles doesn’t like. Camarda, Bowles said, is making too many tackles.
And before any smart aleck chimes in, you never want your punter tacking. That generally means dudes are racking up good returns.
November 7th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king…
LOL!
What about the blocked field goal?
I know – I know… Let’s not ruin this love fest…
HAHAHAHAHA!
Can we be honest? The Bucs special teams have stunk the past few years…
But this guy is our best coach now?
Gotcha…
November 7th, 2022 at 4:26 pm
@Marine Buc. LOL Exactly.
November 7th, 2022 at 4:29 pm
But, but….BUT! Our punter has 4.5 speed. Use him as Weapon X at a critical juncture sometime this season.
November 7th, 2022 at 4:37 pm
LOL, Comrade Camarda can’t help it, he is a natural athlete, with 4.5 speed.
Imagine him on a fake punt ?
He has the speed to take it to the house.
That said, this special teams coach has nothing on Rich Biasuccia.
Rich should be a head coach in the HFL one day.
Not to take anything away from Coach Armstrong, but kickers like Succup and Camarda make your job easier.
That said, I do see improvement in Darden, who used to make me bite my nails every time he fielded a kick.
November 7th, 2022 at 4:44 pm
Rams returned 3 kickoffs and 2 punts….Camarda had 2 tackles…..yep…that’s too much.
But, you’ve got to love the kid’s effort.
What a friggin’ leg!!!
November 7th, 2022 at 4:47 pm
I think the credit is due the two players, Succop and Camarda. Blocked fg’s, no outstanding returns, and giving up big returns don’t spell a great special teams coach.
Bowles just seems to make idiotic assessments, I dunno.
November 7th, 2022 at 4:55 pm
our best rook by far
November 7th, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Darden also leads the league in return yards this year
November 7th, 2022 at 5:06 pm
Also, and I must say, Jaelon Darden has been much better on punt returns. Look the punt return and kickoff return is dead nowadays, hard to ask anyone to be Dante Hall or Devin Hester but he’s been reliable. That’s all you can ask
November 7th, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Why don’t the Bucs ever try to block a punt? Their return game is average, at best, so why not send 2-3 speedy rushers on every punt? Put Miller on the edge, and let him rush. Perriman too.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:07 pm
Darden has never met a sideline he didn’t adore
Yes he makes a nice first move to avoid the gunner most of time, right to the safety of the sideline after he grabs whatever is there
He avoids any contact and is constantly being punked by the other team as he is always tapping back at them after he ducks out of bounds
The special teams suck – the specialist have NOTHING to do with coaching
Coverage units and return teams are poor – one decent game against the struggling Rams does not a season make
November 7th, 2022 at 6:38 pm
MarineBuc and Clwjb are exactly right. Let’s not sing the praises of Armstrong. Dude is clueless like the rest of the coaches.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:41 pm
LOL. The two things the coach can’t coach, accuracy and leg strength. And he wants to give a coach credit? This guy is digging a deep hole for himself. The punter was in the zone yesterday. He brought his balls and left with one more. Atta boy
November 7th, 2022 at 6:50 pm
More proof the Bowles is clueless.
There have been about 4 guys playing well on special teams- kicker, punter, the holder, and as of late- Darden. That’s it!
Everyone else is below average. There is never ANYONE blocking for Darden on returns. Never. They allowed Wagner to jump the line and block a kick yesterday. And on the other side, we don’t even ATTEMPT to block a kick or punt. Ever.
Armstrong is garbage, and is incredibly lucky that Licht found a great punter and a great kicker.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:50 pm
@Darin – exactly.
November 7th, 2022 at 6:51 pm
Armstrong can’t take credit for Succup or Camarda. Succup was a top flight kicker before he came to the Bucs and Camarda was booming kicks in college. Kick and punt coverage are both suspect at times, especially punt coverage. It was that way in Atlanta too where Armstrong was Special Teams coach.
November 7th, 2022 at 7:13 pm
Any Chicken Little’s here?
November 7th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Pelsbuc61 Says:
November 7th, 2022 at 6:38 pm
MarineBuc and Clwjb are exactly right. Let’s not sing the praises of Armstrong. Dude is clueless like the rest of the coaches.
…………….
I am Sure that you could do a better job, right?
November 7th, 2022 at 7:22 pm
Nope…the coaches can’t take any credit for the special teams! I agree with some other posters, Camarda’s leg strength and Succop’s accuracy isn’t from this staff’s coaching . In all honesty, our special teams are garbage, whether it be returns or coverage. Darden isn’t a good returner at all. Our gunners are horrible or we wouldn’t need the punter to make tackles. Had it not been for Jake’s tackles, who knows what the outcome of the game may have actually been? I guess Jake is going to have to work on punting out of bounds, to avoid our coverage team having to attempt actual coverage.
November 7th, 2022 at 8:06 pm
Darden seems better this year but I’d love to see him not head for the sidelines so quickly and try to get up the field. He also needs to learn where he is on the field no way he should’ve caught one of the punts yesterday it was going in the end zone and I think he caught it at about the 5yd line or so. He seems sure handed so that’s good. If he breaks one I think his confidence would go up and he’d quit running to the sidelines all the time.
November 8th, 2022 at 1:37 am
Just for fun switch Armweak and Leftwurst and see if there’s a difference. Hard to get worse than absolute zero but why not see if Einstein was wrong?
November 8th, 2022 at 1:55 am
Darden has been great on the Punt returner. He averaged 10 yards a punt. I don’t know about you but I can’t complain about that. With 0 fumbles this season as well
November 8th, 2022 at 8:43 am
SB Says:
November 7th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Pelsbuc61 Says:
November 7th, 2022 at 6:38 pm
MarineBuc and Clwjb are exactly right. Let’s not sing the praises of Armstrong. Dude is clueless like the rest of the coaches.
…………….
I am Sure that you could do a better job, right?
——————————
SB, there are plenty of yahoos on here. Succop has been rock solid; Camarda is scary good. Darden has gotten yards and not fumbled. So, common sense would dictate that something is going right.
November 8th, 2022 at 8:56 am
Try watching the game, Joe. One of the tackles Camarda made was inside the 30 yardline. He pretty much got trucked but he ran down the field like he was part of the kick coverage unit and didn’t hang back as the safety valve.
November 8th, 2022 at 10:57 am
The kicker/punter making too many tackles, well with no Britt and no Grant Stuard, you see adifference, maybe this is why they brought Ryan Smith back, let’s see if he gets moved up this week. BTW, if Julio can’t play special teams, move Tyler up as well, at least he will give effort
November 8th, 2022 at 11:35 am
Thought I was seeing things on the 74 yrd punt! That was all air! No bounce and roll thing. Criminy! We all thought he was a wasted pick. He made this game.