Hard To Tell What Bucs Offense Will Look Like From Dave Canales’ Words
February 22nd, 2023
Bucs OC Dave Canales.
So the Bucs finally have an offensive coordinator who is real flesh and blood. Joe saw and heard him today.
Dave Canales made his Tampa debut as the Bucs’ new offensive shot-caller. Joe’s first impression was Canales is jacked, both his arms and his demeanor.
When Bucs media relations people stuck their heads outside the back door of the “studio” where press conferences are held, to ask if everyone was ready and to mute their phones, Canales had his head poked out over their shoulders. It was almost like your dog when you answer the front door and the pooch is looking for a crack in order to bolt outside.
Canales nearly leaped to the podium and immediately asked how everyone was doing as his face wore an ear-to-ear smile. Canales sort of looked like he won the lottery. Canales was ready for this moment.
He came across P.J. Fleck-like to Joe with his enthusiasm and energy.
From there, Joe couldn’t get a read on what the Bucs’ offense will be. Initially, Canales talked nearly non-stop about the run. Joe even Twittered that everything he had said screamed “Dungyball” circa 1998.
But then, showing he was well-prepared for this moment, Canales wanted to reassure everyone by saying two very salient things.
* If the run isn’t working, then he won’t run.
* The offense he is crafting will work with any quarterback, whether that is Kyle Trask or someone else.
Canales said your Bucs quarterback is Trask mainly because he’s currently the only one under contract for 2023. Then Canales went into a long soliloquy about why he was impressed with Trask from his college tape.
Other than that, it was your typical new-coachspeak about how teams want to be smart and play hard and insert other common talking points.
Canales said offensive line coaches Joe Gilbert and Harold Goodwin will remain on his staff.
Refreshingly, he seemed to enjoy meeting with the fourth estate and was not the least bit condescending.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:01 pm
Didnt he mention something about a new TE coach he’s excited about? I forgot the name
Im impressed with Canales….and man was he refreshing to listen to as an OC than you know who….we’ll see I guess.
But I think we’re probably going TE in the 2nd or 3rd, which I wouldnt be against as long he’s a great blocking TE.
Sign QB Dalton for cheap…
Draft LT 1st, TE 2nd, QB Hooker 3rd if still there or RB Zach Evans….I could get on board with that….(and yes I know we need help on D, especially CB…so affordable free agents will have to fix that until next draft)
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:02 pm
I was looking for video of the presser and unable to find it just yet. Thank you so much for sharing some initial thoughts, JOE.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:02 pm
Go Bucs!
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:04 pm
CB Mekhi Garner if we can trade back into the last 10 spots of the 3rd for him
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:05 pm
Go Kyle Trask!!
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:11 pm
Yea we’re in for a longggg hard ugly season Buc fans, no money, no QB no sense of maybe drafting or trading for any help substantially. I believe Glazers will chalk this season up as a loss and clean up next year with new staff and team! Sadly I’d say start this year with maybe trading one of our aging stars, be it evans or Barrett, or get a second for devin white. But let’s start this train over lol
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:14 pm
I watched the press conference. I felt I could tell a lot more about the offense than Joe seems to think.
1) Emphasis on energy and effort, which should translate to speed and aggressiveness.
2) Said things that indicated he actually believes in in-game adjustments. Imagine that!
3) More motion
4) Greater variety in personnel groups
5) Play-action!
6) Ball security. This team is not going to fumble, based on his comments and Skip Peete’s background.
If you listened, he gave a lot of clues when talking about the previous OCs he’s worked for, but he became most animated when bring up Waldron, so this won’t be a stone-age offense.
I’m confident they’ll run the ball much more effectively and the QB won’t have to win games on his own (fortunately for us).
This guy is night-and-day from Leftwich.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:15 pm
oh boy i hope he does that Raheem offense that “scores touchdowns”
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:15 pm
“If the run isn’t working, then he won’t run.”
Leftwich is like, yeah i like that.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:17 pm
He brought more logic to this presser than Leftwich did his entire time here
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:17 pm
I’m excited for a BALANCED football attack and not relying on one guy to bail the Bucs out every Sunday.
Draft OL/DL in first two rounds then go for Tucker Kraft out of SDHU
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:19 pm
Do any of you actually watch the playoffs and see that the teams that were the most competitive and actually won playoff games had quarterbacks that are almost impossible to sack because they are shifty/smart like Maholmes or a beast like Hurts.
And you want a Dalton or a Kyle Trask? These are simply the old way teams played QB’s that stayed in the pocket. That style of quarterback is past tense. You cannot survive in the pocket with the offensive line the Bucs have.
Go young and fast, there are some QB’s in the draft that can throw and run 4.5 and lower 40’s. Grab one and forget about these QB’s that stand back there and don’t have the clock in their head to head for green pastures when 2.2 seconds is up and no one is open.
Bone-headed fans want a return to the pocket passer. It isn’t enough.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:24 pm
He better not try and start using logic.
That **** don’t fly round here.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:29 pm
It was really refreshing to hear Canales talk about QBs being the point guard of the offense, which is closer to the truth than how sports media talks about QBs or want you to believe they’re more comparable to baseball pitchers. Also lauded Trask for his athletic prowess in the pocket and being able to get him on the move with the ability to still deliver the ball downfield. Can’t wait to hear more from Canales around/at the combine, dude talked about Trasks’ UF tape like it was still fresh in his mind from 2 draft cycles ago.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:29 pm
Off to a good start. I want an open QB competition. Dalton is fine but Trask and another young QB should get a fair shot to start too.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Ed, its a losing season anyway you doucheeee!
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:31 pm
@Bonehead Ed….so I cant use the other name, ok.
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:39 pm
No silly hats. Check.
Speaks good Engrish. Check.
Isn’t condescending. Check.
Is enthusiastic and talks like he has a clue what he’s doing and where it’s going to happen – awesome!!
Sure sounds like an upgrayed. (Yes, typo is intentional – see the movie Idiocracy for Upgrayed character – you’ll LOL).
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:41 pm
Please don’t ban me Joe but I would rather we bring in Taylor Heineke. He was impressive in our 2020 playoff game and he could possibly thrive with the Bucs. Just my opinion
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:48 pm
He has now said more than the Glazers or Jason Licht
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:48 pm
@Dew
A QB competition is the best way to go imo
February 22nd, 2023 at 2:49 pm
Burrow can run, he was sacked 41 times last year, perhaps he should stress getting rid of the ball earlier
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:08 pm
At least he didn’t say “I want players to do what they do……win football games”
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:09 pm
“Canales went into a long soliloquy about why he was impressed with Trask from his college tape.”
Quick!!! Someone call Canales and tell him he’s wrong!!! Our very own Trask Haters have assured us from watching YouTube videos that Trask can’t throw!!! 😛
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:12 pm
Ed, go look at the list of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks since 2000 and report back to us how many are “athletic” types.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:20 pm
um, did he say dumpster fire?
that would define it.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:22 pm
* The offense he is crafting will work with any quarterback, whether that is Kyle Trask or someone else.
reads dink and dunk and screens behind the LOS
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:23 pm
Can’t be much worse than the 18 points per game offense we had last season…
Nowhere to go but up.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:24 pm
Hard discussing an Offense when the QB and potentially a starting RB, LT slot guy etc… may not yet be on the team. Team is a stew being cooked and right now we are just boiling water.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Also Joe, how do you not mention the “If you don’t like bears chasing you, get rid of the ham” line? I’ve never heard that one, but it instantly made perfect sense. Chuck the swine if you’re pressed for time, No pump fakin’ just get rid of the bacon, cant be stopped if you’re slinging the porkchop lol there’s so much potential there
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:32 pm
Every plan looks good until you get hit in the face.
The best offenses I have seen were catered to the strengths of that offense, never seen a one size fits all go very far.
I just hope he can adjust and take what a defense gives them.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:33 pm
Doesn’t matter. My favorite part was him talking about in game adjustments he is instantly better than leftwich with just one press conference
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:43 pm
For all you folks who want a running QB. Need I remind you the eagles had a stacked roster. Plenty of QBs could’ve gotten to the superbowl with that outfit. Mahomes is a generational talent, who actually ran a dink and dunk offense this season. The game is still won and lost from the pocket. Sure it’s nice to extend plays, but the cost benefit is deceiving.
February 22nd, 2023 at 3:45 pm
This offense will be a young QB’s best friend. I just hope Trask has the same confidence because that’s what separated Purdy this year. He had the confidence to grip it and rip it.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Correct me if I am wrong here Redeemer, But both QB’s in this years superbowl were outstanding runners and passers. A combination at that position presents dual threats sir.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:05 pm
One of the thinnest analyses ever from Joe. Please stop with the tank talk. I very much enjoy reading the comments and Joe does a great job scanning the internet and talking to his sources. But lately the reporting is about as fair and balanced as Fox News. Sasquatch apparently watched a different tape than Joe. Ok fine. We don’t know who the #1 running back will be and we aren’t sure about the QB either. Is that any different than any of the other teams in the NFC South or about half the teams in other divisions? The narrative here is that the Buccaneers will stink and it is all Coach Bowles and there is no hope. I call BS on that. The Buccaneers started the 2022 season without Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, and Gronk. Then they lost their best pass rusher. Bowles never made any excuses and took all the heat. I will not defend all his in-game decisions. But he had no opportunity to choose his own staff, which is largely unprecedented in the NFL and he had to deal with vastly overrated expectations. The #3 and #4 receivers missed the majority of the season. This was never at any point going to be a serious super bowl contending team. Now the majority of posters have already given up on 2023. That’s ridiculous. Nobody knows what next year’s roster is going to look like. Everyone has an opinion and that’s ok. Also, let’s not forget that without Bowles we likely would not have contended for or won the superbowl. When everyone says, “he can’t motivate players; they don’t want to play for Bowles. Hogwash. Watc h the Superbowl tape and tell me that defense didn’t play for him. And by the way take a look at the starting offensive and defensive line in the Super Bowl. In 2020, the Buccaneers had very few injuries.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:10 pm
I really hope this guy gets to do His thing and Bowles doesn’t screw up his shot.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:16 pm
Whos writes this crap?
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Ed, ever hear of Joe Burrow? Not exactly Lamar Jackson, but he’s sooo much better.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Sasquatch … Excellent rundown of what Canales emphasized in his press conference. I absolutely love all the ‘open minds’ on JoeBucFan willing to give the guy a chance. With that type of attitude, we would’ve got blown away in WWII because we didn’t exactly start from a position of strength & we had a bunch of new leaders who’d never proven themselves in combat. And yet, that’s not how the story ended.
Canales made a point (reported on the Bucs’ site) that he ‘won’t have a specific target number of carries for any given game, but he does want the run game to operate in a way that helps the aerial attack, and vice versa. Some of that has to do with keeping the opposition guessing as to what is coming.’ I think we used to call that COMPLEMENTARY FOOTBALL’ but I’m not sure.
As he unfolded that, it became obvious that a primary goal of his is to learn the players’ strengths and capitalize on those. I like what I heard, but the real challenge obviously is putting it into practice. I’m pulling for the guy to make it happen, just like I’m pulling for Bowles to fix this defense. I think we’ll probably suffer through a year or two of ‘growing pains’, but at least I’m starting to see a direction forward become clearer & an identity develop. We were missing that last year IMO; we tried to be something we weren’t capable of being & we paid for it.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:29 pm
Go Bucs
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:30 pm
Certainly a better open than Andy Dalton.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:31 pm
Trask will not be your starting QB. It’ll be a veteran we haven’t yet signed. Book it.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:31 pm
Man, talk about lazy reporting. Whoever wrote this either doesn’t know what to listen for or wasn’t really paying attention.
Building the offense around the talent, being able to adjust, wanting to scheme plays for players against a defense rather than having your plays and thinking your guys are better than theirs, utilizing what he has learned and experienced from years past, giving examples of how he impacted game plans and adjustments in games. Running same/similar plays out of different looks to keep a defense from dictating what he is going to run/call on offense. There was a lot more offered by Canales in the presser than what is lead to believe in this article.
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:41 pm
I totally forgot about that guy. Apparently there are some throws he can’t make, but he sure carved us up two games in a row
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Maybe that’s what Bowles was expressing at mid season. He want his OC to be energetic and to install that same attitude into his offensive players. Not bad mouthing Leftwich but he didn’t seem to be that type of guy. I think Arians was the energizer the past 3 years so when he stepped away everything went down hill. Just my opinion
February 22nd, 2023 at 4:44 pm
sasquatch – I might have to go watch that as well as so far I really hate the loser talk I’m hearing from him, but I haven’t heard it directly, so maybe hearing it directly will change things. But thanks for taking the time to write that out, although it doesn’t make me think any more highly of him as it just sounds like rookie/generic talking points.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:17 pm
Sounds like a breath of fresh air after LEFTY.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:24 pm
“Dungyball”
Well that sucks!….
Back to boring and losing games 11-6….
Replacing him with Gruden was one of the best things ever to happen in Tampa!
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:26 pm
Tye – The Dungy years were not even remotely boring. You had a defense that made huge plays, that scored points, and that was back when the NFL didn’t put dresses on players and the defense would blow up guys with big hits.
But yes, put that boring offense into todays game, where they’re trying to dumb it down to the point that women can play, and it’s going to be very very boring. Unless you’re into punters, in that case, I guess you’d see a lot of what you like.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:27 pm
Judging from what Canales was saying, it seems he’s going to implement the Kyle Shanahan/ Sean Mcvay offense.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:28 pm
Mike, Mahomes was hobbled and won the superbowl with his arm and brain. Again, he’s a generational talent. Go look up the past 15 superbowl winning QBs. The demise of the pocket passer has been predicted for over a decade. If hurts was half as deadly with his arm as his legs, the eagles would’ve won going away. Lamar Jackson? Don’t get me started. Yes it’s nice to extend plays, but it comes with a significant injury risk and a limited shelf life. Give me Peyton Manning and or Brady in their prime any day of the week. Call me a dinosaur, but winning football, especially winning consistently comes from the pocket. That will never change.
February 22nd, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Rod Munch – The article is about the offense so obviously that is what I was referring to… Dungy (like Bowles) a great DC but running the over all team, NOT so much!
February 22nd, 2023 at 6:24 pm
It’s “cute” move hiring him……I mean cheap…..joke!!!
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:26 pm
I hope you’re right about Canales Sasquatch.
That would be refreshing.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:54 pm
I agree with Sasquach. It’s like Joe didn’t even watch the presser. Gheez.
February 22nd, 2023 at 7:55 pm
^ Well I’m just reporting on what he said and his demeanor in delivering it.
None of that guarantees execution. Players have to do their job. Sounds like Canales system will be set up to make it easy to grasp.
February 22nd, 2023 at 8:42 pm
I am very impressed with our new coach, and have new hope for this coming season.
It looks like our new offense will be a very QB friendly one where Trask will not be asked to win the game all by himself.
February 22nd, 2023 at 9:24 pm
Good energy. I like his enthusiasm and he’s definitely hands on. He has an approach and a system that he says will be molded to player strengths. My biggest concern is he’s never called plays in college or the NFL. Gotta be better than Lefty.
February 22nd, 2023 at 10:01 pm
Junior is showing a lot of enthusiasm. He will say all the right things. He will claim to want to do a lot of exciting things between now and when it counts.
Todd Bowles is the head coach. Todd Bowles decides all.
February 23rd, 2023 at 6:04 am
It will look mediocre
February 23rd, 2023 at 6:28 am
man, all the negativity and complaining is overwhelming.
What do we want our new OC to do??? Draw up his plays and give the link to download the PDFs so all our opponents can see it?? Good grief.
our fan base really this weak????
February 25th, 2023 at 7:46 am
For all who think we had a subpar year because Bowles didn’t get to chose “his” staff. The staff he inherited won a !@#$ing Supperbowl! So please stop it. Bowles should have grown a pair and fired Lefty by the latest, game 7. And we had Clyde Christensen on staff already who we the ran off. He was very highly regarded in NFL circles people! Despite what some here have posted.