Schiano Calls Watson Mistake “A 10-Point Swing”

September 25th, 2012

How would you have liked to be Dekoda Watson on Monday? What a sick feeling must have been swimming through his stomach.

Watson missed a gift-wrapped blocked punt opportunity, unblocked at the line of scrimmage he over shot the mark and barrelled into the Cowboys punter on the Dallas 21 yard line.

The play was an absolute killer in the Bucs’ 16-10 loss, and that wasn’t lost on Greg Schaino, who didn’t discount the play’s impact Sunday.

“It really is a 10-point swing there,” Schiano said of Watson’s miss on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday. “As free as we come, that should be a touchdown. You block it, you score.”

Ouch. Joe likes that Schaino doesn’t hold back from identifying the impact of mistakes, versus saying “it’s just one play.” As fans remember, Jordan Shipley fumbled the punt away and Watson’s 15-yard roughing penalty (see photo above) was tacked on for Dallas, which drove for a field goal.

Former Bucs tight end and current radio analyst Dave Moore also came down on Watson for the mistake on WDAE-AM yesterday. Moore said players are coached to rush to where the punter’s foot will release the kick and Watson acted unaware of the target spot.

If the Bucs were only on that detail, fans likely would be fired up for a 2-1 team.

22 Responses to “Schiano Calls Watson Mistake “A 10-Point Swing””

  1. bucfanjeff Says:

    I understand the point being made, but a blocked punt does not equal a TD. It does, at that area of the field, put us in position to score.

    It was costly though, in a tight game where mistakes get magnified.

  2. buxter Says:

    Is Watson resistant to coaching too? I hope not, it did’nt work out for that other Florida state guy with special teams miscues.

  3. Rob Says:

    I said the same thing to myself, the wife, the kids as I watched the missed block punt. No excuse for missing a sure block and probable touchdown either after a picked up blocked punt, or the outstanding field position to drive the ball in for a score. Professionals make the play 9 of 10 times. Eventually, the pivotal plays will go our way. We are definitely in position to make game changing plays. The players just have to execute. We should have beat the Giants, we should have beat the Cowboys. We are competitive now, no question about that. Give Schiano a little more time and patience and the wins will follow. Go Bucs!

  4. upthegut Says:

    How many want Raheem Back???

  5. Justin Says:

    Still cannot believe he missed it. They had the camera angle behind the punter on the play and right after the snap it looked like a certain block.

  6. Jonny 3.3 Says:

    The missed block on punt and refs not ruling the fumble initially leading to Eric Wright’s TD being negated. Even with that horrific offense of ours, we had a damn good chance of winning this game and blew it. ****ing luck man, this franchise always lacked it.

  7. WestCoastBucsFan Says:

    @upthegut, nobody.

    I agree that this play probably swung the game. The other was that awful deflection by DJ Ware to lead to the interception in the Cowboys redzone. Offense and special teams were absolutely miserable that game.

    I really like Freeman but if you saw any of the close-ups of his face he looked lost, confused, and even a little scared at times. It really looked like he had no confidence out there.

    For some reason they make the opening offensive possession look like a well organized and perfectly functional offense. I think its the fact that the first drive is entirely scripted early in the week and practiced to perfection. They need to be able “script” drives for the rest of the game. Hopefully we get it together for the Redskins.

    Go Bucs!!

  8. Gunner Eleven Says:

    It’s gonna be a long season if our hopes for a win are that we block & recover punts for scores.

    Please Schiano, do whatever you have to do and beat the Skins on Sunday.

  9. Gavster Says:

    Freeman did not look confused to me. He looked flustered and frustrated. I don’t know who he was talking to Ref or Teammate but there were several WTF and WTH directed to someone on several plays. As for Watson, It is what it is, I mean execution should have been better but i was much angrier at shipley muffing that punt.

  10. Jbrooks8604 Says:

    Man gunner you stole the words out of my mouth. Did Watson screw the pooch there? No doubt. But what would have been an even bigger help to us is if the offense was merely competent. I love Schiano’s attention to detail but he needs to be more Conde ing of the pitiful offense we have fielded the first three games of the season instead of hoping the special teams and defense put points on the board for us.

  11. Jbrooks8604 Says:

    *more condemning

  12. BucFan20 Says:

    Nobody can say if it was or was not. We do know if we had an offense it was a game we should have won. The defense gave them every chance in the world. For the sack fumble for the TD, again BS. Nobody can say what the regular refs would have seen for sure on that play. You were not on the field. You saw it from a camara angle. Our OFFENSE cost us the game. PERIOD.

  13. Have A Nice Day Says:

    One play does not make or break a game.

  14. Jbrooks8604 Says:

    Bucfan20 and have a nice day you are correct. You can’t blame Watson for a pathetic offensive performance. That was a correctable mental error. The offense on the other hand is a jumbled mess.

  15. FlBoy84 Says:

    Plenty of missed plays on Dallas’ side as well (Witten’s drop when he was all alone at the 10 yd line being one of them). So to say “if we make this play or that one we win the game” is pretty short-sighted and doesn’t take into account all the missed plays on the other side of the ball. It is what it is, the Bucs are 1-2 and have the “Washington season” up next.

  16. Jason Dearth Says:

    Did somebody really ask who wants Raheem back? After three games? I just got sick to my stomach. That clown doesn’t hold a jock to Schiano. You probably don’t even go to games and then come here to bitch they are not on TV. Did you move here from NY as well?

  17. Jason Dearth Says:

    Did somebody really ask who wants Raheem back? After three games? I just got sick to my stomach. That clown doesn’t hold a jock to Schiano. You probably don’t even go to games and then come here to bitch they are not on TV. Did you move here from NY as well?

  18. Jason Dearth Says:

    This is one comment about one play. Schiano answers questions about plays individually and you guys think that is his take on the whole game. He talks about the effects each play has on the game and how important the small details are in winning. Pay attention and stop listening to other bs the media puts out. Schiano has turned this team 180 from a team that absolutely quit last year. It takes time and attitude to make changes. Grow up

  19. Miguel Grande Says:

    “It’s gonna be a long season if our hopes for a win are that we block & recover punts for scores.”

    The main reason the Bucs won the 1st game was Talib’s punt block.

    In midget football, they teach the little Munchkins not to run into punters but to angle your attack in front of the punter’s foot. An important coaching point to add is, keep your eyes open.

    Evidently, Watson never played midget football and managed to make it to the NFL and Sunday’s contest with out benefit of competent coaching.

  20. bucyea Says:

    Napolean sure seems to take shots at some players while letting others go scott free. He’s seems to play favorites and that will eventually hurt his credibility among the players, especially if the team continues to lose on COACHING issues. Noticed him screaming bloody murder at the defense at the “kneel down”. The only reason we were in this game is the defense, yet never saw him raise his Napoleonic hand at the pathetic offense or his pathetic OC. He better be careful or he will lose this team, IMO.

  21. skp Says:

    don’t think it’s been assumed that this was the sole difference between winning and losing, the statement that it was likely a 10 point mistake is certainly valid. when you look at the game there are at least 20 points of mistakes, any 6 point swing among those could have made the difference. i still have confidence that this team will sharpen up and finish the year playing better than they started it. the injuries are mounting already, but i think we can be more effective even with less talent as the coaching starts to take hold

  22. 76buc76 Says:

    Let’s not forget the grounding call.Ware was holding Martin at the line.If not he could of touched it if not caught it.That was brutal knocked us out of field goal range.Aikmen was sayin “Martin was in protection”Lol ya if he can stop Ware dead at the line we found our new RT.Martin play was to chip then get to the flat.But he was Ware’s man so he held him.