Dotson Takes Blame On 4th-And-1 Miss

November 7th, 2011

Joe must confess. With a scoreless game in the first quarter and the Bucs in field goal range, Joe was so certain Raheem Morris would kick a field goal on a 4th-and-1 from the Saints 28 yard line that Joe put down his notepad and headed to the fridge.

At the time, Joe couldn’t fathom Raheem not letting one of the surest kickers in the NFL, Connor Barth, give him a lead, so Joe opted to grab more guacamole and a fresh cold one.

But Raheem went for it instead, and LeGarrette Blount got stuffed. Raheem explained what went wrong on The Raheem Morris Show on WDAE-AM 620 tonight. He said Demar Dotson allowed too much spacing that gave Saints penetration and “caused LeGarrette Blount to stop-stutter his feet in the backfield.”

“We created too much space. We had some movement right there before the snap by a young football player,” Raheem said. “It’s got to be tight spacing. It has to be double blocked, double-team blocks driving people off the ball. That little bit of space, that little bit of movement at the end [caused] us to not execute that play effectively.”

Raheem also talked about the move to bring in Josh Johnson to convert what appeard to be an option call on 3rd-and-4, a move that perplexed Bucs fans but not the Saints defense. The head coach defended the call with vigor and said it was simply ineffective blocking that doomed the play..

15 Responses to “Dotson Takes Blame On 4th-And-1 Miss”

  1. Alex Says:

    He is an idiot. Fire Morris and cut Gerald McBust, the soft wuss.

  2. 941-Bucs Says:

    Yay, let’s blame a guy who has only appeared in one other game this year! You know for a coach who says NO EXCUSES that seems to be all he does when the Bucs Lose.

    Why not just call out the entire team, Get a little angry and whip them boys into shape? There is OBVIOUS discipline issues with this team. The losing control on the field and penalties is becoming ridiculous.

    I personally am sick an tired of Raheem being these guy’s buddy instead of their Coach.

  3. 941-Bucs Says:

    Or better yet Coach. Look in the mirror and see what YOU ARE doing wrong with these guys and why you can’t seem to get their heads on straight.

  4. K2k Says:

    You people are brutal. I heard the interview. He didn’t rip Dotson but just explained what happened on the play. Raheem can’t help once it’s snapped. However i don’t get why Stocker wasn’t in there more.

  5. KD Says:

    Agree with K2k, Stocker should’ve played more. This was a playcalling mistake. Who in their right mind calls a trap play on 4th and 1?

  6. Buc_The_World Says:

    I have been a big Raheem supporter, but as much as I want to believe in him as a coach It’s beginning to become apparent that he is not ready to be a head coach. He is right about dotson, however that play should’ve never been called. That’s what he should’ve said. I know he wants to win and he doesn’t have much to work with, but he has to be smarter as a coach.

  7. Patrick Says:

    Raheem needs to bring out the Gruden in him and be more of an a$$hole. Not such a nice guy, friend like he is to many of the players.

  8. leroy Buttermilk Says:

    who’s the next man up for McCoy who replaced Insurance Graham did he get on the field yesterday? I don’t see this team beating Houston sunday they got a great running game and one hell of a passing attack. No one is even touching the quaterback on this defense. Andre Johnson and the crew might tone these guys up for a forty burger.You get behind three touchdowns this week and it’s going to get ugly

  9. 941-Bucs Says:

    Believe me i am not a hound on Raheem, I’ve been one of the biggest supporter of everything Rah/Dom have done with this team.

    I will continue to support the Bucs whether they are here or not. But like most fans, It is hard to see such Talent go to waste with poor play calling and coaching. The talent on this team can reach great things but needs to be aimed in the right direction. As of the 2011 season THAT IS NOT HAPPENING.

    All i am asking for is accountability NOT excuses. Think of it like any other business. Raheem is the boss, and like any other business. When things aren’t going right, ultimately it falls on the shoulders of the boss. Right now this team isn’t playing smart. Something needs to happen.

  10. SteveK Says:

    Young players and young coach.

    They are both still looking to establish some consistency.

    Keys to victory:

    1. Feed Blount
    2. Put Benn on the field as your 3rd down back
    3. Sign Gilbert Brown

  11. Sambizle Says:

    How Bout Free Complete a pass!

  12. Blubber Price Says:

    Rah is quick to throw unimportant players under the bus , but if you are Legarrette Blount or Aqib Talib you can do idiotic things like punch people in the face with no consequences. You won’t even get benched for a series , and he’ll take the heat for you in the press conference.

    We are the sloppiest , most penalized ,most undisciplined team in all of football . We never can start a game fast , which points to horrible game-planning.

    I think we’re starting to see Mushmouth’s true colors…

  13. Mauha Deeb Says:

    Morris is right. Dotson was out of position.

    It still was an awful decision by our HC. I knew right after that we would abandon the run and sure enough, we did.

  14. Mauha Deeb Says:

    Am I the only one who saw horrific blocking by our OL and an unbelievable lack of effort by K2 throughout the entire game?

  15. Buc Neckid Says:

    Raheem is in the model of Dungy,
    but he better learn from his mistakes.
    Dungy was fired when he was unable to separate loyalty to his Offensive Coach
    from the reality that the offense’s results (or lack thereof) demanded change.
    Rah is being a good team guy by “Publicly” stating what he is stating,
    but these are similar statements to what Dungy was making in his last year.