Dirk Koetter Belts “Buffoonery” Claim
October 7th, 2017
Critics, large and small, are throwing all kinds of daggers at winning head coach Dirk Koetter.
A big one came from the Tampa Bay Times newspaper: “Bucs’ clock buffoonery cost them chance to win.”
The assertion from columnist Martin Fennelly was Koetter screwed up on Tampa Bay’s final drive Thursday night, the potential game-winner against the Patriots.
Spelled out in 451 words, Fennelly thinks Koetter and Jameis Winston absolutely blew it by not spiking a football on first down with 1:10 remaining at midfield to stop the clock while trailing by five points.
Spike the ball!
Run up and spike it! Reset. Relax.
Instead, the Bucs go no huddle and snap the ball. Guys are going right and left. Winston is barking commands from the shotgun.
In the rush, and maybe confusion, Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson is called for a false start. Five yards the other way and, per the rules, a 10-second clock runoff.
It’s first and 10 with 33 seconds left.
From 1:10 to :33.
Koetter was asked about that yesterday and delivered an eloquent and nicer version of ‘Pfffffttt. Get a clue.’
“If you watch us in two minutes, we rarely clock it. We have a lot of confidence in going to the line. There really should only be a couple-seconds difference in how long it takes you to clock it versus to get off a play. The advantage to continuing to go, in our opinion, is that the defense also doesn’t huddle and they have to be playing. If you look at our two-minute offense over the last three years, we have been pretty darn efficient in that. We’ve always done a pretty good job putting ourselves in position. …
“Yeah, we got a 10-second runoff and that was a communication issue between the quarterback and the center. The right tackle goes down in the stats as getting the penalty, but that was a communication issue between the quarterback and the center. The crowd was loud, not that it’s any excuse. But, I can’t tell you how many plays we ran no-huddle last night. If we went by that theory, would you be clocking it every time you got a complete pass? I just don’t buy into that. You could say I’m wrong, but I don’t buy into that one.”
Joe’s not going to quibble with Koetter here. By spiking the ball there you lose the inherent and valuable defensive disarray. The Dotson penalty was crushing, but it’s not what lost them the game. If you want to argue Koetter should have spiked it because his center is new to the position, then Joe could understand.
Koetter also is getting mauled on local sports radio for his onside kick call (another thing Nick Folk was bad at) with just over two minutes to play.
Joe had no problem there, considering the Bucs no longer could rely on Folk kicking a field goal. If the onside kick works, you’re a genius. Regardless, the Bucs needed one 3-and-out stop of the Patriots. And they got it.
October 7th, 2017 at 10:56 am
You know what else is buffoonery? Having pro bowl talent all over the offense and not being able to score 30 points, or score more than 14 points against the 32nd ranked defense. But I guess everyone around here is satisfied with 2-2 and being avg.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:03 am
Spiking it and kicking long both would have been the correct call. I don’t care what Koetter says for an excuse. I slapped my head at both decisions as they happened.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:04 am
^You’re acting like the goat Tom Brady did anything to put the game out of reach or put up 30 points himself
October 7th, 2017 at 11:07 am
If we kick it deep instead of onside then the 3 and out doesn’t automatically give the Pats 3 points.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:14 am
I also didn’t understand why call a timeout RIGHT before the two minute warning when you have a free timeout coming in a matter of seconds.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:14 am
bucs are suppose the have great receivers yet..nfl total qb rating Winston is rated 26th while M.M. is rated 6th..maybe Winston is not yet so great!
October 7th, 2017 at 11:15 am
Did any of you have any hope of Folk making a kick? I didn’t. It didn’t matter if we got in FG range. It was always going to be a TD to win or not. Folk was never going to let us win that game
October 7th, 2017 at 11:17 am
Yes why did we go for an onside? Thats another one. I would’ve kicked it back all day in that situation. Does Kotter appoint someone else to worry about clock management or is he making these calls?
October 7th, 2017 at 11:17 am
I had no qualms with the way it was handled. The penalty and time run off was the killer in that case.
Some people just always look for a scapegoat when there’s a tough loss.
– um newsflash – the scapegoat if there must be one was the (soon to be unemployed) kicker who left a minimum of 6 easy points (and a max of 12) on the field in a 5 point defeat.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:25 am
Folk.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:28 am
Have not been impressed with Dirks play calling this year either, to many toss sweeps that go nowhere, it might be time for him to let go of play calling duties and focus on coaching. He really needs to focus on coaching he’s making a lot of mistakes.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:29 am
I didn’t want to be the one to go here but he just might be a lifetime coordinator. Not head coaching material
October 7th, 2017 at 11:37 am
I’m just here looking for the “Folk Gets Cut” article.
October 7th, 2017 at 11:42 am
Agree the spike discussion is arguable. If you have concerns about play calling thats atguable as well. I would argue for the coach. The addition of some jet sweep action, the TE toast jobs over the last 2 games at least, well-timed screens, RB wheel routes…we may not have executed all those well, but we will. Lastly, this ain’t Madden…Keep the faith. Rats can leave now before we get in a groove. Go Bucs!
October 7th, 2017 at 11:52 am
Coach Koetter is not the reason we lost the game.. Poor player execution on the offense and in the kicking game is why we lost. Demar Dotson is paid a lot of money to be able to handle not clocking the ball when running a two minute offense. Nick Folk.. enough said. Cameron Brate dropped some balls, granted they would have been tough catches but they hit his hands. OJ Howard had his welcome to the NFL game, too many penalties and I don’t give a rip what Jamies says, Howard was off assignment on that last play.
Jamies needs to develop his rhythm earlier in the game, we all know this, and his fourth quarter play was pretty darn sharp. No interceptions is key here, Jamies didn’t lose us this game. He dang near won it for us.. This team is trending up regardless of win/loss record and Dirk Koetter is the driver behind that.. Those pitch plays though, gotta go with Aguayo..
Go Bucs!
October 7th, 2017 at 11:55 am
Makes no difference. Fennely is just splitting hairs.
The Bucs didn’t play well enough to win, period. Both teams made mistakes and the Bucs made more, not in terms of penalties and idiocy, but in terms of not stopping 2nd/3rd and longs, and Winston’s terrible inaccuracy for three quarters.
October 7th, 2017 at 12:12 pm
It’s amazing how many people I’ve never seen post all of a sudden are “die hard Buc fans” and are convinced Winston is a bust, OJ Howard is a bust, Koetter should be fired, Jason Licht is the worst GM in the league, etc.
The sky is not falling, Chicken Littles. Go back to your hole and shut up. All the real Buc fans are frustrated that we lost, but encouraged by our defense and the growth our offense is showing. Yes, we want a better kicker, yes we want better execution, yes we want our team to be healthier. But bottom line, we support our team. If you just want to b*tch all day and pretend you’re Buc fans, go somewhere else.
Go BUCS!
October 7th, 2017 at 12:13 pm
Again if the players catch the ball, make the kicks, and make good throws we win. The coaches job is to put players in position to win they did that, job accomplished.
October 7th, 2017 at 12:22 pm
My biggest problem with dirks clock management was calling a timeout @ 2:03. So instead of losing 3 seconds off the clock the pats can now run a play after the two minute warning and run ~37-39 seconds off the clock. And if tony Romo knew b4 hand that the patriots would run a $hit ton of zone and very little Man coverage, WHY THE FLUCK DIDNT DIRK KNOW THAT!?!?!?!?? Dirks game planning and adjustments are non existent. Most teams script the first series, and that’s when u can really catch a defense off guard. But it seems that our first drive is always stalling out from the lack of creativity by Dirk.
October 7th, 2017 at 12:47 pm
Oh look Ben cherry picking espn stats. Mariota sucks ass this year. 3 tds and 4 turnovers. Oh and look another missed game as well. Yo mariota fans are pathetic. Get over it, the dude is average and will never be our qb.
October 7th, 2017 at 12:59 pm
supersam said it–koetter should definitely turn over play call duty next season if not sooner. Folk lost the game–loss of at least 6 points plus momentum loss. VH3 should be used to blitz anything he is a wide open door at cornerback
October 7th, 2017 at 1:18 pm
Spiking it could have been beneficial, but that’s not my top beef with Koetter.
How about some criticism for his playcalling in quarters 2 and 3? It was awful. I gave him a pass last year bc it was his first season as a head coach but if he can’t play all like he used to as an OC, then he needs to hire one. These offensive game plans have been pretty crappy so far. And it doesnt help when our franchise QB is missing guys who are wide open on every other play.
October 7th, 2017 at 1:23 pm
Hindsight is 20/20 obviously but I didnt have a problem with the not clocking it. Stupid mistake by OLine. Onsides kick was a bad idea. N fennely should be smart enough to know it shouldnt have come down to that. The main issue was the play calling. Starting to wonder if dirk even has certain plays in his playbook. That was a terrible defense he simplified his gameplan for. The patsies will get shredded by many more teams this season. Didnt help jameis was off. Lets find a kicker who can try more extra points dirk. Go Bucs
October 7th, 2017 at 2:03 pm
The only reason I had a problem with not clocking the ball is the fact that Marpet is still learning to be a center. Koetter might have done that since he’s been here, but he’s had centers who have had experience. Marpet didn’t know the snap count, and that’s probably a lot on Winston, but Koetter has to know his personnel in that situation. Going hurry up in the first half and false starting isn’t a game killer. Doing it on the game winning drive with an inexperienced center probably isn’t a good idea.
October 7th, 2017 at 2:11 pm
You’re are wrong coach
October 7th, 2017 at 3:05 pm
When you score 14 points at home against a defense that has given up 32 PPG, you have a serious problem. Especially when the team has just played 4 days earlier and flew from Boston to Tampa.
October 7th, 2017 at 3:18 pm
With the talent we have offensively, we should be scoring minimum 28 per game. Defensive secondart;s should be shaking in their knees at the sight of us. I..think Koetter can do better with his play calling. Well at least I hope he can. And I’m praying we select one of these 4 or 5 kickers trying out next week. Anybody would be better. WE gotta find one..immediately if not sooner!
October 7th, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Amusing how pseudo fans Second-guess days later.
Dotson got the penalty but you can clearly see both tackles and Jameis falling backwards because Ali didn’t snap the ball in time.
If they execute and pick up a big chunk everyone would praising them.
Same with the onside kick.
Regardless, that’s not why they lost the game. They lost the game because they haven’t had an NFL kicker in a couple years (and Jamieis is still maturing)
October 7th, 2017 at 11:29 pm
Dave, I don’t agree with everything you said, but you nailed it at the end. Folk sucked, but Jameis LOST this game in the first 3 quarters. He just had Folk as a scapegoat because the Pats went turtle mode once they had a 2 score lead and let us stay close. That being said, Folk could have helped win at the end, but didn’t. He’s got to AguyGOOOOO!
October 8th, 2017 at 12:00 am
Fire this clown koetter
can’t count
can’t make good decisions,
unstable leadership
October 8th, 2017 at 1:52 am
To me the biggest take on this is when Koetter said “The crowd was loud…” How sorry is that? Not as a comment by Koetter, but the fact that we are on a potential game winning drive in the final minute and we have to worry about crowd noise from opposing fans..at home…while on offense??!!!
October 8th, 2017 at 4:44 am
Did not get Mike Evans and OJ Howard into the game, not to mention not using Martin at the end of the game? Put this game behind us and get those three involved more and the winning streak will begin.
October 8th, 2017 at 7:49 am
You can call Dirk a winning coach (so far) but don’t call him a good offensive coach.
HIs offense has been mediocre since becoming HC. Weird since thats what he was hired for. Great job getting Mike Smith.
October 8th, 2017 at 8:43 am
Her they go, The coach sucks, fire someone, anyone.
You people act as though We have a threepeat Super bowl team here.
What we have is a lot of potential and the makings of what will Probably be very good play off team and building.
We also have half the defensive starters out and as is almost always the case in Tampa a kicker that looks as though he was pulled from the garbage pile.
So in short SHUT THE F**K UP!!
You can’t call for everyones head with every loss, justb think you could be Giants fan.
October 8th, 2017 at 10:30 am
Per the NFL Jamies is ranked 12th in passer rating at 92.4
Others of Note:
Alex Smith is number 1 at 124.2
Tom Brady is number 3 at 112.0
Aaron Rodgers is number 8 at 100.7
Ben Rothlisburger is number 14 at 90.7
Matt Ryan is number 22 at 87.5
Marcus Mariota is number 27 at 79.8
Mike Glennon is 29 at 76.9
Deshone Kizer is 32 at 50.9
Jamies is #7 in Yards per attempt
and is 3rd in total yards passed