Run Game Stinks
November 25th, 2017
Confessed last night there are “issues.”
Unless or in case you haven’t noticed, the Bucs are terrible at running the ball.
Currently, the Bucs rank No. 30 in rushing yards with 798 and average a paltry 79.8 yards a game, which is No. 29.
Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio Friday on “Late Hits,” co-hosted by Howard Balzer and Gil Brandt, Koetter was asked about the run game. His response and voice inflection sounded like a guy who is scrambling to solve the puzzle.
“We would love to be a balanced team,” Koetter said. “Balanced is the toughest thing to defend for a defense. We have struggled to be a consistent run team. We are not the only team having those issues. It hurts our play-action game when you cannot get your running game going.
“It is a work in progress. I wish I could tell you it was one single thing that was the cause of it. But it is more than one thing and it is all of us, players and coaches. It is something we need to do better.”
Well, there are only six more games to figure this out and if the Bucs don’t win tomorrow at Atlanta, what’s the point of trying to find out the answer, provided there is an answer?
Joe has a hunch Koetter and his assistant coaches know who and what is not working by the 11th game. That’s a pretty good sample size to pinpoint the culprit.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:06 am
It’s obvious it’s all Martins fault guys. He isn’t Barry Sanders juking out defenders 3 yards behind the LOS.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:29 am
You need to look no further than the Dallas Cowboys to see what happens to a good offense when they lose their running game.
My first suggestion would be to run play action on 1st down…..no team will believe a pass is coming.
If incomplete, run a draw play on 2nd and 10.
If that doesn’t work….punt on third down…..this will be scared Koetter’s playcall to avoid the sack or interception.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:53 am
To me it’s a combination of bad play calling and lackluster play on the O line as much as RBs not performing like they should. It’s not just Martin who isn’t doing well…and I’m so sick of seeing Sims shuffle his feet I can’t stand it. A very basic coach up to show him is doing that just wastes energy and delays hitting a hole that does open up. I also wonder if Marpet at center has affected cues of others in getting off the ball on run plays.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:54 am
A below average O line that’s the problem. Licht and Koetter raving about the O line in the off-season and not addressing it with the draft or free agents that’s the real issue.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:56 am
Who is in charge here? When Gruden was coach Bill Muir the O line coach was called the run coordinator, Bill Callahan does that for J. Gruden. Is it Koetter, Monkin, the O line coach, or are all three guilty? Don’t worry about figuring it out Dirk, someone else will do that next season.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:56 am
What’s Martin’s average? About 2.0? Give up Dirk. I finally have. Gotta give it to someone else and stay with him.
November 25th, 2017 at 7:58 am
Gaurd play has been horrible – can’t run inside then you can’t run at all
Upgraded the C position and downgraded RG – if Pamphile can’t beat out EDS why resign him?
No difference from last year in results
November 25th, 2017 at 8:24 am
Is it the players that we drafted and picked up on FA or is it the coaching? The OL gets blown up on a regular basis, Sims isn’t that good, DM has good/bad years. Is it that our blockers can’t beat the guy in front of them? Are our coach’s too soft on the players? Do we not know how to use Sims and/or DM correctly? How many on our OL would be starters elsewhere versus here?
What percentage of blame falls on the coach versus the GM?
November 25th, 2017 at 8:37 am
It has more to do with the opponents game plan. Early in the year defenses found a weakness and have exploited it ever since. Teams are starting games with eight men in the box and even 9 at times daring the Bucs to go deep which they have had accuracy issues since day one. Out of the eight man box they are running several different blitz packages to put early pressure on the QB. The Bucs defense in it’s prime used to say we stopped the run game on our way to the QB! This is what teams are doing to us. They are stopping out run game in the backfield on the way to the QB.
November 25th, 2017 at 8:54 am
Bucnjim,
Okay, but having a team stack 8 in the box when the running game is not good either means that the OL players aren’t good enough to block or that our coach’s aren’t getting the most out of their players. IF this has to do with the opponents game plan then I would think good coaching should be able to counter that. Unless the players they’re working with aren’t good enough.
November 25th, 2017 at 9:09 am
I guess joes have trouble reading. Dirk said it isnt just 1 thing. It is a lot of things. Like maybe 4 or 5 things. Such as the 4 or 5 terrible run blocking lineman we have.
November 25th, 2017 at 9:48 am
Pierce the only way to block 8 consistently is to max protect using two TE sets only sending two receivers out. The league has pretty much stopped using Fullbacks so that makes much harder to run up the middle. Now teams that do not have a strong front 7 it does not matter, but in the NFC South every team is tough up the middle. We don’t have the speed to get outside and we don’t have the Beef to move piles. Kind of a no win for our running game.
November 25th, 2017 at 10:02 am
Martin had 2 good years and has been a joke every since… time to give up fanboys your boy sucks arse…. licht and glazers really screwed up not addressing the RB and Tackle positions this offseason.
November 25th, 2017 at 10:26 am
I don’t think Martin is the issue, or at least not the main issue, but at this point I’d say start Barber and feed him the rock 15-20 times. I believe it will make little or no difference, but it might settle the issue for some how much the OL and the playcalling/scheme is responsible for the ineffecient running game.
November 25th, 2017 at 10:40 am
tmax
Tbanks for a post that makes my point about hindsight being absurd.
licht and glazers really screwed up not addressing the RB
So I’m assuming you don’t count a 4th round pick as addressing RB. It was a mistake but they DID address the position.
Now imagine they went your route and drafted an RB much higher…1st or 2nd…it’s a virtual lock who the Bucs wanted to draft…that would have been Dalvin Cook who blew his knee out and would have been a wasted pick…at least for this year. You guys should really stop playing the what ifs’. Again there’s a 50% bust rate in the draft…injuries are a part of it…sometimes players just don’t have the same motivation.
November 25th, 2017 at 10:41 am
Lol once again blaming Martin for how bad the run game is but not calling koetter for continuing to play him. So if you won’t call out dirk stop calling out Martin, there are 4 backs on the roster, so pathetic and obvious when you can clearly see the agenda your pushing. Everyone who thinks Martin has stink this year no one can argue with you but you can’t argue that either dirk is stupid to coming playing him and should be fired for bad personnel decisions or the other backs stink or the line is a major part of the issue. Any other guy on any other team would be benched. Dirk is trash
November 25th, 2017 at 11:10 am
StPeteBucsFan
symantec’s sir. they attempted to address the issue but failed miserably. Giving a proven unreliable and unproductive player like martin that contract tells the entire organization that winning and production is irrelevant. it is a clear message you will get paid as long as your are quiet little team puppet who never makes a peep. you pay a bum like mccoy and martin yet let foster, penn, talib etc… walk. The world is not perfect. Winning organizations understand the need to be able to manage all types of personalities not just in sports but everyday life. Trying to build a team around a bunch of soft mentally weak puppets has resulted in over a decade in the basement.
the entire bucs organization is a joke led by the glazers. this team can not manage players once drafted or those who arrive via free agency…. You can not tell me all the free agents that played well on other teams and earned pro bowls and rings forget how to play the day they arrived in tampa. hell some of the failed free agents have left here and went on to success again.
You can call it whatever you want losing culture or inability to manage people. The most likely is simply that the glazers simply could careless about winning. The one constant is the POS Quitter who you think is a good character guy. Good character guys don’t have a pattern of quitting on coaches and loafing when they get butthurt. 93 is a proven me first injury prone quitter with a smile. You love and buy into the smile and I despise the quitter. The only thing that matters is ON FIELD results. Not movie night – Not smiles – Not Good in the community. Sorry it does not impress me when millionaire athletes stage events with camera crews and dog and pony shows. What impresses me is when everyday citizens step up and visit a neighbor in the hospital or perform a random act of kindness. Not some me first attention hound with PR managers and a camera crew.
The list of draft picks and free agents that failed in tampa yet went onto success on other teams is mind boggling and long. All under the BS crap of character.
get rid of the career losers gmc, martin and dotston and watch this team of hungry winners flourish.
I thought we lost LVD to cancer93 but he has won me back over. He is no leader and has NO business wearing the C but he has played well.
November 25th, 2017 at 1:57 pm
I really don’t like the Marpet move to center. Not because Marpet has been a fail there. In fact, I still think he’s been our best O Lineman but the run game holes are opened by the guards and that’s where our issue lies. The Sweezy experiment has failed. That dude is getting mauled. We are really missing Marpet blowing open holes as a guard. Sweezy and Donovan Smith are killing this O Line. Donovan needs to kick in to guard as he can run block but is too slow as a left tackle. Sweezy needs to be gone and we need to kick Marpet back to RG and draft a center or get one in free agency. Hopefully Pampphile can play left tackle or we need to draft a left tackle also but we cannot leave Smith at LT.
November 25th, 2017 at 6:08 pm
Chucky Chucky Chucky
November 25th, 2017 at 6:09 pm
I agree Marpet to Center is a fail. Bad coaching.
November 26th, 2017 at 11:00 am
Tmax, story about the running game and you bring up McCoy. Moron. No football knowledge, just pitching the same old poison. Moron. Go Bucs!