Airing It Out

December 14th, 2018

Break down

You like long balls? Well, Dirk Koetter’s offense is for you.

The Bucs’ Bit-O-Honey-snacking, Ozark-watching, yams-eating coach and his trusted sidekick Todd Monken like to launch the football. Deep.

The good people of NFL Films, banging on a calculator for BSPN’s NFL Matchup, have dug up the following treasure: No team throws the ball downfield more than the Bucs. Average passes from Bucs quarterbacks travel nearly 11 yards. That’s nearly a yard farther than Buffalo, which is No. 2.

Interesting to Joe is among the teams with the five shortest averages, only one has a winning record. That’s New Orleans.

Of the top five teams that average the longest passes, only Los Angeles and Kansas City have winning records.

Look, Joe likes vertical throwing much better than dinks and dunks, just like the rest of America. But could it be that leading the NFL with long passes is too much of a good thing?

28 Responses to “Airing It Out”

  1. Mort Says:

    Yes. We don’t do enough with the quick passing game. Run some slants, or even some smoke routes with D-Jax (when healthy) to really keep the D from just playing so far off. Yes the deeper intermediate routes are excellent, but we need more balance in the passing game. Forget the running game, use quick passes to get guys in space.

  2. 813bucboi Says:

    dirks 4vert scheme is outdated and predictable……simple as that….

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  3. BeeBucs Says:

    Head of Football Operations – Scot Mccloughan

    GM – Jason Licht (One year…. if he fails Scot Mccloughan takes over)

    HC – Kris Richard

    Scot Mccloughan x Jason Licht = A problem for the NFL

  4. Cannon Says:

    While I’m all for the deep ball, to pull it off without a running game is really tough.

  5. Rayjay1122 Says:

    They are great between the 20’s. In the red zone, not so much.

  6. Jimmy Says:

    >>> Scot Mccloughan x Jason Licht = A problem for the NFL <<<

    Might be a problem for bartenders too.

  7. Jean Lafitte Says:

    I bet those numbers will rescind now that speedster DJax has checked out, and OJ landed on I.R. Not that Jameis could really ever connect with the speedster anyway but the fact that Fitz’s few games elevated, and skewed those deep passing numbers.

  8. Bucsfanman Says:

    Is that “throws” or “catches”? There’s a difference!

  9. Kobe Faker Says:

    “We need a 3 down pass catching running back….

    like all the best offenses in the league

    put the running back in space against a 240lb linebacker

    this will open the whole offense and give Jameis an outlet when they blitz

    *This whole year was a waste and an detriment to Jameis development which is most important

    *All his year was Mr Potatoe head trying to do whatever to make the playoffs. all those blowout 1st halves, juggling QBs, taking back playcalling, etc

    Kobe Faker has stated 3 years ago this insecure Klueless was incompetent

    *For the 1st 2 years Insecure Klueless didnt even have an offensive coordinator!!! Kobe knew the signs!”

    “You sheep should be thankful Kobe Faker isnt a person who states, I told You so”

    Kobe Faker

  10. Dapostman Says:

    Andy Reid has so many plays with miss direction it’s unreal. So does Sean McVay.

    That’s the new NFL.

  11. BrianBucs Says:

    So you want to run a deep throwing offense with a QB that has trouble with his accuracy on deep passes. PRICELESS!!!!!

  12. Kobe Faker Says:

    “Agree with the miss direction and also…

    the routes are going thru traffic and creating separation

    legal picks, rub routes, mis direction crossing pattern

    THESE PASS ROUTES ARE YAC ROUTE PATTERNS- Running away from defenders into open space ”

    “You sheep should be thankful Kobe Faker isn’t a person who states, I told You so”

    Kobe Faker

  13. ben Says:

    stats must be skewed by Fitz.. Winston is not accurate throwing deep .

  14. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Deep passes are great…a few times per game. Brees is probably the best QB in the league, and he rarely throws them. I would be happy if Winston only threw short to medium ranged throws mostly. It would reduce the turnovers and get the ball out faster.

  15. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    @Ben

    People act like Winston doesn’t connect deep. He does. In fact, he has even connected to Jackson multiple times.

    Even before he started connecting with Jackson, he was connecting with all the other WRs and TEs. So that’s mostly a myth.

  16. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    @Jean Lafitte

    Desean Jackson was afraid of getting hit, so dropped most of his catches. Just like before he came here, his numbers are inflated by the rare deep pass he did manage to catch. That;s why he had so many attempts. It creates an illusion that he was good, when in fact he dropped most of his passes.

  17. 813bucboi Says:

    the deep passes for only 1/3 of the problem….the lack of run game and coaching philosophy are the major issues….

    dirk as admitted this is a pass first offense…..his philosophy sucks…..the routes are predictable and the plays take too long to develop…..

    #NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!

  18. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Kris Richard is not the solution.

  19. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    @813bucboi

    I agree wee need a better running game. Tim Spenser has to go (the RBs Coach), and so does George Warhop. Improve those two coaching spots on offense and the running and passing game will both improve. Turnovers will be reduced as well.

  20. BigPoppaBuc Says:

    The offense is just like the Falcons of old… Long developing routes that work great as long as the OL holds up. As soon as the pressure comes the QB is stuck with no outlet and is prone to force one into a pick. Pressure was the key to beating Ryan/Koetter and it’s the same for Winston/Koetter. This offense, however, does work wonderfully when able to run the ball affectively. Something we did well in Koetter’s lone year as OC. I do believe there’s enough talent on offense that ANY coordinator could have success. Just have to protect the ball and fix that defense.

  21. Cgmaster27a Says:

    Again with the stupid comments of fitz skewing those numbers. It’s like you all dont even watch bucs games. You do realize after week 2 mesean hasnt had over 70 yards receiving in a game,but once and that was the bears game when JAMEIS hit him for a long td? And this includes fitz for 3 additional games. Just do a little research it goes a long way to make you not look like a fool. And Jameis air yards a throw is second in the NFL right now. Stats are right there to look at people, stop being lazy.

  22. Tampa Bay Demon Says:

    All this talk about Jameis being inconsistent on the long ball is REALLY ticking me off.

    I have seen him at RayJay hit that one Bucs fan with the Alstott #40 jersey on, TWICE this year!

    😉 – just kiddin.

    Big Jameis fan,,, cmon #3, hit a few this week.

  23. Lord Cornelius Says:

    Yeah this has been an ongoing issue that Kobe/813/others have recognized for a while.

    The YAC / average air yards per throw / time per throw stats all have been indicative of a outdated offense compared to modern NFL teams. Hell the Pats have been doing that short passing YAC and RB usage strategy for a long time before the Rams/Chiefs/etc all started moving towards those directions.

    You still gotta take your shots; but you don’t make low % deep bombs and intermediate throws your primary bread and butter. That’s why we suck in the red zone a lot – since we don’t use rub routes / quick screens / crossing routes / etc as much as we run lower % fades or longer developing plays.

  24. Bucs Fan #7423 Says:

    It’s not a long pass if it’s not 20+ yards to deshawn jackson for touchdown

  25. D1QB Says:

    Context,

    * Bucs lead the lead in deep ball completion %
    * week 14
    – 11 pass attps 5yds or less.
    – 5 pass attps 5-10yds
    – 10 pass attps 10-15yds.
    – vs
    -10 attps 15+ yds

    *week 13
    – 10 pass attps 5yds or less
    – 9 pass attps 5-10yds
    – 3 pass attps 10-15yds
    – vs
    – 6 pass attps 15yds +

    *week 11
    – 3 pass attps 5yds or less
    – 7 pass attps 5-10yds
    – 3 pass attps 10-15yds
    – vs
    – 3 pass attps 15yds +

    *week 8
    – 14/35 14 0f the total attps 15yds+

    * Points per game…rank 10

    * Red zone scores per game rank 8

    * Red zone TD% 61.22% rank #16

    * Team touch downs per game rank #6

    * Red zone scoring attempts per game rank #5

    * Winston time to throw 2.75
    * Fitzpatrick time to throw 2.64

    *Winston deep ball completion % 14.2
    * Fitzpatrick deep ball completion % 23.4

    * Winston completion rate 10-20yds exceeds league avg
    2 areas that are way below league avg.
    20+ left side 23.6% vs league avg 75.9%
    20+ middle 39.6% vs league avg 84.8%

    Summary,
    Bucs fans underestimate the # of short passes and overestimate the # of deep
    Red zone scoring, attempts, % is better than argued
    Winston is not completing deep balls at the league avg.
    Winston is taking more time than Fitzpatrick to throw.

  26. Rod Munch Says:

    I have ZERO issue with Dirk’s deep ball 1970s Air Coryell offense, the team not only gets yards but they get points, it’s literally the best offensive football team in team history.

    The issue I have is with the Winston hating d-bags who think if you’re down by 21 points in the 2nd quarter of the game and you’re forced to throw deep to get back into the game, that these idiots then say throwing deep lost you the game when it ends up 38-35. No, the morons would literally rather have you NOT throw the ball deep so you don’t get turnovers and would rather you lose 35-10 so long as you don’t have any INTs.

    I literally said all year that the turnovers were coming from the defense putting the team down huge. Now suddenly the defense is playing well and guess what, the turnovers aren’t there. Gee, it’s almost like someone that knows football and understands situational football realizes that Winston isn’t risky with the ball when he doesn’t need to be.

    Will the Winston hating morons actually realize that, or will they continue to be boring pieces of trash who just say the same thing over and over and over again. We already know the answer.

  27. D1QB Says:

    Rod,

    Let’s eliminate the Bears game as Winston didn’t start and was just thrown in.

    The Bucs were only down at half time twice by that kind of margin. Only one Winston started. (2 starts for Fitzpatrick includes Bears)
    The Bengals 9-27. Winston
    The Panthers 14-35 Fitzpatrick.

    The idea that JW is by half-time playing behind an insurmountable deficit, which is causing him to throw deep and risk interceptions, is not completely accurate.

  28. Cobraboy Says:

    You guys keep talking offense.

    The Offense is NOT the Bucs problem with wins.

    The defense is the problem.

    Until the D is fixed, the L’s will keep piling up.