Dirk Koetter And Bucs RBs

January 30th, 2019

Maurice Jones-Drew explains.

The Bucs’ running game stunk out loud last year.

Ronald Jones was a rumor. Peyton Barber ran hard but didn’t have many yards to show for it (please don’t confuse effort for production). Jacquizz Rodgers? Meh.

But don’t tell that to Maurice Jones-Drew. The former Jaguars running back played four years for former Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter when Koetter served as Jack Del Rio’s offensive coordinator.

So when MJD appeared at an NFL Network media availability Wednesday morning at the Super Bowl media center in downtown Atlanta, Joe figured there may be no better non-Bucs employee to talk to about the Bucs’ impotent rushing game than MJD.

JoeBucsFan.com: Is Dirk Koetter’s offense just difficult for running backs?

Maurice Jones-Drew: No, why would it be? He tries to feature the running back. [The Bucs] really didn’t have one. They thought they had one in Ronald Jones. He really didn’t pan out well. [But] Jacquizz Rodgers, yeah, Rodgers has done a phoenomenal job both in Atlanta and in Tampa. He’s the kind of back [Koetter needs]. He’s a versatile guy. [Koetter] is going to try to get you the ball in space. His running game is going to be very simple, simplistic. But you will get repeat runs which is important, and the play-action pass. He needs a versatile guy who can move around like a chess piece and [Koetter will] match you up on guys.

Joe: I don’t know how much of Bucs tape you watched last year… ?

MJD: Oh, a lot of it.

Joe: What was your impression that was the problem with the Bucs’ running game, the running backs or the offensive line?

MJD: It was a little bit of both. When you had Jacquizz in there, he ran really well with that offensive line. They would get down quick [behind in the game] and then abandon the run or they weren’t getting any good yardage. With Dirk, you want make sure you are efficient. He’s real big guy on efficiency. So, on first down you want to get at least four yards. If you are not getting that, he would rather throw the ball on first down to get yards and move the chains.

It seems Koetter was impatient with running backs, per what MJD claims. If they weren’t running well on first down early, then he would quickly lose faith.

Now is this is simple of a fix as it appears, to just keep hammering the ball? Koetter really didn’t have that luxury. He had to put points on the board because the Bucs’ defense was so godawful.

The “versatile” running back thing MJD referred to really gets Joe worked up. Sounds like Koetter needed a guy like Alvin Kamara at running back to make his rushing attack hum. Of course, someone who worked inside the walls of One Buc Palace decided Justin Evans was more of a needed cog to building a lasting winner.

62 Responses to “Dirk Koetter And Bucs RBs”

  1. SCBucsFan Says:

    Barber and Jones run real hard, right into defenders. Only difference is Barber gains 2 yards, RoJo loses a yard.

  2. Sunday_44 Says:

    It’s pretty easy to abandon the run early (when not working) if your run game approach is simplistic.

    You try a dive, you try a sweep, then you pass all game.

    Go back and watch tape of how creative BA and staff were when David Johnson was the #1 overall fantasy draft pick 2 years in a row.

    It’s a game of chess and Dirk was playing Checkers.

  3. Pickgrin Says:

    No team knew how good Kamara would be in the NFL. If any had – they would have selected him in the first round.

    And regarding Quizz Rodgers. Not sure why Jones-Drew was singing his praises – He looked very ordinary to me on the carries/plays he got last year.

  4. DBS Says:

    But then some people just insisted Peyton Barber was the man for the job. After all that is all we heard the year before when Martin couldn’t get it done.

  5. Iron Wombat Says:

    Like Koetter would of known what to do with Kamara? I’m just glad Dirk ended up in Atlanta working for a HC that just fired all 3 of his coordinators out of desperation. It’ll be even better watching Matt Ryan get his head kicked in running Dirk’s one dimensional 7 step drop system.

  6. Loyaltotheend Says:

    Did Maurice have CE and not tell anyone? When has Rodgers ever been “Phenomenal”?

  7. SCBucsFan Says:

    Barber’s backstory is great, you want him to succeed; he isn’t anything more then a backup. I wish he was a star.

  8. 813bucboi Says:

    MJD doesnt know what the hell he’s talking about….lol….

    first he says dirk “tries” to feature the RB…..why not FEATURE the RB….dont try , do it….

    then he says quizz ran good behind that oline….what?…..lol…quizz wasnt even “meh” imo…..

    next he’s says what we all know….dirk abandons the run game….

    dirk was just in over his head…..simple as that….

    #REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!

  9. The Buc Realist Says:

    Interesting when you compare Coach Koetter to BA year for year in rushing, Only twice did Coach Koetter not come out on top since 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2019 season will reveal answers to the sheep that the “real’ fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. 813bucboi Says:

    iron

    i agree….

    dirk wouldnt know what to do with AK just like smitty wouldnt know what to do with derwin james…..

    we would be calling both a bust right now….

    #REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!

  11. lambchop Says:

    @Loyaltotheend,

    LMAO. I was thinking the same thing. Quiz looked good? They must be BFFs.

  12. tnew Says:

    Don’t know how to even interpret this but an older Doug Martin ran for 723 yards didn’t get double digit carries until week 8. Thats only 100 yards less than he ran his last two seasons in a Buc uniform under Koetter/Warhop. Like I say… not even sure how to interpret but Barber maybe something still. Let’s hope 3.2 mil dead cap Jones can do something this season.

  13. Destinjohnny Says:

    Hard to win without talent
    But hey we have a new coach..

  14. lambchop Says:

    The more I think about it, the more I think Jones-Drew might have meant Peyton Barber and not Quiz. Did he not mention PB at all in the interview? Quiz may have done other things like picking up blocks and catching out of the back field, but apart from 1 run that he busted all year everything running-related was 1-2 yards and fall like a house of cards at first impact. Peyton Barber could be a solid 1b behind a line like KC but he’s no game breaker. I love PB’s effort on contact. The dude is a grinder. Tough runner.

  15. Lord Cornelius Says:

    “Of course, someone who worked inside the walls of One Buc Palace decided Justin Evans was more of a needed cog to building a lasting winner.”

    Thank god the fans have no f*cking idea who is making those decisions at this point.

    That way we can keep fighting in the comments section while Joe does his best to figure this sh1t out. lol

    GO BUCS!

  16. down in the dirt Doug Says:

    Koeter was a feeble man with a confused nature.Ba is a bad ass gentleman who knows what the hell is going on during a football game.He will know who to keep and who to kick to the curb.

  17. tmaxcon Says:

    no tackles no rg and barely average lg and c make it really difficult to run. bucs oline is horrendous at best and disgraceful at worst.

  18. Bob in Valrico Says:

    I totally agree that a quality running back was available in 2017 when we drafted Evans. I still have some questions about him. The same thing happened in 2018
    when we drafted M J Stewart. This is even more puzzling. He seems to lack the
    height and speed to be an NFL corner.

  19. Phil Says:

    I know I lost faith in our running backs. That’s why we need to sign Kareem Hunt.

  20. BrianBucs Says:

    Everybody keeps saying that the NFL is now a passing league. However, both of the teams that are in the Superbowl have been running the ball very well and look where that got them

  21. westernbuc Says:

    Our run game has looked like crap since Logan Mankins retired. That won’t change until we get another good guard

  22. TexBuc Says:

    Not a fan of our run plays the past 3 years not enough motion and misdirection. Saw way too many times RB’s getting hit the same time as the hand off.

  23. stpetebucsfan Says:

    @Pickgrin

    Agree with your take completely. Hindsight in terms of draft choices has always gotten on my nerves. If a guy wasn’t selected in the first round nobody thought he would be a star.

    He was selected in the third round with the 67th pick.

    I remember watching him at Tennessee and thinking he was an NFL prospect but I would have slated him right where he was picked. Ahead of him…Leonard Fournette…Christian McCaffery…Dalvin Cook and Joe Mixon….all great prospects.

    I do not recall anybody here suggesting that Kamara was a better pick than these four.

    Bottom line….every team in the league took a pass for two rounds…not just the Bucs! Kamara is better than some of the players taken but honestly I’m not certain he was better than the other four RB’s.

    He plays in a creative offense with a HOF QB. I get that some teams run the ball to create passing opportunities but others pass to set up their run. I can’t honestly say which is Sean Payton’s strategy.

    The Saints ran it 47.6% and passed it 52.4%…the team that ran it most the Seahawks 55.6% passing 44.4%. For a little perspective…The Bucs 38.4% running 61.6% passing.

    Only 5 teams ran it less than us.

  24. Defense Rules Says:

    @Joe … “Sounds like Koetter needed a guy like Alvin Kamara at running back to make his rushing attack hum. Of course, someone who worked inside the walls of One Buc Palace decided Justin Evans was more of a needed cog to building a lasting winner.”

    With the Bucs it’s always ‘coulda, woulda, shoulda’. Have a feeling that IF Licht had drafted Alvin Kamara instead of Justin Evans that things would’ve ended up pretty much the same for us, but a LOT different for Alvin Kamara. Saints OLine is significantly better than the Bucs OLine for one thing. Drew Brees is significantly better than Jameis Winston for another thing. Payton is significantly better than Koetter as a play-caller for one more thing. Not to mention that Kamara benefitted tremendously by having Mark Ingram in the Saints RB stable.

    But hey, the Saints defense was ranked quite a bit higher than the Bucs defense in 2017 & 2018 so THAT must be the REAL reason their rushing attack was better than ours. Kinda sad when certain folks (cough cough) continuously blame the Bucs defense for all the shortcomings of the Bucs offense. My memory’s obviously going because it keeps telling me that Bucs very often fell behind early because the Bucs OFFENSE started off so slowly & often turned the ball over early to allow opponents to get on the board early. Ya that’s it Joe, memory is failing.

  25. JimmyJack Says:

    When Dirk took over as HC he inherited a Top 5 rushing team.

    All’s he lost was Logan Mankins. That hurts but it does not explain why we dropped all the way top bottom 5 back to back to back years.

    Dirk changed our run scheme. This hurt us more then anything. Meanwhile our coaching staff developed no RBs or OL for three straight seasons. Zero OL or RBs.

    Scheme change put players into roles that they were not built for. One of the best examples was when Martin was out and Sims was asked to play in the bellcow role. That was a decision that was destined for failure. That poor decisions was made worse when Dirk decided to stay with it for over a month………..Another example of Dirk being slow to make a change.

    Coaching has it’s hands all over the lack of production by our RBs.

  26. Bird Says:

    I keep hearing Jameis needs a running game , oline , good defense and kicker to win. (Including he needed to turn the ball over less )

    Didn’t koetter need that same thing to win

    yet he is clueless and called names here and got kicked out of town.
    Koetter coaches the guys given to him by Licht. He had no say in personnel. Now I agree mike smith was his worst non move until to late. His time management was off.

    It’s just funny to see the Jameis cult followers give Jameis a pass yet rip everything else , most importantly koetter. Koetter has to deal with Jameis league leading turnovers since he entered the league . Just saying.

  27. JimmyJack Says:

    The first thing Bruce needs to fix is 3rd & 1.

    We have not been able to convert those for over 5 years now.

    Dirk lost just as many games due to 3rd & 1 as he lost due to kicking. He wanted a badass team but didn’t know how to do it.

    Can’t lose 3rd & 1 on both sides of the ball if you are going to contend.

    John Gruden fixed 3rd & 1 for this team and it helped win us a Title.

  28. Not there yet Says:

    Really you watched a lot of tape of this team and your conclusion is they thought Rojo was the guy and it didn’t work out? Quiz was better than barber? Wow ok I think dirk just sucks out loud and I think BA is just arrogant enough to make sure licht looks good by showing everyone there is nothing wrong with Rojo good coaching can’t fix. Dirk and his staff were simply incompetent and didn’t have enough juice and credibility to make guys like d jack and grimes fall in line so how you gonna get any respect from the younger guys who don’t know what it takes to be successful yet

  29. Anonymous Says:

    MJD is a straight up liar. He clearly did not watch tape of the Bucs. He talked about Jacquizz like he was the main RB. That would be 33 carries, 106 yards FOR THE WHOLE SEASON Jacquizz. Was he only watching the two plays per game that Quiz ran the ball? And no, he didn’t mean to say Peyton Barber, because he said Quiz did well in Atlanta too. MJD said nothing but rhetoric in that interview. I really appreciate Joe for pushing him for real info, but MJD had nothing to offer because he didn’t watch the tape. The only valid thing MJD offered was at the beginning of the interview, when he answered Joe’s question with another question, “Why would it be?” There’s your first clue that MJD is clueless. Personally, I believe coaching/management was the main culprit to our running problems. We were clueless who to start at RG, could not develop OL talent or RoJo, made Jensen worse, and could not get Max effort out of D Smith. I believe our new coaching staff will be able to get a solid running game with what we have now, and I think they will make an upgrade or two at OL while picking up an effective RB out of free agency. The blame is on Koetter and his loser staff. MJD go watch some tape or admit you don’t know what you are talking about

  30. Jean Lafitte Says:

    Fix the Oline and we’ll see a better run game. I’m tired of watching defenders in our backfield and the RB’s taking the blame.

  31. Jeebs Says:

    MJD is a straight up liar. He clearly did not watch tape of the Bucs. He talked about Jacquizz like he was the main RB. That would be 33 carries, 106 yards FOR THE WHOLE SEASON Jacquizz. Was he only watching the two plays per game that Quiz ran the ball? And no, he didn’t mean to say Peyton Barber, because he said Quiz did well in Atlanta too. MJD said nothing but rhetoric in that interview. I really appreciate Joe for pushing him for real info, but MJD had nothing to offer because he didn’t watch the tape. The only valid thing MJD offered was at the beginning of the interview, when he answered Joe’s question with another question, “Why would it be?” There’s your first clue that MJD is clueless. Personally, I believe coaching/management was the main culprit to our running problems. We were clueless who to start at RG, could not develop OL talent or RoJo, made Jensen worse, and could not get Max effort out of D Smith. I believe our new coaching staff will be able to get a solid running game with what we have now, and I think they will make an upgrade or two at OL while picking up an effective RB out of free agency. The blame is on Koetter and his loser staff. MJD go watch some tape or admit you don’t know what you are talking about

  32. Season Is Over Says:

    I like how he treated Barber like he was non-existent. Much like opposing defenses do.

  33. Darin Says:

    The Oline blows. Arians knows it. Changes coming soon. Dirk kept saying the guys were playing well. No accountability. I see 3 new Oline starters coming. Cmon free agency and the draft!
    And realist…
    What are these answers you refer to? You havnt been right once in years. Im curious what you dont know this time. At least youre a real fan as opposed to the rest of us.

  34. westernbuc Says:

    Jimmy Jack,

    Dirk did not inherit a top 5 rushing attack. The year before he got here, Lovie and Licht cleaned out the entire Bucs offensive line.

    His first year was Mankins 2nd year, which then the line was a top-5 line.

    Our GM has not filled that void, and our rushing attack has been stagnant ever since.

    That’s not a coaching problem

  35. Bucs Fan #7423 Says:

    More articles on potential replacements for offensive line please joe

  36. Lord Cornelius Says:

    “My memory’s obviously going because it keeps telling me that Bucs very often fell behind early because the Bucs OFFENSE started off so slowly”

    @DR

    I actually charted this and the Bucs offense scored more in 1st halves than 2nd half last year. In general there is no data backing up the idea that the Bucs offense or Winston do much better in the 2nd half vs 1st half. It’s basically even.

    Now maybe bad 1st quarters relative to 4th? I duno. But games aren’t typically won in Quarter 1. Unless you’re the Bucs and give up 21 by quarter 2 lol.

  37. The Buc Realist Says:

    @Lord of corn

    Why are you working so hard and charting!!!! There is a site that will break it all down for you, By quarter, halves and even downs!!!!!! on profootball reference, you can go into ” splits ” of offense or defense!!!!!!!!!!!! I would put the link in, but j o e has me so far in moderation, I dare not even do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Knowledge is power!!!!!!!!

    GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!

  38. Bucs Fan #7423 Says:

    Barber is fine, we don’t need a $20 million player at every position

    Just fix the run blocking and we’ll be fine

  39. Rod Munch Says:

    I don’t believe Maurice Jones-Drew actually watched any tape of the Bucs last year.

  40. Rod Munch Says:

    Bucs Fan #7423 – Hey we agree on something, except I think it’s even easier than the blocking needing to be fixed, the Bucs just need to not be so insanely predictable when they run AND use the play action pass before they’re down by 21 points at halftime. They used the play action pass to open games 1 and 2 when Monken was calling the games, then Dirk demanded we stop trying to “trick” people and just run it up the gut. Well, we saw how well that worked.

  41. Bob in Valrico Says:

    Our record pretty much proves we didn’t score enough in either half to win
    games on a consistent basis.

  42. Lord Cornelius Says:

    @ Realist

    I duno it was a while ago. I probably got it from there but just had it mostly from memory.

  43. Trench War Says:

    I don’t even care about predictability. I wouldn’t care if we told them every time we were going to run the ball as long as we could still dominate them at the line of scrimmage. Pound on a defense in the beginning and they will be soft in the second half. #BigNasty’s

  44. Bob in Valrico Says:

    LC the scoring differential was only a touchdown difference as you said. I don’t think that was always the case. Note that Jameis had an equal number of INT’s
    as touchdowns in second half which had to affect his second half scoring.But the real damage was in the third quarter where he compiled 0 TD’s and 5 INT’s.

  45. OneBucPerson Says:

    MJD lied straight to your face when he said he watched a lot of our tape from this past season, Rodgers was awful. Probably a bit of a short RB bias.

  46. #1bucfan Says:

    I agree with 813. He either can’t see anymore or is hoping to get a job as a running backs coach or something but isn’t speaking the truth

  47. JimmyJack Says:

    Westernbuc you are innacurate. The year before Dirk took over as HC we were a top 5 rushing team.

    We became a bottom 5 team with Dirk as HC and have stayed there.

    I think you are confusing the year that Dirk was OC. I’m talking about his first season as a HC.

  48. JimmyJack Says:

    2015 Tampa Bay rushing offense=2162. #5 in the NFL.

    2016 Tampa Bay rushing offense=1616. #24 in the NFL.

    Dirk was not the HC in 2015. His first year was 2016. Same year our rush attack went down the toilet.

  49. JimmyJack Says:

    Our offense did have major problems putting up points in the first halves. This problem was prevelant in most games during the 2017 season. It happened again this year starting in the Pittsburg game and continued til about midseason.

    After that, for some reason, we started having trouble scoring in the 2nd halves………Don’t really care when this changed. We’re still weren’t playing complete games. Either way gets you beat in this league.

  50. Trench War Says:

    I’d like for us to draft a bruising FB. Let’s crack open some running lanes.

    #BigNasty’s

  51. jerseybuc Says:

    I must admit, I had a couple of drinks when I read this, but did MJD completely ignore our top running back in his assessment of our running backs?
    I watch him on NFL Network, he seems like the little brother trying to hang with the big boys. Was a good solid running back for a long time, but damn man, how do you not address Peyton Barber in your conversation on Buc RBs?
    Did I miss something?

  52. Trench War Says:

    We should stack ourselves 10 deep with nothing but big nasty road graders. Let’s take the ball outta crabmans hands and force our will on running the ball. Go get Kareem Hunt.

  53. Trench War Says:

    #BigNasty’s #RoadGraders

  54. BucEmUp 7 Says:

    I wish they would start scouting dlineman and olineman that want to.convert to rynning back..I want an Andre the Giant Jerome Bettis kick your ass and run you over running back!!!

    You cant tell.meout of alllllllll the big biys out there none of the really athletic ones dont want to carry the rock and lay some stiffarms baby!!! Find a dump truck with legs!!!!

  55. BucEmUp 7 Says:

    Jimmy Jack yeah poor leadership and coaching.

  56. westernbuc Says:

    Jimmy Jack

    He was the offensive coordinator. It’s his offense, his rushing attack. Who’s else would that achievement. Lovie? Jeff Tedford? Who gets the credit for Koetter’s offense?

    Before he came in, it was crap. His first year (as an OC) he turned it around. Mankins retired, Licht failed to replace him, and then our running game fell apart. That’s not a coincidence

  57. cmurda Says:

    @Trench War. That’s a brilliant strategy if your team has a defense. With the current Bucs that would result in a 48-17 loss. In today’s NFL that would be a terrible offensive strategy. Before the Jameis (best quarterback this franchise has ever seen) haters keep spitting their dumb logic, let’s see what a real coach gets out of Jameis. All JW needs to realize is he has to play within himself and stop trying to force plays. It would be lovely if he had an offensive line that could block and a RB that could run. Count me in the ROJO being a force in year 2 group. It’s a mighty small group but I see ROJO fitting in perfectly with B.A’s offense.

  58. Old School Athlete Says:

    I hear a lot of praise on here for Kamara. Yes, he is a beast but keep in mind he’s got guys like Larry Warford, Terron Armstead, and Andrés Peat in front of him. If we had that kind of size and strength up front, who knows what kind of numbers Barber and Jones would have. I’m not ready to give up on either of them.
    I also think the comments by the scouting department were a smoke screen. If they are truly looking at a running back in the first round, would they really put that out there so everyone in New Orleans, Atlanta and Charlotte can see it?

  59. Trench War Says:

    @cmurda

    So wanting a great running game makes me a hater who keeps spitting his dumb logic?

    Dude you’re a moron

  60. D1 Says:

    Jimmy Jack,

    “All’s he lost was Logan Mankins. That hurts but it does not explain why we dropped all the way top bottom 5 back to back to back years.”

    — Mankins and Cherilus plus Martin for 8 games. 2 veteran linemen and the previous years starting RB.

    “Dirk changed our run scheme. This hurt us more then anything. Meanwhile our coaching staff developed no RBs or OL for three straight seasons. Zero OL or RBs.”

    —– down two veteran lineman and the #1 RB will make any coach change. Do Smith, A Marpet have developed but RB, there’s Barber and I don’t know if he’s developed.

    “Scheme change put players into roles that they were not built for. One of the best examples was when Martin was out and Sims was asked to play in the bellcow role. That was a decision that was destined for failure. That poor decisions was made worse when Dirk decided to stay with it for over a month………..Another example of Dirk being slow to make a change.”

    —Simms only played 3 games where He played the majority of the snaps. Rodgers and Barber were the alternative and it’s not misguided to assume Simms was a better prospect or higher drafted/value player. Another example of Dirk being slow…….they finished 9-7 with a #1 RB suspended for half a season and a shell of himself the other 8. Two new lineman and finished 9-7 with bottom 5 rushing and Roberto Aguayo.

    “Coaching has it’s hands all over the lack of production by our RBs.”

    ——-Player personal decisions also have a big role in the lack of production.
    You really believe that the team will not be looking to upgrade both the other line

  61. D1 Says:

    Jimmy Jack,

    “All’s he lost was Logan Mankins. That hurts but it does not explain why we dropped all the way top bottom 5 back to back to back years.”

    — Mankins and Cherilus plus Martin for 8 games. 2 veteran linemen and the previous years starting RB.

    “Dirk changed our run scheme. This hurt us more then anything. Meanwhile our coaching staff developed no RBs or OL for three straight seasons. Zero OL or RBs.”

    —– down two veteran lineman and the #1 RB will make any coach change. Do Smith, A Marpet have developed but RB, there’s Barber and I don’t know if he’s developed.

    “Scheme change put players into roles that they were not built for. One of the best examples was when Martin was out and Sims was asked to play in the bellcow role. That was a decision that was destined for failure. That poor decisions was made worse when Dirk decided to stay with it for over a month………..Another example of Dirk being slow to make a change.”

    —Simms only played 3 games where He played the majority of the snaps. Rodgers and Barber were the alternative and it’s not misguided to assume Simms was a better prospect or higher drafted/value player. Another example of Dirk being slow…….they finished 9-7 with a #1 RB suspended for half a season and a shell of himself the other 8. Two new lineman and finished 9-7 with bottom 5 rushing and Roberto Aguayo.

    “Coaching has it’s hands all over the lack of production by our RBs.”

    ——-Player personal decisions also have a big role in the lack of production.
    You really believe that the team will not be looking to upgrade both the offensive line and RB position? If it was coaching only, new coach would “coach em up”, which isn’t likely to happen.
    Talent or lack of it , isn’t on DK.

  62. D1 Says:

    Cmurda,

    “Dumb logic”

    Wow!

    Logic is a process that eliminates dumb. …… ahhh nevermind ….continue representing the mensa society on this site.