Studying Zac Robinson
January 26th, 2026
Bucs OC Zac Robinson.
Tomorrow, new Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is supposed to meet with the local pen and mic club. There, a clearer look at what makes Robinson tick should emerge.
Briana Dix of Buccaneers.com had a couple of interesting nuggets about Robinson.
In his two years in Atlanta, Robinson and the Dixie Chicks ranked seventh in the league in pre-snap motion. A lot of self-promoted football sophists on Twitter seems to like pre-snap motion because it can open things up for the offense.
(Think of a motion offense in basketball: The offense knows where it is going; the defense really doesn’t and is reacting behind an educated guess. Sometimes those educated guesses are flat wrong and — whoops! — there’s an open man!)
And yes, Atlanta ran the ball well. Duh. They had Bijan Robinson. The Bucs don’t have Bijan Robinson. But per Dix, the Dixie Chicks led the NFL in runs out of a pistol formation. Robinson, again, per Dix, seems to think a pistol formation adds to balance.
In fact, Joe’s not sure the Bucs have a No. 1 back. Bucky Irving tore up the league his rookie year. Last year, he might not have even been the Bucs’ No. 2 back.
Whether that was because perhaps Josh Grizzard wasn’t as adept in scheming up a run game like Liam Coen or maybe because Bucky was hurt so much or because defenses had all offseason to develop a run defense to stop him, who really knows?
But it appears Robinson, given the weapons, can cobble together a run game.
So, with Rachaad White gone, might the Bucs be looking to draft a running back, perhaps on Day 2 of the draft? If nothing else give Bucky a jolt of competition in training camp?
January 26th, 2026 at 9:11 am
Relying on bucky will be a huge mistake hes too small. He will never be the RB1 doesnt matter whose calling plays. His body is just not going to hold up and we already saw that with his injuries.
January 26th, 2026 at 9:18 am
Draft a RB day 2? Yikes! We need massive help in the D front 7 first.
January 26th, 2026 at 9:22 am
The pistol formation was used often in Atlanta because their aging quarterback had limitations, one being behind center. We may see it occasionally but certainly not at level of the Falcons . Robinson will be good for the Bucs with his McVay lineage. Unlike Grizzard he can skeme receivers open.
We have great receivers capable of generating lots of points to offset our secondary weaknesses. As their overall play improves the Bucs will be the winner of their division and a strong contender to play deep into the playoffs.
January 26th, 2026 at 9:23 am
On the Bucky point. The last 2 games 2024 reg season Bucky started and both games he did not look the same. Then it continued in 2025. Bucky as the starter is a mystery that needs to be solved by Zac quickly when the new season starts.
Go Bucs!!!
January 26th, 2026 at 9:27 am
Can they draft a DC more concerned about the defense than the offense for sure.
January 26th, 2026 at 9:35 am
With White gone, they do need to either draft a RB or have Zac bring in the RB from Atl who will be a free agent
January 26th, 2026 at 9:42 am
Bucky will be Fine they just didn’t use him right last year they need to Have a Bigger back pound the Defense the. Have Bucky hit them with the Jolt he is a Quick shifty runner but I think the biggest problem was that the Interior Guards couldn’t hold up Mike Jordan was laying down on the ground more often then not during games he was a turnstile an he basically was an extra player on opposing teams an idk why Bowlzo didn’t put in someone anyone else over Jordan he was the worst guard in NFL an Freeney wasn’t to far ahead
January 26th, 2026 at 9:45 am
They definitely need another RB if White is really gone. It was mentioned on another Joe’s post via Raheem that Zac brought Pitts back to life. Sounds good. And when White was asked on the Loose Cannons podcast that was posted on here; he said he would like to see Zac Robinson as OC for the Bucs.
January 26th, 2026 at 9:45 am
This Guy at least knows what he is doing and has done the job before in a very similar Offense to what we have had since Coen was here. WE should be fine on Offense as long as there it not another avalanche of injuries. Evans will be back. It is the Defense and the scheme that terrifies us Buc fans. Please help us with that Putrid Pass Defense!
January 26th, 2026 at 9:51 am
Now Bucky maybe a number 2 lol! Man, it is a lil early to be hitting the bottle!
January 26th, 2026 at 9:58 am
Bucky is a great runner in space. He had no space last year. Agree they need to add a runner, though.
January 26th, 2026 at 9:59 am
“So, with Rachaad White gone, might the Bucs be looking to draft a running back, perhaps on Day 2 of the draft? If nothing else give Bucky a jolt of competition in training camp?“
-Mike Washington Jr out of AK
-Le’Veon Moss and/or Rueben Owen’s from Texas A&M
-LJ Johnson from Cal
-Roman Hemby
Robinson had Bijan & being smart he know to keep him healthy you had to get Allgeier involved. 2 RBs contributing to the run game > misusing the “fan favorite” to the point he’s not only ineffective when used, but also more reps = higher likelihood of getting hurt, especially for RBs.
January 26th, 2026 at 10:07 am
I think we needed a replacement for David from the start two seasons back when Dennis was still an unknown because we’re in deep poo poo 💩 JL has slept on what was thought to be for way to long. Dennis was getting dragged down field by the smallest guys along with poor coverage. HELP IS NEEDED BOSS ILB is empty..
January 26th, 2026 at 10:09 am
Cohen and Grizz used Bucky too much. Hard to predict if he will return to form.
He didn’t handle being injured well. If they don’t protect him better and limit his carries his career will likely be shortened.
January 26th, 2026 at 10:16 am
If we knew more about the argument between Bucky and the offensive line late in the season, we would know about the issues running the ball. Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving are more than capable of handling the backfield.
January 26th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
No run game works when the back hits contact 3 yards in the backfield. OL needs to regain form and add in ps motion. Bucky will be fine.
January 26th, 2026 at 1:06 pm
Bucky misused as a bell cow. Doesn’t have the frame to hold up to that workload. He is best as 15-17 touch per game max with 4 of those being targets.
Pair him with Algier. Still young has size can play full series and pass block.
January 26th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
I think Baker needs a jolt of competition.
January 26th, 2026 at 2:30 pm
Not sure any of the assessment is fair on Bucky. Injuries to the Oline plagued both the run and passing game. There didn’t appear to be a ton there in the run game for him. I also think Bucky might not be suited for the role Tampa is pushing him into. Bucky thrived as the change of pace to White, and he was fantastic in that space. Both complimented each other incredibly well onto one of the best running games in the NFL. I felt Bucky’s game slipped toward the end of his rookie campaign when they made him the premier back, and then continued that onto this past season. Hoping cooler heads prevail in 2026 and we see a better mixture than what Grizz was pushing this past season.
January 26th, 2026 at 2:31 pm
doesnt matter!!!!
Baker will play “injured” the entire season and fans will want to resign him to a 6 year deal after we finish with 6 wins…why?…because baker has “moxie” lol
GO BUCS!!!!
January 26th, 2026 at 2:38 pm
@Bokeh…I 100% agree.
Problem is the shift in the NFL. The change to college football with the NIL, and it’s now influence in the pro game has created a regression at the QB position. Imagine there was a time where you could draft a QB and allow them to develop for a couple of seasons behind a starting veteran QB. Doesn’t exist anymore.
That’s why mediocre QBs are holding teams hostage for big money because teams’ options are limited, and unless you have a Shanahan or a Sean Peyton who are geniuses that can make lemonade out of almost any QB, you’re spit out of luck. And if you plan to draft one, anything outside the 2nd round, it’s dicey, and will most likely be a backup only. Finding another Brock Purdy is almost impossible.
January 26th, 2026 at 3:56 pm
“Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving are more than capable of handling the backfield.“
Tucker can be tendered this year as an RFA and has to be by start of the new league year. What’s trick is that there’s 4-5 different types of tenders(no hot honey mustard).
First 2 are draft comps. Licht could put a 1st/2nd round tender that usually equates to a 1 year deal with varying value dependant on the round of the pick compensation. An outside team wants to sign, we can match or set the desired pick to let anybody who snoops around to chill tf out or give us a pick
Third, from what I remember is original round comp, which Tucker doesn’t qualified as he was signed and not drafted.
Last I believe is right of refusal, where we set the price and it’d have to be matched or exceeded by an outside team.
That said, it’s not 100% he’ll be back next year and as much as I like him, if
Licht put a round 2 tender on him being a UDFA and somebody gives us that. Well best of luck to Sean Tucker.
And I really, really like him as a play but shidding me if we couldn’t use another 2nd rounder
January 26th, 2026 at 6:34 pm
Are you kidding me that Bucky isn’t a #1 back? Get off quoting AVG per carry nonsense and just watch the film. Bucky looked great – but was repeat just told to run up the gut, and the fact he got the yards he did shows why he’s so good. Also – missing your two start guards is sort of a big deal and further tanked the ypc up the guy number. At the same time, the team stupidly brought in Tucker to run outside runs — taking away the carries that would more likely get Bucky big yards.
If the team reverts back to using motion, and misdirection and isn’t completely predictable — all things that happened under Coen — the run game will be instantly fixed.
January 26th, 2026 at 6:40 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch — I’m not a big Tucker fan, but you’re correct on the tender. Even if the Bucs like him more than I do, he’s not going to get tendered just due to the cost – $3.4M. I doubt White gets much more than that as RB’s just don’t get paid anymore unless they’re one of the very very best.
The thing that really limits Tucker is his blocking, which hasn’t improved much. Also catching the ball, he’s looked OK, but certainly doesn’t stand out. Finally, last year the Bucs normally ran outside when they brought him into the game. All those things mean when he’s in the game, it’s a pretty big tell on what is coming — and again, that limits how often he’s going to be used.
While I won’t be surprised if he’s back, I think it will likely be in a similar role to what he had last year, while the Bucs will likely try to sign/draft a bigger RB who can block and maybe get short yardage runs.
January 27th, 2026 at 12:25 am
“Also – missing your two start guards is sort of a big deal…”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
You can’t use the excuse for the QB. Its all Baker’s fault. LOL
January 27th, 2026 at 1:41 am
Please lord, don’t have Robinson as playing Mayfield in the pistol…..
Like I said a ton towards the end of the year….
STOP WITH THE OVER-USE OF PUTTING MAYFIELD IN CONSTANT SHOTGUN FORMATIONS!!!!
When you do this, your play action game goes away as well as the creative QB bootlegs…
Mayfield throws PHENOMENALLY while moving and on the run…this part of his game has been drastically under utilized!!!!