Zac Robinson And Pre-Snap Motion
June 18th, 2026
Bucs OC Zac Robinson.
There is a belief among the self-anointed football sophists trafficking Twitter that pre-snap motion is a key to unlocking the power of offense.
Joe sort of understands. Defenses don’t know where a player is going in motion, or his responsibility. The more one moves on offense (sort of in a basketball sense), the more of a chance a defender makes a mistake, which leads to an explosive play. And pre-snap motion lets a quarterback read a defense, based on how it reacts to the pre-snap motion.
The numberscrunchers suggest pre-snap motion also can lead to a more creative offense.
Joe knows Liam Coen was a huge believer in pre-snap motion when he was the Bucs’ playcaller. In fact, when Coen came on board in 2024, Bucs trainers crafted an offseason workout regimen for Bucs offensive skill position players just so they would have more stamina because Coen planned to use so much pre-snap motion all season.
Hard to complain about Coen’s results. The Bucs had one of the best offenses in the league and Baker Mayfield threw 41 touchdowns, surpassed only by Joe Burrow.
So if one believes pre-snap motion equals offensive success, Bucs fans ought to really like the evidence from last year. Only squirrely Mike McDaniel, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay ran a higher percentage of pre-snap motion than Robinson with the Dixie Chicks.
Another interesting tidbit from this TruMedia graphic breaking down pre-snap motion from last season: Josh Grizzard ran more motion with the Bucs in 2025 than Coen did with the Jags.
(Click on the graphic for a larger view.)
June 18th, 2026 at 5:14 am
So, it’s not pre snap motion alone that breeds success, there has to be some kind of offensive scheme. I’d say that Grizz’s scheme was very offensive!! 🤣🤣🤣
June 18th, 2026 at 5:37 am
I like pre-snap, I think it works…but you know who doesn’t really care for pre-snap, legends like Brady and Manning. I think they find it college gimmicky, requiring a lot of timing in some of the movements, and the payoff isn’t as big deal as we think it is. In Brady and Leftwich’s last year in Tampa, we were last in pre-snap motion, so much so Leftwich was feeling the pressure to have to use it.
Watch that 2023 Bengals game… Bengals were defending AFC champions, they were good, we used a ton of pre-snap in the first half, and they didn’t know what to do with us, we moved and scored well. Second half, not only did we go away from pre-snap, but Brady would also end up having the worst back-to-back to back series I’ve ever seen from him as a Buc, I think he turned the ball over at least 2 straight times to start that half. I don’t remember seeing any more serious pre-snap offense for that rest of the season.
June 18th, 2026 at 6:59 am
all I know is that I feel a lot better with the OC this year than Grizz last year. This OC knows what he is doing and has done it before. No concerns with the Offense this year. It’s that Putrid Pass Defense of the recent past that has held this team back. Hopefully with all the new faces-we have a legit D that can get off the field on 3rd downs. Get “Born Again” Baker resigned and LFG!!
June 18th, 2026 at 7:21 am
I liked how Coen put Baker under center and the play-action game seemed to work better. There’s talk that Z-Rob won’t have Baker under center much – I hope the play-action game still works.
June 18th, 2026 at 7:31 am
Zac didn’t have his guys under center much last year because Penix had no experience with that and Kirk was immobile, won’t be am issue this year.
Anyhow about pre-snap motion: when we did it LAST year, was nearly always Cade Otton, and wherever he turned uphill was where we were running the ball
June 18th, 2026 at 9:49 am
Pre snap motion in it self is not a panesia but a compliment to a great play-caller. Something Liam, Mcvay and Shannahan are.
June 18th, 2026 at 9:54 am
@AtlBuc
Amen to that brother! At times last year our offense looked like it was moving just to move. 😂
Joe, What excites me about Zac Robinson isn’t just the pre-snap motion numbers it’s what they could mean for his future. Robinson was already running one of the NFL’s most motion-heavy offenses in Atlanta, right alongside guys like McVay, Shanahan, and McDaniel. That’s not accidental. That’s modern offensive football.
If he brings that creativity to Tampa with Baker, Bucky Irving, Godwin, Emeka Egbuka, McMillan, Otton, and the league’s youngest elite offensive line, this offense has a legitimate chance to finish Top 5.
And if that happens? We may have a different conversation next January. Great offensive coordinators don’t stay coordinators for long. If Robinson unlocks another level for Baker and keeps this offense among the NFL’s best, he’ll either be interviewing for head coaching jobs around the league or putting himself squarely in the conversation as Todd Bowles’ eventual successor.
The biggest compliment you can give an offensive coordinator is that other teams want to hire him. If Tampa’s offense explodes in 2026, Zac Robinson’s stock is going through the roof.
LFG!!
Ring ME
June 18th, 2026 at 11:55 am
@BoriMex
Unfortunately, the sad ending to this Fairy tale is that if Zac does well, he goes off to another team as HC and we’re still stuck with Todd. And a new OC.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:04 pm
@ Zoocomics Says: “I think they find it college gimmicky, requiring a lot of timing in some of the movements”
The NFL had to grudgingly evolve and change, in order to fit the current ‘skill-set’ of the modern Quarterback. It just wasn’t ‘working’ trying to change THEM, when the were already BUILT for these “college type” of systems. Most had been in these systems, since High School and Junior High.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:21 pm
@ Beeej Says: “Anyhow about pre-snap motion: when we did it LAST year, was nearly always Cade Otton, and wherever he turned uphill was where we were running the ball.”
It was completely pointless, and it ‘tipped our hand’ EVERY single time. It was mind-blowing to witness. Even more mind-blowing, is that OUR OWN HC (the defensive guru), never noticed it HIMSELF. They RAN the ball 💯 of the time, EVERY TIME. And, it took THEM WEEKS before they eventually figured it out (around the Bye-Week). After I’d been SCREAMING it on HERE for 2-3 WEEKS. I made it a point to start tracking it, because I’d ‘noticed it’ for a couple of weeks. Then, I REALLY WATCHED. And, it was seriously 💯 of the time. I think the phrase “too predictable,” doesn’t even come CLOSE to describing this clown show. It does THEM nooooo justice, at ALL.
June 18th, 2026 at 12:46 pm
Pre-snap motion, and in particular, man-in-motion, works well in the run game because it reveals a point of attack at the last moment, and it gives the motion player extra momentum to put into the block. Otton was usually good at it last year as is Kieft.
And, once you demonstrate that you are actually going to rush the ball on at least half of those man-in-motion plays, defenders start moving their feet and leaning forward to come down on the run which gives a smidgeon more separation to the receivers on that one play in three, not always on third down, when the motion is a setup for a pass play.
It is not a game winner by itself. But, it is an extra bit of leverage to get the best advantage possible on a play.
Now, if you are Manning or Brady at certain points in their careers where they had receivers they could count on winning once or twice in every set of downs, they could afford to treat motion with disdain. And, maybe the Bucs will have that.
Line up Hurst or Tez in isolation with trips on the other side, fake the handoff and take a quick peak to see if Hurst is open on a Go or Godwin is open on a Cross or Slant or if it there is a broken coverage on one of the other guys. If not, airmail it out of bounds in the vicinity of Hurst. If one time out of three you are connecting for for a first down, sure, turn your nose up at pre-snap motion and save if for when you need it.
The Bucs certainly did not have that kind of dominance for much of last season, and they should have been using every tool they had.
June 18th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Presnap motion reveals the coverage.
Why wouldn’t you?
Also, Why wouldn’t you run hurry up when you get a defensive package you can exploit?
June 18th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
@Badbucs Says:
You’re right, sadly history has shown that but many voices within one BUC have said Pistol 🔫 ZAC will not be one of those that gets away. If and when he proves what he can do this year and beyond. Just listen to him how he expresses themselves after practices. I can listen to that guy all day.
@ toopanca Says
You nailed it Sir. Excellent breakdown. The key point is that pre-snap motion isn’t magic it’s leverage. The motion itself doesn’t beat defenses; it forces defenders to declare their intentions and creates hesitation for a split second. In today’s NFL, that split second is the difference between a 2-yard gain and a 20-yard gain.
Last season the Bucs were often winning despite being so predictable.
There is no reason not to make defenses process as much information as possible before the snap. Motion helps the run game, helps identify man vs. zone, helps create favorable angles, and sets up play-action (Insert GAINWELL). None of those things guarantee success individually, but together they stack the odds in your favor.
What frustrated all of us last year wasn’t the lack of motion itself it was the feeling that the offense wasn’t consistently using every tool available. Good offenses don’t rely on one advantage; they accumulate advantages. Hopefully that’s where Pistol Zac takes this thing. “IF” we start 9-1 or 8-2, you 🔒 him up with verbiage to become our next HC.
LFG!!
Ring Me