Growing Pains For Zac Robinson
July 21st, 2026
Yes, things got very ugly for Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson last year.
It was Year 2 for the Atlanta offense under Robinson, and it was bad. The Falcons averaged less than 18 points per game through Week 8. Robinson had moved to calling plays from in a coaching booth above the field to the sidelines. And things weren’t improving.
Fans and media starting losing their minds — in part because of Robinson quotes that made some feel he was clueless.
“We’ve actually been seeing simpler looks than we’ve been anticipating. … which makes it a little bit more frustrating for everybody, knowing that hey, we can own these looks, we can anticipate what’s coming,” Robinson said. “But again, we just got to get it cleaned up.”
There was more.
“You got to make sure that practice is set up the way that you need to. You get the right looks. … We need those live reps. We’ll get those live reps out there.”
Those were not the takes of a seasoned coordinator.
But then the offense improved. Its crescendo was a 476-yard night and 29 points against the Bucs in December. Atlanta finished ranked 24th in points scored and 14th in total yards with a shaky quarterback situation.
Joe has a clean slate for Robinson. He should be an upgrade from Josh Grizzard. But it remains a red flag that Robinson seems to be the only high-profile Sean McVay disciple that hasn’t drawn attention for an NFL head coaching gig.
July 21st, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Ugh… do you have to remind us about that Atlanta game?
July 21st, 2026 at 3:04 pm
Sounds like Todd. His big output on offense came against Todd. Perfect
July 21st, 2026 at 3:09 pm
Let’s face it …it may very well be a long season for the Buc’s. If that’s the case, then 1) earlier draft picks than most recent. 2) New HC, DC, OC, and complete rebuild. I sure hope this season doesn’t end like that. But you have to admit, if ZR stumbles from the get go the Buc’s will have a losing season with changes sure to follow.
July 21st, 2026 at 3:13 pm
I sure hope Zac wasn’t brought to Tampa by Biwles because he was able to beat up the Tampa D. That would be sad.
July 21st, 2026 at 3:13 pm
If the bar is set at improving on Grizzard-that is a pretty low bar.
July 21st, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Somewhere around the midway point of the season, there were complaints within the Falcon bubble that they were struggling to score >20 points and Robinson leaned on the talent of a London or Bijan to turn vanilla plays into big plays. At the week 7 mark last year, the Falcons were scoring less point per game than the New York Football Jets.
Much like our offense, they were also having trouble stacking scoring drives and actually engineering leads the defense could “protect”. ATL finished -2.8 in their average scoring margin over 17 games, ours was -1.8.
July 21st, 2026 at 3:36 pm
Come on Joe, you failed to mention with whom ZR has a close personal football connection (Coen) and yes, I remember ZR’s offensive playbook is about 1/2 similar to Coen’s! The fourth game of the season should reveal how successful the offense adapts to different defensive alignments thrown their way. Will there be bumps and road blocks down the road, sure, but let’s not speculate and let it just play out.
July 21st, 2026 at 4:04 pm
5-12
July 21st, 2026 at 4:14 pm
Falcons didn’t have a qb
July 21st, 2026 at 4:17 pm
I don’t think Zac had Good or consistent qb play from Penix and the other guy lol was immobile except against the Bucs. Yes Atl needed a weak defense to fix their game and Tampa sure gave them one to get back on track. Zac has a better qb in Baker and more depth at receiver. With that said it is going to take a minute to get a new coordinator with a new team going. The defense has3 new rookies and poor personnel in the secondary. The result contrary to popular expectations, I think the team starts very slow this year and begins to click in the second half of the season. I think, 2-4, or 2-5 to start is likely. I expect 7 wins total with many of those towards the end of the season. Sorry guys this team is rebuilding I don’t care what anyone says
July 21st, 2026 at 4:23 pm
24 th in points while 14th in tardy is quite a discrepancy. So what would deeper analysis reveal? Turnover issues? Red zone performance? Poor starting field position?
July 21st, 2026 at 4:24 pm
Yardage,not tardy
July 21st, 2026 at 4:44 pm
The more I hear about Robinson the more he sounds like Bowles.
Just gotta coach it better, practice it better, play it better.
4-13
July 21st, 2026 at 5:12 pm
Beej-Falcons didn’t have a Quarterback.
I would say that the Falcons had a pretty good QB in Cousins. Falcons went 5-2 in the games Cousins started.
July 21st, 2026 at 5:13 pm
Yikes! those quotes are concerning, hope he has learned!
July 21st, 2026 at 5:23 pm
” Louie I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”
July 21st, 2026 at 5:28 pm
LOL-Gotta love a Papillon quote!
July 21st, 2026 at 5:33 pm
Baker > Penix. Zac is a definite question mark. It’s a season of what ifs and hopes. Could be fun though. Never a dull moment. GO BUCS!
July 21st, 2026 at 5:58 pm
That pic of Zac looks like Chael Sonnen in a few years lol.
I just hope we find a way to win the division and Bane wins DROY.
LETS GO BUCS
July 21st, 2026 at 6:43 pm
Growing pains?? He should be sh!+n in high cotton! Healthy Oline that could be the best,3 quality backs with one that can take a screen to the house at anytime, a couple tight ends that can play ! A reliever room that’s pretty darn special! And yes weather you like hum or not a qb that can make plays!