“A Young Guy’s Best Friend”
October 1st, 2026
Playcaller Zac Robinson & Todd Bowles.
Joe cannot wait to see what undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels looks like Sunday in his first NFL start.
It will be a reflection of Buccaners Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
The trio blessed Daniels to be the No. 2 quarterback on an alleged contender. He should at least be competent and look promising. Yes, Daniels is entitled to look like a rookie thrown into the fire, but it’s not OK if he appears completely overwhelmed.
Today, Robinson said he expects the Packers to throw all kinds of fresh unscouted looks at Daniels to confuse him on Sunday at The Licht House.
Robinson also said Daniels can counter at times by using his A-grade wheels.
“The nice thing about him is he can take off and go, too, Robinson said. “And so you [media] guys have seen that throughout the preseason. That’s a young guy’s best friend — is being able to run and kind of get out of some stuff, which he does a great job of.”
Joe is going to hold Robinson and Bowles to what Robinson said — that running is Daniels’ best friend. If so, then set him up to succeed. Give him designed runs and pass plays that will make it easier for him to break off a run.
There’s no reason to be protective of Daniels. He’s not Baker Mayfield. Let Daniels loose to win the game. The Bucs need it at all costs.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:32 pm
Please set Daniel’s up for success with smart play calling
October 1st, 2026 at 2:34 pm
Based on Zac’s history, and how rookie QBs get blitzed, I’d expect to see a ton of screens. And I’m OK with that.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:35 pm
@Rod Munch Says: Unless The Pack is waiting for those screens.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:43 pm
i see a sh*t ton of runs up the middle and checkdown throws to tightends for 1 yards.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:46 pm
I see the kid….. doing better than baker lol
October 1st, 2026 at 2:46 pm
Thomas Edrington Says:
October 1st, 2026 at 2:35 pm
@Rod Munch Says: Unless The Pack is waiting for those screens.
———–
Obviously they know Zac’s tendencies, but there’s a reason that teams are generally very blitz heavy with rookies, and its because it works.
If the Packers don’t blitz, and just wait for screens, great – it will open up the offense quite a bit.
But I’m going to guess they just blitz a ton – not only to pressure Daniels, but to stuff the run. A lot of it will obviously come down to a guessing game and how predictable / unpredictable Robinson is.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:46 pm
The good news is he gets to practice all week, unless all they do is walk throughs. I hope he’s been taking extra snaps under Barton…being under center seems to be his weakness. Go get em kid!
October 1st, 2026 at 2:47 pm
El Hefe Bucc Says:
October 1st, 2026 at 2:46 pm
I see the kid….. doing better than baker lol
———-
Well considering Baker didn’t win a game this year, it’s going to be difficult to do worse.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:49 pm
I see (through my rose-colored glasses) roll outs that high-low the defender so he can race along the side-line for multiple first downs and scores.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:50 pm
Another Disaster in the making
October 1st, 2026 at 2:50 pm
Love that Ian Beckles has finally said what we’re all thinking about Todd Bowles:
“Dead Man Walking”
October 1st, 2026 at 2:53 pm
If we run the screens, don’t start it at the side line. That allows to much time for
the defense to recognize and adjust. Packers will be anticipating screens. Have some fake screens setup with QB runs , mixed with some RPO’s. And have Kiel in as full back on running and passing plays.
October 1st, 2026 at 2:57 pm
Brock Purdy was Mr Irrelevant (One pick from a UDFA)
His first start was a 35-7 win against the Bucs
San Francisco coaching staff, players did their job
I’m expecting the same from the Bucs against Green Bay
October 1st, 2026 at 3:02 pm
Famu_Rattler Says:
October 1st, 2026 at 2:53 pm
If we run the screens, don’t start it at the side line. That allows to much time for
the defense to recognize and adjust. Packers will be anticipating screens. Have some fake screens setup with QB runs , mixed with some RPO’s. And have Kiel in as full back on running and passing plays.
——–
You can’t defend everything – if you want to blitz, it leaves you open to screens, and if you’re trying to defend screens, as I said above, it opens up the rest of the offense. History just says the Packers will be very blitz heavy. Obviously that doesn’t mean they’re going to blitz on every down – just more blitzes than normal.
With that said, I don’t disagree about having some fake screens – and if they’re blitzing heavy from the edges, some designed QB’s run up the gut should be open.
But, it’s all a guessing game, and will depend on Zac breaking tendencies and being creative, something we have not seen so far this year.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:03 pm
0-4 is coming.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Lakeland Says:
October 1st, 2026 at 2:57 pm
Brock Purdy was Mr Irrelevant (One pick from a UDFA)
His first start was a 35-7 win against the Bucs
San Francisco coaching staff, players did their job
I’m expecting the same from the Bucs against Green Bay
————
If only we were facing Bowles’ super soft zone defense, where when facing rookies he goes even extra soft … because they’ll never see it coming! They think it’s going to be a bunch of exotic blitzes, etc – so when they get on the field and have 10 seconds to throw the ball their minds are blown and you win the mental battle, which is way more important than winning the game.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:13 pm
But, Brock Purdy was 5-0 in his first 5 starts
Went 8-1, and won a playoff game
He got a lot of help from his teammates and coaching staff
The Bucs players, coaching staff has to help Jalon Daniels
October 1st, 2026 at 3:14 pm
Reposting some numbers… There’s only one area of the team that has been bad this year, and that is at QB, so who knows, maybe Daniels can break the rookie UDFA trend and play decent – if he does, the Bucs will have a very good chance to win games as the QB has been what has dragged the team down so far this year.
Bucs defensive rankings:
Defense, yards: 6th
Defense, passing yards: 9th
Defense, rushing yards: 2nd
EXP points (basically an overall ranking): 5th
Bucs offensive rankings:
Offense, yards: 19th
Passing yards: 26th
Passing, yards per attempt: 27th
Passer rating: 30th
Passing EXP: 32nd (LAST)
Rushing yards: 19th
Rushing, yards per attempt: 12th
Rushing EXP: 13th
October 1st, 2026 at 3:20 pm
Lakeland Says:
October 1st, 2026 at 3:13 pm
But, Brock Purdy was 5-0 in his first 5 starts
Went 8-1, and won a playoff game
He got a lot of help from his teammates and coaching staff
The Bucs players, coaching staff has to help Jalon Daniels
————
Would love to see it.
I will say when we signed Daniels, watching his film, I was asking why in the world he wasn’t drafted, and he would, at worst, take Ballzsacks job.
Daniels really doesn’t have the weaknesses that you generally expect from UDFA’s – who almost always either lack or arm, size or experience. While he’s not huge, he’s big enough that it’s not an issue, and he’s got a very live arm, along with very good mobility (not sure that translates to running the ball, but he can certainly take advantage of defensive breakdowns). Additionally he played a lot of snaps in college after being there for 6-years. So he’s much more seasoned than you’d expect.
So no one should write him off. This isn’t the goat farmer from Hard Knocks at QB, this is a legit NFL prospect. But first games generally go poorly in this situation, but there’s always exceptions.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:23 pm
I suspect the kid will do fine. He definitely knows how to play football and has had plenty of practice….plus preseason. Baker has stunk, so it’ll be a nice change. Watching Baker has been painful.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:25 pm
Munch i agree, now its up to the coaches to make their money and come up with a game plan for the kid..Trust me im not saying Bowles is the second coming of Lombard, so im gonna sit back and watch what happens, but if its turnovers and penalties because the guy across the line of scrimmage is beating you ,thats not on Bowles, it just isn’t
October 1st, 2026 at 3:28 pm
Zac wouldn’t know smart play calling if it hit him in the face. Poor Jalon, a young QB screwed up by poor play calling, a porous Oline, Wr’s that can’t get open or hold on to the ball and a TE that can’t block or catch the ball. This is not going to be pretty. Zac doesn’t know what to call in the red zone other than a running play. Not looking forward to Sunday, but at least we will be one week closer to getting rid of Bowles and hopefully Licht.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:40 pm
A running QB can torch blitzes. This kid needs to think run first, pass second until he loosens them up.
Munch is right. Again. Daniels cannot do any worse than Baker.
Be fearless, young Jalon!!! You will never have a more exciting moment in your career. Four games in as a rookie, you now have the conn. And the rest of the team has so f’d up the season already that there is nowhere to go but up.
Prove the 32 teams — including this one — that did not draft you were wrong.
You’re going to be great.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:45 pm
Bruce Arians for OC.
Let him call plays from the Booth.
Zac Robinson was a horrible hire. He averaged 20 ppg with Bijan, Drake and Pitts.
We needed an offensive villain like Liam Coen.
Arians is honestly the only option.
I know he can fix our offense
October 1st, 2026 at 3:49 pm
A young guys best friend is scheming him some open receivers let’s try that let’s try some good coaching that’s a young guys father figure.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:52 pm
Rod, the only area of weakness this year is the QB? Are you serious? Go back and look again. And again.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:54 pm
Hey, the kid doesn’t have much room to play worse. He has all the room in the world to play better.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:54 pm
I’ll say this Baker has been a top agent the past few years. But I think he is about to blow his previous year as an agent. Because this year the whole coaching staff and GM are about to get new jobs thanks to Baker. lol 😂
October 1st, 2026 at 3:56 pm
Bowles will find a way to lose the game.
Totally confident in his ability to do that.
He’s a guru.
October 1st, 2026 at 3:59 pm
The Packers can’t stop the run so far this season. I’d test that out often and run play action off of it to help the kid out
October 1st, 2026 at 4:02 pm
It was god almighty Ariens that picked Bowles has everyone forgotten that!
October 1st, 2026 at 4:19 pm
Give him designed runs? He’ll never hold up Joe, he’s not exactly Josh Allen. He’ll be getting hit enough without carrying the ball. This is the NFL, he ain’t in Kansas anymore.
October 1st, 2026 at 4:23 pm
‘Joe is going to hold Robinson and Bowles to what Robinson said — that running is Daniels’ best friend.’
You’re right Joe. Running will be Daniels’ best friend. And that’s exactly what a strong running attack is designed to do: take the pressure off of the QB. Bucs have 3 decent RBs, each of whom can have an explosive run at any time.
Green Bay is weak at Run Defense. They’ve allowed a 4.1 YPC average through their first 3 games, and are ranked #28 in Running Yards Allowed (with 416 yds given up … average of nearly 140 yds/game). Opponents have run on them early & often (102 Rushing Attempts in 3 games ranks #30 … that’s an incredible 34 Rushes/game against them). And to top it off, they’ve surrendered 6 Rushing TDs to rank #31.
Packers have lost 2 games & won 1. In the 2 they lost (Vikings & Falcons), BOTH teams ran against them more than they passed against them (Vikings 34 runs; Falcons 41 runs). In the 1 game they won (Jets), the Packers were terrible but won anyway (Jets couldn’t sustain drives & kept getting penalties). The Packers fumbled 5 times (lost only 1 however), they were 1-of-10 on 3rd/4th down conversions, and had 13 penalties (133 yds). Their saving grace was that the Jets had 13 penalties (156 yds).
Even with a rookie QB, we can beat these guys. But for heavens sake, ATTACK THEIR WEAKNESS. Run the friggin ball down their throats. If our OLine can’t run block, we’ve got even bigger problems than any of us think.
October 1st, 2026 at 4:24 pm
Daniel’s college career: Less than 6 feet tall, too many fumbles too many interceptions but can escape pass rushers and has strong arm. It’s just a lesser version of Baker. If he was all that he would have been drafted. He’s not. JL loves himself and his FA finds because it gets him attention. If we actually want to try and win Stick should be the starter. We are definitely tanking
October 1st, 2026 at 4:29 pm
Time for gainwell to be edleman,,7 man front sweeps, motions
October 1st, 2026 at 4:30 pm
Hodad … ‘Give him (Daniels) designed runs? He’ll never hold up Joe, he’s not exactly Josh Allen.’
Totally agree Hodad. It’s OK to let run a designed run every once in awhile, but let our RBs do the running. And HOPEFULLY let them do a LOT of it. That’s Green Bay’s primary weakness.
October 1st, 2026 at 4:51 pm
He’ll never survive a game if they run him. I have to believe that’s Zac just giving Packers false information to prepare for.
October 1st, 2026 at 4:58 pm
I really wish the kid well, but it is never a good sign when he is nervous as h-ll at a press conference. It will be far greater when he has a 300+ pound DLineman trying to take his head off.
October 1st, 2026 at 5:03 pm
Old-school let’s just give up ! Yay!
October 1st, 2026 at 5:23 pm
@steve, give up? You mean like the HC and overpaid players? No, I’m saying the complete opposite. IF they really wanted to win they wouldn’t put this kid out there in harms way. He doesn’t know the full offense(Stick does) he’s played in a real NFL game (Stick had) . Stick would be starting if they really wanted to win
Daniel’s is just hopium
October 1st, 2026 at 5:45 pm
You already have seen him.
He went in on what amounted to a 2 minute drill.
0-3, one interception, one sack.
In the preseason, he looked goid against the guys getting cut in a week.
When he played against second stringers, he looked lost.
He looked like an undrafted rookie QB.
I hope he goes undefeated, all the way to a SUPERBOWL championship. I really do.
But everyone is acting like we’ve never seen him play.
We have.
October 1st, 2026 at 6:06 pm
Throw him to the wolves,you never know
October 1st, 2026 at 6:40 pm
At this we were 3-0 last season, maybe Grizz was better than we thought. Gronk hit the nail on the head, culture. Why? It’s kinda like Ashawn said, it’s every man for himself not the team. No disapline just chaotic. Bowles has no control, his message to the team is weak, Jason has let Bowles go way too far down the rabbit hole. The team is dead, unless the line was pissed with Baker. They are kinda lost without much direction at all. Baker cost us these games. Some things you can’t overcome and he’s put us in a bad spot. This is the Baker that the Browns moved on from.
October 1st, 2026 at 6:44 pm
35-3 go pack go we need a new coach
October 1st, 2026 at 6:52 pm
if he wins, just do not let him on Sportscenter, NFL Network or any other podcast