Buccaneers’ Coach Dirk Koetter on Jameis Winston and Offense
Buccaneers’ coach Dirk Koetter sat down for a talk recently, and talked about working with his young quarterback, and working offensive concepts with different teams.
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The Buccaneers are headed into an important season, as James Yarcho talked about earlier this week. He is absolutely right. It’s time for the Bucs to be in the hunt. Anything less, even if it’s a repeat of 6-10, is a failure on multiple levels. Adam Schein of NFL.com believes, saying the Bucs should not be slept on.
And this puts a great deal of onus on new head coach Dirk Koetter, and his second year quarterback, Jameis Winston. Their relationship will be of the utmost importance, as they transition into year two, and the role of head coach/quarterback.
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Koetter talked with Jason Cole about the evolution of the young Mr. Winston:
"I think Jameis gets it, in general. He has been taught very well from his dad to Jimbo Fisher and his staff. I think he gets its. If there is a key moment, I think it was the first time we played Carolina last year where it was raining sideways. We throw four interceptions, fumble a snap on our own 20-yard line because it’s raining.I think on the whole turnover issue, that was probably my biggest knock on Jameis when we were studying him coming out. His last year at Florida State, they were winning a ton of games, but Jameis was turning the ball over and then making all these great second-half comebacks. I was telling him all the time, “Jameis, we’re not Florida State.” Florida State probably had the best players in every game they played that year."
Coach marks the rainy Carolina game as the day Jameis really seemed to turn things around. The numbers agree. After the four picks against the Panthers, Winston’s TD:INT ratio was 16:7. The maturation was clear. Koetter was correct, the chances you take in college cannot be taken in the NFL, the opponents are too good. The quarterback must protect the football. 22:15 as an overall TD:INT ratio is very solid. Jameis does “get it”.
Coach said that his relationship with his quarterback is the same, but the responsibilities are different:
"I have a lot more on my plate, and he’s got more on his plate. He’s not a rookie anymore. The expectations for him are greater. Our quarterbacks coach, Mike Bajakian, is doing a great job. I was just sitting in on a meeting with them. I still sit in, I speak up when I have to. I see Jameis in the hall. I talk to him the same way I always do. We just both have more responsibility."
In terms of offense, Koetter has been around the block, but always kept his offense quarterback friendly. From David Garrard, to Matt Ryan, and finally Winston, the quarterback was always in a position to excel. Why? Because he believes in concepts.
"All you have to have is a really broad outline of a system. Are you using numbers, or are you using words? I’ve used both. I believe in concepts, but whether you call it a Mike Martz or Norv Turner three-digit system or it’s words, it’s all the same stuff."
Too often, we find coaches that have a tough time getting “the guy” for their system. Brian Schottenheimer, for example, tried to fit his system into New York and St. Louis, and failed both times. In each case, he got away from what the quarterback could do. That isn’t so with Dirk. He keeps things within the quarterback’s wheelhouse, both physically and mentally.
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And that is why this is going to be a big year in Tampa. If it isn’t, there will be a lot of explaining to do from the top, right on down.