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Buccaneers’ “OTA” Days Provide Momentum
Published: May 14, 2009
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These days, NFL teams don’t start training the day of training camp: by the time late summer rolls around, players are toned and strengthened, the coaching staff is on the same page, and the foundation of said team is established.
The NFL operates year round now.
Players and coaches might as well call their jobs a 365 day commitment. Whoever isn’t working out in May is behind the power curve. Head coach Raheem Morris and the Buccaneers realize that—and so they are on the practice field at One Buccaneer Place.
Even in the warm, hot mornings of late spring and early summer, media is at full occupancy, and the players are motivated.
“Nobody is going to give you a win in this league, period,” Antonio Bryant said at organized team activity day practice on May 13. The Buccaneers have allotted 14 OTA days during the offseason, all of which will take place in the next five weeks.
The days will become increasingly sweltering, but the pirate ship needs to keep moving.
Morris reported that 62 players were present at the second OTA day, and 18 more rookies will join the action next week. The coaching staff has been pleased with the workouts so far.
“I’m starting to like the way things are coming together,” Morris said. “The vibe from the players, what I’m feeling inside the team room, what I feel when I come out onto the practice field; ‘m really starting to like everything that’s happening.”
Recently Raheem Morris was pasted onto the Tampa Bay home page, he addressed the crowd in Tampa Bay. Evidence like this suggests that the head coach is beginning to become a regular and dominant presence in the Buccaneers’ fan culture.
During OTA days, teams are allowed to hold full scale and full speed practices as well as hold classroom sessions. Participants wear helmets, practice jerseys, and shorts, but no pads.
Quarterback Carousel
At the Wednesday, May 13th practice, Josh Johnson, Byron Leftwich, and Luke McCown were all throwing the football. Josh Freeman will join the competition next week when the rookies return.
Morris says that they are all getting progressively better. He also attests to their increase in confidence.
Bad News for Byron Storer
Fullback Byron Storer, an undrafted free agent in 2007, lost 10 games of the 2008 season to a knee injury. Now it appears that he’s back on the shelf.
He has apparently suffered a “major setback” in his 2008 injury.
The Buccaneers believed Storer could provide depth in the backfield and continue to excel on special teams. It is not clear whether the “setback” should impact Storer’s play come September.
Storer’s injury is apparently the only new one of any concern.
Moving Forward
I will continue to follow the Buccaneers’ OTA days and summer camp updates. For now, it appears that the team is gaining momentum and feeling positive about their work so far. If the chemistry and skill of the team continues to mesh as well as at present, the NFC South should be a war zone this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coaching Staff Profile
Published: May 9, 2009
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The Gruden era is gone and 2009 brings a new wealth of coaches to Tampa Bay. This coach profile will examine key members of the Buccaneers’ play calling and decision making—the head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator—and how they rose to their current position as Bucs staff.
Raheem Morris, Head Coach
Morris is currently on his second stint as a member of the Buccaneers staff. From 2002-2005 he served on the Buccaneers defensive coaching staff, left the team and became Kansas State’s defensive coordinator, and then returned two years ago to become the Bucs’ defensive backs coach.
Morris is credited to having helped shape the Buccaneer defense, one of the best defenses over the past decade. Since 1996, the Buccaneers defense has produced 36 Pro Bowlers and became the NFL’s top ranked defense in 2002 and 2005.
In 2008, Morris’s final year as the Buccaneers defensive back coach, his defense was ranked fourth in the NFL. While working for Kansas State, Morris improved the defense’s statistics. Scoring defense and pass defense had better ratings than before Morris joined the university’s squad.
So, why choose Raheem Morris as head coach?
For one, he’s 32 years old. He’s young, energetic, and judging by his press conference after being selected as Gruden’s successor, excited to be Buccaneers head coach.
Running back Earnest Graham says that he’s popular for his depth of football knowledge as well as the way he approaches the game.
We’ll see exactly what Morris’s approach is during camp, and especially come September.
Jeff Jagodzinski, Offensive Coordinator
Jagodzinski enters his ninth year employed by the NFL and the first year coming back to the NFL after two years as Boston College’s head coach.
Jagodzinski left BC after leading his Eagles to a 20-8 record in his two seasons. In 2008, Boston College ended their season 9-3, and became the Atlantic Division Champion for the second time in two years.
Jagodzinski has also worked for the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. He has also served on the coaching staff of Louisiana State, Northern Illinois, East Carolina, and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, his alma mater.
Jagodzinkski’s extensive offensive staff experience makes me feel comfortable in 2009. With that extensive resume revamping the playbook, we’re in good hands.
Jim Bates, Defensive Coordinator
Bates has served 17 years in the NFL as a member of coaching staffs. With four decades of coaching experience, Bates is widely recognized as one of the best defensive minds in the NFL.
Bates has spent eight years leading NFL defenses with the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons. He was also interim coach for the Miami Dolphins for the final seven games of the 2004 season.
The Cleveland Browns first hired Bates in 1991, launching him into the NFL. He coached the club’s linebackers that year under head coach Bill Belichik. He spent three years as a member of their staff.
In addition to the NFL, Bates has coached in the United States Football League. He worked for the San Antonio Gunslingers in 1985 and as a coach of he Arizona Outlaws. Bates added another year in the Arena Football League, coaching for the Detroit Drive in 1988.
Bates both played and coached for the Tennessee Volunteers. He has coached for other college teams, including University of Southern Mississippi, Villanova, Kansas State, and West Virginia.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Playbook Is Super Fresh
Published: May 7, 2009
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With the shuffling off of coaches John Gruden and Monte Kiffin this year, there’s no doubt that some Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are resistant to change.
Heck, it’s been thirteen years since Kiffin hopped on bored.
However, the old Bucs have gone stale. The once elite team of 2002 has gone stale, leaving only one soldier in Ronde Barber in its wake.
So of course, something had to be done.
Enter our new masterminds, head coach Raheem Morris, offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski, and defensive coordinator Jim Bates.
Say goodbye to Gruden’s playbook.
“Everything is new,” Bates said at mini camp, and that includes both offensive and defensive philosophies. Gruden’s playbook was known to be complex, a negative aspect that had to be addressed by the new staff. Jagodzinski has taken it upon himself to simplify the format of the plays, even making phrases briefer.
Fewer plays and verbiage is the name of the game in Tampa Bay, which makes perfect sense.
A few years ago, Gruden’s playbook had 220 pass plays alone. Word is that coach Jagodzinski plans to cut that number in half.
Jermaine Phillips commented that learning the new playbook is “like learning a new language” but on a positive note, “everyone is buying in right now.”
Defensively, coach Bates is looking for a beefier, brawnier defense to compete successfully in the NFC South. The days of the agile defense are over for the Buccaneers.
With a C grade draft and a brand new way of doing things in Tampa Bay, fingernails will be bitten off on Florida’s west coast this summer.
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Bucs fans have no fear. The old regime had lost its flame. Times change, football organizations evolve. It’s time for a new dawn in Tampa Bay.
