Dirk Koetter has many things going through his mind, but one thing, in particular, is the deep passing game. Koetter believes that if he can get Jameis Winston and Mike Evans on the same page that the deep ball portion of the offense will excel. “That’s one thing that will be a big push for us in the offseason. We have to get Jameis and Mike Evans on the same page because Mike is such a huge downfield threat. Mike had a better year in that respect in his rookie year than in year two, and part of that is because Jameis has to learn where to put the ball and how to give Mike a chance.”
Jameis Winston had only completed 14 of 53 on the deep pass and recorded 454 yards and one touchdown. Coach Koetter quickly assessed that and is making that one of the biggest necessities, in which to improve upon. “Mike is the guy we usually try to target down the field, and there are some coaching points to the spot he has to get in, too, so both have to do better.”
Dirk Koetter is happy with the job GM Jason Licht and his crew of talent seekers did in finding the players and filling the teams needs. “I think there’s eight guys in there that look like they’re going to be solid NFL starter. So, Jason and his guys have done an awesome job. They also have not been afraid to move on from some guys that maybe didn’t look like they were going to be that. So I think that’s really good.”
Koetter also addressed how Tampa faltered towards the end of the season last year, without WR Vincent Jackson and LB Kwon Alexander. He will also make that a number one priority in correcting those kinds of issues. “We quit taking the ball away and went back to turning it over. It still comes down to not turning the ball over and making explosives plays. And we lost an explosive player on offense and an explosive player on defense.