Koetter is under pressure to right the Buccaneers’ ship

Dirk Koetter, the Tampa Bay Bucs coach who is enduring a frustrating season that could cost him his job, has an interesting take on the mindset of players on a losing team.

Koetter, who has spent 11 years in the NFL as an offensive coordinator and a head coach, said last week that players don’t tend to lose confidence in their own ability but lose confidence in others, including the coaches.

After losing five consecutive games before squeaking past the New York Jets on Sunday, Koetter said that some players may have lost confidence in him, his scheme and maybe their teammates.

“What happens when a team loses is sometimes (the players) are not confident in the coach, or the scheme, or the other side of the ball or their teammates,’’ Koetter said. That’s human nature. That happens in every aspect of life. Do I think there is possibly some of that going on (here)? Yeah, there probably is. The easiest way to fix it is (to) play good team football and get a win.”

I got to know Koetter when he was the offensive coordinator of the Jaguars and was always impressed with his candor, but this may be too much candor for his own good.

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Taking a look back: NFL Week 10

A look back on Week 10 of the NFL’s 2017 season:

1. The New Orleans Saints beat the Buffalo Bills, 47-10, for their seventh victory in a row after a 0-2 start. The only other team to win seven in a row after an 0-2 start was Dallas in 1993, although that was because Emmitt Smith held out the first two games. The Saints crushed Buffalo on the ground, rushing for 298 yards and six touchdowns, becoming just the fifth team to rush for over 295 yards and six touchdowns in NFL history. Mark Ingram led the way with 131 yards and three touchdowns. The Bills are going in the opposite direction of the Saints. They started off 5-2 but have given up 492 rushing yards in their last two losses to the Jets and Saints. It is easy to say the Bills missed defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, who was traded to Jacksonville, but that is probably too simplistic. The Bills have beaten only one winning team (Atlanta) and probably aren’t as good as they looked earlier. And quarterback Tyrod Taylor was benched for rookie Nathan Peterman late in the game, and Peterman will get his first start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. It probably means the end of Taylor’s career in Buffalo, as he will likely move on next year.

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Bob Kraft’s shady Bermuda tax-dodging comes to light in Paradise Papers

 
Bob Kraft got another reminder recently that being an NFL means living in a fishbowl.

The Guardian recently published the so-called “Paradise Papers,” pointing out that dozens of investors from around the world were legally shielding their fortunes in accounts in Bermuda.

The list includes Queen Elizabeth and her son Charles and celebrities like Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Martha Stewart, companies like Facebook, Twitter, Nike and Walmart and several Ivy League universities.

But Kraft’s name on the list got a lot of attention because he owns the New England Patriots.

And Kraft has tried to cultivate a down-to-earth image by saying he buys coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, not Starbucks, and pays for the people in line behind him.

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A look ahead: NFL Week 10

A look ahead to five things about Week 10 in the NFL’s 2017 season:

1. In Fox’s doubleheader game that will be shown to virtually a national audience, the Dallas Cowboys will try to beat Atlanta without Ezekiel Elliott, who begins serving his suspension, and left tackle Tyron Smith, who is injured. This game has wild-card implications as both teams are two behind in the loss column in their divisions.  If the Cowboys lose without Elliott, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is likely to be even more motivated to complain about commissioner Roger Goodell’s power.

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Seahawks’ negligence with Wilson head injury can’t be repeated

The Seattle Seahawks are the latest team that doesn’t seem to understand how serious the concussion issue is for NFL teams.

The Seahawks virtually ignored the league’s concussion protocol Thursday night in Phoenix when Russell Wilson was ordered off the field in the third period by referee Walt Anderson after Wilson was hit hard in the chin by Arizona’s Karlos Dansby, who was flagged for roughing the passer.

Anderson correctly felt that Wilson should be checked out for a concussion before he returned to the game. That is the league’s protocol. But that apparently isn’t what happened.

Wilson returned after one play when Austin Davis handed off to C.J. Prosise. He left the medical tent, saying he was fine. Then after the series was over, he returned to the tent.

The medical personnel obviously didn’t have time during one play to decide if Wilson should be cleared, and it’s uncertain if Wilson got a proper review the second time.

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Taking a look back: NFL Week 9

A look back at Week 9 of the 2017 NFL season:

1. The Chiefs appear to be fading and suffered a 28-17 loss to the Cowboys, their third in four games after a 5-0 start. The Cowboys held Kareem Hunt to 37 yards on nine carries and ended Alex Smith’s NFL record streak of 237 passes without an interception. Meanwhile, the 6-3 Cowboys are 3-0 since losing to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers but aren’t likely to catch Philadelphia in the NFC East and are probably fighting for a wild-card spot. And the loss of Ezekiel Elliott for six games will make it more difficult for them to make the playoffs.

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Return is bittersweet for Bradley, but not for Jaguars fans

Gus Bradley insists he doesn’t have any extra motivation about his first visit to Everbank Field Sunday since he was fired as Jacksonville Jaguars coach with two games left last year.

“No,’’ said Bradley, now the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, in an interview with Chargers.com. “I’m more focused on us and what we have to do.’’

That is typical of Bradley, who always takes the high road and says he’s happy for the Jaguars’ success this year.

“To me, you’re happy for them,’’ he said. “You can’t not care for players that you were with for so many years. To see them do well and play at a high level and some of them get rewarded because of it. I think that’s cool. I’m all for that. … I think in the NFL there’s a lot of really good people. (That’s) what I’ve learned from the years I’ve been in it. Just really good people, and people that all want the same thing – at least where I’ve been – and Jacksonville was just another place that has a lot of really good people.’’

According to Chargers.com, “Those within the Jaguars organization, as well as those outside, give Bradley a ton of credit for building a strong foundation they believe will last for years to come.’’

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Taking a look ahead: NFL Week 9

A look ahead to Week 9 of the 2017 NFL season:

1. The NFL lawyers suffered a setback last week when they lost their bid to sideline Ezekiel Elliott Sunday, but it is good news for NFL TV types. It means Elliott will play against the Kansas City defense in the CBS doubleheader game that will be shown all over the country. Chiefs have given up 459 yards on the  ground the last three games so Elliott may have a big game. Cowboys are also in prime time three of next six weeks. Sidelining Elliott is not a good idea for a league dealing with declining TV ratings, but Roger Goodell is determined to do it.

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Sunday will go a long way to showing if the Jaguars are for real

The public perception of the Jacksonville Jaguars has taken a dramatic change in the last two months.

When the season started, the Jaguars were expected to remain one of the league’s bottom feeders. They’ve won just one playoff game since 1999.

The over-under on the Jaguars was 6.5 wins.

After a surprising 4-3 start, the Jaguars suddenly have a bandwagon as they prepare for Sunday’s pivotal game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to walterfootball.com, the Jaguars have become a popular public team with 62 percent of NFL bettors putting their money on them. That’s boosted the line from 2.5 points to five or six.

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Taking a look back at the NFL’s Week 8

Five observations on the eighth weekend of the 2017 NFL season:

1. The Philadelphia Eagles continued to look like the best team in the league as they beat the winless San Francisco 49ers, 33-10, to boost their record to 7-1 at the midway point.

If the Eagles match that in the second half, they’ll be 14-2 and have the top seed in the NFC.

2. After three consecutive losses, the Atlanta Falcons’ season could have spun out of control if they had lost a fourth consecutive game to the New York Jets. But they escaped with a 25-20 victory to get to 4-3 and keep them in the playoff hunt.

Still, the odds remain against them returning to the Super Bowl.

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