Todd Bowles & Thomas McGaughey On Making Plays, Maintaining Consistency on Special Teams | Bucs Total Access

Reporter Casey Phillips sits down with Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles and Special Teams Coach Thomas McGaughey after Week 14’s game vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. They talk about the players stepping up each week and K Chase McLaughlin’s preparation for gameday.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fuck not three?

Speaker 2 (00:01):
What's three?

Speaker 3 (00:05):
Please?

Speaker 1 (00:05):
These Buccaneers Total access with head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 4 (00:09):
Stop the hell of the job going back? Here's mate
field shotgun?

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Look looks right, I'm about to up those towards.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Left cod Ball Evans at the five? Another three too?
What touchdowns? Have a bay there you go. Fire the cannons, Miike.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Evins, brought to you by at vent Health. No matter
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because feeling whole always Speakins at AdventHealth dot com. Fire
the Cannons now your host Bocks, Team reporter Casey Phillips

(00:45):
and head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 5 (00:47):
Welcome into the Todd Bowles show Casey Phillips here with
head coach Todd Bowles. Man, just to start with, what
is it like to wake up on a Monday morning
and know that your team is sitting atop the NFC
South standings after where you were heading into the bye week,
to just know what you guys have accomplished.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
It's a good feeling, but it's only a good feeling
for one week. You know, you get to feel it,
but you know, you got some work to do and
we got some games to win. So it's great to
be there. Now we have to stay there.

Speaker 5 (01:11):
I see abo how this team has been able to
overcome sort of a mid season little slump there and
then also in this game even it was a mid
game slump. And it is not a given that teams
can overcome either of those things.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Go against some momentum that's happening.

Speaker 5 (01:23):
What do you think it is about your squad and
the makeup that has let them be able to come
back and fight against some of those moments that maybe
other teams might have gotten lost in that momentum.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
Great leadership, great leadership from the veterans Lavonte, Mike Baker,
Tristan Veta win, all those guys the way they were
made up, coming into training camp and understanding each other.
They all get along, they all hang out together, they
all talk with each other. So when you get those
kind of battles and you know, it kind of comes out,
it kind of comes out, and the metal starts to

(01:53):
show and things we learned from the first half of
the season are kind of helping us win the second
half of the season, even though BEFO we're not at
our beat.

Speaker 5 (02:00):
We've talked about how last year the scoring a touchdown
on the opening drive was an elusive thing. Now, you guys,
sixth game that you've done it so far the season
this last week, and offense came out firing this week
for sure. Tell me what was working so well early
for them?

Speaker 4 (02:13):
Just execution, execution. We popped some plays here and there,
we got some passes down there, we went down the
field methodically, got a touchdown and scored it again. And
then we got to do it for four quarters. Though
we got to play for four quarters.

Speaker 5 (02:26):
I know Jalen McMillan a couple of touchdowns on his birthday,
not a bad birthday for him. I know he hadn't
had a trip to the end zone since that very
first week of the season. Why was this game one
that became Jalen's.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
Day really coming into his zone. You know, he's been
running routes great in practice, he's been locked in on
the offense, he's been dialed in. Bmck does a great
job getting those guys ready. And when you're going to
have double teams on mikel on the other side. It
starts to be his time.

Speaker 5 (02:51):
Yeah, take us through his two touchdowns and what worked
so well, especially from the play call standpoint and the execution.

Speaker 4 (02:56):
The first one that was a little starter of play
is the fake screen. He came out the dB bit
up Baker, throw it over the top. And the last one,
obviously it was third and six. We knew a first
down with iced the ball game with touchdown, even iced
it more. He got the screen, he got a heck
of a block in there, and he kind of high
stepped into the end zone.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
I know.

Speaker 5 (03:13):
Also, the last couple drives had plays of thirty two,
thirty four, forty four yards. How important were those chunk
plays late in the game and what had started to
happen to bring those about in pretty quick succession There.

Speaker 4 (03:26):
There were huge chunk plays. We needed it. We were
struggling a little bit offensively to get going in the
second half. It was kind of a stalemate for a
while in a fourteen to ten game going into the
fourth quarter, and we popped a few runs or shot.
He ran well, He ran tough all day long. We
got a big play by Mike over the middle, had
got us some plays and he hurdled the guy. Sean
made a big play as well, and the chunk plays

(03:47):
helped us win the ball game.

Speaker 5 (03:49):
And tell us specifically about Sean Tucker's thirty four yard run.
What stood out about all the different guys that contributed
to make that one happen.

Speaker 4 (03:56):
Old Line did a heck of a job. But he
came around. He got in Tristan's hip pocket and came around,
and I saw a daylight and Sean kind of peeked
out of it in and he ran for daylight and
rent he ran down into the red zone.

Speaker 5 (04:06):
And then Mike Evans, I mean, man again, we just
keep thinking there aren't things that he can do that'll
make our jaws drop, and then him hurdling a guy
like he's a young, little early twenties guy out there.
Tell me what she saw from Mike and especially just
the yack of that where I know that has always
been a thing for him where he makes these incredible catches,
but then isn't always having as much yak maybe as

(04:26):
some other guys.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
So what did you see on that play?

Speaker 4 (04:28):
It was a huge play for us. He came over
the middle, Baker made a great throw, Mike caught it
over the middle, it, caught it in the stride and
allowed him to run. And who knew he could hurtle
like that at that age. He did a heck of
was out of hurling and getting extra yards for us.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
I know.

Speaker 5 (04:41):
Also Kid his twenty yarder forty four yarders which included
a new career long for him, and that was another
one with some incredible yack of carrying a guy basically
down the field. What did you see from those couple
of big plays from him?

Speaker 4 (04:53):
His hair's grown back. Oh see, everywhere we talked back
and out of his hair is string. His hands are
getting a lot stronger. Okaid is very tough. He's very tough,
very solid. Once he gets the ball, he catch it.
He caught in a stride as well. He made a
heck of a play and he tried to hurdle a
guy not as high as Mike. But you know, we'll
give him eight point five in eight.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Point five, that's not bad.

Speaker 5 (05:15):
I know, having three running backs that can all get
used in any one game is really exciting. But we saw,
especially when one gets hurt, how important it is to
have that many guys at your disposal.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Where you know, Rashad.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
Ended up stepping up so big, especially while Bucky was
out of ninety yards rushing, nineteen yards receiving, plus both
a receiving and rushing touchdown for the.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
First time in his career.

Speaker 5 (05:35):
What did you see from Rashad's game in the way
that he stepped up to fill that void when Bucky
was out?

Speaker 4 (05:39):
So a lot of toughness. He made a lot of
tough inside runs. That was a tough defense he was
going against. He broke some runs early in the game,
he broke some runs late in the game. But he
played a very physical football game and that was good
to see. He went out on the edge, he dipped
his shoulder on the defensive back a couple of times,
and he played a very physical ball game for us.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
I know.

Speaker 5 (05:58):
Also, he has now passed work Done and James Wilder
for the second most receiving touchdowns by a running back
in franchise history, trailing now only Mike Alstott. Why has
he excelled specifically.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
In that area?

Speaker 4 (06:11):
Outstanding hands, He's pretty much a wide receiver back there
with moves and big enough to be a running back
as well, so he can do a lot of things.
He has a lot of jobs, and you have great receivers.
That opens things up as well in a very good
tight end. So he's benefited from a lot of guys
being double teamed, and he's benefited the fact that he's
very good in the open field man. He has outstanding

(06:31):
hands and he has a very good field for the game.
So he doesn't get enough credit for how mentally smart
he is when he plays the ball game. But he's
a very smart player.

Speaker 5 (06:40):
And then tell me, for Buckie the plans using him
going in, because I know he'd gotten a little banged
up the week before and then ended up getting banged
up more during this game. What had been kind of
the plans for how you'd wanted to use him? And
then what do we know about potentially moving forward, how
this could affect the way you use all three of
your backs.

Speaker 4 (06:54):
We want to start using them in this game. Early on,
he never really got loose and back kind of tightened
up one so we had two other running backs that
we knew we could play, so we decided to rest them,
and those two guys came through. But going forward, we
want to see how healthy he is, and he gets
some rest and his back loosens up a little bit,
then he'll go back to doing everything he's done, and.

Speaker 5 (07:13):
Then Stirling Sheppard four catches sixty three yards, but it
included a twenty two yarder and then big third down
conversions on a third and eight and a third and eleven.
How important has he been when maybe it's not even
volume so much of catches, but it feels like he
always shows up in kind of the bigger moments.

Speaker 4 (07:29):
He's been a blessing. He's been a blessing for us.
He's been our energize, a bunny. He's great inside, feeling
routes through. He has a lot of quickness and speed
in there, plays very tough, outstanding hands. So he's been
great for us to have.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Casey Phillips here with head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 5 (07:44):
I know Baker ended up getting sacked a few more
times than would have enjoyed this game. Tell me what
was going on on each of those how much we're
coverage holding on to it, giving up on the protection
from the offensive line.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
What did you see?

Speaker 4 (07:56):
Thought two of them were covered sacks, one of them
they got back there, and one time nobody was open,
you know, trying to make things happen. We got to
at least throw the ball away or find the outlet.

Speaker 5 (08:05):
What did you see from the offensive line overall in
the day, Because we know, as much as he did
take some sacks, the run game still was really productive.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
And what did you see overall?

Speaker 4 (08:13):
I thought they were tough runs. I thought they took
turns fighting and battling against Crosby. It was a great,
great defensive player. He got some plays off there, but
they made some plays on him and they blocked tough
all the time. The biggest thing that they've worked together.
They fight and they cover up for each other.

Speaker 5 (08:30):
And then I know, also as much as the sacks
also were more than you would have wanted, the interceptions,
I'm sure Baker would love to have a few hosts
back what seemed to happen on each of those individual plays.
And with the increase in some of the interceptions lately,
does it feel like there's any common threads or have
they all sort of been their own unique situation?

Speaker 4 (08:46):
They're all unique. But the biggest thing is we can't
turn it over in the scoring zone. You know, you
got to take that sack and we got three points.
If nothing else. We can't give that up and just
throw the ball up in there. You know that's going
to be huge. The screen played the guy made a
heck of a play, bad at the ball and he
got the catcher on that one. But the interception one
win the red zone or we're getting ready to score.

(09:08):
We got to take care of the football better in
that area.

Speaker 5 (09:11):
Now, I know, just looking at his game overall, how
would you evaluate it when you look at the fact
that he started, you know, eight of nine for ninety
two yards, two touchdowns, had one hundred and ten yards
in the first quarter, which was his second most in
the opening quarter as a member of the Bucks, and
then ended.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Really productively on offense as well.

Speaker 5 (09:26):
But just those big turnovers in the middle, how do
you evaluate his game?

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Looking at the big picture?

Speaker 4 (09:31):
He won, I would say he's a winner. That's the
biggest thing. Grade Wise, you don't grade well when you
have two interceptions. You know, regardless of whether you win
or lose, you don't grade well you have two interceptions.
But we're not going to play perfect football. It's not
meant to be played perfect. But we play winning football.
He plays winning football.

Speaker 5 (09:49):
And then flipping over to the defensive side, I mean,
man Leavonte just making his impact felt very quickly in
the game, we saw that that had the sack and
the fumble recovery and knew this would be an important
game for him with missing so many other inside linebackers,
brock Bauers being such a big part of their team.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
What did you see from.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
How Lavonte handled that challenge with a lot of moving
parts around him on the defense.

Speaker 4 (10:10):
He was huge. You know, a lot of times he
was the only linebacker out there for the most part.
But the sack was huge, the fumble was huge. Everything
he did from a tackling standpoint, a leadership standpoint, and
energy standpoint. Even at halftime coming out of the locker room,
he was huge with a halftime speech and everything just
flowed right along. Everybody falls right in the line.

Speaker 5 (10:33):
His nineteen fumble recoveries since entering the league lead all players,
and he has thirty seven and a half sacks now
in his career, which is just one and a half
behind David Logan for six place in team history. Thinking
about those numbers with his position in particular, especially the
sack numbers, take us through his sack and then just
why he is so effective at that at a position
that that's not always the numbers.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
You're going to get well.

Speaker 4 (10:55):
He didn't have much to do on the sack. He
kind of ran straight through. He was wide open, but
you know, I've seen a lot of people miss those.
But he accelerated and he got to the quarterback and
he drew it up as planned. So his sack totals
what he does, the way he disguises them, the way
he can beat running backs when he goes back there
on a normal basis really helps us.

Speaker 5 (11:15):
And then I know, you guys were able to hold
them to fourteen total yards of offense in the first quarter,
It's the second fewest in the first quarter of a
game this season, and then started the second half with
an interception, two punts of what seemed to be going
well early in both halves.

Speaker 4 (11:29):
Just understanding the game plan everybody was executing. Everybody was
on the same page. If you can win first down
and get him behind the sticks, it plays to your advantage.

Speaker 5 (11:37):
We talked about how brock Bauers has been such a
huge part of their offense all season. You guys held
him to just three catches. What seemed to work well
in the game plan against him, both from a planning
and an execution standpoint.

Speaker 4 (11:48):
Combination of pressureing the quarterback that covers disguises, switching up
the packages a little bit, and just making sure we
knew where he was at all times.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
I know.

Speaker 5 (11:57):
Also, they had that drive in the third quarter that
ate up over ten minutes, the third longest drive in
the NFL this season in time. And then of course
it ends with the Tykee Smith interception. Explain that play,
the importance of what that ended up meaning to the game,
specifically it coming on that drive.

Speaker 4 (12:13):
It was huge because we were out there a long time.
They were Dnking and Duncan. They were methodically getting four yards,
six yards or three yards, and they were getting third
and one. They got a couple of third ones down there.
So to make that play in the red zone and
turn them back, that's really a back breaker when you
get down there and do all that work and don't
get anything. And Tyke made a heck of a play

(12:34):
on his ex teammate who was a great player. He's
a great tight end, he's a great player. But Tyke
made a heck of a play on.

Speaker 5 (12:41):
And then tell us a little bit about his big playability.
How rare is it to have a rookie who's able
to go out and make some of these big plays,
but not be so aggressive that then he's also giving
up some big plays as well.

Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's rare because he's a very intelligent football player. Not
many rookies can take mental reps on the side, whether
you're hurt or not in and still go out there
and execute and understand the game plan. He's one of
a few guys that.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
Can do that.

Speaker 5 (13:06):
And what did just having him back on this defense mean?
I mean in his own right of just having Taike
and what that means, But then when you did have
so many other injuries going on, how big was his
just presence out there?

Speaker 4 (13:17):
He was huge because he had to go back to
safety and play, and Merriweather had to play, so we
were kind of short on guys. And those three guys
are interchangeable at all three positions, which make which helps
a lot, and we needed every one of them.

Speaker 5 (13:30):
You know, we've talked about how you've had all these injuries.
I mean, you already knew you'd be without Joe Trn, Shenka,
kJ Britt, JJ Russell, Mike Edwards, Jordan Whitehead, Josh Hayes.

Speaker 2 (13:38):
I feel like I could go on. It sounds like.

Speaker 5 (13:40):
Santa's list of who all he's bringing toys to. So
what was it like to yet again have so many
injuries on your defense and in that back half of it,
and to also have a few of them again come
so late in the week. How do you as a
coordinator deal with all of that in your game planning
and then also losing people mid game.

Speaker 4 (13:56):
As well well as a coaching staff which to do
a good job in the spring and the summer of
moving people around. And if you make this team, we
try to know exactly what you can do if we
have to play you and when you go on the
ballgame without taking you out of your ball game. So
they did a good job preparing all the safeties this
week and mixing and matching between Rappon and Ross, Tim

(14:18):
and Rashard. They did an excellent job of making sure
those guys understood the assignment and when your numbers called,
you got to go up and play. We don't treat
them any differently as starters. We feel like everybody's a
starter and when you go in, we expect you to perform.

Speaker 5 (14:30):
Yeah, and how do you balance sort of that next
man up mindset with also trying to adjust the actual
packages that you call up of where you mentioned there's times, hey,
Lavonte is going to be the only insidelnebacker guy out
there that how do you decide when are those moments
you just need to throw someone else in there and
do what you normally do, versus trying to change a
little bit of the packages you deal up.

Speaker 4 (14:49):
According to what we see on film and what they
can take advantage of, and what we can hide and
what we can take advantage of when we have certain
people out there doing certain things and probably trying to
confuse a little bit as well. So it's a conglomeration
of all of us and it's not easy, but we
make it work.

Speaker 5 (15:07):
And then you mentioned Merriweather having to come in. He
tied for the team lead in tackles with Levante. He
had a sack, almost a pick, which I know you
give zero credit for almost picks, but I always enjoy
bringing them up nonetheless. And just tell me about what
you saw from his game, especially just coming back from
the Lions practice squad so soon before this game, and
how he performed.

Speaker 4 (15:28):
It sounded like you gave him credit for the almost pick,
but that's okay. He came back, he had great recall.
He's a tough player. He had all three spots he
had to learn, and he had a lot of recall
from going that. We know he's a very physical player
around the line of scrimmage, but he's very methodical when
he's back there. He made some great breaks on ball,
some great good open field tackles, especially with the quarterback

(15:50):
one on the third and five. He did well. He
played well. He played very well. I was proud of
the way played.

Speaker 5 (15:57):
And then we've mentioned Christian. Is he in the same
thing of what all he's been asked to do? Tell
me about his role in this game and all the
different ways you were needing to use him and how
he performed in them.

Speaker 4 (16:05):
He probably had the hardest job because he had to
know whether Tyke he was in the game or Meriwether
was in the game. That told him what he was.
If Tyke came in the game, he was a strong safety.
If Merriweather came in the game, he was the nickel.
Then when Win went out, it kind of even complicated
things even more so he went to free safety and
he had to do some things there. When Tavier came in,

(16:28):
then he was a dime safety. So he had to
know about four or five spots and depending on who
was in the game, if he saw them, he had
to change his role up and that he did excellent.

Speaker 5 (16:40):
And then I know you had your new punter out there,
Jack Browning in his first game.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
What did you see from his performance.

Speaker 4 (16:45):
Rookie jitters a little bit. Hopefully he got that out
the way as well as the kickoffs as well. And
I think he'll get that out the way. He'll be
better next week.

Speaker 5 (16:53):
And I also know it was my cause my cleats.
Tell us what you were sporting and why that was
important to you, and just what you like about that initiative.

Speaker 4 (17:00):
For me, it was Autism Speaks. Obviously, my youngest has autism.
Tyson's autistic and I kind of wear those every year.
And what better way to represent someone when you have
someone in the same house, And you know, just just
spreading the wealth and the knowledge of autism itself is
very important because you can see people on the street
and not know because it's not something that really shows

(17:22):
when you see someone. So I think it gives everybody
a chance to try to get more awareness on it
and learn more about it.

Speaker 5 (17:28):
Casey Phillips, who here with head coach Todd Bowles, facing
Jim Harbaugh now for the first time since he's back
in the league. Tell me what you know about him
as a coach and what you think he's brought to
this team already.

Speaker 4 (17:38):
He brought a lot of toughness, a lot of discipline.
Very intelligent coach, very run minded coach. Offensively, very sound defensively.
They lead the league in scoring defense right now. Offensively,
they got some great linemen up front. They like to
pound the football, but then you got a quarterback that
can really throw it, obviously, and they got McConkie from
Georgia who's the heck of a receiver. So it'll be

(18:00):
a tough challenge going all the way out there. We're
fighting for a spot and they're fighting for a spot.

Speaker 5 (18:04):
Yeah, tell me what stands out to you about Justin
Herbert and the way he.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
Plays the game.

Speaker 4 (18:09):
Intelligence, he can see the game, he can recoverages, he
can throw it in tight spots. He's got a heck
of a zip on the ball. He's one of the
few people that can throw the ball down the field
and throw it deep and throw it on the line
drive as well as putt some air under it.

Speaker 5 (18:23):
And I know they obviously invested in the offensive line
of it this offseason, and how does that group serve
him well? And then even when they've lost a JK.
Dobbins and just the other ways that they've been able
to set their offense up for success.

Speaker 2 (18:34):
Starting at the front.

Speaker 4 (18:36):
Huge offensive line is huge. They got two great tackles,
They're very good on the interior as well, so they
can protect them and they can run the football.

Speaker 2 (18:43):
And defensively, what stands out to you about them?

Speaker 4 (18:46):
A lot of stars. I mean two edge rushers, obviously
Mac and Bose are outstanding. Obviously they got Derwin James
as well. They got a linebacker Henley out of Washington
State who can really fly around. And they got a
lot of names over there.

Speaker 5 (18:59):
And you mentioned going over to the West coast part.
What are some of the decisions that go into the
schedule of when you guys head out there, how you
try to do other meetings and scheduling things when you're
playing in that different time zone and have a long flight.

Speaker 4 (19:12):
Just trying to make sure we don't deter too far
from our normal schedule. Obviously it's three hours back, so
we're going to have to adjust some things. Getting out
there a little earlier four o'clock game here is like
one o'clock game there. So get in the bed and
curfew adjusting and moving that up and moving meetings up
all take place so the guys can feel like they
haven't lost any time or gained any time when we

(19:34):
get it, when we go out there.

Speaker 5 (19:35):
And what's the mindset you hope your team has now
that you go from the chasing when you were behind
the falcons to now the controlling your own destiny. What
does that change or not change about the way you
want the team to be thinking about things and approaching things.

Speaker 4 (19:48):
To stay hungry doesn't change anything. We're one game at
a time. We played the next game, We're going to
be hungry from here throughout. We're still in the chasing mold.
You know, we're trying to win every game. We're trying
to win every ball game that we don't have to
rely on anybody.

Speaker 5 (20:02):
Well, coach, thank you as always for your time and good.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
Luck this week.

Speaker 4 (20:04):
Appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (20:05):
Coming up on Buccaneers Total Access, we'll have Special Teams
Coordinator Thomas McGahee.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
Brought to you by Advan Health. This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 1 (20:12):
Buccaneers Total Access brought to you by advent Health.

Speaker 4 (20:16):
Shotgun Look Jared Goff Bell high snapper, Here comes a
pressure Peace sacked to the back, Bee lit the thirty
one yard line, Leave Monte David shoots like.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
A rocket one and gott it.

Speaker 1 (20:24):
Bill Hie after rocket. Now more with Bucks team reporter
Casey Phillips.

Speaker 5 (20:29):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by
advent Hell. First half of the show we had head
coach Todd Bowles and now I am so excited to
be joined by Special Teams coordinator Thomas mcgahey, t mac.

Speaker 2 (20:39):
Thanks so much for joining us.

Speaker 3 (20:40):
Thanks for having and big win.

Speaker 5 (20:41):
I mean that was in this point in time of
the year, everyone's a big one. But to know that
now you're sitting atop the NFC South, that's just got
to make going into work the next day that much
more exciting. I know, you guys are in the point
of controlling your own destiny.

Speaker 6 (20:53):
Yeah, victory Monday is always a good thing. You know,
it's the most important win because it's the next one.
So it was really fun to come off the field.

Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yesterday with a w Yeah.

Speaker 5 (21:04):
Absolutely, and I know that these last few gas it's
incredible that you know, there was a bit of the
slump that hit the bye week, and then now y'all
have come out of that doing everything you've needed to do.
The mentality has been that you guys have been chasing, right,
You've been behind someone, and it was the knowing that
every single game was essentially the playoffs. Now you guys
are kind of the ones that are going to be
chased because you're at the top. How does that change
the mentality or does it of what you communicate to

(21:25):
your players, I don't.

Speaker 3 (21:25):
Think it changed our mentality at all.

Speaker 6 (21:27):
You know, this is you know, it's a four game
season right now, so really each week when you go out,
you're pressing thing is to get another W. And you
don't ever want to put your destiny in somebody else's hands.
So if you can control your own destiny and do
the things that you need to do as a team
to get to where you want to be, that's where

(21:48):
you want.

Speaker 3 (21:48):
That's what you want to do.

Speaker 5 (21:49):
So looking back at this game, tell me what stands
out to you about all of your guys, whether it's
the different kick and punt coverage units, it's your specialist,
what stands out about your performance for the game.

Speaker 6 (22:00):
You know, we always focus on about our focus is
always about getting better every week. And you know, we
had some new pieces. We had a couple of injuries
that happened on Friday. It's always just a juggling of personnel, so,
you know, not having JJ Russell and not having Josh
Hayes making those last minute adjustments and having some new
guys in there that had to play, and they stepped

(22:20):
in and did a good job. Having Jack Brown and
coming in playing his first game ever in Week fourteen,
it was a good experience for those young guys being
able to step up and have responsibility and play a
part man.

Speaker 5 (22:34):
Chase has been asked to step up in some big
ways lately, for sure, as those field goals and crunch
time versus the Panthers. Tell me what that was like
to watch him accomplish of the sending him to overtime
winning the game, and what that's like when it comes
down to town to your kicker.

Speaker 6 (22:47):
You know, that's Chase being Chase, it really is. You know,
that's why we re signed him last year, and he
steps up in big time areas where we need to
make big time plays and that's what big time players do.
So it was fun just to see him kind of
go through his process and be able to make those kicks.

Speaker 5 (23:06):
And then I know he has just been so consistent,
so reliable in so many different ways. I mean, he
made a franchise record setting thirty consecutive regular season field
goals over almost exactly a calendar year from last October
to this October. Didn't miss a field goal in the
regular season. It's just incredible to hear those kind of
numbers for a guy. And what is it about him

(23:27):
that provides that kind of consistency, regularity, reliability in his
game in particular.

Speaker 6 (23:33):
Yeah, you're gonna laugh when I tell you this, but
it's his consistency. It's what he does every day, his
process and how he handles himself, his daily routine, his
process during the week, his routine during the week. He
does the exact same thing every day. You can set
your watch by. He has a process that.

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Works for him.

Speaker 6 (23:52):
He has a routine that works for him, and he
sticks with it and he trusts it and he goes
through it every single day. It was from the first
day I walked in here and February we went out
o Ta's he was the same way he would come
out the days he would kick, he was going to
kick six field goals, not five, not seven, it was six.

Speaker 3 (24:11):
He would warm up, he'd kick his six, and that
was it.

Speaker 6 (24:14):
He was very consistent and very methodical and what he's
doing in and he's very intentional about what he tries
to do as far as his process is concerned. So
it's really fun to watch a guy because I've, you know,
prior to be getting here, I've followed his career, you know,
him being a young kicker coming out of Illinois and
just kind of bouncing around the league, and you see

(24:34):
how he's grown and his maturation process has been amazing,
and now just seeing the results of it now it's incredible.

Speaker 5 (24:41):
That's amazing. We're talking to special teams coordinator Thomas McGahee.
So he's now one shy of the franchise record number
of fifty plus field goals made. He was the leader
already in time in percentage made from fifty plus, but
then that one misversus the Panthers dropped him a second.
So that just means he's just won away from getting
right back up there.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
But it's one thing to be consistent.

Speaker 5 (25:00):
And reliable in thirty thirty five, forty even, but from
fifty and even fifty five to feel like when he
runs out there, I'm like, oh, he's got this. That's
pretty wild to feel that way. So why is he
so good? Not only their shorts, because a lot of
times it feels like kickers, you get one or the
other that either they've got the big leg or they're reliable.

(25:21):
For him to have both, why is that and what
does that mean for you guys?

Speaker 6 (25:25):
Well, again, I think it goes back to that routine
thing we're talking about, and then also too, when you've
gone through some of the things that he's gone through
over his career and then getting to this point place
where you have that emotional maturity and when you go
out and you understand what's at stake, what your job is,
what I need to do and how I need to
do it. There's a calmness there and you've had success

(25:47):
over the years, and all you do is you go out,
you take your steps, you go through your process. When
that ball hits the ground, you do what you do,
you know, and that's I think more than anything, that's
it's a confidence through time and just being consistent.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
Over and over and over again.

Speaker 6 (26:02):
And then having confidence is created through success, right, So
he's had success doing it, so now he goes out there.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
He knows he can do it.

Speaker 6 (26:09):
So as soon as he goes out there, he just
lets his muscle memory kicking.

Speaker 5 (26:13):
And I've seen across the league where it's starting to
feel like kickers are getting closer to now sixty yarders.
It just slowly feels like we're just inching. We're things
that you would have never tried before. Yeah, potentially, now
you're going to what do you think is the reason
behind this? And then also the direction of what this
means for special teams units, offenses, the game overall.

Speaker 6 (26:33):
Yeah, it's just the guys are just getting bigger, stronger,
and faster. I mean, it's just that's the evolution of
you know, it's no different than offense and defense.

Speaker 3 (26:41):
It's the same thing.

Speaker 6 (26:42):
You get a six foot four, three hundred and forty
pound defensive tackle that.

Speaker 3 (26:46):
Runs four to nine.

Speaker 6 (26:47):
Yeah, and us and there's you know, it used to
be like maybe there was like one freak like that.
There's five of them, you know, So it's like each
position you see it big, strong, fast, and.

Speaker 3 (26:58):
The kickers and punters are no different.

Speaker 6 (27:00):
Those guys are still evolving, just like every other position.
So these guys are getting bigger, strong, and faster, and
you have the battery of snapper holder, and these guys
are working together more and more, and so the more
you see that trio working together, then all of a sudden,
they have more confidence. Guy has a strong leg, coaches

(27:22):
willing to take a chance.

Speaker 5 (27:24):
Yeah, And you know, I was thinking about just what
it means the distance in general, for whether it's Chase
or anybody, what it means to the offense of I
thought about that game for the Carolina one of knowing
that it was down to meeting those every little yard
to get into field goal range. Well, it's because his
range was so long that we even got to that place.
So what have you seen about the way it's influencing

(27:45):
Liam and everyone kind of making these calls in games,
feeling as confident as they feel in Chase, and what
it means to what the offense has to do.

Speaker 6 (27:53):
Yeah, I mean it's anytime you had a weapon like Chase,
you know, once you get down, you know you cross
the ford, you know you're in field goal range. For
the most part, It's it's a big difference. You know,
it's a difference in how you call plays, just knowing
that okay, if we get if we don't get this,
we're gonna score points. So we could you know, obviously

(28:14):
they want to push the ball as far down the
field as you can try and score a touchdown. But
if you know you're in that fringe area, you know, potentially, okay,
if we're in a third and long situation, we got
to just eken.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
A field goal range.

Speaker 6 (28:25):
We know we at least got a field goal, and
then playing that field position range. And then as you
as you get towards the back end of the season
where it gets a little cooler and you know you
might have to go in the playoffs, you gotta go
somewhere to where the ball's not gonna fly as far.

Speaker 3 (28:37):
You know, every little bit counts, so you it's just
it's it's one of those deals where, uh.

Speaker 6 (28:43):
It's it's a comfort just to know that you have
a guy that can that can knock it through from
a distance.

Speaker 5 (28:48):
Absolutely, and then you've uh, you've had three different punters
this season. It's a lot for a special teams coordinator
to be working with. And I'm sure that's throwing a
lot of wrenches into things. Take me through some of
those you know, early things with and gil of what
wasn't working, what made you kind of decide to make
some of the switches, and what you've overall been wanting
from a punter this year. That especially a lot of

(29:08):
us at home, we don't know are they being asked
to direction or are they being asked to kick as
fard as far as they can. That we don't always
understand kind of what you guys are hoping for from
a punter. So take us through what that's been like
for all the three different guys in those decisions.

Speaker 6 (29:21):
Yeah, well, and I'll just talk about them collectively. Just
more than anything, just consistency. We're directional punting team, and
you know we're looking for hang to distance when the
hang matches the distance. So say, if the ball goes
forty five yards, you want at least four five to
four three four to six hang time.

Speaker 3 (29:42):
If it goes forty eight yards, we want you know,
four to eight, four to nine hang time.

Speaker 6 (29:46):
Ye were trying and stay away from the sixty five
yard four to five ball that's kicked right down in
the middle of the field. That's a dangerous ball, especially
with these returners that you go against. So that's more
of that process, just trying to be consistent, just making
sure if the ball skipolls go right, it goes right,
ball schools go left, it goes left, and the coverage

(30:07):
is coordinated to go with the direction of the punt.
So if the ball's being supposed to be punted right
and the coverage is going left, that could be a
real issue. And you know, we're just trying to make
sure we get all of those things lined up and
be consistent with that. And uh, you know, Jack did
a did a decent job yesterday. It was you know,

(30:28):
first time this kid's ever been out in front of
seventy five thousand.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
People in week fourteen.

Speaker 6 (30:33):
Didn't have any preseason experience in the game, so his
first actual game to play in the NFL was yesterday.
So and and he's and he's gonna get better, Like
we've seen him punt really well in practice and his
upside is tremendous.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
So uh, he just.

Speaker 6 (30:49):
Needs to you know, kind of calm himself down a
little bit, take a breath, and then uh.

Speaker 3 (30:53):
And and just you know, just enjoy the process, cause
he's learning.

Speaker 6 (30:56):
He you know, he's learning on the run, and uh,
and he's literally roam in the fire, so he'll he'll
be fine.

Speaker 5 (31:02):
Yeah, and I know that as you mentioned, those guys
all working together. That's even another element I think of
how impressive Chase has been that he's had all these
different holders.

Speaker 2 (31:11):
Absolutely, how have.

Speaker 5 (31:13):
You guys been able to keep that okay for him
and explain even just the challenges of that again.

Speaker 6 (31:18):
Like we talked about earlier, just emotional maturity, like understanding
it is what it is. There's not a whole lot
you can do about it, and you make the best
out of what you got, you know what I mean,
Like it's you know, I used to use this analogy,
you know, kind of like gumbo makers. That's like, whatever
we got, whatever you got in the refrigerator, we're gonna
put in a gumbo and we're gonna make it.

Speaker 2 (31:39):
But that isn't special teams, I don't know what is.

Speaker 6 (31:41):
Gotta tastes good, you know, sometimes it's you get chicken,
you get sausage, you get shrimps. Sometimes it's just ruined rice.
So but they expect it to be good.

Speaker 2 (31:50):
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 3 (31:51):
So that's that's just the reality of it.

Speaker 6 (31:53):
You have to be you gotta be able to midstream
adjust and whatever happens, you got to be able to
deal with it, because if you can't miss dream address.

Speaker 3 (32:00):
You're gonna you're gonna drown.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
So and how hard is that holder job?

Speaker 5 (32:04):
To me, I've always thought that feels like the worst
thing to have to do it. That seems miserable and
like so much pressure and so much can go wrong.

Speaker 3 (32:13):
Yeah, it's probably one of the most underrated jobs. And
that's football league. You know.

Speaker 6 (32:18):
All you gotta do is get it, get anybody back
there and try and do it. And it's not an
easy job. So and it's a thankless job.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
You know.

Speaker 6 (32:25):
It's like snappings, Like you never really hear anything about
the long snapper until something bad happens, you know. So
those two jobs are really hard. But you know Jack
is doing a good job. And again that for Chase
being able to make those adjustments with the different holders
is a testament to him and just being there, cause
you gotta realize each guy he has to coach up

(32:48):
and let him know, Hey, look I like it, bit,
I like the ball to be held this way. Okay,
make sure you don't have too much your hand on
the ball, lift your finger. I want to hear this
is a tilt alright with this win. I like get
tilted this way with this one. It's a lot of
it's a lot of details that people have no idea
about and they think you say, Okay, we just catch
the ball and put it down. It's not that easy.

(33:11):
It's not that a lot of details that go into it.

Speaker 2 (33:13):
That's crazy.

Speaker 5 (33:14):
We're gonna take a quick break here on Buccaneers Total Access.
Talking to Special Teams coordinator Thomas McGahee. Brought to you
by Advan Health. This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
You were listening to Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles and Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips.

Speaker 4 (33:28):
Brought to you by Advan Health.

Speaker 5 (33:30):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by
Avan Health. We're talking to Special Teams coordinator Thomas McGahee.
You know, right before the break, we were talking about
how the other thankless job is that long snapper. So
let's let's give Evan Deckers his due here and talk
about him for a bit. What are the things that
you really like about him and also just what you
want out of and expect out of a long snapper,
you know, Dek.

Speaker 3 (33:51):
Has done a great job.

Speaker 6 (33:52):
He is a really good young prospect who has a
bright future. You know, he's very very coachable. Uh, he's
very eager, and he has a a real desire to
be great.

Speaker 3 (34:07):
He really does.

Speaker 6 (34:08):
He's uh he comes in every day, he's uh very consistent,
and he's trying to figure out his routine uh for
who he is as a spec specialist. And always, you know,
you'll hear me talk about routine with these guys, cause
it's something that they all the ones that that play
double digits in this league all have a really good routine,
you know, as far as the weekly routine, how they prepare,

(34:30):
cause it's that's what it's all about. But he's done
a A A A an excellent job of you know,
just coming in and trying to figure.

Speaker 3 (34:37):
Out what's what's gonna make him better today?

Speaker 6 (34:40):
And uh and I try and make sure that he
understands that, and that's our primary focus, like how can
we get better today?

Speaker 3 (34:47):
And and he's done a good job.

Speaker 6 (34:49):
You know, he had the hamstring and he's out for
a little bit, but now he's back and and he's
kind of getting his feet wet again. And it's it
was almost like starting over again because he hasn't played
in the GA, came up until you know, early this year,
and then you know, he d get the hamstring and
then you you sit out for six weeks, then you
come back and it's like starting over, you know, cause

(35:11):
he's a rookie, so he's a first year guy, but
he's you know, rookie playing one. So uh, he he's
he's doing a good job, he really is. He's uh,
he's getting better every week and you know, just look
forward to seeing his maturation process.

Speaker 2 (35:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (35:25):
And just like we talked about having to have multiple punters,
what that meant for holding you As you mentioned, he
got hurt, had to bring back Zach Trinder. How nice
was that to at least have a guy who was
so familiar here already to step in and and how
did he handle that in his time while he came back?

Speaker 3 (35:38):
No, he was he was great.

Speaker 6 (35:39):
Uh you know, Zach did a great job while he
was here, and you know, Dak was sitting there and
they would you know, they were h hearing the off
season together, so and then a little bit last year,
so there's a relationship there, but uh.

Speaker 3 (35:53):
You know, they they were both fine.

Speaker 6 (35:55):
Dak just had to obviously rehab and do those types
of things, but he was at the meetings all the time.

Speaker 3 (36:00):
And then Zach did a great job while he was here.

Speaker 5 (36:02):
And as you talked about the kind of relationship between
the kicker and holder, I know, between the long snapper
and punter, that's an incredibly important one as well. So
what have you seen about the way that now you
know Deckers have v has handled that of it being
multiple guys back there, and what is Brownington to want
from him? And how does that relationship always build as well?

Speaker 6 (36:19):
Well, you know, more than anything, you know when y
when you bring you know, and then this is a
testament to to Jason in the front office. You know,
when you when you bring guys in, the character of
the k style of guy that you bring in is important.
And uh, you know Jack is a a great kid
who's very eager, and then deck is the same way.

(36:39):
You know, those two guys are really good for each other.
They're young, they're both trying to figure it out, and uh,
they do a good job of communicating with each other,
and they work together. I mean obviously every day they
worked with each other, so I it's it's fun just
kind of watching these guys kind of grow a little bit, uh,
and then having a uh the ultimate professional and Chase

(37:03):
McLoughlin for them.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
To be able to watch every day.

Speaker 6 (37:06):
Yeah, you know, so it's a it's a new situation,
but it's also it's a it's an exciting situation too.

Speaker 2 (37:14):
And I know, uh, switching to return guys a little bit. Uh.

Speaker 5 (37:18):
How had Bucky done in his time as a as
a return guy.

Speaker 6 (37:21):
He's d same thing he was doing as a running back.
You know, he he has done a really good job.
Bucky is obviously dynamic with the ball in his hand,
so uh, whenever they would kick him the ball, it was,
you know, he's fun to watch, like he's he's done
some really good things. We didn't get a lot of
returns after the Atlanta game because of him and uh

(37:46):
Sean and how they were uh returning, So it was
a we had a drought in there.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
A little bit and they were just kick.

Speaker 6 (37:54):
They didn't Yeah, people didn't want him, wanted to kick
the ball to us. So and I could understand that
cause you know, Bucky's very dynamic with the ball's hands.

Speaker 3 (38:01):
Show with Sean Tucker.

Speaker 6 (38:02):
So, but they had done a really good job, and
we just gotta you know, we've kind of fallen into
a draw a little bit. You know, Bucket got the
hip flexor or the hip pointer, and you know, we
just gotta we got some new guys back there, so
we just kind of.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
Gotta get back into the flow of it.

Speaker 6 (38:18):
And uh, and it's it's hard to do because you
don't get a lot of game reps. Yeah, cause a
lot of times people don't kick it deep and then
now they're starting to kick the you know, the hard
squib on the ground. So uh, just being able to
handle those situations as they come. Uh, but then you know,
hopefully you know, getting him back healthy and gett him
back out there so we you know.

Speaker 3 (38:39):
Help us with field position.

Speaker 5 (38:41):
And then how do you guys make the decision of
how how much to use him in these situations when
he has become such a huge part of the offense
as well. I'm sure for you there's always a a
gu a tug of war game going on of right.
You know, sometimes some of your better guys get poached
off the special teams unit just out of trying to
keep him out of harm's way.

Speaker 2 (38:56):
So what are some of the ways.

Speaker 5 (38:57):
That you guys try to make those decisions on who
gets used and win an and how much.

Speaker 6 (39:02):
It's just week to week, it really is, uh, you know,
and obviously we gotta be smart and how and how
we use 'em.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
You know, it's you always you just tryna win games.
Like it's not okay, it's special teams. We can't use
'em here.

Speaker 6 (39:16):
Well, you know, feel position matters, you know, and uh,
you know, offensive coordinators a whole lot better play caller
outside of the twenty five yard ride in the thirty
that he is inside of the fifteen, you know.

Speaker 3 (39:30):
So but no, we we try and be very uh
aware of.

Speaker 6 (39:38):
How we use personnel in dependent on situations. And you know,
it's it's a constant juggle of p personnel.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
So we're always.

Speaker 6 (39:48):
Very aware of situations as they come about, whether it
be injury, whether it be this guy's down or this
guy's up, and okay, this guy's gonna play another twenty
more snaps today on offense. Okay, we got to pull
him back a little bit here, so we don't you know,
we don't break him.

Speaker 3 (40:05):
But then you got it, you know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (40:07):
So it's just it's always just a management of reps
and we do it all the time. It's just that's
a part of the job, you know, just trying to
make sure that we keep everybody fresh and we still
maximize the roster from the top down to bottom up.

Speaker 5 (40:21):
All Right, we're taking another break here and Buccaneers Total
Access brought to you by Avon Health. We're talking to
Special Teams coordinator Thomas McGahee.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Will be right back.

Speaker 1 (40:28):
Buccaneers Total Access with head coach Todd Bowles now continues, brought.

Speaker 4 (40:32):
To you by Advan Health.

Speaker 5 (40:34):
We're talking to Special Teams coordinator Thomas McGahee. So as
we look at some of the coverage units and kick
and punt return units and everything, tell me about Tammy
or Thomas just feels like every time there's a big
special teams play made, I feel like his is the
name I'm hearing is what is he meant to the units?

Speaker 6 (40:50):
And having a guy like that, you know, TT's done
a great job, he really has.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
He's a veteran guy that's been around we.

Speaker 6 (40:57):
Call him these guys in the business, professional special teams players,
Like he knows what his primary role is and he's
done a really good job. Like he's made some big
plays in big spots, block kicks, fumble recovery calls, fumbles.
You know, he's done a lot. He's done a lot
of things for SO, and he's made a lot of
tackles for SO.

Speaker 3 (41:17):
He's done a really nice job. He enjoys the game.

Speaker 6 (41:21):
The guys love being around him, and it's it's fun
to watch him be able to play. We brought him
here just for this reason, to be able to make
plays on teams so and to help on defense.

Speaker 5 (41:31):
And who are some of the other guys on the
units and maybe we don't even always know how how
well they're doing for you or some of the guys
that are really important.

Speaker 6 (41:37):
To what you do. You know, they're all important, obviously.
I think JJ Russell he's done a really good job.
He's made a lot of tackles for us. Josh Hayes,
Ryan Miller, he had three tackles last game. Cole keeth
Is is a really big leader for us. We had

(41:59):
a bunch of young guys there. Obviously has done a
great job for us, and he is you're talking about
a Swiss Army knife.

Speaker 3 (42:07):
This guy.

Speaker 6 (42:07):
You can put him anywhere, and he does a great job.
Paying paying Durham's done a great job. So we got
a butt Sean Tucker. You know, we got a bunch
of guys that are really trying to grow their roles as.

Speaker 3 (42:19):
Football players, show who they are.

Speaker 6 (42:21):
So we always talk about we want to graduate from
special teams being able to play full time and offensive defense,
you know. So that's kind of the goal for a
lot of these guys.

Speaker 5 (42:31):
We're talking to special teams coordinator Thomas McGahee. All right,
So now new kickoff rules. That was like the story
of the off season. I felt like, tell me your
reaction to hearing about the new rule and all the
things that went through your mind of what this was
going to mean for you and your job and the team.

Speaker 6 (42:47):
Uh, you know, it's just change, you know, and that's
the only constant we have in our business. Has changed
and life has changed. So you got to be able
to make those adjustments. And you know, regardless of how
you feel about it, the rule is the rule. So
you gotta be able to make those adjustments. And you know,
I think the league as a whole, we've done a

(43:09):
good job of adapting the rule. I think it's been
good for the game. I think there's some things that
are that are gonna be tweaked moving forward. We'll see
what happens. But I I think it's I think it's
been good.

Speaker 3 (43:23):
I really do.

Speaker 6 (43:24):
I I think it's a a g u a good play.
I think obviously when you talk about player safety, you
don't see any of the huge collisions like you know
that you used to see back.

Speaker 3 (43:33):
In the day. But I I I think it's been
really good for the game.

Speaker 5 (43:38):
How did it change even maybe the type of player
you needed on your units or the I know how
often special teams can be the deciding factor on some
people making the roster, even where there are big shifts
in your mind and and who you were looking for
based off of it.

Speaker 3 (43:52):
You know, it's it's funny.

Speaker 6 (43:53):
It's cause basically it's just an offense for a defensive play.
It really is. Uh, it's the first play of defense,
and it's a first playoff offense because you have to
be able to create field position and you have to
have people that can block in space. As a kickoff
return unit, obviously you still need the same type of
returners in the back end, but a guy might need

(44:15):
to be a little little bit more sturdier. If you
miss a block on that front line, you can take
a clean shot in the back end, you know, so
you want a guy with some size little size to him.
You don't want a smaller guy back there, and then
conversely kickoff coverage wise, you know, it's matchups. It's really
based upon who they have on the other side. So
if I got a little guy that's covering down at

(44:37):
the you know, at the two, and they have a
big guy on the other side, one or two things
can happen. Either my little guys is gonna blow right
by the big guy, or that big guy's gonna get
his hands.

Speaker 3 (44:48):
On him and he ain't be able to get off
the block, you know.

Speaker 6 (44:51):
So it's just kind of that constant chess match of matchups.
And you know, okay, my really good players here at
the five, they want to double team of them with
a a with a you know, with a tight end
and an outside linebacker.

Speaker 3 (45:03):
You know, you get two big guys on.

Speaker 6 (45:04):
A smaller guy and a quick, little small amount of space.
So okay, do you put a bigger guy in there
or do you You know, it's just a constant juggling of
personnel and then just wear the matchups, you know, So
I or you know, okay, okay, they got all their
good guys over here, we're gonna kick the ball over there.

Speaker 3 (45:23):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (45:24):
It's just and it's constantly, you know that that game
of keep away or Okay, we're gonna overload you here
into the boundary. And then conversely, you gotta m you know,
you gotta have a counter punch. So it's been fun,
it's it's it's definitely different.

Speaker 3 (45:39):
Yeah, and then you know it's.

Speaker 4 (45:44):
Your job.

Speaker 6 (45:45):
Yeah, it's different, and you know, each each organization is different,
each coach is different, each head coach is different.

Speaker 3 (45:51):
Some head coaches don't wanna you.

Speaker 6 (45:53):
Know, even have to deal with it, kick the ball
out of the back of the end zone. And then
some teams wanna return every thing. They might bring it
out three and four yards deep, you know. So it's
just organizationally, it's different, you know, different offensive head coach,
defensive head coach.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
They might treat it a little differently.

Speaker 5 (46:12):
So yeah, so I think about all the ways you
have to scout other teams, prepare for other stuff, but
specifically looking at maybe like your punter kicker. All of
the factors that go into what they do that are
more about the weather, the turf, like the stadiums. As
we go on a road trip this weekend, tell me
what are all the things that they're keeping an eye
on that influence what they do and how they learn

(46:34):
about all of it.

Speaker 6 (46:34):
Well, the beautiful thing about this road trip is they
were playing indoors inside. And the funny thing about Sofi
Stadium is that it's like they open it. It's open,
so when the ball gets up and the rafters a
little bit like there's some if it's windy out.

Speaker 2 (46:49):
There, even though you're sort of inside it, you know.

Speaker 6 (46:51):
So that's that's a funny part about that stadium. And
it does affect a little bit that you know, depending
on how wind it is outside, it'll it'll affect the
wind just the draft a little bit in the stadium.
But you know, our guys are like, say, for example,
a punter, he'll come in and he'll just survey the scene,
find his lines on the field, which way he wants

(47:12):
to punt. There might be some signs in the stands
where he you know, where he's looking to, and then
you know he'll get on the hash kind of walk
up and down the field, do that stuff. And then
the kicker will be do the same thing. Check the hashes,
look at the paint, Uh is is the logo you know?

Speaker 3 (47:28):
Or the hashes on the logo? You know, what's the
outline of the logo?

Speaker 6 (47:32):
All the different nuances like just is it is a
hash mark?

Speaker 3 (47:37):
Is it raised? Is it flat? Is it just p
you know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (47:39):
It's just it's a lot of little, small, different things
that that you look at, say, you know, when when
you get into the stadium and it's not just come
in and kick, you know, you just gotta you know, visually,
does it look funky in one area? Is there what
do you call a jumbo tron in one area? Is
there not one in the other? And the end zone?
You know, just b bunch of little things that kind

(48:02):
of go into that when you go in different stadium.

Speaker 5 (48:03):
Yeah, and there's so much to the mental side right
that that's I mean as much as or more than
a lot of other positions.

Speaker 2 (48:09):
Even then, and it.

Speaker 5 (48:10):
Also feels like in some way such a lonely job
at times, especially for like the Kicker, So as a
coach of these guys, that it is such a lonely
and like mental thing.

Speaker 2 (48:19):
M how do you approach that, how do.

Speaker 5 (48:21):
You how do you especially maybe if they miss a
big one or if they're approach about to have to
kick a big one, things like that, What are the
things that you work on with them? And then how
you even try to approach? Do I talk to them?

Speaker 2 (48:30):
Do I not? I? I just I think that's always
so interesting.

Speaker 3 (48:33):
Yeah, I don't bother 'em.

Speaker 6 (48:36):
There's enough pressure that comes with the job. They understand
the job, they know exactly what they need to do,
how they need to do it. It's it's enough pressure
that comes with that, So I'm not gonna compound it
by going over and saying something or doing something that's
gonna make them think about like their whole Like the
these guys play the game in their head, like they'll

(48:57):
go home and play the game in their head, and
then their mental approach when something's good or something's bad,
it's one snap and then clear it out.

Speaker 3 (49:05):
Good or bad doesn't matter. That's what they try and practice,
you know.

Speaker 6 (49:11):
And it's just a and each one of these guys
have a different routine of after something bad happens, what
am I gonna do?

Speaker 3 (49:18):
After something good happens, what am I gonna do? You know?
The emotional maturity part. That's that's huge.

Speaker 6 (49:23):
Yeah, you know, just being able to cross out the
sixty yard field goal I just made, cause it's not
about this one.

Speaker 3 (49:30):
It's about the next one.

Speaker 6 (49:31):
Cause I already made it, all right, So now I
gotta focus on the next one. Or the forty nine
yard field goal that I missed. Yeah, you know, I
can't worry about that one.

Speaker 3 (49:41):
It's about the next one, you know.

Speaker 6 (49:42):
So and just you know, understand what did I do?
How do I fix it? Make the f make the correction,
self correct, and keep moving.

Speaker 5 (49:49):
I also think, more than maybe any other position, I
feel like I hear about like superstitions being talked about
with these specialties immediate rolling.

Speaker 2 (49:56):
So that looks like you're not on team superstition. Is
that fair.

Speaker 6 (50:01):
I'm not a superstitious guy.

Speaker 5 (50:03):
Yeah, I'm kind of stitious, but yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
No, some guys are like that.

Speaker 6 (50:09):
Some guys got to wear the same wrist band, or
they make sure they tie their shoes a certain.

Speaker 3 (50:13):
Way, or you know.

Speaker 6 (50:14):
But most of the guys that I've been around have
been more processed driven than superstition driven.

Speaker 3 (50:21):
Like you can freak yourself out with some of this
stuff that that could happen.

Speaker 6 (50:25):
Just follow their process and their routine, and once they
do that, normally everything takes here of itself.

Speaker 5 (50:30):
What is something that the layperson watching football does not
appreciate about special teams that you wish they knew.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
That's a good question.

Speaker 2 (50:38):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (50:38):
Stump me on that.

Speaker 2 (50:40):
I'm imagining you have so many of them in your
head because.

Speaker 5 (50:42):
So that's what I'm saying, and you have the unit
that people typically know the least about the plan.

Speaker 3 (50:47):
I mean, it's those guys. They prepare a lot.

Speaker 6 (50:51):
They literally have to prepare two different game plans. So
they got an offensive game plan, they got a defensive
game plan, then they have the special teams game plan.
It's not easy to do, like they're sometimes, these offenses
and defenses they give you so much you're drinking out
of a fire hose all the way through the week.
And then you still gotta know the punt protection. You

(51:12):
gotta know the kickoff return returns. You gotta know the
punt returns, you gotta know the kickoff scheme. You know,
it's just and we have a bunch of different calls
and a lot of our stuff. So it's not an
easy thing to do, but it's it's it's something that's
you know, that's that has to be done.

Speaker 3 (51:29):
That's part of the job, you know, and it's a
it c it could be rough.

Speaker 6 (51:33):
So if you just start on offensive defense, you just
you know, you know, the offensive calls.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
And defensive calls and it's but.

Speaker 6 (51:38):
Then when you add the special team stuff on top
of it, and then all the situational football stuff that
comes along with it, uh, it, it could become some sometimes,
especially for a young player.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
Right.

Speaker 3 (51:48):
So you you get a like a kid like TAKEI Smith.

Speaker 6 (51:51):
You know, he's playing nickel on defense and then he
was he was a personal protector on the punt team
and that's like being the quarterback of the punt team,
Like he has to know all the calls you had
to get us in and out of calls you had
to he's making the calls, you know.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
So it's it's not easy to do.

Speaker 6 (52:06):
Yeah, you know, so that that part of it might
be one of the things I can tell him that,
you know, it's kind.

Speaker 2 (52:13):
Of a lot of work.

Speaker 3 (52:14):
Yeah, it's a lot of work that goes into it.

Speaker 5 (52:15):
That makes sense. Well, coach, thank you so much for
taking the time to talk to us. We really appreciate it,
and good.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
Luck this next week.

Speaker 3 (52:20):
Thank you, I appreciate it all right.

Speaker 2 (52:22):
That's going to do it for us.

Speaker 5 (52:23):
On this edition of Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you
by Advent Health, This is Buccaneers Radio