Organized staff actions – or OTAs as they’re broadly recognized within the NFL – are little greater than flag soccer practices within the offseason. With out pads or any actual contact allowed, the Bucs offseason practices sometimes emphasize engaged on simply the passing recreation, and putting in new performs at a slower tempo than coaching camp or the common season.

It’s onerous to work on the operating recreation with out pads on within the trenches, in addition to stay cross rush and cross safety as a result of offseason guidelines limiting contact.

However this 12 months’s offseason in Tampa Bay was fairly completely different than in years previous. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles used the OTAs and mini-camp to assist new offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Regardless of spending 13 years in Seattle in numerous roles as a passing recreation coordinator, receivers coach and most just lately a quarterbacks coach, Canales has by no means known as performs earlier than within the NFL – and even in faculty.

To assist put together Canales for the real-time pressures of calling performs and making in-game changes, Bowles spent a rare quantity of OTA observe time with longer, “name it” durations throughout 11-on-11s.

“Yeah it was undoubtedly pushed by Coach [Bowles],” Canales mentioned on a latest look through the Pewter Report Podcast. “I believe that was him simply saying, ‘I do know what this man wants.’ He remembers being a first-time coordinator: ‘I simply must name it. I simply must see – what hash is it? The place am I at on the sector?’ So he knew that, after which he simply sort of approached me.”

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR

Canales, who was employed this offseason to interchange Byron Leftwich, was undoubtedly on board with the thought from the beginning.

“Oh I want it – I wanted it so unhealthy,” Canales mentioned. “And the cool half was he was mixing up the conditions – first and second down. He was mixing up when and the place the third downs occurred and the way a lot time was on the clock. We obtained a bunch of end-of-half, end-of-game work this spring, which I wanted.

“And Coach [Bowles] was nice. He was like, ‘You want this one once more?’ ‘Completely, I want one other ‘name it’ interval.’ And sadly, if you do this it’s more durable for me to really script ‘When Chris is in on this play versus this protection, let’s throw this.’ So selfishly, it really works out good [for me]. And for the blokes, they only sort of needed to be affected person and watch the movie and see the place they’re at within the formation and see what we had been making an attempt to get carried out.”

Dave Canales Already Understands How Arduous Play-Calling Is

The toughest facet of stay play-calling is knowing the entire knowledge – down-and-distance, hash marks, place on the sector, time left within the half, anticipated defensive entrance and protection in that state of affairs – after which dialing up the correct play.

“I imply, it’s onerous,” Canales mentioned. “It’s like I’ve been the voice within the sky for coordinators for a very long time, and also you feed them the protection. You feed them concepts. ‘Hey, it’s 45 seconds, considering day trip [after the] subsequent one.’ However to really be developing with ‘What hash is it? What formation and play do I like?’ You understand, it’s onerous.”

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QB Baker Mayfield – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR

Canales spent a great deal of time in Seattle seeing the sport from the press field and serving to the Seahawks offensive coordinators with an aerial view. Now Canales shall be on the sidelines calling performs for the primary time and having trusted receivers coach Brad Idzik, who got here with Canales from Seattle, up within the coaches field feeding him the intel.

“Yeah undoubtedly the sideline,” Canales mentioned. “I’m going to be actually closely concerned with the quarterback, particularly 12 months one. [Quarterbacks coach] Thad [Lewis] is doing a incredible job. Not a knock on him. I simply I do know what I need, what I must get out of our quarterbacks. So being down there, with the ability to watch the collection with these guys from the bench, with the ability to make these changes.

“And likewise simply to get a really feel for who these guys are beneath stay stress, as a result of personalities come out. Guys reply to stress in numerous methods. And simply with the ability to perceive what they want from me to assist them get again targeted – get again on monitor – after which take the following collection. All that’s going to be actually necessary for me to be down there.”

Todd Bowles Says “Name It Intervals” Will Proceed In Coaching Camp

The Bucs’ three preseason video games shall be a terrific rehearsal for Canales as a play-caller. However first up is coaching camp and joint practices with the Jets. Bowles instructed Pewter Report that the “name it” durations will proceed into coaching camp to proceed to assist Canales, in addition to mixing in some scripted classes.

“So doubtless what is going to occur is there shall be a state of affairs of the day after which Coach [Bowles] will put us in a first- and second-down compete [period], or a third-down blitz compete interval, or pink zone,” Canales mentioned. “And you recognize some practices shall be a pure move-the-ball interval that’ll take up 20 to 30 performs the place you’re truly simulating 1 / 4 of ball, or one thing.

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR

“However yeah, there’ll be a very good mixture of these [call-it and scripted periods]. Actually necessary – the scripted interval – actually necessary for the run recreation. ‘Yeah I want this one left. I want this one proper versus this entrance, in order that Tristan [Wirfs] can get a very good have a look at the entrance aspect, the again aspect, and so on.’”

The “name it” durations are extra up-tempo as a result of it simulates an actual recreation state of affairs with a 25-second clock. That helps the gamers from a conditioning standpoint within the offseason, however Canales and Bowles know they’ll have to actually watch the reps throughout coaching camp when the pads come on.

“Like a few of these days if you find yourself calling it, it’s a must to be very aware of the rep depend for guys,” Canales mentioned. “And that was one of many issues that – coming in – one of many conversations that Coach Bowles and I had was, ‘Let’s be actually intentional and good concerning the load we placed on our gamers. We’re going to ask them to go full velocity, and belief us. Let’s be good about how we do this.

So simply sort of working collectively on these and saying, ‘Hey, I believe the blokes have had two good days of labor, let’s script it tomorrow so we are able to gradual it down, substitute and be actually intentional with the reps.’”

There isn’t any substitute for expertise in any occupation, and there shall be some rising pains for Canales in his first 12 months because the Bucs’ play-caller. However credit score Bowles for doing all the things he can to speed up Canales’ studying curve between now and Week 1 when Tampa Bay travels to Minnesota to kick off the 2023 season.

Watch Dave Canales On The Pewter Report Podcast

Try the most recent Pewter Report Podcast with Particular Visitor: Bucs OC Dave Canales by clicking the hyperlink under.