NFL teams
Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer 5y

Bucs OC Todd Monken to call plays against Giants

NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken will call plays Sunday against the New York Giants.

Head coach Dirk Koetter made the announcement Friday evening on his weekly radio show on 620 WDAE.

Monken had called plays this season up until the Bucs' 16-3 loss to the Washington Redskins last week, which is when Koetter called plays for the first time this season. In that game, the Bucs had 501 yards of total offense but managed just three points.

Koetter had previously called plays for the Buccaneers as offensive coordinator in 2015 and as head coach in 2016-17. But he handed playcalling duties over to Monken during the offseason. That role continued into training camp and preseason.

"Todd Monken is gonna call the plays" Koetter said. "He's done an excellent job calling the plays this season. We have a process that we go through every week. I just think that's the best thing for us for this particular game. We'll see how it goes. But Monk's done a great job all season. I have no issues at all with the way Monk has called plays."

Koetter said his reason for calling plays last week was because he felt they needed to control the clock more to keep their defense off the field. He also said that he wanted to get their RPOs (run pass option) more involved.

Monken declined to discuss specifics of the decision earlier this week, but said: "Coach [Koetter] is the best offensive coach I've ever been around, the best play-caller -- that's why I came here," adding that he thought Koetter did "a great job."

Monken also said he didn't think their struggles had anything to do with play-calling.

"It was execution. It wasn't anything about the plan, who's calling the plays -- made way too much of that -- we didn't execute well enough."

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