TAMPA, Fla. -- Coach Greg Schiano has a reputation for being inflexible. I think that might be undeserved.
Take the case of what’s been happening on the defensive line in recent weeks. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has been dominant the last three weeks. If you’ve watched McCoy, you might have noticed that his surge coincides with the Bucs doing fewer stunts and getting McCoy more straight-on rushes.
Schiano acknowledged Monday that McCoy had some input in the changes.
“What we’ve tried to do all year is visit with Gerald and visit with the defensive line and take their ideas as a coaching staff,’’ Schiano said. “They’re the ones doing it, so they’ve got to feel good doing it. That’s my point always, you learn the most from the players.’’
McCoy had three sacks in Sunday’s victory against Atlanta. Schiano said the goal is to get McCoy against single blocking as much as possible, but one of Sunday’s sacks came against a double team.
“Teams are going to adjust,’’ Schiano said. “They know where (No.) 93 is and they’re going to adjust protections. Now you can’t just start sliding protections without having everything be coordinated. We try to work to get him the (one-on-ones), whether that’s on the center, whether it’s on either guard, we’ll move him around. We even lined him up at end once this year. Those are all our attempts. But, at the end of the day, Gerald does it because he’s a great player.’’