Zac Robinson - Head Coach, buccaneers Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-17 | Full transcript (primary source).
On September 17, 2026, Zac Robinson, Head Coach of the Buccaneers, addressed the media following a game that highlighted both the team's offensive potential and challenges with turnovers. The press conference provided insights into the team's performance and areas for improvement as they navigate the season.
Transcript
Robinson: Yeah, I thought, if you missed the communication, that was a unique situation, that first drive. And really, it lasted the whole game. And Baker, we're lucky we have a quarterback that understands the game plan to a high, high level and was able to kind of get us in and out of stuff. It was definitely a unique situation. But he did a great job handling it. But as far as the positives, when we got the ball and we weren't turning it over, we were moving the football and doing the things that we were hoping to do. And so there was a lot of positives. Obviously, the turnovers kind of are overhanging and kind of can wipe out a lot of things. But you can throw on the tape and see us. Stack plays is the biggest thing. When you're stacking plays and you're converting some third downs, I thought we had some explosive plays on third down, which is huge. And then first and second down, there was some good efficiency. We were in some good and manageable third downs, which you're always looking to be in. So there's a lot of positives. But the turnover is definitely kind of hang over that. And we'll get those things cleaned up.
Robinson: Yeah, it's a great question. I think every place I've been has been a little bit different, usually in the pass game, 15 plus. And then usually in the run game, it's either 10 plus or 12 plus. I think right now we're at 12 plus with that.
Robinson: Yeah, it was kind of sporadically throughout the drives. And there would be times I'd look out at him. And I'd say the play, I typically say it twice. There would be times I could tell after I said it. The second time, he's still standing there. And so there was times I had to say four or five times. And he would kind of get every fourth or fifth word and then able to piece it together. We had a delay game that was really unfortunate. That was in a sense that that was occurring. And again, we were lucky to have Baker be able to handle that because it was a unique situation. I don't think any of us have ever been a part of, but he did a great job handling it. We were still able to get in and out of the huddle. I know sometimes we're up against the clock, but yeah, it was an issue for sure. And we just adjusted on the fly and kind of dealt with it part of the game of football. If it happens, we'll have some contingency plans for the next time.
Robinson: Yeah, the coach's headsets were fine.
Robinson: Not really. This was pretty unique situation. The time I moved down was just to be with the players. There was no real communication issues there.
Robinson: Yeah, I think, again, you got to take what they give you. I think the flow of the game, obviously, we took a deep shot on the second play of the game that we just missed. I know next time we get that up, we got a great chance of an explosive there. But you also threw a play behind the line of scrimmage on a third down that gained 26 yards. So some of those plays can lead to explosives. But yeah, a lot of it is predicated on the defense. We had a couple screens that went for 12 yards on the cage. So some of those plays are just change-ups against the defense. Of course, we want to be an explosive offense and push the football down the field with Baker's ability and these receivers and tight ends. So yeah, it's always going to be a good balance between that. And a lot of the times, they have coverages that they're the ones dictating where the football has to go, and we got to make great decisions. I thought outside of the fumbles, Baker made a good decision with football.
Robinson: Yeah, he's a very versatile piece that, like you mentioned, you can move him to any spot on the field. And he does a great job. He's so smart that he can handle those things. But you're trying to get him to rock as much as you can, just like getting the rest of these guys going as well. But early in the game, he ended up getting a handful of targets there. He did a great job. Limited reps and kind of getting back into the flow, catching his wind in a real game environment, all those guys, really. But yeah, his versatility just allows you to kind of do a lot of different things.
Robinson: Yeah, I think J.Mack, dating back to his days at Washington, we watched him coming out a ton. And then when you saw what he could do his rookie year, he's wired to separate. And he's got great separation skills. He's got great tools at the line of scrimmage. He knows how to set defenders' leverages. I think he's good, really, across the board. He's just a really solid sound receiver. He's got great hands. And so his separation skills have been impressive when he's been healthy out there. And we look forward to if he's able to play this game, to having him out there when he's ready to go.
Robinson: Yeah, it was exciting. We talked about, it feels like every time Bucky's been a real bright spot at training camp, seeing him out there and the energy brings, and just the ability to break tackles. And seeing the first play of the game go for a gain of nine. And he's cutting it back. And he's reading stuff out correctly and just playing football. So he's an exciting football player. We'd love to get him even more touches. He had some plays in the past game. But we've got to find as many ways we can to keep getting in the rock.
Robinson: Yeah, I think it comes down to just not one. It's so bad every play. And it's a hard balance because you love the stinger that he plays with. You don't want to take that away for sure. And I think you just continually, reminders. You watch tape. And you just keep speaking to him that way. And Chandler does a great job in the quarterback room. And situational football, when we can take care of it, wins the time that, hey, we do need a yard here. We do need two yards. It's third down. We've got to go get it. But you're just trying to create awareness as much as you can through the tape. And we'll keep emphasizing that stuff. It was unique. Don't think it'll happen again. But unfortunately, it happened. And I know he'll be better from that.
Robinson: Yeah, I won't have to say anything. I think he's fired up to play football. Whether we're playing a Division III team, he'll have the same mindset every time he takes the field. So I won't really mention anything to him. I know he'll be juiced up, just like we all are, to really just get more of a bad taste out of your mouth. It's the next opponent. It's the next week. And you just look forward to these opportunities. You only get so many of these games that all of them are special. You wake up on Sunday, and every game feels like the Super Bowl with the limited amount of games that you get. So yeah, he'll be excited, ready to roll, but definitely not worried about that.
Robinson: Yeah, definitely. There was some opportunities early on some third downs that just either from an execution standpoint or them doing a good job, we were trying to get him going on some of those plays. And then they did end up doubling Emek some once he was getting those targets early, which kind of opened up other guys. You mentioned Ted did a great job on that last drive. That was a clean operation. And we needed that drive in order to stay in the football game, obviously. So yeah, we got to get all these guys going. But Ted, I thought from his first time out, the catch he made at the first play of that two minute on the sideline was impressive. It was a great route. He continues to just get better, and he'll get better as he gets more game reps.
Robinson: I can't, because typically it's like the other way offenses are trying to get going, and defenses can be ahead. I watched some around the league stuff, and it felt like guys just were making plays. There was a ton of plays being made after the catch. But you bring it up, defenses are so limited with what they can do based on the rules that you get to live tackling, and it's a different ball game. And it's also different for offense in terms of the ball security and the things that we mentioned even last week. So it kind of goes both ways. I was definitely surprised to look up at the scoreboard on Sunday and see some of the scores, like at halftime, the Carolina Bears game. I mean, it was crazy. I typically don't see that in week one. But yeah, to point a finger on it on exactly why is kind of tough.
Robinson: I thought they did a good job. There was definitely some good hits on those. We got to just keep repping them and keep rolling with it in live game action, seeing what that mix is of the rest of our run concepts. But yeah, there was a good job. Bucky did a good job pressing some and cutting back. So we'll continue to explore just exactly with what the identity of what we can be with the run game and kind of keep it going from there.
Robinson: I'm excited. I've always loved coming to this stadium as an opponent. It has been one of the coolest atmospheres to show up to and see the ship in the back and see the pirate ship and see everything, just a game day atmosphere. It is really cool. And so I've always enjoyed it on the other side. I'm looking forward to be a part of the home crowd. We're going to need everybody out there. Give hats off to the Bengals fans. It was a good environment there. We need that type of environment every single time we're out. We need to use those fans for energy, and all that stuff matters. So we're looking forward to seeing the home crowd come out. And like I said, it's one of the coolest atmospheres in the NFL. Opponents love playing here just because it is a unique place to play, and definitely excited to see this from the other side.
Robinson: Yeah, sure. I think every week is its own, and you're handling every week just based on the opponent. And you kind of just go into the game plan, and there's so much focus on a day-to-day process. Hey, today we had third down. Now you're thinking about red zone. And then Saturday, you kind of got your walkthrough. You get to the game, and you kind of start thinking about how things could possibly go down and the preparation that comes with that. But yeah, of course, offensively, we want to score points. Defenses, adapt, adjust, they grow just like offenses. So I'm sure there's going to be a good balance between all those things throughout the year.
Robinson: All right, cool. Appreciate it, guys. Thanks very much. Appreciate it.
