NFC Notes: 49ers, Buccaneers, Redskins

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Dirk Koetter recently mentioned that improving the chemistry between QB Jameis Winston and WR DeSean Jackson is “a piece of the puzzle” but it really comes down to him and Winston doing a better job of getting Jackson the ball.

“It’s important. It’s a piece in the puzzle,” Koetter said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “But we have a lot of weapons on offense. We have Mike (Evans), we signed Mike and Cam (Brate) back. O.J. (Howard) going into his second year. Adam Humphries, Chris Godwin.

“DeSean … we did not get the production out of DeSean. And when I say production out of DeSean, when you go back and look at the tape, we have a tape of just plays where we didn’t hit DeSean. DeSean was where he was supposed to be. He was either behind the defense, in between the corner and safety, or he was in position to make explosive plays and we didn’t get the ball to him. That’s on myself, it’s on Jameis to do better. I think DeSean and Jameis have said they need to spend more time working together and I think they’re addressing that. When Jameis got cleared to throw this offseason, I think they started working on that.”

Koetter stressed that Jackson’s top-end speed is still there and hasn’t shown any signs of declining.

“He’s got elite speed and he’s done it for several years,” Koetter said. “DeSean’s speed has not deceased. I can show you plays on tape. He’s where he’s supposed to be. He is in behind the defense or getting into position to make big plays.

“When you just go back and look at it, you go, ‘Man, that play in that game might have made a difference.’ You never know which play it’s going to be when you’re in that game. It’s easy to go back and look at it on the back end and cry about spilled milk. You just never know which plays in the game are going to make the difference. But when you bring a guy like DeSean Jackson, he was brought to Tampa for a reason, and we did not do a good job of taking advantage of what he does best.”

Redskins

Redskins DL Jonathan Allen (Lisfranc) said that while he would like to be ready for the start of OTAs, there’s just “no way of telling at this point.”

“I’m going to be honest, the OTAs they start like end of April, and this will be my first time, so I would like to think so, but I mean, honestly, there’s no way of telling at this point,” Allen said, via the Redskins’ official site. “I feel like I’m going to be in a good spot come OTAs, so I’m excited for that, and right now, I’m just taking it day by day just trying to grind.”

Allen added that he feels “really good” and is able to run and cut right now.

“I’m out there running, getting off the ball, cutting back,” Allen said. “And there’s definitely a balance because you don’t want to rush back so early, but I feel really good right now. I’m excited about how much progress I made, and I’m looking forward to getting started.”