When Bucs Used Pre-Snap Motion
July 14th, 2026
Possiblities.
There is a basketball analogy to this potential Bucs’ offense of 2026.
Joe’s old man played college basketball for three years. Gave it up his senior year to focus on a second undergrad degree.
He wasn’t on a basketball scholarship, to Joe’s knowledge, and way back then Joe isn’t sure how many private schools awarded free rides for basketball.
But Joe’s old man once taught him that the more you move on offense, the more opportunities you’ll have to score. The offense knows where it’s going with the ball, Joe’s old man said; the defense doesn’t.
The more the ball is moved, the better the odds the defense makes a mistake and breaks down. Then, you get an easy shot.
Unlike his youngest son, Joe’s old man despised Bobby Knight. Would have punched him if he ever crossed paths with “The General.” But Joe’s old man loved Knight’s motion offense because the ball and the players always moved. Joe can still hear his old man constantly grumble how Lou Henson’s offensive players at Illinois would “stand around.”
Joe brings this up because one area the Bucs’ offense did better with last year was with pre-snap motion. You know, what knothead Byron Leftwich used to mock as “fantasy football.”
Former play caller Liam Coen was a huge believer in pre-snap motion and the Bucs offense under him was excellent. His Bucs successor, Josh Grizzard? Not so much.
Per Warren Sharp in his “Warren Sharp 2026 Football Preview,” when Grizzard did run pre-snap motion, the success rate of the Bucs offense was much better.
Obviously, this begs the question as to why Grizzard didn’t run more pre-snap motion? Unfortunately, the man who could answer that (Grizzard) is now working in Philadelphia.
Interestingly, last year the Dixie Chicks used pre-snap motion the second-most of any team in the league. Who ran that offense? The same guy who will call plays for the Bucs this fall, Zac Robinson.