Buccaneers use a beeping ball to avoid fumbles

Update: It's currently unclear whether the team will actually be using these beeping balls.

In Doug Martin’s first three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dougernaut lost only one fumble. Last season, Doug’s fourth year, he put the ball on the ground a total of five times! Four times as a rusher and once as a receiver.

Turnovers are the number one factor in deciding a game, this according to Bucs’ head coach Dirk Koetter and his 10 factors to winning a game. When your work horse handles the ball as often as the Dougernaut, there has to be a way to help reduce putting the ball on the ground.

According to theScore.com, there are five teams that will be using a football that audibly beeps to inform the football is being held securely. One of those teams is your very own Tampa Bay Buccaneers, apparently.

When the ball is being held correctly with the fundamental five points of pressure, it emits an audible beeping sound at about 80 decibels to tell a player he's doing it right.

Honing fundamentals is great and develops that muscle memory for proper carriage of the football. Division II Northwood University used these balls last year. In fact, here is a quote about the effectiveness of the the beeping balls from Northwood University’s assistant coach Tom Creguer:

Creguer said practicing with "High and Tight" footballs , which cost about $150 each, reduced Northwood's fumbles by 63 percent last season.

If we use that 63% reduction for the Dougernaut, then he only fumbles the ball twice instead of five times. That is a huge turnaround because that implies three offensive possessions were not thwarted.

Using "High and Tight" footballs is another factor that Koetter is able to help improve the chances to win for the Bucs. So far this season, Koetter has sought many little improvements for the team, such as hiring Todd Monken as a WR coach and offensive coordinator, drafting a kicker in the second round due to being ranked last in Special Teams - Expected Points Added (STEPA), changing the practice times from afternoon to morning in order to work in cooler temperatures by 11 degress, and a game management coach. Although what I listed seem like periphery improvements, added up as a whole can land wins just as much as a splash play sack or interception. Not turning the ball over by our running backs is actually a priority that the Bucs’ organization is seeking to improve, one long beep at a time.