Bucs Worse Than Lions
October 1st, 2009
Even a guy walking around with a white cane can see the Bucs are pretty bad this year. But Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com goes out on a limb claiming the Bucs are one of three teams worse than the Lions.
Marvez pins a little blame on the coaches, but heaves it on the Bucs front office.
That doesn’t make this overhaul any less painful to watch — especially knowing that Tampa Bay has an NFL-high $30 million available in salary cap room that tight-fisted ownership refuses to spend. The Bucs didn’t add enough personnel in the offseason to aid defensive coordinator Jim Bates in the switch from a cover-two scheme to a more traditional 4-3 attack. DE Gaines Adams is an especially big disappointment. The fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft, Adams has no sacks and ranks last among Bucs defensive starters in tackles with eight. MLB Barrett Ruud (32 tackles) can’t be expected to make every play.
The easiest way to sink a solid team is lousy personal decisions.
The two main responsibilities for those terrible picks are gone. It will take at least two years to fill in the holes. That’s why Joe cringes when he reads comments on this site from loyal readers and hears callers to sports radio shows who already want to break out the guillotine on Raheem the Dream.
October 1st, 2009 at 9:48 am
Yes, the Bucs were terrible last week, but the Giants should have beaten the Bucs as they are a clear Super Bowl contender. A few things that I think are positive: 1. Last week the defensive secondary, while not great, is reducing those big plays that plagued us in the first two weeks. 2. Josh Johnson’s mobility will bring a nice dimension to this offense. I really like this kid and can see a similarity to a second year Brady turning around the Patriots. I am NOT saying he’ll be a future Super Bowl MVP, but I am saying he’ll play well and really improve this team.
October 1st, 2009 at 10:18 am
Jeff Garcia made me wary of any mobile QB. As long as Josh Johnson does not get nervous after the three step drop and immediately start looking to scramble or for a dump off, I think the mobility will serve us well.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:56 am
The difference betwen Johnson and Garcia when it comes to scrambling is that garcia would give up on the play knowing that he could get the ball down field. receivers are taught that when the QB breaks the pocket, the receiver on the side that he moves to should do one of two things. 1) work back to the ball or 2) take off deep. Our receivers and the coverage knew that garcia could not get the ball too far down the field so there was no need for the cover guys to worry about that, they could just cover the short routs. Johnson has a better arm than garcia and should be able to get the ball down the field on those plays and give the defences something to worry about.
October 1st, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Joe I’ll ask again. How long do we put up with what we are seeing before the all knowing media makes the Glazers change again? When should we see some improvement? How long are YOU willing to stand behind what appears to be an incompetent coach?