Coach Of The Year: Raheem Morris
October 25th, 2010
Bucs beat writer Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune appeared on the too-Jewish sounding “King David Show” with Shaun King and Toby David heard on WQYK-AM 1010 this afternoon. Richardson talked Bucs and Raheem Morris’ loud pronouncement that the Bucs are the Kings of the NFC.
Shaun King: I think there’s no better coaching job in the NFL so far this year than Raheem Morris.
Anwar Richardson: Raheem is doing the best coaching job in the NFL. Name one Pro Bowl player on the Bucs. At least every team has someone that is really good at something. They don’t have a teammate that is great at anything, He has infested this team with swagger and confidence. You talk about a guy turning around a bunch of castoffs. A lot of these players are guys off the street, nomads. They had three wins last year and they are at four wins now? It’s a no-brainer.
King: As much as Raheem was criticized and ridiculed last year, all I am saying is give credit where credit is due. But they have a lot to work on.
Richardson: They are finding a way to win. It’s not a pretty team and they are not winning with pizazz. They don’t beat guys like, by, 17 or 21. They just hang around and hang around and in the fourth quarter they find a way to pull it out. The average margin of victory is not that high. Hey, it’s all about the record. They are 4-2. Dallas is 1-4. Doesn’t matter if they are glamorous wins or not. You can use all the excuses you want, they are 4-2. Dallas can use all the excuses it wants. They are 1-4.
Toby David: Was yesterday LeGarrette Blount’s coming out party?
Richardson: I agree with Shaun, that Caddy remains the starter but the best running back is Blount. The team has come to grips with it and with this offensive line, you need LeGarrette Blount. This offensive line is not a dominant group but they do create creases. Blount is able to take that crease and make it an eight-yard gain. Young running backs do that well. They don’t have the wear and tear on them. That’s why running backs always fall off when they hit their 30s. Young running backs play like there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. You will see more of [Blount] but he won’t be the starter. Raheem is tied to Cadillac as a starter. But you will see a lot more of Blount. … They are not as good as the top level teams. They are not as good as Pittsburgh. They are not as good as New Orleans but they may be good enough to win 10. They are in a race to 10.
October 25th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
As far as Blount is concerned. Who cares who runs out of the tunnel, it’s who runs to the endzone that matters
October 25th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
NO DOUBT!!!!!!! GIVE THAT KID THE ROCK. DAMMIT!
October 25th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I already have a waiver claim for him in my fantasy league. He is what we have been missing. Caddy can be the ceremonial starter. As long as Blount gets it in the end.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Raheem as coach of year???? Jumping the gun a little here????
A coach of the year shouldn’t get spanked by top tier teams and made to look incompetent. He is a sophomore head coach with a long long way to go. His defense that he presides over got spanked in the first half yesterday, by the Rams no less. Not coach of the year in my opinion. I like him, he’s okay, but if the Glazers hired Bill Cowher tomorrow, no one would miss Raheem. Truth hurts.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
I would miss Raheem Big Mac. We are the Bucs. Not the Steelers. I don’t want another superstar coach from another team coming in here. It’s always felt like us against the world here in Tampa and nothing would be sweeter than to have a no name head coach who came up with us from the beginning come in and lead a bunch of youngsters and castoffs to prominence and respect around the league within the next few years. Then like the immortal Frank Sinatra, we could look at the rest of the football world and claim- “We did it our way!”
October 25th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
This aint gonna hold up.
Only so many rabbits in one hat.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
This is a good place to remind everyone that I predicted 9-9 wins or more for the Bucs this year (nudge-nudge-wink-wink).
Gotta have faith!
October 25th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Gotta give the haters credit 4-2 and Coach Rah still gets no credit. It is rather funny. The only problem is the coach has a QB who is a winner. His 4th quarter play is no fluke. I guess you may want to start sending some venom towards Freeman. Freeman keeps winning, Rah will last a long time.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Eric is going to nominate Morris
October 25th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
bigmac I hate to break it to you.Raheem just secured his job, he alraedy surpassed his win total. Also Bill will coach the Panthers. By the way Sean King is not nice.
October 25th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I think Anwar Richardson is taking a bit far saying the the Bucs “don’t have a teammate that is great at anything, a bunch of castoffs” and “off the street.” There usually are castoffs on any team, but guys off the street? C’mon.
Anyway, I do think the coach of the year is jumping the gun big time. saying he would be a candidate at this point s fair.
October 25th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
@ Pete Dutcher: How do you go 9-9?
In July, I actually went through the Bucs schedule and had us at 8-8. I’ve been wrong on one game so far and that was the Cinci game. I’m glad I was wrong and hope I’m wrong like that quite a few more times.
October 25th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
If Raheem wins coach of the year, Eric’s head will literally explode!
October 25th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
All Rah has to do is win to keep the doubters away.
Cause winning in the NFL is so easy.
All I know is Freeman and Olsen are saving Rah and his God aweful defense’s ass.
October 25th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I think if the NFL awarded Raheem Morris coach of the Year, it would piss off people likeBucyourRahDomtheracist and others. Because , despite the fact that the Bucs would be winners, it would mean that Morris would remain coach. Bottom line is these guys won’t support Raheem Morris no matter how much he wins, because he is black, and they are racist!
October 25th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
I think Raheem definitely has a shot at it but I think he’ll end up losing to either Todd Haley of the Chiefs or Steve Spagnalou of the Rams. The Buccaneers just aren’t that popular of a team.
October 25th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Who really cares who wins coach of the year. Its almost always the coach of some team that goes from worst to making the playoffs. But then said team doesn’t necessarily make any progress from that point cuz their improvement was due to the weak ass schedule they faced after their horrible season. The Bucs are looking like they have an outside shot to make the playoffs this year, but they have an extraordinarily weak schedule. That being said this draft class + Legarette has a chance to be the best class of rookies in my entire 20 years of football watching. The endgame of all the moves since Rah|Dom took over will not play out for another year or two. So far Rah\Dom has been a great identifier of talent\motivator. But that will have to continue for the next year or two along with solidifying their schemes on both sides of the ball. Rah is not going anywhere soon.
October 25th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
gitarlvr makes a good point about the strength of schedule. Many teams improve and seem to over achieve, but they really didn’t because of their weak schedule. They come down to earth the next year.
Also good point on the accumulation of talent that has to continue. I see the Bucs as a serious playoff contender in two seasons. However, you never know how fast the young talent will mature. It will be fun to watch, but I think the Bucs are on their way.
October 25th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
@Gitarlvr,
One thing I take exception to is this whole “weak schedule” thing. Yes, our schedule is weak, but last I checked it’s virtually identical to the Saints, Panthers, and Falcons. Also, the NFC overall is very weak this year, so nobody’s has a world beater schedule this year in the NFC. Obviously, we are not really the best team in the NFC, but we have the most room for growth. The Vikings, Cowgirls, Saints, etc. have already hit their peak and due to age are not going to be getting any better in the next few years, whereas we should greatly improve. Ultimately, it’s all about developing the young talent, and if that is done, we should be very good for a long time. I just don’t see us regressing, but maybe I’m just drinking too much of the Kool-aid!
October 25th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
I was very high on the Bucs before the season started. I have been hopeful that Morris would grow quickly into his job. After leaving the game Sunday, I am a little disappointed in the coaching of our team. Some areas have been addressed and corrected, but there are glaring weaknesses on the team. Todd Wash is tops on my _hit list. Our D line is just not close to what an NFL caliber line should be an these young players, although talented are underachieving, big-time. Greg Olson, even though Freeman is saving his ass, is also underachieving and I can think of at least 31 better offensive coordinators out there, most have jobs. I feel these players are being done a disservice and their growth is being stunted. This is the way I feel today. I’m still on the bandwagon and hope we win every game and Raheem proves to be the best coach ever, next to Vince Lombardi. The problem I have is that the Bucs keep on making stupid coaching mistakes and slapping me in the face, and my better judgment brings me back to reality. Although things are better than they were(how could they not be), they just are not as good as they could be. It’s time for a few tweaks in my opinion, on the coaching side of things. Everything else I like for the most part, and that’s all I have to say about that right now. Still a fan, just concerned.
October 25th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Capt.Tim Says:
October 25th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Bottom line is these guys won’t support Raheem Morris no matter how much he wins, because he is . . . not Gruden!
October 25th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Wow, that was a good honest post BigMac… even though a guy like myself am not a Raheem supporter at all… you came out and spoke the truth.
I will say this… Olsen is doing far and away better job than rah as a defensive coordinator. I mean how do you think all these drives are taking place? Sandlot football?
October 25th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
BigMac- Im a fan but was also concerned with the coaching. However criticising position coaches is hard to do since you really don’t know what they are doing if your not privy to team practices. D-Coordinators schemes, however can be seen in games. And in my opinion Raheems overuse of the 3-3-5, GMC at DE and other retarded gimmicks like Ronder at weakside linebacker can be seen by the average fan as reasons for the defenses problems. Give the Bucs super young D-line a chance to master a base 4-3 defense without the all the extra looks before Todd Wash is fed to the hogs.
October 25th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Hawaiian Buc, strength of schedule can inflate a teams record, but that all comes out in the wash in the playoffs. I think the fact the Bucs play teams like the Rams is good because they can go through some growing pains, but still win the game. Good point that the entire NFC South has the same schedule, so the division rankings has merit. Going through some growing pains in games like Sunday will hopefully help the Bucs get some things ironed out so they can compete with elite teams.
October 25th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I think this is a great experience for these young guys. Yeah, the game is ugly, but coming away with a win, having to fight for it til the final seconds tick off the clock. When these guys “get it” and are playing well and beating average teams in the first half and pounding it in the 2nd half, this will come in handy on the occasion they play good teams and it’s close like this. They’ll know how to win, how to fight, how to not give up. This year is proving to provide many good lessons for a lot of young players. They’re learning how to win under pressure. I’m excited for what’s to come in future years when these young players are really playing well for full games.
October 25th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
I am enjoying the young coach and the young players!
I look forward to cheering them on as they get better and better.
Go Bucs!!!
October 26th, 2010 at 12:34 am
I just watched the 30 minute DirecTV shortcut of the game (every play in 30 minutes or less, it’s awesome). A couple things I thought were interesting to mention.
First off, as ugly as the first half was, it wasn’t as bad as I at first thought. The scoreboard made it seem much worse. Of course there were many penalties that need to be cleaned up, and the run game didn’t get going…. yet. What I forgot all about due to the score was the missed opportunities that could have completely changed the first half.
On play right before the Rams scored their first TD, Bradford threw a pass that got tipped and Talib just missed getting the INT. It was actually in his hands, and the dropped. Take those 7 points off the board and it would have been a much better 10-6 at half. Of course we can’t do that, but it shows that they need to make those opportunities, not miss them.
Now, on the second Rams TD…. not only did Ronde jump off-side, giving them a TD instead of a FG…. but again, on the play before the score Talib had a great shot at a pick (this one would have gone almost 100 yards the other way for a pick 6) and he dropped it again. Missed opportunity again, and nobody would have said the first half was ugly if we had returned that for a TD and been ahead 13-3, instead of down 17-6.
And of course, after the fumble, the mistakes dropped us back to get a FG instead of a TD. Amazing what a few simple missed opportunities and badly timed penalties can do to change the game.
Basically, it wasn’t as bad as I thought watching the game yesterday. Yeah, it was still ugly BECAUSE of those things, but it was very close to being a pretty good first half too. This game was not a lucky win. Even with the mistakes, the Bucs took that win from the Rams. When they start hitting on those opportunities and become more disciplined and don’t make the stupid penalties, that game becomes a blowout like it should be. Young team means those things happen. Can’t wait til they grow up a bit.
On a side note, I just saw an article (I think it was Holder) that said the O-line was false starting due to confusion with Josh’s cadence and the Rams D-linemen calling out shifts “sounding like Josh’s cadence”. They were letting Olsen know on the sidelines what was happening, but apparently couldn’t do much about it. Might explain some of the stupidity though…. actually not stupidity, but the Rams taking advantage of a make-shift O-line.
October 26th, 2010 at 5:43 am
JimBuc- lmao. BucyourselfRahDom- 4-2 ! 4-2 , you ass, we know why you don’t like Raheem, and it’s got nothing to do with football. Go put yer sheet on, and go back to your rally. You’re not fooling anyone here, or anywhere else.
October 26th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Raheem the Dream should get down on his knees and kiss Freeman’s er…
Feet. If not for Freeman Raheem may well have been out of here and a Real coach hired already. As for Raheem’s “dream” run stuffing, violent defense, it allowed the 4th 100 yard runner in 4 games. This guy is a joke.
And no Race card pulling statements by Tugboat Timmie is going to make Raheem a coach. How’s that #1 run stuffing DT doing for ya Timmie! Suh has more sacks than the whole Bucs defense! Lol
October 26th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Shouldn’t connor barth be considered a potential pro-bowler? His performance on sunday was amazing.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Wasn’t Raheem the one who brought Freeman in here in the first place? The only problem I have with Morris right now is his ability to get the Bucs Mentally prepared for the game. I’ve yet to see this team come out and be physically & mentally tougher than any opponent. This has more to do with motivation and heart then anything else. He needs to fire these guys up right from the kickoff and play 60 minutes instead of deciding to play after half time.
October 26th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Poor, poor Tampon2! Gotta be horrible times for you. Raheem Morris has the the best winning percentage in the NFC. Looks like the early front runner for coach of the year! His protege, Josh Freeman, looks like the second coming of Joe Montana! Could easily be in the Pro Bowl as a 1st year QB! And Raheem drafted, developed, and coached him! While guys like you ridiculed the Pick . Gotta be hating lif! And why? A real Buc Fan should be thrilled right now- with both Coach and QB ! Why isn’t Tampon2 ? I Bet I know! Sucks to be you! Oh, by the way , who gives two shi#s what Suh is doing? He’s had no impact on his team at all! They are still a nice, sweet 1-5, lmao ! Probably end the year with the 1st or 2nd pick- AGAIN! No impact at all. Jus another guy on the NFL’s worst team- congrats Suh. You were a wasted pick. If they drafted Okung, meybe Stafford is still playing, and they win 6-8 games. Instead they picked Suh, and remain in the basement. McCou doesn’t have great stats. He’s been playing in a 3 man front most of the year. A 3-2-6 to be exact. But he has improved the entire Defense, and the entire Team, with his Play ! Hmm great stats and a 2-14 record, moderate stats and best record in the NFC?? Not a tough choice for anyone . . Who’s not a racist, that is! Again, Tampon2, gotta suck ta be you! Lmao
October 26th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Tampa 2…Freeman is the leader, but it takes the entire team.
Bucnjim…An unusual time that I disagree with you. It takes mental toughness to comeback after playing so bad in the first half…Whatever he said at the half, he should say before kickoff.