Can’t Blame The Rookies
December 19th, 2010
Moments after the Bucs lost, Joe was trying to think of some of the excuses crazy Bucs fans might concoct to wave off the severity of the Bucs loss to the rebuilding since 1957 Detroit Lions, a loss has ended the Bucs playoff hopes for anyone based in reality.
One of the excuses Joe imagined fans would use was a favorite of Chucky’s: injuries. Nope. Joe isn’t buying. Every team is beat up this time of the year.
Another excuse Joe thought of that fans might use is the rookies hit a wall.
While Joe hasn’t heard that excuse yet, it’s also bogus.
There was Mike Williams performing the way Bucs fans have grown accustomed to: extraordinary.
There was Arrelious Benn making himself into a factor again, throwing a one of the nastiest stiff arms Joe has ever seen.
There was LeGarrette Blount using his beautiful combination of speed and power to gains chunks of yards on the ground.
No, there’s no way anyone can use the Bucs rookies as a reason the Bucs lost. If anything, it was the rookies who gave the Bucs a chance to win.
December 19th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Rays should sign Barrett Ruud, I seen him back peddle and catch guys as they were running him over instead of stepping up and being physical. He would be a great outfielder where contact isn’t needed.
December 19th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Losing 7 starters to injury in 3 weeks, including 6 on defense (which is why we lost) isnt an excuse?
December 19th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Joe your our so on point today …… I love Raheem but I think it is time he think about hiring a Defensive cordinator them last two lions drives were horriable, to me Morris is still learing how to be a defensive cordinator in the NFL. That damn zone blitz when he drops styles into covarge has not worked and will never work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 19th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
It seems like it’s been ages now since we’ve had a great defense in Tampa.
December 19th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
JOE-
Not every team is all that beat up this time of year. The Saints are getting healthy. Thats part of making a playoff run. Its not enough to be good. You also have to be relatively healthy down the stretch or you don’t make it. Do you really think the Packers aren’t good enough to make the playoffs? They won’t. And its because they might be the only team in the playoff hunt with more guys on IR than the Bucs. The Indianapolis Colts, of all teams, may not make the playoffs this year and if they don’t you can directly attribute it to the decimation by injury of Peyton Manning’s supporting cast. Do you really think Manning has just hit the skids this year? Or is it injury that has them 8-6? The same record as the Buccaneers.
December 19th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Blame the Rookies?!?!?!?
Best Rah Quote this week after the loss
“we’ll have the number one Rookie WR (M.Williams) and RB (L. Blount) in Yards and production this year”
Nice.
and then there is Rejus, the unsung hero and Cody Grimm
December 19th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
It’s not so much the injuries that have hurt us, but it is the fact that the injuries have occurred to key players in key positions, and they happened in bunches. Even if fully healthy, we probably weren’t going far in the playoffs. But we are missing over 30% of our starting lineup from 3 weeks ago, so the result shouldn’t be surprising. Let’s just hope it doesn’t happen next year.
December 19th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Hire a Defensive Coordinator????
Rah is both Head Coach of the Year and Defensive Coach of the Year
Throughout the year his adjustments have been amazing.
He has truly made Chicken Salad from Chicken Sh!t
December 19th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
BILL COWER!!!FIRE RAHEEM IF HE LOSES TO SEATTLE.
December 19th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
@ Buc Neckid yeah maybe Rah has made 2nd half adjusments or did the teams we played like Washington Bengals Rams just stop running the ball in the 2nd half ?
December 19th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Well…he did make nice second half adjustments in many games this year but today was not one of them. And Football is four quarters….not two. If Rah can’t dial up a more effective initial gameplan than maybe he is stretched a little thin. I love Raheem but don’t think it would be a bad thing, or an admission of Raheem’s incompetence by any means, if the Glazers went ahead and hired a good D coordinator for next year. There are guys who were better defensive coordinators than Rah will ever be that have handed the reins over to another coordinator upon becoming head coach. There is no shame in it. If Marvin Lewis can do it, Raheem can do it. John Fox should be available. He is a master of the Tampa 2 style defense. Earlier in the year I thought he would be offered another head coaching job once the Panthers fired him but they have been SO bad that no longer looks to be the case. Im not saying Raheem cant get it done with his players healthy and some new talent next year but it all im saying is that I think its pretty rare for a coach to be both head coach and d coordinator. Is there any other coach in the league doing that? I know offensive coaches do it but rarely defensive guys. Last year I though it was just an interim thing anyway until they could hire a new coordinator in the offseason.
December 19th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
TJ
No, it was adjustments.
Torain last week was a beast in the first half.
Second half = Not so much
I MIGHT agree that Rah should hire a D Coordinator to help
but Rah is still the man.
and should make all of the calls and Adjustments.
Help in preparing and carrying out his directives would be the only reason to make a D.Coordinator hire/promotion
December 19th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
It truly breaks my heart to know they would ram the ball up our ass the last 2 drives there before they started. I don’t know what to say anymore. Sometimes it the horrible playcalling but mainly it was the scrubs we have on D.
I can’t believe we have made a total 180. Now the offense finally keeps us in games but the D promptly loses them on the next possession. I will say this, next year will show what our coaching staff is made of. With all the players coming back from injury we will have no excuses for being run over like a pop warner team.
December 19th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
“BILL COWER!!!FIRE RAHEEM IF HE LOSES TO SEATTLE.”
Some people are too stupid for words.
December 19th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Buc Nekid never said I did not like raheem as matter of fact said I love him. Morris him self has said he thinks doing double duties hurt Gruden. That is my point I do understand he is not working with much but what about the ravens game , the saints game, steelers game with Charlie batch. Morris loves to run that damn blitz when he drops Styles into coverage it has not worked all year not once. How about bringing in Hermn Moore Cover 2 guy coached in tampa gave morris his first internship job
December 19th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
may bad meant to say herman edwards cant get the damn lions off my mind
December 19th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
I don’t think it’s an “excuse” to point out the Bucs have lost 2 starters a week for 3 weeks in a row…..it’s just a fact.
This loss was very disappointing but I’m still thrilled with the way this team is playing. This offense is going to be something very special in another year or two.
December 19th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
It’s funny, I was just thinking about this before I checked the site and saw this story. At the begining of the year everybody thought it was going to be the young guys that would let the veterans down and it turned out to be the exact opposite. This team will probably be even younger next year after they cut bait with most of these veterans on this team in the offseason.
December 19th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
I agree with hawaiian bucs last commemt…LOL. I also am amazed at the fans that cry for Cower every time the Bucs lose. News flash: Bill Cower would not have the Bucs any better at this point than Rah and probably worse. We are all sick over this loss but the Lions are not as bad as their record suggests. It is truly amazing the value that the Bucs have gotten out of rookies and unknown players in spite of penny pinching owners, injuries and inexperienced coaching. This team will continue to improve and probably make the playoffs next season if there is one. As bad as our owners are, I am glad they will stick with Rah because I see a positive direction this team is moving in and it would be a HUGE mistake to scrap everything and hire Cower. He is not THAT great of a coach. He won with more talent on the Steelers and lost with more talent as well. Rah deserves some criticism for todays loss as well as the entire staff and players. I do also agree that Rah could use a good defensive coordinator but that would cost the Glazers more money, so it probably will not happen.
December 20th, 2010 at 6:10 am
God sometimes I think this town has more than it’s share of hacks and idiots. This team is amazing this year. It has achieved miracles with rookies starting in the key skill positions. It has even assembled a promising cast of rookies that will provide depth In years to come. But this is a freshly rebuilt team, that had no talent or depth. If this team was two years older, we would have experienced depth to replace injured players. Now all we have is talented green horns. We started 2 rookie guards, a back up center, and a first year Rt , who lost in the first quarter. We’ve lost both projected rookie starters at DT, and are now playing Al Woods and Frank Okum. Who???. McCoys lose will be insurmountable- I said that last week. We’ve lost Black, and replaced him with 7th round Watson. We are on our 3rd free safety.we lost our best cover corner, and have to start a rookie(Lewis) in 3 reciever sets. It’s a miracle we can field a cohesive team! What amazes me the most, is the same idiots he predicted this team wouldn’t win 5 games, are now whining like the team let them down by not making the playoffs!! Stupid asses!! If you thought this team couldn’t win 5 games, then you should be thrilled with this team. Any idiot can see that this offense is gonna be scary for years to come. This year, we get new Lbs ,a DE, and fix the defense. To expect a team already composed of rookies, to overcome injuries 3 deep in places, just makes you look stupid. I’m proud of this team, and can’t wait til next season
December 20th, 2010 at 6:57 am
Joe:
Remember that we rotate the d line, but were not really able to do that yesterday. The defense ran out of gas. I am not sure how you can say a buncn of injuries and young players did not hurt the Bucs, since all year you have been saying how amazing it is that they are winning with a bunch of young guys and injuries. I am pretty sure you just wrote that the amount of injuries is going to catch up with them the other day as well.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:16 am
@Captain Tim,
Apparently to some fans of this team, all those reasons you gave just aren’t good enough. They like to blame the coaching, because that’s the easy explanation for them. It is far too complicated for their minds that we just don’t have the players anymore after getting ravished by injuries the last few weeks. Not only do they expect a bunch of rookies and second year players to play like veterans, they expect their undrafted backups to not miss a step when they get in. There are people calling for Raheem’s head after this game! After all this team has accomplished, they actually want him gone. It is so amazing how arrogant some fans can be.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Hawaiian and Capt Tim…Exactly. It is as if they expected the Bucs to go undefeated. I can not wait to watch this team grow even more next year. Thomas will call me one of the “sheep”, I really wish he would get a little more original. The others will say I am “drinking the coolaide”, and I wpnder if they even know who the Rev Jones was? I call my self a fan, who supports the Bucs through thisck and thin. I needed seven wins from them to win my bet, so thanks guys for exceeding expectations. Was I happy yesterday, hell no…Woul Johnson have had the same success against Talib, probably not. Would the run D look as bad with Grimm, Black, Talib, and McCoy in the game, probably not. So yes, injuries do play a part of the game. You can also say if the QB and RB for the Lions were is, they may have beaten us even worse. Oh well, on to next week.
December 20th, 2010 at 11:28 am
That’s the whole point. Every idiot is acting like this team was supposed to make a playoff run this year, and some how let them down by not having adequate depth. That’s just pure stupidity!!! NO ONE even dreamed about the playoffs this preseason. Everyone said we couldn’t win 5 games, because this team had not veterans and no depth! We DIDN’T!! Raheem has pulled out a MIRACLE winning with a TEAM fulla rookies and first year players! But now it’s miracle over! The young players are hurt, and the players backing them up, while talentedare rookies who just signed recently to the team or practice squad- they don’t even know the play book!! How long as Al Woods been here? Frank Okum? We’ve already seen a miraculous turn around here. But this team had no talented the beginning of the year, much less depth! We can’t replace McCoy!- there is nobody here with his skill set. Price might could have filled in, but he’s out also. Woods and Okum did better than expected yesterday. With a training camp and coaching, they will be great depth for this team- but not yet! To act like this is a playoff calibre team, after crying all preseason they couldn’t win 4 games , should get you horse whipped in town square!!!
December 20th, 2010 at 11:54 am
What an absolute crock!
So the guys Pittsburgh pulled off the street to play on their offensive line knew the Steelers playbook??? That must be the case given your crazy premise Capt. Tim.
Real teams don’t make excuses for injuries. Man up and get the job done. Like the Steelers. Like the Jets. Like the Packers. Like the Colts.
Gee, a couple of weeks ago Mark Dominik was a magician for being able to fill the holes with good players off the scrap heap. Now these same players are bums?
No. The Bucs shat the bed yesterday. No other way around it.
Interesting that the Bucs apologists are pulling a stunt from their hated former coach Chucky. This was a specialty of Chucky’s: whine about injuries.
Interesting that the same people who always stick up for the Bucs no matter what are suddenly throwing Bucs players under the bus so quickly.
December 20th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
Joe, its not whining about injuries, it is reality. You bring up Green Bay, great example. They were a very popular Super Bowl pick, but due to injuries, they won’t even make the playoffs. Reality is that if they didn’t have so many critical injuries, they would be there. Look at the Super Bowl winning teams. There has never been one that has lost 7 starters on IR. Yes, it’s part of the game, we all know that. But if you don’t think that our recent poor play is a result of too many injuries, then you are sorely mistaken. You can’t take a borderline playoff team and take away 30% of their starting roster and expect them to not miss a beat.
December 20th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
@ Hawaiian Buc
PREACH!
December 21st, 2010 at 6:38 am
Joe, you are exactly who I’m talking about! All preseason you’re saying you can’t win with youth, and this team wouldn’t win 4 games! Now, you act like they’ve failed you by not making the playoffs! What a crock of s*^t! This isn’t the Steelers, Patriots, or Packers! It isn’t a “real Team”. It is a team that is in the 2nd year of a complete rebuild. And to have improved by 5 games is an amazing. This team was starting MCCoy and Price at DTs- two rookies. If you bothered to read my post, you’d see that I didn’t “throw players under the bus”. My point was that Woods and Okum are starting, yet both are recent adds to the team. Neither was at training camp this year. This is my last post here. I’m sick of you not even bothering to read my post, then writing some B.S response and jumping down my throat. This is like the 3rd time you’ve done it. It’s to bad.you really should actually read my post, as meybe you’d learn a little about football. Unlike you, I’ve been right about this team every step of the way, from the day they signed Penn, to their record, to the lose of McCoy. I’ve never been disrespectful to. On contrary. Yet it’s obvious that you are much happier with your “like thinkers”, who do nothing but bitch and cry about anything the team does. Like a bunch of whinny women! Well get a bigger pair of panties Joe, yours are cutting off the blood supply to your head. I leave you in the capable hands of Eric, Thomas, and the other whinners