“Sense Of Urgency” Doesn’t Match “Yungry”
October 27th, 2011
Mr. Hayward's intensity needs to rub off on some of his teammates
The maddening slow start/rousing finish thing the Bucs have done rather consistently for a season and a half eats away at Bucs fans.
Why? Because it’s fixable.
If you can play with urgency late in a second half, it surely can happen for 60 minutes. There’s no logical reason why the Bucs fail to show their best football from the opening whistle — repeatedly.
Ronde Barber, in his news conference following the London game, specifically used the phrase “sense of urgency” to describe what the Bucs lack to start games.
But this is what drives Joe nuts and makes little sense.
A “young” and “hungry” team, with an excited young head coach and largely a type A coaching staff, should be the easiest team in the NFL to get fired up and crazy for kickoff. Logic would say the Bucs should be battling being overly aggressive early in games because they’re so amped up to run through a wall. Yet the opposite is true.
The blame goes across the players and coaches. Not because it happens, but that they haven’t figured out how to stop it, or at least fix it before halftime.
Joe saw the rip-your-head-off energy Adam Hayward brought to the field when he replaced Mason Foster on Sunday. What a thing of beauty. Joe would suggest that if the Bucs aren’t going to play Hayward when Foster returns, then they should assign him the job of getting in the face of every player on the defense before the game and whenever he feels someone needs it.
October 27th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Real simple: You can jump up and down like a maniac all you want. But if you are not prepared to play, it doesn’t matter what “sense of urgency” you have, you’ll get schooled and this is what happens to the Bucs week in and week out.
Credit to the coaches for adjusting on the fly during a game but if they didn’t have their collective heads up their arses the week prior to a game, the team wouldn’t have to resort to its weekly five-alarm fire drill every fourth quarter.
Why don’t the Bucs take a page from Don Shula? Why not start a game in a two-minute drill since it works so well in the fourth quarter, go no-huddle to start a game? Get a freaking lead for a change? Pat Kirwan has been screaming about this all season for Olson to do this.
October 27th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Joe here,
@Jimmy — That’s what makes part of this so nuts. Over and over week after week, Raheem and the players say they don’t make adjustments, they just stick to the gameplan and get their asses in gear to do what they’re supposed to be doing. Of course, maybe that’s BS. But Raheem has to tweak something on or off the field to get it going.
October 27th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Jimmy:
You make some very salient points. However, to be fair, Joe’s going to issue a mulligan to the Bucs for last week’s debacle.
What, before the first quarter was over, you go from having Earnest Graham and Erik Lorig as your backfield to Kregg Lumpkin in a one-back set, well, you can pretty much take whatever you were working on all week on the offensive side of the ball and throw it out the window because for 3/4 of the game the Bucs had no rushing attack.
That would screw up just about any team that doesn’t have running back depth (and no, the Bucs didn’t have running back depth this season).
October 27th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Hayward was the one in the London game that would tackle Matt Forte and throw him out of bounds and scream, “Eff you!” He did this on at least two occasions. He’s got attitude and I don’t think we lose much if anything when he is in there.
October 27th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Can we replace QB or GH with Hayward?…at least he likes to hit people.
October 27th, 2011 at 11:40 am
@mikeck
Agreed. Hayward should replace Black. He’s a much better tackler, better coverage LB, and brings far more intensity to the game. Black is expensive garbage at best.
October 27th, 2011 at 11:51 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Hayward is twice the linebacker that Black is. He brings something the defense needs-intensity. It would be a real shame for Black to start over Hayward. The best players need to play, no matter their salary. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work like that in the NFL.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Interesting take….I agree….Black hasnt shown anything, at least in games to show that he deserves playing time over Hayward or Watson.
I wonder what were not seeing in practice or on film that the coaches love so much about Black.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Quincy Black = defensive Michael Clayton.
Probably can catch better than Clayton, though. 🙁
October 27th, 2011 at 12:21 pm
@Steve- I think the coaching staff loves his athleticism and weight room strength. Black is without a doubt a freak but that doesn’t mean you can play football. He also is a ‘homegrown’ guy that Dominik loves, I believe that was the main reason he was resigned. If he was a free agent coming off another team I don’t think the Bucs would’ve sniffed in his direction (then again, that applies to nearly every free agent). They resigned for potential that will most likely never be lived up to.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:23 pm
young it may be but the talent is there on both offense and defense. The regression by Freeman is fixable, the lack of focus penalties are fixable, and the current play calling that hasn’t focused on getting the ball to our two most important weapons in Blount and Williams is fixable.
IMHO is all on Raheem and the coaching staff now, win or lose the team we see in New Orleans will tell us all we need to know about the 2011 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
October 27th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Seems like they come out timid, trying to size up the other team, and don’t realize they can hang till later in the game.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Joe,
I’ve said it a couple times here but geno hayes is playing the worst of all the linebackers this season. With Quincy coming in a very close second. Hayward should start against the saints next week and for the remainder of the seaons in hayes’s spot. Geno makes a play once every 5 games. Nearly every big run this season has comes to hayes side, because if the rb can just get past the de its an easy 8-10 yards a pop to that side. Hayes is easily pushed out of the way. At least quincy has a 50-50 shot to get off the block when engaged and a 50-50 shot to make the tackle. Hayward is intense and can get off blocks and he will hit you. He should of been starting last year in 1 of their spots. He may not be super athletic or talented like quincy or geno but he has 10x their consistency.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
@Mauha Deeb
“Seems like they come out timid, trying to size up the other team, and don’t realize they can hang till later in the game.”
and that’s the sign of a young team.
October 27th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Here is a “novel idea” on offense (in quotes bc its only been mentioned ad naseum previously on this website)….. WHERE IS THE NO HUDDLE, TEMPO OFFENSE???
Teams have been deffering the kickoff simply because they know they can get us off the field in a 3 and out on the opening drive. So if we’re gunna do that anyway, why not try the uptempo? The only thing we have to lose is just another 3 and out result and if it doesn’t work, at least we can say we tried that option and it didn’t work.
But if Freeman and the rest of the offense thrives in the 2 minute drill, wouldn’t it make sense to say in the locker room before the game, just like a practice scenario, “OK guys, we are down by 4pts and have 4 minutes to score. Go get me a touchdown number 5.”
I bet we would see some results…..
October 27th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
I’ve been saying for weeks, in many posts, that the offense needs to go 4 and 5 wide, pass their @ss off, and go hurry up. Freeman is at his best in those scenarios, and for whatever reason, the players around him respond in kind.
This notion Freeman is best off the play action, yada yada, is a bunch of crap. Most every qb is good off a play action, because you trick the defense into reading run.
Dear Raheem and Olsen, if it all starts with #5, then F@#*ing A, take the GD reigns off already. Dink and Dunk is so 2002.
October 27th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
I agree with Ian, the New Orleans game next week will show how good or bad this year’s Bucs really are. Raheem and his staff better pull out all the stops because Sean Payton and Drew Brees are going to be looking to smokecheck the Bucs after the debacle they had in Tampa two weeks ago.
October 27th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
We come out flat all the time.
When will we come out swinging? We come out sluggish on O all the time.
Then, our D gets gassed bc our O looks like a broken record.
Let’s go Bucs.
Was our 10 win season last year a fluke?
Will GMC prove that he can stay healthy?
Is Mike Williams going to be “Mike Williams” again?
How is Blounts knee?
Why is Greg Olsen using a tired and broken down scheme?
Cam Newton is having no problems on Offense, what gives?
October 27th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Quincy Black’s pay day should of went to Sproles.
October 27th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
I have to agree with Joe with regards to the Bears game. Once we lost Graham and Lorig we were done.
I truly believe if that didnt happen we would have won that game. Ernest was running VERY well and getting some really good yards against that Bear D.
GO BUCS!!
October 27th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Im still salty about the Bears game but losing your starting RB and FB in the 1st quarter changed the entire complexion of the offense. Lumpkin is worse than Blount at pass protection and you saw Freeman repeatedly yell at him for missing assignments. I also dont buy the limited reps excuse for Lumpkin since he has gotten playing time through out the season on 3rd downs.
This team is still in a great position to make a playoff run, Raheem has to look at the the 1st half of the season as an extended training camp and be thankful we are 4-3. Put Freeman into high percentage plays early in the game to get a rhythm and lean on the running game even if early on it results in a few 3 and outs.
That big son of a gun Blount should go into the 4th quarter with 15 to 20 touches and leave the opponents defense worn out. When we have a lead, our front seven has shown they can apply pressure and if we are behind we have a QB that knows how to make plays in the clutch.
It’s up to the coaching staff to now put them in a position to utilize the teams strengths and succeed.
October 27th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
I’ve been wondering if Hayward could be the leader that’s supposed to step up from the front 7. I can see it if he gets more play.
October 27th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
“Cam Newton is having no problems on Offense, what gives?”
Exactly. He takes about 4-5 shots down the field every game – EVERY game.
Olsen is holding back with dink and dunk…bullsh!t. Open it up.
October 27th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Ian I totally agree with you. I am all fired up about the Saints game . Its all on the talble and if Olson and Raheem are good at what they do they will find a way to right Freemans ship, stop our pourous run defense and hold people accountable for silly penalties during the bye week. It sounds like a tall order but if Raheem stands pat it may be his undoing. I like Raheem but time for adjustments are now before the next game not constantly at half time. Here I am praying thats what they are thinking at One Buc Place and not their mantra of stay the course!!!!
October 27th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Llots of good suggestions on here; I agree with Ian’s takes as well. Something needs to change that is a fact. If this coaching staff can implement some changes and the team can then execute against the Saints and the rest of the season that is the million $ ?.
This team really seems to be energized by Blount, hope he is truly 100% for this game and if so Josh will hopefully have another big game against the Saints.
October 27th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
@bucfanjeff
Steve Smith does not play for the Bucs…
October 27th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Excellent points Ian. I agree with you that this team has some talent but the coach is jot putting these players in the most advantageous positions, especially in the first half.
All of these yungry and race to 10 cliches are cute but do nothing to prepare a football team for Sunday.
Going into that game with just Graham and Lumpkin is the responsibility of the head coach. For Lumpkin not being prepared to pick up blitzes, that goes on the coaching and Lumpkin. Bottom line: the playoffs are possible but the wild card picture looks bleak with losses to Detroit and Chicago. I think that they must beat New Orleans and Atlanta to be in good position.
October 27th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Blah blah blah. All this moaning about slow starts. It was just 11 days ago that we jumped out to a 20-7 lead on the Saints, then had to hold on as _they_ adjusted and came back.
The key issue with this team is execution. If Josh stops missing open receivers and the receivers stopping dropping balls they should catch, all of these problems go away. First half against the Bears would’ve looked very different if Williams hadn’t lost that ball on the goal line.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
Adam Hayward is my favorite Buc. He’s big, strong, fast, and not afraid to knock the crap out of you. He has the biggest calves of anyone on the defense, including Mount Okam. I’ve been tooting his horn since they drafted him with Quincy, but for some reason he never gets the breaks. Personally, I’d keep Foster at the Mike and put Hayward in Quincy’s place, because he is the epitome of missed tackles. And Geno needs to step it up as well. I hope when the Bucs draft a RB this coming draft they think about stud LB first. I really wanted them to draft Rolando McClain, but that wouldn’t happen, water under the bridge. Still I feel Quincy and Geno are good special teamers but it’s time for an upgrade just like they did with Ruud.
I still feel the Bucs main problems right now are with Freeman getting straight and Olson waking up.
October 27th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
My last point is that it is high time for the D Line to have a big game. No more excuses, just get in there slam Drew Brees. They pressured him well last game, but now they need to make him feel the pain.
October 28th, 2011 at 3:10 am
Haywood and Watson play hard. Black and Hayes hide. Those two don’t belong on an NFL team.
October 28th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Joe say, “Why? Because it’s fixable.”
Well we’re going on 3 seasons of this crap. I don’t know what Raheem is doing to “fix” anything, but I’d like to know how many games/seasons he needs to figure this out. At what point do we, the fans, say, “Enough is enough?” Personally, I was calling for it after the 3-13 season. I am REALLY starting to believe last season was an abnormality of over-achievement. The franchise’s direction seems to be, “Let’s draft a bunch of players… sign no free agents…. and HOPE we get better.”