Loss Was A Team Effort
November 14th, 2011
Sunday’s Bucs loss to the Texans was a game Team Glazer is probably grateful many in the Tampa Bay area couldn’t watch.
One local TV sports anchor suggested the game was over after the first play, a Texans touchdown. Well, that’s not quite accurate but pretty close.
There are a lot of fingers to point, so many targets one doesn’t have enough digits on his hands. Veteran St. Petersburg Times sports columnist Gary Shelton is of the mind the humiliating loss was a total team effort.
The team is slow, but it makes up for it by not playing smart. The only thing worse than the offense might be the defense. Who knows when it will win again?
You wonder: Did last year fool the front office, too? Did the team think it was better than it has turned out to be?
Joe strongly suggests clicking on the link above as it is one of Shelton’s better works: funny, smart and informative.
About the best thing Joe can say about yesterday’s ugly game is that the quicker it is forgotten, the better the Bucs can prepare for the world champs and Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:10 am
Indeed the whole team looks bad.
Stats of the day: ranked 30th in Net points, 30th in points against, and 24th in points for.
So the defense is worse than the offense(obviously) but not much.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:13 am
I think it is time to start seeing what we have in Ahmad Black, Anthony Gaitor, Larry Asante and others we are hiding on our practice squad. Can they be any worse right now than what we have starting? It is not like we are going to make the playoffs. Maybe these are some of the changes Raheeem spoke of yesterday after the game.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:14 am
We need to ‘forget’ the game every single week.
Right now I can’t even tell which of our players have any talent at all because of the poor team effort. The entire team is just stinking it up, and that belongs on the coaches shoulders. When every single player stinks, even players that had great years last year, there is a huge problem.
As they say, the fish rots from the head.
We aren’t changing coaches or coordinators mid season, but if there isn’t major improvement in the final games this season then the entire coaching staff (or vast majority anyway) need to look for new jobs in a different city, and I won’t cry if Dominik joins them.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:20 am
What a let down. Last season was exciting. This season was supposed to be more exciting than last. All feels just like the last four games of 08. GOOO YUCS!!!
November 14th, 2011 at 9:31 am
BThe experts warned us and we rebuttled out of homerism but now the truth is evident. No talent or production, no speed, no direction, and no leadership on the field. It’s as much my fault because I gave them bad expectations and now I’m crushed. Next year is year four and they should be realistic to use all means to improve the roster.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:36 am
raheem morris should have never been givin this job to begin with look at his record look at our team stats he made us one of the worst d in the nfl his record is a joke and almost all his wins came against losing teams on pure fluck comebacks must be nice where you can suck at your jib every single week and then come out and say ill fix it this week
November 14th, 2011 at 9:39 am
Yesterday was the worst loss, because for the first time, the team played without any real effort to win. You could see players taking off plays. Nobody running to the ball. WR stopping routes before the ball was throw. They looked generally dis- interested.
I think the problem is an old one. All season long, you’ve had players busting their ass to win. Yet you’ve had other players not even pretending to try. Raheem benches them for week, them they start again, and still loaf around the field. I think this has demoralized the team, and they have stopped listening to Raheem.
I hope he has a great friendship with Talib, Black, Hayes, and a few others. I hope it is a lasting, life long . I believe that friendship may well cost him his job.
I don’t think the record would get the Glazers to fire him. I believe the lack of discipline and effort will prove fatal to Raheem. Last year, this team played hard every game( except for Black and Hayes). This year, you can tell players are giving up on the team, the coaches, winning- the hole shooting match
It’s the “one bad Apple” thing, team wide.
At least Haynesworth played like he wants to be here
November 14th, 2011 at 9:40 am
Thanks for the props arch.
November 14th, 2011 at 9:52 am
I hear the hue and cry of once loyal fans for the head of Raheem Morris. Didn’t anyone take notice when the position coach was promoted to DC and within a few weeks without serving a day as DC, he was promoted to HC? When he was saddled with a dysfunctional coaching staff that was disbanded after a few weeks into the season, didn’t warning flags go up? Or maybe nobody was concerned with the quantum leadership dump of veteran players to be repaced by one rookie after another assembled is from UFAs and PS castoffs from other teams. Oh and I bet you approved of the ” no FA/build thru the draft” strategy that Morris singledhanded imposed on the team. And when Morrris openly called for re-signing Ruud and Cadillac, he should have been fired on the spot. Right? When the likes of Haynesworth can come in on 2 or 3 days notice and play at a high level, shouldn’t that raise an eyebrow or 2 about the strategy being used to construct this team which of course is all Morris’ fault? Look I don’t like losing either, but we want to kill a guy who has been asked to make bricks with out straw – a biblical analogy the Glazers should appreciate. Raheem Morris is over his head and he didn’t put himself there! But get real if you think an accomplished coach like Cowher or Fisher is going to come here and accept the terms and conditions that Morris has had to accept to even be employed. If you want to blame somebody for this team’s woes, you need to look further and deeper than Raheem Morris!
November 14th, 2011 at 10:03 am
if they play the remainder of thier schedule out the way they’ve played the last couple weeks then i can only see one or two sloppy wins left this year.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:10 am
Too many of our guys just not trying. Not going to another game until they start actually doing some work for their pay.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:11 am
would not be suprised if sean jones gets his release papers this week.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:18 am
@Macabee- Couldn’t agree with you more! The question is will the ownership take the necessary steps at the conclusion of the season to fix this disaster of their own creation. Stay tuned, because if they do not, it will be evidence of a complete lack of committment to winning to this fanbase and to the Tampa Bay community.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:38 am
The biggest issue I have is Josh Freeman. If there was one shining moment in the new regime it was the selection of a young QB to build around. He played a lot better than most expected (“bust in waiting” for example – sorry Joe).
However, the team has done a piss poor job of building the team around Josh. Now, its a big concern that his confidence and development is being hindered, and potentially ruined.
Many a good yound QB have been destroyed by bad organizations.
Huge concern, IMO, setting aside the 31st ranked defense Rah has been in charge of.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:38 am
The biggest issue I have is Josh Freeman. If there was one shining moment in the new regime it was the selection of a young QB to build around. He played a lot better than most expected (“bust in waiting” for example – sorry Joe).
However, the team has done a piss poor job of building the team around Josh. Now, its a big concern that his confidence and development is being hindered, and potentially ruined.
Many a good yound QB have been destroyed by bad organizations.
Huge concern, IMO, setting aside the 31st ranked defense Rah has been in charge of.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:39 am
macabee, macabee, macabee:
The benefit of having a legitimate coach like a Fisher or Cowher is that they have the respect and resume to force the owners to spend money to improve the team. When you have a Rah Rah Morris as a head coach that walk around with blinders on mumbling cliches expecting that alone to motivate men to perform. It doesn’t work. Both Fish and Cowher would have had this team playoff primed 2.5 years in.
I firmly believe that talent is not the problem here. That is not to say that we should avoid free agency and supplement are roster where it needs improvement LB, CB, WR etc (watching Albert and BP caused me to remove DT from my list). I believe that some roster improvements are necessary.
The talent here is not as bad as the performance at a minimum for the last month. We are getting blown out, and even though the team made it interesting in the end against the Bears and Saints, both opponents had big early leads and played conservative in the second half to burn clock.
This is the most horribly coached team I have ever seen. The measurables all tell the same story – score differential, penalties, poor starts, bad fundamentals – these are coaching issues.
They should identify and negotiate with a replacement Head Coach right now. I know they won’t bc rah is so cheap – they are paying Rah babout 30% of what most headcoaches make (and that is overpayment) and if you include that they are not paying a d coordinator (they are paying him about 20% of what most teams pay for both positions.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:39 am
Not sure why that doubled up, sorry.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Eric you make a good point about the poor coaching potentially hindering Freeman. I think you can extend that to most of our young players. It was a mistake to take a young, inexperienced team and give it young, inexperienced coaches after purging most of the veteran players.
November 14th, 2011 at 10:58 am
The team has no accountability, no leadership, and no discipline. Pile that on with a team that is young, slow, and soft. I am suprised they have won 4 games. They are so screwed up that no one can tell you if they are a running team, a passing team, zone defense, man defense. There is NO identity on either side of the ball.
Being a head coach in the NFL is more then Rah can handle. He wants to be buddies instead of their coach, leader. Olson has no idea how to call a game, or adjust. He gives up before the players do. This staff has got to go. And so called Mr. Rockstar GM aint even a pop star. Look at his drafts, they either get hurt or are flash in the pan 1 year wonders. Anyone having Michael Clayton flashbacks!
Stop force feeding us the same BS, just admit it. You are not that good.
Go Bucs!
November 14th, 2011 at 11:03 am
I’ve been a Morris supporter, but lack of effort falls directly on coaching and that is what we’re looking at. The talent on this team is the same players who beat both the Saints and Falcons earlier this year. Look at the effort you see out of the Panther’s week in and week out. They haven’t been able to win because they’re missing a few key players, but they bust their A$$’s for 60 minutes each week. Morris has not been able to reel these guys back in and he’s definately not been able to motivate them. It’s too bad because besides outside linebacker; there really is some talent on both sides of the ball.
November 14th, 2011 at 11:06 am
The game was an embarrassment. It was a terrible effort from the first snap to the last desperate attempt to get off the field.
First we were disappointed, then angry and finally were just laughing at the pitiful showing the Bucs gave yesterday.
Nowhere to go but up but they’ll be doing it with an entirely different coaching staff next year unless the players and coaches start looking and playing like they give a damn what the fans think.
You want sellouts? How about giving the fans a reason to come back?
I, we, stayed until the end of the game just flabbergasted and and shocked at the total fallout. And then the hundred or so left at the final whistle went away thinking…………….sad.
November 14th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
@Thomas,
My only issue with you from the off-season was you never gave them a chance. Most of us allowed them to prove us wrong. I’ve never knocked your opinion because unlike some Bucs fans I see it from both sides. I admit I had more faith in Raheem because he brought a different vibe, creative schemes on defense last year, and I also bought what they said. I was excited and I told all my friends and family to watch out for my Bucs. Well, 10 weeks into the season I saw what I saw against the Pats in the pre-season, the Lions, the Falcons, the Saints, the 49ers, you get the point. Every week, penalties, poor offensive play calling (based on the team makeup), and no preparation.
For example, I look at the game and eval the team on its familiarity with formations showing film study. I look for cohesiveness, the DB’s pulling together, LB’s encouraging one another, and more fire from the D-Line after all of the rave reviews from Millard camp and I saw nothing outside of Clayborn. Scary thing is McCoy is not getting better and not a physical player. The speed and atheleticism is there but no one is graded on workouts and appearance. I would have a tough veteran that is productive rather than a high draft pick that speaks as if he has arrived.
One more thing, Thomas, my biggest issue with Raheem is he is taking all of the blame and he’s had success early but now his one-liners are growing old. I don’t expect anyone to be unprofessional but I don’t wanna think Raheem is friends with Talib, Black, and others. I have a problem with him having drinks with Ruud because when everything is good it’s easy to stay in your lane but when trials from the season comes how can you discipline? Like having kids, how can you discipline your kids and be their friends and give them everything that they ask for. I know Freeman played good last year but he needs to takes some time to get more consistency on his throwing form. We need him to be great and take his time to work on the details of his game. Watching Brees and Brady’s accuracy and calmness in the pocket is so amazing. I think he has the IT but needs to get the fundamentals down.
I still support my Bucs but I am not sure if this front office can deliver at this rate.
November 14th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Thomas, Thomas, Thomas
How nice to hear from you my friend! Let reasonable men agree! you hypothesize that If Rah had the resume of Cowher or Fisher, he would have gotten the Glazers to spend money. If that were true, wouldn’t it impugn the value of the decision by the Glazers to hire Morris at the record breaking salary of 900k? Would you stipulate that it may have been malice of forethought on their part as you so eloquently point out in your last paragraph.
On the matter of talent, you can’t have two bites of the apple – you can’t demean McCoy, Black, Hayes, and Talib for most of the year and conveniently decide we have no talent problem now.
In paragraph 3, you doth protest too much – when you imply championship teams like the Falcons and Saints laid down for us, No! They were beaten.
It should be obvious to the casual observer that the reason this a horribly coached team is that Raheem named himself coach, made himself DC to save money, imposed the no FA rule, drafted McCoy in the 1st round, got rid of Cadillac and Ruud, signed Black to a 29mil contract, selected 1 kicker from 490 available FAs, and worst of all could not get the Glazers to spend money.
You finally get to the real truth in your final paragraph, which needs no retort but that I fully agree!
November 14th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
It’s hard to disagree with any of the points above but what’s not known are the constraints the Glazers may have placed on the GM and HC. This may simply be the best low-budget team an inexperienced GM and HC can field. Sure they can and have played better but adrenaline and emotion can only take them so far. Eventually they are what they are. 55 often says “film don’t lie” and it’s hard to argue. The team needs to pick itself up, dust itself off, acknowledge that it’s still rebuilding and get to work. Some of these guys won’t be here next year so they better start putting something good on film or they’ll be on the couch with the rest of us.