Stretch Run Important
November 18th, 2011
The thumping of the war drums is getting louder from a circle of fans, and it’s not the drum circle on the beach on Sunday afternoons at Treasure Island.
The drums are for a new coach.
There is a sect of Bucs fans that never accepted Raheem Morris from Day 1. Their yelps are growing louder with the Bucs seemingly free falling.
Now let Joe be crystal clear: He is not advocating a change in leadership. In fact, barring a complete meltdown, Joe doesn’t see Team Glazer making a change.
But like a Bucs win cannot be predicted at Lambeau Field Sunday, nor can Joe predict what Team Glazer is doing in the background, or what their mindset is. But eye-RAH! Kaufman is of the mind that how the team hustles will determine Morris’ job security.
The Glazers have not proven to be impulsive owners when it comes to making a change at the top. Tony Dungy lasted six years, Jon Gruden walked the Buc sidelines for seven seasons, and Morris is only one year removed from a 10-6 finish.
But when it comes to lack of effort, head coaches are vulnerable. You could argue some Bucs quit on Morris in the Houston game, and you can be sure the Glazers will be watching very carefully the rest of the way to gauge how hard the Bucs are playing.
Toward the end of his 3-13 first season, Morris could point with pride that the Bucs kept playing hard in December. Sunday’s debacle against the Texans might be an indication that his message is no longer getting through to the league’s youngest club.
A lot of this talk of Morris’ job security will vanish if the Bucs pull off the improbable and beat the Pack. As Joe pointed out earlier this week: At some point, it stands to reason the Packers will lose a game. The Bucs are on a losing streak. No one believes the Bucs won’t win another game. The Packers breezed through Minnesota Monday and on are on a short week and likely looking past the Bucs to Detroit on Thanksgiving.
In the immortal words of Joaquin Andujar, “Youneverknow.”
November 18th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
It’s not just the way we have lost, it’s also the way we have won. We looked terrible in wins against the Colts and Vikings. For three years we were force fed garbage about how hard these kids were ready to play for this coach. now we see guys just jogging downfield not making tackles. He is just not a good coach, and the story earlier today that he would refuse to step down as DC just shows what a clown he really is.
November 18th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
of course the stretch run is important…so is the start.
I have not seen a meaningful drive…and lords knows they can not start without converting 3 downs……so lets start with CONVERTING 3rd DOWNS ! and go from there…
this has proved to be nothing more than a BAD team from top to bottom…..there is a dumpster at the end of the stretch
November 18th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Everyone is jumping off the bandwagon now
No one gives us a chance to beat Green Bay because “no one can beat Green Bay”.
I’m going to go against the grain…I’m predicting a win for the Bucs THIS WEEK
Laugh all you want, but there it is.
@Joe
I just noticed a spell checking system built into the comment window…is this new???
November 18th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Oops…using Firefox…I don’t use it much, maybe it’s built into the browser.
November 18th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Green Bay has a bad pass D and no run game. Maybe, just maybe, 2010 5, 19 and 82 will show up for a game.
November 18th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
“Now let Joe be crystal clear: He is not advocating a change in leadership. ”
Of course not , you never advocate anything smart…
November 18th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
The more I think about it, the more upset I am at the players if they truly “quit”. I don’t blame them for quitting with 5 minutes left in the 4th and we are down 28 points, but people are saying they quit long before that. I’m not sure I saw a team quit last week. I just saw a team that was unprepared, poorly coached on offense, lacking talent on defense, and couldn’t tackle or catch worth a damn.
November 18th, 2011 at 9:06 pm
I like Raheem and would really like to see him succeed but this last game really made me question what is going on with this team. I can not understand the seemingly low intensity level and quit that this team showed. The keystone cops defense is maddening and I am losing patience with these guys. I hope they turn it around against the Packers but I am definitely alarmed by the way this team has looked.
November 18th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
I predict the Bucs go 2-5 in their final 7 games, and one of those wins will definitely NOT be against the Packers.
November 18th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
flboy, im thinking the same thing.
November 18th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
I like Raheem too, as a person.
But if it is not the coaching, what can the problem be ?
Tampa has talent, we have beaten good teams, then suddenly we collapse, then quit.
Sorry, but a Fish stinks, from the head down.
The defense is the biggest problem, we get so far behind so fast, we have to abandon the run.
And WHO coaches the defense …….
November 19th, 2011 at 12:29 am
I think the focus needs to be on the offensive side of the ball. This is where the majority of the veterans are and should be caring this team. New England’s defense sucks but they are able to overcome alot with their offense who seems to throw and complete passes to slow tight ends all day. Im not saying we are close to the level of new england and there is no excuse for our D looking as bad as it has but if I’m Raheem I’m looking at Olson and telling him to get his sh*t together. There are zero excuses for him to not create an effective game plan with tha offense. If our O struggles this week I fire hs arse before they hit the locker room. On a side note.. Whatever happened to Stocker? His he out for the year?
November 19th, 2011 at 12:30 am
*** carrying not caring**** see above
November 19th, 2011 at 5:48 am
I will guarantee you this: if the offense starts playing better and, you know, actually scores some points in the first half, this defense will look a helluva lot better. That is the reality with a defense that isn’t very good. If they are playing with a lead, they will play better. If they can get some rest in between series, they will play better. Obviously, they are not very good on defense. If they are on the field a lot (as they have been all season), they will be downright awful (which they have been). We haven’t scored an offensive TD all season! That is ridiculous. There is no excuse for that. They’ve even had a few occasions where the defense forced a turnover, but we still couldn’t punch it in. I’m thinking just by odds, that’s going to change against GB. I mean seriously, it can’t continue, can it?
November 19th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
When can we officially start the Replace Raheem countdown clock?