Probing Mike Sullivan
September 11th, 2012
Bucs fans remember Chucky tapping his deep knowledge of the Raiders playbook and personnel and drilling the Bucs defense before the Bucs’ Super Bowl conquest, even quarterbacking the scout team himself to mimic Rich Gannon and prepare the Bucs for glory.
Can Mike Sullivan do the same this week?
Sullivan spent many years in the Giants organization and was Eli Manning’s prized quarterback coach last season. The Giants haven’t changed much — and why would they — and Sullivan should be a wealth of knowledge.
This is not lost on the leader of the New Schiano Order, who sat down for 10+ minutes today on The Blitz, hosted by Gannon and Adam Schein on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Adam Schein: Is this a unique spot for you where you talk to your offensive coordinator first and foremost about maybe how to go after Eli Manning because of his intimate knowledge of Eli?
Greg Schiano: Well, I can’t lie. We’ve had several discussions. You know, you’d be a fool to do anything but. There’s nothing but the utmost respect. Mike Sullivan, our offensive coordinator, just thinks the world of Eli and really the entire Giants organization. We know exactly what we’re up against. And that doesn’t mean we can do anything about it. Right? That’s our job. We gotta go out and play and coach. The flip side of that is they have a knowledge of Mike. And Mike’s calling the plays for us. So it’ll be interesting. There’ll be some subplots going on Sunday that are, you know, not in every game.
Joe hopes Sullivan can deliver that edge to the Bucs’ defense that tips the scales. Regardless, Sullivan’s biggest challenge remains in his playcalling duties. There’s little doubt the Bucs will need more than 16 points to bring home a W this weekend.
September 11th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
I’m just glad that the Glazers finally went out and got some experienced coaches.
September 11th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
I’m sure there was little doubt that we needed more than 16 points last weekend too…and look how that turned out.
September 11th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@bucfanjeff – Last week wasn’t the Super Bowl champs in their house.
September 11th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
@kennedy no it was the team that racked almost a 100 points and ran wild on us last year. I hope free stays clean and we can expose the giants secondary. Gooo bucs!!!
September 11th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Why no mention of the game management in the 4th quarter? The bucs forced the panthers to punt with roughly six minutes to play up 16-7. The bucs ran the ball on the first down and then called two pass plays in a row. In a two possession game and six minutes to play it should be three run plays in a row zero questions asked. They were conservative the entire half. Why not be conservative when it does actually make sense. The defense won the game sunday which I am sure surprises more than just myself. Go Bucs. One week at a time.
September 11th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Bucky makes some solid points there. Just sayin
September 11th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Well Bucky…its the deifference between playing not to lose and trying to win. Six muinutes is WAAAAYYYY too much time to just try and run theh clock out. you have to keep possession. Now, if there was 3 minutes, then you would have a point
September 11th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
I for one wasn’t surprised by the defensive improvement. I even wrote about it quite a bit when I predicted the Bucs would win vs Carolina and go 9-7 on the season.
As for familiarity, Schiano’s concern about the Giants knowing Sullivan is unfounded, Sullivan never called plays for the Giants so his tendencies and playcalling style are still a mystery.
One other resource that is being entirely overlooked, is Bill Sheridan, the man was with the Giants staff for a little while and was the Giants DC for a year before being relieved of his duties. That wasn’t very long ago and I’m sure he can relied upon to give his take of what the Giants will do on that side of the ball. Afterall, he was more or less just the fall guy when he got fired, Coughlin is running his schemes the way he wants them run, the DCs in NY simply call the plays.
September 11th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
It was a 2 possession game or 9 points at this time in the game with 6 minutes left so running the ball and clock was the correct move and I agree with Bucky. I didnt like the pass on second down as it did stop the clock, which was bad at that point. Free needs to make sure he gets it all the way to 1 sec on the play clock before hiking too, which happened once during this time frame but its the first game.
All in all it was a great game minus the shower right before the half…
Damn! my toes are off the line. 😉 BK
September 11th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Only one game into the season, but Bucs are first in the division…regardless of what PFT claims.
September 11th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
bucky is flat wrong, as is those who are crying about them throwing the ball @ the goal line. my point is sully is NOT doing EXACTLY what the opponents expect. I AM VERY HAPPY we finally have a playcaller that understands how to keep the opponent guessing even if it means we not get one touchdown….the net, net is a W!
September 11th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Bow that we have seen one real game played, I’m laying out my predictions.
Bucs vs Panthers (Bucs Win; Blackout)
Bucs @New York Giants (Bucs lose)
Bucs @Dallas Cowgirls (Bucs lose)
Bucs vs Washington Redskins (Bucs win)
Bucs vs Kansas City (Bucs Win; Blackout)
Bucs vs Saints (Bucs Win; NOT BLACKED OUT)
Bucs @ Minnesota Vikings (Bucs Win)
Bucs @ Oakland Raiders (Bucs Win)
Bucs vs San Diego Chargers (Bucs Lose; NOT BLACKED OUT)
Bucs @ Carlina Panthers (Bucs Win)
Bucs vs Atlanta Falcons (Bucs lose; NOT BLACKED OUT)
Bucs @ Denver Broncos (Bucs Lose)
Bucs vs Philadelphia Eagles (Bucs Win; NOT BLACKED OUT)
Bucs @ Saints (Bucs Win)
Bucs vs Rams (Bucs Win; Blackout)
Bucs @ Atlanta Falcons (Bucs Win)
The last game will be a win because the Falcons may not play their starters…or if we are both fighting for a playoff spot, we’re good enough to beat them.
Losses in games 1-2 will cause a blackout in week 4. It will take a string of wins to sellout, but once we get them, we’ll sell out most games.
September 11th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Bow = Now
September 11th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I say the Bucs have a good chance to win on Sunday vs the Giants. I, much like Pete, am simply going by my gut. No scientific proof to back up my thoughts.
September 11th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Then again, I always think the Bucs are going to win before the game. Call me a homer or koolade drinker, or even part of the amen chorus. If I assumed the Bucs were going to lose on any given Sunday, I woul have a bad day until they proved me wrong…but if assume they will win, my day is god until they prove me wrong.
September 11th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
Hopefully the Giants Cb’s stayed hurt and out for this game coming up. I know when they played the Cowboys they had 3rd string CB’s in. Hopefully we can get some deep plays from Freeman and Jackson!! Go Bucs
September 11th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Bucky in my opinion (not obviously, flat out or any of those other derisive a-hole terms people post here like to say) has a good point. Up 2 scores with 6 mins. in 4th you need to take more time off the clock than they did. I believe it was bad time management and this staff will take a look at it and see it for themselves. This type of team is going to play a lot of close games and a mistakes like this could make a potentially good season to a bad one.
September 11th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Dutcher:
Here was my attempt I did a couple of days BEFORE the Panthers game. After week 1, I’m really liking my predictions.
Two seasons ago I went game by game for the Bucs and came up with a 10-6 record…. I was dead on. I did the same thing for the Bucs last season, and after 6 games, I had us at our record of 4-2. Of course I had us going 11-5, and the team dropped their last 10. So for 22 games, I had correctly predicted the Bucs having a 14-8 record… and then the wheels fell off and I could no longer beat my chest.
Predicting game-by-game with a new coach, new coordinators…. new everything would be pretty hard to do… so why not take a shot?
Week 1 vs Panthers-Bucs start fast and throw Panthers for a loop with a new and improved defense. They aren’t stifling, but they are effective, Bucs win 20-16
Week 2 at Giants-Giants play on a totally different level than the Bucs AND they have an extra 4 days to prepare (not fair at all). Sullivan and Sheridan know more about Giants tendencies than Giants know about ours… but it isn’t nearly enough as Bucs fall 27-17
Week 3 at Cowboys-As much as I’d like to see America’s team get punched in the mouth, not this week, too many options on O, Ware makes life difficult for Freeman and co. Media starts talking about how the Bucs are who they thought they were, a 1-2 team. Bucs fall 30-13
Week 4 vs Redskins-Redskins vastly improved, but rookie QB and patchwork running game not enough against swarming Bucs D. Bucs win at home again, 24-10
Going into bye Bucs stand 2-2… doubters persist, stating they haven’t beaten anybody…
Week 6 vs Chiefs-Chiefs too inconsistent on both sides of ball as Bucs pressure Cassel into mistakes. Two headed monster of Blount and Martin really gets rolling as Bucs prevail 34-14
Week 7 vs Saints-Battle against hated Saints. Saints have been up and down, this week down against the upstart Bucs who seem to be finally getting comfortable in new schemes as they jump into the division lead with a 24-23 victory.
Week 8 at Vikings-Bucs roll into Minnesota with a 2 game lead but Vikes aren’t much improved from last season’s disaster. Bucs take another one in Minnesota, 27-17 and move to 5-2
Week 9 at Raiders-Bucs travel across the US to face a very beatable Raiders team. Though I don’t think a Schiano team is as prone to West Coast failures as previous Bucs teams, Bucs still drop a game they feel they should have won, 20-16.
Week 10 vs Chargers-Back home the Bucs critics continue the echo after dropping an offensive explosion by both teams, they still haven’t beaten anybody! Chargers outlast Bucs 34-31
Week 11 at Panthers-Rematch of week 1, Panthers have tape to watch and aren’t unprepared this time. Bucs drop 3rd straight and critics say Bucs are collapsing. Panthers win 31-17
Week 12 vs Falcons-After the ugly loss in Carolina, Bucs answer the critics and doubters and go out and manhandle the Falcons, team moves to 6-5 as Bucs trounce dirty birds 27-10.
Week 13 at Broncos-Broncos and Manning trying to put away West early and are motivated to play their best. Broncos prove too much as Bucs fall 37-23.
Week 14 vs Eagles-Eagles lead Bucs in pursuit of Wild Card. Vick’s been up and down throughout the year and the calls for the rookie QB are heard over the Philly airwaves. Bucs pressure Eagles early and often and run the ball well and prevail 26-20.
Week 15 at Saints-Saints seek redemption and revenge and hold nothing back in New Orleans. Bucs make a game of it late, but the Saints firepower in full display. Bucs lose 37-31.
Week 16 vs Rams-Jeff Fisher quickly realizes the Rams job wasn’t nearly as attractive as the Tampa job. Bucs prove too much on both sides of ball and move to 8-7.
Week 17 at Falcons-Both teams on the playoff bubble. Falcons season doomed by a terrible offensive line, no depth at RB and an aging defense, Bucs on the upswing and take it to the Falcons in Atlanta, pulling off the 27-20 victory.
Final Bucs record, 9-7…
September 11th, 2012 at 7:42 pm
So far, I predicted a Bucs 20-16 win and instead we won 16-10… I’m still thinking we should have pounded it in from the 1 on 3rd down instead of tht stupid pass call… if that goes… we win 20-10… regardless. Solid prediction in both areas and solid all-around as far as predicting defensive revival.
September 11th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
@ robert. I will take a freeman QB sneak from the 1/2 yard line 10 times out of 10 over a play action pass.
September 11th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
@Brandon…That was entertaining, thanks. I also hope you are right on the numbers. Maybe we beat NO twice though, that would be cool.
September 11th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
99 percent of the time up 9 with the ball 6 min and change left on the clock.Team’s will run into 8 or 9 men in the box on 1st and 2nd down.Then have to decide run and punt or pass on an unsuspecting d to kill another couple minutes.I seen enough of the predictable call last year.I don’t mind if they mix it up.Plus was’nt it a 3rd down pass they converted late to ice it.I’m not ready to run punt and hold on defence late yet.The defence played to well to dump all that pressure on them.You can only hold Cam down so long
September 11th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Brandon
Pretty close to mine. I predicted 10-6 before the Panthers game, so ours is a little different.
I think the Falcons will clinch earlier and so they will not play as many starters in the last game, and we’ll beat them, securing a Wildcard.
September 11th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
McBuc Says:
September 11th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Then again, I always think the Bucs are going to win before the game. Call me a homer or koolade drinker, or even part of the amen chorus. If I assumed the Bucs were going to lose on any given Sunday, I woul have a bad day until they proved me wrong…but if assume they will win, my day is god until they prove me wrong.
.
I like your attitude!
September 11th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
Last week I said the Bucs would win because they had the edge in the kicking game with Barth. This week I think the Bucs lose a close one. I don’t think we are quite ready for what the Giants do defensively. I think Freeman will be off of his game with the pressure coming. I also think Eli will be off of his game so I don’t see a high scoring game. If we win the battle of the turnovers I see us having a chance. The only real advantage I see for the Giants is they are playing at home. I say Giants by 4 but I sure hope I’m wrong.