Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
October 28th, 2013
So Team Glazer decided (for now) to keep Bucs commander Greg Schiano in office, per reports from Jay Glazer of FOX Sports. Many Bucs fans are upset and alarmed. Not Joe.
Joe always looks at patterns and trends and history. Team Glazer has never launched a coach with regular season games still to be played. Never. Not Sam Wyche, not Father Dungy, not Chucky.
Never.
So why all of a sudden would Team Glazer break from history? IF anything, with the Bucs spiraling out of control, you don’t want to fix things until January.
Joe has long pimped keeping Schiano through the end of the year. There is not a logical reason to run Schiano right now (emotional reasons, yes; not logical). Of course, the Bucs are still searching for their first win of 2013. So what will two or three meaningless wins potentially with an interim coach do for the franchise? It can only hurt the franchise.
Right now it’s all about getting a good draft pick to land a stud offensive tackle while trading back into the first round to get a quarterback (Joe’s desire), or to land a quarterback with a top-three pick.
In the NFL, if you don’t have a quarterback, you have no shot. With apologies to Dave the TV producer and his comrades with the Mike Glennon Mob, Glennon has shown Joe little if anything that he can be that stud franchise quarterback. Hell, even Josh Freeman showed glimpses of stardom when he rallied the Bucs to beat the playoff-bound Packers in his first start. Glennon looks every bit the part of a back-up, third-round draft pick.
So, no, Joe is not shocked Team Glazer has reportedly given (at least a temporary) Schiano a vote of confidence. Only people who do not follow the Bucs closely would suggest otherwise.
Prepping For Seattle: Joe really isn’t sure how Schiano has kept the locker room. With Seattle on deck, he must really be pushing a heck of a sales job to get the Bucs to believe they can waltz into Whatever-the-Hell-They-Call-That-Stadium in Seattle where it will be cold, likely drizzling, and playing before a raucous crowd.
How exactly is Schiano going to pull a wool over his players’ eyes? They will get to Russell Wilson? They will run the ball down Seattle’s throats? They will shame Richard Sherman?
Yes, stranger things have happened. Not much stranger than believing the Bucs can go to Seattle with virtually no offense and spank the Seahawks.
Playing hard: Glazer’s report came out hours after a story typed by Tampa Tribune Bucs beat guy Woody Cummings, a take that one reason Schiano is still with the Bucs is because he has yet to lose the locker room.
That’s a fair point. Losing the locker room means players have tuned out the coaches. They are freelancing or have thrown in the towel. There isn’t much evidence of that.
Joe remembers when the Bucs hosted Dallass on an NFL Network Thursday night game in Raheem Morris’ waning weeks as Bucs coach, and promptly got blown out. NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said after the game, “Folks, I’ve seen quit before. And this team [Bucs] has quit.”
Well, if the team hasn’t quit, and many suggest the Bucs have talent, that means the coaching staff as a whole has done a miserable job with the team. Joe doesn’t think anyone would disagree.
Offensive line: Two reasons Joe has been banging the drum for Texas A&M tackle Jake Matthews is that the Bucs’ offensive line flat out stinks. It really needs an infusion of new blood and someone that can anchor that line for years to come. Without blocking, your offense can’t do a damned thing. With blocking, your offense opens up tremendously.
The second reason Joe likes Matthews, aside from the fact he is one of the best offensive linemen in the country, is his bloodlines. His father is Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews. His cousin in Clay Matthews, wild linebacker with the Packers.
Changes?: Last week, Schiano said he plans on using the long weekend to see what the Bucs are doing wrong and trying to cut that out of the playbook. He’s got a lot to choose from.
It is interesting Schiano is talking about changes with the wolves at his door. Too little; too late.
NFL
Lions: On the back of Calvin Johnson and a sweet heads-up play by Matt Stafford, Detroit did in Dallass. Joe loved it and it shows what you can do with a good quarterback. The Lions are for real.
49ers: Just imagine you play for San Francisco, and you had to travel halfway around the globe just to slap around the hapless Jags? Not sure anyone has noticed, but Colin Kaepernick’s passing numbers are really pedestrian this season.
Chiefs: The Browns gave the Chiefs a scare in the second half, but the Chiefs keep on winning. That shows what quality drafting will do for you. While Scott Pioli flamed out because he was a reported raving lunatic of a dictator and couldn’t pick a coach, the man was really, really solid with the draft.
Saints: New Orleans just keeps on winning. Joe’s pretty sure, barring a collapse, they win the NFC South.
Patriots: Boston teams truly are the devil. Tom Brady gets his hand injured and TV cameras catch how swollen it is, but Bill Belicheat and Brady claim his hand is “perfect.” Joe’s going to guess Brady would be fined $20,000 if he told a reporter he has a dirty fingernail, despite video evidence.
Giants: Joe has been asking where are all these NFL sophists that bragged – after just one half of football in the opening week – that Chip Kelly has revolutionized NFL offenses. Welp. His Beagles had a grand total of one touchdown yesterday losing to the Giants. The Beagles now have scored a grand total of 10 points the past two games. Pppfffttt. The Bucs can do that with a backup quarterback, backup running back and Schiano controlling the offense. The Giants, meanwhile, are getting better, which is what good coaching can do for a team.
Bengals: Cincinnati keeps on winning and much-maligned Andy Dalton will take the Bengals to the playoffs for the third time in as many years. Mock Dalton if you will, but this is what you call getting the job done.
Raiders: Sleazy Terrelle Pryor runs for a 93-yard touchdown run and the Raiders beat the Steelers in a battle of 1970s heavyweights. Are the Raiders starting to improve or is Joe just hallucinating?
Cardinals: They beat the reeling Dixie Chicks and are still in the hunt for a wild card. Bruce Arians is doing a helluva job since his quarterback is washed up Carson Palmer. And the Desert Rats picked off Matty Ice four times. Wow.
Broncos: America’s favorite regular season quarterback did a number on the Redskins and RGIII who injured his knee again. Joe has the feeling this is going to be nagging Griffin all his career.
Packers: Aaron Rodgers is a freaking surgeon. The guy is so accurate it isn’t funny. He threw two passes last night that buzzed within inches of a defender’s earhole, one of those passes was a touchdown. Both passes, the Vikings had excellent coverage on the play. Sometimes, a quarterback is so good, you simply cannot defend him and can only hope he can be sacked or rushed out of bounds. That was Rodgers last night, who was 10-for-10 on third down passes.
Non NFL thoughts:
Joe starts with a couple of inside baseball/media things.
1. Joe got to meet WFLA-TV Channel 8 meteorologist Leigh Spann and her husband, Dave the TV Producer, at the North Carolina State-Florida State tailgate Saturday. Joe is not going to provide Dave’s full name as he is the Don of the Mike Glennon Mob. No sense in unleashing the Freemanites on him. That would be rude.
When rumors began circling that Josh Freeman might be benched, Dave was begging for Bucs coach Greg Schiano to start Glennon.
Dave is a North Carolina State alum, which is, of course ,where Glennon played. Dave is an acquaintance of Glennon’s family, and knows Mike just a little. Hence, why he is the Don of the Mike Glennon Mob. Both Leigh and Dave are hardcore college football fans and they are on the road virtually every weekend of the football season watching their respective alma maters. Really cool people, Dave and Leigh are. Joe had a fun time visiting with them.
2. The Tampa Bay area is losing a good guy. WFTS-TV, Channel 28 sports anchor and sometimes news anchor Andrew Luria broadcast his final newscast in the area last night. “Drew” is headed for a news anchor gig in San Diego.
There may not be a nicer guy than Drew that covers the Bucs. The guy was passionate about his job and it showed in his work. It’s a big step up in his career so Joe wishes Drew the best of luck. Now he will have to navigate those weird 10 a.m. kickoffs of his beloved Redskins.
3. Joe caught some flack for typing this on Twitter Saturday, but he doesn’t care. Saturday was the second time Joe has seen Jameis Winston in person and Joe has seen leaky former Bucs franchise quarterback Josh Freeman countless times. Joe is emphatic that Winston, as a freshman in college, is more polished than Freeman is as a fifth-year pro. Of course, Winston is facing college defenses, not NFL defenses. But Freeman would give his left (youknowhat) to be as accurate as Winston, and Joe has yet to see Winston lose his cool in traffic. He makes spot-on throws downfield when he knows he is going to be blasted. Shoot, with Freeman, if a defensive tackle passed gas, he got rattled and threw the ball out of bounds.
4. Johnny Football just toys with people. With a bum throwing shoulder he fries Vanderbilt Saturday. Today, Johnny Football is your best quarterback in college. Dude has better numbers than he did last year and has to compensate for a totally garbage defense. Joe also must tip his cap to the Vanderbilt cheerleader who was trying to lure Johnny Football into a drunken trap, inviting him to a pool party.
5. People talk about Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M’s coach, as a potential NFL candidate. Candidate for what? Joe has nothing against Sumlin, but what has he done to suggest he is ready to be an NFL coach? Greg Schiano has done more.
Sumlin took over a program with a future Heisman Trophy winner dropped in his lap, a guy he tried to run off the football program, mind you. Sumlin turned around the Aggies last year, granted, with players recruited by Mike Sherman. If Sumlin was such a great coach, how is it his defense is a gutless sieve, one of the worst in the nation? Sumlin may one day be one of better coaches in the nation. Some day. But he’s got to have a little more on his resume than developing gimmick offenses that do well in Conference USA.
6. If Joe had to guess, it will be Florida State vs. UCF in the Orange Bowl. Yick. If there is one bowl that was totally killed off by the BCS, it was the Orange Bowl. Year after year that used to be one of the best bowl games. When is the last time the Orange Bowl was worth watching, when Florida State played Penn State? That was, what, eight years ago?
7. So it looks like Missouri is fraudulent, right? Right? Choked away a game vs. South Carolina. Scratch off Missouri.
8. Speaking of resume updating, Bo Pelini better be looking for a good real estate agent. Here this guy is supposed to be a defensive guru and his defenses are getting torched. By Big Ten offenses, no less. The latest was getting slapped around by Minnesota. Minnesota! How far has the mighty Cornhuskers program fallen when they are getting lit up by the Gophers? Man.
9. The BCS usually lets in one team from one of the non-automatic qualifying conferences (Joe isn’t sure the AAC qualifies). So who do they pick? Northern Illinois, UCF or Fresno State?
10. Has any of Joe’s loyal readers done any homework on Jimmy Garoppolo yet? If not, why not? He may be a name you should become familiar with.
11. Joe is too depressed to drop a baseball item here, other than Kolton Wong is on Joe’s s(p)itlist.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:21 am
You’re too focused on the draft if you keep wanting us to lose out. Weak dude…No fan should hope for an 0-16 season..Weak…
October 28th, 2013 at 7:21 am
I’m not “upset”. I’m pissed. Really, really pissed.
And that includes pissed off at you, Joe, for pimping for Schiano.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:26 am
If we have an 0-16 season, then LA/London talks gets a lot of weight behind it, not to mention having the mark of 2 winless seasons…
October 28th, 2013 at 7:30 am
In fact, I’m done here until Schiano is gone. I’ll participate in this thread but as soon as I’m done with this thread I’m boycotting this site for as long as Schiano is still coaching the Bucs.
Yes, its just one person’s clicks. I know the Joes don’t give a crap if one person leaves, but I’ve just had it with the calls to tank. Its stealing from me. I work hard for my money. I’m not rich. I don’t get press passes and access like the Joes.
To hell with this site. Its been my favorite for years, but this has gone too far.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:37 am
Some of you are so serious.
The Glazers just like having franchise and league records set under their watch.
If they keep Schiano around until November 2014, they have an excellent shot at breaking the 0-26 streak. 7 games down, 19 more to go, plus two #1 or #2(silly jags) draft picks two years in a row. Set up the team for the second half of the decade, when Drew Brees’s career is waning and the NFC South becomes winnable again.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:37 am
The season is already tanked.
Winning games from here out only costs us draft position. And, if we were to get the number one overall it may help attract a good coach and GM, so this thing can get turned around.
Then we get the pick of the litter for a franchise QB.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:39 am
Who cares about draft position? Plenty of busts even at the top. I pay my hard money for entertainment. It isn’t entertainment to watch this train wreck of a coach.
If you, Joe, or the Glazers want to pay me (and everyone else) back for my tickets then you can lose all you want. Until then its stealing my hard earned money.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:40 am
And it appears that the All American Conference(Big East) still retains automatic qualifying.
UCF is currently in second place in the conference behind Houston and the two teams play on November 9 for first place.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:42 am
Mah,
With all due respect they already stole your hard earned money and you fell for the Schiano hiring.
That is the way the cookie crumbles.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:42 am
I meant Meh…….
October 28th, 2013 at 7:43 am
I didn’t “fall” for the Schiano hiring.
October 28th, 2013 at 7:45 am
Don’t crap on my Knights you do realize the campus is only an hour and thirty minutes away from Tampa.
October 28th, 2013 at 8:00 am
They don’t play for draft position!! F*** THAT!!
October 28th, 2013 at 8:11 am
Meh, I don’t like to lose either but I care about draft position. A great deal. Don’t you think DC would rather have drafted Luck than RGIII. How bout us with Megatron or Joe Thomas instead of Adams. Would you rather have Kerrigan, Aldon Smith or JJ Watt instead of clayborn. I would. Draft position matters….big time.
As for Joe. Another article about Schiano. No talk of Dom. Arizona rips 4 INT’s from Ryan after he torches us the week before. Still no heat on Dom for lack of depth.
October 28th, 2013 at 8:13 am
The AAC champ does get an automatic bid to a BCS bowl (not sure which one).
October 28th, 2013 at 8:19 am
@Joe. I understand your thinking but there is more than one thought process. Next year we probably will b ring in an entire new management team, top to bottom. Do you really want them to attempt to evaluate existing talent that may not be putting out 100%. I personally have come to the conclusion that your process puts new coaches back 1 year. Not only from the evaluation process of existing talent but in the draft.
My thinking is my opinion and like assholes, we all have one.
October 28th, 2013 at 8:23 am
I’m fine with the fact that the Glazers decided to keep Schiano around…
Hope they are fine with the fact that I won’t be wasting my time with this garbage team.
October 28th, 2013 at 8:29 am
I know of Jimmy Garoppolo.
There are several threads on the PR board regarding him as well.
If is going to go the direction you have suggested in taking Jake Matthews, Garoppolo would probably be a solid pick in the second round. (Unless of course he sneaks into the first on draft boards)
Somewhere along the way this team needs a TE.
Not an average TE, a good/great TE. All the best teams have them. It is particularly important if we are going to have a Rookie tossing it around next year. I am definitely no fan of the QBs projected to go high in the 1st (minus Johnny Football who seems to have an injury every week….probably be a perfect draft pick for Dominik).
October 28th, 2013 at 8:37 am
All hoping for an 0-16 season should get on the bus for losers and ride it out of town.
For good.
A winless season will do irreparable damage to this franchise and set it back even farther than it is. If that’s possible.
Tanking means quitting, the worst thing possible in sports. Ever.
Schiano has been told. The players have been told. Our dubious GM is under deep cover. If he’s using the time wisely, updating his resume.
Hire Pouilan now as President of Football Operations, evaluate every element of the franchise and changes begin in December.
October 28th, 2013 at 8:42 am
As a fan from the beginning who witnessed 0-26….to me, there is no such thing as a meaningless game. Winning football games is the goal. High draft picks are consolation prizes for losers.
I also think that the only way we go for Matthews is if we have dropped down a couple of picks to # 5 or if we trade down and pick him up.
It is too early to give up on Glennon…he may end up being a backup but we need to let the season play out.
Schiano will do everything he can to get wins. If he is focused on that then hopefully the players will also.
If we’re stuck with him…then lets root for our Bucs to win, not lose.
October 28th, 2013 at 8:45 am
You don’t play for draft position but Schiano has this team playing so poorly that keeping him on probably ensures us the number one or two pick. So in that vain if anyone saw Mariotta from Oregon over the weekend play UCLA with their own first round quarterback I am liking him alot. The kid can flat out run and has a very accurate and strong arm. Pretty much everything you are asking for quarterbacks now. Thats my pick if the Bucs are in position. Hopefully by then both Schiano and Dom will be gone. I thought it hilarious that someone leaks that Dom would have gotten Carson Palmer in the offseason. Just another bad move by Dom who in my opinion needs to go with Schiano for this train wreck of a seaon. New coach new GM new quarterback in 2014!!!!!!!
October 28th, 2013 at 8:55 am
Adios folks. I’m going to add this site to LeechBlock. I’ll be back when Schiano is gone, until then I’m boycotting this site and any other Bucs site that is calling for Schiano’s retention and/or tanking the season.
You should be ashamed of yourself, Joe.
Nobody called for tanking the season. Stop making stuff up. Joe cheers for the Bucs when the whistle blows. Joe sees no gain in a midseason coaching change. It is no guarantee of anything good. on many levels, many of which Joe has not written about. –Joe
October 28th, 2013 at 8:56 am
High draft picks are consolation prizes for losers…if you want to lose, thats sad. The objective is to win. I want to win as many as possible and let the draft pick chips fall where they will.
If we are “stuck” with Schiano, lets root for him to win.
October 28th, 2013 at 9:17 am
Winning now would be stupid.
We get a mid round pick, and toil on in mediocrity 10 more years.
WE DONT HAVE A QB!!!!!
We won’t win, until we get one.
Half way there.
Lose the rest
Next year, we have a real QB
October 28th, 2013 at 9:23 am
Winning is never stupid…losing is not a strategy. Higher draft picks don’t always guarantee success. Some of the best teams never have high draft picks. Picking the right players critical.
Yes…we may need a QB and there are many out there…if that is the objective, we can trade up if we have to but I think even picking 5th or 6th which is probably the best we will do…will still put us on a great QB prospect.
The “gave up on Glennon mob” needs to let him play the next 9 games before benching him next year.
October 28th, 2013 at 9:30 am
I will be excited about draft position if we have someone new picking out the groceries.
Fire the Teflon Dom!
p.s. I will be irate if FSU is stuck playing another scrub team in the Orange Bowl.
October 28th, 2013 at 9:38 am
Number 1 picks going back to OJ. Sure, there are hits and misses in every draft but I’d take my chances with this list. We need a franchise QB or franchise player at the least.
2012 Andrew Luck QB
2011 Cam Newton QB
2010 Sam Bradford QB
2009 Matthew Stafford QB
2008 Jake Long OT
2007 JaMarcus Russell QB
2006 Mario Williams DE
2005 Alex Smith QB
2004 Eli Manning QB
2003 Carson Palmer QB
2002 David Carr QB
2001 Michael Vick QB
2000 Courtney Brown DE
1999 Tim Couch QB
1998 Peyton Manning QB
1997 Orlando Pace OT
1996 Keyshawn Johnson WR
1995 Ki-Jana Carter RB
1994 Dan Wilkinson DT
1993 Drew Bledsoe QB
1992 Steve Emtman DT
1991 Russell Maryland DT
1990 Jeff George QB
1989 Troy Aikman QB
1988 Aundray Bruce LB
1987 Vinny Testaverde QB
1986 Bo Jackson RB
1985 Bruce Smith DE
1984 Irving Fryar WR
1983 John Elway QB
1982 Kenneth Sims DT
1981 George Rogers RB
1980 Bill Sims RB
1979 Tom Cousineau LB
1978 Earl Campbell RB
1977 Ricky Bell RB
1976 Lee Roy Selmon DE
1975 Steve Bartkowski QB
1974 Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones DE
1973 John Matuszak DE
1972 Walt Patulski DT
1971 Jim Plunkett QB
1970 Terry Bradshaw QB
1969 O.J. Simpson RB
Im not saying we tank. I’m just saying there is no long term reward in an already lost season. 5 years from now, no one on this board would remember if we beat Buffalo or not, we’ll remember forever if could draft the next Selmon or the next Elway if we’re lucky…
October 28th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Schiano is going to be trying like hell to win games, and that is how it should be.
Nobody is saying a team ought to deliberately lose.
But, from a fans standpoint it is better if they get the number one pick.
Plus I for one am very concerned that the Glazer boys will screw up and consider a couple of worthless wins as a turnaround. Then we will be stuck with coach nut case which is a complete exercise in futility and utter waste of time. Remember how everyone went on and on and on about the Atlanta win last year?
So, I am signed on to pulling for 0-16. That might be the only thing that wakes these people up and gets Schiano AND the rock star forever jettisoned.
October 28th, 2013 at 9:50 am
Tanking is bad unless its for Andrew Luck. Then its not tanking, its a bad season. The Buc players aren’t tanking on purpose they are just poorly coached. I sure hope Schiano has enough time to implement this weeks game plan with such short notice. It worked so well with the Eagles during the bye week. Is there really a game plan on either side of the ball? Absolutely nothing looks any different from week to week. Make one good play then 2 bad plays and punt.
@ Joe The latest pictures of Alfred E. Newman aka Schiano are perfect!
October 28th, 2013 at 10:12 am
Those first round picks just show me that nothing is assured. As of recently, besides Luck and P. Manning, how many of those guys are the true real deal?
All the more reason to have a truly outstanding college scouting dept and GM. Maybe TB finally gets one in the offseason.
October 28th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Joe if you feel that way please stop writing tired of hearing how we need to keep around basically a lame duck coach. We all know he’s gone the players know it too. Get him out lets see what the players can do when they aren’t under this a-hole. And joe please please stop writing about wanting to tank the season. No true fan wants to go winless I promise that. But it must be easy when you don’t spend hard earned dollars on tickets and concessions with that nice media pass.
October 28th, 2013 at 10:34 am
Of course there is nothing assured, but I bet you could look at every pick position from every round. Or look at 1st player selected from each position. Compare those hit rates to the hit rates of 1st pick of the draft and I guaruntee you change your tune. Come on. There is at least 10 HOF on that list. Your chances of success from that spot are of the charts. And thats not taking into account other high drafted QB’s like Matt Ryan or RG III who are injuries aside are solid players and could have gone 1 if that was a position of need. Sorry but there is no comparison.
October 28th, 2013 at 10:50 am
For goodness sakes the long suffering bucs fans need a break. Having a young stud potential superstar QB coached by a real NFL coach is just what the Dr. ordered.
Personally, I like either Jon or Jay Gruden plus the kid from Oregon or Johnny Football.
I like that rant Jay put on Hard Knocks, and he’s a Tampa native. Cinci is playing some good ball with a young QB.
One more mistake and were in oblivion sure enough, c’mon Glazers do something dramatic – you have done it before with grand success.
October 28th, 2013 at 11:06 am
“Joe really isn’t sure how Schiano has kept the locker room. ”
MRSA gun
October 28th, 2013 at 11:12 am
This is why the NFL needs to adopt a lottery draft similar to the NBA to stop these teams from tanking for a higher draft pick. It would give us one more day in the off season to look forward to. Anybody else agree with this?
October 28th, 2013 at 11:13 am
@SC
“Sorry but there is no comparison.”
Really? There’s NO comparison?
Just looking back the last few years, Matt Ryan #3, Megatron #2, Julio Jones #6, GMC #3..Patrick Peterson, Von Miller, Joe Thomas…etc.
If there were a statistical analysis, I would like to read it. I don’t see overall #1 as anymore a sure shot then some of the others near the top. Sam Bradford? Jake Long? Jamarcus?
To me, it matters more to have a strong college scouting dept, than simply having the first pick.
October 28th, 2013 at 11:36 am
Pass:
Joe doesn’t expect Schiano to return in 2014, barring some unexpected winning streak.
October 28th, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Hell yeah Eric. I was not Jay’s biggest fan but Andy Dalton is very average and those coaches have him looking like a probowler. Couldnt be any worse than what we got….
October 28th, 2013 at 12:07 pm
If the owners think Schiano is the right head coach then what combination of players, coordinators and position coaches is responsible for the mediocre product on the field this season/preseason?
October 28th, 2013 at 12:11 pm
Eric- exactly. I think the Glazers believe Schiano will lose out.
No more Schiano. No more dom
New franchise QB.
Heck, an experienced coach and staff- I’m back buying season tickets!
October 28th, 2013 at 1:39 pm
I am pulling for the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. NFC team, good coach and sister expansion team to Bucs in 1976. Go Seahawks, go easy on the Bucs.
October 28th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
…did Woody Cummings happen to say if BriJoe Glazer awarded him a game ball (‘cuz according to joe – who cited Gruden – that means in about 4 weeks he’ll be out of a job)?
I kinda think this is a bit of some smoke and mirrors – I’m betting all these “changes” will come from either Jimmy Raye (he of recent offensive wizardry and passed over by many teams over a very long career), Butch Davis (recently of milking the University of North Carolina for firing him – but continuing to pay him for being the fall guy for boosters paying players), or Dave Wannstedt (recently of bleccchhh).
Of all of them – the only ones with experience at a (somewhat) major university that either ran, or coached against a read-option QB/offense, is Butch Davis.
Why is that important/relavent to this discussion? Well…regarding the success of recent QB’s selected between rounds 1 and 3 – unless you have a coach that is going to run a read-option: Teddy Bridgewater = Josh Freeman.
Translation – you’re going to need a new coach, a new LT AAAANNNDDD a new QB. Hello losing!
The dividends from you idiots who called for Jon Gruden’s head just keep rolling in…
I sorta feel for the Glazers – not a lot, just sorta. I didn’t ask them to listen to Woody, EYERah, or Dr Propecia….and fire Gruden. It wasn’t my idea to believe sportswriters when it was suggested Raheem Morris was “ready” for the NFL…I wasn’t trying to hire Bill Parcells, Ralph Freidgen, Steve Marriucci – and I DEFINITELY would NEVER have gone anywhere NEAR RUTGERS to find my next NFL head coach…
no, what I mean about sorta feeling sorry for the Glazers is this: They’re competing with God. THEY HAVE TO GET THIS RIGHT THIS TIME – otherwise folks like me will buy a new boat, a new set of golf-clubs, or a kayak, a Jet Ski, a cabin on the lake, a really nice shotgun, I.instead of ponying up for the right to buy a season ticket, and the price OF the season ticket.
Some have already made that decision, you won’t get them back – others, like me, are about to make that decision – the prices of “toys” is coming WAAAAYYY down…
…besides, I can always watch Josh Freeman lead the Vikings FREE, every Sunday…
October 28th, 2013 at 2:16 pm
Bridgewater is not Freeman if stuck in the pocket. Teddy can make reads and is an accurate QB. Freeman never did and never was. Agreed with most of what you said though, except feeling sorry for Glazers. This is on them as much as anyone and I am still convinced our lack of depth is primarily due to being the lowest payroll in the league for 3 years.
October 28th, 2013 at 2:19 pm
AND Oil Derrick. Your making my point for me. I am not saying that there are not fantasic players available after #1. I am making the point that because you can pick WHO EVER YOU WANT, the odds of busting are much much lower.
Don’t give me megatron. A meaningless win the previous season knocked us out of picking megatron. THAT IS MY POINT.
October 28th, 2013 at 4:59 pm
SKelly – no disrespect – but Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t read an NFL defense if his life depended on it.
When you hear “read” when they reffer to Teddy being a great “read option” QB – they don’t mean it that way. The read option is built to take advantage of the various talent levels at specific defensive skill positions in college. See, in college, most teams either lack players with the ability/speed to either diagnose the pla properly, or lack the speed to react to the play with the proper diagnosis, defensively (or they lack both and simply hit YOU with the same offense – resulting in two teams in a death spiral to see which one can score, last).
In the NFL – this is not typically the case – so when the talent and coaching are in place – the speed & diagnosing skills of NFL defenses/linebackers somewhat nuetralizes the read-option (i.e., Collin Kaepernick earlier this season). It’s what worked for RGIII yesterday in Denver, and why it didn’t without him. When the defense is just as talented and just as fast – sometimes a team specifically designed to run the read-option, with the perfect typoe of signal caller at QB can struggle (see: the hot then REALLY cold Philadelphia Eagles).
Your offense has to be disciplined enough to use it when you can, and the ability/skill/depth of the team to either LOOK like something else – or actually play a different style when you can’t – hoping YOUR elite defense shuts down the other teams offense…
In short – while teams are having initial success by employing something that there is virtually no learning curve for athletes coming straight from college – whatever evolves into the predominant yardage gainer/stopper – to the point of over-use against an NFL offense/defense THIS year – will be stopped cold next year (i.e. the Bears “50” defense, the Tampa-Two, Air-Coryell, Run-n-shoot, Wildcat, etc., ad nauseum) it’s easy to teach, and does so because it values the athlete – not necessarily QB’s.
What set freeman apart was – he actually ran an offense known as Pro-Style, it contained elements of various pro offenses – mostly Play-Action. Featuring WR movement before the snap, reading the defenses reaction to those formation changes, allowing the QB to either run the play the movement was diguising, or selecting a predetermined audible if the defense was completely bumfuzzled. THAT offense takes a lot of players to run – and you would normally expect to find those players in the pro’s – unfortunately, so many colleges have converted to spread (see above, for why)…QB’s, and receivers haven’t yet LEARNED to run them effectively – that’s another reason more NFL teams are adding more and more spread concepts to their playbook (heck, a couple of years ago the Patriots and Brady ran a near flawless version of it to about 16 straight wins – before losing the SuperBowl – while they retained SOME plays, that loss is also why they don’t run it exclusively anymore).
It’s actually made it tougher for coaches to assess talent – you have to read between the piles of yardage each QB, WR, and RB racks up for specific college teams – the system can hide the flaws.
Not saying Teddy is flawed, or wrong, he’s simply a LOT closer to Josh Freeman than Aaron Rogers.
Once there’s enough tape on these Spread QB’s/offenses – you can bet those that employ it exculisvely will win less than they lose.