Lovie Still Coy About Offense
May 29th, 2014
Bucs coach Lovie Smith still won’t give many hints about his offense.
While a prominent member of the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, Chapter 813, is on record saying the current weight of the Bucs franchise is on the shoulders of offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, no one short of someone already on the payroll of the Bucs knows what exactly will the Bucs offense be like?
Could it be a punishing run game? Could it be the “Dunkaneers?” Could it be a combination of the three? Bucs fans want to know.
Lovie, ever the poker player, isn’t yet showing his hand, dodging the question Tuesday of what the Bucs offense might be like.
“Let’s establish a few things,” the leader of the Bucs said. “It’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense and yeah I’m excited to see it, like I’m excited to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers special teams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers edition of our defense too, all of those things. But they’re coming into place. Again, you’ll see a little bit of what we’re going to do, but we can go a lot of different ways, I’ll just say that, with our offense.
“Offensively what we talk about is just ball security. The plays that we have, not turning the football over, you guys know the biggest reason why teams win or lose each week is the turnover ratio, so offensively ball security. I’m talking about from the quarterback position and the plays that we run, of course to the guys that are actually carrying the ball, it’s that as much as anything and just being smart with the plays that we run, ball control and everyone is a part of that.”
If Lovie is hinting that the offense will be versatile, thus, being unpredictable, Joe applauds. The best offense is an offense that offers no clue what might happen when the huddle breaks.
If we go just by what morsels players have offered and the moves that the Bucs have made, just in the draft alone, then it sure smells like the Bucs will be a pass-happy team.
Most teams that go out and sign a free agent quarterback to start (?), a wide receiver in the first round, a tight end in the second round and a pass-catching running back in the third round are not going to play ground-and-pound football.
May 29th, 2014 at 8:19 am
Mike Cannon made household name out of T.Wright. Can you imagine what the Cannon’s going do for M.Evans and A.Jenkins!!!!
May 29th, 2014 at 8:32 am
Why would Joe publish your inaccurate insults?
May 29th, 2014 at 8:36 am
I don’t Lovie is being coy! I think he wants to keep certain aspects of the offense a secret. If I’m not mistaken, Joe and other member of the pen and mic club that is allowed to view practices, have taken a scout’s honor oath not to write about it. Joe could verify!
I don’t understand that but I don’t have a problem with it either. If Bill Belichick would go so far as to record another teams practice, then there is obvious value in keeping things under wraps.
May 29th, 2014 at 8:44 am
Any other mobile users now getting an ad banner across the bottom of the screen that will not go away on their mobile device while on this site? Lame.
May 29th, 2014 at 8:45 am
correction: don’t think
May 29th, 2014 at 8:46 am
The basic offense won’t be a secret for much longer….because we will have to practice it and run it in pre-season games….I’m sure there will be some new plays that will be rolled out each week during the season.
If I were to guess…we would pass a great deal….especially short passes…to backs, TEs & slot reciever….and once in a while go deep.
I think the running game will be used more if we are ahead (not like last year)…..
May 29th, 2014 at 8:52 am
This should be no surprise. Doesn’t anyone remember hearing this same stuff about how the bucs were keeping the offense a secret when Greg Olson was first hired as offensive coordinator? It was also kept a secret when Sully first became offensive coordinator as well. Just got to be patient to find out.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:19 am
Yeah I’m getting the banner also.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:28 am
Banner me too.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:30 am
I got the banner last night and had to switch to PC.
I would never leak information about my operations and give up a tactical advantage. Screw the media, they can see it when the world sees it.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:36 am
Lovie can be coy about the offense all he wants, the fans see the weapons brought in and get a good feel where the team is headed with an upgraded offense.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:36 am
@andrew1
Greg Olson’s offense was a secret because it was supposed to be Jeff Jagodzinski’s offense, But he did not make it through the pre-season becasue he had no offense and could not call plays. So with 1 or 2 preseason games left Greg Olson took over.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:44 am
Don’t want the banner? Clear your cache and your history. That has fixed every issue I’ve had with the site.
On topic.
I foresee a lot of offensive penalties. Tedford has to prepare his troops, “develop” a QB, develop his playbook, learn the NFL rules and how they conflict with college rules, and find success after failing in college.
There are going to be issues.
I really do not understand the Tedford hire. Talk all you want about Chip Kelly, but Tedford is nothing like him. Tedford could not even hold a job in college.
May 29th, 2014 at 9:48 am
@Realist
To add to what you said, Greg Olson didn’t even have a playbook in the beginning. He had to develop it on the fly. Numerous times players commented that they ran plays in games that were made up on the sidelines and that they had never practiced.
May 29th, 2014 at 10:34 am
All of those pieces will be in place and more mature in 2015 when a rookie first round QB takes the reins. That’s the way it’s probably going to go.
I just don’t think this offense is going to be better than mediocre. The kids are young, the QB’s are average and the offensive line’s execution may be something we’re in favor of by season’s end.
These are rookie pieces people – they typically DO NOT set the world on fire in their first season. Even if Tedford has a good plan to work with, his kids need to run the routes, get the blocking and not be playing against top 5 defenses while they’re doing it. We play a few of those this year, remember.
Give me 8-8 and I’ll be thrilled. 17-20 points a game, I’ll be ecstatic. That’s our ceiling in 2014. And you know what? That would be exciting compared to recent seasons.
May 29th, 2014 at 11:14 am
The sad thing about many in the media is that they would gleefully reveal a team’s offensive approach and playbook and then rip them the rest of the season for being predictable.
May 29th, 2014 at 11:39 am
Louis Friend Said:
‘All of those pieces will be in place and more mature in 2015 when a rookie first round QB takes the reins. That’s the way it’s probably going to go.”
Yeah. Another rookie QB. How’d that go last year? Let’s stay at the bottom again.
May 29th, 2014 at 11:44 am
Bonzai,
You’re insane.
How the h3ll did Tedford fail at the college level? What are you talking about? His offenses were always effective. Any neutral observer would acknowledge that he was a very successful offensive coach at the college level…
And by the way, to say, “Tedford could not even hold a job in college,” requires an astounding warping of reality. He kept every job he had until finding better opportunities. Then he held the HC job at Cal for 11 years! Sounds to me like he had no problems holding jobs. 11 years is a pretty good run as a college head coach.
It’s one thing to have concerns about Tedford adapting to the NFL, but distorting his track record to support your negative attitude makes you look like an idiot.
May 29th, 2014 at 12:17 pm
Louis Friend Says:
May 29th, 2014 at 10:34 am
……….
Give me 8-8 and I’ll be thrilled. 17-20 points a game, I’ll be ecstatic. That’s our ceiling in 2014. And you know what? That would be exciting compared to recent seasons.
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MG8 and crew averaged 18.5 ppg last year, with only one of the weapons that are going to be available this year, and the Bucs played the toughest schedule in the league last year.
BTW, why did Lovie mention ball security so many times??
tickrdr
May 29th, 2014 at 12:37 pm
tickrdr Says:
May 29th, 2014 at 12:17 pm
Louis Friend Says:
May 29th, 2014 at 10:34 am
———————————————————————————-
MG8 and crew averaged 18.5 ppg last year, with only one of the weapons that are going to be available this year, and the Bucs played the toughest schedule in the league last year.
BTW, why did Lovie mention ball security so many times??
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This year with all the new pieces in place I don’t expect much more scoring than last year. I really don’t. I think 8-8 and an offense that doesn’t get shut down against top 5 defenses consistently is reason for optimism. So yeah, if we can average what we did last year with these new pieces that’d make me happy. These rookies aren’t all pro yet.
Not sure on ball security, but he’s a defensive coach and Martin in particular put the ball on the ground quite a bit before he was injured.
May 29th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
Weren’t the Bucs in top 5 in turnover ratio last year? We all see where that got us.
May 29th, 2014 at 3:41 pm
Louis Friend Says:
This year with all the new pieces in place I don’t expect much more scoring than last year. I really don’t. I think 8-8 and an offense that doesn’t get shut down against top 5 defenses consistently is reason for optimism. So yeah, if we can average what we did last year with these new pieces that’d make me happy. These rookies aren’t all pro yet.
Not sure on ball security, but he’s a defensive coach and Martin in particular put the ball on the ground quite a bit before he was injured.
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Part of the reason some of us are cautiously optimistic about Mike Glennon, is that he took receivers like Tiquan Underwood (Rutgers, 7th rounder to Jax but cut/resigned by Jax/NE/Bucs) and had 24 receptions for 440yds (18.3ypc) and 4 TDs. Also Tim Wright (Rutgers, undrafted free agent) who had 54 catches for 571 yds (10.6ypc) and 5 TDs. Surely our high round draft picks should be an upgrade, don’t you think?
And I think L&L like MG8’s ball security with 19-9 TD/INT ratio.
tickrdr
May 30th, 2014 at 1:35 am
That’s right Lovie, keep it conservative. No one needs to know nothin. Can’t wait to see how it all goes down. Offense, defense & special teams. Got a new jersey and getting NFL ticket this year:) beats riding the beach cruiser down to Capo Beach each Sunday.