Lovie Playing With Words
October 29th, 2014
Lovie Smith sends mixed messages about former safety Mark Barron.
Yesterday, Bucs general manager Jason Licht found a sap suitor to take safety Mark Barron and his contract off the Bucs’ hands.
Today, Bucs coach Lovie Smith raved about Barron as a player, but then sent mixed messages when he stated the trade was made to improve the team today, not down the road.
“Mark Barron is a heck of a player,” Lovie said. A short time later, Lovie added that trading Barron was to improve the team now and not a move about the future.
So is this to say that Barron was so bad that he was dragging the team down to his level?
That is about the only way Joe can interpret Lovie’s words.
You can watch all of Lovie’s news conference right here.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:08 pm
I can’t wait to see “4th round pick” start at Safety this week.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:12 pm
befuddled with a hint of Orwellian double-speak
October 29th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
@Rome – lol, ok!
Lovie keeps talking out of both sides of his a$$. Us fans must be really stupid! On Sunday he said “injuries slowed us down a bit” then next sentence he said “we didn’t really have any injuries”. Well which is it Lovie? How the hell does a 2015 draft pick help us on Sunday? And if Barron was worse than Tandy wright or mcdougle then why the F* is he starting?
October 29th, 2014 at 4:23 pm
Lovie is marginally above a snake oil salesman. Maybe. But he’d be wise to shut his mouth whenever possible cause anytime he talks everyone groans and shakes their head.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:24 pm
That pic of Lovie looks funny. “Mark Barron is a heck of a player”, then out the door he went.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Babble.
We flush another first rounder because they couldn’t coach him up.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Lovie would be good in a restaurant cooking waffles, because he’s got waffling down pat.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:30 pm
Coach Liar Smith!
October 29th, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Perhaps Lovie is planning on 1 safety and adding another CB…..maybe not a bad idea considering our coverage.
Also….isn’t about time the Tampa Media started agressive follow-up questions to some of Lovie’s answers?……..He has made many comments that should be challenged…..like “Our running game was OK”……
Time to take of the kid gloves and put him on the hot seat where he belongs….
October 29th, 2014 at 4:39 pm
god forbid these egos be straight up….this is the part of sport I despise…that arrobgant ego that displays a complete lack of self security….
just say it…
October 29th, 2014 at 4:40 pm
Also….isn’t about time the Tampa Media started agressive follow-up questions to some of Lovie’s answers?…….BINGO..!!!! we read them in print…listen to them AM & FM…read them http://WWW.they are like their brethren covering politics….feeding out of the hands that fed them…not read them…if you catch my drift….excellent question
Tampabaybucfan !!
October 29th, 2014 at 4:42 pm
If Mark Barron lights it up in St. Louis then Lovie Smith could possibly be fired.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:44 pm
Lovie is like a politician. He talks and says nothing. It is difficult to determine if he is really as dumb as he speaks. Then again, look at most of his decisions since he got here. And we don’t believe all the deception either. It is truly an insult to all the fans. He just doesn’t get it.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:51 pm
@ Rastaman
I know you want Lovie fired…..but IMO that just isn’t going to happen any time soon….
But…..what needs to happen is he needs to be held more accountable…..the Media is our only voice because we don’t have access to the Coach/GM……they absolutely must not let him get away with some of these contradictory evasive answers to good questions…..its the lack of agressive follow up that’s missing.
October 29th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
How are we better today or tomorrow?! Just another example of this regime seeing players from past regimes as expendable… for whatever reason!
October 29th, 2014 at 5:00 pm
I don’t want Lovie fired,I do, because he is unaccountable….I want him fired because he is incapable ..on EVERY LEVEL….first and foremost…his words fall on tuned out deaf ears…the man is underwhelmingly lost in another era of football…nice man…very nice neighbor I am certain…but a head coach charged with fielding and motivating 2014 NFL athletes…lost and circling the drain…that is perfectly CLEAR…
October 29th, 2014 at 5:03 pm
At a certain point can we start recognizing this man dies not know what he is talking about?
October 29th, 2014 at 5:03 pm
I suspect that Barron isn’t ” buying in” to the new system.
October 29th, 2014 at 5:18 pm
It seems to me that we’re going to have another new group of players learning this extremely complex defensive scheme every year. It is obvious this bunch doesn’t know how to run it, what’s to say the next group will? Is it really that ego-destroying to abandon a familiar system (that few but Hall of Famers grasp) to develop a system that average to very below average intelligence players can grasp. Just listening to some of these guys on the radio or in interviews and you have to wonder how they got through college.
October 29th, 2014 at 5:31 pm
Perhaps they should teach everyone of the other 31 offenses and defenses ranked ahead of their super duper,top secret,beat everyone once you get in your time machine and Lovie navigates the whole of 2014 NFL football back 18 years….Lovie is like a kid standing at the bus stop on the first day of school,,,after the bus left….this is 11 weeks in…and he is still showing up late…blaming the bus….
October 29th, 2014 at 5:38 pm
I will cut Lovie only just a bit of slack on this issue……He really can’t say he’s packing it in with 9 games left. His actions speak instead of his words…..he just can’t admit it and I don’t think he’s able to come up with the right words to describe it.
He probably should have just stated “We believe that the players we have can make up for those who are leaving….we were presented with an opportunity to improve our next draft and we took it”…..don’t build up a player then say we are better off without him….just doesn’t work.
Or he could do what most managers do….”We wish them well with their future endeavors”
October 29th, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Okay seriously, have we all not seen enough of this dufus? What blows my mind is that he WASN’T ALL THAT GREAT IN CHICAGO!!! Now just because he has ties to Tampa somehow makes him some defensive savant that’s gonna be the Tampa-2 Whisperer?? Come on, this guy is an idiot. I know we need stability, but I’d rather waste another year trying to find the right guy than sticking with this proven idiot.
October 29th, 2014 at 5:59 pm
Now Licht….he’s the politician…..only shows up for good news (McCoy)…..out of sight for everything else…..just like Buc Realist’s Pop Star!!!
October 29th, 2014 at 6:00 pm
Or Just tell us you’re tanking it for Jameis and get it over with!
October 29th, 2014 at 6:12 pm
Cant he be a good player in another scheme, just not this one and the coaching staff gave up on him in this system. Because a player is good doesnt mean he fits your scheme.
October 29th, 2014 at 6:20 pm
Under the guise of trying not to tip his hand to his opponents it seems that Lovie is coming across to be quite disingenuous with his fan base. This wouldn’t be as noticeable if the team were winning and the fans would not care as much. It seems to be becoming an exercise in futility to listen to him. It’s frustrating to listen to him and many are beginning to question his sincerity. I had looked forward to Lovie being our coach and am still happy he is here but his answering of questions with all the possible answers leaves us with no answers at all.
October 29th, 2014 at 6:41 pm
It’s possible Lovie is saying that Mark is good. But, he doesn’t fit the scheme.
Numerous times both Goldson and Barron are doing a good job in coverage. Our safety are our last line of defense. That position can’t miss coverage and expect to be good against the pass.
October 29th, 2014 at 6:47 pm
Also, there is nothing wrong with saying positive thing about a person as they leave. It’s call professionalism.
October 29th, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Think of it this way, if Lovie talks to the players and even coaches by just babbling then their is the problem…..If you were a player and heard your coach talk like this would you believe he knows whatbh is doing….. Maybe the players see Lovie as most fans do, not worth the time to listening to!
October 29th, 2014 at 7:13 pm
It’ll be interesting to see which L turns on the other….we’ll never really know….but hey without any real objective press/media….we can/will always speculate..if we had real local press/media they wouldn’t be banging on the low hanging fruit…Sabby…really….
October 29th, 2014 at 7:35 pm
I don’t see how this is a good trade for us:
A 1st round pick who is only halfway through his 3rd year in the league… For a 4th rounder? I mean some teams make great picks in the the 4th round, but not us.
October 29th, 2014 at 7:37 pm
I’m still not sure that I’m completely on board with trading away a #8 pick in the draft for a 4th rd pick and a swap of another teams 6th rd pick for a 7th BUT unless Shawn Taylor was in the draft I’d NEVER take a safety that high. I don’t think that the position is worthy filling that early in the draft unless the defense is solid at every other position. You can get a good safety in the 3rd or 4th round.
October 29th, 2014 at 7:57 pm
After saying “we don’t expect our fans to be patient” and putting this product out on the field. How can anyone believe anything this man says anymore?
October 29th, 2014 at 8:17 pm
@1987,
I’ll tell you this from experience: You never believe anything a coach says to the media. I learned that as the child of a college basketball coach. I remember watching my dad do interviews and being blown away by all the crap he used to say. He would literally walk around the house saying the exact opposite! Now take into account that was small college basketball, and it was over 20 years ago. It would have been unacceptable for Lovie to have come out and say “we’re going to be bad for a while until we get rid of some of these scrubs. We’re not going to win many, but please come out and buy tickets and support us”. You just can’t say that, and none of us wanted to hear it. And you know what, I don’t want to hear it next year either. How can you get excited about the team if they say that? As crappy as this season has been, I’m going to be super excited going into next season, no matter who we draft or get rid of – unless the organization is going to say we are going to suck. If I hear that, I’m going to feel pretty damn unexcited.
Lovie and Licht said exactly what they are supposed to say, and exactly what they are supposed to say every year. When things go badly, they look bad, but it is what it is. If you really think about it, there’s no alternative.
October 29th, 2014 at 8:23 pm
Sometimes first round picks simply do not work out and sometime its not just the Bucs who make the bad picks: case and point Gabe Carimi formerly a first rounder of the Bears, former Buc and was starting for the Falcons before an ankle injury in London… The Bucs only gave up a 6th rounder for the OL and the Bears were probably glad just to get a return on what they felt was a busat just like what the Bucs were probably thinking when they got the 4th and 6th for Barron. And since the Rams will likely pick not to far behind the Bucs in draft order the 4th and 6th round picks will be pretty high almost as good as a 3rd and 5th from a team that will make the playoffs. BTW: who was head coach when the Bears wasted a first rounder on Carimi???? But nonetheless if Barron was not contributing to the defense any better then a bunch of journeymen backups then why not trade him before he has zero value????
October 29th, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Ok, there are those in the local media that shredded Gruden for the same “B-spit” so where is the righteous indignation towards Lovie? Guess Lovie hasn’t “wronged” a favorite player yet, or could there be another reason? I really liked Lovie’s hiring and still have faith in him but the constant coach double-speak is getting OLD!
October 29th, 2014 at 9:59 pm
He is not going to say anything bad about a player that is ushered out the door unless it is for domestic violence or drugs. there is no need too. it sends a bad message to those remaining and it serves no purpose.
Maybe he will be better somewhere else. The coaching situation in Tampa has not been the best and it may of been his way to move on.
October 29th, 2014 at 10:18 pm
lovie picked carimi didnt he…. bucs are or will be at rock bottom in week 16 let these 2 buffoons go and start over an offensive coach a new qb and lets go…. its a new nfl that lovie missed realizing in his basement
October 29th, 2014 at 11:35 pm
I guess you could say he’s Incognito?!?!?
October 30th, 2014 at 1:34 am
HawaiianBuc…you and Bonzai are on the same page. So basically what you’re saying is they were preying on the saps on the fan base? That’s no acceptable to me.
I WOULD understand if they said things are going to take time….and so would you. Knowing that it was a new regime most fans would expect that and not have problem with it.
We’re you at the I think week 8 game of last season when all the “Fire Schiano” signs came out all over Ray Jay? It seemed every fan had one at that game.
Those fans would understand if Lovie said it would take time to build a winner. They all wanted Schiano gone and if Lovie said it would take time after Schiano’s mess we’d all fall in lock step with him. Now they are behind the 8 ball with that stupid “we don’t expect the fans to be patient” line.
So once again we disagree…