Offense Doesn’t Need Fixing
October 14th, 2014
No, the Bucs offense didn’t remind anyone of the “Greatest Show on Turf” during the seal-clubbing by the Crows Sunday.
Frankly, even if it did, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, the way the Bucs pass defense treated Crows wide receivers as if they had the shingles.
Unless the Bucs had Dan Marino and Jerry Rice in their prime, there was no way the Bucs were going to beat the Crows the way the defense got gashed time and time again.
So of all the things to fix with the Bucs, coach Lovie Smith all but said he’s not going to lose any sleep fretting about the offense during the bye week.
“Our offensive team has done [well],” Lovie said. “The offensive production wasn’t good yesterday, but before that, in the previous two games, it’s been pretty good. We’re looking at all areas, but that probably won’t be one of them.
“We didn’t start exactly the way we would have liked. That turnover early on hurt us, but Mike [Glennon] came back and did some good things, he was under a lot of pressure. We saw some things that we really liked and I’ve said that every game that Mike has played. Again, just stay with us and after it’s all said done who knows, maybe Baltimore is a great football team right now also and we played them at wrong time too – that happens from week-to-week in the NFL. Some teams you just don’t think are going to play a certain way, they play a little bit better, so maybe that was the case also. Let’s not put everything based on this game. I know what happened in the Atlanta game, but there are a couple of other games in between there where we played some pretty good ball too. Hold on.”
The offense has done OK since Glennon has returned to start. But, oh, man, the defense! Joe gets nauseous just thinking about it. How bad is the Bucs defense? Try swallowing the following numbers:
Against starting quarterbacks, not the slugs like Derek Anderson or Austin Davis, the Bucs in four games have given up a ghastly 1,864 yards. In four games! That’s an average of 466 yards a game the Bucs are coughing up — from a head coach who was considered a defensive wizard. Try washing that down with your caffeine this morning. Y
You can understand why Lovie isn’t worried about the offense. He is too busy trying to figure out why his defense has turned into such a matador defense. Ole!’
At least Joe can safely say, once (if?) Lovie can fix the defense, then he can set his next goal on a search-and-recovery mission to find the whereabouts of Doug Martin circa 2012.
October 14th, 2014 at 5:30 am
Historically bad pass protection and no running game. We’re only barely competitive against bad teams and that’s what Lovie’s pointing to optimistically?
I am losing confidence in this staff. Quickly.
October 14th, 2014 at 5:52 am
meh Says:
October 14th, 2014 at 5:30 am
Historically bad pass protection and no running game. We’re only barely competitive against bad teams and that’s what Lovie’s pointing to optimistically?
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And how is this different from the past five seasons? Even in 2010 we couldn’t beat a team with a winning record (except the Saints in week 17-who may have held a little back). All other seasons have been marred by losing and disturbingly long streaks of non-competitiveness.
October 14th, 2014 at 5:57 am
I’m not happy about what we’re watching. It’s embarrassing and depressing. That said, we didn’t sign up for a coach that we could reasonably expect to be a quick winner. We brought in a defensive guy to install a new defense in a league where the rules are set up for the offense. I was as optimistic as anyone this off season but logical thinking says that it’s going to take time to learn the scheme and get the pieces in place.
I’ll continue to follow the team and hope for the best but I couldn’t begrudge the local fans who don’t want to spend the money on a bad product. Is simple customer service. You want people to buy your product then you have to get the quality up
October 14th, 2014 at 6:10 am
Ex uses. So fired of excuses. Sickening.
October 14th, 2014 at 6:10 am
The offense stinks and he believes that it doesn’t need fixing than he is the wrong guy. Here is a link for MGM nice facts about how bad he stinks http://www.bucsnation.com/2014/10/13/697003/the-continual-reassessment-of-mike-glennon
October 14th, 2014 at 6:29 am
Anyone who thinks the Bucs should draft a QB in next years draft should be fired as a fan. Unless its drafting a QB with a pick in rounds 5-7. Otherwise people simply have their heads in the sand about how deeply, deeply, deeply flawed this team is. 2 full seasons away from being a playoff team at least.
October 14th, 2014 at 6:31 am
He’s on crack, if they didn’t go into prevent mode in garbage time, then we would have never scored
October 14th, 2014 at 6:48 am
I can see a very capable offense but until we have a real OC to unleash the Dunkaneers, we won’t be able to do crap. The defense is awful. i feel we need 4-6 new starters as DB and still looking for a DE. Gholston isn’t anywhere he should be. I think he got complacent.
October 14th, 2014 at 6:52 am
Any chance we get a new coach during the bye week like Oakland did? Lovie has already said he’s not going change what he’s doing even if it isn’t working. And yes we should draft a quarterback in the first round. I hope we get Jameis Winston. I don’t care what his off field issues are. He’s the best college quarterback and we need him. His agent just needs to work out a deal with someplace so he can get free crab legs. But the first thing we need is a coach that can coach in todays NFL because Lovie is living in the past and the game has past him by.
October 14th, 2014 at 7:05 am
So Lovie thinks the offense is fine and A. Spense admits they know the defense. Wow, oh boy were in for a long miserable rest of the season.
October 14th, 2014 at 7:19 am
Classic line … “maybe Baltimore is a great football team right now also and we played them at wrong time too”
Played them at the wrong time? Seriously?
October 14th, 2014 at 7:26 am
Lovie was too stubborn to hire Incognito.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:12 am
@ Patrick va- so you’re fine with a defensive guru coming in, taking over the #15 rated defense in the league (considered by everyone to have solid young talent) and 6 games in making them the worst unit in the nfl by a mile? So we need time to adjust to his fu$k up??? Please explain.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:20 am
Sorry Patrick, the honeymoon is over. I didn’t expect a superbowl year 1, but this is a total train wreck not a team on the right path.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:22 am
“Again, just stay with us and after it’s all said done who knows”
For a minute there, I thought Lovie was recreating a scene from The Titanic.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:27 am
Memo to glazers: Why did we bring in a defensive guy and change schemes when the defense was solid. The issue was offense and qb play???
October 14th, 2014 at 8:28 am
He seems to keep doing that, where he blames one problem and doesn’t worry about the other areas that need fixing.
That’s not a way to win. You have to demand excellence in everyone, and that the offense was clearly not excellent in the first halves.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:29 am
Jesus what low expectations this team has for performance? We played yet another game where we didn’t score a single point in the first half. Yea, the offense is totally on track, nothing to see here guys.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:30 am
The OL combined with play calling is handicapping the offense. We can’t execute when the defense knows the exact play. It’s a chicken and egg thing. Play action, quick slants, etc. could help.
But that said, we can score sufficient points to win against an average defense.
Joe, let’s not just bash the defense, our ST’s are brutal too.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:33 am
Joe, please quit writing that Austin Davis is a slug of a QB. He may not be Kurt Ramsey, but he’s not Josh Freeman either.
He has put up some very respectable numbers this year and even against the vaunted 49ers, he was playing admirably until his end of the game INT.
The Rams problem lies not in their QB, but in their defense (sound familiar).
The Rams defensive front four has yet to record a sack this year.
You are beginning to sound a little bit like the morons who post out here.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:52 am
Lovie’s complacency has me in disbelief. Why is this guy so calm and all positive in his tone when his team was whupped like a SWAC league team? Again, calmness is good, but not complacency. When I hear his interviews I see zero sense of self criticism that they need to make some changes to not get embarrassed ever again like that. He just seems to think things will automatically get better as time goes on within the same schemes.
Is it his job security that is making him talk that way? He is paid through end of 2017 by the Glazers.
October 14th, 2014 at 8:59 am
DDNeast.
Agree, I’d take Austin Davis in Pewter over Kafka.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:09 am
@Brent & Meh – I’m not going to say that I have much of a leg to stand on with my take. There’s little backing it up but blind faith based on little to no substance. Given my willingness to hold on despite all the evidence suggesting I should believe otherwise, it’s surprising that I’m not religious. It’s a deeply flawed product that I can’t really defend other than just hoping that it comes together and there’s a grander plan that I can’t really see right now.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:30 am
Our biggest point totals of the season came against one of the worse defenses in the NFL (NOLA) missing their best player, and a team down 3 defensive starters (Pitt). So, yeah, the offense needs serious help.
October 14th, 2014 at 9:37 am
With the losses I foresee coming I guess we are going to play everyone at the wrong time. Great job Lovie. At a way to gain the fans’ trust in what you are doing. Another a$$ whooping and thats the best answer you got? Pathetic!!!
October 14th, 2014 at 9:59 am
As much as it hurts me to watch my team lose (I was at the game, it was atrocious), you can see we don’t have the players to run Lovie’s defense. There is a reason he started 5-11 in Chicago, he didn’t have the pieces there either. Pete Carrol when he started in Seattle was bad too. WE HAVE TO HAVE PATIENCE!
I was 1 of the guys that thought Lovie can fix this ship quickly, I was wrong. But the man knows how to coach and win and he will bring that identity of defense back later, rather tha sooner :/
As the offense is concerned, I liked what I saw, it was over before they could get into a groove. Our O-line is bad but I love the playmakers we have and Glennon can get it done.
#MGM
October 14th, 2014 at 10:21 am
Lovie will fire Leslie Fraser and take over defensive play calling.
To make himself the hero.
Local media will fall for this BS just like they did with Radio.
October 14th, 2014 at 10:41 am
Only the “local media” who don’t cover the team. Anyone, and Joe means “anyone,” who covers the team knows full well that Leslie Frazier doesn’t do one thing that Lovie doesn’t sign off on.
October 14th, 2014 at 10:50 am
Lovie is completely overwhelmed as a HC. The Glazer’s suck as team owners. This retro hire is preposterous in an offensive dominant NFL. Lovie is not changing his scheme, absolutely not. Lovie, the fans don’t have time to muddle through your ineptitude. Give Lovie more time, I shudder at the thought, his best result will be mediocrity for years.
October 14th, 2014 at 10:57 am
Everything needs fixing!!!
October 14th, 2014 at 1:48 pm
Lovie – “and we played them at wrong time too” You played the Ravens at the wrong time? Well then you should file a protest and request that they forfeit the game. That is just a ridiculous comment. If you want to be real, then the “wrong time” for the Bucs to play the Ravens would be the entire 2014 season.
October 14th, 2014 at 1:56 pm
The problem is Lovie sold everybody on winning now and hasn’t delivered. He put himself in a corner because nobody wants to hear about the team needing time. That argument no longer holds any weight to the fans because of the actions before the season started. The problem is exacerbated by how awful the performance has been. It’s not just mediocrity, it’s a full blown mess. Our roster isn’t top 5 but not bad enough to be embarrassed once every three weeks. That has to be put on the coaches, which is worse than anything.
October 14th, 2014 at 2:54 pm
We wont win another game and I bet at least four of our next opponents will beat us by 40 points
October 15th, 2014 at 2:54 am
Why does certain posters (Sometimes Joe also) mimic and repeat the nonsense of Steve Doumig about the second half being “Garbage Time”? they never use that terminology when another team comes back in the second half! In fact Doumig was all sticky about Freeman leading second half comebacks. Double standard? YES but what do you expect from a certified Glennon Hater? Anyone who continues to use the phrase or argument is dishonest and should be called on it.