“We Owe Him More Than We’ve Been Able To Give Him”
October 23rd, 2014
Lots of talk yesterday about Leslie Frazier
Vikings media was busy yesterday talking to former Minnesota head coach Leslie Frazier and other Bucs.
It seems Frazier is well loved but there are feelings of shame circling.
Big-money defensive end Michael Johnson told ESPN that the Bucs are letting down Frazier.
“The year that I was off, I didn’t plan on having the opportunity to hire Leslie,” Smith said. “But when he was available, I’ve known him a long time, I’ve competed against his teams for a long time. It was a natural fit.”
Said defensive end Michael Johnson, who played for new Vikings coach Mike Zimmer in Cincinnati before joining Frazier: “He’s very positive. Always positive and believes in guys. You can feel that. So in the same sense (as Zimmer), with him the way he believes in us, it makes us want to go out there and not let him down also. It’s been kind of frustrating because I want to be better and I want us to be better because Leslie is a good dude, man. We owe him more than we’ve been able to give him so far.”
The Pioneer Press got Lovie Smith to reveal that he and Frazier are like-minded, but that wasn’t Lovie’s goal when he hunted assistant coaches.
“I wasn’t really interested in putting everybody on the staff that had a lot of things that were a carbon of what I believe,” Smith said. “I like having diversity and bringing a lot of different guys, but for Leslie I just thought he was a good football coach, and I thought he’d be a great influencing our young men, and that’s how it’s been.”
Frazier’s got the rest of the season to right his ship. The Bucs’ defense has been awful, and the Vikings defense allowed the most points in the NFL last year.
Yes, it takes time to master Lovie’s Tampa-2-focused defense. Gerald McCoy, Derrick Brooks and other analysts like to point to the success of the Cowboys this year. To that point, Joe wonders why Monte Kiffin was booted from his Dallas job last year if the defense was merely in a learning phase?
Joe suspects that if the Bucs’ defense continues to stink, then Frazier will take the fall after the season.
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:12 am
Two years in a row and it looks like Frazier has the ability to put people in the right position to fail. Bravo Leslie, bravo.
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:14 am
You’re asking why the same owner that booted Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson, just because he wanted to, got rid of Kiffen before the defense had a chance to come together. I think Jones is well documented as not having a clue.
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:19 am
Someone does on both ends of the ball!
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:28 am
It’s now or never for the 2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This 4 game stretch coming up (Minn., Cleveland, Atlanta and Washington) is the best and maybe only chance for this team to right the wrongs and win offensively and defensively. After that, there are 6 very good teams that will grind you into the dirt. So Bucs fans, it’s now or never. Following the bye, if we don’t see changes offensively with more screens, 3-step drops, a little razzle-dazzle….if it’s run down one, down two and face third and long, as we have for the last 6 games…..we’re dead.
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:29 am
Frazier has a very bad track record as a DC and Head Coach overseeing defense. He had a lot of talent in Minnesota and a legit pass rush just from the front 4. But his defenses always underachieved to a great extent. Our set of average guys are underachieving, leading to a putrid defense, one that the league has rarely seen.
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:30 am
unless one side of the team is totally dominant (we have a long way to go there), most teams & units will look way worse than they are. in the case of our defense, they have almost never played with a lead this year (where many sacks, turnovers come from) and tend to spend much more time out there than their counterparts. things tend to snowball on a defense when the offense can’t hold onto passes, run the ball, or get first downs
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:30 am
Leslie will be one and done……Would make another great ex-Buc commentator….
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:42 am
Why didnt Mccoy point to Carolina’s Defense THIS YEAR? The system is flawed, Rod Marinelli is not an idiot in Dallas. He changed the scheme, its more of an attacking 4-3 with a ton of 3-4 looks, just watch the dallas games. Gerald Mccoy just needs to stop talking, because even though most bucs fans are dumb, they are not idiots. First he mentioned that Carolina ran the tampa 2 last year, but what happened to their tampa 2 this year???. Detroit is running a hybrid defense with Suh and Fairly and 9 other joe schmos, and they are the #1 defense in the league. We need a new coach that is up to date. Problem is, we have a Windows xp coach in a Windows 8 league. #firelovie
October 23rd, 2014 at 9:59 am
I like how they talk as if everything has been hunky dory. I know they have to remain upbeat and all, it’s just the words that they use that bother me. Almost as if they have no clue their defense sucks.
I’m giving Lovie 3 years. BUT if this team continues to play worse than Schiano’s Bucs. I’m going to get VERY tired of all the BS that comes out of One Buc these days.
I guess it’s just too much to ask for coaches to come out and just flat out admit they suck on the both sides of the ball. Some NFL coaches out there do it, but not our coach. He wants to keep spinning the positive message, and then it never shows on the field. Just come out and say we suck already.
Lovie did say we’re not a good football team, which is obvious for everyone to see, but where’s the fire Lovie? Is Lovie this subdued of a coach? It’s fine to be that way if your team doesn’t SUCK, it’s gets old real fast when the team plays the way they do.
It’s almost as if we the fans and the rest of the NFL see things more clearly than the Bucs HC.
Any minute now some fool will come in here and tell me how great Lovie is and he knows more than any of us about football. Yet it doesn’t show when he speaks and it certainly doesn’t show on the field. I DON’T CARE WHAT HE DID IN CHICAGO. Some of you do care about his Chicago days and you cling to that in hopes of bright future. I cling to the current state of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:15 am
The bucs defense hasnt worked yet in most phases
Coaches have basically said this defense works great with enough effort and the right players.
Many interviews have been conducted with former players saying how it worked great in yesteryear.
Yesteryear is gone.
The season is in full swing right now and it is also a different game than yesteryear.
The coaches have not shown any intention to adapt their defense to the players ability they have, (they picked), for each upcoming game.
The main concern appears to be to make this yesteryear STYLE of defense work first
regardless of any time frames that the season is already under way or wins/losses this year.
Since it is not working then the blame has gone not at the system or coaching but mainly at players effort, even some of the best players
on the team have been questioned for their efforts.
Somehow I don’t think this is a good thing and the problem with it all is a little deeper than just players effort.
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:17 am
941 bucs fan…all they do is talk. Blah blah this and blah blah that. The on Sunday’s the suck. Then by Tuesday it’s back to blah blah this and blah blah that.
How long do they expect us fans to buy the crap the spew out every week if it never shows up on the field?
Gerald McCoy BEFORE the Ravens game : ” you don’t let someone come into your house, take your remote and change the channel.” Blah, blah blah.
Talk is cheap. In Tampa talk is becoming cheaper than dirt. Yet some of you are still buying it, like what they say has any meaning or it will translate on the field this Sunday. It’s time to put up or shut up.
The only talk I want to hear out of this team is apologizing talk. They should continually say they’re sorry to the fans, but they won’t do that.
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:20 am
billy buckaroo Says:
“The coaches have not shown any intention to adapt their defense to the players ability they have, (they picked), for each upcoming game.”
Fans used to BLAST Schiano in here for the same exact thing!
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:37 am
@Buc1987
You sir, are speaking the exact kind of truth we should be hearing from the Bucs. Shut up or beg forgiveness for the crap they’ve been serving their fans. Talk is completely meaningless when it’s ALL you CAN do.
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:43 am
Hire a buddy coach coming off a poor defensive showing, expect the same with whoever shows the lack of judgement to bring him aboard to the next team. It’s the good old boy network of rehashed, give them another chance to get it right wishful thinking.
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:50 am
Schemes are not why defenses succeed or fail. Most of the credit and blame falls on the players and the person who recruits the players. The schemes must be optimized for the players or the players must be brought in to fit the scheme.
Carolina’s defense is not as good because they lost Hardy and some of their key secondary players. To solely blame the Tampa 2 scheme is shortsighted. The Bucs clearly do not have the right players for this scheme.
October 23rd, 2014 at 11:13 am
You cant win the kentucky derby with a plow horse so just plow the fields until you get one that can
October 23rd, 2014 at 11:39 am
Press the freaking recievers, and see how much difference that make! I mean, lovie gets paid 5million a a year to see this! I get paid zero!! Wow
October 23rd, 2014 at 12:31 pm
@ 87
I get your reasoning for giving Smith 3 years, but man even most of the biggest Schiano haters here have to admit that last year’s 0-8 team probably would have been 1-7 if they faced off against this current Bucs team. I say give Frazier until the end of this season to save his job and Lovie gets the same 2 years to prove it that Schiano got. Just because he has a resume and is a “player’s coach” shouldn’t give him a free pass for making this team worse than it was in 2010, 2012, and dare I say probably 2013.
October 23rd, 2014 at 5:08 pm
yes leslie is a defensive coach but doesn’t mean he was all that great at it but he didn’t have an amazing defensive line for a few years which probably bought him more time to be head coach along with umm oh yea Adrian Peterson. he should be used to playing defense without have a quarterback that knows how to play
October 23rd, 2014 at 7:36 pm
You want to run the T-2? After Marinelli, the next best is Ron Meeks. He should’ve been a Buc in 2009.