Bucs Getting Better, Says Marvin Lewis
November 26th, 2014
Remember what may have been the most drama-filled Bucs offseason?
It was when Father Dungy was launched and Team Glazer hunted for a new head coach, the man who eventually was Chucky, because Team Glazer found general manager Richie McKay’s offerings unsatisfactory.
Fun times, especially when Team Glazer made a deal with the devil [Al Davis] for Chucky.
Well, also remember how if it was up to McKay, the next Bucs coach would have been Marvin Lewis? It wasn’t him, and a year later, Lewis became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, where he has been since.
Today, in his press briefing with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, Lewis grumbled about how his opponents had more points than his playoff-bound Bengals (Lewis is 0-5 in postseason games), and Lewis discussed the Bucs.
In fact, the almost-Bucs coach had high praise for the current Lovie Smith and how the landscape at One Buc Palace is changing for the better.
“You see a football team that’s improving all of the time,” Lewis said. “Unfortunately, we don’t always get the wins and season that you want and the way it’s going to end up. It’s hard when it doesn’t work that way, but you see them laying the foundation of what Lovie [Smith] was doing and it’s working out that way. I know if you go back to 1996 in Tony [Dungy]’s first year, they ended up winning the last five games of the regular season and that continued to be the foundation that they were built upon. You’ve got to start to build and Lovie’s trying to put his plan in place and build upon it.”
Yes, the defense of the Bucs is getting better. The offense? Well, that possibly could be getting worse. It is close to gruesome.
One can only wonder what the Bucs would have become with Lewis as a head coach? A Super Bowl winner or just a long line of frustrating trips to the playoffs, bereft of wins?
November 26th, 2014 at 6:26 pm
Frat bro’s don’t run smack on other bro’s….”getting better =’s hope and change”…one can read whatever one wants into it…..”Lovie is as Lovie does””
November 26th, 2014 at 6:55 pm
They are going to have so much fun playing against old scout team players like Collins and johnson. I bet it’s going look like it too! Look for another embarrassing blowout at home.
November 26th, 2014 at 7:00 pm
What the hell is he supposed to say..”my opponent this week sux balls and it should be an easy victory for our team.”….. Nope. He doesn’t want to get fined so he kept it PC. This situation is similar to when Peyton Manning called the Jacksonville Jaguars a tough matchup and good team when he was with the Colts. Then Sunday came and he torched thier a$$!
November 26th, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Logan Mankins played on a torn ACL in the Super Bowl.
He sacrificed his long term career for his team.
He is still kinda effective as a pass blocker, but he gets no push as a run blocker anymore.
And EDS sucks. Peia had a huge day against him, just like Ngata tossed him around.
And Omameh is a first time starter. Basically a rookie. Former practice squad guy.
Also, I dont think Demar Dotson has much presence as a run blocker.
But his pass blocking is pretty good. But he is susceptible to a bull rush and to stunts.
our O-line is the biggest weakness on the team fellas.
Our receiving corps is dope. Even Louis Murphy has looked FAST!
Our O-Line and Linebackers are our two weakest links right now.
I love Mason Foster, and I hope he signs with a contender but we need to move on and find a FAST MLB to play cover 2.
Also, I wish we could run the ball.
Bucs ball depends on running the ball.
November 26th, 2014 at 8:17 pm
@joe
Just want to thank you and your staff for keeping me entertained all day, every week and on some Sundays. Enjoy the holiday with your friends and family and again thank you joe.
November 26th, 2014 at 9:06 pm
DB55,ditto.
November 26th, 2014 at 10:31 pm
Yeah and Lou Holtz always used to say the same thing about Purdue before the Irish would hang 45 on the Boilermakers….. Christ I’d like to think that the Bucs would have a chance but the typical Buc fan like me is conditioned to expect a bad loss at home as this ****ing team has not got a W since last season vs the Bills (a win that moved the Bucs from 3rd to 7th in draft order for those who are in the “Winless for Winston” crowd and hope the Bucs go 2-14 while the raiders, Jags, Jets and Titans also win 2 but we get the tiebreaker this time!)….. That being said, I can see the Bucs ripping off a win or 2 before the end of the season (Carolina quits, haven’t they since the tie at Cincy?, another upset ala Steelers?) to ensure that another QB deficient club moves in front of Tampa to force Tampa to trade up to get their guy ala Deadskins/RG3 or settle for what they need: a good OT which will make everyone (besides the very small Trench Mob which I claim a membership) freak out and envision a repeat of the Leeman Bennett/Ray Perkins/DICK Williamson era as Lovie will complete the triplet of this generation of bad coaches!!! So as it is eve of a traditional American holiday: Happy Thanksgiving to all Buc fans, even those who want “Winless for Winston”! Enjoy the games tomorrow!
November 26th, 2014 at 10:57 pm
Teacher man, agree w everything except Foster. He’s an outside linebacker playing the MLB position. Move him over and then go get a MLB and were set with a young, dangerous line backing group
November 26th, 2014 at 11:27 pm
If anyone wants an interesting read in Comparing the Coaching of the Patriots to that of the Bucs the below article is well worth the read.
http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/football/patriots/chris-villani/2014/11/26/super-bowl-or-not-patriots-all-2014
Take special note as to how many former Bucs which the Patriots acquired in less than a year and some just a few weeks ago. WE HAD THOSE PLAYERS but somehow they are all pro somewhere else?
And to top it off the Pats have $7.9 Million in Cap space compared to the Bucs $2.2 Million. WTF
Why is it Belicheck is able to trade for the current and the future at the same time and we just seem confused.
We could not have gone after Blount? If its good enough for the Pats it should be good enough for us.
November 27th, 2014 at 2:43 am
teacherman777 Says:
November 26th, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Logan Mankins played on a torn ACL in the Super Bowl.
He sacrificed his long term career for his team.
He is still kinda effective as a pass blocker, but he gets no push as a run blocker anymore.
And EDS sucks. Peia had a huge day against him, just like Ngata tossed him around.
And Omameh is a first time starter. Basically a rookie. Former practice squad guy.
Also, I dont think Demar Dotson has much presence as a run blocker.
But his pass blocking is pretty good. But he is susceptible to a bull rush and to stunts.
our O-line is the biggest weakness on the team fellas.
Our receiving corps is dope. Even Louis Murphy has looked FAST!
Our O-Line and Linebackers are our two weakest links right now.
I love Mason Foster, and I hope he signs with a contender but we need to move on and find a FAST MLB to play cover 2.
Also, I wish we could run the ball.
Bucs ball depends on running the ball.
——————————————————————–
we need linebackers that will anticipate the POA and cover it. not so much a “fast” guy.
November 27th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Happy Turkey Day Buco’s, I love it when people got to stick up for the bucs and mostly the coach with the dungy era crap, Today is a Different NFL, Different Bucs, and personally I always thought the bucs played way to conservitive under Dungy and it cost us important games.. Lovie is Lovie and Dungy is Dungy and Chucky is Chucky.. Just because one did it does not mean they all can do it..
November 27th, 2014 at 9:39 am
teacherman777 Says:
November 26th, 2014 at 7:52 pm
Logan Mankins played on a torn ACL in the Super Bowl.
He sacrificed his long term career for his team.
He is still kinda effective as a pass blocker, but he gets no push as a run blocker anymore.
And EDS sucks. Peia had a huge day against him, just like Ngata tossed him around.
And Omameh is a first time starter. Basically a rookie. Former practice squad guy.
Also, I dont think Demar Dotson has much presence as a run blocker.
But his pass blocking is pretty good. But he is susceptible to a bull rush and to stunts.
our O-line is the biggest weakness on the team fellas.
Our receiving corps is dope. Even Louis Murphy has looked FAST!
Our O-Line and Linebackers are our two weakest links right now.
I love Mason Foster, and I hope he signs with a contender but we need to move on and find a FAST MLB to play cover 2.
Also, I wish we could run the ball.
Bucs ball depends on running the ball.
———————-
Bro, you been laying off the pipe? Your analysis sounds spot on.
Marvin Lewis’s math is a little fuzzy… the Bucs didn’t win the last 5 games of 96 but rather the first 5 games of 97. I think the 95 Bucs went something like 5-3 in their last 8.
November 28th, 2014 at 12:18 pm
For years his teams led the league in arrests. So… I’m kinda glad we didn’t hire him. It’s not like he’s got shelves of Lombardi trophies.