Disappointing
December 24th, 2014
Two of Lovie Smith’s hand-picked free agents found their names on SI.com’s “Most Disappointing” NFL team of 2014.
Joe isn’t quite sure the word “disappointing” fits the 2014 Bucs season. “Galling” springs to mind.
For Joe, disappointing would be if the Bucs just missed out on the playoffs, much like in 2010, when they lost a tiebreaker to Green Bay and watched the playoffs at home; only the second time the Bucs had double-digit wins since winning the Super Bowl.
Chris Burke of SI.com cobbled together a list of most disappointing players in 2014, and as you can imagine, several Bucs graced his page.
Leading Burke’s list of Bucs that disappointed was running back Doug Martin.
“We’re staying the course,” Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith said in October of Martin as a No. 1 back.
At the time, Martin, again slowed by the injury bug to start the year, had 94 total yards rushing in three games. Save for a 96-yard outburst vs. Carolina, the outlook never improved much. Martin has missed five games, has fewer than 400 yards on the season and is averaging a career-low 3.4 yards per carry. His future, at best, is murky.
Joe really believes Martin is a changed man. Early this season, Martin, when he took a handoff, Martin simply put his head down and tried to bury linemen and linebackers. The results were predictable. With Martin burrowing his head, he never saw holes that were there to exploit, which Bobby Rainey did.
Recently, for reasons unknown, Martin’s running style changed and he saw those holes in recent games. Though Martin flatly denies it, Joe wonders if he was banged up earlier this season and was hiding an injury?
On the offensive line, none other than shelved left tackle Anthony Collins pops up.
Collins, he of a $30 million contract signed last March, has been inactive for several weeks now, either because of an elbow injury or subpar play, depending on who you ask.
Says a lot when Collins, whose predecessor Donald Penn was cut by the Bucs mere minutes after the Bucs announced the signing of Collins, has been a flat out bust by any standard. He was expected to anchor the line but as been a healthy scratch the past two weeks which, in NFL terms, means you better call U-Haul.
Lastly Bucs center Evan Dietrich-Smith is the final Buccaneer on Burke’s naughty list.
Lovie Smith tabbed Dietrich-Smith as a key member up front moving forward into 2015, which may not be the worst thing for a Buccaneers team that was disjointed all season. But Green Bay rookie Corey Linsley has been a better player in 2014. So has ex-Buc Jeremy Zuttah, now with Baltimore.
As Joe has repeatedly typed, Green Bay yoda Ted Thompson does not let decent players walk away for peanuts, like EDS did. In his place, the Packers are starting a rookie from Ohio State and haven’t missed a beat.
Yes, Joe is pining for the Bucs to draft Jameis Winston, though Joe would be content with Marcus Mariota. But the player evaluation of this team must improve and improve in a hurry if the Bucs are going to turn things around in 2015.
Remember, Lovie and his staff actually wanted Michael Johnson, Garrett Gilkey, Josh Allen, Oneil Cousins, Collins and EDS.
December 24th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Fire Lovie
Hire Harbaugh
What can it hurt?
December 24th, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Take one of the Heismans with the 1st or 2nd pick.
Take the pick at the top of the 2nd round. Only need to move up about a dozen spots. Take that 2nd, along with Mike Glennon, and another pick so that the Bucs can move up and pick a franchise tackle like Peat/Stanley/Scherf
Take the next two picks and find a guard or guard/center.
December 24th, 2014 at 12:47 pm
And Lovie is unquestionably the worst hire of the offseason. Everyone mocked Detroit for getting Caldwell and said we made the best hire by far. 16 games later, not so much huh?
December 24th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
Regarding player evaluation I thought Lovies response to bobby rainey sums up his BS in a nutshell. When asked why Rainey (the teams leading rusher) isn’t starting or playing for that matter Lovies response was epic.
To paraphrase he said you can’t just look at one thing (yards per rush) you have to look at the total package and get different players snaps. Everyone has earned their snap whether a lot or a little there’s a reason why they are playing or not playing.
What a fking idiot. Rainey hasn’t played RB in weeks and still leads the team in rushing w little over 400 yards which is pathetic. Why would Rainey, clayborn, glennon or even banks want to play for this guy. It’s obviously favoritism and his players SUCK major King Kong balls.
Lovie smith = 2014’s most epic fail. Even worse than the dummy who tried to get eaten by a anaconda. Morons fking morons I tell you.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
Uh…… Detroit has a franchise QB. The Best WR. A top 5 defense before Caldwell even got there.Let alone a lot more talented team, I love how you people make up stuff to fit your agenda.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
I can’t figure Lovie out. He leaves me with a feeling of emptyness on Bucs decisions.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Disappointing …to put it mildly…..disastrous is more accurate
December 24th, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Philly will offer…..Foles and their 1st and 2nd rounders. For Mariota
December 24th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
Yeah It’s me! Says:
December 24th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
Uh…… Detroit has a franchise QB. The Best WR. A top 5 defense before Caldwell even got there.Let alone a lot more talented team, I love how you people make up stuff to fit your agenda.
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Irrelevant. Go look at articles around January 20th last year. Lions were mocked for getting Caldwell and we were praised for getting Lovie. Go look at season previews where many were picking Bucs to make the playoffs and most had the Bears and Packers for the NFC North. You may not like that the praised hire we made has been a failure and the mocked hire they made has been a success, but that’s reality.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Hell no to foles Winston Mariota poster boys or nfl future like Russle Kaep luck new generation of QB’s
December 24th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
@poorglennon,
I seriously doubt that but if so, I would strongly consider that offer.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
Speaking of disappointing, Lavonte didn’t even make Gregg Rosenthal’s Top 9 list of Pro Bowl snubs. He got an honorable mention but it just shows you how irrelevant the Bucs are in the eyes of the media. Mike Evans name doesn’t come up either, not even as an honorable mention despite him having no QB and having the same amount of TD’s and 120 less yards than Beckham.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:49 pm
Firing Lovie wouldn’t hurt because he is already the worst HC in the NFL…. Seems to me like the best time to fire such a horrible HC…. When your current HC is at the very bottom of the pile then their is no further for the next guy to go!
December 24th, 2014 at 2:19 pm
Lovie is a HUGE liabilty…starting with he is incompetent as a HC…
He can not coach up a full roster
He cannot make proactive adjustments..yeah he make reactive adjustments
He can not evaluate talent
He can not attract coaching talent
He will not be able to attract FA talent with anything other than MONEY…witness Cousins & Johnson and the Packer center
To give Lovie anything but his walking papers 1 Jan…is franchise SUICIDE
Lovie is a very nice man
December 24th, 2014 at 2:20 pm
Geez. Sorry for the typos guys. Fixed.
December 24th, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Cmurda,
Evans even missed a game and a half but has the same # of TD’s and only 120 less yards.
December 24th, 2014 at 2:42 pm
“Discouraged? Disappointed.”
December 24th, 2014 at 2:44 pm
Don’t forget to add the “anointed one” Josh McCown to that list of FA BUSTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 24th, 2014 at 2:58 pm
DB55 Says:
December 24th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
Regarding player evaluation I thought Lovies response to bobby rainey sums up his BS in a nutshell. When asked why Rainey (the teams leading rusher) isn’t starting or playing for that matter Lovies response was epic.
To paraphrase he said you can’t just look at one thing (yards per rush) you have to look at the total package and get different players snaps. Everyone has earned their snap whether a lot or a little there’s a reason why they are playing or not playing.
What a fking idiot. Rainey hasn’t played RB in weeks and still leads the team in rushing w little over 400 yards which is pathetic. Why would Rainey, clayborn, glennon or even banks want to play for this guy. It’s obviously favoritism and his players SUCK major King Kong balls.
Lovie smith = 2014′s most epic fail. Even worse than the dummy who tried to get eaten by a anaconda. Morons fking morons I tell you.
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Rainey is not playing for the same reason Mike Glennon is not playing.
It’s because Lovie Smith can’t control them like he can Josh McCown.
Glennon and Rainey might actually want to win the game which Lovie does not want.
December 24th, 2014 at 2:59 pm
rdbucfan, No disrespect to ME13 but ODB missed 4 games. But he alos has Eli throwing him the ball, which is a considerable upgrade ove McClown
December 24th, 2014 at 3:04 pm
Hurry! Back to Basement Robin!
December 24th, 2014 at 3:16 pm
Jo mama
That is painfully obvious.
December 24th, 2014 at 4:15 pm
Outgoing player is better for his next team (Zuttah), and the incoming player was better at his previous team (Dietrich-Smith) = lousy coaching and system in place here.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Blake
Thanks for the correction