“Haven’t Gotten That Far Yet”
December 16th, 2014
If you are uncertain whether Anthony Collins’ days as a Buccaneer can be measured in a matter of hours, then Joe’s not sure what to say.
Collins wasn’t just benched from his starting left tackle spot Sunday.
Collins was deactivated against the Panthers. This is noteworthy because Collins played plenty of right tackle for his previous team, the Cincinnati Bengals. So the Bucs decided he wasn’t worthy of being backup Sunday, or sliding to the right side.
Lovie Smith was asked yesterday about considering Collins at right tackle while Demar Dotson showcases himself at left tackle.
Lovie said, we “haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Really, Coach? It’s was Week 15. How long does it take to decide if a guy whose played right tackle for years, a guy you’re paying $6 million a season, is worthy of a look at the position.
Joe wishes Collins well with his next team.
December 16th, 2014 at 9:37 am
The WDAE morning show summed it up pretty well this morning. We were yet another victim of players playing well for a big contract and, when they get it, checking out. Johnson has displayed zero hustle all year. Why would he? He’s gotten paid. He got his guaranteed money. It’s not like he’s going to put together a HoF career. So, why not preserve his body and enjoy his money? Same with Collins. He played well in Cincy and now he’s a liability. They both cashed in and now they’re skaters. That’s why FA is fool’s gold. That’s where you go get role players, not difference makers. Save the money to incintivize our home grown players and reward them when they play well for us or to pay the role player FAs that come in and actually perform for us. Don’t reward them for what they did to help another team.
December 16th, 2014 at 9:41 am
Well said -‘u have to draft ur way out of it… If u can
December 16th, 2014 at 9:42 am
“…Lovie said, we “haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Evidence to what I said in my last post, Lovie is more stubborn than he is smart.
December 16th, 2014 at 9:46 am
The FA market is always a gamble…..its important to structure contracts so that there is less risk after year one….VJax is one of the few FA pickups that still performs….Clinton McDonald works hard…..
We need to can….Collins, Johnson, Goldson & perhaps EDS….and I don’t know how long Cousins is under contract but he needed to be canned in preseason….
December 16th, 2014 at 9:47 am
the worst part is that Lovie told him at first that he would sit out because of his elbow, then the replacement plays better, and the deactivation becomes because of play. Lovie did the same thing before, using an injury to cover up not being truthful!. If Coach Schiano had did this, local media would be killing him in the media.
December 16th, 2014 at 9:47 am
can you grade out how Dotson and our rookie tackle did in the game? We get it Collins sucks but what’s the outcome/results with the new experiment? Thanks!!!
December 16th, 2014 at 9:50 am
this is why you need a visionary energetic coach because success starts with who you draft and young players…free agents are for the most part just looking for a pay day with that guaranteed money…
unfortunatly we hired a conservative bore who couldnt motivate jack russel to run fast….go get harbaugh
December 16th, 2014 at 9:54 am
@sho nuff – Bellichek isn’t an energetic guy publicly either. Most coaches are much different when they’re away from the podium. We have no idea how the interactions go between Lovie and his players. Acting like we do is irresponsible. Harbaugh is animated and he’s being pushed out the door by everyone in SF. Lovie has been highly regarded by everyone he’s come in contact with. Just because the guy is yelling on the sidelines doesn’t mean he’s a good coach or that he’s embraced by the players. Schiano was animated. He’d run up and down the sidelines like a crazy person trying to call timeouts and he would have yelling matches with the refs. How’d that go for us?
December 16th, 2014 at 10:01 am
pat own the fact that bellicheck wins because of 2 reasons…brady and an organizational plan. I see you left out Arians or Carrol…lovie comes off as slow
December 16th, 2014 at 10:03 am
Right now the guy is as big of a bust as Charles McRae, granted he was not a 7th overall draft pick… I just can not believe that L&L actually made the OL worse than it was in 2013 with Joseph, Penn, Zuttah, et al. It takes extraordinary ineptitude to get so many FA signing to go horribly wrong….
December 16th, 2014 at 10:06 am
The unfortunate reality is that the draft can only net you 3 really good players, tat can help you right away. The remainder of draftees are projects, that you HOPE to develop.
Free agency and trades are the only way to bolster your team when you have as many holes to fill as the Bucs have. It is a crap-shoot.
December 16th, 2014 at 10:07 am
I was using an example, not giving a character profile of every NFL coach. Yes, the personalities span the spectrum but that doesn’t mean that the style our coach uses is wrong simply because it’s not the one you want to see. If you want to debate what has led to NE’s success then we can certainly talk about the merits of having Brady, Moss, Bruschi, Seau, a great owner, talented assistant coaches and on and on. What is not a factor is how he presents himself to the media and the fans. The same can be said about Lovie. What he looks like when he’s on the podium and when the camera pans over him on the field has zero bearing on anything at all.
December 16th, 2014 at 10:38 am
Pat in VA, keep posting man, I love it! I can’t take any more of these “I only scream about the first thing I can see/things were so great under X coach/fire everybody and then we’ll contend” comments. Oh yeah and “whatever QB coming out of college we should hang our hopes on” is getting old too.
December 16th, 2014 at 10:43 am
Dotson played well enough to get the start against GB, if he plays well in that game, he’ll get the start against NO, and if he plays well in that game, he’ll come into camp as next season’s starting LT, he’s big, athletic and has long arms, everything you want in a LT.
December 16th, 2014 at 10:50 am
@flmike – Here’s to hoping. Would love to have that position shored up so we can focus elsewhere. The LT needs to be handled so we know how to build the rest of the line to compliment and build on what he offers. The patch work line that we’ve put together this year just didn’t get it done. Hopefully Pamphile and Omameh improve this year and becomes solid contributors next year. Those are a few more we can check off. If we have the line full of people that can actually block and create a pocket then I’d have a lot less trepidation if they choose to go with a highly drafted QB. If we don’t get those things addressed then we’re just going to keep ice skating uphill.
December 16th, 2014 at 12:28 pm
At this point Collins and Johnson could be traded for a 7th rounder for all I care. Waste of a roster spot and cap space. I really have to question the player eval. by Lovie, Licht, and everyone involved.
December 16th, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Forget the QB in the draft. It doesn’t matter who the Bucs have at QB until we solidify both the offensive and defensive lines Tampa Bay will continue as a “cellar dweller.”
If as someone wrote earlier, you get three guys out of the draft that help right now, the Bucs should draft: DE, OG, Center with their top three picks.
December 16th, 2014 at 2:26 pm
please….football is a passionate sport. i see none in lovie. i see a dated old man that the league has blown by…if youre good with mediocre than lovie is your guy…i would expect nothing less
December 16th, 2014 at 3:19 pm
In all of this, the thing that worries me the most is…the guys that evaluated the talent level of Collins, EDS, Michael Johnson, etc. are still employed. That scares me. What’s to prevent more free agent blunders this coming off season?
At least there was intelligence in the way the contracts were written. Most of these mistakes can be dumped with small impact…except for MJ. He’s just been terrible.