“They Just Got Too Much To Do”
December 24th, 2014
Ronde Barber is down on the Bucs — in 2015.
Bucs icon Ronde Barber is down on his old team.
How far down? Barber writes off the Bucs for 2015.
After calling the Tampa Bay-Green Bay game for the FOX telecast on Sunday, Barber joined CBS Sports Radio and hit on many NFL topics.
Asked to name his sleeper teams on the rise for 2015, Barber said he’s all-in on the Rams’ bandwagon, and he explained that Oakland is a team, “I wouldn’t be scared to buy stock in.” Barber was on hand to call the Raiders’ upset of the 49ers this month, and he’s a big fan of Derek Carr and Khalil Mack, among others wearing silver and black.
And then Barber chimed in with his slap at Tampa Bay.
“The one team that’s not there is my old team,” Barber said laughing. “They just got too much to do to turn it around in a year.”
Ouch, that’s a painful exclamation on national radio. Keep in mind Barber was around the Bucs all preseason has studied their film in preparation for many broadcasts, and was granted quiet time with Lovie Smith and other high-profile Bucs in preparation for Sunday’s game.
Joe’s not writing the Bucs off for next season like Barber is. It’s far too early for such negativity.
December 24th, 2014 at 6:34 am
If Lovie is still the coach I’m confident we can write them off.
December 24th, 2014 at 7:09 am
With the right OC and QB, things can be changed around in a hurry.
December 24th, 2014 at 7:14 am
In Lovie we bust!
December 24th, 2014 at 7:20 am
Hopefully they jump on trestmAn from bears when he is fired. Select mariota at 1. And draft 2 Olineman with 2 and 3 round picks and go after safety. Slot db and DE in remaining draft and free agency. And we’ll see. They will have to hit though on picks. And health will be a big part as well going into next season. They play in nfc south and saints. Panthers and falcons trending down and some of their coaches may get fired as well as Bree’s getting old and cam being cam
December 24th, 2014 at 7:46 am
If Lovie is our coach I don’t think we have much of a chance next year either. I do hope we get Jameis Winston and I hope we get a new coaching staff before this coaching staff ruins him.
December 24th, 2014 at 7:51 am
Many obstacles exist before we can be even an average team.
An entirely new coaching staff for the O.
Another new playbook to learn next year.
An extensively revamped OL that will take weeks to gel together. Blocking up front is a big deal in case anyone has been watching.
Another QB, maybe a rookie. Maybe not. Unless you believe Lovie about Glennon being the QO (pause and giggle).
The D will be better but the T2 demands superior atheletes. We don’t have the DE or MLB either. Two key pieces.
Lastly, we will be handicapped by a HC who is incapable of innovation and picking FA talent.
ST’s are indeed special too!
On the verge? Ya.
December 24th, 2014 at 7:55 am
@Bird, All in here for Trestman and Mariotta… next year’s Christmas come early. I’d consider Chud too.
December 24th, 2014 at 7:59 am
He’s right though, Offensive line can’t protect the QB or can’t open holes for the running game. Without even an bad line instead of a horrible one this team won’t be winning more than 6 games. Drafting a QB is irrelevant if he has no chance to succeed with such a poor line.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:36 am
Rhonde never had a good quarterback on his team save maybe Garcia and Brad Johnson so I don’t think he realizes if we were to get Mariota or Winston and one of them performed at a high level we could easily make the playoffs in my mind. The big question mark is the O-Line. Thats going to be where the miracle has to occur.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:38 am
Lol @ 6 wins Bucrightoff. Barber is spot on. Way too much work to do in one year. One draft and one year of free agency and this team may win 4 games if we’re lucky. That assumes they don’t screw it up again and miss on the free agents they bring in. Hopefully the Glazers are smart and force Lovie to draft a QB with that first pick. That means we may have McCown starting while the rookie learns the ropes. With the following year’s top 5 pick they can draft a franchise offensive lineman first and then they may start to turn the corner. Two years minimum before we get to 6 or 7 wins.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:40 am
This webbsite is constantly reloading and switching to game adds.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Too much to do, and it’s all self-inflicted.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:45 am
Joe says,
“…It’s far too early for such negativity….”
Did Joe not see the Bucs play 2 days ago? Has Joe not witnessed what an awesome evaluator of talent Lovie is, especially FAs? Let’s see, a franchise QB with the 1st pick (he better, or Harry will lead the lynch mob), a DE with The 2nd, 3-4 Olinemen, a MIKE, and that’s just the beginning… That also doesn’t address depth at all.
We are 3 years out even if Lovie gets lucky with an OC. How many did he go thru in CHI?
December 24th, 2014 at 8:51 am
I knew lovie was gonna fudge up this team as soon as he cut darrele revis. I even said so and people called me crazy. Now its quite a popular opinion.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:53 am
I agree with Biff Barker on his post.
For those who think we need to remove Lovie, I dont agree(respectively). The reason being is that we always have a losing season because we are switching coaches all the time. I know Lovie is the captain of the ship and he should take the heat. But let him build a team and see what happens. We need to build a solid core. I get it though the NFL is a win now or get out.
December 24th, 2014 at 8:54 am
We need more cold weather opponents like Green Bay. I doubled my money reselling the GB tickets! What a nice little Christmas gift. Thanks Bucs!
December 24th, 2014 at 8:55 am
It’s like the old saying “six steps back, one step forward”
December 24th, 2014 at 8:58 am
@ RachelWatson’sthong
ding ding…spot on. The Bucs were poised to be a team who could have competed in the historically bad NFC South then enter Lovie Smith (and perhaps Licht depending on how much say he actually has in his odd neutered by Lovie GM role) who downgrades just about every position on the team via free agency, trades away guys for peanuts that are starting and producing on their new teams, and tops it all off with looking like he doesn’t even belong coaching at a school the size of Rutgers let alone a NFL franchise. Barring a Glazer miracle (cough…Harbaugh…cough) we are now most likely at least two years away from NFL mediocrity let alone relevance. But on that note Merry Christmas to all, and hopefully he fans get a good present on black Monday (have I said Harbaugh’s name enough over the past couple months?) 🙂
December 24th, 2014 at 9:12 am
The personnel decisions are what is so terrible with this team. That part should be fixed this off season, equal importance as OC. So if it’s Lovie/Licht making decisions, then fire Licht and take that power away from lovie.
December 24th, 2014 at 9:13 am
I’d like Polian to take GM and take all personnel decision away from Lovie and fire Licht
December 24th, 2014 at 9:25 am
Cwb613 Says:
I agree with Biff Barker on his post.
For those who think we need to remove Lovie, I dont agree(respectively). The reason being is that we always have a losing season because we are switching coaches all the time.
_____________________________
Actually, I believe we needed to remove Lovie….. yesterday. Good person, yes, bad coach, certainly.
But what we can agree on is that we do need continuity at HC. If the Glazer’s had picked the right one.
We are on the wrong path. Better
December 24th, 2014 at 9:26 am
But that is exactly what L&L should have said from Day 1. Steve Yzerman came to a crappy Lightning team and said “We have a plan” which is code for “this will take us a few years.”
Just because you get rid of a bunch of lousy football players, it doesn’t mean that any team can replace all of them in one year.
Still, this team got worse and added its only cornerstone player – Mike Evans – in the most dependent position on the team.
December 24th, 2014 at 9:26 am
Actually since reading between the lines of ambiguity is a JBF staple I’m going to take a shot at it. What Ronde is clearly saying to the Glazers and the fan base is if you keep Lovie you can expect more dysfunction and losing. Ronde is obviously a member of the Fire Lovie Mob. I can see why Joe sometimes enjoys making speculations based on vague statements, it’s kind of entertaining 🙂
December 24th, 2014 at 9:27 am
con’t We are on the wrong path. Better to turn around now because this roster will be decimated if Lovie keeps calling the shots.
December 24th, 2014 at 9:27 am
Sooo..those of you that want Lovie out…who do you replace him with? Honest question I’d like a realistic answer to please. Tired of “fire Lovie” but no one names a viable replacement. As I’ve said before, Harbaugh comes at a steep price, Gruden is not coming back. Shanahan can be had, but is he an upgrade? Butch Davis? Are you going to fire Lovie and replace him with Trestman? You do realize Trestman took essentially THE SAME team Lovie had and won LESS, right?
You also realize firing Lovie means an entirely new staff. Means our 3rd HC in as many years. Means McCoy and David have to learn YET A NEW SCHEME. Means we will be paying THREE head coaches in one season.
Please, think before you simply fire Lovie.
When the next guy comes in and wins 2 or 3 more games will you want to fire him too?
December 24th, 2014 at 9:40 am
Barber is right. L&L wet the bed in free agency & the draff and flipping the mattress simply wont fix that
December 24th, 2014 at 9:44 am
I don’t know who I’d want to replace Lovie. But if Lovie were fired I’d want a real GM who knows how to build a NFL football team in 2014 running the show, and then he can find the coach to bring out his vision
The thing is Lovie’s time in Chicago is getting easier to understand. He made the playoffs two of the first three years and missed it five of the next six. It’s not hard to figure out: When he was playing with talent he inherited, they were a better team. Once Lovie had more say in personnel and as the initial talent on the roster aged or left, and as Lovie was involved in getting their replacements via draft or FA, they got worse. Lovie is simply too poor a talent evaluator to be running the show. And he has no incentive to give up any control that he wanted. If Lovie were hired by a GM it’d be different. But Lovie hired his own GM which is part of the problem.
December 24th, 2014 at 9:57 am
We will double our wins next year!
December 24th, 2014 at 10:12 am
@ JohnValenti
If a guy like Schiano can come out of Rutgers and field a better product on field than Lovie Smith then I’m not too worried about who the Glazers can find to be an upgrade to Lovie. That said I would prefer they channel their inner Malcolm and go all in cost be damned for Harbaugh…not since Gruden has there been that fiery a NFL HC with a winning track record who is still on the upswing of his career. Lovie has set the bar about as low as you can go for matching or increasing wins, so again I’m not that worried they can’t find an upgrade in the coordinator or college HC ranks
December 24th, 2014 at 10:19 am
Can’t wait for sunday to see if we are really going to try and win the game, you know to mess up our draft.. Are the saints going to let us win for the same reason?
December 24th, 2014 at 10:35 am
Soggy, good question about the Saints. How secure is Sean Payton in New Orleans; it will be interesting to see how the team plays ofr him or if they tune him out. At 6-9 the Saints are looking at a season few of their fans expected. Their defense is simply as bad as it gets in the NFL, much like the Bucs offense in that regard but they do have an offense that can score, and score a lot. The Bucs should be able to put some points up even with Arroy calling plays; if the offense has tuned Payton out the Bucs could actually win but if the Saints simply bring their C game on offense they should win 27-17 or so….. I doubt if the Saints tank on purpose but if the team has quit on Payton, well the Bucs have an opportunity as the Saints have let the 2 other division teams run over them, So if Lovie is tanking, I guess we will see it in the form of guys like Evans and V-Jack sitting out plays and lots of vanilla running up the gut plays for 2 ypc…..
December 24th, 2014 at 10:36 am
Cmon ronde you can’t make that assessment it’s still December
December 24th, 2014 at 10:42 am
Nobody ants to admit it, but the common denominator in the Bucs.offensive success was Josh Freeman. The offense seriously regressed when he started slow and was let go. Schiano made no effort to work around him, stubbornly going to Glennon. This offenses production is not far off from last year’s and the defense is not too far off than last year. What has changed are a few more sacks defensively and A LOT less INTs from our secondary. All coaches.make mistakes and the good ones make the right adjustments from year to year.
As far as Lovie inheriting a good team, that’s BS. He was part of the team that drafted Forte, made the move for Cutler, Marshall, and brought along Lance Briggs, Peppers, and Urlacher. He built that defense along with Rivera and when he left the Bears regressed. You cant blame Lovie for EVERYTHING here and not blame TRESTMAN for his mistakes in Chi. As Dungy said, Lovie was underappreciated in Chi and apparently, here too.
The defense, minus two HORRIBLE showings against the Falcons and Ravens, has been pretty good. Verner has disappointed, but Banks, McDougal and Jaq. Smith have excelled. Michael Johnson has under performed and been inconsistent but many issues can be addressed in the draft and FA.
It takes some time to build a team. Lovie had them boys in the Super Bowl with the 3rd ranked offense in his 3rd year there. One team is not the same as another.
Gotta give Lovie some time to.continue to build what he started. We keep starting to build a house only to tear it down every two years and start over. Offensive line, no matter WHO comes in, will need another year to adjust and come together
December 24th, 2014 at 10:44 am
P.S. it’s possible Ronde was implying Lovie needs more time to put it.together, not that it wouldn’t work at all. Id love to hear his reasoning for his comments. But I think his general opinion is.correct. This will take more time.
December 24th, 2014 at 10:52 am
If you want to turn this around you need to have someone that can evaluate talent, but even then it’ll take at best 2 years to start taking any kind of shape! But u gotta have someone that’s an evaluator otherwise you’re chasing your tail.
December 24th, 2014 at 10:58 am
Rhonde preaches the harsh truth. If we do sign a bunch of free agents and get good picks they are going to need time to learn the system. People don’t like to hear that but it’s the truth because we are pre-wired to be positive and optimistic.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:15 am
Speaking for Brandon and DDneast
“Ronde sounds like a cry baby. Ronde is a stupid moron. Ronde is a troll”.
It takes time except for every other team in the league.
MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone!!!!
December 24th, 2014 at 11:24 am
Josh Freeman was too busy hitting the slopes to care about being a good NFL QB. If we started Glennon from week 1 last year, pretty decent chance we start 3-1 last year. Instead we rode the loser far beyond the point we should have. You’ll notice he’s out of the league and couldn’t beat out Curtis Painter for 3rd string in New York. Freeman is a loser.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:25 am
Ronde obviously isn’t a “true football fan” who should be able to see the Bucs are on “the verge”.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:28 am
You forgot to add THE KEVIN DB55.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:30 am
In Free’s defense, he had the team in position to win his starts. Missed FGs at last minute and Lavonte OB penalty. He was the closest thing we had to a franchise guy. He was a player who gathered players during the lockout offseason and was known to be at One Buc early and leave late. Granted TONS of rumors outside of football and he was not mentally tough enough to handle Schiano’s ways of dealing with him. He got butt hurt after Schiano and Dom didnt want to ride with him after a career year. Look at his numbers. Gonna be a long time till we see those numbers again. And yes, his lack of a team today shows he was certainly (and is) dealing with other issues. Talent is there tho.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:33 am
He’s spot on. L&L came in and did not do a good job with the O Line. Bad evaluation both with the players on the roster and the FA’S they brought in to replace them. So now you have an entire line that needs replacing as far as starters goes. Definitely not sold on Demar at Left tackle or the right as a starter..Quality backup perhaps. With a good O line both the running game AND the passing game would be better even with an average quality QB. Although like other’s I too would like to see an elite QB. Just not this draft. I am not convinced Lovie is open minded enough to give total control to a quality OC. I have reservations that the Glazers and crew aren’t strong enough not to cave into the atypical media fueled arm chair fans, every year QB first circus.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:37 am
Free was upset they didn’t give him a Jay Cutler deal. And no matter what you think of Dom and Schiano, they saved us big time by not giving him the deal. We’d be in a much bigger world of hurt if we gave Freeman top level money. He was physically talented but so what? Wasn’t committed to the game and everyone knew it.
December 24th, 2014 at 11:45 am
To John Valenti and all the “It takes time” folks:
How do you explain this?
Seven first-year head coaches in the NFL this year:
Cleveland: Mike Pettine 2013: 4-12 2014: 7-8
Minnesota: Mike Zimmer 2013: 5-10-1 2014: 6-9
Detroit: Jim Caldwell 2013: 7-9 2014: 11-4
Tennessee: Ken Whisenhunt 2013: 7-9 2014: 2-13
Washington: Jay Gruden 2013: 3-13 2014: 4-11
Houston: Bill O’Brien 2013: 2-14 2014: 8-7
Tampa Bay: Lovie Smith 2013: 4-12 2014: 2-13
Maybe the Glazers are in on the plan to tank the whole year for the #1 draft pick, because that is the only possible explanation that would justify how bad the Bucs have declined from a bad team last year; or on the other hand Lovie and his staff truly are terrible talent evaluators, game planners, and coaches. Personally, I suspect it is the latter explanation.
tickrdr
December 24th, 2014 at 11:48 am
Lovie walked into the Bucs realm like he was walking on water, imagine the possibilities. He quickly sank in the mud. He flatout sucks.
December 24th, 2014 at 12:07 pm
I refuse to allow this team to steal my joy on Christmas. It’s clear this is a long term project.
Merry Christmas to all.
December 24th, 2014 at 12:08 pm
Joe I love ya to death but it is not too early for negativity. It is just simple truth.
December 24th, 2014 at 12:11 pm
Ive been saying all yr that we are two to three years away from being a contender. Its why we shouldnt be worrying about QB right now. We need to build the lines. When we had a D that wouldnt give up 14 points we won A Lot.
Glad Barber agrees with me at least
December 24th, 2014 at 1:02 pm
Tick,
We lost 8 games by one score. I am not saying Lovie.does not.deserve a share of the blame, but clearly the lack of OC made a big difference here. The OLine has been the biggest problem and it makes the entire offense difficult to execute. McCown was a clear mistake, most especially due to the lack of oline. Amazing VJax and Evans are both approaching 1000 yards with the poor QB play and lack of a run game to help set up the passing game. Slow starts made us one dimensional this year and we still were close to plenty of wins. A playmaker at QB or even a player who limits turnovers would have made a HUGE difference in the w/l column as well as perception of the team.
Looking at the records you showed for 1st yr coaches, only one or two actually even have winning records. And the Lions turnaround can be attributed to an improved defense (that has developed over a few years) as well as having a franchise QB and one of the best WRs in the game)
If anything, your post helped prove my point that one year turnarounds are hard to come by. We are built and being built differently than the teams listed. Do you think Tennessee is going to give up on Whisenhut in one year? Do you think ANY of those.teams listed are going to give up?
December 24th, 2014 at 1:06 pm
GatrBuc, I agree we are a bit out from contending BUT more reason to draft and develop a QB. Personally, Im okay with bringing in a vet like Cutler (if the trade was relatively cheap) and if the Bears eat half the contract. Id STILL want to draft either MARIOTA or Winston and allow them to learn from the bench and practice. Once they are READY, you can supplant an aging Cutler. Cutler (not at all one of.my fav QBs) is.serviceable for what we want to accomplish. And CERTAINLY an upgrade over what we’ve got at QB today.
December 24th, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Barber tells it like it is. He saw how we have been playing all year and knows the product on the filed I horrible. This team with Lovie at the helm is going down the drain. Haha.
December 24th, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Buc’s recent hiring practices are revealing; Ownership hires the COACH FIRST instead of the GM, who typically hires the HC since he is the expert on personnel. They give the coach the personnel power the GM should have. Ouch, a big, ugly signal they don’t know what they are doing… Combine poor ownership with bad deals and trading away or making poor draft choices all the way back to Gruden’s hire, and the die for perennial chaos and sub-par performance from 2000 to present and into the future was cast. 1. Never have developed a home grown franchise QB 2. Documented history of poor drafting and terrible personnel management. I wish they all would swallow their egos and get some real help, even if it’s in a consulting role from Polian or Parcells in the offseason. Hard to do; you get paid millions and then tell ownership you need help.
December 24th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
You’re right about that Jim. They need one direction and build it that way
December 24th, 2014 at 4:51 pm
I’m more confident about 2015 than Ronde. If we can just get some blocking upfront, fewer penalties, a real running game, a punter that can kick farther than 30 yards, a defensive backfield that doesn’t play 35 yards off the receivers and a qualified offensive coordinator…well….I guess Ronda is right.
Please, oh please, draft Marcus.
December 25th, 2014 at 7:56 am
Maybe James can steal crab legs for the team — he will not be the same in the pros they will tear him up
December 25th, 2014 at 12:16 pm
Sorry Joe but this team is not even close, look at New England Denver and Green bay they have 20 out of 53 ccore players to build around each year. It’s hard to name 20 players on this team who could start with other teams. This never ending revolving door of coaches has hurt this team and set this franchise back 5 years from the start of this season. Ownership is to blame here with no real plan in place after firing Jon Gruden.