“He Looked Good To Me”
February 8th, 2015
Three-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champion Ken Norton, Jr.
Three-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champ Ken Norton, Jr., was named defensive coordinator of the Raiders yesterday.
Joe talked to Norton about the Bucs during Super Bowl week in Phoenix.
With all of Tampa Bay’s losing in recent years, some of the best of Bucs times came in defeat.
That’s just the painful reality.
One was in Seattle in 2013, when the Bucs jumped on the eventual Super Bowl champs behind Mike James (28 carries for 158 yards) and Mike Glennon (17-for-23, 2 TDs), a couple of guys Lovie Smith buried late last year.
The Bucs were manhandling the Seahawks in the NFL’s toughest road environment, leading 24-14 after three quarters but crumbled and lost in overtime.
Norton, the Seahawks linebackers coach before yesterday, remembers preparing for that game and how Mike Glennon turned in a very impressive rookie performance.
“He looked good to me. I liked him a lot,” Norton said of Glennon. “That was a very young football team going in the right direction.
Norton had more to say about Glennon, but that was a private chat. But you get the idea from the quote above. He is a Glennon fan.
Norton thinks Lovie Smith is a good fit with one primary job ahead of him.
“Things changed but they’re still young. If [the Bucs] stick with it, there are a lot of good things out there for them,” Norton said. “It takes time for any team to get on the same page. Changing quarterbacks is a lot of work. Nothing about this game is easy. They have the right coach in mind now. That’s the job there now, to get everyone on the same page.”
It’s not surprising that Norton, who played through the Cowboys’ painful revival years and Super Bowl wins under Jimmy Johnson, experienced great stability with the 49ers, and coached the last five seasons in Seattle, is a big fan of stability and patience.
Joe hopes the Bucs can be that kind of team, but Lovie Smith is going to have to win a lot more games to stick around and make that happen.
February 8th, 2015 at 10:08 am
I’m sure there are a lot of teams that think highly of Glennon.
By the way, Ken Norton Sr. was a freaking BEAST!!!
February 8th, 2015 at 10:28 am
Joe, the rest of your interview was a private chat? How secret could his opinion of our backup qb really be?
Let me guess, he said Glennon has a big arm, he knows when to throw it away and he looks like a giraffe. Seriously, what info could he give you thats just too precious to post?
During this time of year when 95% of posts arent worth reading I’d think you wanna post what sounds like an interesting read.
It’s a nice thought. But when Joe turns his recorder off and is chatting 1-on-1, not for publication, Joe doesn’t violate that.–Joe
February 8th, 2015 at 10:47 am
I would like to see more of Mike James, he seemed to do well in short yardage, what if he got a chance to do more? I kinda think even without Martin we have decent RB depth, they just need the damn OL!
February 8th, 2015 at 10:55 am
I remember that game very well also and im sure as I did he thought more of mike glennon in the first half than the second half
February 8th, 2015 at 11:04 am
It is IMPOSSIBLE to draw conclusions about Glennon’s future as a NFL QB….too few starts playing behind the WORST offensive line in the NFL….and I am not in the “Glennon Mob”….
February 8th, 2015 at 11:08 am
Make the change sooner than later and let the stability began – keep Licht and let he and another overseer select a HC.
Just my opinion, Lovie is not the right HC to lead this team back to relevancy.
February 8th, 2015 at 11:08 am
Your post is funny, I’m probably wrong but I remember you saying that Glennon was as bad as JoshMcClown all season long!
Once again, if Glennon has some talent why is he not our starting QB for next year ?
February 8th, 2015 at 11:14 am
“Once again, if Glennon has some talent why is he not our starting QB for next year ?”…..because of our Dodo Bird HC
February 8th, 2015 at 11:17 am
@ terraj35:
hahaha, realy a good one
@ JoeJoes Fungi Nails
Glennon is what Glennon did in college and NFL (realy he did the same)
– Deep throws are very ugly
– Mobility is … not found
– Under pressure and even without pressure (because weak pocket presence/feel, no matter how you wanna put it) hes bad
– i could puke everytime i hear “The cannon” because he has a realy WEAK arm, just throws with a nice spiral, THATS IT
but hey, he is a good guy, hard worker and can go through the motions: perfect Back Up.. nothing more
(his wife is another “+” i guess)
February 8th, 2015 at 11:27 am
I think highly of Glennon. But I have to admit that he’s never been accused of crimes, including Rape. I know that’s important to many of you for a franchise QB. #TheCreepyCrab
February 8th, 2015 at 11:29 am
You cannot draft a QB and make him your starter from day one. I believe the only thing that makes sense is to start Glennon, cut McCown, get our number one draft pick in training and have a good backup QB if we need one and let the player develop.
Regardless of anything, we need a good OL period. We have four good backs and some great receivers, I believe we have an OC that knows what he is doing so it should be fun to watch if Lovie keeps his hands out of it.
February 8th, 2015 at 11:36 am
Glennon, #ROY #SetNFLRecords #SetTeamRecords.
Winston, #AccusedOfRape #AccusedOfManyCrimes.
Mariota, #CrapShoot.
McCown, #WellHeIsMcCown
February 8th, 2015 at 11:47 am
Cannon!
Look. Howard speaks a lot about trade down, draft lines,
start Cannon, but even Howard sees the need for a young hotshot to
learn while Cannon starts in 2015. Howard just thinks BPA is the way to
draft. Never under any conditions should a team draft for need.
Needs change with every injury.
That said, the only way Howard sees The Cannon not starting is if
we go with Winston and he beats the Cannon out in camp (legitimately).
Of course this all assumes Winston won’t show up on Bay News 9.
February 8th, 2015 at 11:47 am
Glennon is who he is – the fact of the matter is he did nothing to win the job and he’s a decent NFL Qb.
Clearly if he was all that some of you hype him up to be he would have been highly sought out and traded for and he wouldn’t have went where he did in the draft where there was weak QB prospects.
Just accept it.
February 8th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
@The Only Bucs Fan In Montana
Are your initials R.D. ? I used to work with a guy here in Tampa who transferred out to Montana and was just curious if it was you.
February 8th, 2015 at 12:21 pm
Save 5 mill and cut McCown, draft Winston and let him compete with Glennon for the starting spot…should be a good competition that would really benefit the offense…
Use the draft and FA to solidify the Offensive Line…also, after seeing how Koetter used Hester I wouldn’t mind seeing use draft a guy like Phillip Dorsett out of the U…he’d be a nice addition to our offense and a excellent complement to Mike Evans and VJax…
February 8th, 2015 at 12:24 pm
In 2014, Josh McCown played 10.5 games, and the Bucs scored 158 pts, which is an average of 15.0 points per game. He passed for 1880 yds, which is an average of 163 yds per game. (ignoring Kafka’s yards).
In 2013, Mike Glennon was the QB for 13 games, and the Bucs’ offense scored 254 points, which is an average of 19.5 ppg.
In 2014, Mike Glennon was the QB for just under 5.5 games (minus Kafka’s qtr against Atlanta), and the Bucs scored 112 points, which is 20.4 ppg. He passed for 1417 yards, which is an average of 257 yds per game.
Even IF, he has NO arm strength, mobility, toughness, leadership etc. etc. etc.;
in 18.5 games, Mike Glennon has thrown for 29 TDs and only 15 INTs.
How was that possible??? Those stats are BETTER than the majority of the QBs that you all think are “franchise” QBs, for their first 19 games.
tickrdr
February 8th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
In the Green Bay game…………If we switch QBs we still lose the game.
If we had switched OLs we would have Throttled GB
February 8th, 2015 at 12:41 pm
@Cardiologist
Nice breakdown.
Cannon!
February 8th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Like Tom Brady, Mike Glennon had a great opportunity to take over the QB position when the starter went out with an injury.
Unfortunately, he simply blew the opportunity to do so.
All of you people can cite all of the stats you like, but in the end, Glennon didn’t do enough to win or keep the job.
This is coming from someone who likes Glennon and hates Steve Duemig for calling him Opie. I think everyone has seen Duemig and would agree he is no Brad Pitt. For that matter, he isn’t even Don Knotts.
Glennon was of course hampered by the same inexperienced out of his league OC as the rest of the offense but the fact still remains, he was given a golden opportunity to keep that job and blew it.
February 8th, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Trade Glennon immediately
February 8th, 2015 at 1:13 pm
If Mike Glennon ends up in Arizona, at least a 70% chance he ends up better than any QB in this draft. Arians is top 2 QB developer in the league, he won’t be in a dumpster fire situation, and he’ll have finally some support. No matter what his haters (i.e. Freemanites) think, he’s at worst one of the best backups in the league, and he hasn’t even stopped developing, he will develop more in the future. Buffalo makes the playoffs with Glennon last year, Arizona would have the year before (and won a round this year with him).
What’s gonna be annoying as hell if they draft a QB is all the people who want Glennon gone bending over backwards to make excuses when the rookie’s play is poorer than Glennon’s. Which, by the way, is highly likely. THe Bucs have arguably the worst history of QBs in the league.
February 8th, 2015 at 1:25 pm
In my humble opinion, the Bucs would be wise to give Mike Glennon an opportunity to be the #1 QB in Tampa.
With the top pick in this draft, they should try to leverage that pick into more picks and players or draft Leonard Williams from USC who is the #1 player in the draft. If the Bucs do insist on using that pick on a QB hopefully it will be Mariota who will be a dynamic and exciting player in the league and will keep the stadium full.
Mike Glennon has never been thrown into a favorable condition in Tampa and should be given the opportunity to show what he can do in one.
And that is my humble opinion
February 8th, 2015 at 2:03 pm
BPA – Leonard Williams at #1, then draft for OL
The Texans took Clowney, and not a QB in the first round, and turned it around.
We have Glennon, who now has some experience, and the new OC can turn Glennon into a productive QB. That means we are not starting over at this position.
Oh, and guess which teams were under .500; ding-ding-ding, they picked a QB with 1st pick – Jaguars, Raiders, Browns, and Vikings, etc. I don’t see the top two QBs as NFL ready this year, and I see a BUCS defense that is very close to making us a playoff team.
Coach Smith doesn’t have two years to be above .500
February 8th, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Man you Glennon lovers are at least loyal , ill give you that. But loyalty aside Glennon is not the future of this team, deal with it . Lovies actions down the last remaining games proved that. Not playing him, and leaving McCown in tells you all you need to know about how Lovie feels about Glennon. So when Winston, or Mariota are drafted, rally behind the decision and root for our new QB of the future!!!!
February 8th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
How many more times must he run out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage before fans get frustrated with him?
How many more times must he underthrow Mike Evans as he runs past the defensive back?
How many more times must he not see a wide open Vincent Jackson and throw a 3 yard check down pass?
And God forbid, how many more times must he run out of bounds 1 yard shy of the first down without even reaching for it, and then cry to the referee that he did stretch his arm out?
Yes, he has had a few moments where he looked capable of being a starting QB in this league. But he has had far more where he was just out of his depth, and incapable of leading little old ladies across the street. QB’s don’t change their tendencies. If they did, there wouldn’t be so many failed QB’s in the NFL.
February 8th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
I am not saying Glennon is the answer, I am saying of the QBs we have, he should start until the draft pick is ready to play NFL football. McCown can’t play and should be cut.
February 8th, 2015 at 2:27 pm
Still young WTF is he talking about?
February 8th, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Again for the 100th time, the only people who don’t like Glennon are buc fans. Never once ever have I heard anyone out of TB say anything other than positive things about Glennon. It’s almost like he has to perform like Brady and Peyton right now or he sucks. Doesn’t matter he only played 16 games, won 5 and 3 of those where game winning drives.
I’ll take the opinion of a 4x SB, future HOF, coach to the best Def in the league over most of you idiots.
PS. Had to delete an entire paragraph before joe did. Let’s just say I get very passionate and have difficulty dealing with FCKN IDIOTS.
February 8th, 2015 at 2:51 pm
87 – I’m obviously not talking about you.
Tickerdr- I might need to come see you for a checkup soon.
February 8th, 2015 at 3:10 pm
ddneast Says:
February 8th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Like Tom Brady, Mike Glennon had a great opportunity to take over the QB position when the starter went out with an injury.
Unfortunately, he simply blew the opportunity to do so.
——————————————————————-
Fair enough. How did he BLOW his opportunity?
Pitts —- Tremendous 4th qtr comeback with game-winning throw at the buzzer. ME 13 did NOT play that game. Pitts 65-0 at home with lead in 4th qtr before that game.
N.O. —- Had 11 point lead in 4th quarter DESPITE 15 penalties for 113 yards.
Balt —- Down 35-0 before five minutes into the 2nd quarter. 5 TDs for Flacco.
Minn —– Again had 4th quarter lead, and had a nice completion to ASJ to start overtime, but fumble returned for TD by Minn.
Cleve —– Again had 4th quarter lead, and DID UNDERTHROW ME13 twice, but also completed TWO 24 yd TDs to ME13.
Then despite the difference in performance posted earlier in this thread, he was benched for McCown, whose only win turned out to be against the lowly Redskins. IMHO, Lovie just could not stand the thought of a “Schiano man” heading his offense.
tickrdr
February 8th, 2015 at 3:16 pm
“Schiano man” heading his offense.
It was obvious all season that he wanted to rid himself of schiano men yet they were the only ones performing with the exception of ha smith n McDonald n Evans of course.
Martin
Lorig
Glennon
The entire oline
Banks
Revis
Barron – no way mcdougle or wright were better
Eric page
Mason foster
Should I continue?
February 8th, 2015 at 3:17 pm
@WS99:
Please stay healthy and AVOID guys like me!
I, too, get frustrated at times, but then one of the ELF posters will make a comment like “YOUR a moron”, and I just LOL.
tickrdr
February 8th, 2015 at 3:32 pm
Seems like the only argument the Glennon-phobes can come up
with is that “Lovie hates him”.
Wow. Really good point, guys. You’ve convinced me
February 8th, 2015 at 3:44 pm
Lovie, the worst QB evaluator in the league and maybe the worst in league history, doesn’t like Glennon, likes McCown, and wants to draft a QB….
So you can pretty much bank on Mariota/Winston being a disaster and Glennon being good somewhere else. Lovie’s QB evaluation skills are worse than my dog’s (and his crap for that matter)
February 8th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Watchman57 Says:
February 8th, 2015 at 1:25 pm
In my humble opinion, the Bucs would be wise to give Mike Glennon an opportunity to be the #1 QB in Tampa
—–
Anybody that has to point out that they’re humble, is not humble…. and Glennon did have an opportunity to prove he can be a #1… two years in a row and he failed. End of story, his numbers are decent but his performances were terrible. Checking down when other teams are in prevent is a great way to pad stats but a terrible way to win games.
February 8th, 2015 at 4:14 pm
bucrightoff Says:
February 8th, 2015 at 3:44 pm
Lovie, the worst QB evaluator in the league and maybe the worst in league history, doesn’t like Glennon, likes McCown, and wants to draft a QB….
So you can pretty much bank on Mariota/Winston being a disaster and Glennon being good somewhere else. Lovie’s QB evaluation skills are worse than my dog’s (and his crap for that matter)
——
Right, because Jim Mora, Sr was a master QB evaluator, bouncing between Bobby Hebert, Steve Walsh, John Fourcade, and others with the Saints… then he drafted Peyton Manning with the Colts and what a disaster that proved to be.
February 8th, 2015 at 4:16 pm
I agree with “99” and “tick”! Play Glennon… Get rid of the real problem lovie smith! Does anyone her believe we would have only won 2 games this year had we kept Schiano? I believe we would have won our division! GO BUCS! (go away lovie)
February 8th, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Comparing Glennonites to Schiano supporters is false analogy
and a red herring. It’s bullshite.
Keep Lovie. Lovie has higher ceiling in the NFL then Schiano
ever did…and ALSO keep GLENNON.
Get it?
Lovie and Glennon work together instead of peering at each
other with distrustful eyes.
February 8th, 2015 at 4:28 pm
we need a real qb, not a pinocchio qb that at times looks like a real qb, but really isn’t. he is a real backup qb.
February 8th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
win, it’s in his name
#winninwithwinston #justwinstonbaby
February 8th, 2015 at 4:42 pm
WS99 the Buc fans are the only ones who have seen Glennon play. The Bucs are last in the NFL as far as coverage so anyone outside of Tampa knows almost nothing about Glennon other than a highlight or two and reading his mediocre stats. Buc fans have seen all the under thrown balls, the complete lack of pocket presence, and zero mobility! We are the only ones who have seen enough of that guy to know he is a back up up and nothing more. The article above is the perfect example. Norton is making his assessment based off of one decent game. He didn’t watch game after game of Glennon looking like he was in quicksand and couldn’t do anything to lead them to a victory!
February 8th, 2015 at 4:55 pm
That’s what I’m saying: I’d much rather have Glennon teach the new kid than McCown. McCown will tell him that when the going get really tough, cry, that way the fans will know you feel their pain.
(I wouldn’t be mad if they drafted linemen)
February 8th, 2015 at 5:04 pm
Yeah Brandon in case you weren’t aware, no Peyton Mannings in this draft. These guys are marginally better than the guys available in the last two drafts no matter how badly their supporters claim otherwise. If they were, there wouldn’t be any debate going on, yet here we are.
Besides, if Lovie drafts a QB and he’s good and Lovie gets fired in 3 years just like Mora, everyone wins in that scenario (well except you and Lovie and his sycophants)
February 8th, 2015 at 7:35 pm
Glennon is the answer. Glennon moving on to another team and becoming an perennially Pro Bowl player is the last thing Bucs need. #BucsTradedtheirFranchiseQB #WellTheyAreTheBucs #AnotherQBBlunder
February 8th, 2015 at 11:15 pm
“In the end, Mike Glennon didn’t do enough to win the job”
In the end, Lovie Smith is a complete moron who doesn’t know anything when it comes to quarterbacks.
February 9th, 2015 at 10:56 pm
Lovie is ruining James just like Gruden ruined Alstott. Hated Gruden after that.