Time To Bend The Tampa-2?
July 28th, 2015
Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.
Depending who you ask in the NFL, the Tampa-2 defense is either outdated or is evolving. There really seems to be no consensus.
Joe asked all sorts of NFL types at Super Bowl Media Day in Phoenix this past winter about the Tampa-2, and the group was split — from calling it a dinosaur to a sound defense adjusting to the times.
But Lovie is not about adjusting, not even when his defense was getting curb-stomped by the Crows and the Dixie Chicks, the latter before the eyes of the nation in prime time.
Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune, in a series previewing training camp, looked at the Bucs’ defense in the second year of Lovie.
WHAT’S NEW?
Scheme-wise, nothing. While most of the league has moved on from employing the Tampa 2 concepts that were the standard in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Smith continues to use them as his system base. But it takes time — about half a season, judging by last year’s results — for players unfamiliar with those concepts to grasp them. To flatten the learning curve and avoid the kind of slow start they struggled through last year, the Bucs spent the offseason adding players well versed either in the Tampa 2 or Smith’s personal version of it. The most notable additions were DT Henry Melton, MLB Bruce Carter and S Chris Conte.
This brings Joe to a more salient point:
Joe’s cardinal rule of football is good coaches adjust their ways to get the most out of their talent. In other words, don’t force a square peg into a round hole. Joe didn’t see a whole lot of adjusting last year, and one could argue out Lavonte David’s talents are not being fully utilized, for example.
Though accurate, Joe is worn out hearing about how the Bucs don’t have an edge rush for Lovie’s defense to work well. Greg Schiano didn’t have an edge rush, either, after the Bucs let Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason. But Schiano got more out of his players than Lovie did, and Joe didn’t see any of Schiano’s teams finish dead last.
While Joe is confident Lovie gets a mulligan so long as he starts “America’s Quarterback,” Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, it sure would help Lovie’s job security if his defense actually improves; or if he bends to get more production from his players.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:02 am
First, Show Lavonte theMoney
July 28th, 2015 at 9:06 am
I’ve asked this before, but never got an exact answer. Is Dallas running the same system as Lovie is?
July 28th, 2015 at 9:09 am
You better watch out Joe! If Lovie hears you asking about “adjustments” to his Passive Tampa 2, to him ” Dem are Fightin Words!!!”
July 28th, 2015 at 9:10 am
Joe,
Thanks for the mention of Schiano getting better production out of players than Lovie has.
Will billboards be erected in Lovie’s honor?
July 28th, 2015 at 9:10 am
Not outdated! Every scheme needs certain players to make it work. The Tampa 2 needs 4 strong pass rushers and solid second string guys. We have a total of one. As far as LeVonte David goes. I like him but he has not been a difference maker. Tackles are good but not enough turn overs or just plays that force the opposing offense to punt. Easy to rack up tackles when you never get off the field. Houston for the chiefs got major money because he is a OLB/DE and lead the league in sacks. David is not a DE and cant cover… at least not yet. That being said I love the guy and think a better line would help him dramatically.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:11 am
Love and Warrick Dunn
Carolina and Dallas run a very similar system yes… however that’s really a two part answer Similar systems yet different game day philosophy. In my opinion, both Marinelli and Riverboat Ron call a much more aggressive game plan than Lovie does. My main issue with Lovie’s defense is how passive his game day calls are. It’s almost like a prevent defense from opening drive on… Where Marinelli and Riverboat ron call much more aggressively and are FAR more flexible in their game plans.
Similar systems yes… Game day execution and the ability to adjust NO
July 28th, 2015 at 9:15 am
and please stop with all the BS lovie needs the right players… it’s Lovies responsibility to adjust to the talent he has on the roster which HE has full control over. Coaching is getting the best out of the talent you have not making excuses because the talent does not fit your system. A System have never won a single championship. Players Win Championships!
July 28th, 2015 at 9:16 am
^^^ A system has never
July 28th, 2015 at 9:20 am
Thanks Tmax
July 28th, 2015 at 9:25 am
I still want to believe Lovie can coach. He terrifies me far more with his incredibly moronic personnel moves. You don’t have the success he had in CHI for as long as he did and not be able to coach. I’m not saying he is good enough to lead us to the promise land of SBs, I see the same deficiencies and inflexible stubbornness that you do Joe.
My bigger concern is the Lovie who is in charge of personnel and gave up a 2nd rd pick for Gaines Adams. And the Lovie who dumped or gave away our previous Oline and brought in far worse hot garbage, and on and on. Bad coaches can be replaced. Bad personnel moves linger for years! Scary.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:33 am
Harry
very well said.
Chicago is still paying for several of Lovie’s bad contracts and personnel moves 3 years later. You are right that is the scariest part. Also, if you look at Lovie’s record in Chicago once he obtained control over the roster the team never won another play off game. When you dive into Lovie’s record in chicago it’s more smoke and mirrors than substance. Like I’ve stated before I don’t like his philosophies at all but his horrendous personnel decisions are what will leave this team in a turd bowl with a bunch of broken down system specific has beens. then the rebuilding starts all over again or continues depending how you look at. I do get the since that either the glazers forced Lovie to give Licht more control or Lovie finally waived the white flag but this draft was more of a Licht draft in my opinion.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:34 am
sense not since
July 28th, 2015 at 9:41 am
Defense will be top 15 this year – With Koetter’s help, America’s Quarterback will do what’s needed to lead the Buccaneers to Wins.
Lovie “critics” can moan and complain all they want – but this coach is likely here to stay for a loooong time.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:52 am
Pickgrin
All you people thst want to judge a team by their offensive and defensive rankings do understand the goal of the game is to WIN the game…
Never once has the NFL handed a conference, division or superbowl title bassed on rankings. Seems to me that’s the way the “ranking fans” justify mediocrity. If at the end of day you are satisfied based on rankings versus won / loss that’s your choice. Maybe you guys can create your own version of the Lombardi and start throwing parades for rankings.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:53 am
@tmaxcon … “When you dive into Lovie’s record in chicago it’s more smoke and mirrors than substance.”
Can agree with most of what you said, but not the ‘smoke and mirrors’ thing. The NFL is a league of parity (pretty close) and wins are hard to come by. We were in the ‘Black and Blue’ division for years, remember? You don’t beat teams like Green Bay with smoke and mirrors.
That said, building a team around a specific defensive system can be dangerous UNLESS that system proves to be successful. Last year it certainly wasn’t, but this year should give us all a better view of whether it’s really a dinosaur. Time will tell. Personally I think that if our DEs can’t contain AND pressure the QB effectively we’ll be in for a long, long season once again.
July 28th, 2015 at 10:00 am
Jameis, there is a lot of pressure on your shoulders to lead this Buc offense to improved ball control and scoring. That is how you ease the weight off of Lovie’s back. The defense will be adequate, the offense is the looming question mark. The existing talent and additions in personnel seem a plus and Buc fans are about to find out which way the immediate future plays out. I can’t wait!
July 28th, 2015 at 10:04 am
tmax – In addition to your blind hatred for all things Lovie – I see you have a reading comprehension problem as well….
July 28th, 2015 at 10:13 am
the goal of the game is to WIN the game…
You mean as in win 11 games? How about 13 games would that do?
And so based on Lovie’s CAREER stats we have a one in three chance of doing that.
Oh but I forgot. You’ll have a dozen reasons why Lovie gets NO credit for those wins of SB appearance including pure luck but no reasons as to why he may have lost 14 last year other than it’s ALL his fault.
Seriously Tmax…nobody here is saying Lovie is the next Parcells…but he’s not Greg Schiano either. He’s not Raheem Morris. And so he’s the best coach since Gruden and that is a statistical FACT not simply my opinion.
I have a deal with Dallas who might be a bit more open minded than you. If Lovie wins this year he’ll stop the bashing. How about you? Or is it really that personal for you?
July 28th, 2015 at 10:24 am
tmaxcon Says:
“A System have never won a single championship. Players Win Championships!”
I also believe that good coaching not just good players win championships. Perhaps that just my personal opinion. Doesn’t matter how much talent you have on the team if your coach sucks they aren’t going anywhere.
July 28th, 2015 at 10:42 am
Uh, ARISTOTLE, I think you had a misprint and am sure you meant, “show Lovie the DOOR”.
July 28th, 2015 at 10:45 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXD2x_kTK_c
July 28th, 2015 at 10:47 am
Holy smokes. They fixed something…wasn’t bounced out of the site a bunch. About time!!!
July 28th, 2015 at 11:00 am
The beauty of being an NFL coach is you don’t have to adjust as much as say a high school coach. If you abandon this type of defense midway through the season then nobody learns anything due to the lack of consistency. Some situations in football you have to stick to your guns through the good and the bad for the bigger goal.
July 28th, 2015 at 11:08 am
“My bigger concern is the Lovie who is in charge of personnel and gave up a 2nd rd pick for Gaines Adams. And the Lovie who dumped or gave away our previous Oline and brought in far worse hot garbage, and on and on. Bad coaches can be replaced. Bad personnel moves linger for years! Scary.”
@harry..that was so very well said it needs to be repeated. No matter how many times OneLove posts my girl TaySway saying haters gonna hate hate hate. It is a genuine concern. Considering the one thing Bears fans bitched about the most is Lovie’s o-lines. Even his biggest supporters have to be concerned when it comes to what he did with that o-line last season. Jameis is gonna killed if that line doesn’t get fixed. That’s the last thing a rookie QB needs.
July 28th, 2015 at 11:19 am
Tmaxcon says: “Similar systems yes… Game day execution and the ability to adjust NO.”
Agreed. The only thing a full time prevent defense seems to do is prevent wins. Lovie reminds me of his mentor, Tony Dungy, who lost his job essentially because of an overly conservative game plan.
July 28th, 2015 at 11:38 am
No need to abandon the defense just adjust. If the front 4 don’t get pressure blitz the lb or a safety. If the wr’s are getting free releases press them off the line to disrupt the offenses timing. Lovie just needs to make adjustments to protect leads and get some wins.
July 28th, 2015 at 11:51 am
TMAX and Harry spot on… couple “dungy/cover2” disciples have evolved and tweaked the system like dan quinn the hc in jville… lovie seems to be unwilling to tweak like say blitz LVD… lets look at mike tomlin a cover 2 dungy disciple.. he is a great HEAD COACH and leader he probably kept some concepts but he was open to new ideas looked into the future and acted accordingly maybe lovie needs to go run the veer at an FCS level and be happy
July 28th, 2015 at 11:54 am
meant to say dan quinn and bradley the hc in jville both run similar sytstems but have tweaked them to be more effective for the new more passing nfl league
July 28th, 2015 at 12:18 pm
Funny thing is if Lovie does tweak things and adjusts his defense this season then you have to wonder why he didn’t do it last year. Did he simply play straight forward football and let the game play out the way it did to improve the chance to get Jameis? I mean he should have signed an OC with some experience, still would have been a big improvement over Arroyo.
July 28th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Look if our defense picks up where it left off last year, the defense that gave us a chance to beat the Packers, then great. But if the defense some how takes a step back, then Lovie will really need to change something up. Be it blitz more out of a 10 under or play more man, which happens to be Verners strength, adjustment must be made.
I have said before though, that I thought Lavonte was great last year. Not elite but he did a hell of a job as the season went on despite not being asked to blitz as much. Even without constant blitzing, we still finished the season with one more sack than the year before under Schiano. Yet, we finished with two less wins.
If I were a coach, I would love to design numerous sub groups revolved around Lavonte rushing the passer. Lovie does not. And im fine with that as long as our defense continues to grow and get better. Iur defense gave us a chance to beat Aaron Rodgers. After stoping them on that fourth and goal, I almost forgot we were 2-12. Our defense gave us a good chance to beat Chicago and Cincy and Minnesota. So while I hold Lovie accountable for alot of bad moves last year, scheme isnt one of them.
July 28th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
@Greg did you really just say lavonte wasn’t anything special? And then compare him to a 3-4 olb? Did you watch any games at all from his 1st two seasons? Dude was making sacks and interceptions non-stop, in addition to being one of the top tacklers in the league. Geesh, smdh.
That just illustrates joes point that his skills have not been maximized or utilized to their fullest under Lovies defense.
July 28th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
tmaxcon Says:
July 28th, 2015 at 9:33 am
Harry
very well said.
Chicago is still paying for several of Lovie’s bad contracts and personnel moves 3 years later.
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Please enlighten us on the several bad contracts Chicago is still paying for. While you are at it, tell us about the personnel decisions they are still paying for. Last I checked, Lovie was 10-6 when he got fired. By your logic, Lovie should be the best coach for the bucs. If he had so many poor personnel decisions, then he must be a great coach to have the team at 10-6 correct? Or are you saying he gets the blame for supposedly poor personnel decisions, but no credit for coaching an untalented team to a 10-6 record?
July 28th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
David, im with you… like a couple have stated above the guy is a horrible personnel guy and has a track record to prove it… the OC thing last year was ridiculous and and if it was the case why didnt Lovie assume more control of the offense and playcalling he is the HC and has coached fball for over 20 years and scouted a zillion offensive schemes and watched film on then
July 28th, 2015 at 12:39 pm
I don’t believe anyone with a sane mind would say Lovie is a good coach. The only thing I am thankful for Lovie for is his bad coaching brought us Jameis. In my opinion the Bucs can’t get rid of Lovie fast enough. If we win any games this year it will be in spite of him.
July 28th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Repost
Since Defense has fueled the Lovie Smith era…
Question..
Is it ‘his Defense or …
“Ron Rivera’s & Rod Martinelli’s Defense”?
Case in Point:
2001 NFL St. Louis Rams Defensive Coordinator
• Total Yards –Ranked (3rd)
• Points Allowed –Ranked (7th)
• Takeaways –Ranked (9th)
On January 15, 2004, Lovie Smith was named the Chicago Bears Head Coach
On January 23, 2004, Ron Rivera was named the Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinator.
2005 Chicago Bears 11-5 .688 (Division Championships)
• Defensive Coordinator: Ron Rivera ←
• Allowed 202 points (12.6/g), 1st.
• Total Yards –Ranked (2nd)
• Takeaways –Ranked (6th)
In 2005, the Chicago Bears defense was rated second-best in the NFL.
The 2005 Bears qualified for the NFC playoffs losing in the 2nd Round to the Carolina Panthers 29-21. The 2005 performance of the Chicago Bears earned Ron Rivera consideration for Head Coach assignments from several NFL teams.
2006 Chicago Bears 13-3 .813 (Conference Championship)
• Defensive Coordinator: Ron Rivera ←
• Allowed 255 points (15.9/g), 3rd.
• Total Yards –Ranked (5th)
• Takeaways –Ranked (1st)
The 2006 Bears’ defensive efforts failed to match the success of their 2005 season. Nevertheless, the team was still a notable presence in league, finishing with the league’s third ranked and conference’s top-ranked points allowed category. Once again the defense’s success earned Rivera recognition among franchises looking for new head coaches
*The Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers interviewed him in January 2007.
Ron Rivera was a candidate for the vacant Dallas Cowboys head coaching position, a job that ultimately went to San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Rivera was named as a potential candidate to replace the fired Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, but the job was filled by Norv Turner. On February 19, 2007, it was announced that Ron Rivera’s contract with the Bears would not be renewed.
Drop off In Defensive Production After the Departure of Ron Rivera
2007 Chicago Bears 7-9-0.
• Defensive Coordinator: Bob Babich
• Allowed 348 points (21.8/g), 16th.
2008 Chicago Bears 9-7-0
• Defensive Coordinator: Bob Babich
• Allowed 350 points (21.9/g), 16th.
2009 Chicago Bears 7-9-0
• Defensive Coordinator: Bob Babich
• Allowed 375 points (23.4/g), 21st.
In January 2009, Rod Marinelli joined the Chicago Bears.
• Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line
Remember he held that title his last four seasons in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers’ line racked up 328.5 sacks under Marinelli, the most in the league during that span.
In February 2010 Rod Marinelli was promoted from defensive line to
• Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
*From 2010 to 2012, Marinelli’s defenses ranked ninth, seventeenth, and fifth, respectively. Also in 2012, the Bears led the NFL in interceptions with 24, along with in takeaways with 44, sixth in third-down efficiency (35.5 percent) and eighth in sacks with 41,while ranking third with the fewest points allowed (477)
2010 Chicago Bears 11-5 .688 (Division Championships)
• Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator: Rod Marinelli
• Allowed 286 points (17.9/g), 4th. ←
2011 Chicago Bears 7-9-0
• Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator: Rod Marinelli
• Allowed 341 points (21.3/g), 14th.
2012 Chicago Bears 10-6 .625 (Division Championships)
• Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator: Rod Marinelli
• Allowed 277 points (17.3/g), 3rd. ←
Average Age of Key Contributors on those Defenses (Tkls/ Sks /FF/Ints/) 28.9*←
* Lovie Smith’s success on defense is based on production from veterans.
* A Highly disproportionate number of those veterans were NOT drafted by Lovie!!!
July 28th, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Phil Says:
July 28th, 2015 at 12:39 pm
I don’t believe anyone with a sane mind would say Lovie is a good coach
————————————————————
Yet when Lovie was on the open market, the NFL community/writers had him rated as the #1 coaching candidate available for two years straight. You and some of these posters seem to be confused. Oh, and all his players love playing for him (except for the greatness of Mark Barron). Some of you are so gullible that you took Barron’s passive comment and started using that in your post to describe Lovie’s system. No one but Barron and some of you minions have called this defense passive. For some reason you think that term is correct . Classic!!!!!!
July 28th, 2015 at 1:27 pm
LOL Luv I started from the bottom of this page and scrolled up. There I saw a detailed breakdown in bold print. It was never ending. I just knew when I got to the top of the post your name would be there.
July 28th, 2015 at 1:34 pm
I also don’t think anyone should be praising Lovie or bashing Lovie until we all see the product on the field THIS season. Sure keep last season in the back of your mind and when the season hits compare them both.
“Fair is fair” – The Legend of Billie Jean. (1985 movie)
Give Lovie this season to work out the many kinks we had on last season’s team, before we bash or praise him for anything.
Fair is fair.
July 28th, 2015 at 1:53 pm
Buc1987 Says:
July 28th, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Give Lovie this season to work out the many kinks we had on last season’s team, before we bash or praise him for anything.
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I’m not praising Lovie. I just think it is idiotic the way some are coming after this man. I don’t subscribe to the school that Lovie has no clue.
July 28th, 2015 at 2:27 pm
As I recall this system as called the Tampa 2 is predicated on an aggressive front 4. If they do their job and get legitimate pressure on the qb AND the back 7 are doing their jobs then this will be an effective defense. As with ANY system all of the players have to do their jobs. I do believe in press coverage to give the linemen a chance to get off the line, but not like the kind we played with the corner at the line with the receiver but then let him run right by without even putting a hand on them. What good is that? What I would tweak are the two front corners play man coverage within their zone before passing the receiver off in order to make the soft spots that is prevalent in zone coverage smaller. Then curl back into their zone to get any underneath or plays out in the flat. And LD needs to blitz more. There are plays that can exploit man coverage and 3 4 defense just as there are for zone so I don’t see how our defense is out dated. If the players do their assignments and the linemen keep their gaps with Koetter being a more aggressive OC, we can have some very inspiring and exciting games!
July 28th, 2015 at 2:57 pm
87′
Hahahaaa
July 28th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Good post DavidbBF.
Gotta have pressure and the back 7 have to learn to stick to their assigned area and trust their teammate to do his job well.
Apparently – that simplest of things – man your area and trust your teammate is one of the hardest things for players to actually do in the heat of battle.
So often, we saw defenders out of position last year – especially early on. Mason Foster in particular was out of position way too often which is primarily why he is gone I imagine.
We were warned last off season by Brooks and Ronde that it was going to take time for the players to “get it”. And we saw that manifest. Extremely smart and capable players like David and Verner admitted that the learning curve affected them quite a bit early on. Both and others I’ve heard say they feel much more comfortable now with a full season of experience and tape of themselves to watch under their belts.
The cover 2 base is a good defensive scheme – IF you have the players to make it work and IF those players know their role and how to properly execute it.
Get Pressure consistently with 4 linemen. Bend but don’t break if you can’t get the pressure – fly to the ball – tackle well – create turnovers – keep em out of the end zone. Those are the cornerstones of the Tampa 2.
Its a solid system that will complement an offense capable of scoring points quite well.
We will see solid improvement on both sides of the ball this year and the Bucs will go heavy on Defense in the draft next year. Lovie and Cullen WILL find or create some pass rushers – one way or another and by 2017 this team will be built to win and built to last.
Getting Winston was the key to our forthcoming turnaround – and Lovie Smith – the defensive HC – was instrumental in making that happen – in more ways than we will ever fully know….
Go Bucs!
July 28th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Tiny Tim…I wasn’t singling you out. I was talking to every fan on here.
Off topic : Pro Football Talk host Mike Florio asked Payton what he would say if another coach or general manager asked for advice about whether to sign Galette.
“You know you’re going to get a guy that gives great effort, he works hard, he’s passionate — I love that about him,” Payton said. “The key thing is just making sure there’s that communication: Here’s what we’re doing, here’s the expectation level. Guys are going to make mistakes. At the same time, it had gotten to a point where we felt for this upcoming season, it (releasing Galette) was a decision we had to make.”
July 28th, 2015 at 3:51 pm
Buc1987 Says:
July 28th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Tiny Tim…I wasn’t singling you out. I was talking to every fan on here.
———————
I know you were not singling me out. I just wanted it to be known I do not praise Lovie. Its all good.
July 28th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
@87,
To add to your concerns about the very bad Oline, one thing I didn’t get in their selection of Ali “Hobart” Marpet, was can a team that sucks so bad afford to take a risk of gambling on a player like that? Don’t get me wrong. At first I liked it. I wanted to believe they “stole” Marpet. And hopefully they did. Hopefully they stole him better than Dom “stole” Cheeseburger Bowers (remember?). For a team that is in such bad shape on the Oline, I think taking a flyer on Marpet is unwarranted when AJ Cann is still on the board.
July 28th, 2015 at 4:37 pm
Harry… I like Marpet because he has something to prove. Whether or not he has the ability to show it that remains to be seen. But I’m rooting for the young kid everyone likes an underdog.
July 28th, 2015 at 4:52 pm
I think I’m gonna nickname him “Rudy” Marpet.
July 28th, 2015 at 8:48 pm
Payton’s comments on Junior translated.
Yes he was a very talented player who could turn up his motor when he wanted to. Communication is coach speak for saying Junior basically became uncoachable and so much so the Saints were willing to dump him with NO compensation! He’s a major headcase who is uncoachable.
Do we not think the Saints imagined they’d be facing Junior on a division rival if they simply dumped him. Of course they realize that distinct possibility and yet they STILL dumped his butt.
Why are we so hot to pick up other team’s rejects?
July 29th, 2015 at 10:14 am
i am not in the habit of defending the man, but what we saw last year was not lovie smith’s defense so let’s stop calling it that. it was mostly misfit players running a system they had yet to grasp. aside from darrelle revis, there was not a single talent on this defense worth considering a scheme change to feature. it’s not lovie’s job to shake up his whole scheme for a bunch of guys who will be wearing other unis in his second year as HC down here.
frazier and lovie had to put 11 guys on the field whenever the other team had the ball, but at any given time 3 or 4 of those guys were apparently running a different scheme than their teamates were. Lovie has no such excuses protecting him this year, but frankly i think we will see a vastly better defense now that we’ve had time to make sure the guys on the roster either figured it out by the end of last year or were brought here because they have a history of buying into this system and being pro bowlers or part of top 10 defenses by fully buying into a defense like we run here.
as booger & sapp used to say (quoting marinelli or kiffin i think), “it’s not the X’s and O’s, it’s the Jims and the Joes”
July 29th, 2015 at 11:25 pm
The reason this draft was better than last year was that Licht was getting advice from the people he brought in instead of the group advising his predecessor that he later let go. Licht would have gotten better free agents this year but Lovie had no draw after only winning two games last year so all they could get were players who played for Lovie and respect him and athletes who are best suited for the Tampa Two and were recommended to go to Lovie by their DC in Dallas. The stars didn’t want to come here this year. Lovie is a brilliant Defensive Coach and is a player’s Coach who like him when they play for him (just listen to Winston) but he is inept on the Offensive side but has learned to leave that to his OC. Koetter will be a big improvement as OC. The only thing that bothers me is that he should have watched film of last season (or just remembered how bad our OL was against Atlanta last year) and he should have fired Warhop. I am just hoping that the leadership of Mankins will overcome that mistake. He can give instruction and motivation to our other linemen and hopefully overcome the poor development of linemen by Warhop.