Damning Words For Lovie Smith
September 14th, 2015
SI.com’s Doug Farrar doesn’t hold back on Lovie.
You saw it; Joe saw it.
And Joe is going to bet like most who watched that embarrassing debacle yesterday, you want to rinse your eyes this morning with battery acid.
That may have been the worst, most ill-prepared Bucs team Joe has ever seen. Given the fact the coaching staff had how many months to prepare for the Titans? It especially falls on Lovie Smith’s defense, which looked as completely lost and totally clueless and helpless as a nun in Mons Venus.
Leave it to NFL analyst Doug Farrar to take down Lovie. Farrar, in a recap of the Titans-Bucs game, had very harsh words in the SI.com video below.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:09 am
Lovie told us since OTA’s that the Bucs were preparing for the Titans. We were told the same in preseason. And, after all those months of prep, we get this? Are you kidding me? What will it look like when there are just a few days to prepare? Looks bad to me.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:18 am
Unprepared….missed another coaching challenge that was TD…terrible in game management again…fire lovie..keep assistants and get through the year…he’s got to go!!!!!
September 14th, 2015 at 5:28 am
As a long time Bucs fan I HAD high hopes when Lovie took over. I watched Marriota play one game last season, against FL St. There was no question for me who was the better QB. What we saw yesterday was a repeat of Oregon-FL St. At least I took TN in the office pool, turned in my selection last Tuesday.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:30 am
First read, wide open. All day. First read wide open. I didn’t want Mariota because I thought an NFL defense would cream him. Well, he still hasn’t seen an NFL defense yet.
I’m sick and damn tired of seeing three step drops with the first read wide open over and over and over again. It’s been two years and Lovie’s defense has regressed two seasons in a row.
Lovie has to go. He is not an NFL HC. He doesn’t even deserve to be the friggin towel boy. He’s an impostor and needs to treated as such.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:33 am
The Bucs sucked the fun out of watching the game. Jamarcus Winston had a rough start and Americas Quarterback Marcus Mariota looked like he as a bright future.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:34 am
Can we please retire the Cover 2 already! It’s way to easy to figure out, if Winston was put in Mariota’s position he would’ve had similar success yesterday. #3 made some poor throws & we all agree on that, but with that being said he went up against a very complex Titans defense. On the other hand #8 was playing against the Tampa 2 & that’s about as vanilla as a defense the kid will see all year. To his credit he excuted & made some great throws. But let’s also understand he only attempted 16 passes all day against us & are very simple Tampa 2! Jameis on the other hand threw it 30+ times to a defense that knew he had to, once we fell behind. I just think we need to realize that yes Lovie does deserve to be ridiculed for HIS simple old, not hard to figure out defense, for making Mariota look like the next coming of Joe Montana. Hope we don’t bash Winston, & look at both side to this. And truly blame the guy who’s responsible…Mr.Lover,Lover
September 14th, 2015 at 5:37 am
It seems any qb who plays against us looks perfect. Wasn’t it last year we faced2nd and 3rd stringers that had career games against us? It’s hard to fathom but i cannot recall Schiano’s defense getting trounced like this. Joe (and myself) complained about the defense and the constant stunts-system that Schiano ran. Looking now like Schiano knew what he was doing. I fear it may take years to fix this mess.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:39 am
Most of you are idiots.
First of all cover 2 is not the problem. The problem is the players suck. Plain and simple.
2nd. They got beat on cover 1 coverage. Cover 2, cover 3 and man to man.
So to blame it all on cover 2 which is not what’s run on every single play makes you look stupid.
The players suck and the coaching sucks. It’s that cut and dry.
So tired of hearing cover 2 is outdated. Many many teams in the NFL run some form of cover 2.
If our front 4 could get pressure then cover 2 would look great. But they can’t and then you idiots come on here and blame the coverage call when it’s the players that suck not the system.
Morons.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:54 am
@the Kevin
If the players suck then these are all men chosen by lovie, Schiano’s guys are gone. Schiano’s defense did not get trounced in multiple games like this one has. Falcons, ravens and now Titans. It is an embarrassment.
September 14th, 2015 at 5:55 am
My concern is that we haven’t looked ready to play in all our games minus Cincinnati…Minnesota, Cleveland, and Tennessee we’ve been seriously out played out coached…im trying to stay positive but how do you get blown out at home in your first game against another bad team… You can’t make this stuff up
September 14th, 2015 at 5:56 am
http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2013/REG/BUCCANEERS
Case in point
September 14th, 2015 at 5:57 am
we saw this last year Joe. Stop acting surprised and as if you havent seen worse …Last season Falcons game and Ravens game when we were trounced in the same fashion. Nothing has changed in this Lovie era. The O line is awful and the Defense is pathetic …. the game plans are just disappointing … the players we have are lacking in talent -yes … but the game planning is atrocious. I was the laughing stock at the local Pub. Thanks Bucs another season of embarrasment #stayinghome
September 14th, 2015 at 5:58 am
@ghost.
I agree. I thought lovie would be able to turn things around. But it’s painfully obvious at this point that nothing the staff is doing is working.
It seems they have not got better at any one position despite what the pundits and writers tell us. Our eyes do not lie.
September 14th, 2015 at 6:03 am
Mark my words Lovie will not make it through the season. Winston will be fine. Everyone played like they didn’t care yesterday, like they have no heart. Lovie is not able to coach up his @$$. For those of us that where at the game the pewee team that played at half time show more heart and looked like they would beat the Bucs yesterday. But I have to say as bad as the offense looked yesterday you have to blame that all on the defense. The Titans ran the same play on us all day and Lovie couldn’t figure out how to stop it.
September 14th, 2015 at 6:15 am
Glazers top 5 worst ownership in sports how can you be so incompetent you hire 3 straight duds as HC
September 14th, 2015 at 6:16 am
My eyes are still bleeding!!!
September 14th, 2015 at 6:23 am
Licht did say the plan was to rebuild throug the draft. Maybe he needs to clarify with Lovie that doesnt mean ALL first picks for the forseeable future.
September 14th, 2015 at 6:39 am
Mariotta looked great yesterday against Tampa but as a pessimistic Bucs fan I have to believe Mariotta would struggle if he was on Tampa. Yesterday was another reason to turn off a Bucs game. The Bucs are the football equivalent of shock therapy. I may have to pass on the next 4 games.
September 14th, 2015 at 6:45 am
Damning Words For JoeBucsfan.com
AMERICAS QUARTERBACK
So Joe who do you recommend for the Bucs to pick in the draft?
High School QBs throw those kind of interceptions.
Drafting high school prospects does not work in the NFL!
The 2015 Bucs have earned the title AGAIN – Laughingstock III.
Are we a dynasty of futility?
September 14th, 2015 at 6:46 am
I LOST TRUST IN Lovie and Winston!!!
September 14th, 2015 at 6:48 am
Folks, it’s not the Tampa-2 system, nor for the most part is it the players (although tackling was REALLY bad). It’s poor coaching, plain and simple. I saw Titan TEs and WRs running free in open zones all day long yesterday. Same identical problem in last year’s Ravens’ game. No adjustments to speak of all game long. Really bad showing.
September 14th, 2015 at 6:52 am
Is Lovie resigning as defensive coordinator on Monday?
September 14th, 2015 at 6:57 am
Joe you should go a poll on the following question:
How many games are left for the resurrection of the Mike Glennon Mob?
4
3
2
1
September 14th, 2015 at 7:01 am
You all miss the point. Lovie has an EGO problem. He is never going to bring in assistants that are smart enough to bring something to the table. There is only one trick to management. Bring in the best, set a plan and work the plan.
In the same vain, the Glazers need a mind to be head of football operations, not one of the kids. Maybe there are multiple EGO problems at work here.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:01 am
1 Game! 1 Game.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:02 am
HaHaHaHa Hate to say it….but I will…told you so!!! Mariota should have been the pick!! Shameis is a bust!!!
September 14th, 2015 at 7:03 am
@tdth2015:
Do you think Glennon wants to come in here and look bad before he is able to sign a contract for big money somewhere else. Why would anyone want that.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:04 am
Someone said this on PFT, but the Cover 2 scheme’s success has nothing to do with Lovie Smith, or anyone who runs it. It has to do with having Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Simeon Rice, John Lynch and Ronde Barber. Until we get 5 HOF/borderline HOF players into it, it can’t ever succeed. It requires elite talent to run well, and the only Bucs player who qualified as that is Lavonte who is being misused anyway. 4-12 at this point is incredibly optimistic, Jameis is just gonna throw too many INTs for the Bucs to win with a defense that’s going to be that bad.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:06 am
I was in the camp of giving Schiano a third year, and to NOT draft a QB because our team sucks fiercely.
What gives with Lovie, Licht, and the Glazers?
Schiano at least gave us close games with much more bad luck.
Just wow.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:08 am
This must be the Bucs anger dumping grounds. Glad I found it. I know I’ve railed on against the Bucs winning the coin toss and then kicking it away every single freaking time, but again it set the tone. Is it me or is that not freaking stupid. Stubborn ass Lovie.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:12 am
I have not watched ONE SINGLE RAYS GAME this year….NOT ONE!!!
Since they got rid of Joe Madden I vowed I was done….AND I AM!!!
I am VERY close to not even turning the t.v on for this garbage. Then the Glaziers will lose local ratings. THIS IS BULLSPIT GARBAGE. BUNCH OF LITTLE SISSIES!!! WORST TEAM I HAVE EVER SEEN. WORSE THAN LAST YEAR. HOW???!!!!
September 14th, 2015 at 7:17 am
Mariota looked like the better QB yesterday but he was playing the worst team in the league with a horrible defense. The Bucs are in shambles but do you really think Mariota would succeed if he played for these clowns in Tampa. Jamies will be fine and to call him a bust after one game is insane. Yesterday was like one of Mariotas old games at Oregon. He will not get walks I the park in his other 15 games. Love needs to go ASAP as he is the biggest problem. Time will only tell if both theseQBs will be stars. To say he is a bust after ONE start makes you guys sound really really dumb.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:19 am
Pathetic performance way to prepare Lovie, I thought it was hysterical the stands were emptying out at half-time and continued at an alarming pace after that.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:37 am
Teams that do the best have solid O-lines and D-lines. Period. Why bolster your generals if no one is there to protect them. We’ve built everything up except the front lines.
Maybe it is true that these guys will develop into greatness. But if you don’t develop them right, their potential can be destroyed.
Jameis should be on the bench with a clipboard. He is not on a team built to allow a rookie QB to develop on the field. Marriota is.
As far as coaching is concerned, the Bucs are just destined to have mediocrity. The Glazer boys through a Hail Mary by taking Jameis. Boys, Malcolm is still not impressed. Perhaps it is time for a different sibling to take a stab at it.
(Remember, Eddie DeBartolo was better than his sister.)
(Formerly, Sapp, STFU)
September 14th, 2015 at 7:40 am
Guess the NFL thought they’d puunish the Orlando Bucs fans by not giving us the Bucs feed even though we were considered the “secondary” market during the years the blackout rule was in effect. Hell, you did us a favor.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:45 am
“Americas QB” bha ha ha Joe should just quit now..all my people who said lets take MM over crablegs…nuff said..winston lovers (FSU fan) the bowl of crow you are eating im sure tastes good
September 14th, 2015 at 7:47 am
For your own sake, please stop calling Jameis a bust after one game. You make yourself look completely stupid. I’m all for piling on Lovie, but to turn your back on Winston after one game and all the horrible coaching he’s been around is just plain wrong. This is what is going to happen this year. It wouldn’t matter if Brady is back there. We are a bad football team, period. Winston was awful, but everyone was awful. We are better talent wise than this, which falls on coaching.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:49 am
I was very sad when Winston was picked they picked the big mouth instead of the silent giant with poise quick release and feet Winston will not last in the NFL as far as the rest of the team very bad
September 14th, 2015 at 7:55 am
TouchdownTampaBay is right. I bet that Mariota gets shut down by the Brownies next week because although the Browns are in all likelihood a bad team that will be right down there with our Bucs and raiders for the hunt for another first round pick they do have a decent defense that will actually make some adjustments against Mariota and force him into mistakes unlike the vanilla slop we saw yesterday. Could the Bucs go 0-16? After yesterday you have to say it is possible thanks to Lovie though they’ll probably snag a couple of wins somehow like they did last year; still pathetic preparation again! This is a common thread with the Yucs, the team is never ready to play and that is on Lovie. Man what an awful coach! The Glazers have to fire them if (or is it when) they go into the bye week winless….
September 14th, 2015 at 7:57 am
Lovie gets no more respect from me…HE IS THE PROBLEM!…Winston will get a pass on this one, but as I said before, he painfully looks like a Leftwich clone, slow footed and slow release…Mariota as a Buc would have run around and made plays at least. He proved is accuracy and quick release yesterday…Skys the limit for him…Jameis is an INT machine, obviously 🙁
September 14th, 2015 at 7:57 am
For all the brash taunting by the ‘Winstonites’ about the disappearance of the Mariota Mob after the draft, where are they now? We need a case of milk cartons with the pictures of CreamsicleBananaHammock, Fsuking, etc. Come on guys, it was just ONE game. It was the Joes who made it so important (a “must-win.”). It was the Joes who have given Winston a ‘title’ he cannot possibly live up to (at least not on this team).
This game was not so much about Winston and Mariota as it was about the coaching staffs. As many expert scouts, who post on this blog (and a few in the media and league), have pointed out, Mariota was not cut out for the NFL, and Winston was ready when he was 13. Well, the Titans coaches built an offense to match their QBs skill-set, and then ‘coached’ him up in that scheme. OTOH, since Winston was already NFL-ready, the Bucs were able to give him an NFL playbook, wind him up, and point him towards the field.
It doesn’t always work out this way but, so far, what we saw of Winston and Mariota in preseason, is what we saw in a ‘real’ game. If the Buccaneers want to encourage the ‘gunslinger’ mentality, they better build a MUCH better defense. The Bucs will either start getting better (little by little), or they will lose faith in Lovie, like they did with Dungy. If the latter happens, Lovie will be gone, and the Bucs will have to start all over again.
Bilicheats philosophy of “move on from your mistakes right away”, could also apply to coaches. *I* would give him until November, since that is when football really begins.
September 14th, 2015 at 7:59 am
Everyone was on Shiano but he brought discipline to the team they played tough Smith is weak never addressed the team needs offensive line secondary it showed.
September 14th, 2015 at 8:04 am
BTW Buc fans: the opening lines for the Bucs/Saints is in at 10.5 or 11. Not surprsing even though the Saints did not look great in the desert. Bucs actually played some of their better football last season vs New Orleans; losing in OT via poor clock management and a 4th quarter meltdown on the road and tanking the 2nd half of the home finale to ensure a 2-14 record but actually winning 20-7 late into the third quarter. The wise guys smell blood and everyone is loading up against Tampa, can you blame them???? Thanks Lovie, thanks for making this team an embarrassment to the rest of the NFL. The Raiders fired a mistake after 4 games into a bad season; could the Glazers do the same (well week 6 in the Bucs case as then the Bucs will likely be 1-4 or 0-5 depending if the Jags rout the Bucs or not)????
September 14th, 2015 at 8:08 am
Sign me up for the “fire Lovie mob”. Never wanted the Dungy clone in the first place. This team is a reflection of his laid back persona, which is not going to cut it in the NFL.
September 14th, 2015 at 8:11 am
Greg Schiano was and is a much better coach than Lovie Smith. It’s not even debatable.
September 14th, 2015 at 8:21 am
FIRE LOVIE!!!! He has had plenty of time to right this ship and has failed to do so. Lovie should hv listened to Dungy when it comes to which one of these two qbs the bucs should hv drafted. Winston did not look comfortable at all while Mariota looked like joe Montana!!! I pray we did not miss on Jameis cuz if we did we will be bad for a loooong time.
September 14th, 2015 at 8:26 am
Anyone who stayed in that stadium for the 2nd half should have their head examined but….people like me who bought season tickets are beyond help!!
Been going to games since I was 7, this is by far worse than anything I have ever seen. How do the Bucs manage to be this bad every year? Really..that’s not easy.
Answer: Glazers were born into money. Have no ability to run an organization. Little rich kids playing with their NFL team. Thank you Glazer family
September 14th, 2015 at 8:48 am
mariota is not as good as he looked last night, and if we had drafted him my guess is you would have seen a deer-in-the-headlights look on the kid that would give Josh Freeman a run for his money. sadly this organization is once again proving it has no idea what to do with talent. and now that our head coach is proving he’s the worst retread hire since…i’m stuggling here…..mariucci to the lions?
September 14th, 2015 at 8:56 am
There’s always next season.
September 14th, 2015 at 10:11 am
@ William H
Not everyone was on Schiano…I did and stil do take sh!t from some posters here for defending and saying he was better than Lovie is with the Bucs. Most people on JBF never heard of the guy or Rutgers U before the hire (you’d need to know how pathetic Rutgers was before Schiano to truly appreciate what he did for that program). The Tampa media did a hatchet job on him for not being a likeable kiss as$, but the truth is he’s actually a good coach that game planned well…he merely needed to tweak his approach to NFL players AND to do some F’ing adjustments at halftime. Which brings us to Lovie…this guy has been a NFL HC for a decade…if he is still making these bone headed moves there isn’t much hope for him to grow. Lovie is the Josh McCown if NFL head coaches…he turned one good season into a pay day.
September 14th, 2015 at 10:40 am
Toes on The Line…..you are right with schiano and he ran a hybrid of the cover 2 which a lot of teams do….but they dont sit in that BS Cover 2 shell and stay in it….like when mariotta was making those easy throws….the Cleveland Browns defense is going to destroy Mariotta this week….not sure what manziel will do or if the browns will win…but mariotta may throw 3 ints this week…because the browns coach doesnt sit there with his defense and allow a rookie to pick him apart….browns coach petine will show him looks that he never saw at oregon or from lovie and mariotta will fall back down…3 picks this week for mariotta and browns may win if mcown plays..manziel it will be a 13-7 game
September 14th, 2015 at 11:04 am
I’M NOT A COACH OR A FOOTBALL PLAYER , BUT I BET I COULD HAVE PICK BETTER PLAYERS AND COACHED BETTER THAN LOVIE AND FRAZIER , OR WON MORE GAMES , LOVIE ALSO HAD A WEEK AND A HALF TO BE READY FOR THE T/T’S , AND THEY ONLY HAD A WEEK TO PREPARE. LOL, LOL ,LOL TIME FOR THE GLAZERS TO GO , FIRE ALL OF THEM AND SELL THE TEAM,…….
September 14th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
Here is my message to the Glazers. I accidentally bought tix to the Carolina when trying to buy tix for the TN game. I had to buy my tix yesterday outside the stadium (I even got club tix since it was my son’s first game). We left at half time and I truly felt like asking for a refund. I now have tix for the Carolina game that I don’t even want. If they comeback 0-3 I won’t be going to watch more of this sh!t football. You boys need to do something about this coaching issue and do it quick. I think I represent a large portion of Buc fans too. No way you are getting more of money when I have to leave the stadium truly feeling like someone stole my money!
September 14th, 2015 at 2:27 pm
I agree with TheKevin in that the coverage called is not the problem. However, it appear that Lovie did nothing at all to disguise coverage or confuse Marcus. He basically ran play action to a quick slant all game long and we had no answer. That’s all on Lovie.
September 14th, 2015 at 2:32 pm
Cover 2 simply doesn’t work anymore. The cover 2 was designed to challenge offenses that are lining up with a TE and 2-3 WRs. Nobody does that anymore. Teams are now willing to throw the short routes and pick you apart all day. Its not the 1990’s anymore. NE and Seattle seem to play really good D while changing over personnel every year, especially NE. Rookies all over the place and they aren’t getting whipped on O or D. Lovie is terrible and so are the Glazers. These guys don;t know a damn thing about sports. Just ask the ManU fans. They run that team into the ground too.
September 14th, 2015 at 8:04 pm
I heard parcels interviewed the other day. He said zone defenses don’t work anymore unless they are a small part of the overall defensive scheme. He said rare to see teams run this as main package. Personally I don’t care as long as cover 2 works but obviously were not prepared or the scheme isn’t being executed. I don’t buy our talent is low talent. We just got whipped by a better prepared team. These glazers need to hire a consulting group made up of experienced pros like polian, Ron wolf if they choose to find a new coach. I dont trust glazer boys anymore. Lovie should be kept til end of year. Looks silly firing a respected guy during 2nd season. Plus nobody’s out there now. Lame duck assistant coach sux. Glazers need to speak to media about this bs. 42-14 in opener at home. 2-14 last year. 30-70 last 6 years. This is their baby.