Lavonte David Says Penalty Broke Bucs Mentally
September 15th, 2015
Sunday’s brutal loss is eating Joe’s core.
And the explanations for the debacle are making things a lot tougher.
Tampa Bay’s $10-million-per-year linebacker Lavonte David hopped on the Buccaneers Radio Network last night on WDAE-AM 620 and offered a reason the Bucs’ defense crumbled.
Per David, their balloon was deflated on their opening play, a personal foul on Major Wright for doing his best Dashon “Hawk” Goldson impression.
Wright drilled Bishop Sankey on a short incompletion out of the backfield. The strike point was too high.
It led to the Bucs falling apart.
“We played a little passive after that first play,” David said. “I think after that penalty, kinda like killed our momentum. Because we wanted to come out and be physical, and that was the statement of the game there.
“Major coming out being physical. After that happened he got the flag, ‘We were like, oh, man. We can’t, you know, come out and do what we wanted to do.’
“We kind of let that get to us a little bit. We can’t let that affect us, you know. Every time we’re on the field, we gotta be the most dominating, be the most physical. Obviously, that wasn’t the case.”
Joe is in dire need of mental health care after hearing that last night.
So a defense led by Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David, and new third captain Clinton McDonald, is dejected and affected after the opening snap? One snap! One snap! You can’t get more mentally weak than that.
How do they every expect to win a 60-minute football game filled with peaks and valleys?
Joe believes David’s assessment is symptomatic of a much bigger problem — whatever led the Bucs to not show up for every home game last year.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:03 pm
Really? what a pile of Bs!!
September 15th, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Sounds like a pretty dumb excuse to me. I think they only see good things in practice because the level of competition isn’t there. I think a lot of the players on this team may be overrated and it just leads to dragging the whole team down. Could be coaching too. Something needs to Change.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:06 pm
LOVIES FAULT…”simple as that”..
September 15th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
No matter what one player says, it takes a full collapse on both sides of the ball to get boat-raced at home by the second-worst team in football (last year).
September 15th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
TAKE YOUR MONEY AND RUN.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Sounds like the bucs players are as mentally weak as their head coach. Very disturbing indeed.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
This is a bunch of crap. You’re not mentally tough enough to get past one stinking penalty, you’ve got be kidding. Football is all about being mentally tough as well as being physically tough. Sometimes these athletes just need to shut their pie holes. My personal opinion is that these players are not buying into or trust Lovies system (tampa 2). Simple as that.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:10 pm
kind of the same thing that happened when LVD smoked Gino out of bounds at the end of that Jets game. Killed the year pretty much. Been down hill ever since.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:10 pm
So let me get this straight. If the rules were different we would have won and the D would have held up. Ok. Got it.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:11 pm
The “bigger” problem is Lovie. When your a soft man your team will be soft as well.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Not saying LVD, but some players on this team either simply don’t care, or have the fire to even play the sport at this level. At least by their body language on Sunday showed it… Did anyone notice before the game, Winston as trying to get a group fired up (kind of how Brees does it before games) and Mankins was off to the side staring into the crowd??? Dude looks like he doesn’t even want to be there. TAKE YOUR MONEY AND RUN.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:12 pm
GMC and Lavonte David = OVERRATED. Stop drinking the Koolaid.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:14 pm
We already knew that GMC was weak and disappears when it matters most now to learn the best player on defense LVD was affected by one play for the entire game and that the entire team could not recover is very very concerning and directly related to the team not being prepared by the coaches.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:14 pm
This team has been giving up since that Monday night in Carolina almost 7 years ago…
September 15th, 2015 at 3:14 pm
I like Lavonte and he’ll bounce back, but he is right in his statement because you could see it. It also deflated a pumped up crowd. Whether the hit was high or not Refs are taking control of games as usual and screwing them up. Their calls are inconsistent from one game to the next and from team to the other. I hate NFL refs and everything about them. They hate and pick on the Bucs. They’ve been doing it to the Bucs for years and it’s getting old. I believe it was a bad borderline call that should have merited a warning but not a personal foul call, not on the opening play of the game. It’s an uphill battle against the stupid refs every game. They never ever miss a call against the Bucs but sure miss a bunch for their opponents. We all remember the Detroit call. Refs suck eternally and Lovie has zero fire in his belly, none, period. He’s a loser and should have fired up the defense after the first TD. As a head coach he’s pretty much worthless and so is his lack of leadership.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Bucs know how to shiiiiiiiiiiine!
September 15th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
simple as that
September 15th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
Look no further than our lame ass head coach…he has proven over an 11 year head coaching career, without someone else making all the major decisions he’s lost. He just doesn’t have it to be a head coach, some have it, some don’t, he don’t…..fire him now, start your recruiting of Davis, Shaw, etc, but get him out of here before he further embarrasses this franchise and himself…
September 15th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
I hate to say this but we need yet another turn around.
We are living in the past with this Tampa 2 and it needs to go.
If that means Lovie needs to go then so be it.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:23 pm
And the coach of your Tampa Bay Buccaneers is Jimbo Fisher from FSU
September 15th, 2015 at 3:23 pm
when I first joined this site from Chicago I said at some point that the bucs should trade david for a 1st rd pick and all the Tampa folks here really let me have it. Well you resigned him so oh well, you got your lb’s,dt’s,McDougled,Banks(who should be traded too),Verner(who should be moved to nickel), and Johnson(DE)
You need a SS(Kam Chancellor) for leadership as well as skill, Stud DE opposite Johnson making that other guy rotational. Big Corner in the draft opposite Banks and get rid of Frazier and Cullen. Let Lovie be HC and bring in a defensive Coord.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
I guess Lovie is insane.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Pat him on the arse, tell him he’s down and call it a day mentality.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Pathetic.
I’d rather get 10 15 yard penalties in a row and feel like the D had some damn heart than witness the crap I saw last weekend.
My buddy at the game said it was like being at a college game where things turned fast and momentum took over. Most pro teams don’t let momentum / energy effect them as much as we did.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:25 pm
That game was just all out horrifying to watch. Nothing worked. Everything went wrong. Winston looked as though some random drunk dude was called in from the seats and put a Bucs jersey on. And our defense… the total opposite of what we all expected with such talent. I’m sick of this Tampa two crap… a rookie QB made our defense look like a high school jv team. God I hope David is right… I truly do. If that’s what it takes to get these guys to make tackles and not get beat deep on every other down… I’m all for it!
September 15th, 2015 at 3:26 pm
I observed this very thing sitting in the stands. After Wright’s hit (which looked OK to us in the stands), you saw the D get very tentative. Hell, you would have thought a 10 yard slant was the most genius offensive innovation since the forward lateral.
The defense played scared like they were afraid to break eggs on the way home from the store after that. No excuse for that type of mental weakness. Something needs to change or some spark needs to light a fire under these guys. We need this generation’s Hardy Nickerson to come in here and show them how to play like grown men apparently…
September 15th, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Newbucsfan
The only thing the bucs need to do is send Lovie back to the basement. Lovie is the problem Lovie is simply a scumbag loser hypocrite who is stealing from ownership… simple as that. Go back to Chicago
September 15th, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Lovie will probably spend the off season in his basement contemplating changes to the Tampa 2 to make it work in today’s modern NFL.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:30 pm
This kind of piss poor weakness starts at the top. The coach is soft, GMC is a paycheck player and now apparently LVD is weak. You would never dream of hearing or seeing this from a Ray Lewis team. This team needs a player and a coach that will hold everyone responsible and demand the effort and execution, not just hope some breaks go our way BS.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:32 pm
I can tell you as a former coach that what Lavante is saying is true. You can see that it happened in the FSU / USF game as well. The problem is bigger than even a coach can control with this new targeting rule. Not only does a player now have to be aware of causing a penalty to their team they now can loose 2 pay checks and more money by being ejected and fined. All for a hit that they can’t control.
Before you tell me it is coaching it is hard for a defensive player to go all out and hit a moving target, but when the new zone is moved because the offensive player can lower their head and change the hitting zone. This while a defensive player is in mid tackle it is a joke now. How can you be heavily aggressive as a defense knowing that? Now add that to the first play of the game and you have now gotten into a players head that is hard to change.
I don’t care how much you practice it, when it is going live and at full speed you can’t stop and say “oh can’t do that let me go lower or just wrap up i have this”. It just doesn’t happen. The NFL has to make a change. It is trickling down to the lower levels. YOU CAN”T TAKE THE HITTING OUT OF FOOTBALL, just be cause you want to please the critic who doesn’t play it. John Lynch, Ronnie Lott, Steve Atwater would all be wusses in today’s NFL.
You can hit correctly and not kill someone, but you can’t do it if the runner is allowed to lower his helmet and not let the defense it. If you keep this then the runner needs to be penalized for dropping their helmet and shoulder as well and we can just go back to 2 hand touch.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:33 pm
@Joe,
Appreciate the articles allowing us to vent and scream. Please use caution in writing about fire arms in any form as many of us have become suicidal after watching the game. Correction… farce.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:37 pm
I’m not buying into that you were jus outmatched and out coached simple as that! See what I did there
September 15th, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Anyone knows a good football shrink, since Raheem Morris can’t take it anymore
September 15th, 2015 at 3:49 pm
Says a lot about the (lack of) mental toughness this team has.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:53 pm
This article identifies the critical reason why a zone-based scheme like the Tampa 2 is no longer relevant in today’s NFL.
The Tampa 2 is predicated on keeping the play in front of you, and then smashing the offensive player after they make a catch. It was amazing back in the late 90’s, because our defense would just crush people. It literally made John Lynch into a household name. The Tampa 2 of old was a brutal defense that literally had WR’s scared to catch the ball.
Does anyone believe that Lynch would even start on a team with today’s NFL rules?
So, fast forward to today’s NFL, where they have regulated the hitting out of the defense… what do you have left? Lovie’s answer is to “strip the ball”. So much has been made of Lovie wanting his players to go for the ball. There are reminders all over One Buc Place about stripping the ball. What this leads to, in actuality, is a lack of solid, fundamental tackling (case in point – see last Sunday)
The third issue about this defense is that it absolutely requires a ferocious pass rush from your 4 down lineman. In the past, we had Sapp, Rice, Culpepper, Ahanotou, Marcus Jones, etc… Today’s team has McCoy, McFarland and ***insert cricket chirps***
How many times did we hear Dungy say that “it all starts up front”
Without a pass rush, you are essentially running a zone defense that is required to be “soft” because it is simply not allowed to hit people in the mouth.
If Lovie refuses to change this design, then every QB will be circling the Bucs as a day in which they will have great stats.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:55 pm
What it looked like on Sunday was a team that was playing the last game of the season, not the first. They looked disinterested and more concerned about what tee-times they could get next week then what was happening on the field. I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1998 and Sunday was bad.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:56 pm
I mentioned this is the “Healing” thread.
It is unbelievable to me that some bad mojo early in a game would break the “mentality” of NFL players.
These mentality of these guys are as soft as Lovie’s Cover 2.
Piss-poor coaching, simple as that.
September 15th, 2015 at 3:59 pm
Will do. Thanks.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
With a tip of the cap to Raheem Morris:
It is evident that this defense is composed of MENTAL MIDGETS
September 15th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
Sounds like the bucs players are as mentally weak as their head coach.
Then that would also include Schiano. As Shameisthefarmer pointed out this team folded quickly when LVD got the penalty against the Jets. That and Jfro’s meltdown…this team was never the same.
Here is the problem as I see it…but I”m no coach…just an observer. When Tommy Nobis was a killer linebacker his technique was to plant his helmet into their numbers and try and drive it through their sternum to their spine. Have any of you ever had the wind knocked out of you. I watched Bill Bergey send Terry Bradshaw to the sidelines where he puked.
I don’t know when it changed but football turned into a sport of head hunters. Perhaps the helmet technology just got too good as players began to use their heads as weapons and they started targeting other players noggins trying to knock them out…literally. I’m sorry but I’m not on board with a goal of concussing another player so you can stand over him and say I knocked you the eff out.
Now…knocking the wind out of them…making them puke with a hit to the midsection…a great goal. Make them feel as much TEMPORARY pain as possible, but don’t seriously injure them and give them permanent brain damage. Tommy Nobis and Dick Butkus scared the beejeesus out of guys and they never targeted heads. It truly does need to stop.
Now was that first penalty ticky tacky…yeah..it wasn’t a clear helmet to helmet shot. But the refs are trying to send a message. And so why the eff dont’ we listen to them.
Our tackling is beyond pathetic. Why not emulated Nobis and simply target the numbers instead of the helmet? Seriously? You can still be physical, you can still inflict pain just not permanent injury. Why can’t Lovie/Frazier teach this?
And while you’re at it why can’t they teach our guys to wrap up. I’m tired of all the YAC from opposing teams!!! Scrw punching at the football…relative to the number of times that actually works how many times does a guy punch and then miss the tackle.
That call was borderline. The call on Mariota’s “fumble” was totally correct on TV you could hear the whistle.
The call on the challenged first down was just obscene. Even if correct the officials should have NEVER overruled the original spot. That’s always a judgement call and there was enough doubt to just ignore that. The announcers in the booth were surprised and so was I. That was the only horrible call in the game.
And speaking of penalties. We have a stoooopid team. Lot’s of dead ball, jumping offsides, mindless formation penalties because we leave a tackle uncovered. It just has to stop.
Did anybody see McIlwane on the sidelines of the UF ECU game when Kelvin Taylor went brain dead in the end zone and gave the infamous slit throat motion..a penalty that gave ECU great field position and put them back in the game. McIlwane had spittle flying and screamed into Taylor’s face for a LONG time while the team observed it in stunned silence. The Gators like the Bucs have a discipline problem when it comes to stooooopid penalties. At least McIlwane addressed it immediately and loudly!!!
September 15th, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Lavonte’s quote just goes to show how little leadership this team has. McCoy? Lovie? Lavonte himself? A case can be made for any of them. It sounds cliche, but these players simply do not know what it takes to win games in the NFL. If months of preparation for one game can go flying out the window after ONE PLAY, then it sounds like they weren’t prepared in the first place. This team’s identity is comically lost.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Lovie Smith = Rooney Rule.
Look it up, real talk.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
That’s great leadership Lavonte and GMC. If you can’t fight through a penalty and rally the troops, you can’t be counted on and should be paid like an all pro!
September 15th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
The only guy who played 60 mins was McDonald. Even LVD, my favorite player, gave up the first TD pass as it was in his zone. Wtf call a priest OBP needs an Exorcism.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:13 pm
Lack of leadership in the huddles and on the sidelines. It will only get worse until ownership recognizes the huge mistake they made last year. The coach clings to his beloved “scheme” rather than adapt to what is happening around him. The team looked woefully unprepared for a game they had 4 months to prepare for. Lovie has to go.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:14 pm
The D had their wings clipped by that first penalty, which they never mentally overcame with that first drive.
Then, our offense comes out, and our newly minted 1st round QB throws a pick 6 on his first throw. This was another mental blow.
By that time, with roughly 6 minutes left in the first quarter, the team had a complete collapse of confidence, and the wheels fell off.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:22 pm
The defense started to play timid, like they were scared to hit hard after that flag. On play Lansanah was about to body slam drive a titan into the ground , but eased up and the player landed on his feet and got a couple more yards. The defense was playing scared.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:22 pm
I can’t believe he not so much said it but that he thinks it
September 15th, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Big dog just went over this same topic. He said are you freaking kidding me. He also said the Bucs are the laughing stock of the NFL. I can’t disagree.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:27 pm
I’ve posted this on another thread but I want to make sure that Tmax, Realist and Dallas see it.
@Realist, Tmax and Dallas. I’m man enough to say you guys were right and I was wrong! Lovie is apparently over the hill. There is simply NO excuse for Sunday and nothing even an optimist like me can pin his hopes on. I did see a spark of a good running game. But even if we got Fameis to learn how to “manage” an NFL game and stop with his fumbles and ints we have no way to win with this defensive effort. And yes you guys were correct. This rotten egg is Lovie’s fault.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:31 pm
He really means pick 6 broke the will but doesn’t want to throw JaRube under the bus.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:35 pm
What kind of BS is that Lavonte!?!? You and all the players on this team were put INTO A POSITION TO SUCCEED and you FAILED TO EXECUTE!!!
“It’s as simple as that” – Lovie Smith “I mean I knew this team was bad, but NOT THIS BAD!”
September 15th, 2015 at 4:42 pm
Really
All they need to do is look at there head coach and see the fire in his eyes for motivation.
Come On Man. Is this real?
September 15th, 2015 at 4:45 pm
StPeteBucsFan
You are fine man STPETE… I am not one of those I told you so guys so there was no need to mention anything. I was all in on Lovie and sincerely hoped and thought he learned something in the basement his year off but I quickly realized it was the same double talk and control issues that got him run in Chicago after a 10-6 season. I just want my team to win. Gobbling down blood pressure medicine and anti anxiety meds is no way to spend a Sunday afternoon… Unless you are receiving a lap dance from Lindsey lohan and or Pam Anderson… of course… LOL…
I am a Jameis guy and am very concerned about him that being said until he is behind a real nfl oline and has a complete offensive staff I will reserve judgement. He has a long way to go and is further behind than I thought. I was really disappointed when Koetter was not allowed to hire his own staff to teach his system. I don’t think that fact receives enough attention. It would have been nice if Koetter could have solely worked with qb coach and jameis versus having to teach his terminology and system to assistant coaches who were not familiar with him first then having them relay that to the players. something always gets lost with that many levels when both coaches and players are learning at the same time…
September 15th, 2015 at 4:46 pm
@stpetebucsfan
We just want to see this mess fixed and quickly! I am worried that if we give the head coach 1 more year under a lot of pressure, that he will sell the farm for Jadeveon Clowney which the Buc will get little production from and lots of Floppy had time on the sidelines!!!!
September 15th, 2015 at 4:52 pm
Wow! A new low for us as fans!
After Sunday’s game I am done with Lovie as our coach. I expect more from our coach.
IMO an NFL coach is not responsible for their player’s performance. We are talking about adults here. We are not talking about a college or high school coach!
Just like every other adult in this country your PAYCHECK should be enough motivation for an adult to do their JOB with 100% effort!
0-16 is coming…
September 15th, 2015 at 4:53 pm
The Buc Realist
How was your boy Clayborne last night. I missed the game traveling.
September 15th, 2015 at 4:58 pm
Hilarious….I didn’t know Lavonte David speaks for the mentality of the whole team…Funny how the stuttering-stammering-failed-barowning-Scott Brantely-punch-receiving, show host, is yammering on and on how the whole reason for the FAIL on Sunday was because the team gave up after 1 penalty. He is positive it’s not coaching…He is so sure that that because of the fact Lavonte David said the team was affected by the penalt, that it has nothing to do with coaching…Lol, the the constant intake of alcohol has not only affected his ability to speak, it’s affected his cognition.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
How about we kept getting sucked up by play action fakes. Don’t make up some BS like this, we can’t do what we want cause we got a penalty.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
I did not watch, all I heard was that he plays mostly DT now, I would like to know if they stunted last night??
I always pictured him to bulk up and play DE in a 3/4 defense.
we don’t play the stinky falcons until Nov1 so he might be hurt by then, I really do not want to see him in the bucs game where our O-line makes him look like ndamukong suh!!!!
September 15th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
The stuttering-stammering-show host, always proclaims the pro athletes don’t need motivation. His rationale is that they make so much money that they are extremely motivated. Well, then please tell me why their motivation would suddenly be affected by just one penalty?? LOL, I think he needs to be evaluated for mental illness…He is such a strange person.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:18 pm
I thought it was a beautiful helmet to helmet hit and should’ve inspired more violence.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:37 pm
I think what Lavonte and the defense is saying that Major Wright, Chris Conte, Tim Jennings should not be on the team. As I have stated so many times in the past, we will have the worst secondary in the NFL with those 3. Why is Major Wright starting over DJ Swearinger? Why is Bradley McDougald starting over Keith Tandy? Why Mason Foster is not our Middle Linebacker? Why was Lawrence Sidbury cut? why was Khaseem Greene waived? They picked up James Michael Johnson off waivers and today he was released, along with Cameron Brate, Kaelin Clay. Was we that stupid to think that we would find a ILB better than Mason Foster. Kwon Alexander is an athletic LB, but he’s no ILB. Bruce Carter is not an ILB, Khaseem Greene was the closest thing to a ILB for us and he was waived. When the Bucs made the decision to get rid of Mason Foster, Mark Barron, Darrelle Revis, Dashon Goldson, Leonard Johnson etc and replace them with the likes of Conte, Jenkins, Wright, Jennings, Carter etc. I think he lost the defense, how can you replace quality with trash. But we will be ok, we will get better even with the trash that we have in our secondary. When you get rid of your starting O-Line, ILB(your signal caller) and your starting secondary, you are heading for disaster.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:57 pm
@Tmax
And just when we had agreed…
Unless you are receiving a lap dance from Lindsey lohan and or Pam Anderson… of course… LOL…
I just am not a fan of fake boobs. It’s why half the pics from the Hooter’s calendar don’t do anything for me. Not a fan of squeezing sacks of saline or silicone or whatever is in there.
Now Katy Perry…whew…please don’t tell me those are fake or your going to burst my bubble.
September 15th, 2015 at 5:59 pm
BTW Tmax since you were kind enough to give us a moment’s relief from the nightmare that is this year’s Bucs…at least for ONE game..
Let’s continue to divert ourselves…Amy Schumer…the hottest woman in the land right now. Great bod…love women with some meat…and awesome sense of humor. What a combo!!!
September 15th, 2015 at 6:01 pm
The 1976 Bucs could defeat this group. There is no excuse. LVD and the rest of the team as well as coaches need to just keep their mouths shut unless they are talking about how much talent they lack, how terrible the coaching is, how inept and antiquated the system is an so on and so forth. Don’t blame officiating or lack of attendance which is right around the corner. Bucs need to blame themselves and be embarrassed to have their names on their jerseys. We the fans of Tampa sports, who have supported and tolerated the Bucs deserve better than this. Some of you may disagree with me about not tolerating this crap any longer, but I have nothing but respect for all of you fellow fans who have suffered through the decades of this crap. I am officially down grading my status to a casual observer when it comes to the Bucs. I will no longer allow myself to become excited for upcoming seasons nor will I allow myself to be miserable watching the clowns in this circus. If I continue to support this franchise, then in my opinion that makes me a fool. I will not give them a dime of my cash on tickets or merchandise. If the Glazers sell the team I will give them another chance but I am done until then. Apathy is replacing anger and frustration. I am boycotting this gaggle of goons. I will continue to watch NFL football to include the Bucs, but this franchise is not professional. The Glazers may mean well, or maybe not, but they do not know how to hire a credible staff and until that happens, we will be a broken record with a new coach every few years and the same results. Definition of insanity!!!Nothing left to say.
September 15th, 2015 at 6:01 pm
The more I read this quote, the more it just baffles me. This team was better coached, better prepared, better disciplined, more confident and played harder under Greg Schiano. I don’t think there can be much debate about that anymore.
September 15th, 2015 at 6:09 pm
Remember Frank Middleton. Mean nasty dude…actually dirty player on the field…loved him…and off the field what a wit and honesty.
The Bucs had just laid a horrible game on N.O. or AZ..don’t really remember which team but Middleton’s quote was succinct, accurate and would have worked in Sunday’s locker room.
Middleton told the media they should just rename the team..The Tampa Bay Sucs.
September 15th, 2015 at 6:12 pm
Another difference between the Bucs of the late 70’s and this current group, is that at least John McKay was comical in his interviews assessing the state of the team. The current regime is not comical or credible.
September 15th, 2015 at 6:15 pm
I think most of the posters on JBF have more heart and fire than the players do.
September 15th, 2015 at 6:17 pm
StPete
I am all in on Amy Schumer… Smart funny and nasty does not get any better. I was referring the need to be on drugs to allow those skanks to give a lap dance LOL….
September 15th, 2015 at 6:22 pm
I think maybe the worst part of the debacle, I mean game, was that I was expecting the Bucs to try and beat Mariota for Jameis. Watching this game was like watching my 12 year old destroy my 9 year old in basketball.
September 15th, 2015 at 6:59 pm
That was a horrible effort on defense. Great job Lovie. Replacing Revis with Verner. Last year all we heard was how he couldnt play zone, only man. Obviously he cant play man either. So…WTF!
What Lavonte said was the most gutless statement I ever heard from an athlete. I hope to goodness thats just a bs excuse, cause if not, we wont win a game this year.
Well, we wanted less Tampa two and we got it! Turns out a crappy player is a crappy player regardless of scheme, at least to an extent.
September 15th, 2015 at 7:11 pm
That play had nothing to do with playing zero bump coverage on the slot and never redirecting a single route to try to throw off the timing of the Titans passing game.
September 15th, 2015 at 7:11 pm
We are going defeated until Lovie gets the boot.
Lavonte David, hearing that is sad.
How is it possible that we are this bad?
September 15th, 2015 at 7:23 pm
Shouldn’t have let it bother you guys. Hit them and hot them hard, don’t worry about the flags. Be sure should goes to the chest or lower.
September 15th, 2015 at 8:02 pm
Ownership.
September 15th, 2015 at 8:41 pm
What a bunch of pu**ies this team has collected.
Where’s the leader with a set of balls that will stop this soft a** bullsh*t?
There is no fire, no swagger, no leader!
#15weekstilltheoffseason
#cantwait
Go Sucs!
September 15th, 2015 at 8:56 pm
The defense was hyped and charged up. The early penalty really did seem to take the wind out of their sales. Bucs began thinking too much to avoid future similar penalties and lost their natural flowing aggressiveness and it was so early in the game.
September 15th, 2015 at 9:11 pm
At this point, we’re probably going to lose most games anyway. So screw it! Get the penalties. Impose your will on the other team! Make them know its going to hurt when they try to catch that ball across the middle! At this point, I dont care anymore.
Take the penalties…..impose your will!!
September 15th, 2015 at 9:28 pm
@ Pete Michell….I remember that game! I was sitting in our undergrad house talking shlr to my roommates about how “our very good bucs team” was the best team in the nfc…that game right there was our downfall, and it has lead to the worst 7 years of any team I have seen in my 29 year lifetime(i only follow nfl and European soccer, so no other obvious comments of baseball/basketball etc)
September 15th, 2015 at 9:47 pm
Could you imagine Derrick Brooks or Sapp saying this? Fast forward to now: Could you imagine any of the Patriots,Seahawks, or Rams saying this. Like I said in the ”Healing Post” WHY ARE WE HELPING THE TITANS OFF OF THE GROUND AND THEY’RE STOMPING OUR HEADS IN?! There are too many NICE GUYS on this team. Could you imagine SUH letting this ride? It’s ridiculous. If they don’t believe THEY can when how can WE?
September 15th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
There should be a new rule implemented:
No helping up opposing players unless we’re up by 21 points or more…..simple as that!
September 15th, 2015 at 10:54 pm
The one and only thing that broke the will and mentality of the Bucs was just way too much of America’s Quarterback, Marcus Mariota
September 15th, 2015 at 11:13 pm
Pathetic: why can’t anyone in the Bucs camp admit that they were outcoached on Sunday? Tennessee had Mariota get rid of the ball quickly and the Bucs never adjusted; never!!! So the Titans kept going back to the well. Remember how us fans used to demonize Schiano for no halftime adjustments or for going away from what was working in the first half? Now we are looking at a team that looks like it has no gameplan; simply embarrassing. Big Dog Duemig is right (and I usually disagree with the guy): the Bucs are an embarrassment and a laughing stock right now. The Glazers have to be ready to do something by the bye week!
September 15th, 2015 at 11:31 pm
if you are going to lose by 5 TDs, you might as well do it by playing your game. i’m not sure that letting guys pass and run all over you is better than getting a few personal fouls for playing real football