THE OPTIMIST: Youthful Unpredictability
September 27th, 2015
Lavonte David must turn a corner
In these unsettled times of devastating Bucs losses, constant change and growing pains, Joe thought it would be wise to bring back THE OPTIMIST.
THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.
THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t. … Of course, THE OPTIMIST’s opinions are his alone and are not influenced by Joe.
The defense’s collapse against the Tennessee Titans scared Bucs fans. After so much defensive improvement following last year’s bye week, and adding a few more players, success should come quickly. Be we had to wait until Week 2 because the Bucs are incredibly young across the board, and with youth comes unpredictability.
We heard Buccaneers say they were deflated after the first play of the year, where safety Major Wright lit up a Tennessee running back only to be called for unsportsmanlike play. The Bucs said they were let down by the call, and it affected them the rest of the game.
We cannot imagine Derrick Brooks or Warren Sapp ever saying something like that, but then again, those were true veterans. Lavonte David is experienced too, but is he really? He has the game time in, but Brooks and Sapp got the time and the effect of being game changers. They turned the franchise around.
For David and McCoy, the Bucs are still losers in need of being turned around. They don’t have yet that, “I know for certain it can be done,” and they won’t until they have more games like they did against the Saints last week.
Kwon Alexander is a true rookie playing quarterback on the Bucs defense; he is 21 and is really taking the Mike linebacker by storm — and doing a great job. But he’s extremely green, and Tennessee games are going to happen to him.
If Tampa Bay can put two wins together and beat Houston today, then the wins over New Orleans and Houston will give everyone on the team that defining moment, when they learn — and believe — their hard work and effort does pay off. It’s not enough that a coach is telling them they can do it, and it’ snot enough to pull from your college experience, either. Winning does the trick, and more important, builds team chemistry and team accountability.
It may not seem like much, but accountability was huge for the old Bucs defense. Players would look up at the stadium video board to see which player missed his “gap,” and it was handled from there!
So be patient with this defense, they are still learning and getting better. Remember, it has only one draft pick in the last two years, Kwon Alexander, as Lovie has tried to ditch his reputation as a defense-only coach and drafting 13 of 14 players — on OFFENSE!
We can have fun watching that side grow, too!
September 27th, 2015 at 7:47 am
I don’t think 3 squeak by wins erases that debacle in week 1. It was a total disaster in front of a pack house full of fans with optimism, that was deflated, flatten and stomped on in less than 3 minutes!!!!!
September 27th, 2015 at 8:26 am
hu hu He said it snot.
September 27th, 2015 at 8:39 am
Why should I be patient with a defense that Lovie has had two years to construct? Most of these guys are veterans of this style of defense, so no thank you, I won’t be patient. I didnt hear Vikings players complain about how long it took them to learn Zims defense, or ATL players complain that it takes time to learn and execute their new scheme.
September 27th, 2015 at 8:51 am
Looking for improvement as the year goes on. We are building a team the right way by the draft. Also we are build solid depth something Mark Dominick did not know how to do.
September 27th, 2015 at 10:06 am
Yeah the first game was deflating for Buc fans, history repeats itself. I remember going into Tampa Stadium a few minutes into the first quarter, being a little late getting in, and the Bucs were already trailing by 21 points. I think it was against the Browns back decades ago, a regular season game. There was enough excitement then about the Bucs to keep being fans despite the frequent losing. Fans can bitch and moan after losses, I know I do, hey that’s part of being a fan. We all want the Bucs to try hard and win. That’s why we hang tight. Let’s go Bucs!
September 27th, 2015 at 10:23 am
Short Version: “Winning is Contagious”
A win today in Houston is step 2 in forming a winning team that believes it can compete with other good teams.
What is often overlooked is the fact that most NFL players were the best players on their college teams and are used to being elite.
The difference between winning and losing in the NFL is 1) Talent 2) Coaching 3) Injury 4) Depth
I think Houston is going “headhunting” today. The Bucs can’t allow that to go unchallenged and still be competitive the rest of the season. Yes, it’s that important to team unity.
Losers complain about home team advantage and homer refs. Winners score the most points possible and stop the other team from doing so.
The only “moral victory” is beating the other team into submission and sending a message of impending doom to all future opponents.
Loser Talk:
* Good Effort
* Tried our Best
* Moral Victory
* Bad Calls
* 1-play from winning
* Missed Assignments
* Getting Better
* Bad Bounce of the Ball
* We Beat Ourselves
Winner Talk:
* We played OUR game
* Nothing Unexpected
* Can’t wait until next week
Go Bucs..!!