“Musical Chairs” Killing Defense
October 29th, 2015
Tactics backfiring?
Could Bucs coach Lovie Smith be in panic mode?
Joe isn’t sure, but if you read a former Buccaneer’s musings on the Tampa Bay defense, that may actually be happening.
Lovie (4-18 in 22 games as Bucs coach) has made it clear he is trying to find the best combination in the secondary, one he can trust to get the job done. Virtually every week this year, either by design or injuries, the secondary has been different.
But to read former Bucs defensive end Steve White’s Twitter posts, that revolving door is undermining Lovie. White was a coaching intern under Lovie Smith last year, so he knows the defense well, in addition to playing here when Lovie was linebackers coach under Father Dungy. White detailed his takes on Twitter (@sgw94) Here’s a compilation:
First they bench Verner, then kinda low key they bench Moore, who had been the nickel and replace him with Verner … And of course Banks was out hurt so they had to play Jenkins and Jennings, and now Jennings is the odd man out. … Let me say again, we dont have the kind of talent on this team, let alone this defense, where we can play musical chairs with the secondary. Hell, the veteran guys look lost. … Sometimes now, so of course a rookie like 38 is gonna have issue. Guys need to be able to trust each other and I dont know how you can when [Lovie] lineup changes week to week. Then the pass rush isn’t good enough. Period. I like Jacquies Smith but he is giving you maaaaybe two or three good rushes a game.
White goes on to say Gerald McCoy hung out to dry as opponents know they really only need to worry about stopping GMC because the other pass rushers are weak.
White added while a guest on WDAE-AM 620 this morning that Bucs defensive ends are basically never getting double teamed in any form, further evidence of how poor they are — and how much freedom offenses had.
Let’s just say that White’s Twitter timeline will help give your coffee a needed boost.
October 29th, 2015 at 11:19 am
Geez, I couldn’t stop shaking my head reading his timeline. What defense are they running? If the players are clueless then what does that make Lovie?
October 29th, 2015 at 11:24 am
I’m still confused by the safety rotation throughout the game as well Conte, McDougal, Wright, Swearinger, and Tandy pop up in different combinations throughout the games. This might work if they were all future HOFers, but they are not. Whats the saying? If you have 2 QBs you really don’t have 1. I guess that holds true with defensive backs as well.
October 29th, 2015 at 11:28 am
Hard to blame coaches when players under perform… And if you are gonna blame a coach for getting guys that have proven history of decent play and then dose not deliver I get it… The coach made the guy give up and lose his integrity… Still the coach could do better by finding better talent from the large pool of people getting cut because they sucked… By the way the coach should be able to make poop taste like stake and turn lemons into lemonade in less than two years or else its all the coaches fault for not fixing a problem that was created for him years in advance… I say we fire every coach that we hire before their contract is up until we can get a Hall of Fame coach in here… Hopefully he won’t worry about getting fired if he does not make it to the Hall in his first couple years… The best thing we can do to fix things is keep getting rid of people because we think we will hit gold or oil sooner or later by repeating the same mistakes over and over….
Best fan base in the world is right here in good old Tampa… Woot woot… Fire everybody and sell the team… It would do so much better in another city…. Heck yeah I’m from Tampa and am darn proud to call myself an idiot… Because I think they should fire Lovie and all our issues are solved… That is until the next coach because if we don’t suck we can’t be fans and call for him to be fired as well!!!
Do I sound like anyone OR DO I SOUND LIKE EVERYONE of you armchair owners who only own NOTHING close to an NFL team…. Just curious…
Support the good things question the bad thing but shut the heck up about the thing you know nothing about…
Just a thought
October 29th, 2015 at 11:29 am
I still have yet to see a rational explanation for why Verner was benched. It makes absolutely no sense
Verner & Moore > Jennings & Jenkins
and it’s not even close
October 29th, 2015 at 11:32 am
Am beginning to hope Hardy is our Dan Campbell.
October 29th, 2015 at 11:42 am
we need an all def draft next year
October 29th, 2015 at 11:56 am
Were very very dissapointed
October 29th, 2015 at 11:57 am
It is becoming more clear every week that not only is the passive “system” we run not working but that the players are confused and/or out of position way too often. What makes anyone think that this defense will get better? It is one thing when Aaron Rodgers carves you up but we consistently have made backup and journeymen QBs look like Pro Bowlers.
Every week is a slant fest and we never seem to make any adjustments to how the opponent is attacking our D.
It is a perfect storm of lack of talent, bad coaching, no discipline, a poor outdated scheme and confusion. The Head Coach is responsible for most of these issues.
I feel like Lovie Smith has hijacked my team.
October 29th, 2015 at 11:58 am
Man loser Lovie should’ve never been given final roster say. Glazers should’ve hired a gm first.
All his moves have blown up in his face, his defenders can say he’s a good coach but no one with any common sense can say he is good at choosing players
October 29th, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Lovie decided to build the offense first…which is something all of you claimed he could not do.
The price is that he’s had to plug the defense with aging veterans that run out of gas in the second half. It’s temporary. Soon as the next draft comes along, he can fill the holes.
You guys should get a grip. Anyone claiming his defense “doesn’t work” should rewatch the first half of the game. It worked. Until they ran out of gas.
Part of that is on Koetter. The offensive plan when you have aging veteran on defense should be longer drives to keep them off the field more. He should have called plays to extend the offensive time on the field. By the time he did, the first half was almost over. The defense got a short break at halftime and came out with just enough energy left to get a turnover and score.
And that led to more time on the field.
These are not all young guys. Get real, people. The only thing this defense is missing is endurance and pass rush. Address that in a draft and it will be tops.
And don’t give me this crap about Lovie never winning. It’s bull. Even if it were true it would not matter. What matters is development of this team and what happens next year.
Sheesh, people. You all predicted 4-6 wins! Did you think that would be pretty???? You are getting exactly what you expected!
October 29th, 2015 at 12:23 pm
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
October 29th, 2015 at 12:14 pm
The price is that he’s had to plug the defense with aging veterans that run out of gas in the second half.
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I just proved you totally wrong on this yesterday, and yet you come right back to it. Credit for persistence I guess.
October 29th, 2015 at 2:43 pm
Just curious Bonzai….Did you have this sort of patience and blind faith in the previous Buc head coaches?
October 29th, 2015 at 3:26 pm
Lovie said when he came here that we were not rebuilding if not how do explain him inheriting a 6 and 10 team with less talent and making them 2 and14.
October 29th, 2015 at 10:36 pm
@BuccaneerBonzai Says – “What matters is development of this team and what happens next year.” Agree with Bonzai that this year is about development. Kwon Alexander is as perfect example. Look at the price the defense pays by playing him full time every game. In the end its the right choice because next year he will be a very good ILB because of it. Fans should not let the Washington loss continue to eat away at the them. The team will learn from it and be better because of it. Next year Licht needs to draft defense and a WR. Back those players up with some high end elite players in FA. We have an offense that will be able to get 30+ points a game next year. The players we have on defense, in the secondary, simply will not be able to get the job done this year. Simple as that. The Buccaneers have the second most available $ under the cap in 2016. Once the defense has the injection of new players next year, this team will be on its way.
October 30th, 2015 at 5:40 pm
Remember it takes at least half a year for any new players to learn the system.