What “Balance” Is Lovie Seeking?
October 12th, 2015
Lovie Smith uttered a somewhat confusing and interesting take yesterday after the Buccaneers’ thrilling win against the Jaguars.
In his opening address to media, before questions, Lovie said the following while praising areas of his team:
“Passing game-wise, Jameis Winston, just offense as a whole, running the ball, good balance, of course running and passing and we protected the football. That’s normally the case when you win the turnover ratio.”
Balance? On offense? The Bucs ran the ball 40 times and attempted 19 passes. Is that the “balance” Lovie seeks?
It’s fantastic when you can pull that off and win. But Joe sure hopes that’s not the balance Lovie wants from the Tampa Bay offense. That’s going to get you beat more often than not. It’s also not the best fit when you have invested so heavily in receivers and a tight end, and possess a No. 1-overall-pick quarterback.
The Bucs didn’t feel balanced before halftime yesterday, when they were content to let the clock expire with 30 seconds remaining on their own 35 yard line. It felt a lot like when they went turtle before halftime against the Panthers.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:04 pm
Yards. That is the balance sought.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Gonna have to run the ball heavy with rookie qb. Can’t blow his confidence with multiple 4 pick games.. I’d rather get him to year 2. Falcons got league wrapped up. Bucs will be lucky to win 5-6 games. Look at the schedule. I’d be conservative with jw.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
I’m interested in the story line involving Mike Evans suddenly forgetting how to catch a football. i’m not sure if we’re still seeing his injury issues lingering and it’s effecting his play or if his really bad game is still haunting him mentally. He just hasn’t been a factor and we’re catching up on the halfway point of the season. Maybe he needs to move back to the #2 spot and get his mind right.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:18 pm
Agree@patric
October 12th, 2015 at 12:20 pm
Lovie plays to not lose instead of playing to win.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:20 pm
Lovie going “turtle” wasn’t because of lack of confidence in Jameis….it was a fear of his defense being torched again.
Let me explain……a throw or two downfield if resulting in an interception would give Bortles another shot at scoring…..that’s what Lovie was fearful of….and rightfully so.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
I thought they were pretty balanced up to yesterday. In previous games it was basically a 50/50 spilt. I’m glad Koetter figured it out and only let the rookie make twenty something passes rather than 40 something. Duh.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:49 pm
Lovie prefers a running attack. Who doesnt know this? Lovie woukd rather run 90% of the time if he could. It’s who he is as a coach. As a defensive coach he knows if you can’t stop a running game, then you will get torched. So he flips that knowledge and says if our offense can dominate by running the ball we have a great chance to win. So balance in lovie’s book is running more often than passing. But also if you look at the yards, our pass yards and rushing yards are right at the same level. So that is nice balance.
October 12th, 2015 at 12:50 pm
It’s called don’t count on your rookie turnover probe quarterback to win games Joe, cmon man. If we’re gonna have any chance of winning games it’s gonna be running the ball more than throwing it.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
the closer we can be to a 60-65% running team (while still getting first downs), the better. our defense would be happy, and so would Jameis. with Koetter as our OC, you can count on run game success to also lead to some aggressive shots off playaction.
most teams can’t maintain that ratio because you need a really effective line and a deep stable of RBs, not to mention defenses will adust…but if you can be in that neighborhood, you are probably dominating possession and not turning the ball over all that much
October 12th, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Balance of not falling flat on his face.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:20 pm
One nice thing about running the ball more is that it eats up the clock. Yesterday Bucs had 35 mins TOP vs the Jags 25 mins TOP. Why? Because we ran the ball much more than the Jags did and kept the clock moving.
Had the time-of-possession been equal, Bucs most likely would’ve lost. As it was, the margin of victory was the fumble that our D recovered for 6 pts (plus a 2-pt conversion).
With the way our defense is playing right now, yesterday’s game is probably as good a model as we’ll find for winning. Run the ball successfully, pass very selectively, win the TOP and turnover battles … then pray.
Maybe that’s the model Lovie is looking for.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:28 pm
I can’t believe I agree with Lovie Smith, but I think he might be right. I’d argue that’s the exact balance this team needs actually. As long as they can effectively run the ball, put it on Dougs shoulders. Jameis doesn’t need to be dropping back more than 20-25 times per game, ideally. It will keep the o-line aggressive and the defense on their heels, it will keep our defense fresh, as well as keep Jameis from taking too many hits.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:34 pm
thats the balance of winning football actually. although I think he meant balance by the fact some of those passes went to running backs…so we passed the ball to backs, and ran the ball with backs. Sounds a lot safter than Jameis slinging the ball everywhere. Seems like you look at top 5 passers and 3 if not 4 of them lost the game. While runners is the opposite.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:40 pm
When we run more than pass we win. Hopefully someday Jameis will be able to take over a game with his arm, but we’re not there yet. Its still early in his rookie year. As he plays and learns, he will be able to make defenses pay for stacking the box, commiting to run defense. Just not yet.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Balance means 180 yards rusHing and passing.
October 12th, 2015 at 1:54 pm
I think Lovie was speaking in generalities, no specifics. And when you win, everything you did was right.
October 12th, 2015 at 2:14 pm
Any successful coach can tell you that winning championships is running the ball smash mouth style and defense. We have just one of those. Lovir please fix the d. The middle is way to soft.
October 12th, 2015 at 4:08 pm
8 Wins and 8 Loses would bepretty good balance for this year
October 12th, 2015 at 4:53 pm
You are limited at this point with the capabilities of your QB. Only hope is the O line becomes the best in the league because winston;s pocket passing with a heavy rush is not going to make it.
October 12th, 2015 at 7:07 pm
I think he was referring to the critics… A healthy balance or negative with positive is a formula for success… SO REMEMBER PEOPLE…. Ignore the trolls and stay balanced with your fandom!!!! THE BUCS ARE FAR BETTER COACHED THAN THE RECORD INDICATES….
We have a PROFESSIONAL TEAM with some week links… Not a bunch of ego’s playing in a glass house with rocks trying to knock over a house of cards… This team is being built to last and it is undeniable they have better personnel on this team now than they have over the last decade…. Despite some tough cuts and guys playing under thier potential (Mike Jennings and all the other FA bust). We are getting the right guys in place and getting rid of the mistakes fast… The two CBs are NFL ready!!! Not For Long…. Simple as that….
PATIENTS and balance is what we need to provide as true fanatics…. A little faith in Jesus could help also… Thank Him for having a team and a GAME to enjoy 🙂
October 13th, 2015 at 1:55 am
I think he is talking about the fine line between genious and insanity, and trying to find a good balance of both.
October 13th, 2015 at 5:09 am
Look they won the damned game; I am surprised but pleased that they did this. Martin was able to run and control the time of possession. If the Bucs could not establish a running game they would probably have lost 45-24 instead of winning especially since the defense seems intent on allowing 30+ points a game…..