Licht Channels Team Glazer
March 22nd, 2016
Stomach turned over late-season dive.
Talk to Bucs folks about how AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht wants to mold the team, and part of it is culture.
Joe’s written about this several times. The Bucs have a losing culture, and many players from a losing culture fill the roster. What else explains how four starters shrugged their shoulders and confessed on record how the team wasn’t ready to play against the sorry Saints at home in December, with a wild card berth in reach. And then the Bucs nosedived, losing four straight to close the season, three against garbage teams.
One reason the Bucs drafted America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, was his drive and passion to win. Losing eats at him. Bucs folks will even sat they are seeking ballplayers with the same Jameis type of drive and passion and desire to win, whatever it takes.
Team Glazer has a pattern, and the rare times they speak publicly, they sometimes mention this: They look at how teams finish a season when they assess them. Chucky was launched after the Bucs, mainly due to an aging roster, collapsed to close 2008 with four losses. In many ways, the franchise has yet to recover from that fateful January Friday evening.
There was Raheem Morris, fresh off a 10-win season (in retrospect, one of the better coaching jobs in the NFL in recent years). He lost 10 straight to end the 2011 campaign and he was launched.
Then, last year, Lovie Smith was shown the door with a four-game losing streak to finish the 2015 campaign.
So we know this timing of losses irks Team Glazer and, apparently, it also really bothers Licht. Twittering from the owners meetings in Boca Raton yesterday, the Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, offered Licht’s take on how the Bucs finished last season.
That 0-4 finish still sticks in Jason Licht’s craw: “We want to be playing our best when we’re knocking on the door,” says the Bucs GM
— Ira Kaufman (@IKaufmanTBO) March 21, 2016
It was a sad finish, but injuries, specifically to wide receivers, hurt when the Bucs had to rely on a pair of undrafted free agents, one of which, Donteea Dye, belonged in the CFL. Bad receivers and a rookie quarterback are not a good mix for winning.
And please, spare Joe the Kwon Alexander take. That’s one reason Lovie is gone. The Bucs knew in training camp Alexander failed a whizz quiz, and even with three months to prepare for his absence, Lovie still couldn’t find an answer for his defense in December.
Getting torched by Case Keenum? That makes Joe want to toss his corn flakes on his keyboard just thinking of that sorry evening in St. Louis.
March 22nd, 2016 at 10:06 am
even with three months to prepare for his absence, Lovie still couldn’t find an answer for his defense in December.
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He had months to prepare for Tenn too.
March 22nd, 2016 at 10:11 am
1 of the biggest lovie advocates here “origninally”. But after the countless beat downs from inferior qb’s constant whining about talent and all the above clusterfu…s I’m proud to scream at the top of my lungs NA NA NA NA HEY HEY HEY LOVIE’S GONE!!!
March 22nd, 2016 at 10:29 am
That was the beginning of the end. No one researched Mariota than the Bucs, with the possible exception of Tennessee. The way the Bucs were so ill-prepared on defense in the season opener, it was as if Lovie never watched one minute of tape on the guy.
March 22nd, 2016 at 10:41 am
It was all teams who the defense couldn’t stop on third down that just killed me. It was almost comical how pathetic the third down defense was.
March 22nd, 2016 at 10:52 am
Koetter & Licht are survivors of the 0-4 end to the season…..It wasn’t just our defense that under-performed.
Hopefully they will have learned a lesson and at least win a game down the stretch this year……the Glazers absolutely don’t like ending with a losing streak….in that regard, they have something in common with us fans.
March 22nd, 2016 at 10:59 am
The way the Bucs were so ill-prepared on defense in the season opener, it was as if Lovie never watched one minute of tape on the guy.
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Not sure if you read the story featuring Banks and Verner discussing the strategy for defending slant patterns? Apparently Lovies defense was executed as designed. Funnel everything inside and let the LBs and safeties cover the slants. Problem there was that the LBs would get sucked in by play-action leaving the slant routes uncovered.
I simply thought Lovies def was antiquated but after hearing him complain about not having a def draft and how that caused him to lose I’m beginning to lose all respect for him. Sad part is that he’ll lose in Illinois too and will blame someone else.
March 22nd, 2016 at 11:09 am
Yet another opportunity for Buc fans to..Bash good ole Lovie huh? You buc fans need to remake the Allman Brothers song, Whippin Post. Cause you sure whip on ole Lovie. Like the..immaculate Licht had nothing at all to do with our 2 yr record. Yep, you’s baptized ole Licht and tied Lovie to da post for whippin.
WHO..will be the next Buccanneer Whippin Post? Hope Koetter and DC Smith have..strong backs for the lashings to come!
March 22nd, 2016 at 11:11 am
DB55 yeah I read that same thing. Funny thing is Lovie would say in pressers that the slant was supposed to be taken away in the red zone to force teams to try fade routes yet Banks/Verner said they were essentially coached to do the opposite. Pretty crazy stuff
March 22nd, 2016 at 11:30 am
Good lord..feel like I’m dying..2nd chorus there Dwayne Allman and Dickey Betts. Give Lovie some water fore the 2nd beating on that whippin post.
March 22nd, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Johnson – are you related to Lovie?
I supported Lovie while he was our HC – but in retrospect – boy am I glad he is gone. 8-24 speaks for itself. The debacle of 2015’s season opener against an obviously bad Tennessee team (with the 1st pick in the draft this year) speaks for itself. The 0-4 finish with playoff hopes on the line against mostly sub-par teams speaks for itself. I won’t even mention the seal clubbings in Atlanta and Baltimore and 2-14 record from the previous year (oops – guess I did anyway).
Other than agreeing to draft Winston – What could you possibly defend about Lovie’s time as HC here Mike Johnson et all – and the better question is – Why even try??
March 22nd, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Note to Pickgrin..But it was all Lovie’s fault. EVERYTHING. Dropped balls. Missed blocks. Fumbles. No pass rush. No passes defended. All..Lovie’s fault. Its interesting. I’ve yet to see many..if any post blaming our players. Like I’ve said, Lets see who the fans blame this time around. Certainly not Licht, Kotter or Smith though. Buc fans fail to realize you must have players who can play the game. We have most of them on Offense. And offense does not win MOST..Championships. I can’t wait to see Buc fans turn. Just watch after a few loses this upcoming season.
March 22nd, 2016 at 12:47 pm
The article reference above on the slant talk by Bank and Vernon also mentioned how they had 3 defensive backs coaches (Corner, Safety, and Free Safety maybe) and that most meeting were held individually – meaning very few group defensive meetings. That’s nuts! Who does that? Oh – I guess Illinois does that now.
Hey Mike Johnson – did you hear the sound of that whip cracking? Want to hear it again?
March 22nd, 2016 at 12:50 pm
I’m gone. Gotta go make some money today. Here’s a tune I think y’all remember from our 2nd album. Guy in the audience shouts, “Whippin Post’ Dwayne responds, “That’s it! You guessed it.” Here comes the thumping bass line on Lovie. Hit it Boyz…
March 22nd, 2016 at 1:27 pm
@DB
As weak a$$ Lovie would say, “we weren’t Tennessee ready.” What a F*KN joke!
March 22nd, 2016 at 1:52 pm
Mike Johnson… you have yey to see one post blaming players?? Do you even read this website?
March 22nd, 2016 at 1:54 pm
yet*
March 22nd, 2016 at 2:11 pm
The Bucs do have the record for having more former players and coaches tied to that whipping post. Without them what would there be to talk about except the upcoming turnaround season most know awaits.
March 22nd, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Mike Johnson….its LOVIES fault for global warming, worldwide hunger, the national debt, Donald Trump, the Kardashians, adult illiteracy, homelessness, war on drugs, rectal bleeding, aliens but not the bucs defense…good day sir
March 22nd, 2016 at 3:32 pm
@joe
Glazers take a lot of heat but it is hard to fault them for their two and done record.Now Tony was also fired for his conservative approach to offense even though he had the best won/loss record of any of our coaches.Since Lovie shared that same philosophy,the Glazers also found the loss of Koetter to another team unacceptable.
cant wait to see where Koetter will take this offense,now he has total control
of it.
March 22nd, 2016 at 5:18 pm
Note to guzzie..That’s the spirit I’m looking for..a continuation of Allmans Live at the filmore baby! NExt thing you will say..Its Lovies fault Obama has been in office for 8 yrs! Stay tuned for Lovie’s rendition of, “Eat a Peach”. When Koetter starts to lose? its gonna be..all Lovie Dubbies fault.
March 22nd, 2016 at 7:48 pm
When it came to slant patterns and dig routes – our CB’s were trying to force everything inside and there were supposed to have a safety or a linebacker there to cover. What Verner is alluding to is that the Bucs don’t have the fastest group of cornerbacks, so Smith wanted to try to eliminate the footraces down the field against faster wide receivers. Smith didn’t trust his cornerbacks’ speed to cover slant or deep routes. We need our CB’s to get up on LOS and run step for step with them on slant routes. Brent Grimes and Josh Robinson can do that and Robinson has a ton of speed. We allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 70 percent of their passes against us and a high percentage of those throws were slants. The Bucs defense also surrendered 31 passing touchdowns in 2015. Roughly one third of those scores were slant passes in the red zone. Imagine how much better our defense is going to be by reducing the slant/dig route completions? Combined with a new defensive scheme and added pressure on opposing QB’s and I think you can get the picture.