The Thrill Of Tomorrow
July 21st, 2016
It’s about the future.
Until the Bucs check in at One Buc Palace to report for training camp next week, Joe will try to get in the mind of defensive coordinator Mike Smith.
Joe will regularly deliver excerpts and/or highlights from Smith’s book, “You Win in the Locker Room,” available on Google Play and iTunes.
Be excited about the future but don’t let the future rule you. That seems to be how Mike Smith cautions his players in his book. Smith noted he has three time frames. The first is the past.
The past is to learn from, not dwell on, Smith wrote. Smith then details the next step in time.
The second time frame is tomorrow, the future. There is nothing wrong looking forward to the future as long as you are using that time to improve and stay ahead of the curve. You just have to make sure you guard against fantasizing about a future that won’t happen unless you take action to create it. You also want to make sure you don’t spend your time worrying about the future that is not here yet. The angst that results can cause weak performance and morale problems on the team. Too many teams worry about the playoffs when they have half the season left. You can’t worry about the future. You just have to take it one play, one game, at a time.
The phrase in this excerpt that jumped out at Joe was “stay ahead of the curve.” Joe isn’t sure this has taken place here since Chucky was coaching.
When Raheem Morris was coach, his teams, specifically his defenses, notoriously were seemingly unprepared as foes always got leads on Rah’s teams early. To Rah’s credit, more often than not, his defenses adjusted on the fly and played much better in the second half.
Under former commander Greg Schiano, Joe didn’t notice anything particularly cutting edge, though Schiano seemed to get more out of players than his successor Lovie Smith, who always preached fast starts. Joe never realized, until it was too late, that Lovie was referring to his opponents. It’s also hard to have a fast start when you don’t want to score points in the first half.
The phrase “Tennessee-ready,” for example, will live in Bucs lore.
But Mike Smith does have a point. In so many words, he’s saying players just need to keep grinding. That if they put in the work, learn each week, grow and play with passion, when they look up in December, good things should be in sight.
You know, like maybe a meaningful January game?
July 21st, 2016 at 5:32 am
A ‘meaningful January game?’ Does our last game this year (at home on January 1st) against the Stinkin’ Panthers count Joe? Hopefully that’ll be super-meaningful and a win will get us into the playoffs.
July 21st, 2016 at 6:26 am
There’s the bait ……..its feeding time!
July 21st, 2016 at 6:35 am
Take heed the words “the past is to learn from not dwell on”!
Amen brother Smith!!!
Joe- Once again, I love this daily reading!
July 21st, 2016 at 7:17 am
Its hard to believe that the Bucs check in to camp in 1 week!!! And hit the field for preseason game in 3 weeks!!!!! That does not leave a lot of time to tell the truth about coach my scheme!!!! But I still think there will be huge nuggets of truth that will come out during camp!!!! So keep the eyes peeled and be ready to “read between the lines”!!!!! The sheep will learn how bad and incompetent the whole fiasco (as described by his own players) was!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!
July 21st, 2016 at 8:35 am
@Realist- I’m not sure that many people are going to care about “the truth” come training camp. Being able to tell “the sheep”, as you call them, I told you so seems so irrelevant at this point.
Just being able to talk about THIS team and THIS season will be a welcome respite.
I can’t wait!
July 21st, 2016 at 8:57 am
Bucsfanman … You mean you don’t want to live in the past like Realist? Time for some Bucs fans to move on from Rah and Schiano and Lovie … Hard to see how bright the future is when you focus so much on the past.
July 21st, 2016 at 9:00 am
” It’s also hard to have a fast start when you don’t want to score points in the first half.”
^
This was the point when I lost all hope
July 21st, 2016 at 9:35 am
Defense Rules: “A ‘meaningful January game?’ Does our last game this year (at home on January 1st) against the Stinkin’ Panthers count Joe? Hopefully that’ll be super-meaningful and a win will get us into the playoffs.”
Hopefully by then the Bucs will be resting starters because they will be already be locked into the playoffs.
July 21st, 2016 at 10:06 am
I’ll be content with some fierce competitive effort bringing more wins than losses, win a couple or a few games in a row. Be in the games from the start to the finish like a good team does. Make it worth watching and not over by halftime. Losing is contagious, winning also. Prove it.
July 21st, 2016 at 11:01 am
Was waiting for someone to say tanking a game against the Saints to win the Chase for Jameis.
Come to think of it, that was the fourth smart thing Lovie did but Joe isn’t sure it was his idea. He may have been ordered from above
July 21st, 2016 at 1:07 pm
Lovie was not a control freak, just the last part after control. Clueless misery on show, should have given him a few more years to get a clue and surprise with a string of wins here and there. Not! My last take on lovable Lovie, unless it becomes hip to carry on, seeing as how such opinion is past passé.