Koetter Channeling Lovie?
August 18th, 2016
Dirk Koetter invokes a Lovie commandant.
It almost got to the point where it was a chore for Joe to go to Lovie Smith’s press conferences.
Week after week, day after day almost, Lovie would whine about his defense not getting takeaways. It was driving Joe nuts.
Lovie was so focused and obsessed with takeaways, Joe is convinced he slacked on other fundamentals in his quest for the almighty turnover.
Joe has always maintained forcing turnovers are the result of chance more often than not, an accident. If a quarterback doesn’t throw a bad pass or if a running back hangs onto the ball, there are no turnovers, simple as that.
Fundamentals (like wrapping up and tackling) are simple, small-detail things players very much can control and often lead to wins when executed.
As Joe likes to say, punts are takeaways, too.
(Joe had a chat about this very same subject with Lovie once. Let’s just say Lovie didn’t buy into Joe’s line of thinking.)
So yesterday, after the first of two controlled scrimmages with the Jags in Jacksonville (today is the second day), Bucs coach Dirk Koetter was asked what the defense of the Bucs must do to be successful. Somewhere in the Illinois cornfields, Lovie must have smiled upon the first words out of Koetter’s mouth.
“We’ve got to create more turnovers,” Koetter said. “We’ve got to get off the field on third down and we’ve got to cut our penalties.”
Well, no one can argue turnovers for a defense is a bad thing, but a team simply cannot rely on them. It cannot be a priority. Getting off the field on third down should be.
Expecting turnovers to bail a defense out week after week, well, that’s like banking on the hot chick you met at the bar the night before at 2 a.m. to give you a booty call three nights later.
August 18th, 2016 at 9:13 am
Turnovers are just mistakes made by the offense. You don’t account for opponent’s mistakes in the game plan, you just take advantage of them if and when they happen.
August 18th, 2016 at 9:14 am
Note that he also said we’ve got to get off the field on 3rd downs, but ya kinda glossed over that part. Every coach wants turnovers out of their defense, not just Lovie (who I really wish we could all agree to never speak of again).
August 18th, 2016 at 9:14 am
That’s right Joe. Get it all out. The last of the Lovie meat locker! Pretty soon You and the rest of your scapegoat lynchmen will have fresh meat to roast.
Ahhh, the aroma of..feeding time is in the air. Come and get it..Tmaxcon and Buc Realist. Not much left so get it while Joe’s empyting out the freezer. Lovie CHOWTIME!
August 18th, 2016 at 9:32 am
You could turn any subject into a Lovie article……every coach wants more turnovers…..I hardly think Koetter was channeling Lovie any more than channeling Monte”
August 18th, 2016 at 9:38 am
He didn just say create turnovers… He said 3 things. I bet if you ask 31 more head coaches or D coords the they will list the same 3 things.
August 18th, 2016 at 9:43 am
@Joe
I really do not know how you sat thru those press conferences!!!! I would have had headphones and played “Yakety Sax” on repeat!!!! What ever you earned Joe they should have doubled it thru those press conferences!!!!!
“Blah Blah, meaning less quote, Blah Blah skewed stat to make the defense look good, Blah Blah flat out lie!! Blah Blah We are gonna fix that, simple as that!! Blah Blah blames the players!!!!!
August 18th, 2016 at 9:45 am
Joe
I couldn’t agree more! Yeah we’d all love to see some takeaways but not at the expense of tackling and most importantly getting off the field on 3rd down.
I do not recall a Bucs team that got burnt any worse than last year’s D on 3rd and long.
We would also love to see #3 connect on some long bombs to the house…but I don’t believe our offense will be predicated on counting on them each and every week.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:01 am
It’s called “a job.”
August 18th, 2016 at 10:05 am
Coach didn’t specify any particular priority on the 3 actions that he listed (turnovers, 3rd down, penalties) so he probably sees all of them as being important. And for the most part they’re all critical areas that the Bucs must improve on to catch Carolina and their very aggressive defense. Top defenses get results … more turnovers for one thing (Panthers had 39 INTs & Fumble recoveries to the Bucs 23). They get off the field more often on 3rd down and allow fewer points as a result. And most (but not all) seem to be more disciplined and have fewer penalties in the process. I anticipate this year’s Bucs team will improve in all 3 areas.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:09 am
Schiano is still being talked about. Why not Lovie? It’s not like that was a long ago in a far away place fantasy. And Buc Realist are you talking about the Coasters Yakity Yak “take out the papers and the trash, Yakity Yak dont talk back”. Probably not. Of course that’s an early 60’s song.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:18 am
I’ll just be happy when 3rd and Long are NO longer gimmies for opposing offenses.
MJ
I will be printing you and bighog I love Koetter tshirts the day he passes Lovie on the all time bucs wins list which should be by end of season.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:21 am
I don’t have an issue with coaches talking about turnovers. What I have a problem with is that Lovie was begging for turnovers and allowing 70% completion rate on top of it. You can’t get turnovers if you don’t get close enough to contest the pass…especially slant passes
August 18th, 2016 at 10:28 am
amen tmax. gotta find a solid pic to print on it as well.
mj
RACE! RACE!
i really hate myself for saying it bc its so obnoxious and annoying. but ppl always say race about lovies firing so
August 18th, 2016 at 10:32 am
Well said Joe! There is no bigger psychological win than forcing 3 and out for 3-4 series in a row. For a defense to refuse to yield to a first down. That is the key. Turnovers occur when teams become frustrated and start playing outside of their strengths, the defense can make them uncomfortable and their mistake happens. Simple as that.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:51 am
YEAH…Tmaxcon..And me and Bighog will have a picture of you and few other Lovie haters with you joining Schiano and Lovie and the fishing hole huggin and ah kissin.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:53 am
37…come on now, you’re not that young.
“Yakety Sax” the theme from The Benny Hill show.
I’m not that old myself but I watched the re-runs in the late 70’s.
Funny as hell to this day.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:55 am
“mj
RACE! RACE!
i really hate myself for saying it bc its so obnoxious and annoying. but ppl always say race about lovies firing so”
MJ IS a race baiter.
August 18th, 2016 at 10:59 am
Lol I don’t think he’s going all Lovie on us. He literally just listed everything a Defense can possibly do to win games; including stops on 3rd down. It’d be one thing if he was just talking about turnovers but he gave one of the more generic Koetter answers I’ve seen.
It’s the equivalent of saying the offense needs to move the ball well, score points, not turn it over, and not commit penalties. Kind of covers every aspect of that side of the ball.
August 18th, 2016 at 11:11 am
aint no fishing holes in the corn fields. I do hear that the White Squirrels in Olny, IL can be aggressive maybe a protest should be organized.
August 18th, 2016 at 11:13 am
Yakety Sax is a different song. It’s a song I frequently have on my mind while reading the comments from some of you guys.
August 18th, 2016 at 11:17 am
Turn overs are when preparation meets opportunity.
August 18th, 2016 at 12:33 pm
I think dirk and lovie were just speaking the truth about their defense….the defense must create turnovers….not sure how he’s channeling his inner lovie….every hc would say the same thing…GO BUCS!!!
August 18th, 2016 at 1:15 pm
Seems like Mike Smih gotta coach the LOVIE out of him!!
August 18th, 2016 at 1:54 pm
This team needs stability at the head coaching position! I’m sick of changing coaches & schemes every two years, players must be tired of it too! But if we don’t get to 9 wins………
August 18th, 2016 at 2:17 pm
It sounds like he was referring to the defense preventing the other team from getting first downs, not forcing fumbles or interceptions as Lovie was so obsessed with.
August 18th, 2016 at 3:06 pm
I agree with BHHaynes totally. Koetter must have a winning season to be successful. He was hired under a lot of hype. Now comes the delivery..or lack of.. And Just..us..for all!
August 18th, 2016 at 11:45 pm
When he says “punts are turnovers too,” Joe is showing his age. Somewhere in the pre-modern period of Pro Football, punting was considered a defensive act, something one did when the offense failed.
Then along came punters like Oakland’s iconic Ray Guy, who with a long, well placed and long hang time punt could change the field position battle, the game’s tempo and set the team up for a short, game winning drive.
No Joe, a punt is not a turnover, but a another arrow in the offense’s quiver that can, if not directly with the game, set the offense up to win the game.