Mike Smith Now On Hot Seat
September 25th, 2016
Are defenders understanding DC Mike Smith?
Joe has only met Mike Smith a couple of times, but damn is he a class guy. Joe loves dealing with him. Good dude.
But Joe must be honest at the end of the day. The past two games, Mike Smith’s defense, no matter how nice of a guy he is, has been horrid. Well, the pass defense in the past seven quarters to be precise.
This is nothing personal against Smith. This is looking at the ugly truth of his Bucs defense.
Smith said last week he needed four games before his players will begin to fully grasp his defense. And, he admitted, he is still learning the players. That’s fair.
When Bucs coach Dirk Koetter was hired, Joe banged the table for him to hire Jim Schwartz, a no-nonsense defensive coordinator from the Bill Belicheat School of No Excuses.
Wherever Schwartz has been, the defense has been tough as nails.
Natrually, Koetter did not hire Schwartz, whose specialty seems to be developing a pass rush in a 43 defense. How many f’ing years to Bucs fans have to put up with this feces of no pass rush, no double-digit sacks???
This is beyond an embarrassment. It’s a rank insult to fans, and a flashing red light of pure incompetence, now fully into the third administration of a general manager and fifth head coach since Simeon Rice.
Joe swears if he hears another Bucs official tout the talents of Howard Jones, Joe is going to throw up on his shoes. So where was this Too Tall Jones reincarnate today when the Bucs needed him?
Two weeks ago on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian said that Koetter and Smith had a handshake deal. Whichever got a head coaching job first, he would hire the other as his coordinator. So hiring Schwartz, barring Smith getting a head coaching gig elsewhere, was off the table.
This just in: Schwartz leads the defense of the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, a team the Bucs roasted in Philly last year. It seems his players aren’t struggling to pick up his defense.
Joe remembers Smith suggesting the defense will take four games to grasp. So that means the Bucs defense should show up on a Monday night in Carolina in two weeks, right?
Joe is not holding his breath.
Hey, Smith very well could turn the defense into a gang of monsters. But the clock and the season are quickly ticking away.
Case Keenum? Again? Really?
September 25th, 2016 at 10:22 pm
Good Guy??? Fcuk You, go Home to your kids…
You give up 30+ points to the Rams, what the fcuk are you gettin paid for>???
September 25th, 2016 at 10:23 pm
The greatest show on turf has nothing on Case Keenum’s Rams. This ain’t up for debate
September 25th, 2016 at 10:26 pm
Fun fact. Someone had 1 tackle, no sacks, no pressure today and made 1mil dollars.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:26 pm
I seriously think our D hasnt shaken off all the Lovie…
Still playing tentative… Still breaking after bending.
Seriously,
CAN WE GET SOME KILLERS ON D OR WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!@?!?
September 25th, 2016 at 10:28 pm
@db55
I’ll take a wild guess number 93??
September 25th, 2016 at 10:28 pm
Somewhere there is an NFL owner named..Arthur Blanks..sitting on his recliner smoking a fat stoggie and sippin expensive cognac sayin, There’s a reason I fired you in Atlanta Mr. Smith.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:29 pm
[Into the cooler you go. Joe has a business to run here and going homophobic over Bucs coaches is over the top. Joe will let you back in after a few weeks. Love the passion, but c’mon. — Joe]
September 25th, 2016 at 10:30 pm
I’m not conceding but next draft we need to take Best player available because the Bucs need studs
September 25th, 2016 at 10:32 pm
Lookahere, Don’t blame Smith. Hell, you guys (joe..you included) blamed Lovie Smith for all of our woes. So step up there Coach Koetter..Where you at..You are the head coach. the capt of the Bucs Ship. Step forward sir. face the music. Your head is the 1st to be cut off! Its..YOUR FAULT sir.
And Just..us..for all.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:32 pm
Maybe it isn’t the coaches. Lovie couldn’t get through to them. Schiano couldn’t get through to them. Now Mike Smith. I’m beginning to think it’s the players.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:33 pm
So let me get this straight you pay McCoy 1mil per game, he gets zero pressure, let the Rams run the ball down his throat, leaves his gap over n over again but Howard jones is the scape goat? Hmm okay. All hail the infallible Gerald McCoy.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:36 pm
We didn’t draft Donald because we have MCCoy. But guess what the jets had no wilkerson but guess what happened?? they drafted Sheldon Richardson.
The Jets had mo Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson but guess what happened?? They drafted Leonard Williams. And I saw them sack Dalton 7 times.
This game is about having studs and the Bucs lack them
September 25th, 2016 at 10:38 pm
george johnson going down for the season wasn’t that big of a deal just hurt depth but when jacquies smith went to the IR i was really worried….when ayers went out last week i was in full panic mode… i don’t care if you had 4 or 5 hall of famers in the secondary you’re not gonna be successful on defense without a dominant d-line…
on the bright side, the o-line did really well against a very dominant d-line today
September 25th, 2016 at 10:39 pm
This is a bad defense.
33 points a game.
Horrendous.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:43 pm
@DB55
McCoy been robbing the Bucs with no mask for years. “But he gets double teamed though”. Yea he and every other star player in the league. Doesn’t stop them from producing though.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:45 pm
Fix that sorry azz secondary coach smith!!!
September 25th, 2016 at 10:46 pm
Joe, it’s not the hot seat, it’s the boiling hot lava seat.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:49 pm
This is why the NFL good ole boy coaching network sucks. You hire your friends over other qualified candidates
Koetter failed this team with this hire. DB’s still play too soft and there is no aggressive tendencies
September 25th, 2016 at 10:50 pm
The kicker left 7 points on the field, and Mr. Verner gave up 14 all by himself…
September 25th, 2016 at 10:50 pm
Well at least the Lighting season is starting.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:52 pm
We also have to stop giving back up quarterbacks all damn day, to throw the ball.
September 25th, 2016 at 10:53 pm
….draft smart…what we have is a collective stupid
September 25th, 2016 at 11:00 pm
Mike Smith and a 1st rd for Jim Swartz and a kicker.
September 25th, 2016 at 11:01 pm
No. Mike Smith is having the same problem Lovie had. And that is soft a$s defenders that can’t work as a unit. Our safties can’t cover. Our lineman can’t pressure. Players struggle with gap integrity. It’s just a mess! We need to draft the best defender available come April.
September 25th, 2016 at 11:01 pm
Preach it DB.
September 25th, 2016 at 11:06 pm
wait i thought firing lovie would cure all ills on defense?
September 25th, 2016 at 11:11 pm
Buc Trooper..I’ve been saying it was the players for 3 yrs now. But here in Tampa Bay we blame coaches. No need to change now. lets let Koetter have his dose of injustice first!! I’ve said repeatedly for 2 yrs now, The bucs need to stick with a coach for 3 or 4 yrs consecutively to create a winning philosophy.
But we are what our record says we are. I don’t see the Bucs winning as many games as Lovie did last year.
September 25th, 2016 at 11:13 pm
King
I don’t see many double teams at all. I do see teams running right at him especially in goal line situations. Dawg did you see his post game press conference? I thought he was gonna pull a mcclown and start crying. Jeez.
Yet you got a kid who throws for 3tds and 400 yards saying the loss is on him and he’s got to perform better.
You tell me what the problem with this team is? Duh. Our highest paid players ain’t in it to win. I think they play for the money and headlines. FML.
September 25th, 2016 at 11:20 pm
Piss poor
September 25th, 2016 at 11:22 pm
Bush league especially the final drive…
September 25th, 2016 at 11:24 pm
@db55
I just want to know so we have a gameplan each week. All we had to do was stay deep last week palmer starts to force throws when he’s asked to keep checking down.
The Rams averaged 65 yards a game on the ground. Gurley had 85 and they had 137 as a team.
You don’t have to be great to play 2 deep and 8 in the box
September 25th, 2016 at 11:27 pm
Stop scapegoating coaches. The defensive personnel in Tampa is atrocious. Maybe if the GM would have been picking another defensive player instead of a kicker, e could have improved the team.
September 25th, 2016 at 11:27 pm
Defensive secondary does not or cannot cover? They look confused! Who’s fault is that? Players? Coaching? A little of both? it wasn’t a weather delay. It was 99, 55, 97, 47 and 20 simultanously crying and banging their collective heads against whatever wall they had available! I’m actually staying up late watching SNF to wash the bad taste of the Buc’s defense out of my mouth!
September 25th, 2016 at 11:41 pm
Oh look, another mouth breather is commenting about Lovie and blaming him.
Lovie’s defense was better last season through the first three games. In fact, through the first 3 games the 2014 team was a better defensive unit. The team upgraded personnel and we all were treated to quotes over the summer from Mike Smith’s book “You Win In The Locker Room”.
The Bucs have given up the most points in the NFL this season. Simple as that.
September 26th, 2016 at 12:43 am
If these teams keep getting 30+ points on us each week at the end of the year then I say toss him. But I sure as hell dont want another DC coming in and the players having to learn yet another scheme. If they do that DC had better be top notch with an understandable defense
September 26th, 2016 at 12:51 am
Another One Bites The Dust
September 26th, 2016 at 1:36 am
Lol wasn’t Lovie was a nice guy too?
September 26th, 2016 at 3:43 am
This is what happens when you hire ” your buddies ” instead of the best guy available for the job. (Jim Schwartz) same thing happend 3 years ago with Lovie and Lesie Frazier. SMH… should be rules against hiring your friends…we’re trying to win not keep your friend employed. ….guess you two can get fired together also. Just hope the Glazers finally get a coaching staff that is all in on winning. No wonder ASJ wanted out so bad…he went out and talked himself into a DUI just to get away from this S#!t hole. He wants to win. And where are all the folks who thought Jason was a genius for trading up for a F#@king kicker. That has to be the DUMBEST move in franchise history. Same ole sad Bucs. Guys teams can continue to laugh when they see Bucs on their schedule.
September 26th, 2016 at 6:20 am
I am NEVER going to another Bucs game, sit in that damn sweltering heat to watch a dumpster fire, and pay over $200 to watch my team lay that type of effort on the field. Guys, it’s as simple as this. Excuses are like buttholes. I’m tired of coaches and players pretending that their excuses don’t stink. Let’s just start winning… I’ll be happy to drop money I don’t have to sweat my butt off and get a sun burn to watch my team get a win any given Sunday. But until the team can prove they’re worth the effort, im staying home to enjoy the A/C and and a cold one that doesn’t cost $10.25
September 26th, 2016 at 8:34 am
Licht how about going out and getting reggie nelson or any of the other FA safeties that were available instead of the duds we have back there, or maybe not draft a K in round 2 you friggin dunce
September 26th, 2016 at 10:15 am
Mike Smith on hot seat?
Wake me once we have better safeties than Chris Conte and Keith Tandy. This defense still has a long way to go, personnel-wise.
September 27th, 2016 at 12:08 am
There are like five good, dependable D-Coordinators in the NFL. Maybe less.
We are never going to have one of those guys, because we are Tampa. Schwartz isn’t one of those guys either. Mike Smith certainly isn’t one of those guys.