Dishes on Bucs.

Joe is cleaning out his voice recorder of interviews conducted with NFL types this offseason. Below is one with SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Alex Marvez, who discussed how winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter is transforming the Bucs. Marvez interviewed Koetter regularly on the air last season.

JoeBucsFan.com: What kind of job do you think Dirk Koetter has done with the Bucs?

Alex Marvez: Thought he did a tremendous job. It also speaks a lot about the organization. Brings in Mike Smith, who used to be his boss and these guys have formed such a close relationship that Dirk can essentially take care of the offense and Mike can take care of the defense, and you can see what happens when you have great symmetry between the two sides. And that is part of it. There is a competency that Dirk Koetter exudes, I think of a toughness and accountability he has. He has been able to reach his players. You see a team that got markedly better through a stretch of the season. In Week 15 and Week 16, they ran out of gas. But there is so much to feel good about. The Bucs were playing meaningful football into December. Real football. Not like the team that Lovie had in his final year. They were in it, but that was because the whole division was poor. That is why I think [Koetter] has done a good job and why I think the best is yet to come.

Joe: Donovan Smith, the stat geeks, the PFF tribe, they just rail on him. But I’ve talked to NFL people, those that either work in the league or used to work in the league, and they think [Smith] is doing a good job for a second-year left tackle. Sean Witherspoon told me something very interesting. He said, look it, a team is not going to put a slug at left tackle to endanger the franchise [Jameis Winston]. And that said it all to me.

Marvez: You know it; I get it. I’m not a big believer in the Pro Football Focus stuff because they honestly don’t know what or how a play is designed. And there is lazy journalism, people cite it because [PFF] helps fill copy and allows someone to have a set point. Donovan Smith, I think, has done a good job. This offensive line, what the remarkable thing to me was all the injuries at running back, so many guys were out yet the running game really didn’t dip that much. They were steady, they were consistent. The whole thing with Dirk was to play complementary football until the defense got its feet under them as they were learning the Mike Smith system, which they did eventually. And then you can open up the passing game to take pressure off there. So to me, [the offensive line] was a sign of good coaching. I thought the offensive line did a good job and I don’t think tackle is an area that needs to be addressed.

Joe: You are a Miami guy; you see the Dolphins a lot. With Brent Grimes, hey, Florida was founded on the fountain of youth and he may have found that fountain.

Marvez: People don’t understand how great of an athlete he is. His box jump is just crazy. He has the hops. He is able to get up. He’s a smart guy. He recognizes traits on receivers and he understands Mike Smith’s defense. That’s the thing about Jason Licht. He needed players to build around and he knew [Grimes] could play this defense immediately and help others become comfortable in this defense. That was the problem under Lovie. Guys didn’t trust each other. It was just a train wreck behind the scenes. I give Grimes a lot of credit for what he was able to bring to the squad. And you talk about a tutor to [Vernon] Hargreaves, where he is going to be by the time it is all said and done, I think [Hargreaves] has the same type of skills – he’s not as good of an athlete – but I think Vernon can become a really good corner in this league.

Joe: What else impressed you about the defense?

Marvez: Oh, when Chris Conte went down and Keith Tandy came in [and played fantastic]. That’s a sign of good coaching. To me, with this [defense], if they can get [play from] a bonafide defense end, [that’s the missing piece].