Matty Ice Couldn’t Believe It
November 27th, 2017
Matty Ice is nothing if not PC. So Joe almost has to wonder if Matty Ice, without being aware of it, was mocking his former coach Mike Smith.
The Bucs defensive coordinator was once upon a time Atlanta’s head coach and he also coached Matty Ice from the day he was drafted. But Smith’s former star quarterback tossed indirect barbs Smith’s way in his postgame presser Sunday.
Talking about Julio Jones roasting the Bucs, Matty Ice had this to say about the Bucs’ defense.
“I thought today was perfect,” Matty Ice said. “I thought when we got the opportunities and [Jones] was singled up, we did. We were aggressive and went to him. It’s not often that we get that many single opportunities a game, but we got that today. I think historically, we have done that. When he’s gotten a single matchup, he’s been incredibly explosive. I thought Steve Sarkisian did a really nice job with us. We do make an effort to try and find ways to get [Jones] going because he’s so special. Today was one of the days that he went off.”
Doesn’t this make you want to shove your head in a toilet? Dixie Chicks coaches seemed to have a game plan and crafted different ways to get Jones in mismatches and get open.
Yet Smith didn’t change much if anything, if you believe Matty Ice’s words.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:03 am
Reckless leaving one on one against Julio.
He was shut down /doubled by every team this year.
Mike smith in too deep now. That is inexcusable
November 27th, 2017 at 9:13 am
Hate to sound like a “Jamies Jerker”, but we need that guy back in uniform ASAP. This season is in the toilet anyway.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:15 am
I’ve said this sd nauseam lately, the coaching staff needs to go. The bucs were completely out coached on a winnable day. I hopw the glazers do the right thing and bring jon gruden back.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:17 am
Joe………time for a ‘confidence’ poll on Mike Smith.
I can already tell you my vote.
Too many guys getting Wide open on ‘creative’ plays that we don’t have in our offense.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:19 am
Pretty much says it all. Can’t wait for Mike Smith’s next presser
November 27th, 2017 at 9:22 am
For the zillioneth time, Bucs are not going anywheres with Koetter and Smitty. Perhaps the 1st rd of the playoffs in 2 yrs or so. But no More. Why doesn’t Smitty walk the sidelines and exhort his troops on? Man, he luvs his perch in that pressbox eatin doritos huh? Get to the sidelines Smitty. Your troops need you badly.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:34 am
Please stop the Gruden BS!!!
If you don’t think that reunion would end in disaster, then you must’ve not been a fan of this team for very long.
Smh
November 27th, 2017 at 9:34 am
Agreed Mike
Atl’s DC on the sideline yesterday. Rod Marinelli on sideline. Monte was never in the booth.
It’s a moot point now anyway, Mike Smith is done.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:38 am
Mike Smith is done, but I will say this. Ryan Smith was step for step with Julio on the Sanu pass. If he had just gotten his head around it was an interception. Same with Kwon later in the game. Poor coaching,,especially at this level.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:39 am
The whole coaching staff will be fired and justifiably so. No excuse backsliding from 9-7. None. 4-12 is possible. 6-10 if they’re lucky.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:45 am
Like I said in another post how do you coach someone for years and not be able to come up with somewhat of a decent game plan to at least slow them down? We may have to look into Mike Smith’s bank account to see if there was a check deposited from Arthur Blank…lol But seriously I have never seen a team that can fix another teams problems so well. If another team has a problem or a weakness against other teams it’s a strength against us. You have no running game you are getting 200 yards against us. You have a backup QB, career day against us. Your receivers struggling or just suck, career day against us. Honestly it the one thing this team is consistent with, making poor to average teams look like playoff contenders. I hate changing coaches but this coaching staff has proven that they are inadequate. At the very least the whole defensive staff needs to be replaced and the O-line coach.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:52 am
Hmmmnnn..Interesting points you guys bring up. Will the Glazers tell Koetter to fire Smitty to save his own Job? And will Koetter comply?
November 27th, 2017 at 9:53 am
someone should mock the entire organization
November 27th, 2017 at 9:55 am
Koetter is gone too. Could fire him just for bad clock management, along with many other things.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:01 am
I thought Dirk said they doubled him in the 2nd half. Matty-Ice got to be talking about the 1st half right???
November 27th, 2017 at 10:12 am
I wanted Jim Schwartz when we needed to hire a DC.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:14 am
Go pull the defensive stats for the falcons when smith was head coach….
Why did anyone expect anything different. Dont feed me that “it wasnt his defense” garbage. It was and now its here in tampa.
It amazes me that he is not fired yet….almost as much as it did when he was hired in the first place.
If Koetter cant grow the pair to tell his bff then he should be fired as ell as much as I hate to say that
November 27th, 2017 at 10:21 am
@R.O.
I wanted Jim Schwarz, Wade Philips or Greg Williams. Smith was never a great DC from what I’ve seen in his days in Atlanta.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:37 am
Kenny STills went for 180 and 1 TD last week
How much will jordy Nelson go for this week?
November 27th, 2017 at 10:47 am
We can’t stop anybody! I mean the Falcons have this little-known WR named Jones and we couldn’t figure out a way to slow him down.
Why? Why would you put Ryan Smith in single coverage on Julio Jones for ANY reason?!
November 27th, 2017 at 10:48 am
EllioT- agreed. Anyone crying for Gruden- wasnt here for the Gruden years.
The team hated him. He couldnt coach a young player to save his life.
He took over a team with tons of all pros. When he left- we had none!
He totally depleted this team of talent.
His whole shtick, was to load the roster with over the hill, used up veterans.
Guys he didnt have to coach. Every year was either first place or last place it seemed. His over the hill gangs were experienced enough to occasionally get to the playoffs. But once there- we knew there was no chance of advancing.
After the Superbowl- this team grew worse and worse. When Gruden left- there wasnt any young talent on the roster. He hated rookies. Worst drafts in Team history were Grudens.
Even worse than Dominicks- who was the worst GM in the history of pro football
Gruden returning here would be like a curse.
But we desperately need a new DC.
And a DE
November 27th, 2017 at 11:15 am
I know everyone says we should do this or that but I am at a total loss of words… I have no idea who could come in and fix this thing in the offseason….. This defense has been bad for a decade now with no end in site…
November 27th, 2017 at 11:19 am
The entire defensive game plan was a joke for that game. It was almost like we were calling a play designed to get Julio open on any 3rd and long.
The only clear thing in all of this is we need a pass rush if we ever want to have a good defense – regardless of the coaching. If you can’t get ANY pressure with your front 4 then you’re somewhat limited in what you can do; and your secondary is going to be playing scared.
At least we can now move on to offseason fantasies:
Move GMC for a 2nd and 4th. Get a top 5 pick. Trade back to get another 2nd and a 4th. Turn 2 of the 3 4ths into another 3rd.
1-DE/DT
2-DE/DT
2-CB
3-DE/DT
3-OT/OG
4-RB
5-7 BPA OT/OG/DT/DE
Fix the trenches.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:23 am
Id like to see a poll with two options.
Keep Koetter
Fire Koetter and hire Jon Gruden
November 27th, 2017 at 11:29 am
On that poll I’d also like Hire a head coach other than Gruden as an option. Hopefully the owners will bring in Alstott, Sapp, Brooks, even Kershawn Johnson and some of the other well respected players to get their feedback on Gruden as a head coach before going back down that path.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:53 am
Listening to Michael Clayton is what got us in this mess.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:58 am
@Buc_The_World
The Bucs have basically been that team since about 2006.
5 head coaches, 3 GMs, and nothing much has changed.
However, I will give the players some props for at least fighting til the end, rather than giving up after half time when we were down by 3 TDs.
November 27th, 2017 at 12:09 pm
To Eliot and capt tim, aka mouth breathers, ill say it again….hire gruden period. I dont need to justify my level of fandom to you two jackwagons. I sacked up and paid my money for a 4 day vacation in san diego not to long ago….
November 27th, 2017 at 12:32 pm
I have a lot of respect for Mohammed Sanu…he’s a talented 2nd receiver…but that’s just it…2nd receiver and he is nowhere near the best receiver in the NFL Julio Jones. Dude just plays at a different level.
And so the defense we ran maybe a play or two that worked and gave us best shot through the game.
Evans has the speed and physicality to be assigned to cover the back end against JJ. Brent Grimes is clearly our best most athletic CB….I would have worked ALL WEEK prior to this game featuring a defense that had Grimes underneath and Evans over the top of JJ ALL GAME LONG!!!! JJ has not only earned that double…he always tears us up…he’s earned a double of the best two defenders we can put on him. Make Sanu beat us!!! I’ll take nine against their ten everytime if we neutralize JJ.
November 27th, 2017 at 12:38 pm
@Lord C
Agree with your draft stategy. With those kind of picks with your two early DE’s there is a 50=50 chance they will work out become a starter…and make and impact from day one. If your other high pick works out…especially DT…then it’s gravy. If Noah’s shoulder can actually heal…now we’re talking about an actual pass rush!!!
I’m not sure what Smitty’s scheme was yesterday. Covering the best WR in the league with one DB is brain dead…using your 2nd best corner for that single coverage really makes me wonder. Where they just trying to school the weaker DB? I gotta go exact opposite…DOUBLE JJ and do it with your two best defenders…neutralize JJ and it’s a different game…we would have had a chance.
November 27th, 2017 at 12:48 pm
GLAZERS: SELL!! SELL!! SELL!! You people obviously have no clue how to put together and run an (american) football team. Sell it to someone that might have a chance, and move to England.
November 27th, 2017 at 1:44 pm
These were not barbs thrown at Mike Smith in any way. Do Ryan’s comments reflect poorly on the defense and the coordinator? Yes. But he was just being candid about what he saw defensively. That’s not taking shots at anyone in particular.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:17 pm
It was a jab at both of our “head” coaches. Neither gets the most out of the talent they have and neither makes in game adjustments. Not a coincidence Atlanta got better when they were fired. He has a receiver who put up 1000 yards receiving every year with the likes of Josh McClown and the inconsistent Fameis slinging him the rock the last few years. Last year he put up 1200 though being double teamed alot. Now we got morons up here saying we should trade him saying he plays scared and can’t get open. They should be traded. Koetter just ain’t calling the right plays
November 27th, 2017 at 4:58 pm
@Capt Tim and Eliot,
Maybe Gruden may have learned a few things from his mistakes and from being away from the game and observing. The dude got fired for going 9-7 and I think he was stuck in an ego-driven stigma of winning a SB with Dungy’s defense. The guy was trying to reinvent the team, albeit only on the offensive side, to make his mark on the team. Dungy was let go, probably rightly so, after the team made the playoffs 2 consecutive years. Where the heck have we been since? Sometimes, it pays to stick it out with a coach for better or worse when the alternative sucks. They should have gone after Mike Tomlin instead of all the scrubs. But that’s hindsight. I’m sure Dungy and Gruden feel no remorse for the Glazers current predicament. In today’s NFL, 9-7 is a solid wild card entry.
Gruden alone did not bring in crappy players. We have to give some blame to Bruce Allen as well. He was masterful with the cap but stingy on bringing real talent. Was that the result of the Glazers intervening? Maybe. Was it because they both wanted to bring in their Raider players? Maybe. But, I’m sure the entire scene has now changed for all parties after all these years. Coaches, GMs, and owners.
Anyway, I would not be against seeing Gruden get another crack at it but we need to hire a DC that can whip that side of the ball into shape. And we need a GM who has a track record of not drafting kickers in the 2nd round.
My pipe dream would be Gruden as coach and Dungy as GM. Fantasy Front Office? DC? Not sure. Someone tenacious.
Honestly, I think Gruden would be crazy to leave his cushy job.
I just don’t know where these SB caliber coaches are. Do you? Instead of just bashing Gruden 2.0, offer some suggestions.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:25 pm
The 4th down offensive play call by Koetter was one of the worst I’ve seen in recent memory. 4th and 1 and not a single short routet or checkdown… 3 guys runninf 10 yard deep seam and hitch routes. Wow.
Then…
3rd and about 8 on that Falcons final drive after the Bucs failed on the 4th down play. What does Mike Smith dial up? Single coverage on Julio with the Db giving him an 11 yard cushion. Julio jogs to the first down marker, turns, and catches an easy wide open pass.
Those two plays left me completely lacking confidence in the abilities of our coaching staff. That’s elementary crap they are missing on. You give your QB one short option on 4th and 1. You double Julio and make anyone else make a play on 3rd and long.
Pathetic.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:46 pm
with our ferocious pass rush i cant believe he could even complet a pass.