The Morning After
November 27th, 2017
Joe fully expected this morning to wake up in his downtown Atlanta hotel to hear hoots and hollers from locals on the sidewalk as Julio Jones races through traffic to make it to the nearby Hooters unscathed.
* Barring the Bucs winning four of their final five games with three shutouts pitched by the defense, Joe doesn’t see how defensive coordinator Mike Smith returns next year. The final nail may have been yesterday. His defense allowed 516 yards. And Julio Jones racked up more yards against a Bucs defense than any other receiver in the history of the Bucs franchise. How can any member of Team Glazer feel confident that Smith can turn things around when he can’t? All of these debacles this year have come on the road. All of them. Why is that? That’s on coaching. Hell, just the fact that a big investment like Vernon Hargreaves has gone from a competent rookie to a toasty backup under Smith’s watch is enough to raise concern with Team Glazer. Now Joe isn’t advocating Smith be run, but his predecessor was shown the door for crimes not quite this bad. More and more it appears that five-game streak last year of strong defense was a mirage. And there is no way you can say Smith doesn’t have more talent to work with now than Lovie did.
* No one knows Julio Jones better than winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter and Smith. Remember, Smith was in Atlanta when Jones was drafted. So how the hell could Koetter and Smith not craft a scheme to at least slow Jones down? Roll more coverages, blast him at the line, double-coverages perhaps once or twice? Good grief, any kind of a junk defense?
(It reminded Joe of when he played for a former NFL defender in high school. We were playing a top-shelf rival which had a tight end that would later play for Missouri — just before Koetter got there. In a meeting early in the week, our coach had a defensive meeting and bragged on this tight end like he was Jackie Smith. Then our coach pointed to a defensive tackle and said, “Glenn, we are moving you to end for this game and you have one job to do and I don’t care how you do it.” So “Glenn” — real name — was a typical farm boy who was as wide as he was tall, no fat, and was strong as two bulls. He was also really fast for his size. And Glenn did just as he was ordered: He locked up this tight end play after play and totally had the guy thrown off his game. Joe wonders why Smith couldn’t have tried something creative like this and have Lavonte David jam Jones at the line with Ryan Smith ready to pick up where David left off, because no linebacker alive can cover Jones. Throw Jones off his route. Slow him down. Not let him run free as a coyote in Pinellas County. You know, “We may get beat by Tevin Coleman but we sure as hell are not going to get beat by Julio Jones?”)
* Joe felt awful for Ryan Smith. Making just his sixth start, bordering on irresponsible, Smith all but told his namesake, “Sorry kid. You get Julio Jones today all by yourself. Have fun because we aren’t giving you a parachute.” Why not roll Brent Grimes over to Jones more? Why not do a lot of things? Just a complete cluster.
* Not sure what play we will remember the most from the Mike Smith era of defense but that Mohamed Sunu touchdown pass to Jones out of a Wildcat formation may just take the cake. Sanu faked a handoff, bobbled the ball, and no Bucs defender was still in the same area code (what edge rush?). Sanu still had plenty of time to gather the ball and gather himself — all the while standing flat-footed — and threw a strike to Jones for a touchdown. Joe spoke with Lavonte David after the game and he said not only were the Bucs expecting that play, they knew it was coming from doing filmwork. And still after bobbling the ball and still knowing what was coming, the Dixie Chicks ran that play to perfection, sans the bobble. How in the freaking world can a defense know exactly what was coming and yet they acted as if they were feeling the gastronomical effects of a detour to The Varsity.
* Football coaches like to point to turnovers as the difference between wins and losses. But with the Bucs, the magic number is 400. For when Smith’s defenses have coughed up 400 or more yards of offense in a game, the results are flat ugly. Six times this season opponents have had at least 400 yards of offense on Smith’s defense and each time the Bucs lost. In total, since Smith took over the Bucs defense, the Bucs have been 1-11 when allowing 400 yards of offense. That lone win came last year when the Bucs beat the Stinking Panthers on the road on Monday Night Football 17-14 despite allowing 414 yards to Carolina.
* So last night all of a sudden it looks like the Packers found a competent backup quarterback. Brent Hundley suddenly looks like a dangerous signal-caller throwing for three touchdowns against the vaunted Steelers on the road. Just think, in a week, Hundley and the Packers will host the Bucs, a team that shats all over itself on pass defense every road game. The way Hundley likely will light up Smith’s open-faucet road pass defense, it might make a drunk Packers fan momentarily forget Aaron Rodgers.
* Let the rumors begin. Yesterday afternoon, a guy who is an editor of a Mississippi State website, Peyton Aldridge, Twittered out he was “hearing” Todd Monken would be interviewed by Mississippi State for the new opening left when Florida went to Option-D and chose Dan Mullen as their new head coach. Monken has been a winner everywhere he has been in college from LSU to Oklahoma State to Southern Miss. Monken came to the Bucs, leaving a head coaching position in which he turned around a program that was winless and in three years got them to a bowl. When Monken was hired by Koetter back in January 2016, Monken had this to say about leaving a team he just coached to a bowl game to taking over as an offensive coordinator on a losing NFL team:
“It is a special opportunity,” Monken said of the Bucs’ gig. “It really is. I believe that. It doesn’t come around everyday to be at the highest level, to be with Dirk Koetter… and with a young, talented team that I think is on the climb and I want to be a part of that.”
Monken later that day admitted that after having conversations with his good friend Jimbo Fisher, he grew intrigued at wanting to work with America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. And after you read this, it makes one wonder if Monken really does want to go back to college. Or, could this chatter just be Monken’s agent doing due diligence to make sure his client has a potential fallback plan in case Team Glazer wants to clean house in five weeks?
November 27th, 2017 at 8:11 am
I thought Joe ask for a “more aggressive defense and if big plays happen then they happen”!!!!!! then come Monday you b!tch about it?????????
Funny how if they fixed the trenches then everyone will stop complaining about “play-calling”!!!!!!
Joe wants the defense to blitz, run man coverage, yet roll their best CB to help the #4 cb????? They can only have 11 men on the field!!!!!! Maybe if they could line up 14 then they could accommodate “your” fantasy defensive scheme!!!!!!!
Funny, I don’t see other teams in the division firing coaches because they had injuries and did not have the “horses” !!!!!!!!!! but if the goal is to stay at the bottom, then proceed!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!
November 27th, 2017 at 8:13 am
Luckily, several teams will be clamoring for Mike Smith’s services for their head coaching vacancy next season. The Chargers really missed the boat on hiring him last year. If I’m Monken, I run ( and not walk ) to another opportunity. Speaking of opportunities, looks like Schiano’s inability to turn in Sandusky ( allegedly ) has cost him an opportunity to become the Vols next head coach. Karma ( presumably )…
November 27th, 2017 at 8:17 am
Excellent Realist!
November 27th, 2017 at 8:19 am
Hate to sound like a “Jamies Jerker”, but he needs to start ASAP. These games are dull without him. Fitz has lead us to two wins, but it’s over man. Play Jamies.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:22 am
No Buc Fakiest,,Other teams fir HC’s because they are not winning. And Koetter needs to finsh at least 7-9 to save his job. I only see one more victory on the schedule. I say fire Koetter now. End the HORROR…..
November 27th, 2017 at 8:30 am
Bingo!
What’s worse is that Mike Smith coached many of these Falcons players for YEARS! If he could not come up with a game plan to slow down Julio Jones and come up with a game plan against players he’s had hands-on experience with then really, what value is he bringing?
If Dirk Koetter cannot come up with an offensive game plan that exploits weaknesses against personnel he knows very well then what value is he bringing? I can’t think of too many coaches or coordinators that can say they’ve had hands-on experience with a significant number of players on the other side of the ball.
Once again, heading into this season Jason Licht has overestimated the talent on this roster and acquired players in the off season the team didn’t really need.
Coach softly and carry that big oil painting to the dumpster fire at One Buc.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:33 am
@mike johnson
i say let the season play out!!! Then, if you want to talk about “UPGRADES” of anything at all, I will always listen and discuss that!!!!!
But do not think it is healty, for this fan base to play the Fire “everyone” after a loss, and after every win, that it sets up as the “game defining season”!!!!!!!!! To many of the sheep are “riding the emotional roller coaster”!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!
November 27th, 2017 at 8:39 am
I really don’t get the logic of that’s what you’d call it. Do you actually think Jason Licht is going to say he didn’t give them enough talent in defense not to get blown out? You think there’s a set number of games a person would need to win to keep their job and I don’t get it. He’s already done, the Glazer’s were already fooled by the 5 game win streak past year but after all they’ve seen so far your basically saying they are stupid enough to fall for that again? I’ve seen the saints play better with less including rookies and udfa at corner and no star at d tackle. Your logic is flawed and your too much into numbers instead of using your eyes, you guys can’t see at all, almost like your listening to the games on the radio
November 27th, 2017 at 8:39 am
Maybe Monken wants to leave now because Jimbo didn’t tell him that his prize pupil Jameis will be an NFL coach killer
November 27th, 2017 at 8:43 am
“Its okay to fire lovie smith after 2 seasons but not right to fire Koetter after 2 seasons”
The Buc Realist
November 27th, 2017 at 8:48 am
If we aren’t within a game of the third best team in the division as of the end of the year, Koetter and staff are gone. Period. Many posting on this board saw NO as a complete stinker… a dog dropping defense before the beginning of the year….and if we lose twice to them this year? Forget it.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:50 am
Yesterday I did something during the game Ive never done before. I voluntarily quit watching it. Enough was enough. We werent coming back from that deficit. My first year with Sunday Ticket was Rah’s first season. Ive had it every year since just so I could watch Buc games. I sat through every snap during Rah, Shiano, and Lovie. I sat through every snap during Koetter too, until yesterday early in the third quarter, I decided I wasn’t wasting another minute on this sht team that day. I went and hung Christmas lights. It was the best decision Ive ever made!!
November 27th, 2017 at 8:51 am
Joe, if you are hired as the GM, what would you do this offseason with the coaching staff, in the draft, and with the Jameis situation?
Personally, I’m cutting Jameis loose and saving face with the community that has already been lost. We all know he’s going into next season with a minimum six game suspension anyways. Therefore, probably taking a QB in the first round and offering a new head coach (Maybe Gruden or Harbaugh) the choice of which QB he wants to bring in. That’s if I can’t sign Teddy Bridgewater or Kirk Cousins in free agency. If I get one of those QBs then I’m picking Minkah Fitzpatrick, Arden Key, Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson, or Connor Williams in the first round.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:53 am
And BTW… I hope…I hope… we can beat the Packers. We normally play pretty well against them. But as they can’t afford one more loss to stay in their race, are at home with highs likely in the low forties, and are a team really showing some offensive spark against the Steelers, I’m not giving us more chance than we had going into last week.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:54 am
Pretty much. Most people around here wanted Lovie fired in October 2015. Yet, a team that is WORSE in just about EVERY WAY those same people want to give the coaching staff more time and are “Totally Confident”. Why? Are there other reasons that go beyond football?
What’s good for the goose…
November 27th, 2017 at 8:54 am
I’ll put it another way. Being last in the division is one thing but getting manhandled by ever team in your division is another. You can’t beat anyone in your division how should a coach keep his job. Home Atlanta game will be embarrassing for dirk.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:57 am
Clod…you watched the wrong half. We were within one strange play call and play execution to being tied in the game. And if we didn’t want to go for it, how about a FG and an onside kick attempt, or if we got the three and stopped them, maybe even won the game with one more successful drive? I just don’t get that 10yard plus pass play in that situation.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:03 am
@Clod- I ain’t mad at you bro! Frankly, I lamented having removed my kayak from the top of my car prior to the game.
This team is ridiculously outmatched by MOST teams. Watching Julio out pace our entire offense was gut-wrenching. On top of it, we were completely out-coached.
4th and 1, we are throwing the football to a formation full of TEs?!
Our offense can’t score TDs and our defense can’t stop anybody. Does that about sum it up?!
November 27th, 2017 at 9:03 am
Mark
I did think about that, but then when I read JBF last night and this morning, it sure sounded like Koetter turned into an inpatient 9 year old boy playing Madden with his in-game management skills. For that reason, I’m still satisfied with my decision.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:06 am
The thing I’m sick of the most is how this team, for whatever reason, just doesnt give a fck about division foes. Most teams bring their A game to a division fight. The Bucs act like someone shot their dog and they stubbed their toes in the morning and they just dont care.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:10 am
Amazing how our standards have lowered. I remember when a 9-7 season here was horrible and would get a head coach fired
November 27th, 2017 at 9:28 am
Tony Dungy for President of football operations, Derrick Brooks for GM
November 27th, 2017 at 9:28 am
And Brian….no first or second round draft for years.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:45 am
Soft, dumb and uninspired is no way to coach an NFL team.
This team’s A Game is another team’s C Game.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:08 am
Mike Smith was fired in Atlanta because his defenses couldn’t stop anyone but we were sold on believing it was his defensive coordinators scheme and he was more of a CEO type head coach and not calling the shots on defense. Yeah right!
I was never high on Mike Smith as the DC, I wanted Jim Schwartz, Wade Phillips or Greg Williams.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:14 am
Injuries have riddled this defense. Pretty sure we counted on Spence and
Jaquis Smith were counted on to be the edge rushers and that didn’t work out.
Starting to wonder if Spence will be like Smith and be injury prone. The experiment with Ryan Smith at safety held him back and he wasn’t ready for Julio at this stage of his careeer. Grimes didn’t play particularly well either. Even if
it seemed J. Evans was all over the field at start of game he is also not ready for Julio. So these two players were kind of left alone to sink or swim.
Gotta say that the idea of bumping Julio and having somebody else cover him or bump him again also crossed my mind after the game. There seems to be a trend to let defenders do a lot more stuff like keeping the receiver from getting their arms up to make a play on the ball. Our receivers have to play with that same physicallality.
Depth at D line is not good enouigh to lose both Ayers and Clinton Macdonald,
November 27th, 2017 at 10:33 am
Well, Joe, I’ll check back in on the website in three days (aside from the podcasts, which I will be listening to).
I can pretty much guess what the people around here will be saying over the next three days. Season is toast.
But I still hope we win the rest of our games.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:34 am
BTW, Jones was unstoppable. He caught everything, even in double coverage. And Evans was doing a pretty good job in my opinion.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:41 am
Pablo says don’t lie Buccaneer Bonzai. You’ll be back in an hour to defend the indefensible and claim you knew this team wasn’t talented enough going into the season.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:49 am
I have to agree on the play calling when we trying to tie the game.Don’t believe
a one yard pass is a good play without a wall of blockers. I didn’t see those blockers.Also think that Hump and even Brate to a lesser extent have been as
dependable as last year. Free our 2017 drafts,OJ and Godwin to showcase
their talents. Evans has to figure out how to play more physical or get more PI calls on defenders that are attemting to block him from getting his arm up or holding it.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:06 am
I believe Koetter will be given an ultimatum, give up the OC duties or be gone.
November 27th, 2017 at 12:02 pm
Cal…. too late for that…a day late and a dollar short. If he was going to do that, he should have during the pre-season.
November 27th, 2017 at 12:19 pm
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this….but our receivers have had many passes broken lately…..just at the very last minute.
I think it is the difference in the speed between Jameis & Fitz.
Fans are calling some of the passes dropped but replays clearly show defenders getting their hands on the ball.
Also….there was a Julio push off on Evans on that TD….it was subtle but it was effective…..should have been called….but refs won’t make that call against Julio in Atlanta.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:12 pm
There is no way this coaching staff can be here next year. They suck.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:31 pm
If the Bucs continue to tank—and who actually believes they won’t—Gruden’s induction into the RoH in three weeks will prove interesting to the fans present… and awkward for the Glazers.
IMO, this coaching staff is gone…and should be.
November 27th, 2017 at 2:32 pm
The Bucs are staring into a 4-12 abyss…
November 27th, 2017 at 10:55 pm
1. Painful to type, but no way you can bring Mike Smith back as a defensive coordinator. Co-linebacker coach? Maybe. He’s damned good with linebackers and if somehow the Bucs keep Smith (in some capacity), it increases the odds Brent Grimes returns.
2. Joe would bring Koetter back. Comparing him to Lovie and Schiano is like comparing a walnut to an ear of corn. Koetter has a winning season. Lovie and Schiano didn’t. Koetter returns but he must be willing to change things up (including no more babying the players). Joe would bring Koetter back to give him a chance to fix things. If he can’t, he’s not cut out for the job. It’s dangerous bordering on lunacy to run a coach who has his first losing season. First! Hell, the man lost his starting quarterback to an injury.
3. The “Jameis situation” will play itself out. Cannot predict the unpredictable.
4. Draft? Positions are obvious: RB, DE. Rookie defensive ends ***rarely*** make an impact but rookie running backs often can and do. Therefore, running back in first round.