Lions Beat Writer Calls BS On Dirk Koetter
December 7th, 2017
Tampa Bay squares off against a familiar face Sunday, a guy who’s nearly always smiling ear to ear but for some reason is carrying bitterness in his heart for some Buccaneers.
Joe’s talking about 26-year-old Akeem Spence, a 2013 fourth-round pick of Tampa Bay, a grinding and average nose tackle the Bucs let walk in free agency — before sprinting to the Team Glazer vault to pay Chris “Swaggy” Baker.
Various reports out of Detroit quoted Spence this week as a guy who wanted to return to the Bucs but was tossed aside.
Ok. Nothing unique there. A team wants to move on from a nothing-special but productive player and the guy is hurt. But what really intrigued Joe is that Detroit News beat writer Justin Rogers called BS on Dirk Koetter after talking to him and Spence.
“Yeah, Akeem’s playing good football,” Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said. “And he’s a guy that we hated to lose, but the way the rules are set up he had a chance to exercise his options as a free agent and he’s doing a nice job. He plays with really good leverage, excellent quickness and he’s got that low center of gravity, so he’s a powerful player. If you’re not ready, you’ll get knocked backwards.”
But Koetter’s comments about losing Spence come across as disingenuous when he couldn’t recall how much effort the team put into re-signing the defender. Spence was asked how he remembered the negotiations.
“If he doesn’t remember, I don’t remember,” he said. “It is what it is. They’re going to have to deal with this whole D-line, but especially me. I’ve had this one circled for a long a time.
“I can’t really say what I want to say, but just know, this one is kind of personal.”
So was Koetter “disingenuous” when he said the Bucs hated to lose Spence? Joe highly doubts it.
Spence probably got a low-ball offer from Tampa Bay and was stunned — and then was further stunned when multiple teams wanted him and Detroit was willing to pay him $3.75 million this year.
Also, Koetter isn’t involved in contract negotiations, though he somehow seemed certain the Bucs didn’t have “$17 million laying around” for free agent manbeast Calais Campbell. Campbell (12.5 sacks this season) only cost $15 million per year and the Bucs did have the cash available, so that should be enough evidence that Koetter doesn’t stay close to the money side of personnel dealings.
Spence has 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and 24 combined tackles this year in 12 games. He’s made seven starts and primarily has been a rotational player.
December 7th, 2017 at 6:15 am
Always liked Akeem Spence, but the Bucs did need a ‘bigger body’ to improve their run defense (and no, Fatty Baker isn’t the big body that they needed). With McDonald still under contract for this year, that would’ve made Akeem #4 in the pecking order, and apparently Licht wasn’t willing to pay $3.75 mil for that. Still, Akeem is a lot better than Siliga IMO, and that’s who the competition was really against (well, unless Stevie T had managed to stay off of IR). In any event, Bucs need to beef up their DLine … big time.
December 7th, 2017 at 6:54 am
Losing pubichead coach Dirk Koetter could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and Joe would still “highly doubt” Koetter pulled the trigger.
December 7th, 2017 at 6:56 am
Calais campbell will get mvp votes this year…yes mvp votes. If dirk would have known that maybe theyd have paid him 18.1 to come here. Oh wait it wouldnt have mattered. Campbell and mccoy would be running crazy 8 stunts all game anyway, rendering them useless.
December 7th, 2017 at 6:58 am
Loose lips and candid quips don’t equate to honesty, and it sure as hell ain’t refreshing when you’re a loser.
December 7th, 2017 at 7:05 am
So does Spence turn the Buc OL into a turnstile and have a career day? Knowing Koetter and his lackluster preparation/play calling, yes or if Spence gets doubles one of his teammates will get to Winston on those 7 step drops as JW waits for his receivers to get open and he gets sacked or makes a turnover. Impossible to have any faith in Dirk Koetter anymore and therefore even though the lines that have come out of Vegas (only 2, the rest are still down or circled) are a pick’em or -120 Lions on the moneyline. Look for that to go to -3 Lions as the wise guys smartly bet against these 4-12 Bucs who only do two things well: find imaginative ways to lose and frustrate their fans, game after game and season after season. Can’t wait for the MNF game vs the ATL and see the reception Chuckie gets….
December 7th, 2017 at 7:15 am
Gruden Gruden Gruden……………………by Halftime! @FortMyersDave
December 7th, 2017 at 7:26 am
I have to wonder when he says I don’t have that kind of cash around… was It the glazers not willing to spend that much on him? Almost sounds like him hinting that it’s not his money to spend…
December 7th, 2017 at 7:35 am
Cluelessness in Tampa.
That is not koetter decision. It’s licht 100%. Their roles have clearly been defined. Licht does personnel. Man. You guys are really giving all blame to koetter.
Spence can be mad if he wants. It’s football though and only so many guys get to be on a roster.
December 7th, 2017 at 7:45 am
@ Bird
You seem to be the clueless one.
Koetter put himself into the personnel conversation with his quote above about Spence. Read the first sentence.
This is the basis of Joe’s article.
December 7th, 2017 at 8:10 am
I would be mad too if my job and I had to live in Detroit!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 7th, 2017 at 8:18 am
We basically traded Spence for Baker which has burned us. We wanted more size instead of effort and that’s what were getting. I hope he has a career day against us.
December 7th, 2017 at 8:40 am
Jason Gump strikes again, and campbell as stated is a big reason that the jags can make a super bowl run and the bucs will be 5-11 due to jason gumps pool jumpin beer drinking kicker stick carrying no rb drafting poor personnel and drafting moves
December 7th, 2017 at 8:53 am
Calais Campbell is a one year wonder at the end of his career. Sheesh, J0E, lol. Try to move on…its better for the heart.
December 7th, 2017 at 9:59 am
Spence probably got a low ball offer from the Bucs? Of course he did! Its the Buc way baby. Now sit back and watch him play extra hard against us and get a couple of sacks. They always come back…….
December 7th, 2017 at 10:29 am
Stop acting like Spence was a great player. Could have been a locker room thing it could have been they had his replacement and no one cared before this game so doesn’t matter now. Here’s not dominant enough to wreck our offensive line. Something about this town that gives me that GMC vibe, they do all there talking during the week and on game day are silent as a mouse
December 7th, 2017 at 11:33 am
The “rest of the team” is not doing it for the Bucs. Looking at their record they’re apparently not doing it for the Lions either!
You need more than your allotment of star players. All teams have superstars at some positions and the Bucs have their fair share…but what about all the other spots on the roster…”the rest of the team”….are they good or horrible?
The Lightning are on fire this year not just because of their four stars…Stammer, Kuch, Hedman and Vasilievsky…but their grinders like Ryan Callahan and Chris Kunitz…the Buc grinders look like they’ve already been ground up and spit out!
The Lightning have a great crop of young up and coming players in Point and Gourde and Sergachev..lots more….the Bucs are actually doing pretty well with their young players…Evans seems to be the real deal at safety and he’s learning quickly…Chris Godwin and OJ seem like future stars.
We simply need to invest everything in the trenches!! If we had a good OL and a good DL we’d have a great team….we just need to get the trenches to good.
December 7th, 2017 at 2:30 pm
Dusthty Rhothdes Says:
December 7th, 2017 at 8:40 am
Jason Gump strikes again, and campbell as stated is a big reason that the jags can make a super bowl run and the bucs will be 5-11 due to jason gumps pool jumpin beer drinking kicker stick carrying no rb drafting poor personnel and drafting moves
Dusthty I love the Jason Gump reference, LMAO! But they’ll finish 5-11? Where do you see another win? They’ll finish 4-12, yes they are that bad. I’d much rather have Calais Campbell, that SHOULD have been the move period, paragraph. That being said, I much rather have Akeem Spence then that fat ass worthless ass clown Chris Baker who’s here just to take up space and steal $6 million.
December 8th, 2017 at 3:46 am
I always liked Akeem Spence because he got better each year. I also would have re-signed him all day long over Baker. Watch him Sunday. Detroit’s front four of DE Anthony Zettel, DT A’Shawn Robinson, DT Akeem Spence and DE Ezekiel Ansah are a very good defensive front. Spence looks in great shape and he goes after it on every play. I disagree that he is not dominant enough to wreck an offensive line. Spence balled against the Vikings and was in the backfield all day long. He is an example of how good teams stick with their draft picked players for the long haul.
December 8th, 2017 at 6:52 am
Some posers will take any queue to lambaste the team they are fans of. Every former player who was released or traded by a team looks forward to playing that team and making a “statement”. Doesn’t make the coach a villian and doesn’t make Campbell a Buc (presuming he wanted to come here). Disciplined pass rush with backside pressure and some 2nd down blitzes will be key this week for the defense IMO. Same offensive gameplan. We can win this one. Go Bucs!