Brian Billick Talks To Joe
January 31st, 2018
Confident in Bucs’ future.
Brian Billick agrees with Gerald McCoy. And with LeGarrette Blount.
Last week, Bucs stud defensive tackle GMC sounded off and all but called out Bucs management to go out and acquire better players on his side of the ball if the team suits are serious about winning.
When Joe told this to LeGarrette Blount, the former Bucs running back now with the Eagles and about to play in his third Super Bowl, Blount thought that was a “great idea,” specifically to lure back former Bucs starters Michael Bennett and Aqib Talib.
Now you can add Billick to the list. The Super Bowl-winning NFL coach has keen insight into the Bucs. Why? His brother-in-law is Mike Smith, the defensive coordinator.
“Best in the business,” Billick said about Smith.
So is Billick confident Smith can turn around his failing defense? Billick didn’t hold back. “Oh yeah, he’s doing a great job with that defense.”
So why the struggles and finishing last in so many defensive categories? Billick almost pointed fingers.
“You have to have the guns to do it,” Billick said. “You have to have the players to do it. This isn’t a game of Xs and Os, it’s Jimmys and Joes. He has to have better Jimmys and Joes.”
In short, Billick boasted Smith can get the job done.
The Bucs defense “will be back,” Billick said. “They will do a heck of a job.”
January 31st, 2018 at 9:06 am
joe, you should have just called Mike Smith’s mother and asked if he could turn it around… love you man but asking family members is like asking doug martin’s mom if he will have a good season next year.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:10 am
‘Oh yeah, he’s doing a great job with that defense’ Hahahahaha, I haven’t laughed that hard in years.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:10 am
You leave him alone, he’s a good boy.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:13 am
Billick my fellow Redlands California native…… Come on man really??
January 31st, 2018 at 9:13 am
Well, I understand everyone is down on Mike Smith but wouldn’t you agree that the D line personel and the db personel is bottom 10 in the league? Add in the fact that the offense doesn’t score a lot and doesn’t control the clock and you should expect to have a below average D. Looking at 2016, I don’t know how the D looked as good as it did at times. Bringing in Baker and not bringing in a DE or two was so dumb.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:18 am
No one said it was a great D, what is said is he doing very well with what he had!!!!!!!! When Will Clarke is the best DE on the field all season, what does that tell you!!!!!!!!!!
The Truth will set you free Sheep!!!!!!!!!!!
Fix the “real” problems, the “trenches”!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 9:24 am
The Buc Realist
although I agree 100% both LINES are garbage with NO keepers on dline and only 2 keepers on offensive line that being said You know the real problem is ownership and organizational leadership. This franchise DOES NOT KNOW or UNDERSTAND how to win. Never has and never will with glazer clowns pulling the strings.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:30 am
Can’t believe I’m agreeing with Tmaxcon, but yep…
Also, yes I agree our d-line personnel are among the league’s worst. Some of that is due to lack of drafting people, some of it goes to you can’t fix every hole every offseason…. and yes, we need better personnel, or “Jimmy’s and Joe’s.”
HAVING SAID THAT, you have to have good coaching too. And when you have our personnel, then you ADJUST ACCORDINGLY and change things up in order to get pressure on the opposing QB. That is where I find the most fault with Mike Smith… you can’t just lean back “oh well, I don’t have the horses.” No, you don’t have the horses to run your normal defense, so change it up, adjust, and get pressure with the personnel (re: linebackers) you DO have!
January 31st, 2018 at 9:30 am
i’ll say this about Billick he won with Dilfer and the ignorant one dimensional clown dungy could not…. hell – billick deserves to be in hall of fame far more than dungy does. winning with dilfer should give him his own wing in hall of fame.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:31 am
So Noah Spence made that much of a defense that this defense was this horrible after having somewhat of a decent defense the year before with the same guys. He’s a passive play caller just like dork. Lavonte David zero sacks? That’s not knowing your personnel brotha
January 31st, 2018 at 9:35 am
Billick believes the Bucs need to bring in better players Joe, but he didn’t mention Bennett, or Talib by name as your article suggests. Your pimping for these two players is revisionist history. You make it sound like we were winners when they were here, and bringing them back will make us winners again. Neither of which is true.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:37 am
joe
when did you did you become leader of the living in the past crowd? Do I need to remind you how pathetic outside of 1 year the bucs past has been for the last 42 years. I am concerned did you cancer93 spike your cool aid.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:50 am
I agree with miken talent on the defense is at the bottom of the league. An saying that we still played some good teams very close games. For the defense to be better. We need better QB play don’t turn the ball over so much and put the defense on the wrong side of the feild. No one talking about all the pick six’s and the fumbles that went back for touchdowns and the other fumbles and int’s also. In my in opinion Jamie will never not tune the ball over. Even in college that what he did but then they had more talent then most schools. Now in today NFL you can’t win game and turn the ball over and you deafly can’t win playoff games turn the ball over.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:56 am
The second he said:
Oh yeah, he’s doing a great job with that defense.”
I would have laughed and walked away.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:59 am
Tmax
Sounds like you missed some years. If a season is considered garbage unless you win the super bowl then you are right. Doesnt sound to me like you went to games in the late 90s. No better feeling going from bad to good. Watching other teams offense basically give up was something else. Too bad you missed it. As far as billick, of course thats what he will say. But when you dont have the DEs you send 2 backers, safeties, anyone. He knows youve gota get the qb off his spot somehow. Just him sticking up for his family. I know smith isnt a bad of a coach as he showed last year, but he was very bad last year. Hope he learned from his mistakes.
January 31st, 2018 at 10:01 am
What did you expect him to say, he’s his Brother-N-Law!!!! I’m not and Shiotmith Sucks and will next year to with the Jimmy’s and Joes he has. So Jimmys and Joes and X’s and O’s matter Billy Bellicheck!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 10:03 am
The game is obviously X’s and O’s when you’re giving your D a 12-yard cushion. I don’t care who the players are they’re not going to be playing as well against the other teams constant 10 yard curls and posts that lead them all the way to the end zone. And asking Smith’s brother in law? That makes me lmao.
January 31st, 2018 at 10:05 am
Another guy with proven success says we dont have the talent…..They key here is we dont have the talent in the right positions for the defense to be successful. That’s not on Lovie, Koetter or Smith….thats on Licht rolling the dice trying to look cute all the time with 2nd rd kickers, one trick pony RB, linebacker depth, safeties, blown 1st rd CB…..WE NEED DEFENSIVE LINEMEN….he’s drafted TWO in 28+ picks. Its absurd.
If you know the owners wont spend the money to get proven producers…..you have to increase your odds in the draft….its not rocket science. Licht is a glorified scout that wasnt ready for the GM roll. Diving into a pool like a fool for season we dont even make the playoffs and the only winning season in 4 yrs…..brutal.
January 31st, 2018 at 10:09 am
Hodad
Exactly. Only thing different about those guys being on this team is that they’re older. Pay for some top notch players in their prime and build through the draft.
January 31st, 2018 at 10:16 am
I really surprised Joe doesn’t get Dion Lewised ‘next question” more often.
January 31st, 2018 at 10:23 am
NOT THERE YET
I 100% AGREE!!!!!!
so noah spence is the player that can get us to the playoffs…..without noah the season is over…..
so 1 player that had 5.5 sacks last year is the difference maker between 5-11 and 9-7…..
and the defense did a great job?…WTF….LOL….smitty must have a dirt pic of brian for him to lie like that…..i hope you told brian smitty only has this offseason to get his jimmys and joes….
NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 10:34 am
darin
the defense was fun to watch during that era but knowing you had aincompetent one dimensional coach whose coaching scared philosophy and lack of offense rendered those teams pretenders not contenders. If you do not win at least ONE playoff game in your season it’s a failure. One and done is meaningless and a divisional title with a first round exit is less than meaningless. 2 playoff wins in 6 years with that defense is failure any way you look at it. dungy era were not glory years they were wasted years. dungy set cost this franchise far more than he helped it. whyce deserves far more credit than dungy. no way in hell dungy drafts warren sapp nor does he take brooks coming off a college suspension.
January 31st, 2018 at 11:02 am
We have 6-10 talent so we did under performed
January 31st, 2018 at 11:13 am
Brian Billick is saying what I have been saying for the past 3-4 seasons.
January 31st, 2018 at 11:24 am
The Buc Realist Says:
January 31st, 2018 at 9:18 am
When Will Clarke is the best DE on the field all season, what does that tell you!!!!!!!!!!
our best pass rusher is GMC….why didn’t smitty get creative or adjust his game plan and line GMC at DE?…..
Sheldon Richardson is the same size as GMC….jets lined him up at DE and DT….when he was traded to the seahawks pete used Sheldon the same way….at DE and DT…..
GMC is our most disruptive player along the dline…..why not move him around so teams cant game plan to double and triple team him…..
but I guess that’s too much like coaching…..I guess only good competent coaches adjust and get creative….
NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 11:40 am
So Realist considering our best players and deepest room on defense was the linebacker room wouldn’t a good coach devise a scheme to get his best players on the field and play the worst position on the field as little as possible? Its not like he didn’t know the talent was lacking all preseason or heck all off season. See this is the issue good coaches find a way, in fact Chris Baker was at his best during his career playing DE in a 3-4 so he had him McCoy and Goldston (with Ayers as a backup) to play D-line and the four linebackers in Kwon, LVD, Beckwith, Bond (and Spence until he got hurt) and then in the backups he had Glanton and they could have had JoeDirt up earlier if need be. Look at NE every year, sometimes every week they reinvent themselves that’s what coaches are for to put the players in the best positions to succeed. If you honestly thought Mike Smith did that this year then maybe you should find a new sport to watch.
January 31st, 2018 at 11:48 am
But the Bucs masses are shouting out loud…”In Licht we trust”. lol
January 31st, 2018 at 11:54 am
813 I’m pretty sure we’ve seen GMC at DE at times but I may be wrong.
In terms of talent it wasn’t just Noah Spence as a drop-off from 2016. That said it was still a huge loss. It’d almost be like Denver losing Von Miller in terms of what he meant to our defense in terms of a chess piece. He’s obviously not Von Miller but he’s the closest thing we had to a player like that lol – which is just further indictment to the DE/D-line talent. But beyond Spence:
-Kwon and Lavonte both missing much of the year / needing time to get healthy late
-VHIII missing most of the year – seemingly hurt early and wasn’t playing well vs palying every snap in 2016
-Robert Ayers’ play falling off big time. He actually brought some pass rush in 2016.
So essentially we lost our best pass rusher for the entire season; our defensive captain and best 2 LBs most of the season; our #1 draft pick and CB who played every snap in 2016; and our 2nd best pass rusher’s age caught up with him.
So best 2 DEs / #2 CB / and two probowl LBs. More than 1/2 the starters from 2016. Plus Brent Grimes missing multiple games. Pretty significant imo. This is also why I said it’s debatable that the talent in 2017 on defense was even any better than 2014/2015 – as we had some pieces in those years we didn’t in 2017; and the PPG given up in 2014/2015 was worse than 2017.
January 31st, 2018 at 12:03 pm
Blood is thicker than water. I would love to watch a Bucs game with Brian when our Defense allows WR’s free release and they run to open spots….and our defenders are nowhere in sight.
Mike’s soft D reminds me of trying to teach 7 year olds to play zone in soccer.
“But coach, I AM in my zone.” Yes, but you have to also cover people when they get close to you Johnny…. Once the kids got a little older they got it. Our D, not sure they do…
January 31st, 2018 at 12:06 pm
NDog you are exactly right. Bellicheck has used 2 LB’s, he has used 6. He has used WR’s as DB’s when his depth got low. He has blitzed heavily and he has not. My god, he changes his schemes game to game, but we sit with our scheme for seemingly season after season.
Would have loved to see a little shakeup on the defensive side of the ball, what makes us think next year will be different?
January 31st, 2018 at 12:13 pm
Point well made! When you look at the final four teams playing for a chance to play in the SuperBowl, you need talent on defense to win. Offense is great but the old saying goes “defense travels!”
In the fast 5 seasons, name one player (aside from GMC) on the defensive line that opposing coordinators had to game plan for? You can double team GMC all day long because the rest of the D-lineman don’t strike fear in opposing teams and only one CB is dangerous to throw at.
January 31st, 2018 at 12:20 pm
You can have the best DC in the league with the greatest game plan. However, if he doesn’t have the player caliber to execute the game plan to perfection, then it’s all useless.
They’re a couple of D players away from becoming a constant contender. The Offense is set, once the Red Zone issues are fixed (explosive RB needed).
Be patient and enjoy the ride.
January 31st, 2018 at 12:54 pm
LC
LVD missed 3games….might’ve taken him 3 more games to get up to speed…so that’s 6games….that’s 10games left in the season….
KWON missed 4 games…..might’ve taken him 4games to get back in to a groove….that’s 8games….so he had half the season…..
imo missing “most of the year” is missing 10 or more games….
VHG was a liability in the secondary….mclain wasn’t much better….ryan smith played better than both imo….
it is what it is…..if GMC lined up at DE, it wasn’t enough to throw teams off….
all I know is, this staff only has this offseason to fix both lines…find a RB…develop a pass rush…develop a CB….sign talented FA’s….and draft well or they wont be here the to hear all the excuses as to why they couldn’t get it done…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!!…..GO BUCS!!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Reminds me of, Hommies covering for each other. What did you expect Brian B to say about his Bro-in law there Joe? That he sucks? ..Which of course he does. Nope Brain praised Smitty like he was..New math!! From what my eyes see..Our Bucs simply don’t know how to win games. Both Offensive and Defensive play calling gots to get a hepin whole lot better folks. How about gettin us a few Jimmy’s and Joes..and coaches who Know how, what it takes to WIn. Cause unless there is a miracle juice brewing somewheres, I see us again losing close games next year.
January 31st, 2018 at 2:10 pm
Any defense that has GMC, Kwon, LaVonte, Beckwith, Grimes and a stable of solid safeties should NOT be the WORST defense in the entire NFL … that is on coaching imho!
January 31st, 2018 at 2:23 pm
NFL NUT!!! I’m with you on that assessment!!! To many quality pieces on the defensive side. You don’t go from being pretty good in 2016 to worst in 2017. Something was done or not done that caused this discrepancy. I have my theory which I have expressed many times. But to me Brian Billicks Bro n Law is not is not a Defensive Guru but a defensive Booru
January 31st, 2018 at 2:29 pm
813 yeah it wasn’t most the year that was misleading. In general I just am kind of thinking this defense has sucked talent-wise for a long time now and no one has really had the horses. I thought Lovie had better talent than he was working with for example. But in review – guys like Verner/Ghost Johnson/etc were all such failures / haven’t gone on to have any success afterwards.
And yeah 2018 should have no excuses if it’s a bad season. We know what we need to do and just need to get it done
January 31st, 2018 at 2:29 pm
if 2018 draft Minkah Fitzpatrick and bradley chubb is similar to
2017 draft Marshon lattimore and myles garrett,
who do you take if both is available at 7?
If Fitzpatrick is another ramsey/lattimore, you take him no question. eliminate half the field with a shut down corner for the next 10 years
“Do the exact opposite of what The Buc Realist says to do”
Kandy Faker
January 31st, 2018 at 2:30 pm
All I know is the Vikings lost their first two QBs their starting running back and two guards this year early to IR and they went 13-3 and were one game away from the Super Bowl. While we let Chris Baker roam around the locker room like he owned the place till the players finally stepped up and did something in week 16. How does that happen with a good coaching staff? There is only one answer to that question. IT DOESN’T!!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 2:32 pm
If he thinks Mike Smith has done a great job then I’m not really sure he has much credibility since he hasn’t done a great job at all. Lovie Smith, with worse talent, did a much better job.
January 31st, 2018 at 2:55 pm
Maybe it’s me and I’m sure it is but why every year we have to chase other teams free agent.Its the same thing every year..all the talk about who we’re going to sign in free agent.I thought the saying was..if you’re signing free agents than you’re doing a bad job at drafting.
January 31st, 2018 at 3:11 pm
I never knew Billick and Big Head Mike were brothers in law. That must make for some great dinner time conversation.
January 31st, 2018 at 3:38 pm
LMFAO!!!!! HOLY HELL I needed a good laugh. BEST IN THE BUSINESS???
Best in the business doesn’t get you last place across the board with NFL players. A good coach would get below average out of this group.
I can’t wait until they find a way yo resign grimes, lure talib here, get two nasty pass rushers and STILL suck because Mr. Best in the business is too stupid to know better than have his corners playing another football field length away from the pass catchers right before the snap.
Yeah, not like his own family member is gonna say anything bad about his coaching ability right?
January 31st, 2018 at 3:38 pm
LC
BINGO….
we know what we need so now its time to get it and win….simple as that….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
January 31st, 2018 at 9:02 pm
Here’s how a Tampa fan thinks…
…he complains we don’t have the players to succeed, and then he blames a coordinator for not making something out of nothing.
January 31st, 2018 at 9:35 pm
You need to ask Mike Martz for his opinion. He doesn’t seem to hold back at all, and has a chip on his shoulder from failing as a head coach.
January 31st, 2018 at 11:42 pm
If Joe ever runs into him, will do.
February 1st, 2018 at 2:04 am
“Talib and Bennett are both brain dead, AND over the hill. But even if they were in their prime, and smarter- Mike Smith wouldnt have a clue what to do with them.”
Said no NFL player or coach EVER.
All these quotes , from players and coaches- mean nothing. They never throw each other under the bus.