Fluke Or Precursor?
June 3rd, 2018
Insane personnel moves by two previous Bucs coaches still have Bucs fans drinking heavily.
Which Bucs team will show up for Dirk Koetter this fall? Will it be the team that virtually came from nowhere and damned near made the playoffs in 2016?
Or will it be the bumbling Bucs that fell flat on their faces when faced with big expectations last year and finished 5-11?
That’s what Jenna Laine of ESPN wants to know. She believes how the Bucs play this year will be a referendum on Koetter as well as Team Glazer.
Was hanging on to Koetter and the rest of the coaching staff after they fell to 5-11 last season the right call? Previous Bucs coaching staffs under Greg Schiano and Lovie Smith weren’t afforded the luxury of a third year, but neither of those teams had the benefit of a winning season in Year 1.
Well, Joe can tell folks why Schaino and Lovie didn’t get a third year: They ran off players that could have been a core of a winning club.
Schiano ran off Michael Bennett, LeGarrette Blount and Aqib Talib because they were not Buccaneer Men. All three saw their careers blossom once they got away from Tampa Bay, and all three won rings (though the true reason why Bennett was let go for no good reason remains somewhat unclear).
Then, when Lovie came in, he too chose to run off solid players like Darrelle Revis and Donald Penn. Just unconscionable. One could argue the Bucs are still trying to replace those guys.
And that is why both got tossed overboard before a third year. At least Schiano seemed to know what he was doing on defense. Lovie was simply inept.
June 3rd, 2018 at 2:10 am
Don’t excited when they win game 1… wait till game 2 before u plan the parade
June 3rd, 2018 at 4:11 am
Wondering Joe if one day the Giants & Eagles will be the ones saying ‘Man, I can’t believe we let JPP, Beau Allen & Vinny Curry go to the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers so easily.’ Dare we dream?
June 3rd, 2018 at 6:48 am
Wondering why Mark Dominick never gets mentioned in a negative licht.
It’s as if he didn’t exist and the coaches made all the player decisions.
I believe the right decision was made to retain the coaches…..that doesn’t mean they will succeed….but it had to be tried.
Licht has done a very good job building a team (unlike Dominick)….let’s see if these coaches can do something with it.
June 3rd, 2018 at 7:38 am
@Tampabaybucfan
Because no matter how wrong it is, if joe keeps saying it he thinks it will become truth!!!!! Much like the “coaches cannot develop” !!!!!!!! The embarrassing part is back in the archives and to see joe and the sheep say of talk show dominik really set the table with talent for the team!!!!!!! It was crazy!!!!
Talk show dominik sucks!!!!!!!!! worst gm in Buc History by a wide margin!!!!!!!
I always ask, who did more damage to the Bucs and ran the team into the ground????? talk show dominik or loser lovie?????
Go Bucs!!!!!
June 3rd, 2018 at 7:40 am
forgot to throw in Lovie and Mark Barron
June 3rd, 2018 at 8:05 am
Never in a negative “licht”….pun intended.
This is a credibility issue here……showing favorites……can’t be denied.
Now, I will admit Joe is correct about running off good players…..and, I do suspect strong input on that from the coaches…..but where I fault Dominick the most is with his drafts……horrendous.
June 3rd, 2018 at 8:17 am
Lovie got fired because he had the worst defense in the league. Lovie > Mike Smith
Fire Mike Smith
June 3rd, 2018 at 9:06 am
Of course Joe plays favorites. He has been defending, making excuses for and in complete denial over the failed 3rd over all pick gmc his entire career. The way joe neglects to point out any legit criticism of the career loser one might assume joe is really gmc.
Why make things up? Joe shares all kinds of criticism from many sources. –Joe
June 3rd, 2018 at 10:38 am
@Defense Rules
Love the way you think, man. — Let’s do this.
June 3rd, 2018 at 10:46 am
And who are YOU really, “Reality”….. Ian Beckles??
… because your constant criticism of Gerald McCoy, where it is not warranted, seems personal at this point.
June 3rd, 2018 at 1:09 pm
“Or will it be the bumbling Bucs that fell flat on their faces when faced with big expectations last year and finished 5-11?” – J0E
It is tough to swallow that statement. On one side, they had the tree humper, who certainly fit that category.
But on the other, a combination of circumstances did the most damage. For example, a hurricane to start the season, the removal of the bye week, and the record 21 of 22 starters injured…including the franchise QB.
It should have been a good year, but let’s be honest…did anyone really think Baker would fix the Dline issues?
While injuries seem impossible to predict for the most part, everything else seems to be pointing toward a knockout season.
As to releasing Darrelle Revis and Donald Penn…those were the two salaries which freed up the most money, and Lovie had a bunch of free agents he wanted to sign. While I wish we’d held onto Penn longer, Darrelle Revis had been a complete waste of money…and notice no one else is stupid enough to pay him that much these days (nor any other CB).
June 3rd, 2018 at 1:10 pm
Reality-is-a-Beotch is TMax. He;s just trying to use different phasing to hide it.
June 3rd, 2018 at 1:16 pm
To answer Jenna Laine’s question, of course it was the right decision to keep Koetter. Even if it ends up being a losing season. Why?
Because the Glazers developed a reputation of not giving coaches time to implement their plans. It takes at least 3 years for a coach to fully install his vision, just like it takes 3 years to know if a player is a bust.
Personally, I like Koetter. I think it would be challenging to find a coach who can do a better job. Sure, the wins vs losses are not showing it yet, but I firmly believe they will starting this year.
June 3rd, 2018 at 2:26 pm
I agree with you guys that it sure would have been nice to hold on to Donald Penn.
He seems to fit exactly into that OL mindset that we are trying to create now. Can you imagine him with Marpet & Jensen? — That is not meant as a slam on Donovan Smith, whom I still hope can develop into the player of the potential he appears to have.
June 3rd, 2018 at 2:37 pm
I’m sorry but Darrelle Revis was a joke at ONE MILLION DOLLARS a game. He went back to the Jets and they booted him. Now he’s retired.
June 3rd, 2018 at 2:39 pm
sorry Revis is with KC but he’s not mentioned much anymore and does not make the money like he got from us
June 3rd, 2018 at 4:05 pm
if the Bucs are competitive by mid-season then they will have my interest, up until then, it’s all hype and I am really over the hype that is generated every year and then when the season starts, they fizzle like dud firecracker
June 3rd, 2018 at 7:48 pm
@richbucsfan
Hmm… why browse this site in June then?
June 3rd, 2018 at 9:54 pm
Bucanno19
@richbucsfan
Hmm… why browse this site in June then?
Exactly the same thought I had. Lol