Chris “Mad Dog” Russo Talks To Joe
September 9th, 2018
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
Joe was going through his audio files and unearthed an interview he conducted with the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo of SiriusXM fame early this year when Joe asked him about the Bucs. Russo, a good friend of internationally popular JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman, had some relevant things to say about the Bucs.
JoeBucsFan.com: I know you are not a Gerald McCoy fan…
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo: Well, he never makes a play!
Joe: Well, GMC has been saying the team needs to upgrade the defense. Since you state that he doesn’t make plays, what do you think of him saying this?
Russo: Well, listen, I would like to see McCoy make a big influence in a big game. I have never seen him do that. I know that Ira [Kaufman] tells me he is phenomenal. I do know their defense needs some help. They have a pretty good offensive team. [Jameis] did say he loved Koetter so he got his coach back. He’s right. Their defense is spotty. But I would like to see him go out there and make some big plays in a big game.
Joe: How shocked were you that the Bucs kept all of their defensive coaches [but Jay Hayes]. The Bucs were horrible on defense yet they kept the coaches.
Russo: I mean, I think you have to be somewhat stable. They have fired so many coaches over the years. I think it is about time they give this group another [go]. Let’s see what they do. They played hard at the end of the year. They played hard against the Saints — they beat them. They played hard against Atlanta. They did a good job in Carolina, they should have won. They could have beaten Detroit. They should have beaten Green Bay. They did play pretty well their last five or six games. So let’s give them another chance. They finished four in the division. So they are going to play a fourth-place schedule which means they will get a lousy team. That means a lot. That is going to help them. So they have a chance of being half-way decent.
Joe: I know you had said the way the Bucs played at the end of the season, that showed you something about Koetter, that these guys weren’t giving up on him, that they weren’t throwing in the towel.
Russo: I thought that was significant. I thought they did a pretty good job at the end of the year to be competitive. I am glad [Koetter] got a chance to come back. For whatever reason, I kind of like him. I was happy they brought Koetter back. Now we will have to wait and see.
Joe: With Jameis, the last month of the season he looked like a different quarterback.
Russo: He played well. He did a nice job, and that was important because he played poorly at the beginning of the year. Then he got hurt and sat out and Fitzpatrick comes in. They needed to feel good about him in big spots. So I was glad that Winston came back and finished the season properly. That was important and I would feel relatively comfortable if I was a Bucs fan that we will see a better Winston in Year 4.
September 9th, 2018 at 1:20 am
So much for that easy schedule lol
September 9th, 2018 at 1:39 am
Our schedule really does look to be a tough one!
Did the Glazers, Licht or Koetter tick off the folks at NFL, Inc.?
___________
Go Bucs!!! No excuses! (No matter what.)
September 9th, 2018 at 3:13 am
Ok I get it now. Tmax is Russo’s wife.
September 9th, 2018 at 4:55 am
@Russo ,,, “He (Jameis) played well. He did a nice job, and that was important because he played poorly at the beginning of the year. Then he got hurt.” Wait a minute Joe. I thought the party line was that Jameis only played poorly last year BECAUSE he got hurt. Now I see Mad Dog saying that Jameis played poorly BEFORE he got hurt. I think he just skewered America’s QB, except for the last 5 games of the year.
And I don’t understand his dislike of GMC. Pretty blatant statement to say “Well, he never makes a play!” That makes as much sense to me as Russo’s scheduling analysis … “They finished four in the division. So they are going to play a fourth-place schedule which means they will get a lousy team.” Huh?
September 9th, 2018 at 6:10 am
Every one seems to forget they would have won a lot more games if the defense could stop anybody. Smith should have been fired. If you look at New Orleans they up graded thier defense the last few years and the Bucs seem to miss on the draft pick and free agents the last few years. Will see what happens today, but it worries me still about the defense. We need to be nasty on defense let’s go Bucs!
September 9th, 2018 at 6:26 am
Everyone seems to forget how bad the defense gave away games last year. Smith should have been fired. Look at the Saints last few years they have up graded their defense, got nasty, while the Bucs draft picks and free agents seems never to work out, and the Bucs seem to play soft. I think offense is fine, but as the saying goes defenses win Championships! Let’s see how we do today Bucs start off with with a poor showing on defense again it will be time to make some changes. Go Bucs!
September 9th, 2018 at 6:32 am
The Bucs window for success has to be closing somewhat in the next couple of years. JPP and GMC are both entering their 9 th year. Both have been pretty durable but its hard to predict when age will catch up to them. IMO Grimes was a question mark for this year because of
his injuries last year. Hopefully our rookie corners get a chance to show what can do. JPP and GMC and our new corners should make the game interesting.
Hope Donovan Smith is healthy enough, because Saints D line has given us fits
in previous games. We have to keep them out of the backfield for Fitzy and the running game to be effective.
September 9th, 2018 at 7:27 am
Are you sure you weren’t talking to Sour Shoes?
September 9th, 2018 at 7:56 am
So, what does Russo see that the rest of the Geraldini supports don’t see? Now with JPP and the other DL pieces, we will see how good he is. Odds are he gets hurt in this game.
September 9th, 2018 at 8:38 am
XpfcWintergreen2
I’m pretty sure the team pissed off the NFL by discouraging kneeling. Not like Jerry Jones did :), but still. That’s why I’m still watching my team.
You Army or Marine Corps?
September 9th, 2018 at 8:47 am
ALL NFL teams are dangerous so I’m not a big SOS guy…unless you’re lucky enough to play in the AFC.
The Bears haven’t been known as world beaters…the Browns…Bengals…Redskins…Giants…there are also teams on our schedule that are not that frightening.
The major problem with our schedule is the division we play in which is loaded with recent SB teams. No matter who the NFL gave us for non division games the critical contests are against the three excellent teams in our own division.
Do we want to end up like that Jags-Buffalo playoff. That was a joke with two mediocre teams from sorry divisions and the weak conference both trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
At least if we make the playoffs from our division we know we’ve been good.
September 9th, 2018 at 9:41 am
😃
September 9th, 2018 at 10:18 am
Russo’s voice might be the most annoying on TV. As for McCoy not making a big play in a big game, well you need to play in big games first. Also being an interior lineman McCoy is easily subjected to double teams while his underperforming line mates get singled up and still don’t make an impact. Let’s see what McCoy does this year with a few better players around him before saying he never makes a play.
#Get After It!