“Expected” Move
October 19th, 2018
Talks Bucs defense.
When a successful former NFL head coach becomes a coordinator and then is so bad at his job he’s fired mid-season, that warrants a full segment of discussion on “Pro Football Talk Live” on NBC Sports Network with the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, and long-time NFL scribe Peter King.
King, the Mike Florio-arguing, L.L. Bean-wearing, Second Amendment abolitionist, parrot-insensitive, chewing-with-his-mouth-open, soup-gulping, California train-romancing, anti-football proliferation, outhouse-admiring, airline-napping, steerage-flying, Yogi Berra-worshiping, urinal picture-taking, video game-playing, Taylor Swift-listening, pickpocket-thwarting, Bucs-uniform-frowning, Allie-LaForce-smitten, Big-Ten-Network-hating, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, craft beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball-box-score-reading, NPR-honk, filthy-hotel-staying, fight-instigating, barista-training social activist star of NBC Sports fame, said the move by Bucs coach Dirk Koetter to remove his long-time friend Mike Smith as Bucs defensive coordinator had to happen because the Bucs were so dreadful on defense.
Listening between the lines, King echoed what former NFL suit Michael Lombardi said after the loss to the Bears, that Smith was going to get Koetter fired.
“I mean, this is Dirk Koetter’s prove-it year,” King explained. “And this is one move he could make to really try to shake things up. When you look at the Bucs, it is amazing in this day and age you can have some of the defensive guys that they have — they have spent some money on defense, now.
“I think the injuries at corner have hurt them, no question about it. The [Vernon] Hargreaves injury really did hurt them.
“Here is the issue: If you allow every game your opponent to go over 400 yards, if you allow four of your five games, every game but one to be more than 30 points, this is a move that not only isn’t shocking but is rather expected.”
The Hargreaves injury is a very interesting point. When he was injured at New Orleans, it wasn’t long after that when Drew Brees went nuts. Of course, Brees being a future Hall of Famer playing in his home crib means that’s not exactly shocking.
Without Hargreaves, the Bucs have relied on rookies Carlton Davis (who himself has been banged up) and M.J. Stewart. Given this coaching staff’s sorry history of developing young talent at cornerback and Chris Conte’s injury at safety, along with the team’s reluctance to add an experienced corner in the offseason, it was a perfect script for an all-too-real horror movie.
“Expected” move? Maybe.
Predictable? Joe would agree with predictable, that’s for sure.
October 19th, 2018 at 11:09 am
Everyones dealing with injuries, don’t want to hear that excuse. We were losing with Hargraves, and Conte, but now we’re supposed to believe we’re losing because they’re gone? Alternate reality for Buc fans.
October 19th, 2018 at 11:10 am
A blind man saw this coming….last year!
October 19th, 2018 at 11:11 am
We were losing when we had Hargraves, and Conte, now we’re supposed to believe we’re losing because they’re gone? Alternate reality for Buc fans.
October 19th, 2018 at 11:15 am
yeah the “real” fans saw this coming…..
and im happy you pointed out the situation with VHG….vs the saints he was having his best game as a pro with passes defended and the forced fumble that changed the game…..
it is what it is….the new HC and DC will know what to do….hoping for kris Richard…..we need a young innovative DC that can stop these young innovative offenses like mcvay,nagy and shannhan
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
October 19th, 2018 at 11:15 am
“Justin Evans tackles like a girl”
Chris Conte
October 19th, 2018 at 11:27 am
Having bad games is to be expected when you have injuries to key players. No way should you be giving up 400+ yards every single game. That means that it is a combination of a lot of things. There is no drive or sense of urgency when watching this defense.
October 19th, 2018 at 11:29 am
I am looking forward to seeing Vea get the majority of playing time to see what we have for the future. Hope he’s in shape!
October 19th, 2018 at 11:31 am
lmao Chris Conte getting thrown down like a b1tch by a 2nd string TE was one of the most embarrassing plays I’ve ever seen visually.
October 19th, 2018 at 11:32 am
Was it really expected?
October 19th, 2018 at 11:54 am
Not sure why the point about VH3 is so interesting. We’ve been posting about this all season. The back end of this defense has been in complete shambles since week 1. Grimes goes out and then Vernon, leaving basically rookies and no depth.
Rookies are fine to play in the NFL under certain conditions. Either they are remarkable talents or they are giving a breather to a vet and getting reps. Playing several rookies at one time as in the case of the Bucs (Stewart, Davis and Whitehead) is complete recipe for disaster.
Look at who the Bucs had to play in order: NO with Brees and their group of WR’s and Kamura. Philly thankfully was not at full strength. But then Pitt with Ben and their crew. Bears recognized the mess that was their secondary and totally exploited it and then came Matt Ryan, Julio and company.
When you see the lack of depth in this secondary, it is hard to blame Smith. Jason is responsible for procuring players for these coaches. I think all three rookies show promise but it’s still nuts to have all three playing together full time. Think if your favorite college team was playing 3 true freshman in the defensive backfield. You don’t think any team would exploit that?
October 19th, 2018 at 12:00 pm
I don’t see how Hargreaves is suddenly the missing savior…
But fans are so desperate, that they suddenly forget VHIII ain’t all that.
October 19th, 2018 at 12:04 pm
Jmarkbuc: it’s not that he is the savior. It’s just that without him, Grimes, and Conte, you are playing rookies.
October 19th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
I guess we should have been signing some cornerbacks in free agency before the season started.
October 19th, 2018 at 12:24 pm
Maybe instead of signing both Allen and Unrein and then drafting Vea, we could have invested in one solid CB. Just a thought…
October 19th, 2018 at 12:35 pm
Conte injury hurt more than Hargreaves who was terrible under Smith.
October 19th, 2018 at 12:38 pm
If you fire Koetter, you set this franchise back at least 2 more years. Offense is fine (despite Licht failing to fix right side of line and running back)
Throwing away a top offense is just plain stupid. So I wouldn’t put it past the Glazer boys
October 19th, 2018 at 12:52 pm
Same coaches same results! I think Light has brought in plenty of talent and if you listen to people across the NFL, most say “We have too much talent to be this bad”.
October 19th, 2018 at 12:55 pm
Chopping Block, in no particular order: Jon Hoke, Brett Maxie, Nate Kaczor, Dave Kennedy.
October 19th, 2018 at 1:04 pm
I get a kick out of everyone blaming it on the Hargraves injury. “They really miss Hargraves.” Weren’t we just talking last year what a bust he was? He sucked! Always played way-off the receiver, allowed alot of easy completions. I understand he’s looked a little better this season before injury, but is that really who we were counting on?
October 19th, 2018 at 2:31 pm
I get that we all thought going into the season that VH111 was a bust. But you cannot deny how good he looked in preseason games. And when the real games started he was still playing at that high level. Look, just because we didnt see and know what we had in Hargraves(potentially) doesnot take away from the fact that our staff seen what he was doing behind the scenes and chose to rely on him for the season.
This in no way is any excuse for the rest of oursecondary. Good teams have their next man up ready to perform. Id like to one day expect the same from my team.
October 19th, 2018 at 2:38 pm
And it really is sickening to hear this used as an excuse.
Wake the eff up Tampa!!! Pjiladelphia lost their All-Pro Left Tackle and their All-Rookie QB last year and proceeded to go on a SuperBowl 🏃 without either one…….Yet we lose a CB and are finished?
It doesnt get much more pathetic then to use such a lame excuse……Oh wait nevermind I forgot abot the Irma excuse. Get me a mudder fugging breal with some of you ‘bend me over’ fans.
October 19th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
westernbuc Says:
October 19th, 2018 at 12:38 pm
If you fire Koetter, you set this franchise back at least 2 more years. Offense is fine (despite Licht failing to fix right side of line and running back)
Throwing away a top offense is just plain stupid. So I wouldn’t put it past the Glazer boys
defense wins championships…..firing dirk wont set this team back…..having a HC that doesn’t know ST or defense has already set this team back….this offense cant run the ball or control the clock…..everything that glitters aint gold!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
October 19th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
again, the issue is not just the loss of VH3. It’s the loss of 3 starters in the secondary. VH played nickel, got hurt and his replacement is a rookie. Conte gets hurt, replacement is a rookie. Grimes out, replacement is a rookie. Combine those rookies with Ryan Smith and a second year safety in Evans and I think you have a huge deficiency. Call me crazy…
October 19th, 2018 at 3:25 pm
This really sounds like the Glazers and JL were the ones to make the move. Koetter is a b!tch and could’ve (should’ve) done it the week before but he said you can’t change a DC in the beginning of the year. Bucs fan nation were on their way to TIA to chop off Smith’s head after a 34 point lose.
October 19th, 2018 at 3:49 pm
We are looking at a 6-10 season.
#firetheglazers
October 19th, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Fact: Mike Smith is gone.
Fact: Bucs are 2-3 NOT 0-5!
Fact: Defense especially the LBers will surprise some of the bloviators on here.
Bucs win Sunday. Who says they can’t? Neither team is a cupcake. Some of the yahoos on here definitely qualify for that description. That is a Fact!
October 19th, 2018 at 3:56 pm
Bucs will win for sure Sunday. Peter King is slamming them yet again. He definitely hated their SB year. He wasn’t the only sports talking airhead to do so, either! Go Bucs!!
October 20th, 2018 at 11:00 am
In the offseason there were half a dozen good corners and 4 safeties that Licht could have grabbed to add depth to the secondary. Instead, we rely on rookies to be our depth. Now that is really starting to bite us in the posterior.
With a halfway decent secondary, our defensive line gets at least a couple more sacks a game because the QB is holding the ball longer.
#WeNeedToWinNow