Let There Be Light!
October 13th, 2018
The Dixie Chicks may bail out Mike Smith with plans to open their cage’s roof Sunday.
The skies may be open for Mike Smith and the Bucs’ defense Sunday.
Joe has written about what a pathetic record (2-7) the Bucs defensive coordinator has had in dome stadiums in the past two seasons. It really is mind numbing how and why Smith’s defense quite simply doesn’t show up to games in domes. Doesn’t matter if it is Case Keenum or Drew Brees, if there is a roof over the field, the Bucs defense gets undressed.
The fact a defensive coordinator is under some spell like that under a dome is enough to cost a guy his job.
And going into tomorrow’s game at the Dixie Chicks’ cage in downtown Atlanta, Joe was confident Atlanta, loaded with weapons, would run up 40 points or more on Smith’s defense.
Then the Dixie Chicks decided to give Smith a present, writes D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
For only the second time for a Dixie Chicks game in the two-year history of their new cage, Atlanta officials plan to open the roof Sunday with temperatures expected to be in the upper 70s.
Work on the complex roof was finally completed several months ago, at which time stadium officials declared it fully functional.
So Smith, and the Bucs, may be saved. No roof over their heads already gives the Bucs an advantage. Instead of the defense giving up 40 points, the defense is more inclined to only give up 30.
October 13th, 2018 at 12:39 am
“It really is mind numbing how and why Smith’s defense quite simply doesn’t show up to games in domes.” Why add the in domes part, rarely does the D show up in games.
October 13th, 2018 at 12:45 am
The roof opens and closes like a sphincter, it’s why they call the place God’s toilet.
October 13th, 2018 at 12:49 am
That’s a big German sphincter.
October 13th, 2018 at 3:49 am
That’s almost as big of an opening as the one that’s going to be in the Buc’s secondary if they play like they did in Chicago.
October 13th, 2018 at 3:58 am
The Bucs’ defense isn’t totally healthy, but it’s healthy-enough, and that’s all that counts right now. Falcons are banged up too, but mostly on their defense (which helps the Bucs offense, NOT the Bucs defense BTW).
Our young Secondary doesn’t match up very well with receivers like Jones, Sanu & Ridley (to say the least), UNLESS our DLine maintains CONSISTENT pressure on Matty Ice. Without that, we’ll get eaten alive. But with pressure, Ryan’s vulnerable. He’s already been sacked 16 times in 5 games & has turned it over 4 times (2 INTs, 2 fumbles), about once per game. With Freeman out, Falcons will surely turn to a combination of Coleman & Smith, but they should be more of an outside threat than an inside threats.
Having Beau Allen & Vita Vea back as DTs is HUUGE. With JPP & Curry, Gholston & Nassib all healthy, no excuse for this DLine not creating havoc. And when that happens & the DLine opens lanes for the LBs to attack, no excuse for LVD, Kwon & Taylor not to have a big game. And for heaven’s sake Smitty, go young & go aggressive in the Secondary. THE FUTURE IS NOW!
Oh and Joe, domes MAY be a factor, but the quality of the teams we played in those domes is a much bigger factor. New Orleans has been a pretty good team over the past 2 seasons. So were Minnesota, Atlanta & Dallas. There’s 5 losses right there BTW in 2016 & 2017. Add in 2 losses to Arizona (better records than the Bucs overall) and voila … MAYBE it’s got more to do with getting whooped by better teams than it does with playing them in domes.
October 13th, 2018 at 4:08 am
Oops, forgot to add BTW Joe that the Bucs OFFENSE in those 7 losses in domes was even more abysmal than our defense. Jameis played in 5.5 of those losses (the half game was Arizona last year) & we scored an average of 15.5 PPG with Jameis at QB in those losses. Fitz did considerably better (Arizona & Atlanta losses) when he was QB, but we won’t talk about that. Let’s just focus on berating the Bucs defense for now.
October 13th, 2018 at 5:45 am
Joe…..the ratio of losses in dome games isn’t that much greater than all games the last two years……do the math.
2-7 – 28.5 %
7-20 – 35 %
The Bucs have lost no matter what the venue….besides 7 games is a very small sample size…..a win on Sunday would put the Bucs at 8-21 or 38%
October 13th, 2018 at 5:48 am
3-8 37.5 % would be the same ratio of losses to wins in domes as all games.
October 13th, 2018 at 6:59 am
IMO, turnovers and slow starts are a major factor for our losses. We should be able to win in any venue if we fix that. Give the defense a chance ,neither the defense or
offense has been all that successful at playing from behind.
October 13th, 2018 at 8:38 am
I’m pretty sure Smitty’s D would get boat raced in any environment.
October 13th, 2018 at 8:44 am
I truly believe we win Bucs 34-17 write it down.
October 13th, 2018 at 8:50 am
Wow…I didn’t realize Chicago added a dome to their stadium too.
October 13th, 2018 at 9:04 am
The Bucs have stunk in domes, on turf,in Europe. Their next move is too stink on the moon
October 13th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Defense Rules Says:
October 13th, 2018 at 4:08 am
Oops, forgot to add BTW Joe that the Bucs OFFENSE in those 7 losses in domes was even more abysmal than our defense. Jameis played in 5.5 of those losses (the half game was Arizona last year) & we scored an average of 15.5 PPG with Jameis at QB in those losses. Fitz did considerably better (Arizona & Atlanta losses) when he was QB, but we won’t talk about that.
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Nice posts.
+1
tickrdr
October 13th, 2018 at 9:51 am
Defense Rules
The Bucs offense stunk during the last 4 games of 2015, which they went 0-4. They were in the wild card hunt at 6-6, but stunk the field during the last four games. The local sports media ( who favored Dirk Koetter) threw all of the blame toward Lovie. And they ran him out of Tampa, even though the offense averaged less than 18 points per game, with 8 turnovers. This despite playing against 3 of the worst defenses in the NFL. So they promoted Dirk Koetter to Head Coach the following year in 2016. They were 8-5 after 13 games and fighting for a wild card berth as well as the division title. They went 1-2 during those 3 games and missed the playoffs. The offense averaged 20 points per game with 8 turnovers.
What amazes me, is the fact that fans allows the local sports media to brainwash them with this rhetoric.
October 13th, 2018 at 10:12 am
The Falcon management opens the hole at the top. Penny pinchers.
October 13th, 2018 at 10:23 am
@Lakeland … “What amazes me, is the fact that fans allows the local sports media to brainwash them with this rhetoric.” Great observation … totally agree Lakeland.
Football is a TEAM sport, and BOTH sides of the ball (plus S/Ts of course) need to be held EQUALLY ACCOUNTABLE. But the media in general seems to get enamored with personalities IMO, and when that happens there’s NOT equal accountability. Great TEAMs know how to play COMPLIMENTARY FOOTBALL, and seem to have a knack for ‘picking each other up’ I guess you could say. The Patriot’s seem to excel at that from what I’ve seen over the years. The Bucs actually did too … back in the days of Tony Dungy.
October 13th, 2018 at 1:19 pm
They open the dome and that gives us an advantage? That has to be the dumbest theory I’ve ever heard.
October 13th, 2018 at 2:59 pm
ATL friends of mine have nicknamed the hole in the roof “megatron’s butthole” (censored version). Love it! LOL