Rotten Defense Not New
October 4th, 2018
Bucs need him to produce.
Only once this decade have the Bucs had a defense that ranked in the top 10 in points allowed. That was 2010 under Raheem Morris, the last time the Bucs won 10 games (or more).
The Bucs finished 10-6, robbed of a playoff berth by a horrible offensive pass interference call on Kellen Winslow that took a touchdown off the board against Detroit in an overtime loss.
The longer we drift from that season, the better Morris looks. Why he hasn’t gotten another chance when Bill Belicheat acolyte Josh McDaniels gets job offers is a crime.
Anyway, jet-flyin’, kiss–stealin‘, data-analyzin’, Bucs-film-studyin’, limousine-ridin’ Thomas Bassinger of the Tampa Bay Times believes the “horrific” — as Bucs coach Dirk Koetter put it — defense can directly be traced back to the same neighborhood in Chicago where the Windy City Wipeout took place last Sunday.
That was the 2016 draft.
Much of what happened Sunday was set in motion before the Bucs and Bears played a snap. Before the Bucs and Steelers played a snap. Before the Bucs played a snap this season. Their defensive struggles predate training camp, the draft and free agency. Their struggles even predate defensive coordinator Mike Smith’s first play call.
To understand the Bucs’ troubles in Chicago on Sunday, you have to go back in time, but you don’t have to travel far. In fact, you can stay in Chicago. The site: the Auditorium Theatre, a 25-minute walk from Soldier Field. The date: April 28, 2016. The event: the NFL draft.
Sure, we could play what-ifs on drafts and make our heads spin; Joe’s not going to do that here. But Bassinger thought the Bucs should have drafted more defense that spring day.
On paper, sure, but would those defensive players have been properly developed? It seems cornerback Ryan Smith is just now beginning to turn the corner and that is good.
What is going on with Noah Spence is anyone’s guess. Vernon Hargreaves is hurt and to be polite, Caleb Benenoch is unproven other than he needs work on pass blocking.
Right now that 2016 draft Bassinger points to is an ugly one.
Vernon Hargreaves, IR.
Noah Spence, MIA.
Roberto Aguayo, RIP.
Ryan Smith, TBD.
Caleb Benenoch, SOS.
Devante Bond, IR.
The Bucs could have used all those guys Sunday to prevent the Windy City Wipeout. Sadly, none had a positive impact.
October 4th, 2018 at 10:13 am
What players could the Bucs have drafted after (instead of) the Aguayo pick? Assuming there were quality defensive players still available in that round when the Bucs made their fateful choice?
Pro Bowl DE Yannick Ngakoue comes to mind, the Jags third-round pick. Joe wrote about him multiple times before the draft.–Joe
October 4th, 2018 at 10:14 am
“Kobe Faker evaluated the 2016 draft class as the worst in Tampa bay history during the end of that year and was verbally persecuted…..
The 2018 draft class is equally bad.
You build and win thru the draft. Gump has been wiffing on draft picks constantly and overpaying non productive FAs.
Its mindbloggling but with all the holes in our roster with lack of talent, we will be in salary cap strapped for the next few years
“Not 1 player in our back 7 secondary can start or play in another other 31 teams in the NFLb but we are blaming a defensive coach to turn the Bad News Bucs into our lendary superbowl pass defense of the past
“You cant polish a turd”
Coach Mike Buttermaker
October 4th, 2018 at 10:16 am
we drafted 4 defensive players that year…lol….Roberto shouldn’t have been the pick should’ve went defense there but the argument could be made that the defensive staff cant develop talent….
VHG had an ok rookie season then got hurt last year and regressed….this year seemed like he was getting back on track…..
spence has been a product of poor coaching….how do you go from 5.5sacks as a rookie then cant see the field your 3rd year in the league…..
r.smith played safety as a freshman in college, 3years of man press CB to finish his college career which helped him get drafted but then the coaching staff thinks they can turn him back into a safety…..then they force him to play off…..again poor coaching….
benenoch is depth at best….
devante bond is always hurt and is a ST player at best…..
I think the coaches screwed the pooch…….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2018 at 10:17 am
I can’t tell if the drafting woes are a Licht problem or a player development problem. In the Bucs case I guess it’s probably both.
October 4th, 2018 at 10:28 am
Draft better and we will be better
October 4th, 2018 at 10:32 am
People Jason is average at best
October 4th, 2018 at 10:35 am
Cannot believe Noah Spence can’t even play any snaps wtf is going on !!!
October 4th, 2018 at 10:48 am
Spence has been allowed to play 4 snaps. Has a pressure. With Vea in Spence’s style can be very effective. When you watch the film he gets his pressure outside. Needs an interior push to work. GMC never has been an interior push guy.
Bottom line all team transactions should be halted until a new dc is in place.
October 4th, 2018 at 10:52 am
813bucboi — Couldn’t agree more. I have zero faith in the defensive coaching staff. Crazy I am typing this BUT LVD’s greatest years were under the Schiano order… At least Schiano had LVD rushing the passer and the DL stunting in an attempt to make QB pressures. The Smith’s just seem to have our guys sitting back and praying to god that the WR doesn’t know how to catch which clearly isn’t working.
October 4th, 2018 at 11:02 am
Amen Pryda. I wish someone in the media would find out what the hell is going on with Spence. IMHO, the draft & signing bad FA is a big part of the problem. Plus there are a lot of players who think they are stars but are average. If the Bucs end up below 500 I would trade McCoy (good but not worth the salary he,s getting). Cut ties with Grimes. Save quite a bit of money. Alexander seems to be digressing. Consider Beckwith at MLB when he comes back & Alexander SLB. D. Smith is a average underachieving LT. Evan Smith should be for now starting RG. Dotson’s best days are behind him. Winston? Need RB’s & DB’s. Strong at TE, C & LG. Almost forgot the bad coaching beginning with none other than M Smith.
October 4th, 2018 at 11:23 am
It’s one thing to not be the best player or a weak tackler, but to not know the defense and where are you supposed to be on the field is inexcusable even for a rookie. I blame that on the coaching. If Dirk can give up play calling for the better of the team then Smitty can can coach the defense from the sideline and let his assistants relay what they see from the press box.
October 4th, 2018 at 11:25 am
hind sight is 20 20
Vernon Hargreaves, IR. -you cant predict injury
Noah Spence, MIA. – We shall see, looked good in preseason IMO
Roberto Aguayo, RIP. – yeah, that was a bonehead pick in the 2nd, but he was special good and we needed someone real bad lol should have took in 3rd
Ryan Smith, TBD.
Caleb Benenoch, SOS. – He aint that bad. The entire Oline looks like garbage last week- and the backups looked better in preseason. put him at RT as dotson aint special
Devante Bond, IR. -you cant predict injury
October 4th, 2018 at 11:26 am
Rumor has it..Mike Smith has his bags packed and the moving van called already.
October 4th, 2018 at 11:26 am
aint nothing wrong with spence, most of our cast offs are starters on other teams lol
October 4th, 2018 at 11:27 am
Fire Mike Smith has 1100 signatures so far
Go to Change.org
Search , fire Mike Smith
October 4th, 2018 at 11:41 am
You don’t build a defense in one draft lol.
We have talent at every level period. D-line / LBs/ Secondary. Guys MS is familiar with. In his THIRD YEAR.
THe problem isn’t the pass rush as much as it is complete f*ck ups in coverage that have nothing to do with talent. If you are in the NFL you should be talented enough to not let a WR / TE get 10-15 yards wide open. That sh1t doesn’t happen because we have a bad CB. It happens because the CB doesn’t know wtf he should be doing because
Coaching.
October 4th, 2018 at 11:41 am
Agayo – RIP [Hahahahahaha]
LMAO
October 4th, 2018 at 11:42 am
“Fire Mike Smith?…
Who wants to coach a bunch of talentless busts….
I want to Quit but cant and get paid if I resign!”
Mike Smith
October 4th, 2018 at 11:50 am
Well, guess I’m the only one who remembers #Weapons4Winston. That’s where the focus was…
October 4th, 2018 at 11:50 am
As the days and season goes by I become more and more concerned that the Jason Licht era is going to set this franchise back another 4-5 years.
October 4th, 2018 at 11:53 am
Who: Gerald McCoy, William Gholston, Will Clarke, Lavonte David, Kwon Alexander, Brent Grimes, Ryan Smith, Vernon Hargraves, Chris Conte, Adarius Taylor, Noah Spence, Caleb Benenoch, Demar Dotson, Adam Humphries, Cameron Brate, Ryan Fitzpatrick
What: Released or traded
When: Before the trading deadline
Where: To any team that will give up draft picks or equivalent players in return
Why: The Khalil Mack effect: The team will not win with them and their high salaries (Not just this year but for the past 4 years) Including the 9-7 season that did not turn into a playoff!
October 4th, 2018 at 11:58 am
The Bears showed the NFL that the 2018 Buccaneers do not have the talent to compete! The first two wins were at the beginning of the season when the Saints and Eagles were still trying to stabilize their offense and defense. Saints are 3-0 since then and the Eagles are 1-1. If either team played the Bucs in week 5-16, it would probably be a blowout as well.
October 4th, 2018 at 12:03 pm
Hey LC…
Why didnt you burn that useless 57 Nowhere Spence uniform like I told you yet?
…. and than you buy a 27 uni of our 199lber?
“If I were you, I would demand my money back!”
Kobe Faker
October 4th, 2018 at 12:07 pm
Everyone on that list is a below average starter sorry to tell you. If Noah can’t get a single snap on this rotten defense that is on him but then again this coach is so generic and has no kind of imagination he doesn’t know how to use him but I’m done blaming players for this trash defense. This defense is worse than the colts who are completely starting over
October 4th, 2018 at 12:08 pm
No doubt that GM Licht was the wrong guy for the job. His drafts have been brutal and FA pick ups aside from Djack and JPP haven’t panned out. Bucs should have kept Robinson, the GM for the Titans instead. Please stop the bleeding and fire Smith! Atlanta game(and beyond) is gonna be pretty ugly.
October 4th, 2018 at 12:19 pm
“Hey LC…
Why didnt you burn that useless 57 Nowhere Spence uniform like I told you yet?
…. and than you buy a 27 uni of our 199lber?
“If I were you, I would demand my money back!”
Kobe Faker”
Lol the only jersey I actually own is a Winston jersey.
Don’t know what to make of Spence man. All I can say is he was the best D-lineman from 2016-2017 at creating pressure in the few games he played. If you weren’t seeing that in those games you’re absolutely blind. Not sure wtf the staff has done with him. But his pressure stats/sacks/impact plays were all great per the snaps he took. lol @ me for objectively acknowledging that…
VHIII looked pretty f*cking good this year before getting hurt.
Ryan Smith looked pretty f*cking good this year before getting benched before the Steelers game.
Caleb Benecoch is starting at RG. Not the best RG but still.
Pretty sure we can find drafts where we basically got 0 contributors. We’re the Bucs after all.
Still waiting for Sterling Shepard to break out as the elite WR1 you said he’d be. At best he’s a solid slot WR/ 2nd WR. But give me Godwin all day over Shepard.
October 4th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Vernon Hargreaves over Laremy Tunsil
Noah Spence over Michael Thomas
Roberto Augayo over Todd Bell
I said those picks will come back to haunt the Bucs
October 4th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
I found this very interesting: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/04/glazers-manchester-united
October 4th, 2018 at 12:59 pm
It’s not just the players drafted in 2016, it’s our veteran players on defense that are not that great. Sorry , but I don’t think Kwan is that great and for that matter neither is David. flame on. Lol.
October 4th, 2018 at 1:00 pm
The biggest problem with that draft is that the three first picks were all reactionary reaches to fill need. We knew we need a corner, but vh3 wasn’t 1st round talent. We need a pass rusher and hoped Spence only for because of off field issues, but likely because he wasn’t the second round steal we thought we were getting. Any the name Kyle Brindza is the reason they lost their minds and drafted a kicker. Drafting for need is a great way to get a bust. Pick the best available player.
October 4th, 2018 at 1:01 pm
we could have drafted the other high rated cornerback from that class. the one that went before heargraves to the giants. Eli Apple
is worse than heargraves. And everyone thought we got a steal on spence
October 4th, 2018 at 1:02 pm
shoulda, coulda, woulda, you gotta love all the hindsight GM’s
October 4th, 2018 at 1:05 pm
I don’t use hindsight I state my case right after the draft. Before the players has signed a contract.
October 4th, 2018 at 1:17 pm
@813bucboi … “Spence has been a product of poor coaching.” Not only do you sound like a broken record stuck in the same groove spin after spin bucboi, but you’re playing a really dumb song. DE Spence showed up last year weighing less than our lightweight LBs … go ahead, let me hear it: “Yup it’s Smitty’s fault”. Spence is small, slow & not especially quick, the kiss of death for any DE … come on, one more time bucboi: “I say again, it’s Smitty’s fault.”
One quick question please. You do know that this is an American football site, right? Not English football, or Venezuelan football … American football. We like our defensive ends with some meat on their bones. Beef is good. Fast is good. Quick is good. Taking up one of 53 precious slots on an NFL team and not getting to dress for games? Bad, very very bad. Right now the coaches are having to cover Licht’s ass by keeping Spence on the roster. Having to do the same BTW with a couple of other players. Kobe hit it on the head for you bucboi … “You cant polish a turd”
October 4th, 2018 at 1:17 pm
All those mistakes/busts rest at the feet of Jason Licht. Bad picks have a way of biting you in the butt 2-3 years later.
October 4th, 2018 at 1:26 pm
@Conte Piscatelli … “Drafting for need is a great way to get a bust. Pick the best available player.” Tend to think that TEAM-BUILDING takes more than just ‘picking the best player available.” Great way to end up with a bunch of very good WRs, TEs & LBs yet building your OLine & Dlines ‘trenches’ by drafting lower round guys. Oh wait, the Bucs have been doing that for years (NOT very successfully I might add). We’ve passed on a LOT of trench monsters in favor of more ‘weapons’ over the years. As Dr Phil would say … “And how’s that working out for you?”
October 4th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
Is Mike Smith having a say in who we draft for defense like he did in Atlanta. Joe was I u that posted an article about Atlanta’s old gm saying Mike won on who they picked for d to fit his outdated scheme?
October 4th, 2018 at 1:40 pm
DR
spence is just 1 example of poor coaching…..look at LVD….he’s a shell of himself…..look at kwon….he looks nothing like he did in 2015…..VHG regressed from his rookie year…..its looking like j.evans has regressed because I’ve seen him miss tackles and been out of place a lot more than last year…..
spence isn’t the only player that has regressed under this staff…..if you got your head from under smittys nut sack you may be able to see whats going on!!!!!!
the talent has been upgraded but smitty has made the defense worse…..its not hard to make a connection……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2018 at 1:54 pm
@Lord C … “That doesn’t happen because we have a bad CB. It happens because the CB doesn’t know wtf he should be doing because … Coaching.”
Entire defense looked pretty shabby in the New Orleans game, but looked like were pulling it together quite well in the Philly game (up until the very end of the 3rd qtr Bucs were ahead 27-7 against the SB Champs, but then gave up 2 TDs in the last 15 mins). Two deep passes by Foles (50 yds & 30 yds) cost us dearly there, and almost cost us the game.
First half of the Steelers game was a joke, but our defense did stiffen in the 2nd half (allowed ZERO points). Still, too little too late (slow start by our offense obviously didn’t help). The Bears game was a fiasco from start to finish, and yet it was totally predictable. Our interior DLine is a joke right now (injuries?) & our LBs have been very ineffective. Our back-end is too slow to stay with faster receivers, and if the QB has all day, it’s lights out. Bears found our biggest weaknesses on defense (and offense BTW) and so will every other team. Bucs need to get some guys healthy very fast … dumpster diving doesn’t work.
October 4th, 2018 at 1:56 pm
Should have given schiano another year and different qb, he had the defense playing at a super high level with a great running game, despite a few knuckleheads, was winslow on the schiano team with talib, blount and bennett and dopey freeman….plus MRSA…talk about a friggin one in a lifetime team…MRSA, rapist, gunman, drugs, SJW wow, did he say Toes on the line or nose on the line
October 4th, 2018 at 2:04 pm
@813bucboi … “the talent has been upgraded but smitty has made the defense worse…..its not hard to make a connection.” Based on your comments bucboi, apparently it is hard for some of you to “make a connection”. Same broken record. But hey, keep playing it … it plays well in Peoria I’m sure, and undoubtedly on JoeBucsFan.com. (Just for a change of pace, why don’t you do just a little tiny bit of research into this weird thing called TEAM-BUILDING; then take a little tiny peek at some of the most recent better TEAMs in the NFL; oooh, and then compare them to our Bucs and see if MAYBE this organization screwed up for, oh say the last 10-15 years in how it went about building a TEAM).
October 4th, 2018 at 2:13 pm
Defense Rules = Mike Smith
I think he is Mike Smith himself
October 4th, 2018 at 2:16 pm
@DR
The pass rush is visually a lot better by our D-line to me. I don’t buy the pressure excuse this year. Our D-line is pacing for way more sacks and pressures than last year and it isn’t even close. Not elite or anything – but damn good enough to not be the worst D in the freaking league.
The problem is seeing wide open players like in the Bears game & even Steelers game. We have made it WAY too easy for teams to run up the score quick.
I’m sick of that man. I’m tired of the excuses. I said I wanted an average-ish defense this year. That was a fair expectation given its MS’s 3rd year and we’ve invested a bunch into having more depth/starters. Hell even the 22-24th best defense would have been fine with me.
Right now we look like the worst defense in the entire league.
The Bears game was a joke and not predictable. The interior of the D-line was not the problem imo. We stopped the run well there actually. The problem was wide 4ss open RBs and WRs and their TE getting 10+ yards of separation for multiple long TDs. There is no reason that should happen that often. A bunch of analysts are baffled at the defensive approach and lack of adjustments. This has happened WAY too many times under Smitty now. WAY too many blow outs by half time. That isn’t normal man. And there is no excuse.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:24 pm
But I was told that if GMC got help he would wreak havoc…
October 4th, 2018 at 2:25 pm
@ isaac Haggins
Make that 1101….and counting
October 4th, 2018 at 2:28 pm
@813bucboi … “look at LVD….he’s a shell of himself.” Since YOU brought up LVD, take a good look. His best year? Under Schiano (2012-2013) he had 9 sacks, 6 INTs, 14 Passes defensed, and 218 solo tackles. I’d say 2013 was his best year. You know who his MLB was? Yup, Mason Foster (Kwon wasn’t here yet).
Lavonte then spent 2 years under Lovie Smith (2014-2015). He had 4 sacks, 3 INTs, 16 passes defensed, and 186 tackles. You know who his MLB was? Danny Lansanah, Dane Fletcher in 2014 followed by … drumroll please … Kwon in 2015. Strange, LVDs stats went down in 2015 (seems I remember him covering for Kwon a whole bunch).
LVD then spent 2 years under (Koetter) Mike Smith (2016-2017). He had 5 sacks, 1 INT, 4 passes defensed, and 143 tackles in those 2 years. His production went way down. Time to guess who his MLB was. Bingo … Kwon once again. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not very high on Kwon as a MLB, and IMO he’s hurt LVD’s production much more than Smitty has. Something about the TEAM concept in there, and one guy having to cover for another. But hey bucboi, keep playing that same old broken record.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:40 pm
“LakeLand Says:
October 4th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Vernon Hargreaves over Laremy Tunsil
Noah Spence over Michael Thomas
Roberto Augayo over Todd Bell
I said those picks will come back to haunt the Bucs”
I don’t think any of that would have mattered much. Our defense would still suck lol.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
@defense
Perhaps the issue is that people get enamored with flashy skill players. Best available player doesn’t mean the guy with the most hype. I tend follow Bill Parcells believe that skill players are a dime a dozen. Tons of fast athletic small guys, never pass on a freakishly athletic big guy, the odds are you won’t find many of them. You have to determine what is valuable to your team when making the decision. Don’t just take the next guy on ESPN’s big board. And perhaps a team full of first round WRs is bad, but give me a team with 5 first round olinemen or four first round defensive linemen
October 4th, 2018 at 2:44 pm
@Lord C … “The pass rush is visually a lot better by our D-line to me. I don’t buy the pressure excuse this year.” Guess we just disagree Lord C, no biggie. What I saw was Trubisky having enough time … without even scrambling … to order takeout from Shula’s & eat the steak before he threw the ball. Same thing with Big Ben in the Steelers game in the 1st half.
I totally agree with you that the Bears game was deplorable, but it was very predictable IMO. The only hope that I saw (and I said it on JBF before the game BTW) was that our offense score a bunch, eat up the clock, and not turn the ball over. So much for that (10 points wasn’t gonna beat the Bears or anyone else Sunday). Our defense is pressure-dependent … it’s built to (1) stop the run and (2) apply pressure on the QB from the inside out (GMC, Allen, Unrein, Vea?). We’ve really only got 2 viable DEs (JPP & Curry). Small, speedy LBs are great … until your opponent smashes your Front-7 in the mouth & steals their lunch money. Then the Back-4 (near-rookies that they be) end up running around like chickens with their heads cut off. And what in heaven’s name was Isaiah Johnson doing out there Sunday? Just kept telling myself that he’s our last line of defense. Not a comforting feeling.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:45 pm
Yup, I said the same thing yesterday about LIcht’s drafts, they’ve all been pretty good except for 2016, which is looking atrocious right about now.
Hopefully Spence can make a comeback and redeem himself.
Hard to evaluate VH3 with him on IR…. But I never liked that pick.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:48 pm
Trubisky has the lowest rating in the NFL when pressured/blitzed.
Guess how many blitzes Mike Smith dialed up in the first half of that game?
0.
What a great coach lol.
JPP said that was the worst loss he’s ever been a part of. A long time vet on many bad defenses. But not THIS bad.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:50 pm
@Conte … “never pass on a freakishly athletic big guy.” Music to my ears Conte (not a big fan of lightweights in the game of American football).
And “give me a team with 5 first round olinemen or four first round defensive linemen.” Yea verily. Plenty of lower round players develop into starters I’m sure … but I’m equally as sure that plenty don’t. And yet, the majority of the 1st rounders go on to have long, productive careers if seems. More fun to play poker when you’re holding 4 aces in your hand.
October 4th, 2018 at 2:50 pm
@DR
I do agree on Kwon. Dude does not deserve a big contract at all.
In regards to the Bears; the Bears offense sucked 4ss through the prior 3 weeks. The teams we had been playing were much better offenses historically with better QBs.
That’s why this was a reality check on how f*cking bad sh1t can still be for this defense under smith IMO
October 4th, 2018 at 2:57 pm
@Lord C … “Guess how many blitzes Mike Smith dialed up in the first half of that game?
0. What a great coach lol.”
Not disagreeing with you at all Lord C that the Bucs should’ve at least tried to blitz, but you do know I’m sure that Chicago was using a 7-man protection scheme almost all of the game. Got a feeling the Bucs literally had no clue how to respond to what they were seeing (still shaking my head BTW). My gut tells me that with no lanes to blitz through, Smitty was probably afraid to blitz believing that the back(s) in protection would release and a quick dump-off would result in a huge gain. Certain irony there huh.
October 4th, 2018 at 3:00 pm
I don’t think licht has been the best ever gm but I hope bucs don’t give up on good young players because of a bad scheme. The veterans on the team are playing like garbage so can’t be mad at 2nd 3rd year players. Get rid of gmc and you will instantly see a change in defensive line. It’s no coincidence the team reverted back to horrible line play when beau Allen went down
October 4th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
DR
you making yourself look dumber and dumber with each comment….lol…..
im happy that you’ve mentioned that ive been saying this team has been suffering from bad coaching year after year…..looks like one of us(me, obviously) knows what we’re talking about…..
no one agrees with you…..lol….everyone is blaming coaching not talent…..once this staff gets canned, you’ll see what everyone has been talking about when we say bad coaching…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2018 at 3:23 pm
conte
smitty has 4 former 1st rounder to work with…..
JPP
GMC
VEA
Curry
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2018 at 3:28 pm
DR
I guess you have to see smittys defense give up 588points and be ranked 32nd in defense for you to believe that its coaching not the players…..
even then I bet you’ll come up with an excuse about “team building”….lol…..even tho this defense is littered with 1st and 2nd round draft picks…..GTFOH!!!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 4th, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Joe, any chance you would entertain doing a story of how Jason and the Bucs scouting department work with their coaching staff to scout and draft players.
In other words, do they have a certain type of CB they look for in Mike Smith’s scheme? Does that type of player evolve as the league changes? Are the coaches in concert with the type of players they prefer?
Do the scouts get a summary of a type of player at a position they would best fit the system or do they employ a best player available strategy at a position of need regardless of system. Would be interesting to see how they do it at OBP…
Would be a wonderful story if one could count on honest and forthright answers. Despite what others might write, it’s uncommon to get straight talk from any front office anywhere on the record. –Joe
October 4th, 2018 at 4:04 pm
Another piss poor personnel move by Licht is letting masin foster walk along with Donald Penn, dj swearinger & mark baron
October 4th, 2018 at 4:32 pm
I said the other day the Bucs should try to pull off a trade with the Falcons, they give us Morris and Tandy back, and we’ll let them have their beloved former coach of the year Mike Smith back, and we’ll throw in a $50 home depot gift card which should make the owner proud since that’s money in his pocket! Sounds like a win-win!
October 4th, 2018 at 4:43 pm
On a different note what has happened with Kendell Beckwith? Is the team still expecting him back in week 7? I’ve heard nothing about him in a while.