If You Are Bad, You Are Bad
June 7th, 2019
Raising the bar.
Yesterday Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians discussed what is believed to be a truism of football. But upon reflection, it may be a myth.
Arians was asked following the final day of underwear football season about new defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and how he looked. Arians quipped he looked good in shorts.
Arians then noted Suh, being such a good player, will make the Bucs offensive line even better because they have to practice daily against him. Arians went on to say how Mike Evans will make the young defensive backs better for the same reasons and because of that, the Bucs should not be scared of Julio Jones.
Now on paper this all makes sense. But Joe only has to look at last season to wonder if good players make their teammates on the other side of the ball better.
With the possible exception of the Steelers, no team in the NFL had a better set of receivers and tight ends than the Bucs. Chris Godwin and Adam Humphries could be No. 2s for a lot of teams and they were backing up malcontent wide receiver DeSean Jackson and Evans. And the tight ends, geez, what team had better tight ends?
How did those guys make the Bucs’ pass defense better, which was was no less than a football atrocity? It was such a sacrilege how bad of a pass defense the Bucs had that disgraced former defensive coordinator Mike Smith would have been better off punching a priest at communion.
Sure, Joe agrees with Arians in principle. Good players should make teammates better. You know, iron sharpens iron. But there is hard, damning evidence to the contrary less than a year ago right in our own backyards.
Joe maintains the Bucs’ pass defense was so off-the-charts bad, that the defense this fall could still be the worst in the NFL and it would represent an improvement.
June 7th, 2019 at 5:28 am
Joe, I might be wrong, but wasn’t it you in Ira’s podcast yesterday who contended that Mike Smith had called the EXACT same play 27 times in a row on defense in one particular game? Hmmm, if in fact that was the case, how could the players on the field be held responsible for the RESULTS of those calls? That’s a very damning assertion by the national pundit who passed that along. And what it tells me … assuming once again that it’s true … is that Mike Smith had given up by that point (and very possibly earlier than that).
Smith’s replacement, Duffner, got the Bucs’ defense to play somewhat better as we all saw, although still not at playoff-standards by any means. But he did get them to play BETTER, and that’s significant.
Enter Todd Bowles stage right … a new defensive scheme, many new personnel, better coaching, and (very significantly) a new ENERGY (where the was none?). It’s a new year Joe … time to move on and embrace it.
June 7th, 2019 at 5:28 am
Counting down until real football starts.
June 7th, 2019 at 6:05 am
Last year in OTA’s and mini camp it was OFFENSE that was getting all the accolades and this year it sounds like the defense is shining. So how do you explain that?
June 7th, 2019 at 6:09 am
Anything, I mean anything, is better than the last two defenses we fielded. We may not recognize the names on the backs of the jerseys (We WILL though!) but this defense is going to be fun to watch.
I don’t think many fans have realized yet just how fast this defense got in the offseason. Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect growing pains, but if this defense is as advertised, AGGRESSIVE and ATTACKING, man Sundays are going to get interesting!
June 7th, 2019 at 7:03 am
Do players on the other side of the ball make the defense better? Obviously, Jameis throws ints in practice just as he does durning the game so you can’t say the db’s are better because of their int’s in practice. Agree with Joe last year you had the best group of receivers in the NFL second to none and the secondary sucked. I think the new draft picks definitely will help. TB’s defensive scheme will also help. Maybe with that help the defensive can get into the top 20. But I see the offense dropping off some which translates into 6 or 7 wins but still a step up from 5 the last two years. Hopefully Jameis will share last years offensive scheme with Bowles when they play Atlanta. Koetter is not smart enough to change the plays when he plays the bucs. Might be able to steal a win or two that way.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:22 am
Everything written in this article, along with everything Arians has been quoted saying (Hargreaves talent and secondary being fixed) point directly to the debauchery of a defensive scheme that Mike Smith was orchestrating. I’m not just being some optimistic fan stating this, but it just makes too much damn sense.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:49 am
Ricky Bobby: If you ain’t first, you’re last
June 7th, 2019 at 7:50 am
It’s a good thing that the players don’t try to build themselves up buy reading your articles. They might as well retire now and save the humiliation of another season. We got the message…the rush will always suck and the defense backs should stay at least 10 yards away from an opposing team’s receiver, at all times. I get it…you have a fear of being optimistic because you’ve been burn. Optimism broke your heart and you’re never going to love again. It doesn’t matter if the scheme, coaching, and players are doing in practice…it’s all a lie. Don’t trust your eyes if you’re seeing improvement…it is just a mirage.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:55 am
We got a lot better with Suh over McCoy, White over Kwon, Grimes, Conte, just gone.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:56 am
“Around December 2019, MIKE SMITH will not be viewed and blamed as he is now…
Mike smith was the defensive coordinator. Not the Head Coach nor the GM
2019 season will prove why teams prefer the 4-3 defense vs the 3-4 defense
This defense will be run on and passed on like no other defense in the history of the NFL
We will have 6 games of 40+ pts against.
There is no accountability in tampa for the failure of the past 5 years
The Buc Sheep is putting blame on the wrong person and now thinks everything will change
We have not seen the bottom yet”
Kobe Faker
June 7th, 2019 at 8:05 am
Kobe Faker is no Nostrodamous, that’s for damn sure. ANYONE can make predictions and hit on 1 out of every 30 lol.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:07 am
Our secondary couldn’t possibly get better covering our WRs last season; they hardly covered anything at all. Even on 3rd and 2 they’d line up 10 yards back.
Asking the question of if McCoy made the Oline better and vice versa, would be a better comparison
June 7th, 2019 at 8:09 am
Joe isn’t sure that’s so. Yes, the secondary is getting hands on passes and the defense is playing with more enthusiasm. Not sure the defense was playing better than the offense. Improved? Sure.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:10 am
“Debauchery.” Good word!
June 7th, 2019 at 8:12 am
“Joe maintains the Bucs’ pass defense was so off-the-charts bad, that the defense this fall could still be the worst in the NFL and it would represent an improvement.”
We’re I an editor, Joe, this sentence would instead read:
“Joe maintains the Bucs’ pass defense COACHING was so off-the-charts bad, that the defense this fall could still not be the best ever in the NFL, but will assuredly knock the socks of those OC’s fearfully game-planning against the wizard we know and love as Todd Bowles.”
I only charge two beers an hour as editor, Joe.
Please forward the application.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:22 am
Remember Lovie Smith defensive guru took bears to superbowl in the playoffs almost every year with bears. Comes to Tampa stinks up the field. All the talk to build sorry ass ticket sales. BA or BS we shall see in September.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:42 am
It isn’t ALL about talent there is also the mental side of the game or sports in general. Mentally weak athletes will quit on you the second things start going bad. We’ve seen it time and time again with our second round picks going back to Jonathan Banks and ending with Aguayo.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:44 am
AllBuccedUp—
If we go 6-0 at the beginning of the season which I submit we will, we’ll pack the house the remaining games.
If we don’t, we won’t.
I have to be honest…post investment in a bad-ass media room in my home, I have a strong preference for watching games at home. Makes me a sucky fan I know…but I enjoy games so much more.
Going to the London game though. If anyone else is, let me know…we’ll throw down some pints!
June 7th, 2019 at 8:47 am
Todd Says:
June 7th, 2019 at 8:12 am
“Joe maintains the Bucs’ pass defense was so off-the-charts bad, that the defense this fall could still be the worst in the NFL and it would represent an improvement.”
We’re I an editor, Joe, this sentence would instead read:
————————————————————————-
Were I an editor, your sentence would have used were instead of we’re?
tickrdr
June 7th, 2019 at 8:55 am
Tickedr—
I deserved that. Touché.
June 7th, 2019 at 10:00 am
DR SAYS: Hmmm, if in fact that was the case, how could the players on the field be held responsible for the RESULTS of those calls?
according to joe, kwon was “calling” the plays for the defense….lol….blame him not smitty….lol….
GO BUCS!!!!
June 7th, 2019 at 10:52 am
Yeah, Todd the London game would be nice and cool, the sweatbox at Raymond James doesn’t help the attendance also. The last game I went to I had to switch from beer to water because of dehydration.
June 7th, 2019 at 11:26 am
Even Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders would have struggled to make plays in last year’s defense while playing 12 miles off the line of scrimmage. Maybe our red zone offense has been less than stellar due to practicing against a pathetic defensive scheme? If iron sharpens iron, then our defense vs offense the last few years has been more like Roseanne Barr and Rosie O’Donnell rubbing their bellies together. 😍
June 7th, 2019 at 1:30 pm
One wonders when Kobe wears out his Licht voodoo doll…
June 7th, 2019 at 4:34 pm
The Bucs’ defensive scheme and performance under DC Mike Smith was atrocious. I have never seen so many third down completions against soft coverage. Yes – if the receivers were practicing against Mike Smith’s coverage that did not help the D get any better. But if Todd Bowles’ aggressive-attacking-never-know-what’s coming defensive scheme is for real then the defense will have a real game-like situational practice.
June 7th, 2019 at 5:53 pm
Like I’ve said before, Improve this Defense just 50%, and we win 3 to 5 more games than we did last yr.
June 7th, 2019 at 7:58 pm
Two practice fields with enough coaches. Derp was notorious for having half or more of his players standing around doing nothing. I questioned this when I went to his low energy lethargic practices. It wasn’t just one idiot that made the defense problematic, it was two. Atlanta got worse when they signed Derp back. The ATL offense will be very predictable this year and defenses will feast. You won’t see any quick slants. Trick plays will not happen. Run plays will be up the gut. No zone blocking schemes. There is so much film on Derp teams. He will be coaching College the following season. Better them than s again.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:06 pm
@buczilla wins. Period.
June 7th, 2019 at 8:59 pm
BigMacAttack Says:
I was frankly embarrassed with all the jocular standing around shown in Hard Knocks. Guys were joking around and shooting the crap and not paying attention to football.
BA is a serious man.
June 7th, 2019 at 9:45 pm
Everything that I read from this site is negativity and cynicism. I can see if it were constructive criticism but the emotional yammering about the past is useless. I think with the discipline that will be enforced by the current coaching staff. all the mental and physical gaffs of the past will be history. You people have the freedom to see first hand whats being implemented by the current coaching staff. The preseason game against Detroit was a tell tale indicator of who Dirk Koetter was. Humphrey’s returned an attempted Field goal for a touchdown to close out the first half. Mr Conservative decided to lay on that lead is if it was going to hatch a win. He let a double digit lead turn into one of his signature losses. You show a level of explosiveness on offense then pack it in for safekeeping? He let some players dictate what was going to happen in games. He never reprimanded players for constant mistakes that contributed to losses. He displayed his football ignorance constantly in many games he was outcoached.
June 9th, 2019 at 10:06 am
When BA was in Arizona, with the exception of Seattle, the division was weak. Bucs division different story, you have Saints in playoffs every year. Then the Panthers and Falcons always playing for wild card. This not the type of division BA is familiar with. BA or BS we shall see in September.