Lovie Praises Greg Schiano Leadership
January 7th, 2014
Life wasn’t all bad under Greg Schiano. Well, maybe it was, if you just look at wins and losses, but new Bucs head coach Lovie Smith digs a little deeper.
Speaking on WDAE-AM 620 this morning, co-host Tom Jones asked Lovie to share his thoughts when he watched the Bucs during the second half of the 2013 season.
Potential and unity impressed him, as well as Greg Schiano’s leadership.
“Seeing the potential to do better things,” Lovie said. “Of course I brought up the Seattle game, you know to be able to go on the road in a hostile environment like that and have the type of effort that we saw from our Buccaneer football team. And there was a lot of things going on through the course of the season, just keeping the group together. I thought Greg did a great job keeping the team together and kept fighting right up until through the last game played. I saw a lot of potential offensively, defensively throughout. [They dealt] with a lot of adversity but still finished strong.”
Joe’s not surprised Lovie acknowledged his predecessor. There was a lot of bizarre baloney swirling around the Bucs and they battled consistently, though a good chunk of that drama falls on Schiano and former rockstar general manager Mark Dominik for allowing it to happen and to infect the environment (No, that isn’t a MRSA reference.).
Lovie must be encouraged. He saw an immensely talented Bucs defense playing hard and failing. That had to tell him coaching was at the root of the problem.
Lovie can fix that defense quickly, and as he said yesterday, that will be good enough to avoid a losing season.
Enjoy Lovie’s complete Tuesday interview below.
January 7th, 2014 at 10:16 am
When we look back, we will see that Schiano did a good job of setting the table. 2 really good drafts by Schiano and taking the big broom to alot of the bad players that were kicked off the team. And he took out the pop-star in the process. I say we all thank Schiano for that!
January 7th, 2014 at 10:17 am
If our d is coached properly, o line is sorted out, players get healthy and get some depth then we’re already poised to do significantly better than we did this year. Th house are all things that can turn around in one year. Once we’ve sorted those things out then we can start building a powerhouse
January 7th, 2014 at 10:18 am
*those
January 7th, 2014 at 10:51 am
Lovie is a class at, and would never be critical of another coach. That is an unspoken rule of the profession.
Unlike Schiano and his “laughing stock” remark.
And of course the bush league diving to break up the victory formation and getting chewed out by Coughlin. Among other things.
Whatever your opinion of Lovie, he is well respected and knows the protocols.
January 7th, 2014 at 11:06 am
Few more key players on both sides the ball back to Revelantness!
January 7th, 2014 at 11:08 am
He will instantly make the defense a lot better. The special teams, always special under Smith (Devin Hester, anybody?) Tedford HAS to be better than Sullivan… there’s no possible way he couldn’t be.
Now it’s time to get the right QB. Those of you that think you need to get the OLine right before you get the QB don’t know what you’re talking about. What has Joe Thomas done for the Browns, how did Jake Long work out for the Dolphins? Seems to me the Steelers, Packers, Falcons, and Bears have been to and won a ton of playoff games that last few years with TERRIBLE offensive . The reason? QB play for the most part… with the Bears it was defense and special teams, but special QBs can make up for a ton of deficiencies everywhere. How many stud LTs has Peyton Manning had? ZERO We need a franchise QB, plain and simple.
January 7th, 2014 at 12:04 pm
@Brandon
You’re mostly wrong. Ryan did well in past years when his o-line was average or better, but this year when the line fell apart they were one of the worst teams in football and he had his worst season. Similarly the Steelers had bad o-line issues early in the season and looked they’d struggle to get 3 or 4 wins, but when they made some moves to shore it up they played much better and made a run which for awhile looked they might even make the playoffs.
A good line and a good defense can make an average QB look great. But a great QB cannot make a horrible line look great. Every successful football team starts with the offensive and defensive lines and works its way out from there.
Look at Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer winning Super Bowls. Very average QB’s can win with a good supporting cast, but great QB’s cannot win with a horrible supporting cast. Simple as that.
January 7th, 2014 at 12:05 pm
@Brandon
You’re mostly wrong. Ryan did well in past years when his o-line was average or better, but this year when the line fell apart they were one of the worst teams in football and he had his worst season. Similarly the Steelers had bad o-line issues early in the season and looked they’d struggle to get 3 or 4 wins, but when they made some moves to shore it up they played much better and made a run which for awhile looked they might even make the playoffs.
A good line and a good defense can make an average QB look great. But a great QB cannot make a horrible line look great. Every successful football team starts with the offensive and defensive lines and works its way out from there.
Look at Brad-J or Trent-D winning Super Bowls. Very average QB’s can win with a good supporting cast, but great QB’s cannot win with a horrible supporting cast. Simple as that.
January 7th, 2014 at 12:17 pm
@the_buc_realist.
I agree completely with your comment. The past 2 years we have had what so far looks like the best drafts in a couple years. Not to mention bringing undrafted Tim Wright
January 7th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
I am now officially concerned about the new hire. He thinks Schiano was a good leader because he went into Seattle and snatched defeat out of the claws of victory blowing a 3 TD lead.
There was only one player drafted by the NSO that could be graded as a success. LVD
When they desperately needed LB’s, they passed on the best MLB in a decade, dropped back and picked a safety with no pass coverage ability. Then a divisional rival made the historical pick so we will face Kuechly for the next decade.
The Panthers are in the playoffs and Schiano’s in Jersey, thanks to that brilliant maneuver.
Ever see that children’s game where you blindfold a person, spin them around and watch them pin the tail on the donkey?
Coach Smith was the genius who traded a 2nd round pick for Ganes Addams?????????
Uh-oh!
January 7th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
Eric, I’m not sure why your feathers are still ruffled from the “laughing stock” remark. We were(are?). You are right though, Lovie is a class act and I would expect nothing less. With his hiring, hopefully he’ll bring us back to respectability.
January 7th, 2014 at 1:33 pm
@Clowney
Since you are in no way affiliated with the NFL your feelings by definition cannot be “official”. In layman’s terms, no one gives a damn what you feel.
January 7th, 2014 at 1:39 pm
Those of you that think you need to get the OLine right before you get the QB don’t know what you’re talking about.
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I can’t do anything but LMAO at this ridiculous statement.
January 7th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Please, get rid of the “Pewter Pants.” Black or White, but not Pewter…
January 7th, 2014 at 2:39 pm
@Clowney – Lovie is a classy guy. He’s going to say nice things about the people here before him. Where you’ll see what he really thinks is when you start seeing the changes he makes to the personnel and the way things are done.
January 7th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
@FLBoyInDallas
Great QBs can absolutely make an OL look great. Peyton Manning and Brees get rid of the ball so quickly, they give up very few sacks. The threat of them passing the ball at will opens up the run game. Denver lost LT Ryan Clady and their C early this season. They’ve been shifting guys all along the line in Denver yet Peyton Manning never missed a beat — and set NFL records for TDs and passing yards. Brees lost his starting LT to free agency. Who noticed? Just sayin.’
January 7th, 2014 at 3:27 pm
@bucmania – and nobody said the first thing about those guys being able to do those sorts of things in their rookie years. These qbs don’t come out of the box looking like Brees or Manning our Brady. Brees was let go and Brady was a nobody until they got a few years under their belts and the game came to them. You can’t expect a rookie or even a second year guy to know the offense well enough to be able to read a defense and get rid of the ball a quickly as Peyton. It’s not fair to anyone to be compared to those guys, much less kids that have barely been in the league 20 minutes.
January 7th, 2014 at 4:19 pm
This interview is clear that Glennon may in fact not be the guy, I can’t wait to see how this evaluation process turns out.
January 7th, 2014 at 4:31 pm
@Bucamania
Well if you know where we can get a Manning or Brees right now please call One Buc Place and tell them right away before anyone else finds out. Otherwise I’d say we’re still in the same boat as before.
January 7th, 2014 at 5:17 pm
@FLBoyInDallas
I think the point many people are trying to make is the QB is the most important piece. Not the OL. A great QB (not necessarily HOFers like Peyton or Brees) can make things work just fine with a bad/mediocre OL.
Not many great QBs are sitting home for the playoffs.
January 7th, 2014 at 5:31 pm
Hey gotta give Lovie credit there, he was able to sit home on his couch for a year and recognize something most Bucs fans either couldn’t or refused to recognize (Schiano’s leadership and the a good crop of young talent left for Lovie).
January 7th, 2014 at 5:57 pm
A great QB (not necessarily HOFers like Peyton or Brees) can make things work just fine with a bad/mediocre OL.
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Do you see any great QBs available in Free Agency? I dont. And nobody coming out in the draft should be considered great or even good until they prove otherwise.
Simply put not investing in the O-line at this time would be quite foolish.
January 7th, 2014 at 11:46 pm
It is all speculation at this point, yeah go ahead and label my comments how you will.
Time answers all questions. I just hope that we do not have many losses or in year # 2 of this new/old coaching staff from down memory lane will be dismissed like the previous coaching staffs where. And where will the BUCS and fans be? Right back to square one. Crossing our fingers and hoping for better results. From a new coach and another new “plan”.
Remember it is hard enough to catch lighting in a bottle once, much less catch it twice and from first lighting caught.
Coach Smith has been here before I will keep my eyes open as to what he brings our team. We all want wins, division championships, and playoff games. My fingers are crossed we will get there. I will support the head coach and players like I have since 1976.
GO BUCS!
January 9th, 2014 at 1:18 am
It was Bush’s fault 😉