Lovie’s Plan Executed
April 22nd, 2014
The Bucs did more shuffling this offseason than a Vegas blackjack dealer. Some 19 new players were brought in and a boatload of players were sent packing.
Holdovers like Gerald McCoy joked that returning for offseason conditioning at One Buc Palace was like the first day of high school. He knew some of his teammates, but most were strangers.
And while the Bucs went on a make-it-rain spending spree for a few new free agents, the Bucs may not have hurt themselves financially. That’s the word from “The Professor,” John Clayton of BSPN, who appeared with Pat Donovan and Aaron Jacobson of WDAE-AM 620 over the weekend.
“The weird part is, they spent more than anyone else, about $142 million in unrestricted free agency,” Clayton said. “But when you look what they did under the cap, it was pretty close to, roughly, what they moved or cut in their cap room. So in a lot of ways, they got a few more players. They’ve got a little bit better depth. They got a little bit younger. How much better? Mmmmmm… debatable.
“But what you can be impressed with is they had a plan, they were aggressive, and they got it all done.”
While Clayton said the Bucs may not win more than four games this season, he did offer that seven wins is realistic in 2014. With all the hype surrounding the hiring of Lovie Smith and Jason Light, Joe thinks fans would be sorely disappointed if the Bucs had yet another losing season.
Joe can’t disagree with Clayton. Right now nobody knows what the Jeff Tedford offense is. And the current roster (we are still over two weeks away from the draft) has question marks all over the offense. Predicting a winning season at this point is taking a major leap of faith that the offense will be just fine.
To hear the full interview, click the orange button below, courtesy of Joe’s co-conspirators, WDAE-AM 620.
April 22nd, 2014 at 7:22 am
I can live with a losing season this season, but just this season. No matter what they’re saying, this is a big rebuild. 2 offseasons is not unreasonable.
April 22nd, 2014 at 7:23 am
Our offense needs some help….but is in better shape than most think….a couple of stud WRs and some depth on the Oline and we are definately better than last year.
April 22nd, 2014 at 7:29 am
So they got rid of guys like Revis, Penn , Lorig and Watson and signed good players in return, just more of them. What a plan! Just wish now that they’ve meet with Glennon their thoughts on him? Manziel for Joe at 7.
April 22nd, 2014 at 7:32 am
I was thinking 8-8
April 22nd, 2014 at 7:56 am
Lovie/Licht were dealt a bad hand. It will take more than 1 year to fix the straw house that Dominick built. by the opening day roster for next year ( 2015) there will be only 2-4 players from the garbage roster of the past regime. What does that tell you!
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:09 am
It’s called rebuilding. Ive been saying that since they got here and told everyone how much they thought this team sucked. There is no reason to think that with a whole new coaching staff and completely different starting lineup that we are going to have a winning season. I am not sure that a single new starter acquired during FA necessarily represents an upgrade. Debatable. Hope wrong
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:09 am
We’re going through a major remake (not re-build) of the Bucs. We may not win a lot of games, but at minimum, I want a major change in attitude and reputation. I want our O-line to be maulers and our D-line to be feared. I want that fearsome reputation to return that earned names like the Steel Curtain, Purple People-Eaters, and Monsters of the Midway – reminiscent of days gone by.
I don’t want names on police blotters, but I’m done with choir boys, former team captains, and otherwise good guys that don’t excel on the field and strike fear in the hearts of opponents. I want Goldson to lower his aim, not change his attitude. When we lose a game, I want everybody on the opposing team to “ice up, son” because they were in the fight of their lives.
Let the new Unis strike fear into the hearts of opponents knowing that we are next on their schedule. Bring back nicknames like “mean”. “terrible”, “body snatcher”, “assassin”, “Killa”, and “head-hunter”. OK, head-hunter may be going a bit too far, but you get the picture. Lol.
I want to go huntin’ on Sunday and bring’em back alive! If we win we win! If we don’t I can still be proud to be a Buccaneer!
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:15 am
So TBR you are telling me
LVD Doug Martin Gerald McCoy Dashon Gholdson Mark Barron Jonathan Banks Demar Dotson Mike James Vincent Jackson Tim Wright William Gholston Akeem Spence DeQuan Bowers Andrian Clayborn Jonathan Casillas Mason Foster
Out of all of those players maybe 2-4 stay?? Good thing you don’t run the Bucs!
Hmm I think a lot of people just hate Dom to hate him… Like past players as well…
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:17 am
“The_Buc_Realist Says:
April 22nd, 2014 at 7:56 am
Lovie/Licht were dealt a bad hand. It will take more than 1 year to fix the straw house that Dominick built. by the opening day roster for next year ( 2015) there will be only 2-4 players from the garbage roster of the past regime. What does that tell you!”
This completely. Meanwhile, no games have been played and Licht is being bashed by people who overvalued the Dominik players that have been dealt. Let’s give the coach AND the GM half a season before judging them. Dominik sucked it up for 5 years and somehow people STILL thought he was good after his team lost nearly twice as many games as they won (is twice as many losses the the definition of “average”?).
“But he did well in trades”. What a joke.
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:18 am
Oh it’s a remake, not a rebuild. Thanks for delineating the clear distinction. It’s all cleared up now!
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:37 am
Joe, the most recent Around The League Podcast by NFL Network discussed Tedford and called him “the biggest wildcard for the 2014 season”. Might be worth checking out.
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:46 am
DallasBuc,
My post was a re-post that I did 3 weeks ago. Wasn’t responding to your post. Just coincidentally posted following your post! It’s semantics. I say re-make because of the number of changes in one year. Terminology doesn’t matter, bottom line, there are a lot of changes, hopefully for the better.
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:46 am
I’m not sure what to make of this. Sure looks like a rebuild too me. OL, WR, DL, QB, CB, all took a hit. Where’s our #2 WR? If Nicks isn’t good to go then 1 starting OL from past few years, FB anyone(?), but yeah just a remake?
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:47 am
Lets not keep kicking a dead horse here guys. Not ALL the players brought in during Dom’s tenure were garbage. They just weren’t Lovie’s guys.
Also, lets bring some levity to the discussion. Lovie has brought in a few “starters” and a bunch of “journeymen”. There will be some growing pains. That said, I’m optimistic about the culture change here and think that it will translate onto the field if not this season, definitely for the long-haul.
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:49 am
Even if we finish 4-12, it will be with better gameplans and 2nd half adjustments. How soon the team comes together will determine our record.
No matter what we are done with the experience of last year. Thank God!
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:51 am
@Macabee- Bring the pain! That’s what I’m talking about!
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:54 am
My Son and I just spent over 2,000.00 for the club seats seasons ticket package, so it would sure be nice for us to win, for a change.
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:55 am
My main concern is that our team is still “Swiss cheese”, so to speak. We still have a bunch of holes and not enough draft picks to fill. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with the D as is….. But unless we plan on throwing screens to our RBs almost every play, well?
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:56 am
I have to disagree with some points that Clayton made, remember he’s never built a team and it’s easy to critique and cast gloom on the reputation that was known as a losing franchise.
OL
No one knows truly what will happen but let’s look at this. Overpaid OLine that has regressed incrementally over the past 3-4 years. It’s arguable they should be more productive and athletic. While it doesn’t look to be the part of Maulers but Seattle and Carolina and Philly OLines aren’t Maulers they execute and play together as a unit. San Fran have Maulers but was abused by a aggressive OLine.
DL
Clearly a upgrade
Secondary
Is a wash because we lost a HOF and shedding his salary for a player that maybe a better and more instinctive player for our defense. I would call this stat quo.
TE
Upgrade and better depth.
WR
Lateral move and reduction. Losing Williams and Undrrwood at the surface hurts but it’s an opportunity to get better and more explosive. I see it as a upgrade because the WRs they bring in will likely have a higher ceiling and be better coached and prepared than a lazy unfocused Williams.
Step back for now but can get better after the draft!
Coaching
Clearly a superior upgrade to the high school regime. Better teachers, schemes, and atmosphere will yield better results.
Qb
Upgrade
Record
8 – 8 to 10 – 6 (with some bounces)
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:58 am
Joe,
Speaking of execution, you should know I’m having trouble sitting on the throne and executing my morning dump without Joebucfan on my mobile device. The redirects have made it impossible to get my morning cup of Joe, and I tell you it’s no secret, that a morning cup of Joe always helps loosen things up. It’s been weeks now, please fix it. I’m in pain here.
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:59 am
Re-make, re-build – a distinction without a difference. For the record, I will not use the term re-make again for fear that I lose the intent of my message.
I want to be a better, more effective, more physical, winning football team. If it means changing everybody except McCoy and David, I’m for it. I would never argue what we call it, but whether it made us better!
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:01 am
@Bucsfanman – I’m right with you.
There is reason to be excited even if we have a losing season. Is not what I want but I’m being optimistic and real. I’ll skip the “tantrum” since the efforts shown so far make sense and are pointing to a positive probability for the season. Lets see what the draft brings.
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:06 am
If we draft a first round QB, I would expect no less than 8 wins. I can’t see drafting a first round QB and finishing up with the same record as our new “career backup” QB Mike Glennon had. Especially since this season they should enjoy the services of a better supporting cast around them than MG8 had last year.. According to JOE, all we need is a QB. The rest of the offense doesn’t matter.
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:07 am
I wasn’t knocking you Mac, really. I just can’t agree with it. I feel they made a lot of changes and cuts…. Maybe to soon for some. I understand we were 4-12, but I still feel some players didn’t get a fair shake. With that, I can only see rebuild mode just due to a lot of our starters getting the boot.
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:27 am
William Says:
April 22nd, 2014 at 8:49 am
Even if we finish 4-12, it will be with better gameplans and 2nd half adjustments. How soon the team comes together will determine our record.
No matter what we are done with the experience of last year. Thank God!
_____________________-
William,
I’m concerned. Is Connor Shaw no longer coming to Tampa?
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:29 am
Mike,
I understand your feeling and I respect your opinion. You are not alone. There are many that share your opinion. We have been losing for a long time now. and there is no sure solution, but something different has to be done. I remember Einstein’s definition for insanity. I just think it’s time we get out of the asylum!
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:33 am
@lightning
Starting early!! chuckle
April 22nd, 2014 at 9:35 am
I am just glad that we are not trying a whole new coach to try and Fix Dominick roster. I think most of us realize that was an impossible task. That is why when Lovie was considering the job he said that the Pop-star must go. Lovie and Licht did a lot of shuffing in free-agency. But to build a winning team it must start in the draft. And yes we are building!
April 22nd, 2014 at 10:22 am
Cant wait to see this newly made team led by Glennon!! 🙂 GO BUCS….AND GLENNON!
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:14 am
I think if the chips fall right on offense (and we’re actually competent) we should definitely get about 8 wins. Last year’s team was terrible on offense and middle of the pack on defense and won 4 games while dropping 5 games by 8 points or less (one score) with 4 of those by 3 points or less. With real NFL coaching, we should turn those 4 tight losses into wins and our record should be worse than 8-8.
April 22nd, 2014 at 11:52 am
Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning ..enjoy it. Here’s to hoping you don’t have to endure what I had to last season. I’ve never been so depressed in my life walking out of that stadium fried like a pork chop from the Florida sun, no voice and essentially hungover from cutting myself off early to drive home.
Oh and guess what some weeks I got to do all of that 2 weeks in row. It was mentally and physically draining. I will be going to atleast 4 games this season though win or lose. Just no season tickets this year. I can’t bring myself to do it. If I see things take a sharp turn for the better towards the end of the season. I’m jumping on season tickets before the season even ends and I’m not giving up my seats.
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:23 pm
@ Macabee @ 8:09
Great post! +1
Two other upgrades which I didn’t see mentioned.
Our placekicker should be better, if Barth is fully healed.
Our schedule (#2 overall last year) should be easier with NFC North and not NFC West. Also, I’m hoping that New Orleans and Carolina are somewhat worse than last year, but I’m afraid Atlanta will rebound.
tickrdr
April 22nd, 2014 at 12:47 pm
3 Words. Fix……..My……..Team.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:11 pm
I think its a bit early for Clayton to predict how many wins the Bucs will have.
I don’t want a losing season. At all. But if it happens, how I handle it will depend on team performance and direction.
If Lovie and Licht do not start building a good offense in this draft, I’m going to be peeved.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Buc1987, I gave up my season tickets as well. Part of me is kicking myself in the butt for doing so, but Jason Licht is the reason. If he makes me regret it I’ll consider getting season tickets again, but so far I’m not impressed.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:17 pm
tickrdr Says
“Our schedule (#2 overall last year) should be easier with NFC North and not NFC West.”
I hope not. Getting to the playoffs because of an easier schedule just leads to disappointment in the playoffs.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Brandon says
“and our record should be worse than 8-8.”
I think you might be right somewhere around 6-10 to 7-9.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:25 pm
I’m not going to begin to predict a record. The draft hasn’t even happened. And, I expect more FA moves after roster cuts post draft and before camp.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:35 pm
Okay ODB as of right now then.
April 22nd, 2014 at 1:45 pm
@87
Probably what you guys are guessing. .500 at best. We still don’t know what Tedford will do. The roster will be at least 50% turned over, if not more. New QB.
And, if it’s closer to 6-10, I won’t be suicidal. I just don’t think that old roster was as good as many thought. So much change in personnel, in culture, in offense and defense style. It generally takes a little time.
But, again, that’s a totally blind guess. We all just have to hope Tedford is good. But, I really like Licht’s moves (regardless of the sentiment here). And, the guys will play hard for Lovie.
April 22nd, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Make no mistake, the offense will be a work in progress. Let’s just hope Lovie/Frazier can coax a top 10 to 15 performance from the defense in order to allow the offense time.