No Learning Curve For Special Teams
November 3rd, 2014
Lovie Smith’s special teams coach and guru Kevin O’Dea has had a rough year
Yes, the Bucs’ defense has a learning curve under Lovie Smith’s brand of the Tampa-2. That was asserted months ago by experts like Derrick Brooks and Warren Sapp, in addition to Lovie.
The offense? Of course, a new playbook came with Jeff Tedford, and Joe’s sure changes have been made since his departure.
But special teams? Sorry, Joe can’t allow any excuses there.
Special teams isn’t complicated stuff. That was the message today from a former special teams Pro Bowler himself, former Bucs tight end Dave Moore. Speaking on the new Ronnie and TKras show on WDAE-AM 620, Moore said special teams are so basic that young teams and teams with new coaches typically rely on them for a spark.
“The schemes are very simple,” Moore said. “It’s all about effort and understanding what you’re doing.”
Moore went on to talk about how the special teams are hurting the Bucs when they shouldn’t be and referenced how young Bucs teams used special teams to uplift the club in the early years under Father Dungy.
Earlier in the day on WDAE-AM 620, another former Bucs tight end, Anthony Becht, a voice with Moore on the Buccaneers Radio Network, sounded disgusted by the Bucs special teams.
“It’s just a lack of awareness of the situation,” Becht said of the blocked punt where Mike James missed the key block:
He called it a “twist” play by the Browns, “something you work on [stopping] in every single punt practice. To me it’s an easy pickup, and we find ourselves in a situation where we can’t get it done.”
As for the field goal block started by hurdling Logan Mankins, Becht credited Browns coaches for identifying the Bucs’ poor technique.
Yes, the Bucs were brutally outfoxed on special teams Sunday. Keep in mind coach Kevin O’Dea is Lovie’s handpicked special teams chief.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:34 pm
Example #1,849,365 of lovely’s incompetence.
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:39 pm
We are the only team this year that has given up a punt & field goal block in the same game & we’ve done it twice……enough said!!!
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:52 pm
more and more, as someone else said, this team resembles an expansion team…the “special” teams remind of McKay’s early Bucs! …blocked punts and field goal failures…next up will be the impossible – missed extra points!!!
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:55 pm
Basic football with professional athletes and they can’t execute.
– Terrible coaching
– No desire
– No self scouting
No Excuses!
November 3rd, 2014 at 3:57 pm
have brought in 3 return guys who have not played to the level of last years return guy this year or last. How bout coaching up last years starter and focusing on position of needs, O-line and DBs would be nice. Thigpen is the best of the bunch this year but he even almost fumbled a fair catch. When he was EPs age he was putting up bad stats in Canada. Good luck with this bunch in charge.
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:21 pm
yeah, punt returners off the street has disaster written all over it. last two weeks, we got lucky with two mishandled punts. Page was at least pretty stable with catching the ball back there. This “new returner” thing every week is a coaching head shaker WTF!
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:29 pm
Dude looks like Arthur Slugworth with sunglasses on (Willy Wonka reference)
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:33 pm
Soooooooooooooooo that’s why we’re losing. Lovie said ST wins 8 games automatically. And since we lick balls on ST we’re not winning. Now I get it. Who the FUK hired POWDER to be our ST coordinator again???? Yea the same dumba$$ outdated coach who spit that stupid thought out of his mouth. Pathetic!
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:44 pm
Lovie should be more concerned about the performance of the entire special teams unit instead of trying to find the next Devin Hester.
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:47 pm
I thought it was Max Headroom.
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:49 pm
it’s depressing how brutally bad we are in all the categories that matter the most to this coach. even more depressing is how much better this coach’s “incompetent” predecessor was in almost all of these categories from day 1. improbably, we dismantled a 4-12 team and actually replaced it with a less disciplined and effective one.
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:56 pm
“Keep in mind coach Kevin O’Dea is Lovie’s handpicked special teams chief.”
Keep in mind Lovie had to hire guys while the Glazers were taking their sweet ass time hiring Lovie’s lapdog.
November 3rd, 2014 at 4:57 pm
I’m with wille D and Bucco bruce, Bring Page back and give him a actual shot. What’s to lose? Another game? or at least tell us why Page isn’t worth keeping or is worth bringing back or wait cutting again. I liked Page returning. You knew he was going to catch the ball.
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:04 pm
to be fair I thought patton was doing a pretty good job too
November 3rd, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Who cares i hope they lose more i want that numer 1 pick
November 3rd, 2014 at 6:27 pm
More pathetic play. More excuses. More crap coming next week.
November 3rd, 2014 at 7:52 pm
An outsider needs to sit in on team meetings to see how many players are sleeping or otherwise occupied.
November 3rd, 2014 at 9:55 pm
That’s our Bucs — putting the “Special” in Special teams. Hope Lovie gives out participation medals at the end of they year.
November 3rd, 2014 at 11:16 pm
*yawn..
November 4th, 2014 at 9:41 am
O’Dea has been fired from previous teams for utter incompetence. So of course Lovie hired him!
November 4th, 2014 at 5:04 pm
@j mone – these are the bucs we are talking about. either they will draft a monumental bust #1 overall, or they will somehow win just enough games to miss out on a generational talent (calvin johnson, 2007) and wind up with a thoroughly mediocre player (gaines adams, 2007)