Culture Of Losing
June 26th, 2015
Lovie needs wins, says Fox Sports Florida.
Yes, roughly 35 days remain until sweaty training camp begins at One Buc Place.
This is sort of like the Hot Stove League time in baseball, when all fans wait in anticipation of pitchers and catchers reporting, talking/conning themselves into believing this is the year their team makes a World Series run.
And yes, once the Bucs broke minicamp last week, optimism filled the air that the Bucs could turn things around: second year with the Lovie Smith defense, a franchise quarterback, seasoned, successful offensive coordinator.
One person not buying the sell is Andrew Astleford of Fox Sports Florida. He believes that culture of One Buc Palace is a culture of losing, evidenced by Lovie coming in with a winning record and seeing his team nosedive into the Gulf at 2-14.
Still, no one knows if Winston’s presence and other changes will mean a break from the Bucs’ recent, frustrating norm. Nonetheless, urgency should be part of everything they do this fall. It’s hard to envision Smith surviving another two-win season. Even three or four victories to close might place him on rocky terrain.
One word must drive the Bucs after the second Summer of Lovie ends: Progress. Show progress with a promising rookie quarterback. Show progress with a defense that enjoys more comfort with the scheme. Show progress with a schedule that seems more favorable than last year.
Movement forward will be gold. Any steps back will be gross.
Hard to argue anything Astleford wrote. The Bucs, barring what nearly seems like an accident in 2010, have been wearing the NFL’s “Kick Me” sign ever since Chucky was jettisoned. Could it be that the losing culture at One Buc Palace is that ingrained that it would drag a guy like Lovie down?
Joe firmly believes “America’s Quarterback,” Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, buys Lovie time. No clear-thinking person is going to expect Jameis to lead the Bucs to the playoffs this year. Yeah, rookies have done this in the past, but it is rare and unreasonable to expect it.
If, for some reason, Lovie taps the quarterback of the past and the quarterback of the future and maybe the quarterback of the present, Mike Glennon, to start the season, then the clock is ticking on Lovie.
June 26th, 2015 at 3:12 pm
Lovie will probably get 2 more years no matter what the record is in 2015…..The Glazers know they can’t keep churning coaches and are all-in with Lovie. The key is if he keeps the team motivated…..I expect there will be some progress, so all this is probably a moot point.
I do think its time to let it fly….stop with the “pound the rock” “Buc Ball” crap…and open it up. Sure, Winston will throw some interceptions…but they will be downfield and better than the run-run-pass-punt lousy offense we have displayed.
June 26th, 2015 at 3:13 pm
The clock is ticking on every head coach in the NFL. It is just a matter of time. Can they beat the clock.
June 26th, 2015 at 3:22 pm
tickrdr Says:
June 18th, 2015 at 9:05 am
4 scenarios:
1) Jameis starts and sails —- great, and L & L look good.
2) Jameis starts but struggles —- what then?
3) Glennon starts and sails —- Jameis waits but learns
4) Glennon starts but struggles —- Bring in the “messiah” to save the day.
Options 3 and 4 have little to no downside for L & L, but what if Jameis is a bust??
tickrdr
June 26th, 2015 at 3:28 pm
yes ok because the losing culture apparently just started when lovie got here. Dominick started the losing culture and you don’t just wipe away over 5 years of bad drafts and poor free agent signings in one season with 5 draft picks and awful whiff on free agents in first year as head coach. it’s called building for a reason. all the talk about what Winston brings is just bad journalism unless your saying he could be worse than glennon or freeman. he may be a bust but andy Dalton or ryan tannehill bust not jamarcus Russell or freeman bust well freeman type bust maybe
June 26th, 2015 at 3:31 pm
1978 5-11
1979 10-6 NFC champs
#dougwilliams
June 26th, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Lovie needs this year and next year. TBBF is right. We know the coaching carousel strategy hasn’t worked. They changed scouting and coaching personal. In three total years we’ll have a clearer picture of what L&L can and can’t do. I’m interested to see how these first two drafts they’ve done look like two years from now. With the perfect sh!t storm that was last season, due to bad decision making and bad luck, I want to see how he responds. Plus two years with Jameis should be enough time to have a playoff team.
June 26th, 2015 at 3:48 pm
A good start would be not having the season over after week 4 again.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Sure seems like Glennon never got the rookie pass that everyone is in such a hurry to give to Winston.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
@WS99
Not quite NFC Champs in 79…..lost to LA Rams in NFC Championship 9-0….but point still valid.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Forgot the south part my bad, darn keyboard.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:35 pm
I think the Buc fans will be highly upset if Lovie and company can’t deliver wins in about half the upcoming regular season games. I know I will. It must be a breakout of the funk showing. No more 2 to 6 win totals. Less than winning half of the games should usher Lovie back to a position coach.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:37 pm
Don’t forget what happened to one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, when he started his first year.
Peyton had something like 28 interceptions and way less TD’s. Problem was he had a very poor supporting class. So, the great Bill Polian went to work and added first round starters right and left to bolster Mannings development.
Look at the talent the Bucs have already assembled for Jameis. Two top receivers who topped 1,000 yards each last year, with crap at QB.
Our top running back is in the best shape he has been in since his rookie season. The backups are also able to contribute.
Two great pass catching tight ends and two very fine blockers.
That’s a great offensive juggernaut. We all hold our breath concerning the offensive line, but I think Mankins is in great shape, Smith is going to hold down center and our RT is very solid. They will help our rookies develop quickly and together they will provide much better holes and protection for our running game and passing time.
If things fail this year, it is squarely the fault of the coaches. Better talent is there, our new OC will do a great job and the defense should be better.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:47 pm
Again we should expect and demand 10 wins! Do we still have some glaring holes? Absolutely! So do all but a half dozen teams, and those teams, the Seattle, Green Bays and Denvers of the world are legitimate SB contenders.
We of course are not. I expect us to lose in the first round of the playoffs if ten wins even gets us in. We fix the holes and add depth next year.
As for this year we have two glaring holes on the OL. Let’s hope that the two rookies are the answer, or a player from last year, or perhaps somebody we snag off the waiver wire when teams have to begin seriously paring down their rosters.
I honestly believe we will end up with a decent OL this year and that Koetter will use them so much more effectively they’ll look like night and day difference from last year.
June 26th, 2015 at 4:54 pm
This “america’s QB” thing almost has me not coming back to this site. However, like a train wreck, I can’t look away.
June 26th, 2015 at 5:05 pm
Most fans are crazy and have zero knowledge of football, they think that the Bucs will be a good football team overnight.
June 26th, 2015 at 5:15 pm
tickrdr Says:
June 26th, 2015 at 3:22 pm
tickrdr Says:
June 18th, 2015 at 9:05 am
4 scenarios:
1) Jameis starts and sails —- great, and L & L look good.
2) Jameis starts but struggles —- what then?
3) Glennon starts and sails —- Jameis waits but learns
4) Glennon starts but struggles —- Bring in the “messiah” to save the day.
Options 3 and 4 have little to no downside for L & L, but what if Jameis is a bust??
tickrdr
June 26th, 2015 at 5:18 pm
My exact same thought process. If L&L start Glennon and he stinks up the place, they have another two seasons to fall back on Winston and gives him time to learn the system. If Glennon does better under Koetter which anyone with common sense thinks that he will, then it’s a win win all the way around.
Starting Winston has more downside than anything. Yes it does have tremendous upside but starting Glennon has very little repercussions. Nobody is expecting a super bowl this year. It’s the smart business decision.
I also don’t see the glaziers as wanting to rush Winston into anything. I think the Glaziers would be 100% on board with letting him sit and seeing what Koetter can do with the Cannon.
Time will tell
June 26th, 2015 at 5:33 pm
If Lovir leads another 2-14 season, why not bring Schiano back in 2016 for the final year of his contract.
Failure is not an option
June 26th, 2015 at 6:08 pm
We need to string together some Wins and stop focusing so much on ideal situations.
June 26th, 2015 at 6:15 pm
sorry guys glennon aint starting, they didn’t draft jameis who has lost a total of 2 freaking games since high school, to sit the bench behind glennon, and I am in the mind that everyone will be pleasantly surprised when jameis and the bucs are still in contention for the NFCS title in December in this weak division. you can take that to the bank. book it danno!!!!!!
June 26th, 2015 at 8:39 pm
Here is what may make the Bucs season this year: the rest of the NFC South may be just as bad as last year. Yea, I know, but think about this; a team with a 7-8-1 record won the NFC South last year, and I do not see anything that would tell me the Panthers, Saints and Falcons will be better teams. Now think about this: an 8-8 season would have won the NFC South, last year.
June 27th, 2015 at 8:49 am
WS99, the Bucs were in the NFC Central in 1979.
June 27th, 2015 at 10:48 am
4 wins or less Lovie has got to go.
Especially with other first year coaches with zero NFL head coaching experience winning more and being competitive. Lovie needs to win and win now. No more excuses.
June 28th, 2015 at 4:08 am
@Tampa Tony
If I was an NFL team owner, I would fire any coach who couldn’t deliver five wins, unless it was his first year coaching the team.
Sorry, but all NFL rosters have decent players that can make plays. They were all studs somewhere once, or they would have never made an NFL roster. Sure, some rosters are more stocked than others, but that’s why good teams win 12 or more games. If a team can’t muster five wins in this league, that team has systemic problems that go beyond the talent on the field.
Lovie got a pass last year because it was his first year as the Bucs’ HC. And, the season was clearly an intentional tank job. Glennon committed far fewer turnovers than McCown, and scored a TD more per game than McCown, and Lovie still went back to McCown. That’s either a really bad coaching decision, or an intentional tank job. And Lovie’s not a stupid man, so I say tank job.
This organization got what they wanted. If we can’t win at least five games this year, Lovie should be fired.