Time For Reflection
September 17th, 2015
Bucs DC Leslie Frazier said the coaching staff has looked in the mirror in an effort to prevent a repeat of opening week happening Sunday.
There is no way to spin it, and attempting to do so is futile and makes one look like a fool.
The collapse of the defense of the Bucs against the Titans falls squarely on the shoulders of one man. And that man is Bucs head coach Lovie Smith.
After all, it was his gameplan, his (lack of) preparation, his players, his defense, his coaching (or not coaching-up) that resulted in such a beatdown. Also, remember, he took over the playcalling duties of the defense from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
In short, Lovie decided to walk out on a tightrope without a safety net.
The Bucs were so beaten and shamed on defense, Joe asked Frazier if a lopsided score like that in the very first week, when you have four months to prepare, makes a coaching staff as a whole take a step back, look in the mirror, and see if their approach was the root of the disconnect with the players.
Frazier didn’t beat around the bush.
“Absolutely,” Frazier said today during his weekly presser. “Whenever you have the breakdowns that we had, you have to unearth every coin, every stone that you can to try figure out a solution and figure it out fast given the opponent we are about to face.
“So we have tried to address some of those things and we’ll try to find out. I think we have. Now we have to go out and play better.”
Frazier didn’t rule anything out in the search for repairing the Bucs’ defense. He did say middle linebacker Kwon Alexander will still call the plays on the field, but Frazier did not rule out personnel changes to plug the leaky defense.
To hear more from Frazier, click the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:10 pm
Every single unit on the defense played poorly.
You gonna fix them all Leslie/Lovie?
September 17th, 2015 at 5:14 pm
If that is what Leslie Fraser sees when he looks in the mirror… no wonder the defense seems to have lost their concentration!
September 17th, 2015 at 5:19 pm
Looks like a Jersey Shore-sized headache to me. Pass.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:21 pm
As bad as it is for we Buc fans it can’t be fun to be on the Bucs coaching staff right now. Careers, pride, a lot is on the line. These guys live here, families live here..imagine going out in public if you’re connected with the Bucs right now.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
The Bucs got boat-raced (at home) by last year’s second-worst team. There is no reason to think it won’t happen this week in New Orleans. I can’t tell you how depressed I am.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:30 pm
Honestly folks, think about it. You can’t win a game with a defense this bad. I have faith the offense will turn it around, but this defense? – Come on man! We got to do better than that.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:40 pm
Damn Joe nice pic. One of my favorites from your archives. I would have saved it for a positive piece and not associated such an appetizing picture with such a pathetic poorly coached defense related post
September 17th, 2015 at 5:42 pm
Both sides of the Bucs will play better up in New Orleans, whether that is good enough for the win, we will see. The Bucs can win this game, it won’t surprise me.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:42 pm
Good point St Pete. I was just thinking on the bright side at least I don’t look like an idiot at my job and at least I don’t have the pressure to get it right or be fired pretty soon.
I am rooting for these guys man I really am. For the sake of the team and the sake of their families lol.
I know I said I am on the animosity amigo bus and I am until proven otherwise; but that doesn’t mean I am just going to assume it’s impossible for them to change / make corrections / start adapting in ways to be successful. They were able to be pretty good defensively after the bye last year and the most points they gave up was 34 over 10 weeks which isn’t bad at all and all their other results being around the 20ish point range. So there is that random hope still. Just do that again haha. Doesn’t have to be an amazing defense. Just don’t do whatever the f*ck I just saw again please
September 17th, 2015 at 5:44 pm
@StPete
Yeah lets feel sorry for the millionaires
September 17th, 2015 at 5:52 pm
@NewTampaChris and Lord C
There is no reason to think it won’t happen this week in New Orleans.
I’m going to pick up on Lord C’s optimism and offer a reason…it could happen.
Just go back to last year.
We were 0-3 heading into Pittsburgh against the Steelers and the same DC in LeBeau who had our number on Sunday. MG8 played very well and we get the upset and head to N.O. in week 5 with “some” hope. MG8 played very well again, we build a good lead…intercept Brees 3X and coulda shoulda won but choked again in OT.
BTW this happened just two weeks after the Falcons drilled us 56-14 and one week later Baltmore crushes us again.
And so there is legitimate reason to still have “some” hope. Again as the late great Chris Thomas used to day..NFL stands for No Freaking Logic.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:08 pm
As horrible as the Bucs looked this past Sunday, the Saints didn’t look that great either. They are really beaten up on defense. Have lost a couple of their pass rushers and are down to some of their #3 guys in the secondary. If the Bucs can find a way to take advantage of that maybe they can sneak out of N.O. with a win
September 17th, 2015 at 6:10 pm
This week against the Saints, after what happened week 1, how our defense responds will say everything about this regime.
I saw a lack of coaching and a lack of skill last week. Lovie should have been screaming at his corners to get inside the receivers shoulder and sit on the route. It was the same routes every time the Titans were on offense. And over and over and over Lovie did nothing. Thats on coaching.
Then every time Mariota did play action, our linebackers and safeties bit hook line and sinker. And it kept happening. How does a unit with LVD on it get fooled so badly? It could be repetetive mistakes or it could speak to a lack of trust with the defensive line to stop the run. Either way, that falls on the players.
I dont know where they go from here. How are these guys just all of a sudden not going to play out of posistion in six days after they had all off season to get it down.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:11 pm
“Bucs Fan #7423 Says:
September 17th, 2015 at 5:44 pm
@StPete
Yeah lets feel sorry for the millionaires”
Hey life’s about more than $$ my liege. It’ not like the dudes won the lotto. All of them put in years and years of insane amounts of overtime work at various coaching gigs to get there. It’s not an easy life whatsoever. And honestly I’m not sure I’d want to work a job that took that much time & work that could also still could result in my face on a billboard for being fired lol.
Not feeling sorry for their $$ but just saying I’m glad I’m not them right now. I’d have a heart attack or die of depression probably before I could spend any of that $$ happily lol but to each their own
September 17th, 2015 at 6:12 pm
Just blitz.
That is all.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:14 pm
☺Just wait on it.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:20 pm
I know the Dome is loud…didn’t bother us last year and MG8 said he enjoyed playing in front of fired up fans.
I honestly think it’s lucky for the Bucs this game is on the road. If they played at RayJay this Sunday as ugly as the mood is in our fan base things could turn south in a hurry. Players dodging beers, fans waiting to give them the double finger, endless boos.
The Bucs need to at least split the next two games if they want to come home to anything other than a half empty stadium with the other half full of really, really, really peoed fans!
September 17th, 2015 at 6:29 pm
Another complete arse pounding, and we need to fired everyone and trade the face of the franchise. COMPLETE RESET BUTTON.
Danny Snyder may not know sh!t about winning, but they were smart to pull the plug on RG3 before the season. Reminds me of when Dom and Glazers didn’t let Schiano insert Glennon in camp, and completely severing ties with Freeman.
Just because the Glazers do not fire coaches kid season, doesn’t mean they should make an exception if another complete arse drubbing happens this Sunday. They would seriously be better off with a fan calling the shots, not kidding. Lovie refuses to change=we get completely destroyed= fire the team and the cannons.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:35 pm
MICHAEL SAM MIGHT BE A FIT ON THIS DEFENSE, JUST SAYIN…”simple as that”….
September 17th, 2015 at 6:41 pm
SPBF…yep DOUBLE MIDDLE FINGERS! lol
September 17th, 2015 at 6:47 pm
NewTampaChris Says:
September 17th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
The Bucs got boat-raced (at home) by last year’s second-worst team. There is no reason to think it won’t happen this week in New Orleans. I can’t tell you how depressed I am.
Not to call u out but they had the same 2-14 record and were just as bad.. We got rolled by a team that who knows might win 5-7 this year? Embarrassing anyway you slice it.
I will be at the game this weekend. Thankfully it’s a fun city to spend a weekend.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:57 pm
Joe you are right. It is movies fault.
His drafting.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Winnin with Glennpn. Trade Jameis to the skins.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:58 pm
Glennon
September 17th, 2015 at 6:59 pm
BuccoBrice: Michael Sam could plug a few holes on this defense. Just saying. He’s available.
September 17th, 2015 at 7:13 pm
Lovie looked in the mirror and sang along with Lil Wayne and Bruno Mars:
Mirror on the wall, here we are again.
Through my rise and fall, you are my only friend.
That hot chick on the other hand, I think has many friends!!!
September 17th, 2015 at 7:16 pm
Mariotta for president! 2016
September 17th, 2015 at 7:26 pm
mind as well blitz yur gonna get beat anyway…obviously u cant play tampa 2 with no pass rush…do many style blitzes…
September 17th, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Bad scheme + bad coaching + bad players + incompetent owners and GM= buccaneer football. Nothing will change. L&L have created a much bigger mess than the one they inherited. Pathetic!!!!
September 17th, 2015 at 7:29 pm
I had a time share booked this off season in New Orleans and planned on going to the game. Then my wife got a new job during training camp and didn’t have the vacation time, so I had to cancel…..THANK GAWD!!!!!!
September 17th, 2015 at 7:30 pm
Best case scenario is that Koetter’s offense improves greatly with Winston putting the offense in position to win football games week in and week out only to continue to watch Incompetent Lovie Smith’s squad of least resistance steadily give up the booty and lose games for us. Just hoping for the best.
September 17th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Dallas Buc fan- very wishful thinking. The OC is capable but the QB isn’t. Too bad he doesn’t play as well as he talks. IF the NFL suddenly decides that press conference performance determines winners, we’re going to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately press conference performance doesn’t count. Given that reality we are screwed.
September 17th, 2015 at 8:08 pm
That was my issue with the game. The defense. The offense struggled because of the O-Line. Expected, although they should have ran the ball more. But whatever, rookie QB, new OC, rookie O Linemen, I wasn’t expecting much
What I am expecting is a pretty damn good defense keeping them on games and enabling them to run the ball a lot.
The DTs and LBs are pretty damn good. Because of that the DEs should be serviceable for now.
The DBs should be average.
So that defensive debacle last Sunday was shocking.
BUT— I do not blame coaches that much. Some calls maybe. Some game planning maybe.
But if you are good, the players need to execute, regardless of coaching.
Look at norv turner. He is an average OC for decades. The Cowboys looked great with him because they had Troy and Emmit and Irvin and a line executing. They didn’t do anything special. Emit left or right. Irvin on an out or slant. Harper deep. Novacheck on a curl.
Not much else. But they excecuted and no one stopped them.
Basi ally the players bear A LOT of the blame.
September 17th, 2015 at 8:16 pm
I will continue to be optimistic. This defense is WAY better than that. It should keep them in games and enable them to let the offense be balanced.
For those of you throwing in the towel and screaming for JW to be traded and wanting Glennon… You are pathetic excuses for football fans. Go root for some one else. Don’t need you.
You are bind as hell and do not have a clue about football if you cannot see the talent on the defense and offense and with JW.
They have holes- absolutely. But they are one offseason away from being pretty damn good.
You are the same fans that wanted theclikes of Manning and traded after week 1 when they were rookies.
Fricking ADHD football generation. Annoying
September 17th, 2015 at 8:25 pm
Same old Jameis in college and now NFL! Plays like Ryan Leaf/JaMarcus Russell in the 1st half and is always down. Then storms back to win in the 2nd half. However, people don’t understand this isn’t the ACC! You will not come back that way in the pros. Same old interception issues also likely from his squinting and cannot see right. ACC leader in picks and will be NFL leader in picks.
September 17th, 2015 at 8:37 pm
They still don’t know what went wrong? For krysts sake! We’ve lost the same way so any times we got the first pick in the draft. How dense are these guys? Oh wait… this was just one game so they only have one games worth of film!
September 17th, 2015 at 8:43 pm
I am going to have to see it to believe it, how does a team correct a mountain of mistakes in 6 days? The booing they got at the end of the first half should have been played on speakers all week long at practice.
September 17th, 2015 at 9:03 pm
Yungry- what you said. QB become less accurate at the NFL level, not more. This should have been a red flag to everyone. I suspect the Glazers were trying to selling tickets!!
September 17th, 2015 at 9:03 pm
We have a good defense that had a bad game, my only concern is at QB. But we will get better QB play from Jameis, he’s a rookie. And I expect for him to play like a rookie, for all the fans that are tired of the Bucs. All you all have to do is go root or another team while we’re losing. Then get back on our bandwagon when we start winning. Most of you all will do that anyway, we will rebound and turn things around. Our biggest problem is that no one want to play for us, it’s a problem in all major sports. You see it in the NBA as well as the NFL, players want to go to a team that is close to winning a championship. That’s why bottom feeders like us have a hard time improving, we can only get decent players through the draft. We may get lucky from time to time and get a good player off waivers. From the 1980s to the mid 1990s we had about 14 straight losing seasons. But we were getting good players from the draft, then we started to win some games and eventual we begin to get top free agents like Simeon Rice. But we will not able to get top free agents until we win. This is not a quick fix, we are too far behind.
September 17th, 2015 at 9:04 pm
sell
September 17th, 2015 at 9:42 pm
I was trying to read the article but I just can’t. I just can’t stop staring at that picture.
September 17th, 2015 at 9:53 pm
Good Job Gtting rid of Talib
September 17th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
u guys r idiots. our QB is great. the only reason why we lose games is because our offensive line and pass coverage is terrible
September 17th, 2015 at 10:02 pm
Dave, we got a 4th round pick for him and a 7th round pick. Then we go and trade a 1st and 4th for Darrelle Revis and pay him $ 7 million more a season than what Talib wanted. Mark Dumbernik has set us back 20 years with his decisions.
September 17th, 2015 at 10:08 pm
Chill Bucs Fan #7423, It ain’t that serious. We will win the NFC South this season, just wait and see.
September 17th, 2015 at 10:08 pm
Talib does look good. Had his eyes right on the qb. Went to NFL.com and was surprised that the game was playing live. I think all games regardless of what network, should be available to watch online.
September 17th, 2015 at 10:21 pm
Jameis is the coach killer. He scuttled like a slow crab on Sunday. You are what you eat.
September 17th, 2015 at 10:33 pm
@Lakeland
If we win the division this season i will change my name to Lakeland Rules for a year.
Sorry but we are going 1 – 15 the only team we will beat is the jaguars
September 17th, 2015 at 10:41 pm
Whos watching the game. Look at the Chiefs defense. The secondary is in zone. The corners are playing off the receiver with the safties helping up top. The front consists of three down rushers. A blitzing lb and the other three linebackers are playing shallow zone. Manning dosent know if Tamba Hali or Justin Houston is coming. Or both. And the corners and safties are reading Mannings eyes. THAT is how you play zone. Alot like the 02 Bucs except out of a 34 instead of a 43.
September 17th, 2015 at 10:42 pm
And btw, the Jags are gonna kick our ASS!
September 17th, 2015 at 10:52 pm
St Pete, that was with MG8 and not McCown nor Winston. See the pattern? MG8 did fine last year, but Lovie had named McCown the starter and refused to believe Glennon was the better. He beat Pitt and beat the Saints. The defense lost the game against the Saints. Lovie is the problem as well as Frazier, Warhop, and Glazers.
September 17th, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Why?
We have been at the tail end of wins for 10 years. Why then have we not stocked up with talent? Its the organization?
September 17th, 2015 at 11:25 pm
LargoBuc, a lot of teams play zone defense, most play the cover 2. And we pla the Tampa 2, which is aversion of the cover 2. But the problem is not the defense, it’s the players n the defense. We don’t have Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Brian Kelly, Ronde Barber, John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, Sheldon Quarles anymore. All of those guys were pro bowl players for us, only GMC has made the pro bowl for us on our defense Lavonte David made all-pro one year, which is a higher honor. But the point is you need good athletic players , if you are going to run a cover 2. And we don’t have them, that’s why I said that we should have drafted some DEs and Safeties. Those are the two positions that you must be strong at. When Jameis threw the pick 6, the Titans was in a cover 2. He shouldn’t have threw the ball, but he thought Humphries was open. He will learn from it, he will see a lot of different looks this season.
September 17th, 2015 at 11:29 pm
passthebuc, Bruce Allen and Mark Dumbernik are to blame for the poor drafts. One thing I liked about Rich McKay he knew how to draft players.
September 17th, 2015 at 11:47 pm
denver going to win it
September 18th, 2015 at 12:01 am
Love brings his guys in,…and they all play out of position. What is that? Wright was out of position several times and Conte was playing catch up. Everyone was biting on all the play-action. How does that happen all the time. Jeez. Lovie says it is correctable, but it should not have happened. Anyone could have started for the Bucs defense. They better correct that sh!t this week or the team will be exposed for crap. Im gonna watch closely this week and if we lose. I will just not watch like I did last year. I’m a real fan, but if we don’t win…my family could use the money rather than me hurrying home to watch crap.
September 18th, 2015 at 12:37 am
Damn Ya’ll already wrote a lot of stuff about this article. I love my Bucs, I’m a die hard fan, just can’t see no positives at all about what’s going on. No leadership from coaching to captains, getting shelaked every 4 out of 5 games. When the f they are going to show any resolve. Oh wait I guess making millions doesn’t make Ya’ll care to win. Right McCoy, Lavonte, Verner, Vincent, Evan Smith, Mankins, and the rest of all of the Damn overpaid players we have.
September 18th, 2015 at 12:59 am
Did you anticipate that the Titans would put Duck plays in their playbook that Marriota already knew how to execute? I didn’t and Lovie didn’t either but I think he did expect Marriota to run much more than he did. That caused players to think too much. In addition Lovie insists that the MLB call the defenses even if a Rookie. Bad mistake because our middle was vulnerable all last game, and too many of our defense bit on run fakes and were out of position. Lovie does know how to prepare for the Saints so look for a closer game this week. Marriota had the fastest release I have seen and is the superior QB which is why I kept telling this site we needed to pick Marriota.
September 18th, 2015 at 1:01 am
All I know is the buccaneers have the 4th best receiver in the league this week.
September 18th, 2015 at 1:15 am
We can still win the NFC South, I think we will win it.
September 18th, 2015 at 1:57 am
‘Americas Fool’, Joe, already looks a fool for banging on jameis and poisoning Mariota. Credibility zero
September 18th, 2015 at 6:16 am
Fanatic every bit on the play action because number 8 is that damn good at selling it. You’ll never hear that from Joe though. Because he thinks he’s a genius.
September 18th, 2015 at 9:09 am
Joe,
The hell with Frazier, please give us more insight into the young lady in the photo!!!!!