THE OPTIMIST: Success Is Imminent
October 4th, 2015
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter
In these unsettled times of devastating Bucs losses, constant change and growing pains, Joe thought it would be wise to bring back THE OPTIMIST.
THE OPTIMIST is Nick Houllis, a Bucs fan and an accomplished writer whose steadfast allegiance to the Buccaneers goes back to the 1970s. Houllis is the founder, creator and guru of BucStop.com, a place Joe goes to get lost in time via Houllis’ stunning video collection.
THE OPTIMIST will shine that positive light in your eyes. Some will love it. Some won’t. … Of course, THE OPTIMIST’s opinions are his alone and are not influenced by Joe.
Get ready for an explosion on offense by November, because slowly but surely the Bucs are showing us they get it.
This is, after all, is a brand new offense with a real offensive coordinator, new QB, new linemen, you name it. Then you have a ton of youth, too.
Jameis Winston is really impressing people more and more each week, from coaches to opponents and their coaches. They’re all coming to the praise of the No. 1 overall pick. Jameis has thrown only one pick in the last two games.
Are Winston’s passes all perfect? No. Do too many of his passes get dropped? Yes. And while all QBs have WRs drop passes, one can only imagine the story line had only three passes been caught last Sunday.
Winston is also down his favorite target, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who will be back in a few weeks, in time for the offensive resurrection referenced above. Without injury ASJ is almost assured of a 1,000-yard season or close to it each year.
WIDE RECIEVER: Last week, Mike Evans clearly was rusty from not having caught a single pass yet in 2015. (He didn’t catch a ball in preseason, either.)
Not to Evans: This was your warm-up game. Evans was in position to make major catches on those passes; They were touchdown, first-down, chain-moving passes that would have kept the defense off the field and totally changed the outcome in Houston. Blame Kicker Kyle Brindza for his misses, but he doesn’t line up if Evans catches that first down inside the 10 yard line.
Louis Murphy reminds me of Ike Hilliard for his ability to somehow come down with clutch third-down catches, or Karl The Truth Williams. Once Evans gets his Mojo back, Winston’s options to are perhaps among the top-10 receiving targets in the NFL.
OFFENSIVE LINE: We entered the season with the O-line as a huge negative, but now I’m not so sure. J.J.Watt doesnt get silenced like that, but yet the Bucs did it. Not only did they keep Watt sackless, they didn’t give up one to Wolfork or Clowney!
Winston had a lot of time to throw the ball against the Saints, too. The O-line appears to be improving across the board and in the run game.
And let’s make sure we understand the scope of his statement: this offensive line is comprised of rookies at left tackle and right guard.
The Bucs front office has made the change at center, seemingly tired of Evan Smith. Demar Dotson will return, at which point Godson Cherilus will provide depth with Smith.
DEPTH on the Bucs offensive line. Words only the optimist can utter!
GO BUCS! Tampa Bay 23, Carolina 22
October 4th, 2015 at 8:43 am
That is one legitimate way to look at it.
October 4th, 2015 at 8:54 am
I’m still waiting til games 9-16 to see what this team can really do on offense.
October 4th, 2015 at 9:38 am
Tell Noles we’re still waiting on it. He disappeared after that last loss. Chances are we’ll still be waiting on it after today. Siege the day and all that.
October 4th, 2015 at 10:02 am
I can’t wait. Hurry up and wait!
October 4th, 2015 at 10:04 am
We’re all optimists, otherwise we wouldn’t care who won.
October 4th, 2015 at 10:17 am
All you have to do is look at the Dolphins currently for what happens when you bring a below average to poor coach back when you know he isn’t good enough, but hope maybe something will change. Teams like the Patriots and Packers and Seahawks don’t believe in hope, they believe in reality. And the reality is the Schiano Bucs would be 10 point favorites over the Lovie Bucs. Pretty much says it all.
October 4th, 2015 at 11:14 am
bucrightoff Says:
October 4th, 2015 at 10:17 am
All you have to do is look at the Dolphins currently for what happens when you bring a below average to poor coach back when you know he isn’t good enough, but hope maybe something will change. Teams like the Patriots and Packers and Seahawks don’t believe in hope, they believe in reality. And the reality is the Schiano Bucs would be 10 point favorites over the Lovie Bucs. Pretty much says it all.
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Nice post!
tickrdr
October 4th, 2015 at 11:16 am
I’d be more optimistic of the Bucs winning a ****ing home game if Koetter was running this club instead of Lovie; the team keeps repeating the same idiotic errors week after week under Lovie’s watch. I hope the Optimist is right thugh: a win over the Panthers would be nice but the team will have to make sme 3rd down pick ups, get Carolina to cough up the ball, and make some stops when the opponent is looking at third down… That is asking a lot from a bunch of guys (Buc players and coaches) who probably have trouble tying their shoes right on game day……..
October 4th, 2015 at 11:18 am
JOE, I just want to thank you for bringing back THE OPTIMIST!
October 4th, 2015 at 11:25 am
FortMyersDave Says
“I’d be more optimistic of the Bucs winning a ****ing home game if Koetter was running this club instead of Lovie…”
Let’s explore this theory.
Who built the offense through the draft? LOVIE.
He provided Dirk with all the tools he could possibly need, in sacrifice of drafting defense, which is Lovie’s specialty.
So now that the offense has everyone needed…if Koetter takes over, who will build the defense properly with him drafting for offense still?
Think about it.
In the next draft, Lovie will start building the defense the way it should be built, instead of having to plug holes with mediocre free agents and bad trades perpetrated by Jason Licht.
And the defense needs only about 4 key players to get dynamic. They are already close. It just so happens that the weak spots are key spots. Fill those, and this team will suddenly be elite.
Replace the coach, and we’re back to square one again. That’s the problem with Bucs fans…they want a good team, but they are not willing to develop one. For years they swore free agency was the way to do it. It isn’t. You are seeing that now on defense.
The draft will fix this team next year. Just. Be. Patient.
October 4th, 2015 at 11:38 am
@Bonzai, I don’t think you can blame free agents or trades all on Licht, he does nothing without Lovies insight and ok. That being said, I agree with you that defense will rule draft day next year.