Sorry Secondary
December 6th, 2015
Has Lovie’s bromance with CB Mike Jenkins come to an end?
The secondary of the Bucs, specifically the cornerbacks, struggled terribly after Johnthan Banks hurt his knee in a loss at Houston.
Yes, it seemed Lovie Smith used a revolving door at cornerback looking for the right combination, and may have found it. For much of November, the secondary improved greatly.
That was until last week at Indianapolis, when Matt Hasselbeck carved the Bucs apart like a rotisserie chicken from Publix.
How bad were corners Sterling Moore and Hey Jude? Consider the numbers thrown out by Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune as he spoke with Jenna Laine of WHBO-AM 1040 Friday.
“Sterling Moore and Jude Adjei-Barimah had 11 of 14 passes thrown their way [completed] for 170 yards,” Cummings said. “They were letting people catch the ball and not as good of a job of tackling as they have in the past.”
That is enough for Joe throw his cinnamon-raisin bagel across the room! Of the 14 passes Hasselbeck targeted Bucs corners, only three were incomplete, three?!
That is absolutely inexcusable for any defense and damn it, that tells Joe either the coaching staff has been putting these guys in positions they can’t function in or other guys not named “Mike Jenkins” should have been on the field instead. Or it says the coach(es)ing responsible for cornerbacks is abjectly inept at either player evaluation or development, or both. That is just an absurd number for an NFL team and is unacceptable by any sober standard.
The reason why Lovie didn’t pull these guys, Moore and Hey Jude, Cummings seems to think, is that Lovie has thrown the towel in on the rest of the cornerbacks on the roster. This notion seems to be reinforced with the recent news that Keith Tandy was working out at nickel corner and former Pro Bowl corner Alterraun Verner was relegated to the scout team.
“It seems like they have just given up on some of these guys,” Cummings said. “I’m not sure they have any long-term keepers in the secondary.”
In other words, watch the Bucs load up on corners this offseason, by both free agency and the draft. Joe only hopes whoever has selected corners since Lovie got here is locked in a closet during organizational meetings.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:05 am
Cannot wait to watch Lovie rebuild the Secondary for the 3rd time!!!! Good thing the Bucs have a head coach the knows what it looks like!!!! I also look forward to the offseason where a couple of the sheep ( lovie loyalist ) pick out 4 games that show that lovie’s defense is improving!!!!!!
December 6th, 2015 at 10:09 am
Yes, I agree Joe. Lock Lovie in a closet for meetings and on Game days. And for Press Conferences while we’re at it.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:24 am
Sadly I actually like Moore he seems to play with some attitude, problem is he isn’t a #1. He would make good 2. Poor Jude lacks talant, probably why he went undrafted, but he at least shows the “want to” in his effort, but he was outmached by Indys speed. Finally, I thought Verner has looked the best I’ve seen since moving to nickel. But if the coaches are ready to throw them all in the bay I could understand why.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:31 am
As lovie may say. I think these statistics are a little hard to follow. Firstly, hasselbeck was completing passes in the first half but our defense was playing well in the first half. I thought the secondary was playing well. Especially because our pressureless line was getting coverage sacks. Our defense fell apart in the second half which is when these guys were getting beat. And idk how much of it was our fault, seeing as our offense was barely ever on the field to give them a rest.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:44 am
I’m no Mike Jenkins fan at this point but there was a time when he played well..it was a brief period over about two and half years.
Jenkins finished the 2009 seasons with 5 interceptions (tied for 12th in the NFL), 23 passes defensed, 49 total tackles and was selected as an alternate to the 2009 Pro Bowl. He moved to the official line-up on January 25, 2010 when Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield withdrew due to injury.
2010
Jenkins recorded 55 total tackles, 15 passes defensed (led the team), 1 forced fumble and 1 interception, while starting every game of the season.
2011
Jenkins suffered a neck stinger in training camp, and missed the entire 2011 preseason.
Jenkins never seemed to be the same after the neck stinger.
Maybe Lovie has a little Jon Gruden disease. He sees a player who had some success in the league and hopes against hope that his talent and skill set will return.
I’m not sure why coaches are so in love with Vets…other than football coaches..much more than basketball coaches…are very conservative and not given to open minds. This btw is not just Lovie or Gruden.
If you ever worked in the media and covered a Conference press day with all the head coaches the difference between the football coaches and basketball coaches was night and freaking day. Football coaches…boring…not very imaginative…basketball coaches…witty, entertaining and much more willing to think outside of the box. Obvioiusly this is not 100% true but for the majority of coaches it is what it is.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:46 am
Go f*ck yourself Realist.
Not only do you do nothing but sh1t talk this team you actually sh1t talk the fan base non stop as well and you do it like a condescending piece of sh1t. Still waiting for your links to posts of who the team should have hired/signed/drafted the last few years.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:51 am
Buc Realist … You’ve got me curious, so 2 questions:
1 – Which Bucs’ head coaches over the years have you liked?
2 – Which Bucs’ current players do you like?
For you to keep coming back day in, day out to JBF dishing the Bucs players and coaches there has to be something positive in there … somewhere.
December 6th, 2015 at 10:58 am
They have to draft 2 DEs and 2 CBs in the first four rounds! They addressed the offense in Lovie’s first 2 years so the D is next. Unfortunately the way this team was set up by Joe’s BFF Dominik the offense was light-years behind the defense…and the defense sucked with Revis. I’m surprised they’ve played as well as they have. We need more talent. Simple as that…
December 6th, 2015 at 10:59 am
Defense Rules he will only name the most obvious good players or coaches in history. He never takes a position that is out on a limb when it comes to anything positive.
December 6th, 2015 at 11:10 am
It’s like any other position on the field. You can come in and have a bit of success but as you play, the film builds. Your tendencies are revealed and lack of talent surfaces. That’s what happened. This is on te linebackers as well. They are most troubling to me especially the kwon. As much as I hope that he’s the guy he bites so hard on the run and makes nice plays there but just a tiny play action and he is exposed. Lvd is similar so you have neither one playing for anything but the run.
December 6th, 2015 at 11:14 am
And I would love to see a defensive lineman knock a ball down.
December 6th, 2015 at 11:17 am
This was a horrible team, Due entirelly to the worst GM in League history- Mark Dominick.
Lovie has greatly Improved the Offense
This Year, He will begin Work on Some of the putrid Elements of The Defense.
Contrary to Idiots statements sbove- He hasnt “Rebuilt the Secondary”. He has not drafted, or traded for one single secondsry player. Hes still taking out the trash.
He has brought in a few stop gap FAs, to hold us over until the real work begins.
Which will be next April
December 6th, 2015 at 11:48 am
Capt Tim. You are the idiot. Let’s see, three of the starter four defensive lineman drafted by Dominik. A secondary that HAD Barron and Goldson (who both lead their teams in tackles). Revis a pro bowler every year and banks. Oh and he drafted David, claimed and signed others in that side of the ball, see mcdougal. On offense he drafted the 2nd most productive back in rushing in the NFL. Martin, Rainey, James, he signed a #1 WR in free agency in jackson (please name a team to do that). Had starters on offensive line like zuttah, Penn, Larsen etc. sorry josh freeman wet his pants. Seriously tired of how Dominik ruined and was the worst GM. Yeah he missed some, have you really looked at licht’ first draft or any year of free agency over past two years with lovie.
December 7th, 2015 at 11:48 am
Remember when we had Darrelle Revis back there? That was cool.