Total Control Of Defense
January 17th, 2016
Ringing endorsement from the Custodian of Canton.
Joe has already written about being lukewarm with the defensive coaches hired by Dirk Koetter.
Yeah, that may be premature given how Koetter has yet to take a practice field as head coach.
Joe is geeked about the hiring of Jay Hayes as defensive line coach, but Joe was never blown away by Atlanta defenses of new defensive coordinator Mike Smith, when he was their head coach. The last time Smith was a defensive coordinator was eight years ago.
The Custodian of Canton, eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune, had a different view. Speaking with multimedia maven Scott Smith on Buccaneers.com, Kaufman gave Bucs fans reasons for optimism with Smith on board.
“The addition of Mike Smith cannot be underestimated,” Kaufman said. “They worked together in Jacksonville and built a great working relationship, tremendous respect between them.”
Kaufman went on to say Smith turned Jacksonville into one of the better defenses in the NFL. Kaufman also noted Smith will have full and total control of the Bucs’ defense.
Joe hopes everything works out, but man, Jim Schwartz would have been a home run.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:10 am
If my memory serves me, he is another cover 2 dinosaur? Hopefully he’s more flexible than Lovie.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:24 am
Jim schwartz would have been a nice hire and perhaps would make us the frontrunner to land mario williams but as soon as the defense is fixed under him hes gone guaranteed. There maybe some loyality to koetter from smith since koetter didnt bolt atlanta after some good statistical seasons.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:26 am
@Joe I would like to get your take on a theory going through head…
There seem to be a trend albeit a small sample so far of HCs reluctant to hire OCs and preferring to call plays themselves, is there a sense of an OC comes in does a good job automatically becomes HC commodity the following season? Case of eventually losing their job to the person they? Just a thought love to get your take and other responses welcomed also.
Hue Jackson in cleveland has ruled out hiring an OC dirk is non committal even going as far as to designate who talks to JW.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:27 am
Sure hope he ain’t no dinosaur like Lovie Smith. I’m sick of the friggen Tampa 2. Glory days are over and living in the past has gotten the Bucs nowhere. But I’m not going to second guess the new HC and his hiring right now. I’ll give him two years, just like I did with Lovie and those before him. Waaaaaay too early to jump to any conclusion and judge. Let’s see what happens and let’s hope for the best. I feel like this new coaching staff will finally makes us happy, that’s what I want to believe until I see otherwise.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:36 am
Surely he will get better play from several of our under-performing players….
I expect that we will have at least 3 new defensive starters from the draft and perhaps one in FA….we should have considerable depth.
I think Smith’s defenses suffered when he delegated the duties to others….when he was directly in charge…they were stout.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:39 am
Tampa Bay NOW Bitches…..We’re on our way NOW Bitches!!!
You’ll see naysayers…..screenshot my post naysayers!!! You fkers like “thebutthurtkevin”!!! FK you kevin you pice of sht!!!!!!!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 8:40 am
Sure. Like you can guarantee anything is going to be a home run for sure. Your starting to sound like Bonzai now.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:44 am
Unfortunately, most coaches don’t hire the best guy for the job, but instead hire a guy they are buddies with and won’t rock the boat. It has been a long time since he ran a defense so who the heck knows what’s going to happen really.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:50 am
I don’t get the love for Schwartz, and respectfully Joe, I definitely don’t see the HR there.
First, he had a terrible record as a HC, going 29-51. Second, as a DC in Tennessee his defensive rankings were as follows: 25, 10, 12, 27, 19, 32, 5, and 7. Third, in Detroit, his defensive rankings were: 32, 21, 23, 13, and 16. And finally, as a DC in Buffalo in 2014 his D ranked 4. In 14 years running an NFL D he’s had 4 top ten units, and finished last twice.
I totally understand the trepidation on Smith. Not only has he not been a DC for eight years, he hasn’t run a D in eight years. Remember, the ATL GM hired his own DC, so unlike Schwartz in Detroit, Smith did not run the D in ATL.
My view is that Smith brings far more to the table given his long time working relationship with Dirk, and success as a three time HC of the Year. Regardless, I think the Bucs are headed in the rut direction and I’m excited.
January 17th, 2016 at 8:56 am
The way defense is played these days has completely hanged since 2001. No one runs a cover scheme as a base defense anymore, and Lovie didn’t either. These days, all defensive schemes are much more modular to allow more flexibility and adaptability. Lovie’s problem wasn’t scheme, it seemed to me to be a combination of being unable to implement a modern scheme and being a poor evaluator of talent. I think Lovie had the right idea with his scheme, he just didn’t know how to pull it off, and worse than that, he didn’t know that he didn’t know.
January 17th, 2016 at 9:07 am
If there’s anything this site needs more of is it’s “The Kevin’s”.
I’ve been a fan since 1987 and they sucked for ten years. I endured that, I can endure this. Then again I’m just another punk a-ss b!tch on JBF…so go figure.
Ha ha ha ha ha
January 17th, 2016 at 9:20 am
I’m wary of the ATL defenses he put together too, but let’s remember a few things. Firstly, when they were at their worst he was delegating the defense to his coordinators. Secondly, Dimitroff was not adept at finding talent on that side of the ball, hence the whole thing going off the rails Smitty’s last two years there. I’m cautiously optimistic, and I think it’s a pretty solid hire. Time will tell whether the NFL has passed him by like it did Lovie Smith.
January 17th, 2016 at 9:23 am
So tired of people worried about what type of defensive scheme a coach runs. News flash: coaches in the NFL have seen them all. It’s about talent and execution. Zone, man, 4/3, 3/4; it doesn’t matter. There are strengths and weaknesses to all. However, if you don’t have the talent or execution then they all suck.
January 17th, 2016 at 9:26 am
I like that Smith does not like to bring Refs into practice. You teach how not to commit penalties, you don’t bring in refs to teach your players when they screwed up.
January 17th, 2016 at 9:27 am
Eh not really a Gym Shorts fan, the way I see it is we’re getting a second head coach in Mike Smith, a previous coach of the year!! That’s one hell of a sounding board for Dirk to have, excellent hire IMO.
January 17th, 2016 at 9:30 am
Jim Schwartz routinely lost control of his players in Detroit. It’s possible to bring attitude to the table without being an out of control hot head. It’s pretty evident that teams are hesitant to hire him.
Mike Smith has a stellar record as a DC. The Koetter hiring along with Mike Smith feels alot better to me than the last three hires. Raheem was a joke, Schiano felt like they were trying to outsmart themselves, Lovie was a last grasp at the past.
January 17th, 2016 at 9:38 am
it has to be better than lovie !!!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 9:40 am
Come on Joe’s Please allow this response
January 17th, 2016 at 9:42 am
Greenville sc kevin….im waiting…..carolina ale house…name the date and time pssy!!!!!!!!!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 9:46 am
The last time I called your psy as$ out you clammed up…..come get some big boy….meet me PUUHLEEEZZZEEE!!!!! fkn pnkazzzzbitch!!!!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 9:49 am
Throat punch, over, fk u kevin….still waiting pssy
January 17th, 2016 at 9:57 am
Phuck the schwartz
January 17th, 2016 at 9:57 am
its for real bich….come meet me…done playing punk!!!!!!!!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 9:59 am
All this talk about meeting in person reminds me: who won the lunch-with-Joe contest? I got the record right but missed the division standings.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:01 am
Jim Schwartz teams have been known to play beyond the whistles. so it would only
keep undisciplined play here and keep the high rate of penalties as status quo.
Mike smith’s did not have that dubious distinction.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:12 am
@ onlygodnoles – really dumb theory and really dumb question.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:16 am
2 smiths that have had total control. Hmn.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:18 am
Best hire possible? Probably not. Better than Lovie’s sh!t$how of a defense? I’d wager money on that.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:31 am
Armchair fans seem to think we played a bunch of Tampa 2 this year, when in reality that wasn’t the case.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:37 am
Tom…whatever the hell it was, they couldn’t stop the slant vs sub average QB’s.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:39 am
Jim Schwartz would have been a home run.
Whew!!! Well Joe at least you got a rise out of the board here.
@Bucfansince76
Thanks for posting the stats and FACTS on Schwartz. I did the same for Smith in the comments under the vote. Smith had a freaking amazing record his first five years in Atlanta!!!
But here’s the simple bottom line. Schwartz has a reputation as a total assswhole!!! Perhaps Koetter simply doesn’t enjoy working with total asswholesss!!!
There are plenty of guys who ‘COULD” do a good job as DC if the breaks fall their way. I simply believe Smith is in that group and so why shouldn’t Koetter get to work with someone he knows and trusts?
January 17th, 2016 at 10:48 am
Relax…Mike Smith runs a 4-3 Def.
January 17th, 2016 at 10:59 am
@TouchDownTampaBay really??? Why the negativity I only asked for opinions on a theory you could so easily have ingnored me buddy. You need to meditate a bit more dude.
January 17th, 2016 at 11:12 am
The problem with Atlanta’s defense when Mike Smith was HC was always the fact they could not get pressure on QB’s. There was a disconnect between the GM Thomas Dimitroff and DC Mike Nolan. Smith agreed with Nolan that a defense was built from the inside out, meaning draft large DL who were good at stopping the run. An example was when they drafted Ra’Shede Hageman last year and as soon as Smith was gone they drafted Vic Beasley. Look back to the Jaguars to see how Smith ran a defense. My concern with Smith is he has a reputation of being to conservative. Smith’s Dixie Chicks didn’t blitz, and didn’t show emotion. He liked to run the ball, control the clock, create turnovers. Sound familiar? Let hope Smith has learned from his past. One thing he will do is have discipline and promote a physical hard nosed defense. Something we have not had in a long time.
January 17th, 2016 at 11:15 am
He liked to run the ball, control the clock,
Godzilla most football coaches are toooo conservative and especially the defensive gurus!!
Fortunately those decisions will be Koetters and not Smith’s this time around.
January 17th, 2016 at 11:18 am
And again like the “butthurtpssykevin” he is, he shuts it down….no surprise by now…what a joke….smh
January 17th, 2016 at 11:28 am
Hey St. Pete, I still cannot get the Harbaugh back slap out of my head too. Schwartz acted like such a pooswah. I think Harbaugh could have slapped him in the face and Schwartz would have started crying! All kidding aside, I want a disciplined professional team that plays exciting offense and solid, tough, mistake free D. I think (hope) that’s what we will get. But make no mistake, we still need a really good defense to win. Look at the teams still alive in the playoffs. All of them have excellent defenses with many stars. We arguably have three stars on D. We need a few more. Honestly, if Licht determines that Mario Williams can still play the get him. If Hargreaves III drops to us then draft him. That’s five stars and a really good start.
January 17th, 2016 at 11:41 am
So this is just an observation, do the spaces in between words lessen the meanings or intentions? I for one am not a fan of the unending use of foul language across the board, sure I believe there is a time and place for it. But on a sports blog, for a team we all claim to be fans of. No. Yes I do know this is a different world since I became a Buccaneer fan way back in the dark ages of 1976.
As for the tough guy, bad a$$ rhetoric across all the comments on any news topic I feel sad we have came to this. Were is the discourse or debate in our society today, it feels like our personal view is the only one that is important.
Where is the local Buc’s fan game day gathering in Greenville, SC MADMAX? I live close enough to head out that way to meet up with a few fellow Buc fans watching our team play. ATLBUCSFAN is a great one here in GA. Had a Fantastic time at the last game in ATL, they had good food and drinks before the game and a great price on a hotel room 3 blocks from the stadium.
I’m excited about a new Defensive philosophy, as for the lack of credit to Coach Mike Smith, his last game against us was a very good defensive statement. I hope he brings that type of planning and execution to our teams on gameday. In his last 7 games against the Bucs Coach M Smith is 5-2 with several Blowouts. Can’t say I would not like to give that right back to ATL.
Welcome to Tampa Coach Mike Smith.
January 17th, 2016 at 12:09 pm
Rusty Rhino:
Thank you! You beat me to that take. You are the voice of reason here. Folks, this is a sports blog/message board. Trolls like the Kevin get just what they want when garbage like this goes on. With the hire of Dirk Koetter and Mike Smith, this is the happiest I’ve been as a Bucs fan in quite some time.
January 17th, 2016 at 12:09 pm
Warrenfb12 Says
“If my memory serves me, he is another cover 2 dinosaur?”
This crap about Cover 2 not being good anymore is crap. Take a good look at the top defenses in the league and tell me it doesn’t work.
January 17th, 2016 at 12:44 pm
I argue that Smith is the far better candidate to run the Defense. He and Koetter already have a mutually respectful relationship And chemistry. Also, Smith only job will be to focus on the defense and defense only which I believe will suit him well. I truly believe that he is the better candidate for this particular job than Schwartz.
January 17th, 2016 at 1:22 pm
@RustyRhinos, agree with you completely. It is a different world today. If you watch our politicians closely these days, the rest of the country mirrors that behavior. They resort to name calling or whatever means necessary to bring someone down because they dared to disagree with them. Discourse and debate seem to have no place in society today. Our political leaders have fostered this atmosphere, and I hope it changes so we can get back to being a civilized society. Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 1:42 pm
In looking at Mike Smith as DC, I took a look at Pro Football reference for Jacksonville from 2003 to 2007. All but one defense (2003) finished in the top ten and other than Marcus Stroud, John Henderson and Rashid Mathis, we’re not exactly talking about the ’85 Bears. For those 5 years he put together a solid defense with less-than-hall-of-fame talent.
January 17th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Sir, you’ve been put on ice for a while. Take time off. You’ve got dozens of posts attacking people with bad language. Not appreciated.–Joe
January 17th, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Schwartz would’ve been nice. But we need Smith’s no nonsense approach to penalties. When you are close to setting all time records for penalties. You need to make major changes.
Also, Koetter is comfortable with Smith. That will be crucial in developing Koetter into a head coach. I am happy with the direction we are taking. Thats the first time in over a decade I can honestly say that. GO BUCS!!!
January 17th, 2016 at 5:29 pm
Smith was successful in Jax so why not here? That team was stout up front and we need to be as well. GO BUCS!
January 17th, 2016 at 5:55 pm
Thank u Joe
Nobody likes “The Kevin” anyways. U can keep him on ice for as long as u want.
And I look at it like we now have a HC for the offense (koetter) and a HC for the defence (M.Smith). I really like the new hires. Mike Smith had a really good defence when he was just focusing on defence.
January 17th, 2016 at 7:28 pm
@st.peteBucsfan
Mike Smith had an amazing record? How many playoff games did he win? Mike Smith had a great REGULAR season record because Coach Koetters offenses masked masked the Ineptitudes of Mike Smith’s defenses to play, well, defense. Mike Smith will be a one and done DC in Tampa. A defensive minded coach whose only HC job couldn’t play defense to save their lives. Yea let’s hire that guy!
January 17th, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Then this guy brings in Hoke to coach DB’s😅😅😅😅
January 17th, 2016 at 7:33 pm
1buc…can’t be be any worse than Lovie’s son….
January 17th, 2016 at 10:51 pm
Poor Tampa Bay..What the hell makes you fans think..believe..wish/hope/pray
This team of Atlanta falcons rejects..I’m talking over half of the new coaching regime, can win in Tampa when they were all ousted from Atlanta? Well, you fans wanted change..you didn’t want to build a team. We will see what we got. But I..as a fan who started with the Bucs in the 70’s am not impressed at all. Enjoy your honeymoon.Until the spinning at the podium starts once the losing commences.
January 17th, 2016 at 11:26 pm
The Tampa 2 is a great defense. Lovie simply couldn’t call the right plays or find the right guys to run it. You can’t just lineup a basic Tampa 2 mixed in with what I considered prevent defense (minus the deep safety’s) and say “beat me” every play. That was Lovie’s game plan!
January 17th, 2016 at 11:37 pm
After the press conference Dirk made it a point to let people know that Mike Smith let he defensive coordinators call the defs so u gotta go back to Jacksonville defs that were really solid
January 18th, 2016 at 3:23 am
Sorry about my behavior Joes….had a little too much last night…and of course happy about our team and wanted to get back at “the one”
January 18th, 2016 at 6:59 pm
My biggest concern is that Mike Smith has never called plays in the NFL before. I heard Del Rio called the defensive plays while Smith was the DC with the Jags.
January 18th, 2016 at 7:17 pm
Besides his time as Jags DC, the only other time he has been a DC in his 30+ coaching career, was for 2 years at Tennessee Tech in 96-98. If he didn’t call plays for the Jags, he only has 2 years of play calling experience, in college.
January 19th, 2016 at 7:01 am
Things can be worse, guys. Dolphins just hired Clyde Christensen to be their OC.