Proof Bucs Didn’t Game Plan Against Patriots

August 25th, 2011

A week ago tonight the Bucs were blasted by New England at The CITS in both teams’ second preseason game. Afterwards, Bucs coach Raheem Morris said to the flock of fourth estate members that part of the reason for the lopsided loss was that the Bucs did not devise a gameplan for the Patriots.

Many cynics and Bucs fans scoffed at the suggestion that the Bucs didn’t have a  gameplan. Morris tried to explain later how he sets up preseason games each year and that the second game he doesn’t game plan.

The explanation did little to calm the nerves of Bucs critics, who thought Morris’ words were outlandish.

Well, now Joe can write definitively that the Bucs indeed did not have a gameplan going against the Patriots.

Thursday afternoon, Joe was privy to audio of Morris by way of NFL Films. On the last Sunday of training camp, the Sunday prior to the Patriots game, Aug. 14, Morris was wired by an NFL Films production crew and mentioned there would be no scheme for the Patriots.

In the audio clip, Sunday afternoon practice had just ended. It was the final practice of training camp that was open to the public. The Bucs gathered in a huddle around Morris as is tradition of sorts once practice is over. Morris, in sort of a pep talk to his players which he is so good at, reminds the Bucs they are still working hard to get better and make sure to thank the fans that came out to watch practice.

“This is the last practice that is open,” Morris told the team. “Let’s go over there and sign, wish everyone well. Thank them for coming. That’s who we are. We are still in camp mode. We are still getting better. We are still going good on good. We are not trying to scheme New England.”

Those words were straight out of the mouth of Morris, a full four days before kickoff against the Patriots.

So no, the Bucs weren’t trying to game plan against New England.

But they will against Miami Saturday.

57 Responses to “Proof Bucs Didn’t Game Plan Against Patriots”

  1. raphael Says:

    whew !!! thankfully the real story……..I never doubted Rah for a second…for the record

  2. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Cue Thomas and a ridiculous spin of facts……..

  3. krazi8 Says:

    Thanks for the real scoop!!! Good on good.. Big on Big. GOOD STUFF JOE

  4. bigdog67 Says:

    People forget what preseason games are about. And folks remember the days we’d go 4-0 in the preseason and 2-14 during the regular season so Raheem don’t gameplan til you need to. It only matters when it counts. Go Bucs!

  5. MOBucs Says:

    I remember Rah explaining his pre-season planning last offseason. His plan is similar to most NFL coaches. 1st and 2nd preseason games are for the most part inflated practices. They also don’t want to open up the playbook too much and give teams tons of tape to review before the start of the regular season. I’m glad you found some proof for the skeptics Joe, but haters of Rah will hate him regardless of what he helps this team accomplish.

  6. BecklesHeartsRuud Says:

    Is preseason over yet? Sigh…

  7. BecklesHeartsRuud Says:

    Going to go watch some High School Football tomorrow just so I can see a game that counts. So over preseason.

  8. Buddhaboy Says:

    Good reporting Joe. I think everyone was a little concerned at how overwhelmed the bucs looked against new england. I think not scheming for them had alot to do with it, but not completely. At the end of the day, it is hat on hat, 100 yards. 11 on 11. No real hitting -ussy league this has become. Here is to a year filled with fines for great hits that we all have grown to love. GoDell must go.

  9. Stephen Miracle Says:

    This makes me wonder about the KC game. If we didn’t game plan for them, then does KC have something really to be worried about? We demolished them and their excuse was that we treated it like a game.

    but if we didnt…

  10. Joe Says:

    Thanks krazi8, Buddhaboy!

  11. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    One thing I’ve learned from watching years and years of preseason……it doesn’t mean s(p)it! Never get too excited or too down from exhibition games. It’s kind of like having the NFC team defeat the AFC team in the Pro Bowl, it doesn’t mean the NFC is better than the AFC.

  12. Thomas 2.2 Says:

    Ridiculous Joe. Thst doesnt prove anything. He could have been speaking about 1 play, 1 practice etc. Many refer to scheming as showing your offense and defense the looks the opposition will give you. Where game planning is the plan both in formation and plays how you will attack or exploit the opposition specifically. So scheming may or may not mean gameplan.

    Either way, it was amazingly foolish for a coach to do that, it was tantamount to a fraud for fans who paid money for a contest, and most importantly- it would NOT have mattered.

  13. Thomas 2.2 Says:

    Joe is still grasping for an excuse for that shillacking! Rah’s proclivity for making excuses, usually out of assistant coaches is rubbing off on you.

    For a second, I was wondering if Rah was going to can Grady Stretz to deflect the heat!

  14. BigMacAttack Says:

    The games don’t mean much, but the Pats looked great. I don’t think anything will slow that team down. They are so deep at D line too, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another Dominick defensive steal from them at their cut down or practice squad. I think the AFC will be another Patriots, Steelers year with San Diego pulling up. The NFC is wide open for the taking if the Bucs can do it. Raheem is right, keep improving, keep learning, and build momentum all the way to week 17.

  15. BigMacAttack Says:

    Boy Thomas, you’re one really smart dude. I’m in complete awe.

    We’re not worthy. We’re not worthy.

  16. jdog Says:

    Hey Thomas are you actually a bucs fan?

  17. Gift who? Says:

    Thomas 2.2 ….your an official idiot and hardly a bucs fan. Some people have to go against the grain just because….

  18. jdog Says:

    Hey thomas did raheem screw your lady or something?

  19. Hunter Says:

    What a joke this has become. The Bucs got their ass whooped by a team filled with better athletes and people are still searching for a reason they got humiliated. If this was a regular season game you be watching the exact same outcome.

  20. Mauha Deeb Says:

    Funny how with plain and clear evidence right in people’s faces, some “fans” stretch and dig for excuses of why the evidence is illegitimate.

    I use that term “fans” very loosely in this instance.

  21. Brandon Says:

    Thanks for the story that confirms what most of us already believed. Of course some people will choose to believe what they want to believe regardless of the facts shoved in their faces.

  22. gotbbucs Says:

    the first two preseason games are scripted practices. get over it people. would the patriots beat us in a real game? yes. that team is a well oiled machine and has the look that the bucs should be striving to be. we’re still a year or two away.

  23. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Right on cue Thomas, congratulations.

  24. Pete Dutcher Says:

    1) I am tired of hearing that Preseason games do not count. Tell that to all these young guys trying to make a team. So they do not affect standings…they still matter.

    2) Really, how could Morris prepare? Aren’t the pats playing a new scheme on defense? There is little if anyhting on tape.

    3) Don’t complain if Morris is not preparing a gameplan in these games…not when the team is so good at talent evaluation. Let them do what they need to do.

    4) I don’t really care if they game planned or not. Even without a plan the level of domination was bad. I’m okay with it for now, because weaknesses have to be exposed before they are dealt with.

  25. Pete Dutcher Says:

    and btw…in all honesty…only the losers claim preseason doesn’t count. If we had won that game it would have mattered.

  26. Pete Dutcher Says:

    Oh…and Preseason wins and losses affect ticket sales in the regular season…at least as it starts.

  27. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    “Listen girls, you do realize that you learned absolutely nothing about this team last night. Todd Haley reportedly told his players that it was a “dress rehearsal.” One team had a coach that didnt understand that the game meant absolutely nothing.”

    “I remember a player, maybe Vinny, saying that the public doesnt realize the approach that teams take to the preseason – avoid injury and condition. That is it until 1 or 2 drives of game 3 or 4.”

    “Listen: is it negative to say that the game meant nothing? No, it is the obvious truth. Fanatics forget that preseason games arent designed to pursue victory. I never argue that preseason games have value other than to make roster decisions.”

    (MY PERSONAL FAVORITE): “This whole “looking good” theory is a myth. Read the Star article. The Chiefs did not try. Haley didn’t admit it publicly but the journalist suggests that he knew Haley wasnt competing – which I think is smart given the offseason (or lack thereof).” (LOVE THAT LAST SENTENCE)

    ———————-

    I’ll give everyone a wild guess who made all these statements after the KC game. Amazing how he has done a complete 180 since the New England game. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that he may be slightly biased against this team. But surely no one who spends so much time daily on this site could be that way, could he???

  28. BamBamBuc Says:

    I think it’s a wonderful learning tool to not game plan. Give them the basics, the concept and let them go out and execute. When there are failures (and in this case huge failures), see if the player adjusts or adapts. When it’s all said and done, and the players come crawling back to practice beaten and battered…. go over the tape, point out the flaws, show them what they didn’t see during live action so they can learn and grow and be better and make those adjustments. They’ll get better, be better. It’s a fantastic learning tool.

  29. Eric Says:

    Ok, we had no plan.

    Neither did the Pats.

    And this is good news because?

    That means we got just flat out phsically destroyed?

    Awesome.

  30. QBMAN Says:

    LOL @ Joe, The Guy got out Coached. Now you make excuses for him./..Let it go. If Pre Season means nothing then why keep bringing it up.

    They need to make the Playoffs or it is another wasted YEAR!!!

  31. Mauha Deeb Says:

    @Hawaiian Buc WOW! Caught read handed. Excellent investigative reporting, good sir.

    It is going to be awesome when he responds twisting his own words in an attempt to discredit you, but what is really going to be funny is that any twisting he tries will only discredit his current words or his past statements LMAO

    Catch 22ed him in a corner. Nice work, bro.!

  32. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Eric,

    I must have missed the part of this article that said the Pats didn’t gameplan against us. As shocking as this may be to you, every team approaches the preseason differently. Bellicheat has stated that he does gameplan in the preseason. That’s his decision. He’s the best coach in the NFL, so you can’t argue against him. However, that doesn’t mean that it is the only way to do things. Just wait until the regular season before you bring out your normal pessimistic self, because like your brother from another mother, you just sound like an idiot complaining about the damn preseason. It’s almost as if you enjoy the Bucs losing, especially the way you shrivel up when we win.

  33. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @Mauha,

    Thanks, and there is no way Thomas is going to respond. We won’t see him anymore on this post. He never does when he is exposed. But, he will be back on the next article, that is a guarantee.

  34. Joe Says:

    QBMAN:

    Joe is not making excuses for anyone. There was some doubt by people that Morris was less than honest in saying he didn’t game plan. Joe found out about the audio and documented it to remove any doubt.

  35. jesse j Says:

    Hawaiin, great job! You are always just in time to put a little perspective in thomas’s (self proclaimed) reality. I sware if you weren’t a consistent commentor I wouldn’t even click the comments to see the same boring anti rah/glazer blabber. Well, to be completely honest, I do get a kick out of eric, in small doses of course.

  36. Eric Says:

    @Hawaiin

    Must be the same article where it says the Pats DID game plan or that Bellichick usually does.

    I doubt he does, preseason is for personell player evaluation mostly not gameplans. Why would he bother? So he can get a victory against the mighty bucs? You think Bellichick gives a rats ass about that?
    I doubt he even mentioned the bucs for the whole week, much less “game plan” for them.

    Wherefore, the whole article is meaningless.

  37. SteveK Says:

    @Thomas 2.2:

    Fans got a contest, boys had the pads on and they were doing some hitting. Ask E.J. Wilson is his Achilles “really” ruptured, or did Danny woodhead “really” have a concusion?

    The game plan/scheme for the game was to not reveal the plan or scheme for the 16 contests in 17 weeks that “really” matter.

    I kinda like spinning an argument around with facts, lol.

  38. admin Says:

    Joe here,

    @Eric — Actually, early last week Belichick was asked in a news conference if he was going to have a gameplan against the Buccaneers. Belichick almost snapped at the reporter saying something like, ‘Of course we’ll have a gameplan. That’s football. That’s how you evaluate players by seeing if they can execute.’ … That whole snippet, ironically, aired on the Buccaneers Radio Network before the game.

    So, yes, the Pats gameplanned. The Bucs didn’t. The record is squared away. And the preseason is freaking meaningless!

  39. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Wanna argue some more Eric? You are doing such a great job so far. I’m sure once Thomas comes out of hiding, he will agree with you.

  40. BigMacAttack Says:

    I still feel that Belicheat new every play the Bucs were running before they ran it. I can’t say he was cheating because I don’t know, but based on past transgressions, I wouldn’t put it past him. The pre-season may be tune up for him to get all of his multi-million dollar surveillance equipment all dialed in for Week 1. I believe Bill will do anything to win and I personally think he may be back to his old antics. I am curious to see how the Pats’ season unfolds, because I promise you there is a way to monitor another teams radios and communications. If anyone would do it too, it is the Master Cheater himself.

  41. BigMacAttack Says:

    knew, haha

  42. PWNASAURUS Says:

    thomas 2.2 inches and his trusty catcher eric. What a pair.

  43. SteveK Says:

    Nuts come in pairs or sets.

  44. Brandon Says:

    It’s so easy to figure out who knows nothing about football when they constantly argue that the preseason ISN’T meaningless. Sure, you want your starters to get work, you want your inexperienced players gain experience, but considering that 3/4 of the guys on the field at the end of the game from the middle of the 3rd quarter on, usually won’t be on the team, it’s ridiculous to put any merit in preseason victories.

    KC didn’t gameplan for us, we didn’t gameplan for them. That game was nice… but meaningless.

    NE game planned for us, we didn’t gameplan for them. That game was painful to watch… and meaningless.

    Sure, there are a few things that resonated loudly with me that carried more meaning to me than the other meaningless things. #1 Carter > Larsen and Zuttah > Faine #2 Watson needs to be on the field more #3 McCoy is healthy and ready to go #4 Preseason games are glorified practices and are meaningless!

  45. Pete Dutcher Says:

    BamBamBuc Says:
    I think it’s a wonderful learning tool to not game plan. Give them the basics, the concept and let them go out and execute. When there are failures (and in this case huge failures), see if the player adjusts or adapts.

    When it’s all said and done, and the players come crawling back to practice beaten and battered…. go over the tape, point out the flaws, show them what they didn’t see during live action so they can learn and grow and be better and make those adjustments. They’ll get better, be better. It’s a fantastic learning tool.

    This is what I was trying to say as well…but you did a much better job of expressing it. If you ever need a pen pal, let me know. We seem to think the same on more things than not.

    Eric Says:
    Ok, we had no plan.
    Neither did the Pats.
    And this is good news because?
    That means we got just flat out phsically destroyed?
    Awesome.

    Eric Says:
    @Hawaiin
    Must be the same article where it says the Pats DID game plan or that Bellichick usually does.

    I doubt he does, preseason is for personell player evaluation mostly not gameplans. Why would he bother? So he can get a victory against the mighty bucs? You think Bellichick gives a rats ass about that?
    I doubt he even mentioned the bucs for the whole week, much less “game plan” for them.

    Wherefore, the whole article is meaningless.

    admin Says:

    August 25th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
    Joe here,

    @Eric — Actually, early last week Belichick was asked in a news conference if he was going to have a gameplan against the Buccaneers. Belichick almost snapped at the reporter saying something like, ‘Of course we’ll have a gameplan. That’s football. That’s how you evaluate players by seeing if they can execute.’ … That whole snippet, ironically, aired on the Buccaneers Radio Network before the game.

    So, yes, the Pats gameplanned. The Bucs didn’t. The record is squared away. And the preseason is freaking meaningless!

    Oh, snap! I was going to get him, but you nailed it, lol. Well done!!

    Eric, I would just add that the Pats are supposedly switching to 4-3 from a 3-4…they are going to have to plan for preseason games in order to work out as many kinks as possible before regular season. (think I read about the switch somewhere on PFT)

    BigMacAttack Says:
    I still feel that Belicheat new every play the Bucs were running before they ran it. I can’t say he was cheating because I don’t know, but based on past transgressions, I wouldn’t put it past him. The pre-season may be tune up for him to get all of his multi-million dollar surveillance equipment all dialed in for Week 1.

    I believe Bill will do anything to win and I personally think he may be back to his old antics. I am curious to see how the Pats’ season unfolds, because I promise you there is a way to monitor another teams radios and communications. If anyone would do it too, it is the Master Cheater himself.

    He doesn’t really have to cheat. The cover two is on plenty of tape, and our 16 games last year provides a good bit. If he set his dvr, he has the games 😉

    Two other things to keep in mind:

    1) We have new defensive line coaches…3 rookies and 2 young players on the front for defense…he knew he could get away with plenty. It’s going to take time for our guys to get it together.

    2) We have a young QB…and most coaches know the best way to throw a young QB off his game is to come at him fast and hard. Our Offensive line is full of vets now…and supposedly good…yet they could not save Freeman or Johnson from getting hit a lot. That’s got nothing to do with gameplan. It’s a serious issue that could result in Freeman being injured.

    That’s a good reason to be concerned. Our DLine could be 1/2-2 years from excelling…but our offensive line should already be there…AND its our offense that will have to carry the team until the defense pulls it togther.

    Brandon Says:
    It’s so easy to figure out who knows nothing about football when they constantly argue that the preseason ISN’T meaningless. Sure, you want your starters to get work, you want your inexperienced players gain experience, but considering that 3/4 of the guys on the field at the end of the game from the middle of the 3rd quarter on, usually won’t be on the team, it’s ridiculous to put any merit in preseason victories.

    KC didn’t gameplan for us, we didn’t gameplan for them. That game was nice… but meaningless.

    NE game planned for us, we didn’t gameplan for them. That game was painful to watch… and meaningless.

    Sure, there are a few things that resonated loudly with me that carried more meaning to me than the other meaningless things. #1 Carter > Larsen and Zuttah > Faine #2 Watson needs to be on the field more #3 McCoy is healthy and ready to go #4 Preseason games are glorified practices and are meaningless!

    I would agree that a win or loss is meaningless. But that does not make a Preseason Game meaningless:

    1) Undrafted and other free agents get a chance to showcase in the hopes of getting a contract.

    2) Drafted rookies get a chance to feel the speed of the game. Even if they don’t play long…it gives them a chance to gain knowledge and process it.

    3) Weak Spots. In the old days (5 years ago or so, lol) starters would only play a series or so in hte first Preseason game. Now they play at least a quarter. Why?

    So that coaches can observe and make note of the biggest weak spots and address them in the days/weeks following the games.

    4) Suspended players are permitted to play. This gives coaches a chance to see if the players are staying game ready or not…which could help them determine if they are going to cut them or not.

    5) Showcase. In this case WINS do mean something. But only for this reason. If a team wins 4 preseason games straight, fans will be excited and maybe buy more of the home season opener tickets, therebye preventing a blackout.

  46. Apple Roof Cleaning Says:

    Mike Tyson used to say “They all have a plan, until they get hit”

  47. BamBamBuc Says:

    Pete, agreed.

    Preseason games are meaningless when it comes to wins/losses.

    But anyone who wants to tell Devin Holland these games are meaningless, I think you’ll get another story. That young man is doing everything in his power to make the team as a special teamer (if nothing else). What has meaning to him is game film in the coaches hands. (Unfortunately, the Panther’s Hit he put on the KC return guy may have hurt his chances more than helped). That said, the same goes for every borderline player (that probably won’t be on a team come September) on every team in every preseason game. So, to say the Chiefs weren’t playing hard is ridiculous. Even if the coach told them to relax and take it easy, these guys want jobs. They’re gonna play hard and fast and hit. Didn’t work for the Chiefs.

    The Patriots are a different breed. They’re a very cohesive team that doesn’t need as much time to come together. The advance at a very fast rate and the “game plan” in week 2 is what most teams do in week 3. They’re a week ahead of most teams. (Maybe we should do that, but as young as the team is it’s probably better to keep working fundamentals until week 3). The Patriots also seem to wear down by the season’s end of late. Maybe they peak too early. maybe it’s because they push to install the gameplan too fast in preseason.

    Coaches don’t find the games meaningless either. Coach Morris will surely use the game film to see who adjusted the best to what the Patriots were doing. Who reacted the fastest? Who didn’t correct at all? Which players need to work more on what drills to improve? Who needs to watch more game film to learn the adjustments better? Who should just get cut?

    That’s why they don’t install a game plan. Let them play basic offense/defense and adjust on the fly, and we’ll make corrections during the week (because now we know what we need to work on). If everything were scripted and planned and running like a well-oiled machine, how would they know what to work on with which guys? They’d obviously look like monsters against teams keeping it basic and you’d learn nothing.

  48. Architek Says:

    I am not going to refute any posts by anti-Bucs fans that come to this forum. I appreciate the thorough news and information. I find it very illiterate that we are arguing with mainly two people and some media figures about why the Bucs didnt gameplan for a pre-season game. Well, it’s the responsibility of the HC to make that decision and he did. He decided not to and it profit nor costs him nothing for that decision. I respect it because he wanted to see and evaluate his players that can hide behind a scheme and I think that is genius. I don’t think that the Pats cared as they wanted to look at a few players also. Basically, who cares and why should they care at the end of the day. For all you cinics out there go find another team to root for because you are not welcome here with your negativity.

  49. Nate Says:

    If the bucs arent better then the dolphins in the first half.. There not gonna sell out any games.. If i were raheem i would of game planned against new england just because the fans need to believe and that last game was a disgrace !i dont care if its preseason because it was that bad.. Im glad i didnt pay for that..

  50. Jerry Says:

    So between the Bucs not even trying and concessions running out of food before half-time….the fans got the total shaft last week suckered into paying full-price NFL tickets.

    What a joke.

  51. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Jerry,

    By forcing season ticket holders to buy preseason tickets, all fans around the league get the shaft. And if are upset about the result of the game, how do you think Colts fans have felt for the last 10 years, as they ALWAYS stink in the preseason. Preseason is not for the fans; it is for evaluation of the players, and of course, $$$$$$$$$.

  52. MOBucs Says:

    The misinformed pessimists always seem to clam up when those crazy little things called facts are thrown in their face. Happens nearly every post but it never gets old to see. LOL! Great job Hawaiian for posting Thomas’ previous statements about the Chiefs game. Truly hilarious how that guy will change his stance so quickly just to pile on his favorite team. What a joke!

  53. Buc_The_World Says:

    @eric
    Bellichek said he was going to gameplan against the Bucs because he thought our (oops you are not a Buc fan, don’t include yourself) team would be a good test for the patriots. Go back and watch it, then come back with an intelligent response. Until then shut up. Have a nice day.

  54. Buc_The_World Says:

    On another note the preseason does mean something. It means you have 4 games to get mentally and physically prepared for the next 16 games that actually count toword your season. As far as know, unless things have changed in the new CBA, all teams starting on 9/11/11 are 0-0.

  55. WeNeedADefensiveCoordinator Says:

    “Belichick almost snapped at the reporter saying something like, ‘Of course we’ll have a gameplan. That’s football. That’s how you evaluate players by seeing if they can execute.’”

    Uh, wouldn’t this make Rah a complete moron then???

  56. Pete Dutcher Says:

    Nope. It makes him different. That’s all.

  57. McBuc Says:

    Weneedd…No, just a different approach. I believe Chucky used the same approach as Morris. Many NFL coaches use this approach. Bill has a different approach. Niether is the right or wrong way. Get over it.