Not Buying A “Lack Of Talent”
December 7th, 2011
Astute Bucs analyst and Buccaneers Radio Network host Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski weighed in this week with a take on Brian Price’s ejection Sunday.
Joe suggests you click on through here to check it out. The Commish lays out how there could be a double standard of discipline on the Bucs, but he hopes there isn’t. It’s an interesting read with solid facts.
Now, however, Joe’s going to grab hold of a point made in the piece about the talent level on the Bucs. The Commish isn’t buying the rhetoric of those screaming that the Bucs are a bare cupboard in the talent department.
I would like to make one point on the perceived “lack of talent” on the Buccaneers roster. First, not one person said anything about a lack of talent on the Bucs roster last year when they were 10-6. When I see names like Legarrette Blount, Daquan Bowers, Adrian Clayborn, Brian Price, Mason Foster, Aqib Talib, Mike Williams, Josh Freeman, Kellen Winslow, Ronde Barber, the entire offensive line, Michael Koenen, Connor Barth, etc…, it’s tough for me to say there is zero talent on the roster. As a matter of fact, I think the Bucs have had better talent on their roster than the last two teams they have played, but lost by a combined score of 61-36.
It seems like we keep hearing that the team is not executing, is out of gaps, and not in position week in and week out. Raheem Morris even spoke of cutting back on the amount of plays each week to help the “young” players focus more solely on a limited number of plays and running those perfectly.
See, for me, it’s not about talent. These players are talented. For the same players to be making the same mental mistakes each week that leads to a lack of execution, being out of gaps, or out of position means that the people directing them are not doing a good enough job of getting their point and/or the corrections across. That’s the part of the team that needs the most improvement.
There’s no doubt the Bucs talent vs. coaching debate will rage on for quite a while.
There’s no right answer or any sense in fingering Mark Dominik or Raheem Morris exclusively for the Bucs’ demise, but Joe definitely sides with The Commish; the Bucs’ 2012 talent level is far, far better than their performance this season.
December 7th, 2011 at 9:28 am
If it takes thirteen weeks to determin the players arent getting the system then who is coaching at practice this is hog wash a change must very soon come from the top down period .
December 7th, 2011 at 9:43 am
foxworth Says:
December 7th, 2011 at 9:28 am
If it takes thirteen weeks to determin the players arent getting the system then who is coaching at practice this is hog wash a change must very soon come from the top down period .
@foxworth
I couldn’t agree more! This guy is looking worse by the day with all his excuses and justifications. NOW he has to DUMB up the defense? PUHLEASE!!!!!
December 7th, 2011 at 9:57 am
Still think THe Bucs need a MLB .. Foster would be an awesome replacement for Quincy Black at Sam. Foster only has 3 tackles in 3 games. He is smallish for MLB. The Bucs don’t play Tampa 2 much so let’s get Manti Teo and draft a press corner as it seems we have our best results in man coverage.
Don’t forget we beat the Saints with Hayward at MLB.
December 7th, 2011 at 10:00 am
The Bucs played the Saints and the Packers in man coverage and had our best defense results of the year. Build on that.
December 7th, 2011 at 10:01 am
Also Joe. Just wondering what is our Defense like now stat wise compared to the Bates Era??
December 7th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Coaching is severely hurting the Bucs now, as everyone with any football knowledge knows. The defections or promotions or whatever of the Dungy era defensive coaches has crippled the Bucs because those respective coaches were never replaced with equally talented coaches. Someone should consult Coach Dungy and ask him who he would reccomend to hire on the defensive side of the ball. Problem is, when you fire someone the way Dungy was fired, he may just smile and say good luck. Try and get someone like Sapp or Lynch or Brooks to coach on the defensive side of the ball. For the right price, I’m sure they would consider it. Just my two cents. Fact, our current regime is an epic failure.
December 7th, 2011 at 10:42 am
The only thing Justin doesn’t say is that these are all coaching issues!! Go figure, execution, being out of gaps, penalties, silly mistakes, hmmmm sounds like we have a lousy coach. Oh yeah we do.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:03 am
OT but Jared Allen admits he punched Ray Edwards in the d!ck when the Vikings played the Falcons. THUG!!!!!!1!!!one!!1!
lol
December 7th, 2011 at 11:26 am
jvato, i think moving foster to sam and drafting a mlb in the 1st round is absolutely going to be a consideration this year. in fact i would say lb/cb are going to be about a 50/50 decision where we’re going to be picking.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:28 am
In somewhat of a defense of Rah let me state this.
In 2008 the bucs started 9-3, then fell apart the last four games.
Same team right?
Did Jon Gruden and Kiffin forget how to coach for the last four games? I think not. The truth is that despite the 9-3 start, the team was fundamentally flawed.
Same is true here. Even with all the premature crowing about Dom and the great drafting and whatnot, the team is still fundamentally flawed. The roster does not match up to other NFL teams.
That being said, Rah is a horrific defensive coordinator. But blame also goes up the line from him to Dom and then the Glazer boys.
And, the Glazer boys are the problem that encompasses both Gru and Rah.
Not a Rah fan but it all cant be put on him, IMO.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:32 am
I’m with the Commish.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Last year everyone was preaching how the strength of our defense was our DBs, who were in the Top 10 in the league, while our D-Line was terrible, one of the worst in the league.
This year, most agree that our D-Line has improved significantly, especially at the DE positions. However, our DBs have been a complete liability.
But wait, don’t we have the same players in the secondary, except now we have TJax back?
Why is this? What could possibly cause our players to get so much worse?
The answer is: it’s not the players. It’s the scheme. The same reason why our defense was terrible for the first half of 09 and then improved tremendously when we left the Bates scheme.
The answer is: scheme, coaching, fundamentals.
This is actually good news: it’s a lot easier to adjust the scheme and coaches than it is to start from scratch with new players.
December 7th, 2011 at 11:40 am
THis has been my thought for awhile. We need a new identity (coach). We have some talent, but holding on to the old bucs ways and not progressing with new ideas is killing this team. they need to let go of the past and start new with someone outside of the old bucs regimes. What kind of upgrade would jimmy lake be at D coordinator. He would just bring in the same old tired ideas of Raheem and Monte. We need all new buc theory and philosophy. Wash hands of Raheem, Dom, and Olsen….Sorry, but it has to happen in order to grow up
December 7th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
I’ve said it many time. This team is loaded with talent. Sure we are missing a couple key spots that we really need to upgrade this year. Over all tho, this team is stacked with young talent. They just need to be guided right. I bet there is a LOT of coaches in and out of the NFL who would love a chance to coach this team up and make them great.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
but i doubt most would come here simply because of the ownership!
See i can’t place all the blame on the coaching staff. I think the problem is MUCH MUCH bigger then that. I am pointing fingers out the ownership my self. They are putting in no effort to make the Buccaneer brand a winning brand. They just seem to treat it like a small business and squeeze every penny out of it they can.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
I don’t know why Foster is still getting a pass. He’s soft and slow, two horrible qualities for any NFL LB. I’m all for finding an undersized quicker LB that will actually fill and strike.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
It isn’t JUST the coaching. Players still have to execute.
And another influence is the league rule changes. The Tampa 2 has been greatly limited by the changes when it comes to coverage. I believe that’s why we are seeing more penalties.
Players are having trouble addapting to the new rules…which are designed to create higher scoring games to sell tickets.
December 7th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Dom’s hands are tied by the Glazers who refused to spend money. Thats why we have Dom and why we have Raheem. Both rookies in their roles saddled with an uworkable payroll. No spending=horrible team. The problem is that Rah should never have been given such responsibility and he is a terrible head coach. When the Glazers decide to spend money we might get better. Fortunately at some point the NFL dictates they must so they will have a gun to their head to get better. You get what you pay for in this league and we have garbage.
December 7th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
Tampa is loaded with talent, the problem is, our competitors are loaded with more and better talent that is better coached, and our record reflects that.
December 7th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
@Pete: I agree somewhat. Yes, the players still have to execute. I put the missed tackles on them. I put the lack of gap control on them, mostly.
But the fact that they aren’t in the position to make the tackle in the first place because the scheme told them not to be there, that’s all scheme.
Also, you’ll find out you have a lot more missed tackles due to scheme because players are out of position and constantly reaching for players.
December 7th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Agree with Justin.
We have plenty of talent. Before you lose these young players with poor coaching, it is high time we get an experienced coaching staff in that will make these young players believe that they belong in the NFL.
NFL coordinators = Chess players with NFL players as the pawns
Raheem = Terrible chess player
Raheem is getting out coached by the other few teams in the NFL.
There are only 32 teams in the world. Is Raheem Morris really the best the Glazers can do? Really? Is he even in the top 32? Come on, everyone knows this answer.
If the Glazers want to own a billion dollar franchise, then get a head coach with some got dang experience.
December 7th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
In my opinion, we are probably about average in the talent department as compared to the rest of the NFL. However, our potential talent is above average, but that is due to our youth. It is the responsibility of the coaches to develop that talent, and I really haven’t seen much development of any player this year. That is concerning to me.
That being said, we still have a couple HUGE holes on our roster. LB is the first one that comes to mind. Speed on offense is another. Another running back that can actually run the ball would be nice too. Definitely need another CB and safety (Jones is in a gotsta go situation for me). All of these needs can and should be addressed in the offseason, although we may have to use the dreaded free agency (insert screaming noise here).
December 7th, 2011 at 8:44 pm
It’s simple the coaches SUCK
FIRE RAHEEM MORRIS NOW!!!!!!
IHCRC
December 7th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
People soon forget about the a$$anine lock out. Experts said that the young teams such as the Bucs would probably strugle the most (they were right and we were in denial). They missed a lot of work and being as young as they are, that work was vital to their growth as professionals. So cut them some slack! Now as far as coaches go, I do believe we need a D-coordinator to help Raheem (he needs to concentrate on being a head coach, hes not experienced enough to do both, yet) and an offensive coordinator that wont call that stupid play with Ben again and that will get Blount the dang ball. On that note: I hope we get the LB Vontaze Berfict from Arizona State seeing as it looks like we will be picking in the top 5 (this kid looks mean, plays mean) to pare up with Fostor and if Black doesnt step up soon than I see Dekota Watson taking his place. There will be plenty of talent in the second round for a CB like the kid from Georgia, Brandon Boykin .