Is Schiano Losing His Grip?
December 16th, 2012
Joe needs two hands to count the former NFL players, including Derrick Brooks, Booger McFarland and Shaun King, that months ago made it very clear that Greg Schiano’s micromanaging, heavy-handed approach needed to be accompanied by early winning and sustained improvement.
If not, they said, Schiano’s dictatorial style absolutely would wear thin relatively quickly, mutinous thoughts would permeate the Bucs locker room, and play would spiral downhill.
Now Joe’s not saying the Bucs have quit on Schiano and collectively are doubting their leader, but it’s likely that at least some Bucs — and possibly man — aren’t “buying in” like they were a few weeks ago. Maybe that’s just part of the process; Schiano learning which players are weak and which can thrive and battle when December stress rolls around.
Joe’s not concerned right now about a mutiny. But the question must be asked and the situation examined.
There’s no doubt in Joe’s mind Schiano will turn up the heat in these last couple of weeks like Bucs players have never seen before.
“We’ll see what kind of fight is in this team, and in this coaching staff and in this organization,” Schiano said on the Buccaneers Radio Network after the game.
Hopefully, the Bucs will respond.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:06 pm
They mailed it in. They lost a heartbreaker to Atlanta. Manning ate their lunch. They thought the Eagles would roll over and die for them, ending the losing streak. It didn’t happen. With the playoffs all but lost, they figured why risk injury? They quit. It makes perfect sense. Those CBs know they won’t be here next year.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:11 pm
All i know is….he needs to stop blowing up the Victory Formation at the end of games. That is total B.S.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Too early in the process to start talking like this. Coach is getting rid of the dead weight from the last staff while incorporating his people’s and it just can’t happen in one year. Coach has my full support and he has had some success. I.e better against the run, better running the ball, and better football overall. I see a d line struggling to get pressure. Clayborn is a factor there. The bucs have no secondary right now and the bucs are getting inconsistent qb play. Solve those issues and I think we are looking at playoffs. I could not even watch the bucs last year. Today was frustrating but even good teams have days like these. I.e giants today. It is how the team responds to this and we will see next week against a beatable rams team with no passing game.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
I didn’t see anyone “QUIT”
Not sure what game you were watching.
Freeman’s INTs are him pressing because the defense can’t stop teams from passing for 400 yards every week.
The CBs have not mailed it in, they simply suck.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Time to bench Freeman now and play Orlovsky to see who will be the better backup QB. Acquire or draft a starter QB. Free is just too inconsistent! As far as our secondary, yep, most should be let go!
December 16th, 2012 at 7:26 pm
they look like quiters to me…..
December 16th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
I agree with Dave to a degree when your behind that much he was forcing big plays, Bree’s threw what 9 int in 2 games? Yes I expect a reaction to that comment such as * he won a Super Bowl? Is a Super Bowl MVP ? But Bree’s did and does the same thing u get behind and roll the dice on forced plays to get back into the game, noooo Freeman’s not Bree’s I’m not comparing the two on careers but will state if he made certain passes which we are aware he didn’t his stock would be through the roof, what’s the answer, it’s above my pay scale, all I can do it hope for josh to show up with some type of support, since blame on this loss, is on all positions and coaches
December 16th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Inexcusable loss.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Hey Ctord — don’t tell me it’s too early when I’m paying $400 a game for my seats. They quit, they stink, or the coaching has lost it. Take you pick.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Taking over a Raheem Morris team and making it work is too tall a task. Takes time to crawl out of the abyss.
It is, however, disturbing that our franchise QB is regressing mightily. And there is more to it than the twirl move.
Huge freakin problem IMO.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Anyone else think that it could just be the players? I mean, I don’t see how this happens to two coaching staffs in a row. I think there needs to be some major roster changes and possibly new Gm that Schiano could maybe pick out. Who has Dominik brought in that is elite other than the FA/ draft picks that we have brought in this year? I say start with Dominik and move your way down to Sheridan and then the roster.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Joe I have to disagree w/ you on this one…plz go back to when the preseason was here & check the predictions of the Bucs!…even tho I would be HIGHLY disappointed if we end the season on another losing streak…this season is already a success!..as “bad” as Freeman has played the Bucs offensive is still one of the best in the NFL minus D. Joesph & C. Nicks…I’m very pleased w/ Schiano & the season…so more work to do w/ Freeman’s footwork + pocket awareness, DBs and more D-Line depth (AC will come back) so let’s not panic Bucs fans!
December 16th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
BRING BACK MONTE!!! Free is too inconsistent, we should trade him to a team like the Cardinals who desperately need a QB and maybe trade for Kirk Cousins or try to get Alex Smith while drafting a QB. Other than that a couple of highly touted DBs with Rodgers Cromartie and we will be set for next year. I would like to think even a mediocre QB could hit Martin 2 yards downfield…
December 16th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Agreed killian!! Bring back Monte!!
December 16th, 2012 at 7:55 pm
sure would be nice once and a while if there would be a discussion about our g.m. sure he isn’t at fault for a full decade of horrible drafts but since 2009 he sure is and his track record is a main reason for days like today. it’s real easy to bring in high priced free agents. it takes someone who knows what he’s doing to draft successfully something he seems unable to do. i find it impossible to believe this franchise can’t find a better option to this rockstar.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
This is not the coach. poor quarterback play. I think he will remain a good QB against mediocrity but will falter when class is present. I think its time to start thinking ahead. We need 3 offensive line pieces and 4 for defensive. Without quality secondary you will never be more than an after thought in this league.
December 16th, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Agreed, I would love to have Monte back. Our defense has been sh!t since he left.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
And why the hell don’t they trade Blount for a draft pick if they aren’t going to use him at all?
December 16th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I’m not saying us losing is a good thing by any means, but if we continue to lose it will help reveal those who quit so that we can finally purge the rest of the players who should not be on the team. we purged some of them at the beginning of the season but some have slipped through the cracks that will be brought to light during this final stretch of the season, in which case we can cut them. so in some ways losing is a good way to see what kind of team you really have.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
Can we start a petition to bring Monte back? We need a new DC. This isn’t a problem with players getting acclimated to the system, this is a problem with the system.
I believe this defense can be fixed with a new DC and couple of NFL players to take over for the children attempting to play cornerback here.
41-0, amazing.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
its easy to be on board when everything is going good, its that bad times that show your true character that will help Schiano weed out those who need to be gone.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Jersey bully through and through. I’ll be shocked if he rights the ship this season. He’ll get all the credit if he can
December 16th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
I hate to say it Joe but I think they did mail it in.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Schiano’s fine Freeman on the other hand WTF!!! I never thought he could be so bad. I know are CB’s suck, but we didn’t invest in a first round pick with none of them. This is not exceptable in any kind of way. Who know mabey because of his inconsistency will get him to a real cheap, no gaurantee money. Too much around him to be playing like that. Looks like Clark is Freeman new K2 interception guy.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Regardless if the players should be there or not, they are there on the field and they are getting paid handsomely to play the game. Whether they do or do not believe in the system or in the COach….they’re still getting paid. Seems that is what Schiano has been trying to get through to them all – that this is a job, no longer just a game they get to play. Time for them to start playing like it.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
I guess its safe to assume that all the buzz about Sully leaving to another team as a HC is dead. 41-0 does not warrant much attention from other teams
December 16th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
Unfortunately they can’t trade anyone until the season is over…. For the good teams.
Freeman looks scared. Freeman looks jumpy. Freeman looks like $h!t.
Dallas Clark sucked today.
Our defense has perfected the Cover Nobody defense.
Schiano is losing control. After the game they said Schiano may have used up all of his padded practices already.
I’m afraid to go to the Rams game next week. I’d hate to lose to them by 40 pts but I see it coming.
On a more positive note: We suck.
December 16th, 2012 at 8:51 pm
“Joe needs two hands to count the former NFL players, including Derrick Brooks, Booger McFarland and Shaun King, that months ago made it very clear that Greg Schiano’s micromanaging, heavy-handed approach needed to be accompanied by early winning and sustained improvement.”
If I remember correctly it was Miguel Grande that first said that.
On the 1st day of training camp.
The big question is, if they lose the final six, does the Little General get the ax. Gruden was 9-3 when he lost the final 4 and he was in the 1st year of his contract and he won a Super Bowl with the Bucs. Oh my!
Now can we stop talking playoffs?
December 16th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
@vic. I feel your pain because I pay for seats as well. My point is football is a scheme and system sport. You need to fit the proper players to the proper system and that has not occurred yet. Sorry but I did not see the quit. What I do see is a secondary that is over matched by rookies never mind a MVP. I see a very inconsistent quarterback. I also see a much better tackling team and a better product overall. 3/4 of a season is too early to talk about getting rid of a coach that seems to,have the team headed in the right direction. Remember this team was beyond awful last year and have grown leaps this year. So I respectfully disagree with you.
December 16th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I think we stand a good shot at last in the division, for the third time in four seasons under the fine leadership of Mark “losing streak” Dominik.
December 16th, 2012 at 9:06 pm
Seven game losing streak in 09
Ten game losing streak in 2011
Four and counting in 2012
Common denominator?
December 16th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
6-10 guys.
The Rams are gonna whoop our ass next week. Sam Bradford will have a career day against EJ Biggers and Myron Lewis.
A month ago we looked like the 2010 Bucs. A decent football team.
Now we’re the 2011 Bucs again in a matter of weeks!
December 16th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Anybody who is pushing for Kirk Cousins is completely out of their mind. We have a good (not great) 4th year qb willing to improve (look at other guys his age- Flacco thinks he’s an elite QB and Sanchez is more concerned with dating and modeling than getting better) and you would have us throw that away for …. Kirk Cousins? Why not ask for Kevin Kolb or Tavaris Jackson or Matt Flynn or some other guy that’s had 1 good game and therefore will be able to come in and save the franchise? Some of the posts on this site are just silly, especially the ones that think that Kirk Cousins (Who btw plays in an offense where short passes are the bread and butter- how many of you are angry when we dink and dunk?) will be better off running the offense than Josh Freeman
December 16th, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Offensive line down 4 starters lousy corners horribly INCONSITENT quarter back why blame Schiano no players no depth Get rid of freeman he sucks.
December 16th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
They quit on Morris after what happened in London, now this?
December 16th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
This is a team of LOSERS and MISFITS. Plain and simple.
December 16th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
I just watched Freeman’s press conference and he stated he does not see where his game has regressed during this losing streak.Really Josh.At least have the courage to admit you’re struggling.
December 16th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
We got beat. We didn’t ‘quit’. That’s just fan babble. The Giants got bet 34-0 today so it happens. We are not a complete team yet. When we play well offensively we can stay in most games but lately our offense has gone south. I don’t know how to explain Freeman. At times this year he’s seemed to have all the poise and leadership, make all the throws, etc. Then there’s the other Freeman who just seems to be unable to pull the trigger and when he does it’s not a good throw. It’s puzzling for sure.
We have to understand that this is not Schiano’s team yet. He will make trades and draft players that he wants for this system. Who knows, he may not feel like Freeman is the guy. If he doesn’t come around next season I believe he’ll be gone. At any rate, most everyone predicted this team to go 6-10 before the season started (yes, I remember all the predictions with .500 being the most optimistic) I’d say they have fulfilled most expectations and shown an improvement on last year. This is the first game we have lost all season by more than 1 score. We desperately need a new secondary…. have all year. A better secondary and we would have won at least 3 more games this year.
I’m still excited about the future of this team but I have to admit, Freeman is a work in progress that is maddening to witness and I’m just not sure he’ll ever live up to his expectations. I do believe that if we get our defense fixed we’ll still score enough points to win most of our games and see the playoffs next year.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Bobby give me a break, this team sucks horribly. We beat sh!t teams (KC, Carolina, Raiders) but he can’t EVER beat any GOOD, or even half-decent teams), with the lone exception of the Vikings. This is a worse version of the 2010 team, with the difference that Freeman is playing worse than he did that year. Our defense is worse than 2011 (can you believe that)?
The only serious improvement we’ve made is our run defense! We’ve been “rebuilding” for four seasons now. It’s been “we’re not quite there yet” for four seasons now. It’s been “don’t worry, we’ll get a good draft pick” (yeah hopefully) in the draft for four seasons now. You get my point? It’s been a loser team and a loser mentality since Dominick and Freeman came in. We’ve had no playoff appearances, haven’t been legitimate contenders once, haven’t been respected, etc.
We have the talent capable of getting us more wins. There’s no excuse. We had our opportunities, and we didn’t execute.
As for Freeman, he should be a very good quarterback by now. A franchise quarterback doesn’t play great for 4 straight weeks, and then do the complete opposite for the next 4 weeks. A franchise quarterback makes adjustments and fixes the mistakes. Freeman doesn’t do that. He is mentally weak and doesn’t get it done when we need him too.
We need a complete overhaul of our secondary in the offseason, and possibly a new defensive coordinator as well. In other words, we need to have a great team in all areas being that Freeman is unreliable and can’t carry a football team like REAL franchise quarterbacks can.
Look what the likes of Ryan, Luck and RGIII did in their rookie seasons. Not that Freeman needs to be one of them, but he’s in YEAR FOUR now and he’s not even playing better than Luck and RGIII (who are rookies). Hell, he’s barely in the top half of NFL quarterbacks, maybe not even that. Time to start babying Joshua and start being hard on him.
Don’t cut him yet, but sign a QB in free agency, or draft one in the later rounds this offseason. Let the QB either push Freeman to do better, or take his job.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
May be losing his grip on reality. Most inept offensive performance since we used Terry Hanratty to take on the steelers in 76.
With a touch of Jack Thompson thrown in.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Its realy simple folks. Injuries have caught up to us. O Line was terrible. D line didnt get any pressure again and the corners flat out suck. Vince Lombardi could not win with this team. We started the year with everybody knowing that depth was an issue. Guess what it is. Can’t blame that on coaching.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
I agree the freaking bums quit on a good coach. What a bunch of POS’s
December 16th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Trash=Josh Freeman so what do with trash you through it away. Draft a qb or sign one in FA
December 16th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
No he’s not, and simply put: he will maintain his grip on this team by taking the appropriate actions (Ala QB changes) he has to make to ensure that he doesn’t. .
December 16th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Sorry I kno.trash when I see it and freeman is TRASH
December 16th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
If he wants to keep his team from quitting and let them know he holds all parties accountable, then he needs to excuse Bill Sheridan from the team. He’s freaking awful.
December 16th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
The coach has a season now and knows what he has. Keep things real. Good teams watch film and execute. 2009/2010 teams did not know much about Freeman. As Good teams found his weakness was pressure, they found ways to bring it. So you get the 2011/2012 Freeman. Same works with defense. Secondary weakness, The more the old defense left what did film show? No pressure up front ect.. secondary second rate. Good teams exploit weakness IF they can. The teams we beat can’t get pressure on Freeman. So he puts up all kind of points. But they can pass on our secondary and hold up against our front. The only real change there has been is run stop. They also now are finding ways to stop Martin. This is a 2 Back league. I think they have figured him out but the team has worn him out too.
Coach has not lost his grip. But I think a bunch of players are about to on their jobs.
December 17th, 2012 at 12:08 am
At this point no one wants to blame Schiano because he was suppose to be the Savior. If you blame Schiano, now you have to ask yourself why was Rah the scapegoat. It’s neever been a Coaching problem, it’s the players!
December 17th, 2012 at 1:18 am
The man’s primary experience is with Rutgers.
December 17th, 2012 at 3:02 am
If there is quit, the only constant is the players, owners and GM. Can’t rest that on the new coaching staff. We’d have to rest that on the remaining constants.
December 17th, 2012 at 4:35 am
Im serious, I said it before we even played today, just lose out….the season is done. Play Orlovsky and play Blount! Time to test who we may keep or let go. We already know who should be replaced in the secondary. And Free should be a backup now…..thats right, make him think about his poor decision making as a backup. Theres other talented QB’s who would LOVE the opportunity that he’s pissing away!
December 17th, 2012 at 5:23 am
Blount???
December 17th, 2012 at 6:59 am
Schiano is not the problem here, I have never liked the Sheridan hire though. The Injuries and lack of depth has exposed us. I wouldn’t give freeman an extension at this time. Bring in another QB via draft or FA and give free one more year (2013) if he still plays the same, can his ass and move on.
December 17th, 2012 at 7:49 am
@Patrick…get a grip buddy! You sound like a disappointed teenage girl. They are nowhere close to where they were in 2011. Did we have the #1 rushing defense in the league in 2011? Did we go a five week stretch in 2011 leading the league in points scored?? Are you telling me that with a decent pass defense we wouldn’t have beaten the Giants, Falcons, and Saints this year? We should easily be 9-5 right now. Our pass defense sucks…I’ll agree with you on that point.
If you can’t see progress then you are way too emotionally unstable to follow a football team. Lot’s of fans are like that. If their team loses it’s the end of the world every time. I get it. I just don’t get that caught up in it. I love the Bucs but it’s just football. They should improve next year and I still think they will win a super bowl under Schiano but they are a work in progress.
December 17th, 2012 at 9:53 am
@ Eric only Rutgers? What about 2 years in the NFL with the Bears, or 2 seasons with Miami hurricanes, 4 years with Penn state …. Sure his longest tenure was 11 seasons as head coach at Rutgers. But that is far from his only experience… Glad to see you back on the JBF, where where you the first 3/4 of the season? Or are you like Dracula and only come out when were not above .500?
December 17th, 2012 at 10:38 am
@RustyRhino,
Sorry, those arent the credentials of a NFL head coach. Lost of guys coached at various colleges. Besides I said “primary”.
Not coming out unless we are under .500 means I am out over 90% of the time with this franchise, since 08 anyway.