Barrett Ruud is devastated by his missed tackles against New England, so he told Stephen Holder of the St. Pete Times.

“It always starts in the mirror,” he said. “And it’s not going to be good when you play, individually, like I did. That’s where I start. There’s just too many bad plays. And it’s been consistently bad plays. All I can do is work harder.”

Joe’s feeling the debilitating growing pains of linebackers Geno Hayes and Quincy Black, too. 

Are these guys getting better? Or are they just out there because the Bucs stink and they’re in over their heads as young players who weren’t high draft picks to start with? 

Jim Bates was known for taking a hand-on approach with linebackers during his time in Denver. And linebackers coach Joe Barry has a Super Bowl ring with the Bucs when he filled that same role in 2002.

So, of course, the Bucs struggles at linebacker couldn’t be a result of coaching. Right?

Joe will take a moment now to remind Bucs fans of a quote from general manager Mark Dominik  in early August.

Dominik on linebackers: “It’s probably our strongest position on our football team, suprisingly I bet to a lot of our fans. That our depth and our talent is pretty good there. So that’s a good battleground to watch during training camp if you want to see some real competition.”

Joe was never sure what Dominik was thinking when he said that. And Joe is still at a loss for words.

Perhaps it’s just of those things that Raheem The Dream says “fans never really understand.”