“Hardest Thing Has Been It’s A Total Change”

November 21st, 2009

Joe keeps wondering why Jim Bates and Raheem The Dream offer fundamentally different interpretations of the Bucs' defense

Not again.

Not yet another contradictory statement about the Bucs’ defense from the guys who run it, live it, and believe in it.

Joe would love to get off the subject of the Bucs’ horrendous defense. If the Bucs would just get a few sacks and hold a team to under 300 yards en route to a victory, or at least show some improvement that would put the defense in the below-average realm, that would be easy.

But in addition to the poor play, there’s this annoying, ever-changing public interpretation of the defense by Raheem The Dream and Jim Bates that leads Joe  — and probably most thinking people — to believe they may not be on the same page.

Just yesterday, Joe spelled out many of these contradictions. The latest was the Raheem The Dream saying on Wednesday, during a media conference call, that Monte Kiffin was progressing toward the current scheme last year and there’s “not much difference” between the 2009 defense and that of year’s past.

“The previous regime we worked with we tried to transform it a little bit to this package we’re in right now. We just transformed over to it. There’s not much difference. There’s a lot of the same coverages, little different verbiage, different teachings and some more understanding of different things we may not have talked about before. We have all the stuff we had before. We’ve just added some things we needed to add from before and now we’re just putting it all together. We have a bunch of young guys that have to buy into it and grow into it together and see where we can go.

But wait a minute. Now Jim Bates now tells Tom Balog, of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, that his defense is a complete overhaul.

“The hardest thing has been it’s a total change,” Bates said.

This Abbott and Costello routine is getting old fast.

Joe prefers the real thing:

  • 3 Responses to ““Hardest Thing Has Been It’s A Total Change””

    1. Trox Says:

      Pressure-oriented scheme? Bates blitzes less than Monte did, now that’s saying something. Bottom line, Morris will survive because as long as Freeman shows even modest improvement, he will get another year. Bates will have to be the sacrificial lamb of the staff. Olson will stay to try and give continuity to Freeman for next year.

      Mr. Bates will be cleaning out his office about 3 days after the last game.

    2. J Lynch says Says:

      Morris should shut his pie hole.. How can one guy say complete overhaul and Radio say we were transitioning to Bates’ scheme?? Nothing adds up at all with this guy.

    3. Mr. Lucky Says:

      Well at least Morris got ONE thing right when he said the Bucs defense was ““The previous regime we worked with we tried to transform it a little bit to this package we’re in right now. We just transformed over to it. There’s not much difference.”

      I guess the Bucs starting using this “Bates” system starting at game 12 last year right? So can we assume that this “NEW DEFENSIVE SYSTEM” is responsible for 12 losses then?