Lovie Sings Praises Of Tim Wright
August 21st, 2014
Bucs coach Lovie Smith, days after publicly scolding Bucs TE Tim Wright, today lauded the second-year NFLer.
The ups and downs and twists and turns of Bucs preseason, the inaugural season of the Lovie Smith regime, took another hard left turn in the straightaway today. In a slightly surprising move during his post-practice presser, Lovie sang the song of satisfaction when discussing Bucs tight end Tim Wright.
Mind you, this is the same Tim Wright who found himself in Lovie’s doghouse when Lovie called out Wright for suddenly displaying inconsistent hands and not being the most crisp blocker.
Granted, no one expected Wright to block like Jimmie Giles, but Lovie’s stern words earlier were a surprise.
When asked today if Wright now found himself on the bubble, Lovie made certain everyone watching knew Lovie really, really liked Wright.
“He’s responded well,” Lovie said of his public spanking on Wright. “Let me go back and talk on Tim, I love Tim Wright as a football player. You go through spells where you don’t play your best ball for a short period of time. When I talked then, it was a little period of time where Tim hadn’t played his best ball, but you look at the big picture, Tim Wright has been a good football player for us, we like what he’ll be able to do.
“There have been other days where I talked about going forward what we’re going to do with him, you can split him out and the matchups we’ll have with safeties and linebackers. You can catch me at any time and I might be disappointed in a player, but big picture, no there’s no disappointment with Tim Wright. We like him being on our football team.”
It was a stunning development to Joe earlier this week when Lovie called out Wright. Some even speculated he might not be on the team after the Bucs cut down to the final-53 in two weeks.
Joe guesses now Bucs fans, after the latest Lovie curveball, can start to wonder if it is now Luke Stocker who needs to be renting.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Is Lovie bipolar!? As long as the Bucs have winning records and more Super Bowl victories I’ll drink the Lovie kook aid, but when I read posters here saying how Lovie treats players like grown men and is a straight shooter I am starting to question that. I guess “Just win baby.”
August 21st, 2014 at 4:13 pm
I highly suspect that we will keep 4 TEs. So, Wright, Stocker, ASJ and Meyers will likely all be here on the final 53. No need for any of them to really worry. TE seems to be a priority in this offense from what little we have seen so far.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:16 pm
No reason to keep 4 TE’s. Not to mention I can’t see Stocker being picked up by another team if he’s cut. He’ll be around if they need him. Hope they don’t.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:27 pm
They kept 4 last year coming out of training camp. Why are you so certain they won’t this year, Friend?
Nate Byham, Tom Crabtree, Luke Stocker and Tim Wright.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:41 pm
@adamant that is a great point. This offense will be utilizing the position so much more, I can see them keeping 4.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:52 pm
They’re also gonna keep four because they’re all talented. Stocker the least talented of the 4
August 21st, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Just rmember: We are ALL day-to-day.
August 21st, 2014 at 5:11 pm
Stocker will be very useful in games where the Bucs have a lead in the fourth quarter and need to burn some clock with the run.
August 21st, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Clearly Tim Wright’s mom gave Lovie a phone call…
August 21st, 2014 at 5:18 pm
People put way, way too much emphasis on what coaches and GMs say to the media.
Look at his words on Revis. Or on expecting to compete this year. And so on. It’s called coach speak.
It’s way easier to just watch what they do. Look at who they release, who they sign, etc.
Coaches say all sorts of crap. Don’t believe the hype.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Wright had the 3rd best rookie season for a tight end this century. If that doesn’t say keep him I’m not sure what will. He will probably never be a great blocker at his size.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:27 pm
I have no idea why they want to keep stocker just because he can block? ? Please this is not 1999 anymore the nfl is a passing league and you need as many playmakers as possible to be able to compete
August 21st, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Lovie was just trying to motivate Wright (too bad Cheeseburger Bowers doesn’t respond to such public admonishing). No way Wright was anywhere near the bubble after his productive showing from last season. Luke “IR” Stocker? He is good enough to get picked up if he is cut (lets keep it real – he was going to be our starting TE for the past couple of seasons if not for his fondness for the IR). I predict we go with 3 TEs and Stocker is cut; we have so much potential at the WR positions we need to keep some of those guys.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:48 pm
“Lovie was just trying to motivate Wright (too bad Cheeseburger Bowers doesn’t respond to such public admonishing)”
Which is kind of my point. Publicly admonishing players through the media instead of talking to them one on one if there’s an issue with effort or performance doesn’t seem like treating them like adults or men. Lovie is truly the Tampa media darling for now anyway
August 21st, 2014 at 7:59 pm
Lovie knows how to motivate his players and the secret is in knowing which techniques will prove positive with which player and which ones will be turned off by reading about themselves in the media. His players always love him, so he is a master at motivation, so you won’t here me criticizing Lovie for his public statements, but the big fans of Glennon need to realize that Lovie calling him the QB of the future, may be no more of Lovie’s attempt to motivate him to take his game to a new level. So far nothing has been able to bring Glennon to even a capable number 2 QB. He is an incorrigible loser.
I think he will make it to the last cut, but if he blows the game against Washington in the last Preseason Game, Lovie needs to show him the door like he did Williams who did not change his ways, either.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Tim Wright can be seen as WR, have less WRs and keep 4 TEs because Wright can be either or.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:02 pm
Tom Edrington Says:
August 21st, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Just rmember: We are ALL day-to-day.
–Post of the YEAR!
August 21st, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Give me a f***£¥+# break please
August 22nd, 2014 at 6:22 am
Louis Friend Says:
August 21st, 2014 at 4:16 pm
No reason to keep 4 TE’s. Not to mention I can’t see Stocker being picked up by another team if he’s cut. He’ll be around if they need him. Hope they don’t.
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Really? If the team likes to play 3 TEs in the game at once, wouldn’t it make sense to have a 4th available in case of injury? Teams don’t go into games with 5 offensive linemen, 1 RB, 1 QB. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
August 22nd, 2014 at 6:24 am
ander Says:
August 21st, 2014 at 6:27 pm
I have no idea why they want to keep stocker just because he can block? ? Please this is not 1999 anymore the nfl is a passing league and you need as many playmakers as possible to be able to compete
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Well, hell, you’re right! We should just put Tommy Streeter at one TE, Robert Herron at the other, and Eric Page at the 3rd spot…. you know, because blocking is so freaking unimportant. It’s football. Running, throwing, catching, tackling, and blocking. A tight end’s job, first and foremost, is to block, then catch.
August 23rd, 2014 at 1:26 pm
Folks who dismiss Stocker amuse me. Yeah, the guy has been frustrating with his many injuries, but the bottom line is that—down in and down out—a TEs primary responsibility is blocking, and Stocker is far and away the team’s best inline blocking TE. I case some of you missed it he started last week’s game against the ‘Phins. I think the Bucs will keep 4 TEs, but even if they did not IMO Stocker’s job is secure. If they go with three TEs Myers, to me, is the guy who’d be on the bubble. He’s less explosive as a receiving threat than ASJ or Wright and he’s among the worst blockers in the game…which explains why he’s so well traveled.