“We Gotta Friggin’ Make Plays”
November 1st, 2017
Mike Smith was pointing at his players today, while also pointing at himself.
The defensive coordinator’s troops played better Sunday, but he sure seemed disturbed by the defense’s communication.
Smith’s passionate comments today sure felt a lot like 2016, when the “C” word was the drumbeat on the Bucs’ defensive troubles that led to a 3-5 record last year. Joe sniffed this out this morning before Smith took to the podium at One Buc Palace.
“It starts with going into the meeting rooms, communicating, taking that communication out on the field. And when you do that, you’re going to eliminate the big plays, because that’s been an Achilles heal of our defense as well,” Smith said. “So I think it starts with us getting together and making sure that we’re communicating not only in the meeting rooms but on the field. And it has to carry over with some consistency to the playing field on game day. And that’s what not happening. I tell the guys, ‘We play in a league that is at the top of the elite level and almost making plays ain’t going to get it, you know. We gotta friggin’ make plays.’ That’s what we gotta do. And when you almost make a play, you’re not going to get the result that you want. Three or four of them are going to be the difference in a game.”
Yes, the Bucs need to make “friggin'” plays. They also need to look like a nasty, hard-hitting swarming defense. That hasn’t been happening nearly enough.
Regardless, the Bucs were better defensively last Sunday, and hopefully that can be built upon against New Orleans, though Joe’s not sure how anyone beats Drew Brees without a pass rush.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:02 pm
Wow great self scouting there coach. Well looking at the bright side no one has to complain about GMC helping up opposing quarterbacks this year lol
November 1st, 2017 at 4:03 pm
This season is over! All you guys are going to do is ruin the high draft pick if decide to show up now.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Total Disarray!
November 1st, 2017 at 4:10 pm
Smith needs to quit saying friggin and start friggin playing the right people. He and his friggin defense sucks!!!!
November 1st, 2017 at 4:10 pm
We’re pressing as a team…coaches and players…..with the Saints coming to town. A team that will put pressure on both sides of the ball to make plays. You give Brees 4 seconds in the pocket….he’ll absolutely dissect us. Force Winston into a shoot out….statistically its not in our favor. If we can somehow find a way to win, this is the type of game that can get a teams mojo back.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:14 pm
Sorry sad pack of 53….supreme football players… have quit….there is NO leadership on this team other than the bitch and moaners pointing fingers elsewhere….”not my job”….mentality
November 1st, 2017 at 4:14 pm
He should be pointing at his QB that put up 3 points. LOL
November 1st, 2017 at 4:18 pm
Bobby M
I’m glad there are fans like you still around but most of us have become numb to the losing and I feel like that is the very reason this team isn’t physical and violent on defense, GMC and the leadership is numb to losing or they expect it
November 1st, 2017 at 4:20 pm
I have noticed that during all this losing It is not plastered every where like it was this is Winston’s Team. Seems to belong to everybody else. But if they were winning guess who it would belong to?
November 1st, 2017 at 4:23 pm
The team checked out faster than a street walker at the hourly motel down on Kennedy Blvd..
November 1st, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Wasnt communication the reason for the bad defense early on last year? And now the defense forgot how to communicate again?
Call m crazy but that sounds like poor coaching.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:31 pm
wewantgruden- Hey man,we’re all frustrated with the play of JW. Spoiler alert: He has flaws. You’ve been railing against him all day, and you are entitled. However, the defense is equally to blame for our woeful season. I’m just asking to stay on topic.
It seems like we have no legit DAWGS on the d-line, 1-2 LBs, and a secondary that, outside of Grimes is overmatched but tries. Sadly, there is no pipeline of up and coming talent on the d-line so, we are left only to hope that they step up against a Saints team that will literally shred us apart if we don’t get to the QB. Communication be damned! I keep hearing this excuse over and over. If a team is fundamentally sound, communication becomes secondary. AND, this is DEFENSE, not offense. SEE BALL, RIP THE HEAD OFF THE GUY WITH BALL. Any questions?!
November 1st, 2017 at 4:32 pm
NO MORE EXCUSES!
November 1st, 2017 at 4:33 pm
@Jason LMAO don’t f@#k with your top 5 draft pick smitty!
November 1st, 2017 at 4:33 pm
Mike Smith has proven he can get this unit to play at an exceptional level. I keep replaying in mind the second half of last year when this unit was forcing turnovers and making big stops. I don’t know what changed, how or even why but I have faith Mike Smith can right this ship. GO BUCS
The flip side is IF Winston’s injury is significant it might be better to sit him, put him on IR and start Fitz. Hate to see us follow the Colts down bad “Luck” road.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:34 pm
@Joeypoppems it’s both poor coaching and poor play on the defense. Whole team is unmotivated. Koetter needs to tear new asreholes instead he lets them play grabass.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:36 pm
Actually Lakeland, I thought the Bucs defense showed some promise in this last game against Carolina. Granted, the pass rush is still non-existent. And granted, Carolina converted way too many 3rd downs (8-for-17). But our rushing defense was a bit sturdier (held them to 100 yds on 31 carries … almost half of which came from Cam, and half of his yardage came on 1 long run). And our pass defense perked up a bit too (Cam was 18-for-32 for 154 yds & the Bucs really only gave up 1 long pass of 25 yds … unfortunately for a TD).
Plus, we got several of our young guys in the secondary a lot of time on the field (Evans – 100% … Ryan Smith – 97% … Elliott – 57% … Russell – 54% … Beckwith – 52%). VHIII played the whole game (well, 97% of the snaps, plus Kwon’s back on for 100% as was Lavonte.) Unfortunately, GMC’s still on-the-field too much (91%) as was Ayers (78%). Baker (54%), Gholston (45%) and McDonald (42%) need to up their play to get into the rotation more IMO.
Still, Smitty hit the nail on the head: “We Gotta Friggin Make Plays”. These guys are playing soft, not making tackles, not getting off blocks, etc. Time to step it up.
November 1st, 2017 at 4:41 pm
IF THEY WILL NOT MAKE PLAYS , FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL, YOU HAD TWO YEARS TO FIND SOMEONE SO IF WE CAN’T FIND A COACH TO GET THEM TO MAKE PLAYS WE FIND ANOTHER COACH AND IF WE CAN’T FIND A OWNER TO FIND A COACH THAT WILL FIND PLAYERS THEN WE FIND A NEW OWNER , AND THATS WHERE WE ARE AT , NEW OWNERS…….
November 1st, 2017 at 4:44 pm
Defense Rules, The defense did play good against Carolina. But the team is in Disarray. When one unit plays good, another unit plays bad. It seems like they never have a good game from all units.
November 1st, 2017 at 5:15 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with ya Lakeland. The only complete game we’ve had all year was Game 1 against Chicago. And I’m still not certain if we were that good in that game (only allowing 20 yds rushing) or if Chicago was that bad in that game.
The defense lacks talent on the DLine & in the secondary IMO, so I’m not expecting great things from them anymore. But our offense totally befuddles me. When I look at the Carolina game I come to only 1 conclusion: Jameis had no business being on that field. Being limited to 1 FG with our offense is criminal (well, not really, but I am REALLY disappointed). Jameis was the weak link & our HC had to know that. If not, then yes, we do need to be looking for a new HC. That’s 3 games in a row that Jameis has gotten more and more banged up. Sorry, but that’s friggin dumb (to use Smitty’s slang).
November 1st, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Remember one of the hard knocks episodes after a preseason game where JW threw the ball as he was being sacked and almost got picked, DK came out and said to Jameis.
” We don’t need you to force the ball like that, you gotta take care of the ball, WE HAVE A GOOD DEFENSE NOW”.
Muahahaha.
November 1st, 2017 at 5:55 pm
Bucs defense vs panthers was a fasade
Milli vanilli and ryan griffen smith can press and bang with 2 250lb slow recievers but they will get smoked by thomas and ginn
This is going to be the vikings game part 2
Milli vanilli play press on the line vs ted ginn? …lol
November 1st, 2017 at 7:05 pm
They will beat the saints and be 5-5 a couple weeks later.
November 1st, 2017 at 7:51 pm
it’s no mystery we have no identity along our defensive front. I mean we have McCoy but his haters have fully documented why that is not a good identity.
I don’t think that means the Bucs would be better off cutting ties with Gerald but they should have realized a long time ago that this team needed a new face along that front to establish an identy.
This current regime made the same tired mistake that those before them made and built the Dline around McCoy and filled in with role players. It’s almost like Geralds ProBowls and top 100 player achievements was the reason they continue to build around this guy instead of doing going a different direction.
The GM has to be on blame here for not identifying this need but so does whichever moron thought that signing Djax was going to make that big of a difference. If I were the Glazers I would find out which guy knows so little about football they talked Licht into spending most of the FA money of Jackson and I would fire them at the end of the season. I would also serioudly consider giring Licht for being dumb enough yo belueve that Djax waz goinb to make that bib a difference.
November 1st, 2017 at 7:54 pm
and Im not sorry for the typos……maybe if this team didnt have such a shatstorm(courtesy of joes) brewing in my head I could use my keyboard properly
November 1st, 2017 at 8:36 pm
C’mon man!!!!! Don’t tell me your going to buy into the defense playing better last Sunday. It was a game against a bad offense on a windy friggin day where Cam Newton wasn’t even breathed on once.
Drew Brees and that offense are going to abuse this team on Sunday. It’s going to be the definition of an embarrassment. They will generate first down after first down after first down, then Jamies will be tasked with the impossible Duty of keeping up. This defense was based on very opportunistic turnovers last season in the 5 game stretch where they performed well. In other words luck. The kind of luck that runs out very quickly.
Smith has to go. Everyone want to know whats up with James’s head? It’s the defense. You can’t put your young QB out there and expect him to thrive knowing the other half of the team can’t get his back.
Kamara and Ingram are going to run wild Sunday while Jameis does everything possible to keep up which will lead to forces throws and turnovers.
November 1st, 2017 at 9:07 pm
Bud em up…….Our defense did play better Sunday.The line was able to cause some disruption even if they didn’t get a QB hit. Our secondary did play better even though they had a breakdown on that 2nd TD. And our LBs were hitting a bit harder.
It was an OK showing and more what we would we would expect from a game 1 not a game 7 but we can at least hope its a sign of progression. After all we are Buc fans, hope is our identity.
You can’t beat Drew Bress without pressure(or 52 points) so let’s hope the line that played on Thurs Night decides to show up and not the line that played on the other 6.
November 1st, 2017 at 9:16 pm
Who cares if we lose a high draft pick!!! I wanna FU**ING win! I wanna see us compete! This draft isn’t deep with DE’s or corners. Idgaf about high draft picks. Jus FU**ING WIN!!!
November 1st, 2017 at 9:19 pm
Defense Rules….Your talking about all these young bucs being on the field big percentages of the game and we continue losing. Can you answer me as to why Tandy is getting 0 Percentage on the field? Do you remember what happened last year against the Saints? Didn’t #37 intercept a pass and seal that game? Why is Smith and Koeter disrespecting this Veteran and sitting him and playing these younger guys who now have lost 5. Last year Tandy was the reason they won like their last 5 or so games… Please help me understand.
November 1st, 2017 at 9:21 pm
And I’m over Gerald McCoy. Trade his ass after the season along with Baker. Make moves in the draft and sign Ziggy Ansah
November 1st, 2017 at 9:29 pm
Reading comments on this board is a wonderful examination of irrational behavior, comments based entirely on non-facts, and a deep dive into all the stages of depression.
November 1st, 2017 at 10:09 pm
arealbucsfan………Who cares about losing a high draft pick? The answer would be more then half of the posters here. I have no idea what goes through the minds of TB fans sometimes. They honestly think there huge, grand cannon sized difference between a #5 and 15 pick.
It’s almost like these fans have no idea of the history of this league……….No idea of where great NFL players come from………and no idea of their very own team and it’s own history of drafting.
They honestly must believe that the dumb ole draft can heal all wounds even though they keep believing it yet it never works out that way year after year after year after year ×41.
Been that way forever but they just won’t face reality and continue to actually think that us losing more games is going to guarantee us better result in the next. It truly numbs my mind.
My best guess is they are college football fans. However great they may think their favorite players are they are competing against kids……..competing against men is a totally different level and there is no way to determine their success based on their college careers. Some of our fans are just too stubborn to realize it
November 1st, 2017 at 10:15 pm
JimmyJack Says:
The line was able to cause some disruption even if they didn’t get a QB hit.
I’m with you with everything except that statement. Our line is trash. GMC is doubled but being taken out of the game rather easily and the DE’s can’t go 1 on 1 and win the battles. It’s sad and we haven’t had a line since Simeon and Sapp swagged this line. Speaking of Sapp. He along with Lynch, Ronde, and D Brooks would never let our defense put out some weak efforts like we’ve seen. There was accountability within the team. Coaches can demand accountability but it only works if the players demand accountability. Right now this defensive line is collecting a paycheck.
November 1st, 2017 at 11:58 pm
Carolina would’ve lost to a lot of teams Sunday. They suck offensively. Defensively they were calling out the plays before they happened. So there you go.
November 2nd, 2017 at 3:54 am
@BucEmUp … “Everyone wants to know whats up with James’s head? It’s the defense. You can’t put your young QB out there and expect him to thrive knowing the other half of the team can’t get his back.” That’s total bull & you know it. If anything, it’s the other way around: Jameis slow starts have hurt the defense. I love Jameis & I’m convinced he’s a franchise QB, but right now he’s the weak link on this offense. There’s something wrong with Jameis & it has nothing to do with the defense. Our offense’s job is to put points on the board, eat up the clock & minimize turnovers … that’s it. This offense isn’t producing even close to where it should be. And Jameis is the leader of this offense. Pointing your finger at the defense as the reason Jameis isn’t getting this offense to perform is an excuse, not a reason.
And ‘I’m A Tandyman Bucs Fan’ I agree with you totally .. where’s Keith Tandy? And oh ya, where’s Peyton Barber? They’ve both had some very good games in the past but are riding the pine while several others in their positions aren’t getting the job done. Oh and I’d add Fitz to that list … I’m still convinced that Jameis’ shoulder is screwed up more than anyone’s letting on and unless he’s 100% he needs to be sitting to let it heal.
November 2nd, 2017 at 5:41 am
The d played barely ok against a very bad offense – maybe the worst outside of SF- our d is soft as a feather – no heart, no passion
They celebrate bad throws, dropped passes and tackles 20 yds down the field
It’s sad to watch this group of kids play so badly and act entitled
The coaching is pathetic at best
November 2nd, 2017 at 7:55 am
To the players Mike Smith sounds like the teacher in all the Charlie Brown cartoons….. Blah Blah Blah
November 2nd, 2017 at 8:30 am
@Joe – I’m not very confident in our chances either, but your last statement seems a bit short sighted. We’ve beaten the Saints plenty of times over the past ten years, we never had a pass rush on any of those teams. There is a formula for Ws that doesn’t necessarily go through the D-line. Just not sure if we are even able to take advantage of that.
November 2nd, 2017 at 10:32 am
Joeypoppems Says:
November 1st, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Wasnt communication the reason for the bad defense early on last year? And now the defense forgot how to communicate again?
Call m crazy but that sounds like poor coaching.
^^BINGO^^
JOEYPOP FOR THE WINNER!!!!….IT COMES DOWN TO COACHING!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
November 2nd, 2017 at 10:40 am
people saying the bucs defense played well last week need to wake up and smell the coffee….the defense was nothing special last week….they were the same defense that was on the field vs ARZ&BUF…..
the panthers rank in the bottom half of the league in offensive scoring….they only average 18.5 points a game….they scored 17 points….that’s right around their season average….their formula is to run the ball, use the clock and play good defense….they executed all three to perfection last we while suffocating our”#1 passing offense”…..
yall need to wake up….this staff is incompetent and needs to go asap…..GO BUCS!!!!