Dilfer Slaps Bucs’ Defensive Approach

September 16th, 2015
Lovie might be unhappy with Trent Dilfer this morning

Lovie might be unhappy with Trent Dilfer this morning

Trent Dilfer was left scratching his head after watching what he called a “benign,” misguided defensive game plan to thwart Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans.

Now working for BSPN as a high-ranking analyst, Dilfer joined the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday and chimed in on all things Bucs.

He’s not sure Mariota was tested.

“You know, you’re playing a rookie quarterback, now he played phenomenally, Mariota did, but I do think it was a little benign-looking [defense], looked a little static, like they didn’t have a lot of bells and whistles to get into his head,” Dilfer said.

“You know, we all knew he’s a nice passer and we all know he’s a great athlete, but nobody knew about Marcus was whether he could process quickly at a young age in his career  against complex defenses. And he didn’t have to really face any. So he was able to pretty much get to his first read and the get the ball out. His receivers did a nice job winning.”

Joe continues to shake his head.

Enjoy all of Dilfer’s takes below. Great stuff here via the 620wdae.com audio player.

50 Responses to “Dilfer Slaps Bucs’ Defensive Approach”

  1. The Buc Realist Says:

    We need to name this defense the “Pudding 2”!! Because that is how soft it is!!!!!

  2. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    You know how I know we aren’t wrong about Lovie? No one is coming to his defense. Not the experts, not the coaches, not the current players, not former players, and not even the homers like me. What I am always curious about is if someone in the organization is going to tell Lovie he needs to adjust. There is no way they aren’t saying the same things to themselves that we are. I’m curious if Lovie is so high and mighty within the organization that no one will say anything? We all know he is stubborn, but you would think that a little threatening from the bosses would possibly motivate him. Then again, that’s probably wishful thinking.

  3. bucrightoff Says:

    I generally like Dilfer but he was horrendous doing commentary on Monday night. He needs to learn to chill a little and not be overly enthusiastic for every play. Especially for what was such a horrible game between Minny and SF.

  4. CreamsicleBananaHammock Says:

    I think it’s silly to write off the Tampa 2 — it seems to be working in Dallas, at least to the point where they still look like an NFL defense

    No, this team is just passive. I’m completely done with Lovie. It goes back to the game last year where we had a chance for a FG before half time and Lovie said the team didn’t want to score any points there. Lovie is passive, unaggressive, unemotional, and so is his team

    Let the “Nick Saban to Tampa” bandwagon begin.

  5. CreamsicleBananaHammock Says:

    Also, I just made my suicide league pick….nearly 50% of the people who have made their selections already on Yahoo are picking the Saints

    I really can’t believe what an embarrassing performance that was on Sunday. If another loss like that happens before the bye week, I will be 100% for firing Lovie at the bye week and elevating Frazier for the rest of the season

    I really am the biggest bucs fan that there is and I can’t imagine spending another dime this season on this team. That effort was just sickening

  6. NewTampaChris Says:

    I’d be willing to bet that over the past five years, the Bucs have allowed more Offensive Players of the Week than any other team. It’s freaking humiliating to be a fan of this team.

  7. BrianBucs Says:

    One of the reasons that Lovie’s defense looked so bad is because America’s Quarterback Marcus Mariota, who was just named AFC Offensive Player Of T he Week, played very well. Thanks Lovie and Licht for drafting the wrong QB. That defense had better really step up now to make up for that blunder

  8. Buccfan37 Says:

    Lovie should try out for a gig as a crash test dummy.

  9. ruggyup Says:

    Hey Realist, I’m hearing some guys are rewriting your post, “We need to name this defense the “Pudding 2″!! Because that is how soft it is!!!!!” to become the “Pulling your pud defense”.

  10. Lord Cornelius Says:

    Nope he was a god-like QB and we made the wrong decision. Hitting your first read who is wide open 5-7 yards in front of your face within 2 seconds of the snap with no pressure on you takes elite skills and football IQ that Winston simply must not have I guess.

  11. jeff Says:

    Hate to say this my bet that Winston will be pulled from the game for glennon

  12. Ray Rice Says:

    At least Raheem “The Dream” Morris changed his defense up during the game. He may have had Clayborn covering Sproles on a route but at least he wasn’t afraid to try something different. $hit! C’Mon Man!

  13. Big Irish Says:

    I’ve got two season tix and nobody in the family wants to go see the Bucs. No sweat.
    Gonna buy the biggest Chucky doll I can find and bring him with me.

  14. tdtb2015 Says:

    A bad route from the receiver on the pick 6 pass according to Beckles!

    Awesome news!!!!

    That brings me back hope for Winston.

    What a relief. Maybe, we will see this offense develop this year.

  15. Tampa Tony Says:

    Dilfer also mentions how thin this roster is. Thanks to years of bad drafts by the Rockstar

  16. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    “Thanks Lovie and Licht for drafting the wrong QB. That defense had better really step up now to make up for that blunder”

    ———

    Amazing that you can come to this conclusion after just one game. Just curious, did you have RG3 in the Hall after his first game, in which he tore up the Saints? Perhaps you are 14 years old and you haven’t learned patience, but if not, relax. Take your anger and frustration towards Lovie like the rest of us.

  17. Lord Cornelius Says:

    “Amazing that you can come to this conclusion after just one game. Just curious, did you have RG3 in the Hall after his first game, in which he tore up the Saints? Perhaps you are 14 years old and you haven’t learned patience, but if not, relax. Take your anger and frustration towards Lovie like the rest of us.”

    Pretty positive he is in that 10-14 year old range. Either way at least he is one of only a few posters dumb enough to be talking like this already. And we have a lot of negative people here so that says a lot lol

  18. Cannon Says:

    Dilfer would have looked All-Pro against Lovie’s Defense.

  19. Wausa Says:

    I’m sure its not as bad as we all think, but my word that was some terrible defense. Honestly, I am fairly certain Florida, Florida State or Miami could have done as well if not better than what our Bucs displayed last sunday.

  20. Buc1987 Says:

    Hawaiian Buc…Mariota clingers won’t ever let go. It’s not about patience, it’s about clinging onto to someone they can’t have. BrianBucs mentions FSU a lot in his usual posts. It’s a good indicator of which of college team he roots for. I typical ignore their nonsense these days. Especially after a game that Winston looked like a typical rookie QB would and Lovie made Mariota look like Montana. Mariota could throw 4 picks this weekend and the clingers will disappear for a week or so. Perhaps the trade down crowd will come out next week.

  21. Buc1987 Says:

    lol Lord Corn…I called him a 5 year old the other day. Perhaps I’m wrong and he’s in the 10-14 year old range.

  22. mac Says:

    Our defense sucks really bad, no question… However, Trent Dilfer still couldn’t throw for 100 yards against it in his prime… He sucked even worse than our current defense does!!!

    How does the worst QB in NFL history get to sit in front of a camera and act like an expert on being a QB? It’s almost as ridiculous as Mark Dominik showing up on ESPN and acting like he has a clue… Dilfer and Dominik are fuc@#ing jokes and I couldn’t care less what their “expert” opinions are…

  23. Nick3 Says:

    I like Lovie but to know they didnt throw the kitchen sink at Mariota kind of sickens me. Lavonte’s take that they were “deflated” after the penalty on Major Wright makes me want to hurl even more. So they annointed Mariota some great qb that we shouldnt blitz but instead just sit back because he might pick us apart nice job Lovie oh wait i have to run to the bathroom again.

  24. MTM Says:

    All of the Joe Buc Fan experts claiming “its only one game” obviously have short term memory loss. Its one of many blow out games is more like it. This wasn’t a close loss with Tampa looking competitive throughout the game. It was a beat down from start to end in all phases. I would love to be optimistic but the past prevents me and a lot of disgusted Bucs from doing so. Nobody on this site should be telling anybody to be patient in regards to this organization.

  25. CC Says:

    Hawaiin…only person I have heard defend Lovie is the clown on afternoon drive on the radio. Same guy who ran Gruden out of here.

  26. Nick3 Says:

    Im not annointing Mariota (after all he just played our pathetic defense) but I am slamming our defense. Winston threw two pics and two TD’s against Dick LeBeau ran defense which could have been worse. Our defense on the other hand was pathetic hands down. Last year it was until midway when it seemed to stiffen. If our defense doesnt improve very soon I don’t see any other options other to let Lovie figure it out somewhere else. I mean come on the Titans were 2-14 last year Lovie you just made them look like the 72 Dolphins!!!!!

  27. Lord Cornelius Says:

    Mariota could throw 4 picks this weekend and the clingers will disappear for a week or so. Perhaps the trade down crowd will come out next week.”

    lmao that is exactly what will happen. If Mariota struggles bad against Cleveland and the Bucs lose to the Saints you can bet BrianBuc won’t be in here but there will be other names talking about how we should have traded down or something.

  28. passthebuc Says:

    Thin, At least Joe had it correct when he named “the rock star” dense as a rock.
    just go to NFL and look at all our past draft picks.

  29. Buc1987 Says:

    CC Says:
    September 16th, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    “Hawaiin…only person I have heard defend Lovie is the clown on afternoon drive on the radio. Same guy who ran Gruden out of here.”

    Dear lord he’s really doing that? He’s was bashing Schiano in preseason of 2013 before the season even started.

  30. CC Says:

    Nick…Winston actually threw 4 Td’s. One that did not count, our lame ass hc didn’t challenge. And another a pass interference on Vjax which was a bad call.

  31. BrianBucs Says:

    You Winston fan-boys can defend and enable him all you want. But the truth is that Sunday, against a 2-14 defense, he stumbled, bumbled, botched handoffs, looked totally confused, clumsy, awkward, unathletic and slow as mud. The game looked way too fast for him. The only way for the Bucs to make him successful will be to run an offense where he can stand totally unharrassed in the pocket for 7 seconds and wait for a reciever to break totally open. Winston has a cannon for an arm and usually hits what he throws at so Bucs have to utilize that better than they did Sunday or Winston will just become a Byron Leftwich Journeyman. Some agility training should also be in order for him.
    Meanwhile, the QB on the other side looked like a polished pro who was just named AFC Offensive Player Of The Week

  32. Joe Cool Says:

    Well if we’re going to talk about Mr. Big Dog we all should know, that last year when FSU was making its historic run, he was calling Winston reckless and lucky. He has never liked Jameis and he continues to lie and says he does. He has always been on the MM Kool-Aid, ESPECIALLY after Oregon beat FSU.

    Oh yea…. you go, Trent.

  33. Nick3 Says:

    BrianBucs, please refer to how many players the Bucs have made Offensive Player of the Week and not read to much into it. Mariota had one good game (Igainst us) thats like remembering RGIII’s first game against us which made him look like Aaron Rogers. Now hes barely hanging onto 3rd string on the hapless Redskins. Please dont go tell us how good Mariota is after one game.

  34. Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun. Says:

    😊Just wait on it.😎

  35. Louis Friend Says:

    @Mac – Just because a guy wasn’t the best QB ever doesn’t mean he can’t offer qualified analysis.

    I tend to agree with the criticism. It honestly looked like the Bucs LB’s were the rookies and Mariota was the seasoned pro with how he sucked them in with each and every PA pass. They ran few blitzes and nothing that Mariota would’ve missed in preparation. It was completely predictable.

  36. BrianBucs Says:

    @ Nick

    Sorry bud, but there is absolutely no similarities to RG3, that’s a very poor argument. If you are looking for somebody to compare Mariota to, try Aaron Rogers

  37. BrianBucs Says:

    @ Nick

    And if you are looking for a Jameis comparison, try Byron Leftwich

  38. Bucs Fan #7423 Says:

    Falcons defense looks good

  39. Buc1987 Says:

    I’m just glad the Titans eased up on Lovie or they might have scored 60 on him.

  40. Nick3 Says:

    BrianBucs your kidding right? RGIII and Mariota???Spread option running quarterback both of them. What other qualities are you using? They both are very athletic. To compare Leftwhich to Winston is the lame comparison. I dont recall Leftwich being the first and last to leave the facility or a “student of the game”. One game man one game really????????

  41. StPeteBucsFan Says:

    LordC

    I truly get this is only one game. I also understand that Lovie’s d was horrid.
    But you simply have to give credit where credit is due.

    Conceding that the first 52 yard strike was because of the wide open hole in the Bucs defense…he still made the pass…Fameis has not. Everybody tried to say during the draft debate that all MM could do was dink and dunk but he actually had quite a few long passes in college…I know..not because he could possibly have any talent but because Kelly’s SYSTEM meant that he was always throwing to wide open receivers. That’s simply untrue.

    There was at least ONE play where MM looked every bit the NFL QB. Wasn’t a really long pass…in the red zone..the Bucs actually played decent defense in coverage..no pressure but the DB’s were in position and MM threw a perfect, tight spiral through a tight window of several Buc defenders for the TD. i saw highlights of him making that same kind of pass in college even while on the run.

    How about a fair assessment. MM had a great game for a rookie, made more impressive because of the Bucs rotten defense. MM can’t help it if he plays a bad defense or he is used properly. He’s done everything that’s asked of him.

    Just sayin’ the dude deserves a little respect. Some are already trying to compare him to RGIII pointing out RGIII’s early success. That’s just bullspit…their games couldn’t be more dissimilar.

    But I’m not whining that we should have picked MM. I’m whining that we need to have the class to shake a guy’s hand after the game and congratulate him if he played well. MM played very well.

    We need to focus our attention on JW…OUR QB because clearly we have a lot of work to do.

  42. BrianBucs Says:

    @ Nick

    Byron Leftwich came out of my AM Marshall so I was a huge supporter of his just like the FSU folks support Jameis. All of the same things that people say about Jameis were said about Byron – first in last out, gym rat, high football IQ, etc. Even though he was a very big guy with a rocket arm, he wasn’t athletic enough to play in the NFL. Continually took beatings and ended up being a journeyman. Might want to check actual facts before you post

    Mariota’s and RG3’s only similarities are the offense they played in college. Cordale Jones plays in that offense also. Does he look similar to those guys to you? Nope

  43. rayjay1122 Says:

    As I see it we have a couple of options.

    1. Do nothing this season by keeping Lovie as HC, Winston as starting QB and we will have the 1st pick in the 2016 draft for Lovie’s replacement.

    2. Fire Lovie going into the bye week and promote Koetter to HC/OC and keep Frazier as DC for the rest of the season. Let Koetter decide if letting Winston learn on the sidelines and let Glennon finish out the season would be best for Winston’s development. (I still like Winston but lets face it, he struggled with interceptions and looked sharp against our defense in practices and is nowhere close to ready to be a winning QB. This scenario is only if Koetter is making a play at being a longer term solution as HC and feels as though Glennon could be more accurate and throw less picks.

    Regardless of what we do, we will struggle because the defense needs a complete overhaul as far as scheme and personnel. No DC could come in and fix this train wreck without having time a personnel changes. The offense is about what we thought it would be with the state of the OL, starting a rookie QB who is know for slow starts and being careless with the football and missing our #1 WR as well as not having a WR who can stretch defenses with speed and hands. Option 1, we get #1 pick again and maybe entice a good HC to have pity on us and take the job after the season ends. Option 2, we try to salvage some semblance of a mediocre season and see if Koetter can be effective as a HC for the future and have a top 5 draft pick. Regardless, the defense will keep us in the cellar and needs a complete overhaul at DC, scheme and personnel. Also the scouts that evaluate college and free agent talent should be severely scrutinized and replaced

  44. Yungry Says:

    The Winston lovers will say its only 1 week, month, year…..decade. Then, say his line stinks and has no running game so its not his fault. Its hard to give credit to Marcus because it makes their evaluation skills look dismal. Marcus had the best rookie performance ever by a QB! Winston(interception machine) has no excuses against the Saint’s porous D

  45. crazy Says:

    Rookie MLB making the calls, right? If KA was making the calls he wasn’t ready to pressure Mariotta with anything other than plain vanilla that was poorly played by loose CBs and over-aggressive LBs who bit on everything.

  46. BucsBolts Says:

    @BrianBucs

    LOL Mariota is more like Rodgers than RGIII? ROFL. No. Period. No. Wrong. Get out of here.

    Both RGIII and MM came out of Read-Option Spread systems. Rodgers came out of pro-style, frequently under center with 2 back sets. Both MM and RGIII were directly involved in run game, Rodgers only ran when he was flushed.

    Combine stats:
    40: MM-4.52 RGIII-4.41 Rodgers- 4.71
    Broad: MM-121 RGIII-120 Rodgers-110

    Saying MM is like Aaron Rodgers is ridiculous. He’s more like Sam Bradford than Aaron Rodgers. Thanks for the laugh.

  47. 813bucboi Says:

    for the second week in a row this is a must win game…we gotta beat NO…GO BUCS!!!

  48. CAN'T FIX IT Says:

    PLEASE,, SOMEONE PASS OUT THE SANDWICH HAND BAGS TO COVER THERE HEAD AND FACES SO NO ONE CAN TELL WHO’S AT THE GAME AND AFRAID TO SHOW THERE FACES…… AND SOMEONE GIVE THE COACHES SOME SANDWICH BAGS AND GARBAGE BAGS TOO AND MAKE SURE LOVIE IS WEARING ONE TOO SO NO ONE CAN FIND HIM AND THROW SPIT AT HIM …LOL

  49. BigMacAttack Says:

    We’re all huge Buc fans or we wouldn’t be here at JBF in the first place. Lovie’s defense is anything but complex. No blitzing, no stunts, no press coverage and no risk taking. On top of that they can’t stop the run. In my eyes it just plain doesn’t work. It’s not the players, it’s the coach and the scheme. A pop warner coach can beat this defense. It’s a complete joke and as much as I hate saying this, Drew Brees will shred the Bucs if no changes are made. He will have 6 or mor TDs and 500 yds in the air. Our offense can have a record game Sunday and still lose by two or three TDs. I would have fired Lovie last Sunday right after that abomination. Why prolong the inevitable? They hired the wrong man for the job. Ten years of number one picks will not net a winning team under this retread coach and his antiquated defense. The sooner the Glazers realize this the happier we fans will be. It’s a sad day in Buc land and the Coach is in denial saying it’s only one loss. Next week it will only be two losses, then three. The best part is after the bye week comes murderers row with the NFC north. No wins there either. We have a very good chance of going 0-16.

  50. BigMacAttack Says:

    Dear Lovie, talk is cheap so please STFU.