“That’s Bull, Man”
January 19th, 2016
Joe wrote about the silence of the Bucs icons in the immediate aftermath of Lovie Smith getting canned, but there was a huge-name voice that came out quickly to express disgust.
That was Brian Urlacher, the former Bears linebacker and likely future Hall of Famer. Joe only came across Urlacher’s take on The Rich Eisen Show yesterday, but it’s still intriguing 12 days later.
“That’s bull, man. I don’t get it,” Urlacher said of Lovie getting fired. “I thought they had a good year this year, compared to where they were last year.”
Urlacher talked about how well Lovie did with a rookie quarterback, one Urlacher thought would produce little out of the gate.
“There must be something wrong behind the scenes there,” Urlacher said.
Joe would agree with that. Something — or somethings, plural — was wrong for Team Glazer, and they acted accordingly.
Urlacher’s take starts at 7:30 of the video embedded below.
January 19th, 2016 at 10:38 am
Another out of touch outsider, making uninformed comments.
January 19th, 2016 at 10:42 am
I agree w/ Tampa Tony. Lovie had the pedigree and the benefit of the doubt coming in here. We gave him 2 years and arguably our most talented roster in years…and he got 8 wins in those years. Had Lovie posted a 8-8 or better season, he would still have a job. Going 6-10 w/ the offense we had this year and the talent we have on defense? Unacceptable.
January 19th, 2016 at 10:50 am
I still stand behind the belief that the Glazers wanted Lovie to gut his defensive backs coaches, and Lovie wouldn’t fire his son.
January 19th, 2016 at 10:54 am
People outside of Tampa look at 6-10 and think we were on the rise. 1st of all, how did we only win 2 games the year before? If you watched all the games and saw all the transactions, you know Lovie had to go.
January 19th, 2016 at 10:55 am
If he watched the debacle of the 32 games, he would then understand!!!! Its as simple as that!!!!!!!
January 19th, 2016 at 10:55 am
WTF are these guys supposed to say when asked directly?
They like him!!!
Should they say…oh yeah he deserved it?
I guess they could say…well I don’t understand that decision but then again I’m not behind the scenes in Tampa and I don’t know what drove them to make the move.
January 19th, 2016 at 11:01 am
Tampa Tony and Realist are spot on, everyone from Urlacher to that racist ignorant Stephen A are not following the bucs for the last 32 games nor been fans of the bucs and only the bucs…i didnt think schiano deserved to be fired and I would have been ok with another Lovie year, but I thought he was terrible in every facet from personnle to gameday preperations, I am glad he is not the coach, but I saw what happened to this team for the past 2 years and think we have 3 competent forward thinking individuals running the front office and bothe sides of the ball now….the 2016 schedule is crazy difficult for the makeup of this team especially on defense, but I expect mike smith to create a defense that will compete and keep the offense in games and not get blown out in the first game of the year by a rookie starting qb
January 19th, 2016 at 11:04 am
Simple enough. Urlacher is right,”there must be something wrong behind the scenes there”. Spot on baby!!
January 19th, 2016 at 11:05 am
No Urlacher what’s bull is Lovie’s 2 year record with a team and players he built.
January 19th, 2016 at 11:07 am
Most overrated player ever. Except maybe Vick. Kuechly is up there too. I don’t care for his opinion.
January 19th, 2016 at 11:08 am
6-10 with the cake schedule we had this year is not acceptable. Why would the Glazers want to wait another year just to end up firing Lovie. We needed a competitive change now before we walk into Carolina twice, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City and Arizona next year, Lovie is not capable of competing against playoff teams. Dirk and Jameis however…
January 19th, 2016 at 11:09 am
Urlacher’s hairpiece is cutting off circulation to his brain. He actually had a good run with Lovie…so his loyalty is understandable.
January 19th, 2016 at 11:11 am
Lovie is fortunate he got a second year. Anything other than making the playoffs this year was unacceptable. He gutted the team and loaded it with his guys. His team. His fault. The end.
January 19th, 2016 at 11:28 am
I agree with destro44
January 19th, 2016 at 11:43 am
It’s interesting to me how short the memory is of most posters here. In 2014 we had perhaps only 5 or 6 players that could start on an NFL team with an 8-8 record or better. Also, most impactful, was the loss of our Offense Coordinator before the start of the season. We criticize outsiders for not knowing “enough” about our situation, but I think many of you are too close to it to see things in their proper perspective. While Lovie Smith was not without shortcomings (most coaches are) what made his shortcomings more glaring was the lack of overall talent on the team. That takes time to build. Let me ask this question. If we don’t have success next year (wins) what will be the narrative on Koetter as a coach? Will it be “give him time, he needs more talent”, or “we have what we need, we better win”? The reality is this…The organizations that have a plan and stick with it (New England, Seattle, Pittsburgh) are always in the playoffs or contending for the playoffs. If our ownership adopts the thinking of our fan base, we’ll be having this conversation every 2 years.
January 19th, 2016 at 11:54 am
Lovie could have held his job by winning just one of the last four games.
He not only failed with three cupcakes out of the four…the team just looked pathetic and seemed to regress terrible in the final quarter of the year.
That’s what got him fired!!! There was no progress over the last quarter of the season…in fact zilch…nada…the team actually regressed except for perhaps in the penalties at the very end.
If Lovie had been able to build on that 6-6 start he’d still be here.
Simple as that.
January 19th, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Warfield Lovie got rid of 2 NFL starters on defense and one hall of famer and replaced them with “his players” and offensively he got rid of 3 starting OL and replaced with crap, but without those blunders the bucs would not have jameis…the problem with lovie in my opinion and it may be the thing where he wouldnt fire his son and mentor coaching the DBS as stated above….but where did Lovie show improvement in the area that he directly impacted, the defense
January 19th, 2016 at 12:07 pm
“In 2014 we had perhaps only 5 or 6 players that could start on an NFL team with an 8-8 record or better”
lol common man. We had more than that on defense alone when he got here:
Gerald McCoy – top 3 DT (all pro)
Lavonte David – top 3 OLB (all pro)
Darrel Revis – top 3 CB (all pro) – starter for Jets
Dashon Goldson – starter for Redskins and did well
Mark Barron – starter for Rams and did well
Johnnthan Banks – capable full time starter before Lovie arrived
That is 6 players on defense alone that could easily all have been starters on 8-8 teams. 3 of them are ALL PRO players and at every level in the defense (line / LB / secondary)!!
Not to mention the fact that Alteran Verner was in the pro bowl before he played for Lovie. Or that we also had a guy who was on a f*cking super bowl squad starting in Clinton McDonald. Or that Michael Johnson has been playing a lot of good snaps for Cincy this last year.
Now let’s look at offense:
Mike Evans – elite WR – would be #1 WR on most teams
Vjax – one of the best #2 WRs in the entire NFL
Jeremy Zuttah – great starter we replaced with EDS who also started full season for packers
Donald Penn – has been full time starter since he left us
Demar Dotson – full time starter
Logan Mankins – full time starter
We easily had 12 players on that 2014 roster that were more than capable starters for any championship team and 1/2 of them are potential pro bowlers every year.
Lovie depleted our defensive talent to get his type of guys and the team regressed in defensive performance as a result. This was consistent for 2 full seasons and 2 full off seasons. Not sure how else you can spin it.
January 19th, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Anyone complaining about the talent on the roster seems to forget Lovie had full roster control. He was directly responsible for lack of talent or getting rid of good players.
January 19th, 2016 at 12:32 pm
It’s uplifting to see Lovie fade into the pile of bad Bucs history.
January 19th, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Lord Cornelius, I guess we view talent differently. I don’t think we have a talented roster. Let’s look the players you mentioned.
Revis, Goldson, Penn, and Zuttah were financial decisions…so if you have issue with them, you haven’t eliminated that problem because the GM who decides contracts and player value is still here. That’s not a Lovie issue.
Now Verner, McDonald, Johnson…Prior to their Buc careers, they thrived in systems that had other quality players that helped their performance (ex. McDonald played on a D-line loaded with talent..Bennett, Avril) They weren’t perennial Pro Bowl players at all. So therein lies our difference in viewpoint. All good though.
The question still remains…if/when we don’t win next year, what will the excuse be?
January 19th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
It’s always funny how former players say that he was loved by his players and what not. Which is probably very true for the atmosphere in Chicago. But I don’t get that same feeling for Tampa. I’m not sure he was beloved in Tampa like he was in Chicago. In part because of the losing and the other for putting together back to back craptacular defenses. And then swapping cbs in and out week to week, probably made everyone a little irritated. The defense saw no success. So I can’t imagine it was all rainbows and butterflies between the players and coaches.
January 19th, 2016 at 12:47 pm
Tony, not complaining, just offering a different view of an ongoing trend here in Tampa. We don’t allow any opportunity for continuity under any regime. The only constant during these failed regimes is the Glazers and an impatient fan base. We have become the Browns of the South.
January 19th, 2016 at 12:59 pm
Warfield.
Revis, penn, and zuttah were financial decisions because Lovie wanted to bring in his own guys. From the day Lovie came into to Tampa everyone thought he would dump Revis. And not due to his cap number. He wasn’t a Lovie CB. He was a man to man guy, and Lovie don’t play that. His justification for cutting Revis was so he could sign Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins. Hahahhahaha can you believe that crap! Cut Revis so you can pay Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins. Yep. That was worth it.
You forget that licht came in after Lovie. Lovie had the power over the roster. So it was all Lovie’s decision to cut and sign players in year 1. Sure licht had a hand in it and advised Lovie on the numbers. But Lovie made the decisions to cut Revis to make room for his slobs.
January 19th, 2016 at 1:01 pm
And don’t get it twisted. Just as much as Lovie’s coaching was a problem. Him wasting glazer money also played a hand in his firing.
January 19th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Urlacker is correct. The behind the scens BS he talks about is Tampa’s unwillingness to stick with a coach who is trying to build a winner rather than luck up on one. Just look at our history. Look closely at coaches tenure. All of the current playoff teams stuck with their coaches to build something special. Us? We want that instant flash. Hence, the new golden boy Koetter. The media in Tampa plotted Lovies departure. Just go back to those interviews with Jameis. TB Newspapers thought less of Lovie. I for one will not ease up on my team. You see, I sat in those stands for 2 yrs with my dad when we were..0-16 and 2-14.ectt.ect. So I know our history. Schedule hard this year? No problem..the golden boy cometh right? And Just..Tus for all baby!!
January 19th, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Urlacher never had to be team mates with Mike Jenkins…
January 19th, 2016 at 1:39 pm
The Glazers do not like to end the season trending down. For three quarters of a season, our iffense won us six games, and then when our offense was tired, full of young players and led by a rookie qb, our defense DID NOT have their back. Defense is Lovie’s mo and it left the team out to dry, resulting in 0-4 finish. If the defense just would’ve won us one…ONE measley game Lovie would still be here but it didnt and he is gone.
January 19th, 2016 at 2:12 pm
True Buc,
I think you’re repeating misinformation that has been in circulation for months about who was in control of what. The media only speculated what they thought the case might be. Again, you or Tony haven’t even attempted to address the question that I posed. Considering your claim that we have sufficient talent, if the Bucs don’t do well in 2 years, then what? Mike Johnson hit it on the head. We (today’s fans) want microwave results without regard for reality.
Still waiting on that answer! Even though I already know what it will be. We’ll (you’ll) be saying that Koetter was a bad hire and he should be replaced by whoever the hot name is at the time. The cycle continues. ..
January 19th, 2016 at 2:46 pm
@SPBF
Agree, don’t think Lovie’s firing is a result of the overall record but because of the way he finished. Starting out 6-6 and dropping the last 4 games was inexcusable… Also, the game passed Lovie by, he stated that after watching football in his basement for the year that he still firmly believed that a strong defense and good special teams will gt you to 10 wins….. then he goes out and gets JOSH freaking MCCOWN as our starting QB. He played wanted to play conservative football and have HIS defense win games…. not to mention all of the defensive failures like not being able to develop a corner (which wouldn’t be a concern if he never ran off Revis) and not pressing receivers at the line of scrimmage etc.
Apologize about my rant but all of these so called “experts” are p!ssing me off…. watch the dam tape!!
January 19th, 2016 at 2:57 pm
The haters hate.
Brian Urlacher is telling the truth.
I’ve been thinking about the “something happening behind the scenes” angle lately myself.
Here is what I figured went down:
Lovie was hired because of his defensive knowledge and his assurances that he would also succeed in building an offense.
They cleaned house, cleared cap room and spent some money to build the offense. The plan, I think, was to go free agency until youth could fill the needs, at first. Consider this…they brought in a bunch of offensive free agents the first year…yet they also drafted all offense.
I think drafting all offense was part of the plan.
Then things went wrong. Tedford sick…never returning…was the nail in the coffin. The Bucs got the first pick, which, of course, had to go on quarterback.
I believe the original plan was for them to focus on offense in year one, and defense in year two. The bad free agency crop in year one resulted in the bad season, landing them Jameis, and plans had to change.
You don’t succeed with a #1 picked QB without building around him, so Lovie Smith was denied his defensive draft in year 2 (with good reason).
It was the right move, but with Lovie being a defensive coach, it screwed him. Unable to fix the defense, it made him look bad. And he knew it.
And here is where the “behind the scenes” stuff got rough…he knew what was coming when Winston and Koetter started doing well. He saw the public opinion. He knew the Glazers would not take a stand. Maybe when he was hired he was told he would have 3 years. Whatever.
The point is, he was mad. That’s why he told Licht to tell the Glazers to fire him over the phone…he didn’t even want to face them. He felt wronged.
In a way he was. Jason Licht did not have the power he craved. Now he does. He might put on a sad face about Lovie, but it is awful convenient that he gained more solid footing as a result of his report on Lovie. I don’t think he lied, but he might have stressed the negatives more than he should have. Maybe.
Maybe it all had to happen. Maybe not.
But it’s done now. Jason Licht has a yes man in Dirk Koetter. The guy broke down in tears at his press conference, which shows his passion, but it also showed his weakness. He’ll do anything Licht wants if it means holding onto his dream job. Would Lovie have done the same? Doubtful.
Jason Licht played the Glazers, Lovie and the fans perfectly.
That said, I don’t care how ruthless he is as long as he gets results. So far, I question some of his abilities. I think he’s weak when it comes to trades. Until he proves me wrong, I hold to that opinion.
Cap management was so-so at first, but being a rookie, he improved as he went along. Contracts are something we won’t know much on him about until a couple more years pass.
His free agency scouting downright sucks so far. You can blame Lovie all you want, but Licht heads up the scouting department. Scouts don’t report to the head coach as a supervisor, they report to the GM. So all those bad signings were on Licht.
January 19th, 2016 at 3:01 pm
Yeah Warfield you answered your own question and your right. Koetter will be on the chopping block if he doesn’t get us to the playoffs.
I don’t mind the firing of Lovie……..2 years to build a defense and we got worse. He had a few key players on D to work around and couldn’t get it done. Their are some scheme issues I had with Lovie but the lack of discipline is what puts it over the top for me. You can’t win with the disciple issues we had for the past two years and it , seemingly, was never addressed.
The thing that bothers me is not the cycle of coaches it is the blunder of hires we keep making……. The Glazers have failed us miserably because they seem incompetent when it comes to hiring GMs/HCs. They have made only bad decisions for the last ten years stating when they gave Gruden power. I have no faith these owners know what they are doing.
January 19th, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Bucs coach tree
Gruden>Dungy>Schiano>Rah>Lovie
simple as that!
January 19th, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Cool story Bonzai……….strangley it doesn’t sound that far fetched. I was sure,as were many Bucs fans, that we would focus on defense in the draft last year.
But then as it became obvious we were getting Winston I cringed that we would draft defense instead of investing in protection for our new QB……..I remember raising my voice to the TV that they better not get this kid hurt and needed to draft lineman……… Needless to say I was elated with that 2nd round of the draft.
If this team ever achieved greatness I believe the 2015 draft will be viewed as one of the two greatest drafts this franchise ever had.
January 19th, 2016 at 3:34 pm
nobody should be taken seriously on this topic until they have at least watched\read game summaries of all 32 games we played. they should watch all 32 to experience the full horror, but i wouldn’t wish that on anyone. once they have seen the recurring themes and the headscratching decisions, i defy them to still spout the same nonsense about lovie leading an improving team. after 2 years, the team was only 2 wins better than the result that got his predecessor fired, and his predecessor had the team playing harder, more disciplined, and overcoming way more adversity. that is not a defense of his predecessor, it’s evidence that he failed to improve the team as he was hired to do
January 19th, 2016 at 3:38 pm
Bonzai,
Your take sounds closer to what probably happened than anything else I’ve heard. Time will tell what the real situation truly was. If we continue to bring in inferior talent, we have our answer.
Buccaneer,
I don’t like undisciplined teams either, but the usual way coaches deal with that is benching or demotion. That is the only recourse a coach has. When your team isn’t talented, you go from bad to worse. I don’t subscribe to the notion that it was because Lovie brought in his own guys either. When you have a weak pool of players to choose from in free agency, common sense says go with who you know. Fans were making it seem like he picked former Bears players over Pro bowlers or Hall of Famers. In actuality, he picked Chris Conte over Yeremiah Bell. That’s what it amounts to.
January 19th, 2016 at 3:45 pm
Yeah Warhead, the one that gets me going is how Lovie is mocked about Josh McCown. I must have forgot that there was a franchise QB on waivers that off season.
Or perhaps fans are mad Lovie went with a career backup rather then reading Manzeel…. Or maybe they are big Glennon fans.
I have always seen the McCown signing as a stop-gap move. I firmly believe Lovie had his head set on making a move to draft a franchise QB in 2015.
January 19th, 2016 at 3:51 pm
No matter what the case is the HC has to be accountable for undiscipled football. The worst example to me is Austin Jenkins. I couldn’t sand watching that guy and he had no business on the field drive after drive.
Hopefully Koetter can improve that mess of an NFL player. If not Jenkins himself
January 19th, 2016 at 5:09 pm
So what we should waste 5 years to see if Lovie can build his perfect team? Even though the direction of the team wasn’t what is expected? And what if after 5 years doesn’t make the playoffs? Sign him to an extension? He just needs more time right?
What did Lovie say the day he was hired? “We expect to be competitive from day 1.” He promised the fans he would build a winner and build it fast. So we shouldn’t hold him to his word? To what he said his expectations were?
If Koetter has a 2-14 season, you better believe he should see the door. Regardless of how good or bad you think the talent on this team is, it should be able to compete week to week. And for the most part last season it did. We could have won 10 or more games last season. But Lovie managed his team terribly and we only ended up with 6 wins. You can blame the players for a 24-0 collapse in DC. You can blame the kicker for 2 losses early in the season. And you can say the players gave up in the final 4 weeks of the season. I wouldn’t disagree but I would also add in that head coach was equally or more to blame in those.
So Lovie had no say in the free agents he got? Half of the Bears defense he rolled with ended up on the Bucs because Jason licht was a big Bears fan?
And if you want to blame bad scouting for the poor free agent performances… mike Johnson was a pretty successful DE for the Bengals. His problem was his bad attitude being on a crap Lovie defense. (Aka not scouting issue) Anthony Collins, performed well in limited opportunities for the bengals. Bengals Coaches seemed to get the most out of him. Verner was a pro bowl player. Benched by Lovie. Goldson was already on the team. Traded away because Lovie had no use for him. baron was already on the team. Traded away because Lovie had no use for him. Banks was already on the team, benched. LVD who was a DMVP candidate under schiano was neutered in Lovie’s defense.
So please tell me again who failed what. You get accomplished players all over the place, and Lovie makes them look like a high school team.
And are you really going to tell me if the Bucs draft all defensive player this past year that the defense would be fixed? I’ll give you that it wouldn’t have hurt. But none of our cbs performed all that well, I doubt a rookie would do any better. We could have certainly used an elite pass rusher. But I think we can all agree drafting Winston was the right choice. And drafting Winston some protection was also the right choice. So draft a DE in the 5th round? Sure we could have done that. I don’t know why we didn’t. Point to you on that one.
January 19th, 2016 at 5:20 pm
Warfield I just don’t think you are painting an accurate picture. From the day Light was hired he talked about finding players that fit what Lovie was looking for and repeated this sentiment as the logic behind most FA moves which were pretty much all on defensive players.
The swap of Revis for a couple other guys was all Lovie driven and I’ve yet to see a single article or statement that would suggest otherwise. There are tons of articles and statements reflecting the idea that Lovie hand picked FAs and decided what players to let go (total control of personnel).
Also lol @ ppl saying all current coaches in playoffs were given tons of time to build.
Kubiak is in his FIRST year with the Broncos
Arians has had no bad years since taking over
So that argument is a simple lie man. Rivera is like the only coach that was ever on a hot seat and the team kept him because he finished that year in question strongly vs the collapse we just saw.
January 19th, 2016 at 5:33 pm
Well done TruBucfan and Lord you nailed it with your last sentence.
Rivera is like the only coach that was ever on a hot seat and the team kept him because he finished that year in question strongly vs the collapse we just saw.
Exactly! When Lovie got the team to 6-6 even though most here legitimately scoffed at a playoff spot with the Panthers ending our season on the road…even the Lovie haters took a break. There was little doubt if Lovie could just finish the final quarter of the season continuing to show improvement he would be back.
And HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BACK! The team REGRESSED not improved over the final four games…you can throw up Kwon but I’d throw up the schedule!!
He had N.O. and Chicago at home and a very beatable Rams team on the road.
He only needed ONE win and some sign of improved play to keep his job.
While we all concede that Carolina was going to beat us in the final game up in Charlotte we didn’t have to look as pathetic as we did. That’s why #3 went off after the game and certainly didn’t help Lovie’s job security. Nobody is faulting #3 for greasing the skids even though he did even if that was not his intention.
That last game against Carolina looked like Alabama playing Birmingham HS.
Just freakiing embarrassing.
The final four game collapse is really what got Lovie fired. The Glazers wanted to see improvement not regression.
January 19th, 2016 at 6:02 pm
I don’t get the Browns South or constant coaching turnover. Rah, 3 years, team quit on him. Schiano 2 years but MRSA, Freeman and a divided locker room killed his tenure. I’d have given him a 3rd year. Lovie, full roster control, 2-14, bad free agent signings, horrible in game adjustments, bad clock management and a defense that was softer than bed sheets.
You don’t keep a coach just for continuity while crossing your fingers he magically learns how to manage the clock or make effective in game adjustments or when to go for it on 4th down. After 2 seasons you have a feel of how the coach does on Sunday’s.
Dirk, has to show he can handle a whole team and effectively manage both sides of the ball as well as the critical moves a coach has to make. He just can’t look as inept and un prepared like loser Lovie did on so many occasions
January 19th, 2016 at 6:16 pm
I’m about tired of hearing Revis’s name brought up on an endless loop. Granted the players brought in were complete failures but can we please just judge that in a separate reguard.
First off Revis was not an impact in a Tampa uniform. The premise to dump his salary to bring in more veterans to fill multiple voids was not a bad idea. Of course, Lovie did poor evaluation on the players he replaced Revis with and that was a failure on Smiths part. Also Revis’s injury concern was in play. It is also noteworthy that Revis gotten eaten up as a cover corner in the final quarter of this season as his team narrowly missed the playoffs.
The relentless complaints about letting Revis go sets a tone like our playoff hopes were dashed with this one move. It’s my belief that Revis would have not looked any better then he had under Schiano playing for Lovie. He has been great and all but did you see how much time QBs had against us? Revis alone could not cover up the glaring hole we had in our passing defense.
I agree with the move to let Revis go and spend that money towards getting pass rush…….It is just too bad Lovie screwed up and brought in guys that couldn’t provide that.
This would be different if we were one player away from winning a Championship but I am quite sure we are much more then one player away. This team would have sucked this year with or without Revis.
January 19th, 2016 at 7:12 pm
It’s as simple as Lovie.
January 19th, 2016 at 8:09 pm
Urlacher is right. So are all the other experts.
Any of you claiming this is a talented roster- are totally clueless
This team still sucks
It has no DEs , no safeties, no CBs capable of playing on a good team
It is still shaky at RT, TE. We have no depth at all at WR.
We have some talent on offense- most which came during Lovies Regime
If Lovie had gotten to draft Defense this year- we would be on our way to being a good team
The Glazers arent stupid. Something had to have happened behind the scenes.
Otherwise, this is one of the worst mistakes in Buc history.
Glad to see all of you slobbering your approval.
Of course- you are the same idiots who slobbered over them cutting Revis, Cutting Penn, etc.
The best way to judge a Buc move- is to see which way the posters here are holling .
The the opposite is the smart move
If I. Ever looked up the IP address for the posters here, I think 90% of them would be the same computer.
I picture most of you living together on a chicken farm.
Waaaay out in the boon docks
January 19th, 2016 at 8:42 pm
Capt. The Glazers aren’t stupid but they have been setting a long track record of making stupid football decisions. This is why I don’t get the over hyping of Dirk Koetter. I just read a comment that called him a great coach??? I……. I…….. I’m basically speechless.
The guy has proven nothing on an NFL level yet. I’m not saying he is bad but calling him great is gross.
There is a lack of talent defensively but we do have a decent core at some spots. Our linebackers had a knack of getting to the QB. Yet blitzes were seldom used. That was a mistake from Lovie.
What about the wretched discipline from this team? Lovie has to shoulder some of the blame. You cannot be a HC in this league and not be responsible for dozens of mistakes losing you over half your games.
Lack of talent was part on coaching too. Why in Lansanna(spelling) coming off the bench for Quon and seen running into his own players and out of position. Good coaching does not allow for their bench players to be unprepared.
Lovie also is accountable for many of the free agent blunders. Even though free agency is no way to build a team you simply can not bring in player after player and have them be very ineffective. These players were either improperly scouted or improperly coached…… Either way it is a reflection on Lovie.
That being said, Lovie did do a lot for this team…….He brought together a front office who has done better then anybody else we’ve had in the past decade. He is also responsible for, directly or indirectly(depending on how you see it), overseeing two really good drafts that have infused the team with a good deal of talent.
My opinion is that the Bucs can continue doing the good thing they have been doing without Lovie…….. A major piece we are lacking is a HC that can excellent from the sidelines. This team was not making any progress defensively under Lovie or with discipline. If this team wants to get serious about winning we need a coach that can fix the things Lovie couldn’t.
January 19th, 2016 at 8:47 pm
And we need a team that is prepared on Gameday…….though it is nearly impossible to know the players are unprepared as a result of coaching from a plastic seat or from your couch……. It sure did look that way.
January 19th, 2016 at 10:47 pm
Lovie is a Bache
January 19th, 2016 at 11:15 pm
That defense just did not care the last four games, receivers running right past our corners. Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin made our entire defense look awful. THEY WERE JUST FREAKIN STANDING THERE! I hold the players accountable for that all the way. It wasnt scheme, it was players not giving a f and the ones that might have gave a f suck!
Here’s the kicker, wether or not its “fair”, when your players play like they dont care, usually the coach gets fired. Because he decided to go to battle with players that dont care in the first place.
January 20th, 2016 at 9:13 am
Well I know this chicken boon dock farmer is smarter than a captain!
January 20th, 2016 at 9:47 am
there may been something going on behind the scenes.Lovie blowing 40 million to sign Michael Johnson,Josh Mccown,george Johnson,anthony Collins,
Mike Jenkins,Tim Jennings.Imagine going to get your old car fixed for a small repair and mechanic tells you it needs several thousand worth of repairs you give the ok,take it home and it still not working.that was the result of Lovie’s
attempt to fix the team. The tampa 2 didn’t fixit and many people feel there were already better players on the team than the ones he brought in.
but worst of all too often Lovie didn’t play to win,but not to lose and that wasn’t working. Decisions to attempt field goals and not first downs or touchdowns affected the record and team confidence.
So the Glazers made the decision to can the tanpa 2 after 2 years of failure.
and Lovie’s ultra conservative gametime decisions.
January 20th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
Good chatter back and forth by all. I still think that if you only look at the bottom line (losses, penalties) without for even a second thinking about the reality of what you are working with (no OC in 2014, subpar overall talent) you are going to be a miserable bunch of fans for a long time. The theme that I keep hearing is those lat 4 games doomed Lovie, therefore he deserved to get fired. Using that logic, Koetter shouldn’t be considered the answer, because in that same stretch of 4 games the offense mustered only 2 1st half TDs and averaged less than 20 points per game. See…you can argue stats all day and twist them to support just about any reasonable position.
The bottom line for me is this…I have been a Bucs fan since their inception. I’m old school in the fact that I don’t mind building a winner. Most of you guys felt that the game had passed Lovie by. I think it takes 3 years before you can truly see the plan come into view.
I wish Koetter well. I will, however, keep my eye on you “microwave” fans that want lightning in a bottle! Go Bucs!!!