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| Sad times for Tampa Bay Bucs fans. |
Sitting and watching the product that the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers have put on the field as they’re blown out by the Baltimore Ravens,
one thing is very clear: there is very little pride in this team. In their
first game back home after a brutal three games on the road, the Buccaneers
have regressed back to the form shown in the 56-14 blowout loss in Atlanta
after being competitive against the Saints after beating the Steelers . As
disappointing as the play on the field has been, the coaching has been equally
discouraging.
The Buccaneers Are in
Rebuild Mode
Regardless of what fans may believe or how much faith has
been shown in Lovie Smith’s ability to quickly return this team to relevance,
there should be no doubt that Tampa Bay is in full rebuild mode. There is a
good amount of talent on the roster presently, but also needs for upgrades at
very important positions. Some of this cannot be blamed on the new regime, but
it is very disturbing to see. That lack of depth has really hindered the Bucs
in their quest to climb from the cellar of the NFL The focus going forward now
will be how competitive the Bucs can be, while hopefully showing improvement.
Consider the rest of the season as an extended roster analysis, as the Bucs
coaches go over this roster with a finetooth comb to see who deserves to be on
this roster in 2015. That sure sounds like a rebuilding team to me.
Hot Seats
The play on the field has been preposterous on many levels;
however, the coaching has left much to be desired as well. A big complaint
during Schiano’s second year was that he was not putting players—primarily the
defensive linemen—in position to succeed. Watching this defense get shredded
week in and week out, that claim can be applied to the entire defensive unit,
sans Gerald McCoy. With that said, Leslie Frazier’s job security should be
non-existent. Despite the failings of the offense, Frazier’s unit has run away
with the award for the most disappointing unit on this team, and likely in the
league.
The secondary is regularly out of position, playing an off
coverage that makes it easy for any competent QB to complete passes at a high
rate. So far, opposing QBs have completed 71 percent of their passes for nearly
295 yards per game, as the defense approaches historical ineptitude defending
the pass—a mark that they came close to in Schiano’s first year as head coach.
However, that 2011 team at least could hang its hat on a top-ranked run
defense. The current roster hasn’t been good in any aspect of….well, anything.
To make matters worse, in this six-game span, the Buccaneers defensive unit has
been on the short end of several QB/WR records:
·
Austin Davis’ first career win, in which he
completed 75.9 percent (22 of 29) of his passes for 235 yards
·
Team record for completion percentage for
Falcons’ Matt Ryan: 87.5%
·
Career-high nine catches by Heath Miller , as
Roethlisberger completed 72.5 perent of his passes
·
Five TDs thrown by Joe Flacco in just 16 minutes
and 3 seconds of gameplay
o
Five TDs also is a new career high for Flacco,
who had thrown seven TDs prior to this game
·
Oh, and there’s this:
The Bucs’ porous defense has been picked apart by every
quarterback it’s faced this season. It’s best game so far was a showing against
the Saints in which they surrendered over 500 yards of total offense, but
forced three turnovers—mostly due to McCoy’s pressure on Drew Brees throughout
the game. Without McCoy in the lineup,
the team was ravaged and embarrassed, suffering one of the franchise’s worst
losses in recent memory. When they came out and put together a comeback win in
Pittsburgh, many thought it was the turning point in the season. Combining that
performance with the competitiveness shown in New Orleans gave fans hope that
the team was finally turning around and could be consistently competitive if
they managed to not beat themselves by committing penalties. The sad showing
against Baltimore surely shattered the fans’ dreams of being anything more than
a team headed for a top five draft pick…and the amateurish defense is a prime
culprit of the terrible start to the season and the likely 5-11 or worse season
record.
Long-term Outlook
The remainder of the 2014 season should be dedicated to
talent evaluation. With the Bucs sitting at 1-5 with no hopes of competing for
the playoffs, Lovie Smith and Jason Licht should be changing their focus to
long-term thinking rather than immediate results. Beyond extending Gerald McCoy
and Lavonte David (as soon as possible), not a single player’s roster spot
should be safe. Finding 53 players who can contribute to the success of this
team (rather than its failures), is crucial to the future of the franchise and
Lovie Smith’s tenure as head coach of the Buccaneers.
Roster Evaluation
The current roster has far too many players who seem to have
come face-to-face with the Peter Principle. To be clear, the Peter Principle is
a concept in which members are promoted until they reach a level at which they
are no longer competent. My candidates for the Peter Principle award include:
·
On Defense
o
Leonard Johnson
§
Johnson looks completely lost every game. Often
seen as a prototype corner for a Cover 2 scheme, Johnson has been terrible.
o
Dashon Goldson
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Goldson…wow. Since signing his big deal as a
free agent with the Bucs, the ex-49er has been alarmingly disappointing. More
of an in-the-box safety, Goldson has been pathetic in pass coverage.
o
Dane Fletcher
§
Although he wasn’t a starter by design, Fletcher
had to step in while Mason Foster sat with a shoulder injury. His play has left
plenty to be desired, as he’s regularly sucked in by play action, consistently
overmatched (by everyone) in pass coverage and hasn’t even played very well in
run defense.
While I’ve highlighted these three players specifically,
there are plenty more who could be listed alongside them. And still, there is
absolutely no reason for this team to be playing as poorly as they have been.
This lack of competence is simply inexcusable.