Raheem Confident in Bucs; himself.

by Niko Houllis on Oct 13, 2009 2:00 PM EDT

At 0-5, must of us would not want to trade places with him. Most Bucs fan do not even like him, much less want to tolerate him. When I listen to Raheem Morris, I hear all the right stuff. I dont mean Coach Speak, or cliche's either. I hear what he is saying, that the Bucs just need to get better. That they do.

Michael Clayton has needed to get better for sometime and he will probably not be trusted given the situation; But Morris has a way of making you feel like if there IS a coach that can turn this talent into good talent, it will be him.

(Continued)

Im a firm believer in we judge things based on success. A guy could know everything there is to know about nutrition. If he is 5'5" and 310#, no one is going to listen to him. Morris seems to fall into this catagory. Why else do we hear the things about Morris, but we dont hear them about other 0-5 coaches. Our expectations were as low as can be, but you dont hear Tennessee fans saying Jeff Fisher is in over his head.

I have my qualms with some of the decisions this year. The McCown/Leftwich fiasco is chief among them. What was the point of all of that? Then there is the matter of offensive and defensive coordinators. I'm not completely sold we gave the right one his walking papers. Yet the Denver Broncos are winning with Jim Bates' defensive linemen he drafted in 2007: Linemen he was pulled early from developing by a now ousted coaching staff. Seems like we want to do the same.

In the post game press conference, Morris states his coaching staff " ...got our faces ripped off, me included". Is accountability from above, or is he referring to the Eagles ripping the Bucs at seemingly every turn. Point is, Morris seems prepared to weather the storm. He remains positive in the face of 0-6, and you have to respect him as a man for that. Sounds like he will work with what he has until he replaces them. You heard it yourself in the video.

People were not sure what to expect when Tony Dungy came here. He got tough questions thrown his way early in '96 too. But that team had been retooling for a few years. We may have drafted two Hall of Famers in the same round in '95 with Sapp and Brooks; which is all well because we didnt get another player worth beans that year. Instead of retooling for years, Morris and Dominik finally had the courage to blow this Geritol Camp up and start it over with young talent, talent that yes must be evaluated. We probably don't have all the pieces on this team. We more than likely wont until at least next year when help arrives in the form of draft picks and free agents. If only Gruden and Allen had done this in 2006 when our need for a franchise QB became apparent, instead they found the Band-aid in the form of virtually retired Jeff Garcia. They had the recipe right for the offensive line though.

So here we are...this is it. The 2009 Buccaneers are presented before us, like it or not. The Talibs, Wilkersons, will be joined next year by fresh talent, and if our coordinators are still around hopefully then we will be able to see the end result of the hard work this season produces, and maybe even watch the Bucs compete in a positive manner like Coach Morris.

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I hear ya

Competitive is the key word. That is all I want. I can handle losing to last second drives or last second field goals, but not losing by double digits every week. Redskins game doesn’t count for nothing except that we lost to a pitiful team.

by buccanator on Oct 13, 2009 2:22 PM EDT reply actions

I dont know what you would expect him to say

“I suck, and so does this team”? I mean its true but not exactly what would sell tickets and keep this UFL team playing semi-hard.

If there is a known commodity like Fisher out there next year, hire him. Blowing this up again and starting over will be no worse than the Exxon Valdez like captain Morris has been.

by cambi1 on Oct 13, 2009 5:14 PM EDT reply actions

TIME ....it all just takes time !

I for one dont think that Raheem is doing that good a job right now but like any new coach it takes time to get it all worked out and everyone together. If this is what the Glazers had in mind then it is what they’re getting. We will just have to see how much patience they have. Some of the player decisions Raheem has made i question and i think is his biggest weakness. Clayton needs to go simple. Yes he can block but he cant catch a ball. Gaines Adams is a bust. He has not been able to put any pressure and should be replaced. The secondary is very weak and is being exposed in every single game. Defensive coordinator Bates isnt doing a good job either, He needs to setup a system that helps his weak secondary or get better players. This team needs to go out and get better Receivers, better DB’s, better DE’s, and get the O-Line to do a better job. The few good points of the team so far are Josh Johnson and Freeman they both can be very good QB’s. Leftwich needs to be 3rd string. Winslow and Bryant if the QB can get enough time to find them. The running game can be real good if only they had some consistent holes to hit from the unimpressive play of the O-line. Lastly we need a kicker that can actually make them and give us at least 3 pts. each time ! If Raheem can get those changes made then he may do a good job in do time. Forget about this season…im just hoping that the next will be much better !!

by Julian L on Oct 14, 2009 2:34 PM EDT reply actions

Well I think you already got your wish on most of these. The Oline gets Faine back this week,

We got a new kicker, Leftwich is 3rd string.

Eagles by 17= The Bucs are what we think they are. Eagles by 10? Respectable. Eagle by<7? A moral victory. Bucs win? See you at the airport!

by Niko Houllis on Oct 14, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Still ALOT left though....

…Bates and D need to get their act together. Need a real pass rusher ! Go back to “Tampa 2” to keep the big plays in check. Use Clayton on run plays ONLY for blocking and put in Stovall or Strouter as second receiver on pass plays. Faine helps but the rest of the line needs to improve. Hope new kicker will actually produce points.

by Julian L on Oct 14, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions

and Indy is 5-0. But they have a good team.

Cleveland has a new coach; 0-5, not a good team.
Kansas City has a new coach. 0-5, not a good team.
Rams have a new coach, 0-5, not a good team
Lions have a new coach- 1-4, Not a good team,
Oakland Raiders have a new coach (sort of), 1-4, Not a good team.

Conclusion? if you dont have good players, your not going to win, no matter who the coach is.

Why dont we have good players?
Instead of rebuilding in 2006 when we went 4-12, we patched the QB position with a BandAid(Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese), Defensive line, poor draft pick and more bandaids(Kevin Carter, ect). Look at the few areas of this team that actually have some talent or depth. Secondary gets burned, But I think that is more not buying into the system properly than anything else. Yet there is young talent here that will grow into good players (Talib, Mack, Sabby, T-Jack). Linebackers- Geno Hayes and Quincy Black are up and coming players along with Barrett Ruud. Defensive Line? Ruins. O-Line? Young Talent. WR? 1 serious starter, Otherwise bandaided (Ike Hilliard, Joey Galloway for too long without a replacement, poor draft picks (Clayton/Stovall). A Few young guys that need to be sifted through…. Running Backs, talented; addressed in Draft and Free Agency. Tight End, Talented; Addressed through Free Agency.

Eagles by 17= The Bucs are what we think they are. Eagles by 10? Respectable. Eagle by<7? A moral victory. Bucs win? See you at the airport!

by Niko Houllis on Oct 14, 2009 3:01 PM EDT reply actions