Today’s struggles breed tomorrow’s success

by Paul Mueller on Nov 17, 2009 3:10 PM EST Comment 16 comments

Raheem Morris takes the blame for the loss to Miami, and vows to come back tomorrow as a better coach for the young Buccaneers.

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It’s the defining characteristic of a championship team. It’s a tribute to preparation and result of execution. It’s what separates the men from the boys, and it’s how perennial playoff teams roll.

Winning close games.

The Colts do it. Just ask Bill Belichick. The Rams will tell you the Saints can do it. Heck, even the Dolphins, an up-and-coming franchise looking to become a playoff contender, found a way to do it on Sunday.

And the Buccaneers just didn’t have enough to go around. Not enough playmakers. Not enough experience. You can point the finger at the offense, the defense, the coaches or at the officiating, but the fact remains: When the game was on the line, the Bucs simply didn’t get it done.

"We did a lot of good things to get us back into it," linebacker Barrett Ruud said. "Our offense and defense made some good plays down the stretch. Defensively, when you get a chance to finish a team off on a two minute drill you have to do that. You have to relish those opportunities. We didn’t get it done."

The ability to close teams out is what typifies a feared team in the NFL. It’s what makes Belichick go for it on fourth-and-two on his own 28. It’s why practice ends each day with the two-minute drill. It’s why Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes caught that touchdown pass against the Cardinals last season after dropping a sure touchdown a play before.

The Bucs, however, have lost their last five games decided by seven points or less, dating back to last season. At 1-8, it’s a difficult time to be a Bucs fan. But it’s also an exciting time.

Josh Freeman showed against the Packers that he has the capability of being a feared quarterback. Cadillac Williams has proven he can close games and Kellen Winslow seems to be a changed man in Tampa Bay, becoming a go-to option at tight end. The pieces are there, they are simply not ready. Yet. And while Clifton Smith and Sammie Stroughter become two of the most exciting young players in the league, we get a front row seat to watch them all grow alongside their rookie head coach, Raheem Morris.

"We’ve got to finish off games," Morris said, "and it’s my job to get the right people out there on the field and we got to do that. (The Dolphins) went 85 yards in whatever time was left, again put it on myself, my staff, we didn’t make plays to stop. It’s a group effort. We all go out, we all practice, we all play together, and I’m not in the business of pointing fingers. I’m in the business of standing up and taking what I did wrong and then evaluating so I can come back and be a better coach tomorrow.

"These losses right here are the ones that break apart teams that are not together, or don’t have great leadership. I’m a leader right now and I’m going to go lead this team to stay together. That’s my job; we’re going to get them together because we got to get ready to play our division these next couple of weeks."

Encouraging words from a young head coach.

It’s easy to dawn the paper bags and spray the internet with angry blogs in 2009. However, as we watch the Bucs trudge through the rest of an otherwise forgettable season, we don’t have to look too close to find indications that 2010 will be an exciting year for Tampa Bay and for the young Buccaneers. We can find them in the loss to the Dolphins, and we’ll find them in the games to come.

Insert personal bias here: I love where this franchise is going, and I cannot wait to see where the current players take us in the future. Fighting through the hard times today is what’s going to make it that much sweeter when they finally turn this thing around and get back to the playoffs.

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Comments

Great post!

I whole-heartedly agree! The defense is a little scary for me, but I do see improvement week to week. Other than wanting a few more run plays per game I LOVE how the offense is looking.

I was always an on the fence guy with Freeman, I didn’t know much about him coming into the draft, when he was drafted, part of me wanted to love it & part of me wanted to hate it. I mostly kept my mouth shut about other than saying I hope he succeeds, and while he is here I will be a fan of #5. Well, so far from what I have seen, we have never had so much to be excited about at the QB position.

Overall, I think you are right, this team is heading in the right direction! I don’t agree with the people calling for Morris’ head. I think if we give this young man time we will have a great team in Tampa!

by RuudAwakening on Nov 17, 2009 3:41 PM EST reply actions

Very true

It’s gonna take patience, but I’m certainly excited!

Paul Mueller

by Paul Mueller on Nov 17, 2009 3:48 PM EST up reply actions

Nice work...

So many on here love to bash the coaching on this team, just not able to see the talent on the field is just less that of what other teams have. …and save blaming that on the coaches too because this regime is only here for one season. Most of this years players are from Gruden/ Allen. Its going to be a team with a very different outcome next year after the draft/free agency.

Viva la Bucco Bruce 1976-1996 (reincarnated 2009)

by Niko Houllis on Nov 17, 2009 4:04 PM EST reply actions

Those were Gruden/Allen's players

but Morris and Dominik were the ones that chose to go with them. They could have easily cleaned house like Denver did (8 new starters on defense). There were lots of options out there in free agency but they chose not to pursue any of the guys that could have come in and contributed solid minutes.

So we didn’t get the big fish (Haynesworth, Vilma) but they should have done their due diligence and got mid tier players into camp. They are responsible for this season. We can’t just give them a free pass. What have they done to indicate that they will go out and address all of these holes in free agency?

The only thing they have done so far I approve of is dumping Gaines Adams for a 2nd round draft pick. That was a nice move. I hope Paul is right, but I’m not buying just yet.

"Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs" - John McKay

by LeeCaz on Nov 17, 2009 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

I believe they did clean house . . .

Cato June, Derrick Brooks, Gaines Adams, Ike Hilliard, Warrick Dunn, Alex Smith, Kevin Carter . . . all starters last year, all gone this year. It just takes time.

You’re right, they have to take the blame for this season. It’s their team right now, regardless of who drafted them. You can’t just dump a bunch of players and get some new ones and go to the playoffs. I think the Broncos are proving that right now after their great start. I don’t think they’re gonna sniff the playoffs this year after their three-game skid. The Bucs landed Kellen Winslow, they made great draft picks (so far) with Freeman and Sammie Stroughter, and the players like playing for Raheem Morris.

It’s a rebuilding process, but not like the Lions or Raiders. I’m confident these guys will do it right and do it quickly. We’ll see.

Paul Mueller

by Paul Mueller on Nov 17, 2009 6:22 PM EST up reply actions

That may count as a housecleaning, but it was more of an age thing

They opted to go younger at many positions, which is fine, but didn’t do much upkeep or movement in terms of talent. I don’t think it’s a mystery that Ryan Sims is garbage. He has been for years. The direction of the team will certainly take a few years and drafts to gauge, but I think what Lee Caz was saying is while we did get rid of the older end of the spectrum, we didn’t attempt to rid ourselves of the underperformers.

I’m hopeful that the Bucs will move in the right direction. A solid 2009 draft (which it appears to be) is the first step in the right direction.

Signature space available for rent - Got to pay the bills somehow

by Buc Wild on Nov 17, 2009 6:27 PM EST up reply actions

Yes!

I can’t wait for the 2010 draft. Hopefully it’s a good one!

Paul Mueller

by Paul Mueller on Nov 17, 2009 6:38 PM EST up reply actions

Exactly!

I mean did they really think that Elbert Mack was ready to start at nickel? Did they really think that they could get by with Hayward, Black, and Hayes? I understand that they brought Crowell in, but it was really no surprise he got injured considering he spent all of 2008 on IR.

To me it seems that we blindly promoted a lot of guys that don’t deserve to start in the NFL. It’s great to build the team through the draft but we needed to go out and make some free agent moves to make us competitive THIS YEAR. I don’t buy for a second that it is worth losing all these games so guys like Sims, Black, Piscitelli, and Mack can get some NFL experience in the false hopes that they will magically turn into solid starters next year.

Quick fixes are a way of life in the NFL. It’s not fair to the fans to make them sit back and suffer through three or four bad seasons while we slowly build a competitive team through the draft. The last regime of Gruden/Allen was the epitome of quick fix. It shouldn’t be one or the other, but rather a blending of the two.

"Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs" - John McKay

by LeeCaz on Nov 18, 2009 4:01 PM EST up reply actions

But before you can clean house, you have to know what your players are capable of...

you can go back to the August posts, and you had as many different predictions as sand on the beach. We had no clue who would be a player, and who wouldnt.
Its easy to use hindsight and say they shouldnt have gone into the season with this player or that one, but now when this year is done, the two know what they have.

Viva la Bucco Bruce 1976-1996 (reincarnated 2009)

by Niko Houllis on Nov 17, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions

I agree that it is impossible to see the future

but they could have easily brought some veterans into camp to compete with the young guys to help them gauge their readiness to start in this league. I think the inability to judge talent is a huge knock on Raheem and his assistants thus far.

"Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs" - John McKay

by LeeCaz on Nov 18, 2009 4:10 PM EST up reply actions

I don't mean to be a buzz kill

but I am far from sold on the theory that this team is headed in the right direction. Talk to me after the draft and I may be more receptive. Thus far the new regime of Morris/Dominik has done very little to encourage my hopes and dreams.

I’ll admit that Freeman has managed to impress me thus far, but to put it in perspective, so did Mark Sanchez in his first two starts. As teams get more film on him J.F. is going to have tougher and tougher weeks until the end of the season. Olson is certainly doing him no favors by failing to run the ball consistently. I hope he joins Dick Jauron in the unemployment line soon.

The defense is a mess. Right now we are going to have to address the whole front seven in the offseason. Geno and Quincy are not ready to start in the NFL as we were told they were in the preseason, and our front four may very well be the worst front four in the NFL. We will also need to do something about the hole (aka Sabby) in our secondary as well as pick up another cornerback. That is at least 8 new potential starters we will put on the field next season.

As for the encouraging words from Raheem, in my opinion that is the same lip service we get every week from him. I understand that he has to say something, but saying you hold yourself accountable and actually doing so are two very different matters. It doesn’t mean anything unless he is taking steps to improve what is wrong. I’m not saying that one day Raheem won’t be a good coach, but he hasn’t shown me anything to indicate that he is a good one right now, nor that he ever will be.

"Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs" - John McKay

by LeeCaz on Nov 17, 2009 4:07 PM EST reply actions

I’d like to see Geno keep his spot but yea, Quincy will have to work to keep his. Sabby has been better since the first game, but still has to work on his angles and tackling and overall needs more impact from that position. Also agree about cornerback.

But I disagree about Raheem. He has been trying to make, though nothing he can be an overall miracle for the team. He gave Adams his chance, traded him for a 2nd round and brought in Bennett and Crowder who, haven’t been gamebreaking, but have made some plays.

And as Niko mentions below, the OL doesn’t do any of our RBs any favors. But one thing to Olson’s credit, when we’ve gotten in the red zone, we have a high % (I don’t know the exact number) of getting 7 points instead of our traditional 3, no matter which QB we’ve used.

by NewLogic on Nov 17, 2009 7:50 PM EST up reply actions

One thing that comes to mind when we talk about running the ball more...

Does anyone notice running backs r ipping off runs when given the chance? I see running backs getting stuffed a lot, so until that changes, I may understand why we are not running the ball more. Perhaps the return of Sears will help in a few weeks.

Viva la Bucco Bruce 1976-1996 (reincarnated 2009)

by Niko Houllis on Nov 17, 2009 6:28 PM EST reply actions

This is 90% the OL's fault. Caddy, Ward, Graham, Freeman, JJ, Leftwich

all of them are hit in the backfield. I’ll probably do an OL post here soon, but they aren’t providing much space. Hard for Caddy to break runs when there is no where to go. His 20 yarder against Carolina came on a great cut. The OL is definitely not what we had in mind.

Signature space available for rent - Got to pay the bills somehow

by Buc Wild on Nov 17, 2009 7:13 PM EST up reply actions

I think the scheming is possibly flawed...

I mean weren’t these guys here last year, and we were high on them returning? It was supposed to be a team strength? We started with a Zone Running scheme and now what? I think OC and DC need to be addressed in the offseason, especially if Raheem is just here to be a player comfort.

"Put it on Film" (not on the glass)

by chiefs_55 on Nov 18, 2009 11:50 PM EST up reply actions