Raheem Morris had some interesting things to say after the game yesterday
by LeeCaz on Sep 19, 2011 1:03 PM EDT
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PrintTampa Bay Buccaneer head coach Raheem Morris looked mighty relieved at his post game press conference yesterday. He approached the podium wearing his "Yungry" hat and promptly admitted that the first half of the game was horrid.
"We couldn't have played worse in this first half. Arguably the worst half of football we've played since I've been head coach."
This is exceptionally true. I had a friend joke via facebook that it was the first time he wished the away games were blacked out too. I agreed. Raheem then went on to call the comeback a team effort. It was a team effort, but personally I would have liked to hear a little more about why he thinks the team has had so much trouble in the first half of games this season.
Morris also said that Quincy Black suffered an ankle injury during the course of the game, and that was why he wasn't on the field. In response to the question "Where was Quincy Black?" Raheem said:
"Quincy had an injury. He went down with the ankle deal. He was limping. I got him out of the game. Uh, he wasn't productive for us that day. Hopefully we can get him back next week and see where he is. I didn't bench him."
Now, the reporter said something unintelligible after "Where was Quincy Black" and it may have been something about him being benched, but I can't really hear that. This leads me to believe that Raheem was considering benching Black before the injury, and he would have been right to do so. Black's play has been lackluster to say the least all season long. In this bloggers opinion, Geno Hayes deserved that extension much more than Black did. Just because you pay a player like he is in the upper tier doesn't mean he turns into a different player. Black is still the same disappointing player he has been throughout his career. Showing flashes of brilliance and superb athleticism but either can't get the mental aspect of the game, or won't put in the work necessary.
Morris went on to credit Blount's effort, and said it was the way he should run the football every single week. He also gave credit to Freeman, and especially to the surprisingly effective play of Preston Parker. Morris noted that the Bucs are tied for the division lead, which is their goal, so right now he says the team is in good standing. He freely admitted that the team isn't there yet, and have a lot of work to do. Basically he said all of the right things. Obviously this team has the potential to win any game, but have to get over the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot and starting behind the 8ball. If they can accomplish that, then I believe they can compete for the wild card in the NFC.
If you would like to view the press conference in it's entirety you can view it here.
How about it Bucs Nation? Did this win change your expectations for the season? Is your faith renewed or do you have more doubts than ever?
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I dont understand how there such a drastic change.
In one half of football.
I will say this
I still stand firm in my beliefs that this team can win the division…I will say that the only thing we have taken a step back on is pass defense….which will be shored up.
Overall, Raheem needs to keep making changes..NOBODY ON THIS BOARD can convince me the changes of Zuttah and Price didnt make a difference. Seeing that, why not start Watson, Biggers and Parker (slot) for Black, Barber (let him be the nickel) and Strougther?
Game planning effectively and cutting down on mental errors will help us in the long run…
by Marlon The Okayplayer on Sep 19, 2011 1:40 PM EDT reply actions
Yes Parker played well.
But Stroughter hasn’t played bad he got hurt.
Barber should be nickle anyways.
Price should rotate with Mccoy.
Barber is still good, it's not like it's entirely his fault. Black is pretty much payed like an average LB.
"Let's get one thing straight that my crown ain't for testing-testing
Chop heads off like King Henry the 8th, guillotine to ya neck, bitch
I'm a king in this thing, don't be dumb, been in this shit since '94"
This statement is ridiculous.
Biggers should not start over Barber. Barber is the better player, and may be the best tackler on our Defense. Also, in Nickle situations he plays the slot and Biggers plays the outside. Starting Biggers over him would be a downgrade. Watson over Black I have no problems with, seeing as how when he took over for Black he played much much better. Also, A slot receiver is considered a starting position in this offense, where we run two TE sets early. Parker yesterday played almost exclusively in the slot, and Stroughter didn’t play at all, so that was a senseless comment. Zuttah helped, but I don’t think Price should be starting. He isn’t 100% or even in shape right now, and Miller is one of best run defenders on the line. Idk if it is coincidence or not, but he doesn’t start and AP destroys this defense. Miller may not have been able to stop him, but why take out a run stopping NT for a Pass rushing one against AP? Also, our pass defense was easily better than our run defense yesterday. Some of your comments make me wonder if you even watched the game yesterday.
Barber has missed the most tackles in the entire NFL since 08
I sure hope he isn’t the most sound tackler on the team.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Dude...
Just because you are one of the writers doesnt make you right. Barber is probably the best tackler on the team besides T-Jack. To boot, he is probably still in the top five of best open field tackling corners in the league. “Stats are for losers….” You should know that since you cover the team.
LOL hey dont get mad at him..he is entitled to his opinion just like I am…I am simply making a suggestion…long as we get the best product on the team thats all I care about.
by Marlon The Okayplayer on Sep 19, 2011 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Dude...
Just because you don’t want it to be true doesn’t mean it isn’t. http://twitter.com/#!/ProFootbalFocus/status/93419520152186880
He used to be one of the best tacklers at the corner position, but this isn’t 2006 anymore and Barber is a lot less willing to stick his nose in there than he used to be. Sorry, but it’s true.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
And in case you don't want to click the link
It says Barber has missed 44 tackles since 08 (not counting this season).
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Credit to Sander for first pointing this out
when he wrote this
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
I'm not sure if it's about willingness, but more about skill
He’s slower than he used to be, can’t get to the play as quickly and can’t evade blockers as easily as he used to. He’s still one of the better tackling cornerbacks in the NFL, and he’s surely a better tackler than E.J. Biggers. Mostly because Biggers is horrendous at it
I kinda thought the lockout thing was overrated but I dont really think so anymore
I think its hurt everybody, no team right now looks unbeatable and if we can get on an early streak we can possibly run away with this thing, I have changed my mind and believe that new orleans is again the best team in the south, if vick doesnt get concussed yesrerday we could very likely be looking at an 0 and 2 falcon team, thats not playing great football..even though im scared, another slow start sunday against that offense would not lead to any 4th quarter heroics
by Carlitin1988 on Sep 19, 2011 1:40 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Lockout clearly killed us
The bright side of that is we should (SHOULD) be improving quickly as the games go on.
Black was SEVERELY overpaid as were Joseph and Trueblood
And ya, that was a horrible first half. Embarrassing. I yelled out “terrible” on nearly every play (not joking). I don’t EVER remember a game where I did that so frequently, and I’ve been a Bucs fan for 25 years.
Parker seriously impressed me. Game ball to him.
Blount needs more carries still. They didn’t go to him enough in the first half. I’m just glad they decided to give him the ball in the second half.
I don’t think this win changed my outlook overall – YET. I expect us to be playing like we did in the second half. Good, but with some bad, young mistakes still. However, if we’re going to meet my expectations for the year we need to solve the first half problems. That was just… Terrible!
Next week will be a tough test.
I don't think Joseph or Trueblood are overpaid.
Trueblood has handled his DEs in passprotection, which was his weekpoint. He has played very well, and didn’t get a huge payday. Joseph is our best interior lineman and IMO deserves the money he got. Remember BOTH of Blounts TDs were run to their side. And on the 27 yard TD True and Davin made flawless blocks.
yep
+1
And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
by dryroastedsean on Sep 19, 2011 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions
I think joseph earned his contract
Did a heck of a job against suh
by Carlitin1988 on Sep 19, 2011 3:06 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Yep
Joseph has looked very good so far and Trueblood has looked much better than I initially expected in pass protection
Terrible
If we have another 1st half like we did this Sunday we will be down 30-0 easily. I was glad to see us start using the QB sneak though. Olsen is too quick to abandon his game plan if it doesn’t show success right out of the gate….
My faith hasn't wavered for the players.
But for the coaching staff, I’m underwhelmed. Horrid first half in which Olsen couldnt call a play to save his life, the player’s were horrid and our defense couldnt stop a thing.
Second half got better, but (surprise surprise) it was a bit more balanced and we didnt give up on the running game. Plus, the comeback was done without anything from Mike Williams (where’d you go man?), Benn dropping anything thrown his way, K2 dropping a few (anyone still want to argue he’s a top 3 TE), and Blount missing half of the second half to ineffective and horrible EG.
If we can gut out a win, on the road no less, with only one half of football, I think we have another 8 wins this year (9 total) if Olsen pulls his head out of his rear, the defense shows up (Black, Foster, Grimm), and Blount/Free/Williams (the holy triumvurate) all play well.
Also, I miss Caddy.
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
Benn did have the TD catch and I dropped a tough one over the middle
by DC BUC&GATOR on Sep 19, 2011 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Mike did make that one catch that was called back
Right before it happened I turned to my son and said “I hope Mike makes a td catch right in front of us” BOOM it happened on the very next play! Sadly it was called back.
BIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!
by bucfanlostiniowa on Sep 19, 2011 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions
K2 had one drop.
He is still an Elite TE. Caddy I miss, but Graham hasn’t played horrible by any means. Benn, I believe, only had one drop, and made up for it with his TD. And Blount had 2 TDs in the second half. In fact, he gaind all but 4 of his 71 yards in the second half. How can you seriously claim he disappeared.
K2 can't outrun anyone. He's slowed down. Everyone says he is still quick etc but I have seen zero evidence in the lst 10 games that provies otherwise.
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
K2 was the only one who managed to consistently beat man coverage against the Lions
But you’re right, he isn’t nearly as fast as he used to be.
Graham
averaged six yards per carry with five catches for 21 yards. Not too bad
Show me one time in the first two games where he has made a guy miss?
He has numerous 1 v 1 opportunities catching checkdowns and makes no one miss
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
Hes the third down back!
Hes doesnt need to hit a home run every time, when solid and productive number are more helpful.
Yeah, Graham is nothing special
His main value is in his versatility and experience, but he can easily be upgraded. Caddy was much better.
I agree 100%
Watching Graham catch the ball and get tackled right away, made me miss Caddy. Caddy had some moves after the catch to get a few extra yards. I just don’t see the same kind of moves from Graham. Please don’t misunderstand, I like Graham, but I really miss Caddy!
When in doubt... punt. Always keep 'em guessing.
I miss Caddy but whats up with Huggy?
Is he done with the NFL?
by Titankillah on Sep 20, 2011 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Basically, yes
Bucs may give him a try-out or something when he’s healed, but that knee injury was really really bad.
Sin & Redemption
That seems to be our team theme carried over from last year. Players that made errors early on redeem themselves with good to great play in the second half. You can’t undervalue how much this win means to a team, especially one this young. I wasn’t sure what to expect after halftime. I was having more doubts than ever and it seemed we had taken a giant step backwards from last year’s play. Then, they stop the Vikes on their first possession and run it down their throats to ignite the remainder of the game. What’s important is not whether my faith was redeemed but that Morris took a group of guys that looked beaten and ignited a fire in them that no one could deny.
yea
what he said^^^
Josh Freeman - King of Sling
by nomatchformybowers on Sep 19, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Black
I say send Black on his way. Cut him and send a clear message that you either work hard and perform or you are out. We could pick up a suit at the cleaners that could play linebacker as well as he has so far this year.
And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
Black is not the player we paid for
Cut him before our mistake starts costing us this bogus contract.
I agree with this statement.
Black is not worth what were paying him… I much prefer to see Watson play. I love this guys motor….
East Coast Fan
I'm good with whatever.
But who will call the plays on the field? Has Foster or any of the others stepped into the role yet?
flashback!
I honestly thought Leeman Bennett was running the show that 1st half.
I swear I had a noose out.
Beware!!
by Creamsicle Power on Sep 19, 2011 4:06 PM EDT reply actions
After last season
I really had high hopes for this team, seeing how well they came together to try to make the push for the playoffs. I was hoping that that enthusiasm would roll over into this season, but after the Lions game, it was hard not to subconsciously lower my expectations for the team. But after this game, I think they got some of that momentum back, I can’t wait to see them take on the Falcons!
Quincy Black is a backup.
He’s a great special teams player and can fill in in a pinch but he’s not an every down player nor should he be calling your defense. We waaaay overpaid for him. It very much reminds me of when we gave Michael Clayton the contract we gave him. Good special teams player and maybe a guy who could be a #4 WR but he was our #2 and we paid him like a #1. I understand wanting to resign your guys and build your team with the draft but based on his play thus far I’d say this was a swing and a miss by mark dominik.
by T-Jack on Sep 19, 2011 4:54 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Thats been the concensus
but we how are we going to successful play hot potatoe with the LB’s? We might be stuck where were at
mostly our linebackers.
Foster had to cover him quite a bit from what i saw. honestly though, im not surprised foster had a bad coverage game since he isnt a cover LB. especially against a decent receiving TE
by Gage Tyler Bain on Sep 19, 2011 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Foster had one great play where he got penalized for DPI
Which I still disagree with. If he does the exact same thing but just turns his head it’s never called.
It’s no surprise a rookie LB struggles in pass coverage, though. McNabb killed the Bucs with bootlegs and playfakes, which put a lot of pressure on linebackers in coverage.
Honestly.
I think we sever ties with Q. Black after the season at this rate. We may have to eat the salary. I say that because anyone watchin the team knows what the coming draft will be.
Corner/LB/Oline……not necessarily in that order but bet me anything we dont get all three of those positions.
Sure there is some guaranteed money there
Where is sander after a big win like that. Bad time for a vacation….. Lol
East Coast Fan
by Bucfan on Sep 19, 2011 5:51 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He is unavailable for a couple of days.
He’ll be back soon.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
$11.5M of his $29M contract is guaranteed.
http://blogs.nfl.com/2011/07/27/bucs-keep-lb-black-on-five-year-29m-pact/
Guaranteed can mean a lot of different things these days though. Black hasn’t played his way out of Tampa yet though. Hopefully he is just sluggish after the injury last year.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Supposedly he had a bad attitude and was jealous of Foster being handed the job.
I have no idea, but we could really use his depth.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Yea man I didnt get it either, must be something we dont know
by Carlitin1988 on Sep 20, 2011 2:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Actually
I’m guessing Oline/Safety/More Oline/TE.
Maybe late LB/CB picks.
Doubt it. Oline and CB look most probable.
May go safety is Tanard doesn’t return, but we are carrying 5 on the roster right now, Don’t think they go Safety early.
Im still not convinced on our team this year.
Freeman hasn’t been looking good in the 1st half, along with the rest of the team. right off the bat we need to get into a hurry up offense and get that momentum going. once we do that i think we have a chance to do well. Watson is looking better than Black so i think we should show Black he isn’t all that and sit him for the next game. Watson gives us a double threat in him. he is a good tackler and can pass rush when needed. I hate that none of our sacks are from the DL yet… im very disappointed that we can’t get to the QB, though we do add quite a bit of pressure. Plus McNabb did show he still had those legs this game. I’m interested to see how we do in the Falcons game. if we get murdered, i’m not seeing a great season for us. Falcons haven’t been all that this season either so lets see what happens
by Gage Tyler Bain on Sep 19, 2011 6:41 PM EDT reply actions
Blunt and turner
Let the best man win
and yes were taking the W this week
I would love to see ryan do the splits again when we play them hahahaha
IF U AIN'T A BUC GET THE BUC OUT OF HERE
by WE GOING TO THE SHIP on Sep 19, 2011 7:33 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
My judgment of the team hasn't waivered but they still have to prove to me they are getting better.
That first game ended up with a close score even though the score didn’t show the whole game. As of right now though, I might be able to chalk that up as the Lions looking very good. We came back verse a really bad Minnesota team. But we did it in a very impressive way. They need to show me something against these Falcons, otherwise it could end up just like last year. We can win vs. crud teams and just stay in there but lose vs. the good. We could start off 3 – 2 and I would still not be sold because we could lose to the Falcons and win to the Colts and 49ers which we should. We need to start off good and win this game to put us over the top
We are still playing horrible football, I wouldnt be surprised if we still suck in the first half
I really didnt think they could have gotten any worse after the lions game and boy, was I wrong. I mean detroit wasnt enough motivation for them to come out super strong against the vikings?
by Carlitin1988 on Sep 19, 2011 9:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Jeno FSU...Watson FSU Brooks FSU
See where I’m going with this? Our wing LB’s are from FSU. I like it. Quincy as backup and special teams is OK with me. Foster is learning on the fly. Once they all come together then our Linebacking corp will be great…soon I hope. Ra always talks about Q’s physical talents, but what about Watson’s physical talents…not to shabby. Lagarette needs 5-10 more touches each games. With at least 20 touches he’ll lead the league. I know the run sets up the pass, but sometimes the pass sets up the run. Starting in the hurry-up can open up the run shortly thereafter and get it rolling. Get a lead and then pound the rock.
I can definitely see Christian Jones as our linebacker in the future. :) possibly Nigel Bradham.
by flash_kiley on Sep 20, 2011 2:45 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I like Bradham too
Even though he’s somewhat of a headcase, we could use a mean streak like that on defense
by GoBuxGo on Sep 20, 2011 2:17 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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