"Bates' philosophical synopsis includes many of the same terms espoused by (former coordinator). Accountability. Fundamentals. All-out pursuit. Steal the ball. The biggest difference is (former coordinator) never could consistently develop a strong pass rush, while Bates has a long history of coaching double-figure sack artists, most recently Jason Taylor and Aaron Kampman". Sounded good didn't it? This is what we were told in the offseason when we were given the (great) Jim Bates to replace the immortal Monte Kiffin here in Tampa. So we bit, and couldn't wait for Bucs corners smashing receivers off the line, and opposing runners hitting walls, Quarterbacks getting squashed and balls being thrown downfield to empty positions on the field.
Problem is, well, None of the last paragraph has happened so far, and the first paragraph is taken from a Denver Broncos media outlet in the 2007 offseason; an offseason Bates was given Carte-Blanch to fix a Bronco's Defense that gave up 26.1 points per game in the last 10 games of 2006.
Another nice surprise after the jump....
Before the commenting starts, let me make something clear; Yes...this is an about face for me. I've compared this team to 1996, the year Tony Dungy came in and the defense was lost at first, but improved each week. This is NOT 1996. That team got blown out opening day by the Packers by making 2 or 3 critical mistakes before the half that Brett Favre made the Bucs pay for with 2 quick scores before Tampa Bay even knew what hit. That ’96 team was never dead last in just about every single defensive statistic, nor the laughing stock of the NFL.
We know Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik were not keen on OC Jeff Jagodzinski, But did we tell the wrong coordinator to check out airfares on priceline.com?
Gaines Adams has actually gone backwards on us, something no one thought was possible, a testament to poor drafting that has plagued this team under Gruden/ Allen. But at least that will all change right?
Depends on who had control in the war room. Because the Broncos got that Credit Card statement and its due..! Mr. Bates went shopping in 2007 and came home with 3, that’s right, 3 upper round Defensive linemen. Jarvis Moss, Tim Crowder, and Marcus Thomas, two of which came from the Florida Gators. I guess they felt half of a College D Line was better than what they had. These three defensive linemen have an astounding 7.5 total sacks combined, in two full seasons, plus three games this year! And the best one, Crowder, did so well with his 4 sacks in 2007, (and none in 2008), that he is now on our team! And so the end result? Denver fell backwards from 15th in Sacks to 26th under Bates! Not to mention 29th overall defensively; With 3 premium draft picks on the line!
Its 6:30, does anyone know where Roy Miller and Kyle Moore are?!?!?
Ok, there is really nothing we can do about this right now, except watch the season unfold, and see if the Bucs, or the Broncos, used different personnel to run their draft. Makes you wonder If Dominic would let Bates do the picking, or just take in his opinion but mostly listen to his own scouts. All scouts are not created equal, and hopefully ours are a little more equal than others.
Otherwise, Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris will have some explaining to do at seasons end on how they missed the boat on BOTH position coordinators.