The Bucs are moving in the right direction, slowly

It is time to reset.  It is time to expel the unnecessary dramatic situations that we fans have had to endure.  It is time to take a step back and reflect to what has transpired.  Here is a snapshot for the past two years.

We can now notice that the ineptness of the offense can be traced back to 2012, specifically how the team concluded the 2012 season.  After 10 games in 2012, the Bucs were 6 -  4 with the possibility of reaching the playoffs after a tremendous surge in offensive output.  Then it buckled.  A whole off-season has come to pass and we would all believe that the offense would fixate itself to improve upon such a horribly concluding debacle of 2012.  Yet the offensive ship continued to sink.

Enter a new QB, Mike Glennon.  I am not stating that Glennon has a bright future nor throwing in the towel for the year, but something needed to change.  This move has at least reversed the tide of slinking back into the sea of ineptness.  Sure, the offense put up only 20 points upon one of the worst defenses in the league against the Philadelphia Eagles, but I recall last year the Bucs were shutout against one of the worst defenses in the league against the New Orleans Saints.  Also, look at the first three games of the year, Glennon’s last game has put up more points in one game that we have all season.  Hence, we are moving in a positive direction.

The first three games, the Tampa Defense looked dominating.  Unfortunately, a couple of defensive plays cost the team the possibility of two wins.  The defense again looked dominating by allowing only 13 points against the Cardinals, Game 4.  Unfortunately, the defense allowed all 13 points in the fourth quarter to factor into the team’s demise of yet another loss.  Two week thereafter, including a bye week, the defense has come out flat.  A quarter and a game is such a small sample to have concern about the defensive mindset that you have to query if the defensive side of the ball might be giving up.  How can the 2^nd best ranked defense two weeks ago give up 31 points, which includes a bye week to prepare for this particular game.

A mass of Buc fans believe it is the coaching that needs replacing and I agree with them.  Although, the organization did sign a plethora of veteran free agents who also happen to be Pro Bowlers.  Where are our leaders on the field?  Where are our captains?  Regardless of who is coaching, the players need ownership of their game play as well.  Revis and Goldson should be expecting more out of their defensive mates.  Similarly, the same can be said of our offensive line play.  We have two Pro Bowl players on the line with LT Penn and OG Joseph.  Where are their personal responsibilities as well as their veteran leadership?

Yes, our coaching definitely needs help, but that does not absolve the play of our veterans on both sides of the ball.  We have a great collection of talent.  That means we have a conglomerate of insanely talented, smart kids in a classroom lead by an average teacher.  The problem is that these kids seem to have tanked recently.  That is an event that is unexpected because we usually see these types of kids excel in spite of having an average teacher.  In our scenario, it seems as though the coach is getting about 95% of the blame and our super rock star talents are receiving none.  The coach does not miss blocks on the offensive line.  The coach does not miss a defensive assignment in the secondary.  The coach does not miss how to tackle correctly.  The coach is taking all of the blame and I do not see many of the Buc faithful expect more from our leaders on the field, the people who have direct impact in the game.

Is it possible for our leaders to push themselves as well as their peers to be better?  If not, then we should seriously consider re-building with players who will.