Most of us knew this was a team that still lacked some talent in all 3 phases of the game, that was pretty clear to even the biggest of homers. However, I don't think many expected a regression from the two previous coaching regimes and sadly that's exactly what we're seeing every Sunday. Here are 3 things that really scare me about Lovie as our coach and his watch over rebuilding this team. 1) Lovie hasn't learned his lesson and still can't keep his hands off the offense . You and I were both hoping he had learned his lesson in Chicago, yet one of the first actions he took as head coach was to sign McCown, close off the QB competition before a pass was even thrown, hand this guy the starting job, talk him up all season, and then talk about how this team is built to "win now". Not only did Lovie do a disservice to the team by making these claims, he sets a bad team precedent that guys can be spoon fed starting jobs as long as they are his "guys". That is not good coaching. 2) Good coaches adapt their schemes to the talent on their roster, not the other way around You would think even a mediocre coach understands this right? There is the schemes you want to run and then there is the talent you have to work with. These two don't always mesh and you have to adapt to what you have in the moment. Look at the Patriots offense over the last decade? They went from a quick passing 3 step drop run the ball type team with Corey Dillion to a spread the field and dink and dunk all over it to a play action deep throwing team when Moss was there to a more closed, 2 TE formation with Gronk and Hernandez etc etc. Point being their scheme is fluid depending on what they have and what they can do with what they have to put the team in the best position to win. How does Lovie feel about adapting like even a mediocre coach can do? “Absolutely not, I’ll stop you right there,” Smith said. “Absolutely not. We’re not changing our scheme. I’ve been doing this scheme every year I’ve been in the league. I believe in it. We’re not coaching it and we’re not playing it as well as we need to. Zero chance we change our scheme.”...... ???This is a really damning comment to hear and makes me very worried about the future of this team. X and O wise, the cover two shell and cover three for that matter are safe, conservative, and very antiquated defensive coverages. It's not that they can't work in a pinch, it's that you can't use that as your base defense anymore with as much success as the Dungy years. Teams simply have too many plays to easily beat cover two and you see it each and every week with this team. We will be stuck doing things that don't work because Lovie is too stubborn to adapt, which should be a death knell for most coaches. What we are seeing as a result is this defense getting curbstomped every single week with no type of answer or response. I know I'm not the only one here sick of setting some new dubious record of sucking every week like we've done this year. 3) The mistake of hiring Lovie is going to kill us in the upcoming drafts How do you feel about drafting a MLB with the 1st pick in the draft? Maybe a DE who should have been picked late first round but Lovie just couldn't help himself? One thing you certainly should not expect to get, even with the first pick is a QB. Lovie doesn't want a young QB and never did. He had to be overruled by his GM in Chicago to finish the trade to get Cutler and would have ridden with Rex Grossman if it was squarely up to him. I am fully prepared to lose my mind this upcoming draft when we use our premium picks (which look like they could be in the top 3 this year) on a bunch of guys to fit Lovie's antiquated system. While I understand the team needs help all over the field and specifically in the trenches, I still maintain we need a franchise QB and will continue to grasp at straws to win games without one. You like Glennon? Cool me too! Let's draft a top QB anyway and let them settle it in camp (if Lovie actually allows an open competition). These are a few reasons I see that will contribute to the Bucs sucking for a long time to come unless changes are made. Either this coach needs to get in 2014 and adapt, the individual players need to channel the Buc ball days in a league that would rather see offenses lighting up the scoreboard, or we just need to blow this franchise up and start all over again for the umpteenth time.
