Why I’m Not Hitting the Panic Button Just Yet on the Buccaneers
I’m going to avoid listening, watching and reading anything sports and especially football-related for the next couple of days. I don’t need to be reminded about how ugly, infuriating and downright terrible the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons. I don’t even want to write down that lopsided score. All that being said, I’m not ready to call this season a waste just yet.
Maybe that’s my eternal optimism coming through because the proof suggesting otherwise is all over the place. The Bucs were blown out last night. Again, not writing down that score! Their first two losses came against Panthers backup Derek Anderson and Rams third-string quarterback Austin Davis. Josh McCown’s brief tenure has offered more questions than solutions and as a result, Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans have been underwhelming. And then, there’s the defense which many people—myself included—believed would be solidified with head coach Lovie Smith at the helm. It’s been a rough first three games, but better days are ahead. After all, you can only go up from here, right?
Prior to the start of the regular season, many people were extremely optimistic and rightfully so. Lovie was a proven winner with an 81-63 record with the Chicago Bears and an established reputation as a defensive guru. Over the offseason, the Buccaneers attempted to tie any loose ends on the offensive side of the ball by acquiring Josh McCown, who received a pretty lucrative two-year, $10 million contract off the strength of his eight-game stint in 2013 after filling in for an injured Jay Cutler, and in turn, give Mike Glennon more time to develop. Then, the Bucs went into the NFL Draft with the mindset of building around the talent they already had in place. Mike Evans was selected to become the Robin to Vincent Jackson’s Batman. Charles Sims was chosen to become the Jack of all trades in the backfield. I get it. This team looked promising and potentially destined for immediate success. Now this is where the realization kicks in.
In his first season as the Bears head coach, Smith led the team to a 5-11 record. The team came in dead last in points scored per game with 14.4 and were in the middle-of-the-pack on defense. After seeing these stats, there was one thing I learned and it’s that Lovie needs time for his squad to develop, gel and become in tune with the new regime.
It doesn’t help that their key players, like starting defensive end Michael Johnson, starting defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, starting middle linebacker Mason Foster have all missed time because of injuries while starting cornerback Mike Jenkins is out for the entire year. Did you notice all those starting players absent from the roster on a game-to-game basis? As a Buccaneers fan, I eagerly anticipated a quick turnaround from that dreadful 4-12 season last year, but I’m nowhere close to calling for Smith to be fired. We gave Greg Schiano two years to create the mess. Now let’s give Lovie that same amount of time to try and clean it up.
Much like the mindset of Bucs players, the fans need to treat last night as a thing of the past. It happened, it was embarrassing, now let’s move on. We’re only three games into a Lovie regime which has already had so many setbacks that it’s difficult to give the man a fair assessment, so now isn’t the time to hit that panic button.
There are still 13 games left in the season. The schedule doesn’t get much easier with away games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints on the horizon, but before remember one thing. Before experiencing the joy that comes with victory, we need to go through the hardships that come with losing. We’re in the latter, but the former is just around the corner. I still believe.