Raheem to be fired - Fisher #1 on Bucs list

[RyanLeaf16]

No link. Word is Raheem will be fired, regardless of today's outcome, and that Jeff Fisher is top on the Buccaneers wish list.

[Herm]

Fisher is alot of things... solid coach, retardedly loyal to bad players, good community guy, wont cause controversy, mustachioed.


As a former DB the biggest gripe I had with Jeff Fisher was his loyalty to terrible safeties, Lamont Thompson and Donnie Nickey kept jobs for 5+ years when they wouldnt have made most other rosters.

[Rudi]

Donnie Nickey

[Rayman]

The guy just had a "great season" a year ago. Is it really that bad?

[Herm]

Donnie Nickey

he stayed on 7 or 8 years with the titans due to Fisher being in charge, the year fisher left donnie nickey was swiftly booted from the roster.

[j.hen]

So this team should be completely over this season for the game today. Time for Julio + Tony G to both eclipse 1,000 yards

[RyanLeaf16]

The guy just had a "great season" a year ago. Is it really that bad?

His great season was "smoke and mirrors." Funny enough, during his press conference last week, he used that term to describe last season.

Fact is, the team is terrible. Started 4-2 and is now 4-11. They are about to set the franchise record for most points allowed in a season, players are not listening - another fact Raheem mentioned in on of his press conferences and the team is quitting on him.

Plus, he is inconsistent in his discipline and his approach. His "boys" are given preferential treatment, then he comes down on other players for minor infractions. That's why I laughed my ass off when people applauded him for sending Brian Price home in the middle of a game. People thought it was "refreshing" that Raheem put his foot down. Putting your foot down only works when you are consistent and do it from the beginning. Not when you try to start the process when the ship is already sinking.

This article by local-guy Justin Pawlowski speaks volumes about Raheem as a head coach

Offended By This Defense
Thursday, December 29, 2011
By: Justin Pawlowski

The word "defense" has been synonymous with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since the mid 90's when Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin instituted their version of the "cover 2" which would be later referred to as the "Tampa 2." In a copycat league, the Buccaneers style of defense from then was copied by many, and while some fans believe the "Tampa 2" still resonates with the Buccaneers, they couldn't be further from the truth.

Raheem Morris has created his "Tampa 2.0" which incorporates more man coverage, but has also led to much more inflated statistics.

When Monte Kiffin announced his intentions to join his son, Lane, in Tennessee, it was understood that Raheem Morris would be the next defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers. It was at that point in 2008 where the Bucs defense collapsed to allow 123 points (30.75/game) and 756 rushing yards (189 yds/game) in the final 4 games of that season. The Buccaneers would lose all 4 games, barely miss the playoffs, and end the tenure of Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay.
Fast-forward to the present day with Raheem Morris now head coach, and those numbers look even worse with the Bucs in the midst of a 9 game losing streak.

"It's a scheme that gives up a lot of yards and a lot of points," a player told me when I asked him to describe the defense the Buccaneers run.

He's right.

Over the last 9 games, the Buccaneers have given up 304 points (33.8/game), 3540 total yards (393/game), and 1559 rushing yards (173/game). These numbers are historically bad. They are so bad, that the Buccaneers are just 25 points away from giving up the most points in a season in team history surpassing Leeman Bennett's 1986 team which game up 473 points for the season.

"It's a type of hybrid defense," another player told me when asked to describe the defense Raheem Morris is running.
I told him that the word "hybrid" is normally used in a positive way, and the player chuckled and said, "I guess we can't use it then."

With a team full of young players, it should be a major priority to make sure that each player not only understands their role, but what the defense as a whole actually is.

"No," player said when I asked if the defense was playing as a collective unit. "I don't think some players ever fully bought into the scheme."

Not buying in might lend some credence as to why the players are not giving full effort to try and save their head coaches job.

"We all like Raheem Morris because he's a nice guy, but it is very apparent that we are not playing for him."
The players are bracing for an off-season that could bring much change, possible excitement, and also much uncertainty.

"The players in the locker room just want to win, no matter what it takes," the first player told me when I asked if he thought there would be a change at head coach.

I am of the belief that if a change indeed occurs, the Bucs might be ready to participate in the "copycat league" and adopt the popular 3-4 defense as its own. I wasn't alone in my assumption.

"I think we have all the pieces in place for a 3-4 defense," the player said. "McCoy and Clayborn can play end, Price at nose, Bowers and Bennett outside, with Foster and Quincy inside."

The top defenses in the NFL like the 49ers, Ravens, Steelers, and Jets all run the 3-4 defense to perfection.
For those who think a transition to a 3-4 defense is too difficult to endure, the Texans would beg to differ. The Texans went from the 30th ranked defense and one of the worst pass defenses in NFL history a year ago to one of the top and most feared defenses in the NFL this year.

The Buccaneers would also have some high draft picks along with millions of dollars that will have to be spent before next off-season concludes to reach the new salary floor per the rules of the new CBA.
"You'd wonder that if we truly wanted to be a great defense we'd try running a scheme that has had as much success as that one (3-4) has."

He's right, but to do that, change will need to happen.

[RyanLeaf16]

So this team should be completely over this season for the game today. Time for Julio + Tony G to both eclipse 1,000 yards

That was going to happen anyway. This team has laid down for all of their opponents the last 10 weeks.

[Aso]

What happened? At one point the Buccaneers were 4-2.

[s@ppisgod]

I don't really feel like last year was smoke and mirrors. People like to point out that we beat a lot of sub-.500 teams. Yet those are some of the same teams blowing us out this year. The players have given up on Rah. Look at the Cam TD run. How many of those guys were really interested in making a play on him? None of them. The same this week with Turner. These guys don't believe we can win, and have no pride, so they're not going to exert any more effort than they have to in order to resemble an actual NFL defender. The team was on schedule to progress up until this year, but rarely does anything good ever happen after a team gives up on a coach. So yeah, time to cut your losses with Rah.
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[RyanLeaf16]

I don't really feel like last year was smoke and mirrors. People like to point out that we beat a lot of sub-.500 teams. Yet those are some of the same teams blowing us out this year. The players have given up on Rah. Look at the Cam TD run. How many of those guys were really interested in making a play on him? None of them. The same this week with Turner. These guys don't believe we can win, and have no pride, so they're not going to exert any more effort than they have to in order to resemble an actual NFL defender. The team was on schedule to progress up until this year, but rarely does anything good ever happen after a team gives up on a coach. So yeah, time to cut your losses with Rah.
SAMSUNG-SGH-A887/A887UCIJ1 SHP/VPP/R5 NetFront/3.5 SMM-MMS/1.2.0 profile/MIDP-2.1 configuration/CLDC-1.1

Smoke and Mirrors explanation can be debated till the end of time. What is clear though is that they have definitely given up. Already 21-0 and Tito just had the ball pulled right out of his hands. Crazy shit. These guys are even saying they don't believe in him.

[s@ppisgod]

42-0. Roflcopter. You get what you pay for, Glazers...
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[Woy]

Have fun with that.

[j.hen]

Bucs gave up on themselves a long time ago. That's pretty fucking sad, sure they're the youngest team in the league by a wide margin, but come on.

[Rayman]

The guy just had a "great season" a year ago. Is it really that bad?

Um, yeah, about that...