Three weeks ago, I wrote an article defending Raheem Morris and advocating that he was the right person to continue coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ending the season on a 10 game losing streak, the Tampa Bay Bucs fired 35 year-old Coach Raheem Morris on January 2, 2012
Wikimedia Commons

In the interim, without public support of ownership or on-the-field backing of his players, my lone voice was certainly not enough to prop up the beleaguered third year coach.

With the season ending on a frightful 10 game losing streak, on Monday, January 2nd, General Manager Mark Dominik bitterly relieved Coach Morris of his duties.

Though blame for the team’s failures can hardly be cast upon the 35 year-old, given the way the disappointing year unfolded, the Glazer family likely executed the only decision possible in these dire circumstances.

This move can only be commended if soon accompanied by wholesale roster changes. When a club sits a full $50 million below the NFL’s salary cap, there is ample room for such turnover. Yet, ownership has yet to display a willingness to its fans that they will make such bold moves.

If those moves do not follow, firing Morris is mere window dressing and not the gateway to building a team properly, for which fans of the Pewter Pirates yearn.

The 2011 Bucs’ roster featured an eye-popping 20 first or second year players. It must be noted that Raheem Morris did not make such risky decision. Furthermore, these competitors, many of whom were lower-ranked draft picks, often were forced to assume significant responsibilities, where they quickly displayed an inability to meet such a challenge. With a harsh schedule from modest success in 2010, and only a sparse checkbook provided by ownership, there was simply not enough veteran leadership to right the ship.

Admittedly, as the squad was embarrassingly outscored 203-88 during its final 5 games, such direction also did not come from its head coach. Through a multitude of missed tackles, lagging efforts, and prolific turnovers, the players made it apparent that they quit on their leader.

In the team’s final game against the division rival Atlanta Falcons, the Buccaneers even managed to fall behind 42-0 mid-way through the 2nd quarter. Such a notorious feat is not easy to accomplish in the NFL, even for the worst of teams. But it is a testament to an utter breakdown in the assembly of the club’s roster.

The necessary talent is not present, nor is the heart to win.

Only after getting beyond those issues, do problems with the coaching staff truly come to mind.

With Raymond James Stadium rarely full and football fans alienated throughout Tampa Bay, signing a new coach can inject some hope into the franchise. From that standpoint, firing Morris was a move that ownership had to make. However, given their track-record, I would caution Buccaneers’ fans to keep tempered expectations.

Let’s hope that changing the coach does not prove to be the highlight of off-season makeovers of this franchise—for this cast of misfits does not need a new tailor, it cries out for a completely new wardrobe.

Source:

Yahoo! Sports

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Do Embarrassing Efforts Mean End of Morris’ Era in Tampa Bay?

Jeff Briscoe is a writer from Florida who covers sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and the Fort Myers Examiner. A loyal Tampa Bay Bucs fan, his favorite sounds include the firing of the cannons at Raymond James Stadium.

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TAMPA — The Bucs’ London trips, for now, are over.

Co-chairman Joel Glazer said Monday the team has told the league it does not wish to play in overseas games after doing so twice in three seasons.

The Bucs began their season-ending 10-game losing streak this season in London against the Bears. But Glazer said the decision was not made for football reasons. Tampa Bay wants to solidify its core audience here.

“We were helping the NFL build internationally. We believe greatly in that,” said Glazer, whose family also owns the massively popular English Premier League soccer team Manchester United. “But for the foreseeable future, we told them we want to focus on building our base here.”

The Bucs didn’t benefit on the field from the trips abroad. Tampa Bay also lost in London to the Patriots in 2009. The physical and mental toll from the travel wasn’t conducive to winning, either.

STOCKER’S SEASON: Rookie TE Luke Stocker didn’t have a memorable foray into the NFL in a personal or team sense. But he said he is looking ahead to a critical offseason in which he thinks he’ll grow as a player and the nagging injuries that limited him all season will heal.

“I expect a lot from myself next season, especially with a full offseason,” said Stocker, a fourth-round draft pick from Tennessee. “Missing all that time in (training) camp was a big issue.” He hurt his right hip on the first day.

“That slowed me down a lot,” he said. “Any time you have a lower-body injury, you lose strength and you lose speed. … By about the time I started getting it back, I got hurt, and I missed a couple of weeks.” That second injury, a knee sprain, cost Stocker two games in the middle of the season.

“I personally just worked every day and tried not to get caught up in the ups and the downs,” he said. “I felt that as an individual, as this season went on, I did become a better player, especially a better blocker.”

BENNETT’S OUTLOOK: DE Michael Bennett said he expects to need surgery to repair a toe injury that slowed him during the latter part of the season. He played through the injury, dealing with significant pain. Bennett is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, one the Bucs could have significant interest in retaining. Bennett maintains he’d like to return.

FINAL STATS: The Bucs finished the season with the league’s 21st-ranked offense (16th passing, 30th rushing) and 30th-ranked defense (21st passing, 32nd rushing) among the 32 teams.

TAMPA — As Tony Gonzalez walked off the field Monday night at the Louisiana Superdome, a certain rising young star stopped him to ask what everyone wants to know.

Saints TE Jimmy Graham, named to the Pro Bowl this week in just his second season, had to ask Gonzalez: What’s his secret?

“I get that question a lot,” said Gonzalez, the Falcons tight end and likely Hall of Famer who plays the Bucs on Sunday.

“It’s not really something I can sum up in a few words. I guess, to put it simply, it’s hard work, perseverance (and) you have to have to mind-set of total conviction and a passion for the game.

“And you have to kind of be obsessed. It’s borderline crazy. Not everybody can do it. Most people can’t do it. You have to be obsessed with being the best player you can be. That means you’re going to put in a lot more work than the next guy. That means before practice, during practice, after practice. There’s really no offseason.”

The Bucs can attest. Gonzalez has been a matchup nightmare for Tampa Bay, which has opted to use CB Ronde Barber, also a 15-year veteran, against him.

Gonzalez, 35, and Barber, 36, share a mutual admiration.

“We came in (to the league) together, so obviously we’ve had a chance to go against each other a lot,” Gonzalez said of Barber. “I respect him so much because, when you talk about perseverance and being able to stick around and play at such a level like he does for a long time, obviously I know firsthand how hard it is.

“It’s not an easy thing to do. It has little to do with athletic ability. It has more to do with mind-set, and I really respect him for that. He’s always in the right place at the right time. You’re looking at the film and you say, ‘How did he make that play?’ It’s probably not even in their defensive package. But he saw something and hit the hole and made the play. It’s results, and this guy gets results. It’s a privilege to go against someone like him.”

The Bucs have had mixed results against Gonzalez. He had just two catches for 18 yards in the first meeting this season. But he had an eight-catch, 72-yard performance last season and caught nine passes for 83 yards in a meeting in 2009.

TRUEBLOOD OUT: Jeremy Trueblood‘s season is over, with the veteran right tackle ruled out for Sunday after a concussion.

According to Bucs coach Raheem Morris, Trueblood will be replaced in the lineup by James Lee, a player who becomes a free agent in the offseason but gets a final chance to impress his current team. Lee has been slowed by injuries this season, one year after he replaced Trueblood down the stretch of a 10-6 season.

The Bucs also might take a look at Demar Dotson at right tackle, Morris said. He has played extensively as a tight end in two-tight end, short-yardage situations, but he hasn’t played much as a tackle.

injury updates: WR Arrelious Benn is questionable after not practicing this week because of a neck injury. DT Albert Haynesworth (knee) also missed practice and is questionable. He missed last week’s game at Carolina, as did DT Brian Price (ankle). Morris said Price was improving and had a chance to play after practicing Friday.

Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3377. View his blog at tampabay.com/blogs/bucs. Follow him on Twitter at @BucsBeat.

TAMPA — The losses have piled up, and the streak continues. Yet the Buccaneers coaching staff believes there is reason to smile when the subject of the future is broached.

Particularly, it’s the future of quarterback Josh Freeman.

The numbers posted by Freeman this fall don’t suggest there’s much to be optimistic about. But those who know him best say they see as much upside as ever.

“Certainly, you’d love to have him go through his entire career having success from Day 1,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson said. “But it doesn’t work that way. And he’s been a guy that went through some years at Kansas State that weren’t so good.

“But when he came in here — and you can talk to the guys in the locker room — he has that ‘it’ factor. And he has that confidence, and he knows what he’s going to need to work on.”

The Bucs have suffered because players’ confidence has been affected by the nine-game losing streak. How they recover next season remains to be seen. But Freeman, coaches say, is one they can rely on to bounce back.

“He’s a tremendous talent,” Olson said. “The numbers indicate it’s not the season any of us expected of him. I would say he’s had one offseason with this particular system. He’ll learn from this season. He’ll get better.”

That’s something Tampa Bay is counting on heavily. Coach Raheem Morris remains in danger of being fired — meaning his offensive staff is in jeopardy, too — and it’s unclear what type of offensive system the Bucs would run if there was a change in coaches.

But whether the current staff remains or another coach is brought in, Freeman’s play will help determine the team’s fortunes. After his 25-touchdown, six-interception 2010, Freeman has struggled. He has completed a slightly higher percentage of his passes but thrown 14 touchdowns versus 19 interceptions (tied for the league high). His average per completion is down from 7.3 yards to 6.6.

In addition, Freeman, 23, has coped with thumb and shoulder injuries, missing a game for the first time in his three-year career, on Dec. 4 against Carolina.

“It has been a struggle,” he said this week.

But he’s already moving toward Olson’s goal: learning from what went wrong this season. To that end, Freeman recalled a point emphasized recently by running backs coach Steve Logan.

“He talks about when things aren’t going your way, there are one of two ways you can go,” Freeman said. “Some people … don’t want anything to do with it. And then other people might tend to press a little too hard.

“I think that’s a little bit where I was this year in terms of decision-making; trying to press, trying to make things happen, get things done. It was unfortunate, but at the end of the day, you have to step back and look at where you are (and) continue to try to get better.”

There already are examples of that happening. Take Freeman’s success Saturday against the Panthers in the no-huddle, high-tempo offense. He completed 13 of 14 passes in the first half, including 13 consecutive. That, Olson said, was a result of growth in Freeman’s game that allowed him to run the offense at that pace.

When Olson looks at the whole situation, at Freeman’s ups and downs, he feels as much conviction as ever about him.

“I don’t have any doubt that Josh Freeman will be the quarterback here in the future for a long time,” Olson said.

“(There) will be great learning for him in the offseason. I don’t see his confidence shaken.”

Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@tampabay.com. Follow him on Twitter at @HolderStephen.

TAMPA — Ronde Barber did more than just show up every day for work, but the record he may be remembered most for is how many times he punched in and out of the office.

He’ll achieve it Sunday at Atlanta simply by walking onto the field at the Georgia Dome for his 225th career game, passing linebacker Derrick Brooks on the Bucs’ all-time list, in the final game of his 15th NFL season.

Barber’s greatness as a player is no longer questioned, not like it was when the cornerback was burned in his first pro game in 1997 by Cardinals receiver Rob Moore, who caught eight passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Barber was benched for the rest of the regular season before returning to the lineup in the second round of the playoffs against the Packers.

“You know what? I’ll be as proud of my last game, whenever that is, as I was my first game,” Barber said. “My mom tells me the same thing every time I play: ‘play proud.’ ”

Barber can certainly take pride in his career — 43 interceptions, 27 sacks, 1,138 tackles, five Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl title. But his devotion to detail, the way he carries himself as an adult while playing with child-like enthusiasm, his professional approach to his job, which is really playing a game, will be his legacy.

“I don’t know what means the most. It’s probably the respect that I have out of the building because of all these things and how I’ve been as a player, on and off the field,” Barber said. “That’s all you’ve got, is your legacy when you’re done. Not that I’m done. I could be. But it’s about how I went about my job, how I approached this business. I had a lot of fun in it. I think everybody that’s been around has seen that.”

The question that awaits Barber in the offseason is whether he wants to continue playing in 2012. He signed a one-year, $4 million contract in February. Physically, he feels as though he could play. But he admits that a big factor in his decision will be whether the Bucs coach he would be playing for in 2012 is Raheem Morris.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say that was somewhat true,” Barber said Wednesday. “But we’ll see. We’ll see. Ideally, I’d love to be back and play with Rah … play with all those guys. They’re great coaches, they’re fun to be around. They understand me and I understand them, so I imagine that would have something to do with it.”

After going 10-6 in 2010 and starting the season 4-2, Morris’ team is mired in a nine-game losing streak that could easily become 10 Sunday against the Falcons. Barber was asked if he would make a plea to the Glazer family, which owns the Bucs, to keep Morris another season.

“Nah, that’s not for me to do,” the three-time All-Pro said. “Even though if there was one person who could do it, it probably would be me. That’s not my job.

“I have lots of good opinions about Rah. He’s a good friend of mine, and I want well for him. He deserves a team that plays (hard) for him, to be honest with you, guys that care about winning football. … Rah didn’t do anything different than he did last year and the results are starkly different. If that’s who we want as a head coach, then that’s who we got. That’s about as comfortable as I can be with it if they ask me.”

By all accounts, Barber still is an important component to the Bucs defense, and at 36, there’s no doubt he has been their most consistent player. He’s fifth on the club with 73 tackles and has a team-best three interceptions. But his value as a mentor and an example to young players can’t be measured in numbers.

“I approach it like it’s my job because it is,” Barber. “This is what I get paid to do, regardless of the fact that I love doing it. I love football. It’s a great form of entertainment for a lot of people, but when I walk into this building, it’s my job. I’m paying my bills and feeding (my wife) Claudia and the girls.”

Somehow, the 5-foot-10, 184-pound Barber has been able to grind through injuries, none more serious than the torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee he suffered at Detroit with three weeks to go in the 2002 season. Five weeks later, he returned a Donovan McNabb interception 92 yards for a touchdown in Philadelphia to clinch the NFC championship and send the Bucs to their only Super Bowl.

“He’s the toughest teammate, a combination mental and physical toughness, that I’ve ever played with,” said former Bucs and Broncos safety John Lynch, who will be in the Fox broadcast booth for what could be Barber’s final game.

“It’s kind of amazing, you don’t even feel the streak because he’s supposed to be there,” Morris said. “I don’t even know if I’ve seen him miss practice.”

After reluctantly agreeing to a few questions off the practice field, Barber excused himself because he had to watch film to prepare for Sunday’s game.

“I honestly come onto the field every day feeling like there’s something I’m not doing good enough,” said the third-round pick out of Virginia in 1997.

Then he went right back to work.