(Image via JoeBucsFan.com)
The 0-5 start of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is taking a real toll on its fans. Frustration is mounting game after game and the target for most of their angst is head coach Greg Schiano. Before we even get to his issues as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one must wonder how he was hired there in the first place, considering his only previous head coaching job was at Rutgers University, in an 11-year tenure that only saw ONE top 25 finish and NO Big East titles.
Raymond James Stadium on Sunday
(Image via War Room Sports)
Fast forward to the current day, 0-5 Buccaneers. This team features a talented roster which includes quite a stout defensive unit and core pieces on offense that any competent organization could build around. Prior to Sunday’s 31 point “eruption” by Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles, the Bucs defense was yielding an average of 17.5 points per game (amongst the best in the league) and had only given up 5 touchdowns all season before giving up 4 against the Eagles. The offense features talented skill players such as wide receivers Vincent Jackson & Mike Williams, and running back Doug Martin. One of the top issues Tampa fans have with the coach surrounds who is leading that offense. It’s not that they have anything against rookie signal caller Mike Glennon; but Schiano spent significant time in the offseason convincing fans that Josh Freeman was his guy. Since that time, not only has Greg Schiano benched Josh Freeman, but he has released him and the NFLPA believes that Schiano is indeed the party that leaked information about Josh Freeman being in the NFL’s Substance-Abuse Program; information that should have never made it to the public.
Another sensitive issue for Bucs fans is the manner in which the team has used newly acquired all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis. One fan at Sunday’s game told me, “they go out and get the best man-to-man cornerback in the world and then put him in a bunch of zone coverages”. This was evident on Sunday as DeSean Jackson beat Revis on two touchdown passes, both of which apparently were supposed to feature safety help that never came. When asked after the game, Revis refused to complain about the coverages called, and said only that “the players have to execute no matter what is called by the coaches”.
Tensions are boiling over in Bucs Nation, as the stands on Sunday were sparsely peppered with creative signs calling for Schiano’s job and the boos and jeers he received during the game only got nastier as he exited the field through the tunnel at game’s end. This is one of those classic cases that always make us wonder how much management/ownership listens to the team personnel complaints of their fans. Several callers into the Tampa sports radio stations directly address the Glazers in their Greg Schiano rants. The fans have had enough. There are rumors that many on the football team have also had enough. Has Buccaneers management had enough? Most importantly, has Malcolm Glazer had enough? That apparently is the $15 million question.
Devin McMillan of The War Room, for War Room Sports
Tags: All's Fair in Sports and War, Chip Kelly, Devin McMillan, Doug Martin, Football, Greg Schiano, Josh Freeman, Mike Glennon, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Rutgers, Sports Talk Radio, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The War Room, Vincent Jackson, War Room Sports