Fans weigh in on problems with Tampa Bay Buccaneers; most blame Glazers

Bucs fans are not happy. The team's 0-3 start prompted us to ask you what you thought. How did the Bucs get this bad? Who is to blame? How can it be fixed? Here is what some of you are thinking:

The owners are to blame. Compare the rosters from last year to this year and you will realize a significant decrease in talent and depth at quarterback, linebacker, kicker and wide receiver. When you are $30 million under the salary cap and do not sign a top-tier quarterback or receiver and you hand the reins to a coach and GM with no experience, you are signaling that this season's focus is rebuilding, not winning. This would be easier to stomach if Bill Cowher was the coach and we had more talent.

Ian Cohen, Clearwater

A lack of ownership commitment. Kept a losing dud of a coach too long. Failed to spend the necessary money to buy premium players/coach. Still looking for a cheap fix, which will backfire in lack of fan support, as in the old Culverhouse days. Simply put, you can't keep fans without producing a competitive product. You get what you pay for.

Robert C. Gilley, Tampa

I am fed up with the Glazers. This family sat around the dinner table in Palm Beach one day and decided they wanted to own a football team. They put their own company at risk to purchase the Bucs and the mistakes started to multiply. Now we are right back in an old situation, owners with little experience in the sports arena. These folks need to go back to what they do best and it's not sports.

Rory Hiller, Clearwater

Two words sum up the season so far: Dominik and Morris. You guys are in way over your head with high tide still coming.

Rick Cihak, St. Petersburg

The Bucs stink so bad that they make the Lions look great. You can't blame all the trouble on Byron Leftwich. The Giants were in the backfield so fast you wondered if the Bucs had an offensive line up front or just a bunch of out-of-work rejects from a high school team. They can't stop the run or the long pass. I'd vent more, but I have to take my blood-pressure pills because I'm watching a replay of the game.

Pete Smith, Homosassa

No disrespect to Coach Morris, but we need a really experienced head coach to get us through rebuilding. The obvious candidates would be Bill Cowher or Brian Billick, with the latter probably being a better match. His way of working with the media and fans would perfectly work with the community. We need someone who concentrates on techniques and not high-fiving and being "one of the guys."

Joern Hebestreit, Annaberg, Germany

The Bucs' problem starts at the top with the Glazers. This team simply does not have enough NFL-caliber talent to compete week in and week out. That is the result of the owners not spending the money to bring in quality players. Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik are playing short-handed.

Joe Rauner, Tampa

The day the Glazers bought Manchester United, the Bucs started to go downhill. Thirty million under the salary cap?! C'mon Glazers, get off your wallets and bring in some players.

Mike Logue, St. Petersburg

Recipe for disaster: 1. Non-spending owners. 2: Inexperienced GM. 3. Inexperienced coach. 4. No veteran leadership. 5. Mediocre players. Mix ingredients, put on playing field, hope for the best and prepare to watch a lot of other teams play on blackout Sundays.

Bob Sapp, Seminole

There's a group of people to blame, all share the same name: Glazer! If we fans were as cheap as they were, there would be nobody going to the games. They have to spend some money to be competitive.

Bob Kane, Lecanto

It's apparent the problem is the players. They haven't reached the point of believing in and trusting one another. Looking back at the Super Bowl season, the one thing that sets that team apart from this team is they completely bought into one another and a system.

Clifton Drew, Milpitas, Calif.

Fire defensive coordinator Jim Bates and switch back to the Tampa Two defense. Sign Derrick Brooks and call Monte Kiffin to see if he wants his old job back.

John Jung, St. Petersburg

There is no "fix," not for this season anyway. In order to get competitive, the Bucs need a proven pass rusher who can consistently get to the quarterback and another physical bump-and-run corner. It all starts with the pass rush. …On offense, the running game is there. The O-line is there. The tight ends are there. Even the quarterbacks are there. But when the defense doesn't see the harm in blitzing because your receivers can't catch or get open, you're going to see your QB spend a lot of time on his back.

Adam J. Locascio, Land O'Lakes

I know the coaches care and I'm pretty sure the players care, but my question is do the owners? They have been conveniently absent in the media during this train wreck of a season. I have been a season-ticket holder for 10 years. In February I was laid off, but still dug up the $1,000 for my ticket this year, but I am starting to think I did the wrong thing. If ownership refuses to spend their money, then why should I? Maybe they will get the idea when the rest of the home games are blacked out on TV this season.

Robert Licht, Spring Hill

It's very hard to see any light at this end of this tunnel. How: horrendous draft picks (see Gaines Adams, Dexter Jackson). Who: Like any business, ownership must take responsibility for their product. Fix: Ownership must find a way to improve their draft selections and spend salary cap dollars to fill in specific holes. If the fans don't see a serious effort to improve this team in the near future, they will stop showing up at RJS and TV blackouts will be a regular occurrence.

Randy Sherman, Palm Harbor

As long as the Glazers own the Bucs, they will fall short. Until I found out the money problem, I blamed Jon Gruden and the Bruce Allen for not making the playoffs. I suppose Manchester United needs the money more than the Bucs. Solution: Force them to sell. I think any professional league should require all owners to spend within 5 percent of salary cap. The other problems will take care of themselves although I don't think Raheem is quite ready to do the job. One further observation — get rid of Gaines Adams.

C.E. Vincent, Clearwater