Six Wins Would “Be A Noisy Finish”
May 23rd, 2010
Certainly every Bucs fan often ponders what is a satisfactory finish for the 2010 season.
Joe’s heard all sorts of takes in his face-to-face dealings, ranging from three wins to nine wins.
Joe is of the mindset now that the Bucs finished last year 3-6 after the bye week with two wins against playoff teams, Green Bay and New Orleans. So surely there’s no sound logic why they shouldn’t at least continue winning — or losing — at that pace in 2010.
So merely the continuation of that pace puts the Bucs at 5-10 entering their final game of the season in New Orleans. And a win there (or before) to get to six wins is at least hard evidence of improvement from 2009.
Gary Shelton, St. Pete Times columnist, is targeting a six-win minimum for 2010. He shared this during a live chat on TampaBay.com on Friday. A participant tried to pin Shelton down to make a prediction on the team and Raheem The Dream’s future.
Shelton responded that six wins is likely but that total will divide the fan base when it comes to retaining the head coach.
Keisha: How many wins for the Bucs this year, and whatever your answer is, is that enough to keep Raheem in his job? …
[Shelton:] Let’s see. I’m going to say six wins. And that’s going be a noisy finish between people screaming for his head and people wanting to stay the course. I think eight wins earns him another year without a question, but six is arguable.
Of course, a lot of it depends on how the losses look, don’t they? Were they in overtime? Competitive? Did the quarterback get a lot better?
Joe would even throw many more factors to this hypothetical six win season when it comes to assessing Raheem The Dream following the season. Did the Bucs get at least three wins in the second half? Did the defense at least maintain what it established when Raheem The Dream became defensive coordinator last year?
Joe’s quite confident Team Glazer would be very pleased with six wins and would’t invest any time considering a new head coach if the Bucs reach that level in 2010, even if half the fan base wants Raheem The Dream’s head on a platter.
May 23rd, 2010 at 10:36 am
Even if the Bucs win ten games, some will still call for Morris’s head . . and claim he won with Gruden’s team . . or with Dungy’s team . . or he was lucky . . . or that the Glazers are broke . . .
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:11 am
If raheem wins 6 game he should be fired because its another losing season and how many of those can the glazers have especially when people aren’t goin to the games and I believe the fans will force the glazers to make the fireing of raheem and dominick
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
I hope I’m wrong
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
The bottom line is as long as enough fans accept this “lasting contender” rebuilding bullcrap, we can look forward to at least two more seasons of Raheem Morris as Head Coach.
Besides, what accomplished and qualified coach would stake his reputation with this ownership? Would take a lot of green for that to happen.
We are dealing with Hugh the sequel.
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Eric — LOL. This is not “Hugh the sequel.” Culverhouse never made any significnat investment in the Bucs. As a result, when the Culverhouse era came to an end the Buccaneers were nearly bankrupt. Completely different situation here.
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm
8 and 8 backdoor wildcard. If you can’t hope for that why even turn a game on.
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:36 pm
@Jimbuc
Starting to look very similar, IMO.
Lowest payroll for several years, no attempt made at hiring a qualified coach, refusal to engage in free agency, trade opportunities ignored. Cheap coaching staff.
As soon as the salary floor was eliminated, sunk to dead last in spending.
Pretty damn good Hugh impression. I am sure he would approve of the “plan”.
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:38 pm
if u guys were real fans….you would be happy with raheem (even if we only get 5 or 6 wins), because if we keep getting a new coach every year or two, it will be the biggest disaster ever!
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Eric — if you look around you will see that (a) there are other reasonable explanations for the items you list and (b) the Bucs are not alone in mnay of the items you list. So, not sure it is a cabal.
Lowest payroll – ManU, no talented players to res-ign, CBA
Coach — fired Gruden late, rumors of Cowher, premature to say unqualified
Free agency — most of the league doing similar due to CBA
Trade opps — you know the answer to that one
If the items you list continue after 2011 (or after CBA resolved), I will jump on bandwagon with you.
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:50 pm
6 wins is absolute bullshit. If that happens, then Raheem needs to be fire. I don’t see how that can make anyone feel good about the team improving especially when you have the Lions, Browns, Rams, and Seahawks on your schedule. If we can’t win at least 8 games with this schedule, what’s going to happen when we have a harder schedule against teams like the Pats, Colts, Cowboys, Vkings, Packers, etc????
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Well Jimbuc, if you do jump on the bandwagon, the tipping point will have occurred, and then the Glazers can conclude they really are in big trouble!
Likewise, if I start supporting Rah he will have done a hell of a job!
Can someone please blow the whistle and start the Browns game already!
May 23rd, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Jimbuc, ditto! I was thinking the same exact thing. There’s a notable part of Bucs Nation that will be whiney little b****’es no matter what happens. The anti-Glazer, anti-Raheem, anti-“whatever the organization does” factions will find fault regardless of what decisions are made and if they don’t win a superbowl every year. If you’re that lucky guy whose wife is the same dress size 15 years after you married here or you just pull a Tiger Woods when you get bored then I can understand you are a man that acts upon his need for instant gratification. If you’re not that guy and in you’re in for the long haul then you can make suggestions to improve the relationship but unless you’re willing to walk away what’s the point of just moaning and complaining all the time. Like them or not, the Glazers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in your team and notwithstanding mistake that have been I assure you they want to win as much (and probably more than you do.
Imagine if instead of Raheem it was Coach Tomlin or Lewis or Smith- you’d be getting the same complaints.
We had a great run and won a super bowl but reality should have set in by now that with the parity in the league that’s not to be expected and save for the Patriots’ run there’s probably no dynasty in sight during a 15-20 year period in the NFL.
I think of those rabid SEC fans (other than Gator and Tide fans) who want to can their coach every year even when they win 9 or 10 games and win a bowl game. Not comparing the Bucs’ 3 win season to that but I’ll bet you when they become more competitive (can I get a “lasting contender” hallelujah!) with 8 or 9 wins, the bar will be set higher and the naysayers will be calling on the Obama Administration to take over the Bucaneers just like General Motors.
Let’s give this group a couple of years (including the dream) to see what they can do. They can’t get much worse and the draft and their young talent indicate they can and will likely get much better.
I have to go to Costco so that’s all I got for now.
May 23rd, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Tampa has it’s own little tea party movement that hates anything and everything the Glazers, Raheem, or Dominik do or say. It doesn’t matter what or why…they hate it. Just like the real tea party movement, they are mostly ignorant to the facts and heavily biased from idiot talk radio and websites peddling ignorant retoric. Just like the real tea party movement, they are a lost cause and impossible to reason with. They aren’t interested in reason.
I do my best to ignore them on the interent, but I’ll tell you right now, if I get one of you yahoos sitting next to me at a home game spewing this hateful hyperbole, I’m likely to give into my drunken urge to punch someone in the nose.
0-16 or 16-0, as long as the players on the roster are trying their hardest, I’ll be rooting for my team every single week. That is all that matters. If you let your uninformed opinion of owners or coaches affect your support, then you can kiss my ass cause your not a real fan. You’re just a whiny little nub and we don’t need you.
Go Bucs!
May 23rd, 2010 at 4:58 pm
@Outside01 (formerly J-Double), oh please let me sit next to you on game-day so I can bring my Don’t Tread on Me flag. I love annoying bed-wetting liberals.
May 23rd, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Appreciate and agree with @Outside’s support of the Bucs team and organization but he lost me with the Tea Party comment as there’s plenty of ignorance and venom spewed by Maddow, Olbermann, and in the HuffPost and Daily Kos. Let’s make support of our team apolitical and focus on what we have in common (or at least try to have in common). I don’t think loyalty should be blind and it needs to be earned. The exception is Gerald McCoy- he’s done absolutely nothing on the field when it counts yet and notwithstanding I couldn’t have more of a mancrush solely based upon his potential. I may be in for a letdown but at least it gives me something to look forward to over the summer besides the occasional sushi bar I frequent when my wife lets me out of the house without the kids. Could really use some Toro right about now.
May 24th, 2010 at 12:14 am
I need 8 wins minimum or I’m going to be writing tirades.
This low expectation thing is very disturbing to me
Take J-double…….does he work for the government?
He seems like a government feedbag type.
I doubt he’s any kind of entrepreneur and i would guess
his intelligence is marginal at best.
Good luck to the libs with their pathetic entitlement mentality.
That’s not how the universe works.
Do you think the dinosaurs demanded free health-care
from the meteorite right before it hit.
Wake up to reality…get a job…….defend your country
…….try to just read a lot………………..that’s been known to help
marginal types improve their IQ.
Then maybe you won’t feel the need to hide behind
Socialism to ensure your daily feedbag.
Yes 8 wins.
Anything less is weak underachieving.
This 2010 Bucs team is not the remedial class.
May 24th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Come on guys this is a football site. Leave the politics out of it.