Trueblood Claims Monday’s Incident Is Fiction
July 7th, 2010
Joe has had many posts today about Bucs right tackle Jeremy Trueblood being arrested last night for public drunkenness, and per a police report, being “belligerent” in a convenience store.
Trueblood said that’s all nonsense.
Texting to Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, Trueblood claims he was not in any store last night.
“Oddly enough, I never stepped in a gas station, or out of my passenger seat till they made me,” Trueblood said in a text message sent to The Tribune this afternoon.
Trueblood, who has started 61 consecutive games for the Bucs, was held in the Hancock County Jail after Greenfield, Ind. Police said he and another man riding in a car driven by Trueblood’s mother became belligerent during a traffic stop.
“They were locked up for failing to cooperate and for public intoxication,” Maj. Derek Towle of the Greenfield Police Department said of Trueblood, 27, and Benjamin McKenny, 26.
Ironically, Trueblood had a few drinks at a golf outing and called his mom for a ride home.
Now this is an interesting set of circumstances. The cops claim a store clerk called 911 because Trueblood was out of hand in the establishment. Trueblood claims he wasn’t in the store.
Easy enough to solve: Pull the surveillance tapes.
Oh, and Trueblood’s agent said he was not arrested, again per Cummings. Hhmmm. So cops in Indiana have S&M fetishes and cuff people off the street for no good reason?
July 7th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
S&M fetishes? A 6’8″ bald man? Musta been that cop from”wild Hogs”! First Michael Pittman, now Trueblood! Geez, it ain’t safe to walk the streets anymore if you’re a big fella. Wonder if Trueblood is gonna sue for Sexual harassment! I hear the NFL is gonna have an emergency siminar on how to recognize and avoid these perticular “stalkers”. Apparently most of them post on NFL Team Web sites, and are always the “haters” that constantly badmouth the team and management . . . Uh oh! From the looks of “joeBuc”, the Buc players better hire body guards!!! QUICK!
July 7th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Ok, now im getting more interested. They got him to exit his car and he never even went into the store?
Getting stranger by every post Mr. Joe.
July 7th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
I know that our undisciplined right tackle getting drunk during the offseason and being locked up is huge news, but shouldnt we be evaluating the new D’Brickashaw deal signed today and the implications of that league wide.
Ferguson was under contract for two more years and the Jets still signed him to a huge deal.
He plays the same position as our holdout RFA who our org wont offer anything other than the 1 year tender, and the most popular excuse here among the shameless Glazer-hacks is the CBA.
We have heard arguments how a Penn deal would kill ownership leverage, how you cant do along-term big $ deal without knowing the cap etc.
Why would the Jets (and now MANY other teams) be doing these unnecessary deals if it was not appropriate?
The answer: the CBA is a convenient excuse for teams not to spend – that is all. The Jets have ownership committed to winning – we don’t. And that is why we are a bottom 3 team.
July 7th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Good idea, thomas. Let’s talk about that. Ferguson was under contract for two more years. This is an extension of that contract. He is still playing under his rookie contract this year and next. The new deal kicks in for 2012 (after the new CBA is done, after a possible lockout). If there is a lockout, the Jets are really in no worse situation than they are now, as he’s still under his rookie contract. The difference here…. Penn is not under any contract, he is a free agent (albeit restricted). It is a different situation. If Penn were under contract, it would be possible to offer an extension, but he has no contract to extend. I’m not sure what you people don’t understand about the differences. Rookie contract still in effect, extended…. RFA not under contract… whole different ball game.
I’d like to know what the MANY other teams and players contracts you are talking about. If there are RFAs in that group of MANY or if they’re players under contract getting extensions.
I won’t use the excuse of not knowing the new salary cap or ownership leverage… the answer is simple. Penn can’t negotiate with any other team at this point in restricted free agency. He has two choices. 1) Sign the tender offer and play. 2) Hold out. If he chooses option 2, he can sign before the season and get full pay, but still only have a tender offer for one year and hurt his chances for the big FA contract if he’s not in shape or suffers from lack of practice with his teammates. Or, he can hold out until week 10, still get enough games in to be a free agent, but hurt his chances of the big payday because he sat out 10 games. Or, he can hold out the whole year and not qualify for UFA because he didn’t get the games in necessary to become unrestricted. If he chooses either of the first two options, he can be franchise tagged next offseason. With any option, he takes the risk of a lockout next year and losing out anyway.
See, I don’t have to give excuses about the CBA, only that the CBA made him restricted this year. That’s not an excuse, that’s a fact. If not for the final year, he would have been unrestricted this year, and gotten the big contract. That’s who’s getting the big deals…. unrestricted free agents, players traded to new teams, and players getting extensions that don’t take effect until after 2011.
July 7th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
@ Thomas:
I can’t fully disagree with your point from a fan perspective…but I’ll argue against it anyway from a organizational and CBA standpoint:
1) Ferguson > Penn: Fergie is a former first rounder a 2009 Pro Bowler and cornerstone LT. Penn, while he has been a very good player who shuts down some of the better DEs in the league, has some minor red flags (weight issues and previous off-season conduct) create some doubt as to whether he is truly a top shelf LT/cornerstone offensive player. Brick = Sure thing; Penn = Not so sure things (from a popular opinion POV).
2) This is an ongoing negotiation/posturing by both sides. The unrest in the CBA is a tool that matters on two levels: a) As you already know, the CBA, while not a complete bar to striking a deal, it’s a disincentive to sign him long term because there’s no compelling reason for the Bucs to offer anything more than a normal tender to Penn right now. He plays for us or plays for nobody this year. If he holds out into training camp he hurts the team…and himself. If he plays like crap this year he risks netting a lower amount of money in his next contract.
Future money on the cap is also a legitimate fear. In a vacuum, signing Penn to a long term deal is a fairly easy decision but when taking into account possibly re-signing the rest of the core (T Jax, Ruud, Talib, and possibly Stylez) signing Penn (combined w/Faine, Winslow and Freeman’s current deals) to a substantial deal COULD spell disaster for the team’s cap situation.
Objectively speaking, why would the Bucs, or any other team with a fringe star, make a move right now when they have so much leverage on their side?
July 7th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Cops in FL do this type of garbage all the time. They incarcerate people for simply for not submitting like a scared puppy when they start barking at you. They saw Trueblood was big and not afraid of them, so they had to prove who was the top dog by flashing tasers, threatening bodily harm, then handcuffing Trueblood and his buddy.
Of course the cops always win. So long as they at least inconvenienced your day they are happy. They get payed whether you are charged or not.
July 7th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Good take BamBam
July 7th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
This isn’t a big deal. Get over it, at least he wasn’t driving drunk and that he was using his head.
Do any of you ever wonder if Raheem is part of the problem our whole team is constantly getting into trouble???? I really don’t think he disciplines his players good enough. He needs to stop being everyone’s “buddy” and start being a coach and kicking his players in the ass like Gruden did. Now I know many of you will blast me for bringing up Gruden again. But when he was here, you didn’t hear too often of players getting in trouble. Did you??
Also, when you have a lack of veteran leadership and role models around the locker room, that’s another reason for stuff like this. Galloway, Dunn, and Brooks all set good examples for everyone on this team. I realize the direction that the team wanted to go in, but “rebuilding” and a “youth movement” shouldn’t be THE excuse for having people like this on a team.
July 7th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
@patrick The very first line you say “this isn’t a big deal. Get over it.” On your last line you say “but “rebuilding” and a “youth movement” shouldn’t be THE excuse for having people like this on a team.” It sounds at first as if you thought it was no big deal but by the end of your comment you completely flip-flopped. Which is it, buddy? Is it a no big deal or should “people like this” not be on the team any longer?
July 7th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
@Patrick
Not really. Every NFL offseason is full of guys getting in trouble no matter the coach. Look at Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati, Andy Reid in Philly, etc. People in those cities have bigger beefs than us with Raheem.
July 7th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Patrick,
You don’t think Gruden had issues with players? What about the whole Keyshawn thing. That’s one player that was an issue, and that wasn’t even off-field.
What about….
USA Today 6/22/2004: Pittman was indicted last June in Arizona on two counts of aggravated assault for intentionally ramming his sport-utility vehicle into a car carrying his wife, 2-year-old son and the couple’s baby sitter.
ESPN.com 7/03/2007: Torrie Cox of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2007 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Many reports on Tanard Jackson’s suspension report “Those decisions, Jackson said, date back more than three years”, although it’s not known exactly what date he failed the substance testing, this would seem to admit it was before Morris took over.
There has also been David Boston’s DUI, etc. and those are just a few from previous teams before Morris. Players getting suspensions and in trouble are something every coach deals with and deals with in different ways.
Oh yeah, and to those that give Morris flack for canceling a practice when Trueblood caught a punt… here
8/05/08 “Coach Jon Gruden continued his annual tradition of surprising the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by canceling their afternoon practice and taking them to the movies.”
That was an annual tradition of his… but Morris is crucified for letting the guys out early… hmmm… double standard?
July 7th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
This is the problem with the internet and 24 hour news. I like JoeBucs Fan.com, but this is ridiculous. What does the site have? 5 stories on this?
The problem is NONE of them have all the details and some imply things totally false.
This world is going on information overload and it is unhealthy. Oh well, no turning back now. JOE just at least report the story not just gossip the second you hear something
July 7th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
@ MAUHA DEEB
Sorry, I was typing fast and made an error on my last sentence. When I was mentioning the lack of leadership and role models around the locker room, I was talking about how guys like Galloway, Dunn, and Brooks all fit that description when they were here and how the team doesn’t have enough people like them around.
I left out the word “NOT” on my last sentence.
I realize the direction that the team wanted to go in, but “rebuilding” and a “youth movement” shouldn’t be THE excuse for “NOT” having people like them on a team. ( Referring to Galloway, Brooks, Dunn, and other veteran players)
July 7th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
@BamBamBuc
I never said that Gruden had “Zero” issues with players. I said that he didn’t have issues with them “too often.”
The Keyshawn situation doesn’t count. Keyshawn was fine off the field and he just wouldn’t shut his mouth on the sideline.
The numerous incidents with players while Raheem has been here (Aqib Talib beating up a taxi driver, Tanard smoking weed, Trueblood) has been within a one year span. Gruden probably had just as many problems with his players, but it was over a seven year span, much longer.
You said:
“Oh yeah, and to those that give Morris flack for canceling a practice when Trueblood caught a punt… here
8/05/08 “Coach Jon Gruden continued his annual tradition of surprising the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by canceling their afternoon practice and taking them to the movies.”
I never said that I had a problem with Morris canceling practice after Trueblood caught that punt. The fun things he’s done with the team (going bowling, playing paintball, etc.., don’t bother me at all.
It’s just that I’ve noticed Morris’ coaching and the kind of relationship he has with his players. It seems like he’s more everyone’s “friend” instead of their coach. Not trying to kiss Gruden’s butt, but it seems like when he left, One Buc Place became a “nicer,” quieter, much less intense place”. I think it’s ridiculous that his buddy, Ronde, gives him advice and tries to help out his coach because he’s younger than him, is so inexperienced, and doesn’t know how to do his job. Seriously, that’s pathetic. When I hear things such as “the players play hard for him”, or “the players really respect him”, I just shake my head. That doesn’t mean he’s a good coach. You’re supposed to play hard for and respect any coach. And when I hear about constant incidents, such as the one with Talib or Jackson, it doesn’t surprise me because of what I explained above.
July 8th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Again, can we all agree the Morris is the coach!!!!!!
Pat, are you really this nuts about Raheem? Go google any coach, and they ahve all had these issues. Many teams had had much greater issues. OK, Talib was the wurst…cjarges dropped. Tennard smoked weed, was not arrested…Trueblood was drunk with a sober driver…OOOOOOOOO, such bad boys!
July 8th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Patrick,
As I showed, the T-Jack suspension was an issue that dated back to college, not just last year. Sure, he was suspended while Morris was coach, but no report says when he was busted. That very easily could have been at the end of the 08 season. As for Trueblood, do you really think that’s an issue? He did the right thing calling for a ride. Of course, all the details need to be sorted out, but this is very probably a non-issue. I’ll agree with you on the Talib thing. I don’t know what they did about that situation really. None of us know the whole story though, and maybe what they discussed behind closed doors got the team feeling that no action was needed. That’s the problem with a lack of information on a topic.
The “taking the afternoon practice off” wasn’t aimed at you at all. Just something I found looking around that had to do with things I had heard in other topic discussions.
I’m not against his coaching style. Tony Dungy was very much the same in his approach. Maybe a bit more subdued, but definitely a “players” coach.
July 8th, 2010 at 5:25 am
I wish that S&M cop would arrest Thomas – he’s such a tool! Lol
July 8th, 2010 at 5:34 am
I don’t mean to call you out Patrick, but you are so wrong on this one. When you are dealing with 53 young men (even more in the offseason) with lots of money, problems are going to happen, I don’t care who their coach is. You can probably attribute some of it to them being younger than a veteran team like before, but even that is a stretch (see Cincinnati Bengals). When these guys go out, they are really not thinking about what their coach might think. When you go out, do you think about what your boss might think?
I don’t see why it bothers you so much that Raheem has dinner with his players or gets advice from them. So what? It’s no different from a QB coming off the field and a coach asking him “what are you seeing out there?”. The more input a coach can get, the better. A veteran player like Ronde Barber could have a wealth of knowledge that even the best coach could use.
You have a right as a fan to dislike Raheem Morris (he has not proven himself to be a good coach), but your are nit picking at him for things that are completely out of his control. I just think before everyone runs him out of town, we should give him a little time to see what he can do. There is no way anyone can tell how good a coach is from just one year (I don’t care how much reading on the internet you do). What if Dallas got rid of Jimmy Johnson after his debut season at 1-15? You just never know, Morris just might turn out to be a good coach. I would hope that all of us as Bucs fans are hoping that he will be.
July 8th, 2010 at 7:03 am
Trueblood just cannot get a break. He’s already known for discipline issues on the field, so he does the right thing and calls his sober mother to pick him up. He wasn’t even at a party…it was a golf event!
But you can bet your butt that casual fans will hold this against him, saying he needs to be chased out of town.
Trueblood isn’t a bad player. If he gets his on the field discipline issues straightened out, and reduces his penalties, he could be one of the best, or at least a quality starter. He’s our bruiser and we need one.
Also, it’s not like his position isn’t known for having high amounts of penalties on most of the teams. It’s probably the most thankless position in the game (even quarterbacks have good days).
July 8th, 2010 at 7:11 am
Pete:
This incident with Trueblood is more amusing than unsettling. Joe likes Trueblood, has nothing against him; but you cannot wave away the penalties. While Joe is not saying you are incorrect, but when Trueblood leads the league in false starts, that’s not excusable. That’s just not using your head. Trueblood isn’t dumb. He’s a smart guy. He’s better than that.
July 8th, 2010 at 7:56 am
NEWSFLASH- noted Buc Hater”Thomas” has oft the Tampa area. He currently is headed to Indiana with his Mom, looking for a cop with Furry handcuffs! Updates to follow! Lol
July 8th, 2010 at 8:11 am
UPDATE- Thomas has been seen in the Greenfield, Indiana area! He has been spotted in Several local convience stores, throwing cup lid and Twinkies, while exclaiming.”I’m a baas boy”. Subject has reportedly been drinking, and is armed with several battery powered “weapons”! If you see him, please call 1-800- UMM-BABY! Will relay any futher breaking news as it happens!
July 8th, 2010 at 8:57 am
Sounds like the Cops might have the wrong 6′-8″ 320 lb bald guy. Uh oh, oops, sorry.
July 8th, 2010 at 9:08 am
A neighboring Sheriff, said two boys, fitting the defendant’s description, driving a 1963 metallic mint green Pontiac Tempest, were picked up this morning. There was a 357 magnum revolver found in their possession.
Uhhhh, Mr Trotter???
July 8th, 2010 at 10:45 am
BigMAcAttack
awesome reference sir, hilarious.
“I shot the Clerk”
And then he repeated
“I shot the clerk”
July 8th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Where’s the tape?
(man, you can tell it’s the offseason.) yawn.
July 8th, 2010 at 11:13 am
“If” Trueblood is telling the truth he and his Mom should sue the hell out of those cops & the convience store owner. There should be tapes of the incident & who was involved.
But as the “Raheem the Dream” rage continues, I guess we’ll find out real soon whether he is a genius or simply an amateur “wannabe”. My money will be on the “Amateur wannabe”. Can’t wait until the season starts to find out the answer!
July 8th, 2010 at 11:15 am
I dont think any “yutes” were involved, but it sounds like it was similar.
Trueblood: “We think they’re trying to set us up as patsies, Ma. You know how corrupt it is down(up) here. They all know each other.”
McKenny: “The Klan’s here. They’re inbred. They sleep with their sisters……..well some do!”
July 8th, 2010 at 11:55 am
UPDATE – suspects apprehended, then released under protest. Thomas claims to be a menace to society, and demands to be arrested “with the furry cuffs”. Local authorities refuse, after reading numerous post on the”JoeBuc” website, Thomas is deemed a “menace to sanity”. Which, sadly is not an arrestable offense- even in Indiana! The cuplid and twinkie throwing crime wave has official been deemed as “Over”! Thomas vows that he will live to hurl twinkies again!, until his demands( needs!). Are met!
July 8th, 2010 at 11:59 am
“Amateur wannabe” is too high a standard.
More like he is either a Hack,
Or a complete total moronic fool.
July 8th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Hey Joe…in light of two fathers (Tampa Policemen) being murdered in cold blood last week. How about deleting the “Cop Bashing” posts, at least for another week. Then the public can get back to normal and hating the police. Thanks.
July 8th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Sorry, I didn’t realize quoting a movie was “cop bashing”. Don’t think for a minute, this story should even be related to those two MURDERS and that low life MURDERER.
My nephew is a Tampa police officer and he proablly knows the “real hate” when he hears it and/or sees it. God Bless them all!
July 8th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
@Kevin Weak. Truly weak. Trying to censor people because you disagree. What a sissy move.
July 8th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
“Cop Bashing?” You mean the Trueblood posts? Joe even wrote in one of them how he understands how cops can be thin-skinned and sometimes overreact because of the dirtbags they deal with each day.
Hardly find that “Cop Bashing.”
July 8th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
One loses amateur status when one begins being paid by a professional team. You may not like him or his style, but he is a pro football coach in the NFL.
July 8th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
In one of my earlier posts at the top of the page, I never thought that the Trueblood incident was a big deal. And I’m not upset about the Talib, T-Jack incidents either. I’m just saying…….what I explained above is possibly a reason for stuff like that happening.
July 8th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I did not read through this, just looked at the chart. You guys may find in interesting though…
http://www.google.com/#q=Tampa+Bay+Bucs+arrest+history&hl=en&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=JS82TMOADIL68Aamxa2pAw&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CDoQ5wIwCg&fp=4b53d993194b88d
July 8th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Didn’t see any Cop bashing here! Nor do I believe even my most annoying fellow posters would put up with it! You’re off base Kevin. We may all disagree constantly, but Buc fans are the best people! USA, Tampa Bay, Mom,and Apple pie crowd here, Brother. Cops deserve the upmost respect for the Job they do, and that’s what The Capt. Gives them-upmost respect!!
July 8th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
McBuc, Read over some of that arrest chart. Some of them are anything associated with Tampa Buccaneers, such as the Panther’s cheerleaders arrested at bar in bathroom when they played the Bucs, or one is about a guy who sneaked into the Bucs locker room and was intoxicated, or any players that were on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So they all aren’t arrests of actual players.
Some of it is interesting though. Forgot about Nate Webster being arrested for battery and false imprisonment, before Dungy drafted him.
July 8th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Kevbo, I feel you, but we love the Cops. I was so hopeful that the TPD would have found that sorry POS before he could turn himself in. The headline should have read “Cop Killer found, Police accidentaly shot him 37 times, while handcuffed in the back of the squad car.”
God bless our Cops, but God Bless our Soldiers too.
If you are reading this in English, thank a Soldier.
July 9th, 2010 at 9:05 am
BigMac, That was like my thinking and ditto on English.