Sabby Piscitelli Released
November 30th, 2010
Joe’s good friend, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620 just broadcast word that the Bucs have cut safety Sabby Piscitelli.
So ends an era that tormented Bucs fans like few Bucs players have.
Piscitelli came into the NFL with great optimism and was (unfairly) compared with former Bucs great John Lynch for a number of reasons likely beginning with his skin pigmentation.
Like Lynch, Sabby came from an upper-class background. Like Lynch, Piscitelli was a force at a PAC-10 also-ran school.
Unlike Lynch, Sabby never seemed to grasp the fine art of mentally mastering the game. Sabby found himself in the Bucs starting lineup last year after Jermaine Phillips was hurt and Sabby soon was roasted more than a badly deep-fried turkey.
Given a fresh start with the eradication of the heinous Jim Bates Experiment, Sabby failed to win the favor of Raheem Morris and lost the starting job to Sean Jones this summer. In an ugly incident, Sabby publicly lashed out at his coach claiming the fix was in and that Sean Jones all along was going to be named the starter despite how well Sabby may have played in the preseason.
The problem was, Sabby was still making the same mental mistakes over and over and over again just as he had with the heinous Jim Bates Experiment.
How far Sabby fell out of favor with the Bucs braintrust was evident when Tanard Jackson was suspended for the season for failing a banned substance test. Rather than tabbing Sabby for the opening the Bucs turned to rookie Cody Grimm, essentially relegating Sabby to third string.
Shortly after Grimm was lost Sunday to a broken fibula, and lost for the season, someone badly blew coverage on Crows tight end Todd Heap resulting in a long Crows touchdown. Though no one not on the field knew for sure who blew the coverage, though some knowledgeable football people suggested it was Sabby.
Given that Sabby didn’t last 48 hours after the game tells Joe it was Sabby who blew coverage on that fateful play.
This is not to kick sand in Sabby’s face or to dance on his grave. But the move suggests the Bucs gave Sabby every reasonable opportunity to redeem himself on the field and to earn playing time and Sabby just didn’t or wasn’t able to take advantage.
Sadly, Sabby’s tenure with the Bucs will go down as racking up the most mistackles (19) of any defender in the NFL for the 2009 season.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Saw we grabbed Larry Asante off the Browns PS…….liked that kid coming out of Nebraska hopefully he turns into something. Buh bye Goat!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Mad props to JDouble saying we need to pickup Larry Asante this morning. I like the pick up as well. I fear he might be a liability in coverage but I’d rather have a guy score a touchdown b/c someone wasn’t able to cover him rather than forgot to….oh ya plus he can tackle.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
NOW it is time to sell out the game đ
November 30th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
About time!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
GTFO! Hey Jermaine, pack your bags, you’re headed to Tampa!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
it’s the first time the bucs ever won on a tuesday.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
BAAAAAA!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I had to hear this from my brother in law from NC. I usually get to break big news to him. What took so long?
November 30th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Per the Bucs Twitter page, Kyle Moore was also placed on IR.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
It’s about time, good to see the bucs making decisions that reflect the outcome of games immediately!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
OMG wasn’t expecting this one. Corey Lynch to start? The practice squad guy can’t be the only safety they are picking up They are still thin at safety and will have to sign one more guy at least. Maybe they will sign Phillips. Or Maybe Ronde to safety is happening.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
We signed Brandon Carter – Guard, and Vince Anderson – Safety, Dez Briscoe as well as Larry Asante from the Browns PS
November 30th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Wow!
Sorry to hear hes gone. He was given alot of chances though. Hopefully the next guy can do a better job!
GO BUCS!!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
WOW! Sabby should really go to the UFL and learn his position. That is if he really wants to play football.
Thank God your gone!
WALK WHILE YOU TALK BEATCH!
November 30th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
So in two days we have 3 players placed on IR and one player cut.
This opens 4 roster spots. One of them filled by Larry Asante.
Are there any DEs out there worth grabbing?
November 30th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Joe,
Serious question. Are you retiring the “goat” photo or will it be used when you report that Sabby has landed in the UFL?
Jon
November 30th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Travis, wish I would have read your post first!
So the Bucs bring in NO VETS. Every player is a rookie. Sigh.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Fly Sabby, fly.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Jon:
Joe didn’t feel like piling on. The picture Joe used above speaks more to the move than the goat photo.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Nicely put
November 30th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
The NFL is a mental game, and just physical talent is not enough, as Sabby found out.
November 30th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Briscoe, Vincent Anderson, Paint faced Carter, and asante all joining the roster.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
I hate being happy about a man losing his job, but I’m sure Sabby will find work elsewhere. The Browns had a surplus of young safety talent, so here’s hoping Asante pans out. Go Bucs!
November 30th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
giving him his outright release is actually much more humane than benching him. he’s a freakish athlete but he just doesnt have it between the ears as far as football goes. at least atlanta wont have somebody with a ton of bad tape on to try to exploit.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
I bought a Sabby Piscatelli jersey before last season on eBay for $19 bucks.
My previous jersey purchases before that were Ruud and Gaines Adams.
Players I buy jerseys for seem to suck.
(Disclosure: I bought a Gerald McCoy jersey this offseason)
November 30th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Also signed DE- E.J. Wilson and WR- Ed Gant to practice squad……now only one spot left on PS…..
November 30th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
its impossible to hide a turd in the defensive backfield in the nfl and luckily raheem and dominik know that. obviously lynch will get the start this week so hopefully they can disguise some coverages to try and protect him a little bit.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
The best part of all this is all these guys we’re grabbing from others practice squad belong to us at the end of the season so we’ll have a lot of young guys competing with our draft picks next year.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Im hoping against hope that Corey Lynch can do something. I think we already know he won’t be a big time in the box safety like Grimm and Jackson were. But he has shown some small ability to make plays in coverage in very limited playing time. Here’s hoping against hope that we can get lucky AGAIN at the safety position.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
number41, you could have bought almost any jersey from the gruden/allen era and that would have ended poorly for you.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Sean Jones has been the guy in the box at times this year too ,so hopefully he can help pick up the slack in the running game.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I just want to jump up and down and sing “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead”!
Way to go Coach Rah, I like you more and more each day.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
I don’t know if I’m more excited about this, or being tied for first in the JoeBucsFan NFL pick em’ (BucWild)
November 30th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Wow! I follow Styles White on Twitter and even he is piling on the old goat! Says quote: “Sabby is turrible” and “shouldn’t have made final roster”. I’m no Sabby fan, but the guy has it bad enough without former teammates dogging him. The guy sure is bad though! Well, adios Goat! Hope you can find greener fields to get torched on!
November 30th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I’m thinking that the Bucs may move Ronde to safety.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
WOW that’s surprising news considering this – who’s going to play FS?
What happens if Sean Jones gets hurt or Lynch gets hurt?
Sorry but losing the Grimm Reaper yesterday cost the Bucs a playoff spot.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Mark my words – Dez Briscoe will be a factor for this team before the season is over. Watched him personally at Kansas and the dude has NFL written all over him if he can put it together.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
BTW Joe,
Classy decision to NOT use the goat photo with this news. I applaud your decision.
November 30th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Gotta say…The Drudge style siren made me LOL.
/Old school, yo!
November 30th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Too funny… the good news is that Sabby won’t have to take the blame anymore. It really is a win for him and a loss for Rah. Who’s the next scapegoat going to be?
November 30th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Buc You said: “Whoâs the next scapegoat going to be?”
Ask Number41 (above) whose jersey he is buying next!
November 30th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
@MOBucs: THAT’S NOT STYLEZ G WHITE, THAT IS STEVE WHITE!!!
November 30th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
SkookumSmitty, Classic! ROFL!
November 30th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
AQIB TALIB OFFICIALLY NOT GOING TO BE FINED ACCORDING TO NFL….
November 30th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Good looking out Hunter! Didn’t look close enough at the tweet. JoeBucsFan retweeted that. Stylez and GMC aren’t much to follow on Twitter, but typically tweet happy thoughts.
November 30th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
@Buc You,
Why do you keep saying that Raheem needs a scapegoat? When has he ever used someone as a scapegoat? Come on chicken sh&t, give me an answer? I know you won’t, because you never do. He wouldn’t even point the finger at Sabby for the blown coverage. I have watched every press conference this year and last year, and he has NEVER made an excuse for anything. He has never blamed another player for anything. He actually blamed himself for the blown assignment, so really what the hell are you talking about? I’m sick of you and your baseless arguments, that in fact couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s fine to have an opinion, but to just spit nonsense because you have internal issues is just stupid.
November 30th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
hey joe ill take one of those Saabby the goat jerseys!!lol. RIP GOAT
November 30th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
@hawaiianbuc (i am only raising this b/c of your comment):
List of other Raheem scapegoats:
Jeff Jagodzinski;
Jim Bates;
To name two major ones. And you are right that he doesnt DIRECTLY accuse them publicly. He just provides vague and mumbling answers about who is responsible, and never himself, and then he fires the person – which of course makes it crystal clear publicly that the fired person, and not him, is who the org is blaming for the failure.
I personally felt that it was disgusting that Jags and Bates were scapegoated last year for the head coaches gross failures.
But this is a new season, and I m thrilled that Sabby is no longer a part of this team. He was the worst NFL player I recall witnessing, sorry sabby, but true.
November 30th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
November 30th = National Holiday
November 30th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
I remember the John Lynch comparisons and I remember seeing this kid in person and thinking to myself that this kid going to kill someone out there I didn’t think it was going to be himself what a shame. Best of luck Pizon you can spend more time with paulie,Christopher, and Tony at the Bada Bing
November 30th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
@Thomas,
So by firing them, he is using them as scapegoats? Do you even know what a scapegoat is? Did he ever say, “well we would have been better had we not had those guys.” No, he saw a mistake and fixed it. Are you even thinking about what you are saying? The only thing I can say he did wrong was he took too long to get rid of Bates. Big key in sports, business, etc.: if you make a mistake, correct it as soon as possible. Have you not seen better results since then? You do realize that it was universal throughout the organization (players, coaches, front office) that they were not doing a good job? Even the media said it, including the guy who runs this website. So why do you feel they should have stayed, just because you refuse to give Raheem an ounce of credit for anything, yet you blame him for everything. You are definitely alone in that belief, thank God you don’t run this team. Do you realize that we gave up almost 10 points per game less in the half season Raheem was the DC? Do you realize we are #9 this season in points allowed? But oh no, let’s not give him any credit for that? And you say he never blames himself, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Obviously you don’t listen to the press conferences, because he takes the blame all the time, even as recent as after the Ravens game. So really, what are you talking about?
November 30th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
I hate to kick a guy when he is down, but this was long overdue. What really puzzles me is how could someone so incredibly bad get this far and last for so long. There have been others who at least to me, had far greater talent and were cut without having played a single down in the regular season.
November 30th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I was hoping for Sabby to be cut as soon as Heap scored that TD. Thank you Raheem for making my wish come true!!
November 30th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
And it isn’t even Passover.
November 30th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
After the last game Morris said the blown Heap play was a break down in communication, which meant it was his fault as the coach.
Scapegoat? Really? Sound like sour grapes from a few here . . .
November 30th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Buc You has to be the stupidest poster in the history of the internet. I didn’t realize they allowed internet access to the people at the group home.
December 1st, 2010 at 1:14 am
Cheers!!!!!!!
December 1st, 2010 at 1:53 am
“I personally felt that it was disgusting that Jags and Bates were scapegoated last year for the head coaches gross failures.”
The same Jags and Bates that are no longer in the league?
December 1st, 2010 at 2:58 am
@Lucas Jackson,
Yep, those are the two. Pretty much all of the “scapegoats” are out of the league. Don’t worry, neither Thomas or Buc You will respond, because they know they are wrong. Instead, they will just wait until the next article so that they can repeat themselves again and again. They just give baseless opinions without an ounce of proof. If we win the Super Bowl, they will still say that it was because of everybody in spite of Raheem. Raheem could literally fart rainbows and they would not be impressed, because that’s just the kind of “fans” they are.
December 1st, 2010 at 8:36 am
Hawaiian:
If rah farts rainbows or wins a super bowl I will be impressed. However, the former is infinitely more likely than the latter.
In fact, this team hasnt beat a playoff caliber team yet, and probably wont.
So while you sit back and believe rah is farting rainbows and the positives are all rah’s credit and the negatives are always the fault of everyone else, I will reserve judgment to see if they beat one team worth a damn.
If they win this week, I will give the proper participants credit including Rah if deserved.
Your point is ludicrous about: “did he ever say that we wouldd have been better if not for those guys?”
By firing someone after a loss or losses – that is exactly what he is saying. And saying that “communication” was the problem on the Heap play was not Rah accepting responsibility in any way – it was him saying that non-specific “player” (sabby) didn’t receive the communication that the other 10 players received.
December 1st, 2010 at 10:29 am
Thomas 2.1 hates Rah. Fine. Good for you. I love the guy. We haven’t beat a playoff team this year… so we’re not that good yet. BUT WE’VE BEAT EVERYONE ELSE. We were 3-13 last year!!! HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Someone’s doing SOMETHING right!
As for Sabby, don’t let the door hit your @$$. NAH NAH NAH NAH… NAH NAH NAH NAH… HEEEY HEYY HEEEYYYY… GOOD BYYYYYYYEEE
December 1st, 2010 at 11:00 am
Well stated, Joe. Look, billions upon billions of people in the world are not cut out to play in the NFL. Sabby has always been one of them.
December 1st, 2010 at 1:16 pm
@Thomas
You are so wrong. Listen to the press conference. He said that it was his fault about the bad communication. Watch the press conference before you go spouting off ignorance. Him firing someone is no different than someone getting fired from another job. If someone doesn’t lock the front door to my office and all my equipment is stolen, their arse will be fired. It’s not about me blaming someone, it’s that I can’t have someone continue to put my company in jeopardy.
You are not reserving judgement, you have made up your mind how you feel a long time ago. The improvement this team has shown is miraculous, regardless of who they have beaten. To sit here and complain that they haven’t beaten anyone is just sour grapes. Did you expect them to be 7-4? If not, then they have exceeded expectations and you should be impressed. But of course you are not, because you want them to beat playoff teams first. Once they do, I bet you won’t be here singing their praises, you will just disappear until the next loss. That’s pretty pathetic, but completely true, and you know it.
December 1st, 2010 at 8:02 pm
HB…You said it all man. I was goint to reply to Buc You and Thomas, but you have stated everything that needs to be said. Screw those two.