No Night Home Games For Bucs?
January 9th, 2011
Blogger Pat Yasinskas, the resident NFC South super expert for BSPN, claims the NFL will not want to give the Bucs a prime time home game in 2011 because the Bucs’ stadium will look lousy on TV.
Yasinskas spit out this somewhat misguided take in a live chat Friday.
Jason (Birmingham): Do you think the Bucs can ride this year’s momentum into some primetime games next year and some butts in the stands? Not sure what else the team could do to generate buzz and interest in the team.
Pat Yasinskas: Yeah, I think they’ll get a prime-time game or two. But it probably will be on the road. League won’t want to show a half-empty stadium.
Joe doesn’t buy this logic.
The No. 1 reason the Bucs would not get a night home game is because the TV networks aren’t going to pick a game that could be blacked out. Especially with Tampa Bay being the No. 14 ratings market.
For the networks the game is about total viewers, nothing else. And the executive that picks a potential blackout of millions of viewers would be begging for a pink slip.
Yasinskas is going way overboard with the “show a half-empty stadium” line, which surely wouldn’t be the case for a night game against a good team. If there were 5,000 or 10,000 unused seats, the TV cameras could easily avoid them with no problem.
If the Bucs want a home night game, then Joe suspects they’ll get one if Team Glazer lets the important NFL suits know that said game would be “a sellout” no matter what. It’s probably a wise move given how a night game surely makes season ticket sales more attractive.
Joe likes the odds of the Bucs getting a home night game. Plenty of attractive opponents to choose from in 2011 — Indy, Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans and Atlanta — and our 14th-ranked TV market is bigger than Minneapolis, Miami, Denver and Cleveland among NFL teams in the top 20 markets.
Pull some strings, Team Glazer. Joe’s aching to hear Chucky take credit for grooming Raheem.
January 9th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Hey, there’s Mr Jon Gruden, the ONLY coach to EVER win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He also has finished in first place in his division with the Buccaneers 3 different times. No other Bucs coach can claim those accolades with the Buccaneers. Gotta give that man his credit.
🙂 thanks for the memories Jon while we all sit home watching other teams play in the playoffs again.
January 9th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Hopefully Chucky will pressure BSPN into giving us a MNF game this next season.
Three words: ***k this *hit! We were 10-6 this past year!! And we might not get a primetime game?! Yet it seems like perennial losers like the Redskins are a lock every year for a primetime game.
Don’t the Jaguars have serious attendance issues? There was a MNF game in Jacksonville this last year and they have a much smaller market than we do.
Though I remember we went 9-7 back in 2008 and still got ZERO primetime games for 2009. With any other team that would’ve gotten them a primetime game or two but not us.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Keep trying Buc You. At some point you would think somebody would have to take something you post seriously, don’t ya think? Maybe not.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
If there were a blackout, it would only be in the Tampa market. The rest of the nation would still see the game. I don’t think the NFL would be worried about a night game for the Bucs, the game would be full of fans enough to make it look pretty decent on camera, and there are some pretty good matchups. Thing is, most of the nation still view the Bucs as the old 1980’s Bucs, and don’t really care… no matter how good they are. Even after the Super Bowl, we only had one prime time game.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Night game next season? I’m going.
January 9th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
[OffTopic]–Hey nnamdi asomugha is going to be a free agent any chance we can get him we need a lockdown Corner?
January 9th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
buc you ,if grudens a great coach you come up with a reasn the cheap glazers paid him to sit,they are the only owners to win a superbowl in tampa,they have a blueprint and chucky wasnt part of it
January 9th, 2011 at 5:52 pm
How about the Thursday night NFL Network Thanksgiving game? Make it out throwback game. That should generate a sellout..No work the next day for most..
January 9th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TClRXTk4Yio
January 9th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
You may never see a home game sold out again. There are too many transplant fans in Florida and a lot of Bucs fans have a grudge against the Glazers.
January 9th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Right off the bat you get to see why Buc You is such a mindless Buc hater: here is a Gruden lover. Man, isn’t it funny how some people are bigger fans of Gruden than the Bucs? Some of the most obnoxious haters on this site — Buc You and Thomas 2.1 — are just angry Gruden lovers. Sad, but true.
January 9th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
joe – I don’t think I’ve ever heard Gruden come close to taking credit for grooming Raheem…so I’m not sure why you would sully an otherwise spot-on blogpost?
The he-man-chucky-hater train left the station 2 years ago – maybe you missed that?
…now, you MIGHT hear something along the lines of grooming Olie…or maybe how “in love” he is with this unbelievable Josh Freeman kid…and the guy we MAY trade to San Francisco to re-unite with Jim Harbaugh…
…but I don’t think you’re going to hear Gruden make any false claims regarding Raheem Morris success. As a matter of fact, he appears to be taking great pains to ensure he doesn’t.
Gruden has been nothing but classy to Coach Morris. I believe they actually like each other – at least from their current vantage points and what each has meant to the other – neither bears the other any ill-will, and I think both Raheem Morris and Jon Gruden have their own “cults of personality….”
I know who you cheer for – me? I can come down happily – on both sides…
January 9th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
Gruden is the best coach we’ve had bar none. I think Raheem is on his way to surpass him and I can’t wait for the rings.
I don’t want a night game. Ill be at every home game and at least one away game. A night game just means a bunch of fake fans screaming while we’re on offense, spending more time at the pisser than in their seat, booing every penalty without having a clue, or any other number of things you do.
January 9th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Jon Gruden 1 Super Bowl win with the Buccaneers
Tony Dungy 0 Super Bowl wins with the Buccaneers
Sam Wyche 0 Super Bowl wins with the Buccaneers
Ray Perkins 0 Super Bowl wins with the Buccaneers
John McKay 0 Super Bowl wins with the Buccaneers
Raheem Morris 0 Super Bowl wins with the Buccaneers
January 9th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
buc you, ur a dumbass, plain and simple!!! even with the bucs wining and ur screwing us??? carolina panties are receiving bandwagoners fans, maybe you can apply!!!!
January 9th, 2011 at 9:22 pm
No, I’m a Buccaneer fan and can’t understand why no one wants to give the only coach to win the franchise its only Super Bowl credit?
That list was purely factual. Look I know you guys would love nothing more than to re-write history and give that SB to someone else, but that’s not how it is fellas.
Do you think Steelers fans hate Cowher?
Do you think Packer fans hate Holmgram?
Do you think Giant fans hate Parcells?
Cowboy fans hate Johnson or Switzer?
How about Denver fans, do they hate Shanahan?
I mean, what fanbase really hates the coach that won them the Super Bowl???
Do the Glaziers think it was THIER super bowl???
January 9th, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Not to mention the fact that I saw a couple Thursday night games, a few Sunday night games, and a Monday nght game (in Miami) where the stadiumwas no where close to sold out.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Chuckie the “offensive guru” won the Super Bowl with the #1 defense and #24 offense. The year before under Dungy, the offense was ranked #26.
Our amazing defense dominated that year and won us that ring. We would have won that Super Bowl with Dungy. He and Monte had put in all the work and he deserved it. Gruden came in and got Dungy’s ring for doing nothing. Gruden’s biggest contribution was knowing the Raider’s playbook since it was HIS playbook, which made the Super Bowl victory even easier.
Then, he forced McKay out and brought in the idiot boy Bruce Allen so the two of them could systematically pick apart and destroy this franchise. They forced out Lynch and Sapp before they were ready, they didn’t a single young offensive player evolve while they were here, and they left us in shambles with next to no talent.
Now we have a real coach and GM again and they are doing a great job rebuilding from scratch.
This is the reality of the last decade and the real reason people dislike Gruden. He’s an a$$ clown
January 9th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Actually, Buc You, I think you’ll find quite a few Cowboys fans that never have liked Switzer. They think he won with Jimmy Johnson’s team, and never did anything to improve the team after that year.
January 9th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
buc you, i liked wyche hated to see him go hated dungy for a year loved the way he brought an identity to the team hated gruden all off season loved him when he was succesful,hated raheim because i felt he was over his head loved the way hes teaching these players and how he seldom makes the same mistake.man im in love with the team,do you think id cheer for a dungy team over the bucs,or a wyche team or even a gruden team.I dont look for silly reasons to hate on the team in hope that i can talk fans out of going to games because of the coach.There are a lot of silly comments made by the haters but the one i cant get is that the grudens are cheap,they are not cheap everone brags about the way the steelers or the patriots run a team they seldom sign free agents, there players grow up with the team and get paid when they earn it .patriots the same way.if you think your bigger Than the team, bye.the simple fact that we could have a dynasty in the making actually pisses alot of gruden lovers crazy.when gruden coaches again ill cheer for him,except when he plays the bucs,your on your own,owners build championships.a lot of teams have multiple championships with diffrent coaches but dont know one coach to do it with multiple teams
January 9th, 2011 at 11:45 pm
We won one super bowl. But never got close again. So. Gruden yay im glad you won us a super bowl (or helped win it) But i like raheem because this is a team that wil have chances to win MULTIPLE super bowls.
January 10th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Who hates Gruden? Some think it was time for us to move on, but I don’t know anyone who hates Gruden. We all appreciate and greatly respect what he did in Tampa. That can never be taken away. However, it is very obvious that it was time for a change. That doesn’t mean he’s not a good coach, but NFL coaches just don’t last long with the same team. That is a fact. He was here 7 years, that’s a pretty good stretch. What more do you want, Buc You? He’s gone, time to move on with your life. It’s been 2 full seasons! It’s over. Are you a Bucs fan or a Gruden fan?
January 10th, 2011 at 12:45 am
Hate is a strong word, but I never liked Gruden. He has little man complex and a big ego. He also has no idea how to coach young men. Only thing he is good at is coming up with offensive plays so complicated that most players get confused.
January 10th, 2011 at 1:40 am
SamsonSneed:
You are incorrect and misguided on so many issues Joe doesn’t know where to start.
Look at the starting offensive lineup under Dungy and then under Chucky. If you still believe Gruden did nothing to help the Bucs you simply have your head in the sand.
Joe wishes he could remember this, but there was a defensive package Monte Kiffin wanted to use when Dungy was here but Dungy wouldn’t let him use it. Chucky comes in and told Kiffin to do what he sees fit. That defense was utterly dominant in 2002, one of the best ever.
If you still believe the Bucs would have won a ring under Father Dungy, go to Hulu.com and watch the Bucs edition of America’s Game and listen to Sapp and Lynch speak for themselves about how Chucky was able to put the pieces together than Father Dungy wasn’t.
January 10th, 2011 at 1:43 am
Buc You:
Oh, yeah. Steelers fans, quite a large percentage, wanted to run Cowher out on a rail until he finally got a ring. To this day, a very large percentage of Steelers fans believe Cowher choked too often in the playoffs and left a lot of rings on the field.
Sadly, people around here don’t hold Father Dungy to the same standard.
But you are correct, for some reason people around here love Father Dungy — the man who failed here — more so than Chucky, the man who succeeded here.
Was it time for Chucky to go? Joe believes the evidence is overwhelming. That doesn’t mean Joe will forget what that man did for this team and the area.
January 10th, 2011 at 7:47 am
I agree it was time for Gruden to go too… 7 years in itself is a long time in the NFL. Sort of like dog years.
Just as Raheem deserves his credit for going 10-6 with a bunch of young rookies, Gruden deserves credit for the Super Bowl and Divisions he helped bring to Tampa.
The Glaziers need to bridge these eras FOR the fanbase to show that all these coaches and players, for better or for worse, are part of the Buccaneers history. They should push for reunions and bring them all together and give them all their due credit for being Buccaneers.
January 10th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Did Joe really just try to make the case that Gruden was responsible for our defense being better in 2002?
BWAHAHaahahHAhAHhAHAHHaHHAhHAhHAHahAHAHHAHhahHAhHAhAhHAHAHAhHAhAhHAhAHhHAhAHHAhAHha!
1996 – Defense ranked 11th
1997 – Defense ranked 3rd
1998- Defense ranked 2nd
1999 – Defense ranked 3rd
2000 – Defense ranked 9th
2001- Defense ranked 6th
….but the only reason our defense ranked 1st in 2002 was because Gruden rode into town and let Kiffin try a new formation? Ok Joe…sure thing buddy.
Or maybe it was because it was Simeon Rice’s second year in Tampa and all our vets were at their peak and everything clicked. His presence pushed the defense over the edge from being a consistent top 10 defense to the undisputed #1 defense.
It had NOTHING to do with Gruden allowing Kiffin more freedom. Kiffin never changed anything. Ever. He didn’t know how to evolve. That’s why it was a good time for him to move on when he did.
January 10th, 2011 at 9:49 am
SamsonSneed:
Believe what you want then.
January 10th, 2011 at 11:38 am
smasonsneed,
Kiffin himself has said this in inteviews. Dungy didn’t allow certain packages he wanted, especially blitzing packages. Personally, I think our defensive line peeked before the SuperBowl and Dungy should have made it to the Big One with those.
BTW the Bucs offense was rated 18th overall and not 26th.
If you don’t think Gruden, his offense, and his passion for the game didn’t help, then why couldn’t Dungy make it there with his? Also, if you think Gruden won it with Dungy’s team, do you think Marvin Lewis or Maraucci would have won if for us too, if they would have been hired? I don’t think so!
Oh well, like Joe says, believe what you want. And in that case, I do have a nice bridge for sale, if you’re interested?
January 10th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Thanks for backing Joe up oar!
January 10th, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Loved Dungy’s time in Tampa, he re-caste this team into a feared defense, unfortunately his refusal to deal with the side of the ball that’s supposed to score points cost him his job.
…and just because it feels so good to rub an idiots nose in the carpet for the foolishness he contributes – anyone, anywhere making the (idiotic) point that Gruden won the superbowl with Dungy’s team – makes about as much sense as stating Dungy won his Indy superbowl with mMora’s team.
See what I mean rock-heads – stupid.
Loved Gruden when Gruden was here – took what Dingy built and coached the heck out of them – beat Philly (in freakin’ Philly), and did it in “temperature below 40 degrees”…re-caste the offensive line, scored when he had to – and was THE ONLY HEAD COACH FITTED FOR A SUPERBOWL RING – and did ALL of it while in his FIRST season…Chucky was a rock-star.
and for all of you idot rockheads STILL clinging to your foolishness about Gruden winning with someone elses team – need to ALSO realize that the rest of us intelligent BUCCANEER fans (team fans, not just individual fans) KNOW…that Gruden was the FIRST coach to have BOTH the team HE built, face the team he coached to the super-friggin-bowl! and if it weren’t FOR Gruden’s Bucs facing Gruden’s Raiders…we wouldn’t have won that Superbowl. We had their playbook and Rich Gannon threw 3 touchdown passes….
I didn’t like it, but understood that the owners had every right to fire Gruden and hire Raheem Morris.
…and now – I’m loving Raheem Morris coaching effort…it’s simply impossible to deny…these are truly superb owners!
January 10th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
White Tiger…Another example would be the Raiders, if Dungy was the reason the Bucs went, than Gruden would have been in it anyway…It is silly. The person that is in the job gets the credit. The reason Dungy is so loved in Tampa, is the fact that he made the Bucs relevant.
January 10th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
I loved them both as Bucs head coaches, too! And, hopefully Raheem is on his way to another good season and proving me wrong, again!