Faine Passes On Freeman’s Workouts
May 25th, 2011
Guess who turned down the true leader of the Bucs when asked to participate in informal team workouts in Tampa?
That would be Bucs captain Jeff Faine, aka Captain Negative.
Remember, this is the same dude who told the St. Pete Times Freeman wouldn’t be able to get strong attendance at his workouts and was all down about them.
“You’re not going to see Josh Freeman and our receiving corps down at the University of Tampa soccer field,” Faine said. “They might go out there and run some routes and throw. But you’re talking about getting an entire receiving corps together being able to work against an entire defensive backs corps. It’s just not going to happen.”
Now Faine has changed his tune a bit during an interview with J.P. Peterson yesterday evening on WQYK-AM 1010.
Jeff Faine: I was actually invited. I guess they wanted me to come snap the ball a little bit and block air. But I decided my time was best served in the weight room than making sure that our snaps were still good. They’re definitely putting in some work. These guys are out there throwing the ball. It’s good. It’s great for our young receivers and our young franchise quarterback to be able to get together and throw the ball around the yard a little bit and spend a little time together. They’ll hopefully be able to basically supplement what we’d normally be doing. But of course it definitely isn’t replacing the amount of work we’d normally be putting in, and that’s something that’s definitely going to be missed this upcoming season.
J.P. Peterson: Pretty good participation level?
Faine: “From what I’ve been told from Josh, I checked in with him earlier today actually, great turnout. These guys were lifting, doing a little running and doing some routes and what not. So it’s been good.”
What a captain! Faine’s fellow Bucs are lifting, running and working and Faine feels his presence is meaningless.
Perhaps it is.
May 25th, 2011 at 11:07 am
I agree that his attitude doesn’t seem great, but there are some mitigating factors:
1) He’s on OL, there really probably isn’t a lot he could do just by himself without anyone to block. It would be kind of silly.
2) He’s the team rep for the lockout. As such, it’s his job to act like (even if he doesn’t believe it), that the players are being harmed by the lockout. Anything he does that says, ‘Nah, it’s not really a big deal’ hurts the players case from the NFL’s viewpoint.
May 25th, 2011 at 11:09 am
Very well said Matt.
May 25th, 2011 at 11:16 am
All that nasty, childish ink has gone to his brain.
Let’s be honest: Faine is more concerned about selling some ugly-ass shirt made in a slave labor camp in Indochina that not even Wal-Mart would put on their shelves than he is about winning football games.
Selfish SOB!
May 25th, 2011 at 11:59 am
For you poor bastards that don’t have NFL network…Sapp has constantly preached the importance of when he and the rest of his guys got together and sweat blood and tears, and how that bonded them to each other and how no matter what happened no one could take that sense of family from them…He especially emphasizes how Meyshawn didnt do that…and how they never considered him one of them, and it showed…
I think Faine is a good player, BUT! he’s starting to piss me off with all his undermining actions…
Hey you know who else is a pretty good player: J Zuttah…and last I heard..I haven’t heard any dumbass comments from him.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Hey Matt no offense but I’ve seen plenty of player reps organizing and participating in these types of workouts…Drew Brees, Derrick Mason etc
May 25th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
Jorge’
Good post, I agree with you 100%.
Being there and building team chemistry is what’s important and getting acclimated to the heat and sun. I doubt A/C Faine will be voted to be a captain again this year, if he is lucky enough to still be on the team. He would still be a decent backup for Zuttah. I bet Josh had a few choice words for Faine. My guess is that Jeff is in Orlando and even if he only came down for a day or two here and there it would mean a lot to the rest I’m sure. I know gas prices are high but come on.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
The Bucs paid too much for him. He gets rag-dolled by big Dts/Nts.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Bingo Jorge.
If Faine tried to pull these stunts with Sapp around, let’s just say there would be fireworks.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
Matt:
What Drew Brees’ problem then? Not only is he one of the leaders of the NFLPA, unlike Faine, Brees’ name is on the lawsuit against the NFL. Yet there Brees is leading workouts with the Saints.
Meanwhile, I guess Faine is checking the inventory of his slacks in his haberdashery.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
I seem to remember some bad snaps last year… from both Faine and Zuttah… I think it would help to get those two guys there to practice on that if it’s just that alone…
Also – don’t we have a LS with a bum achilles? Shouldn’t someone being thinking about getting those snaps in?…
May 25th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
They better not mess up one snap this whole season
May 25th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I bet there will not be a Captain’s “C” on his jersey this year.
Faine needs to really re-evaluate the location of his cranium and just how far up his own arse he should keep it. This shows the same type of dismissive attitude that “politicians” have possessed in Washington DC in which they seem to feel like “they” know what is best. And see where that has got us?
On JP’s show he is always talking about all of his diversity in this prolonged “Off-season”. Not a whole lot of his focus seems to be on Football (other than the pissing and moaning) and most of it seems to be elsewhere. I will give him the benefit of the doubt that as a professional athelete, he is at a higher level of approach when it comes to his ability to focus on working out by himself. However, Football is a TEAM sport and whatever these guys can do as a team can only benefit the team. Freeman is not conducting a Tiddly-Winks tournament, he is doing typical off-season type working out with TEAMMATES. He is getting back to work in his profession the best that he can given the circumstances that are beyond his control.
The representation that Faine’s dismissive excuse presents of “it does not benefit linemen to participate in such things as they can not develope unless there is contact” seems more like he is glad that he does not HAVE to go to work so he won’t volunteer to go in on his own. Maybe Faine feels relieved that there is a Lock out so that he does not have to “work” this off-season. He sounds just like a kid who prays for snow so that there will be a “snow day” and close school.
To Avoid it to prove a point of Players vs. Owners is totally unprofessional if not immature and shows that he truly does not get it and thus should never be voted as a TEAM Captain again.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Faine sure doesn’t come off as a team leader. He’s a good player when healthy, but Zuttah didn’t seem to miss a beat when Faine went down again last season.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
MOBucs:
And how old is Faine? And how much money does he make?
May 25th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Buc Neckid:
Joe heard Ross Tucker this morning (along with co-host Peter King), a former offensive lineman, talk about these workouts on SiriusXM NFL Radio and while he admitted unless you have the new playbook the workouts don’t accomplish a whole lot, he said the camaraderie and team chemistry they build are invaluable.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
There probably is some benefit to qb’s rb’s and wr’s working on passing game timing etc. Also strength and conditioning is a must.
But to think that Faine is missing much by not being there to snap and block air is looking for a reason to criticize him. I dont understand how joe and others could be pro-glazer and anti-faine (or for some anti-ruud)
May 25th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
And the fun starts……….
Snapping the ball to the QB is one of the most important activities in the game. Ask Mike Pouncy. Games are won and lost in the trenches, and to say that snapping the ball doesn’t matter is about like saying that snapping your little chicken neck doesn’t matter either.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
“I dont understand how joe and others could be pro-glazer and anti-faine (or for some anti-ruud)”
Joe isn’t exactly “anti-Ruud,” in case you haven’t read the many Ruud articles the past couple of months.
Joe sees and understands Ruud’s critics. Yet there are far too many football insiders who swear on a stack of Bibles Ruud is doing exactly what Raheem is asking him to do. Too many “men in the know” who swear by Ruud for Joe to ignore.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
I’m anti-faine. I havent liked what i’ve seen from him since he’s been here.
He has a head like a gorilla which makes me laugh.
May 25th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
I’m anti-anyone who hinders the Bucs from being prepared to play tackle football in 2011 once the owners and the “union” get their heads out of their backsides.
If Faine ain’t part of the solution…
May 25th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Well said number 41! well said!
May 25th, 2011 at 1:18 pm
Once again Thumb ass is an idiot and IMO Faine will be cut when the lockout is over and he sees the writing on the wall or else he would be there. I don’t care what MD said earlier this offseason. His salary tells another story along with his piss poor snaps. Future salaries: 2011: $4.575 million, 2012: $5.925 million, 2013: $7 million
May 25th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
That kind of money Pwnasaurus, he should be the best C in football.
May 25th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
joe
u should prob look into this a bit more. this morning at 6 it was announced on btls that he was unable to come into studio this morning as was scheduled b/c he was going to be attending the practice that freeman set up. spice said he had talked to him late yesterday.
May 25th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Rookie UDFA’s…
Kris O’Dowd, C, USC. Age: 23.
Jake Kirkpatrick, C, TCU. Age: 24.
Tim Barnes, C, Missouri. Age: 23.
Alex Linnenkohl, C, Oregon State. Age: 23.
Kirkpatrick is my choice.
May 25th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
alan thomas:
Joe has to apologize, he doesn’t know what any of this means. Who is “he?” What is “btls?” What is “spice?”
May 25th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Joe
Me thinks, not often enough, though Alan meant….
he=Faine
btls=Bubba the love sponge Radio Show
spice=Personalitiy on above show
Not sure, but that is my guess????????
May 25th, 2011 at 2:11 pm
OAR:
Ah, thanks!
If Joe isn’t listening to SiriusXM NFL Radio in the mornings, he’s listening to the King of All Media, Howard Stern.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Like Sapp would say, “Is he a good player? Yes. Is he one of the rare air special guys? No. This is BUC BALL! We always do off-season together!!”.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
At joe: i put for “for some” in brackets to exclude you guys.
At 41: the owners (including glazers) are “hindering the bucs from getting ready for tackle football in 2011” by locking the players out of work until they accept a bad deal – much more than anything faine has said or done.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Hey Joe, I hear that piece of human debris Talib is working out making license plates.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Sigh.
What would happen if the Glazers opened their doors to the players? They would be fined each day…$50,000.
So how about you educate yourself next time around.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
On Faine…I don’t really care if he shows up at practice. He had a point about “blocking air”. This means, I assume, that Freeman is only working with the offense?
If so, I don’t see why any offensive Lineman would show up there.
But, of course…Joe, you haven’t mentioned ANY of the other linemen.
I reckon this means they all showed? How is Zuttah performing at center at these practices?
What? Not there??? Ahh…of course…
May 25th, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Joe here
@Pete Dutcher — Fact is, Joe can’t confirm which, if any, other linemen were invited to attend let alone which were there, but it’s not relevant. Faine, the captain, was invited and declined.
Joe wrote previously about James Lee and Davin Joseph training together in Tampa.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Pete:
You dont have to impose a lockout to continue negotiating after the union decertified you idiot. You are clueless. After a trial court ruled that locking out a non-existent union was illegal, the nfl filed a motion for temporary injunction to avoid being bound by that ruling until an appellate ruling. The Only reason the players arent working, now, while cba negotiations continued is the owners, including the glazers, desire. Your 50k a day argument is irrelevant. Educate yourself before embarrassing yourself you clown.
May 25th, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Faine another Allen/Gruden signing? They weren’t just known for overdrafting, but apparently they were guilty of oversigning FA’s as well.
Since he was signed away from the Saints I’ve never once heard anyone in the media describe his play as worthy of any mention. His career highlight was being a Pro Bowl alternate in ’07 with the Saints. That’s it. Nothing else to write home about.
This will probably be Faine’s last season as a Buc. He makes too much, he’s injured too often and his play is just average to slightly above average at times. We have two guys who are very capable centers in Zuttah and Larsen. We can also draft one in the first four rounds next year if necessary. Oh, and Barnes is the best UFA center in my opinion. We’ve got options.
May 25th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
I smell a goat.
May 25th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
When I was a leader on my high school football team…expectations on me were high. Also, I played center so it was a big responsibility. All the linemen look to you and the QB needs you as well. Protections need to be called and emotion needs to be set. It’s a BIG deal. Gotta study hard in the film room and ATTEND ALL the camps (voluntary or not). Basically, the QB of the O-line.
As for me, I think Zuttah is good enough to replace Faine and Freeman must carry a lot of weight when it comes to cuts…it is all about #5 you know…
GO BUCS!
May 25th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Ahh, the famed: “when i was a high school football player” reference. I assume everyone commenting here at least played high school football and it is impossible to compare your high school career to the nfl – as illustrious as it was.
May 25th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
get this bum a ticket out of town… and not a plane ticket a greyhound bus ticket
May 25th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Much ado about nothing. Dear lord. I hope this lockout ends soon, so non stories like this can end.
May 25th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
@Joe
Sorry, buddy…I’m just in a grouchy mood today. Shouldn’t have used that tone in my post.
Okay…I’m going to hold back the insults and handle this like an adult.
Thomas…did you ever consider that not all owners were in favor of the lockout?
Consider this…the teams with owners who have over-extended themselves are the ones that initiated all this. Owners like Jones, who has spent so much on a stadium that he’s hurting for it.
Just to play devils advocate, if there actually were some owners not in favor of a lockout…who do you think they’d be? Perhaps the ones that are set as far as the cap and profit margin?
Or perhaps one of the youngest teams in the NFL, knowing that time off will slow the development of their young players?
Assuming such situations exist, would they have a choice but to go along with a majority vote amongst all the owners?
Think it through, kid.
And while you are at it…stop refusing to hold the players accountable. Three times the owners have offered to step up to the table, and the players refused each time. They are the ones who decided to take this to the courts.
And they are the ones asking for much, much more than they deserve. The players get more than the owners. In any other business…does that happen?
Now, I know you love to insult and debate, and I know that nearly everyone here has a bad opinion of you. But here is a news flash, buddy:
I’m rubber…you’re glue…
(now we’re talking on your level)
May 25th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Actually Thomas, the point I was trying to make was just what you said…if it was so important in HS, how much more important in the NFL?
Kinda missed the point…
May 25th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Pete: all that sounds like an admission that your 50k a day argument is crap.
Point to one source that has said that the Glazers arent in full agreement with everything that the nfl has done and are doing. There are none, your suggestion to the contrary is baseless and you know it.
To try to compare the nfl to other businesses is absurd for many reasons: these playerssacrifice their bodies and livesfor a short period to earn $. The players r fine with the current deal, the owners want more
May 25th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
As for the insults, i apologize. However, your point was and is so outlandish that it required a strong admonission. The point about the team being young is somehow evidence that the glazers disagree with the league is just bogus.
That stuff is as meaningful as a drop of water in an ocean.
May 25th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
No need to apologize Pete. Please continue.
May 25th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Maybe I don’t understand your argument Thomas (if so, I apologize), but are you saying the owners currently don’t have to lock the players out? That is not true. The court of appeals have ruled against the players (and the judge’s original ruling for the players), which means the league is not in contempt by enforcing a lockout. I have no idea if they get fined, but I know it is a league-wide lockout. The coaches and GM’s are not allowed to have any contact with the players. I am sure there is some sort of penalty for breaking this rule.
As for how the Glazers feel, I would assume the owners are all pretty united on this. So I guess I agree with you in that regard (that doesn’t happen very often). I highly doubt any business owner would be happy to give in to the demands of their employees, thus making less money for themselves. However, I have searched the internet looking for any quotes from the Glazers regarding this lockout, and have found nothing. There are also no indications that they are active one way or the other in regards to the lockout. Like normal, they are very quiet.
May 25th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
The appellate courts have not substantively ruled yet hawaiian. The trial/lower court ruled in favor of the players that locking out a decertified union is unlawful. The nfl appealed and also asked for a temp stay (not effective) until the appellate rules to affirm or reverse the lower courts ruling. The stay was granted meaning the lower ct ruling is not yet effective, there is not yet a ruling that the lockout is lawful ( although that is coming soon).
The NFL imposed the work stoppage and the glazers are just as culpable as jerry jones.
I think that the players will lose in the end bc there is more of them with a lot to lose, they cant keep the solidarity. But the owners are greedy gluttons in my opinion- give these kids better long term benefits and more money- they are gladiators (except for GMC, jk).
May 25th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Yes, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have to lock the players out. Again, maybe that’s not what you were saying, but that’s what I gathered from what you said. Since the NFL imposed the lockout, individual teams must follow the NFL, meaning the Bucs must lockout their players too. I guess in that regard you could say the Glazers are just as culpable as the other owners. However, they are definitely not as active in the proceedings as the other owners, although admittedly that does not mean they are against the lockout. In fact, I would bet my house that they are for it, as are all the owners.
The more I learn about the lockout, the less sympathy I have for either side. I don’t really care who is to blame, I just want it to end. No offense, but I don’t think I can take arguing with you for a full year without any football to prove you wrong. And there is very little doubt the players will lose, they always do.
May 25th, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Agreed hawaiian. I cant wait to see if the bucs are legit or fraud. I think they are a 6-8 win team, I hope to be wrong. I hate this lockout crap too.
May 25th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
That whay we have Zuutah , for when this Faine character gets lazy, LIKE HE IS NOW
May 25th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Cut him!!!!!!!!
May 25th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
68 is your IQ thomas