Is Kellen Winslow A Target For Officials?
November 21st, 2011
So for the last three games, Bucs tight end Kellen Winslow has been penalized. Yesterday it costs the Bucs points.
Winslow was whistled for pushing off, pass interference on a touchdown pass. Yeah, Joe could see where Winslow pushed off but Joe has seen many, many other examples of receivers pushing off much more blatantly and there are no yellow handkerchiefs lying on the grass.
It is starting to make Joe wonder if Winslow is targeted by the zebras.
Joe still cannot get it out of his head when the Bucs had a playoff berth stolen from them last year when Winslow was called for pass interference on a touchdown when he was the one who got drilled. The Bucs had to settle for a field goal and lost to the toothless Lions in overtime.
Thinking of last year’s robbery and yesterday’s flag, Joe’s pretty convinced Winslow is marked man by NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell’s henchmen.
November 21st, 2011 at 2:50 pm
I’ve been thinking the same thing.
1) last years Lions game
2) the ghost facemask call against the Saints
3) the push off within 5 yards (legal) yet still called PI against the Saints
4) the SOFT call against him yesterday that looked far worse in slow motion.
Yesterdays call is almost never called in the NFL, Michael Irvin made AN ENTIRE CAREER off that crap.
Oh well, Kellen was boss yesterday outside of the dropped 2 pt conversion, 9 catches 130, so LOL @ the cat on here that was trying to tell me he’s no good and needs to be cut last week.
November 21st, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Imo kellen complains to much and his drop passes was huge.. He needs to realize he has no room for error or he wont be on this team next year.. The bucs really wanted kyle rudolph in the draft..to mean that means hes expendable…I myself think bigger tightends are better and have just as much speed as winslow does right now…,
November 21st, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Good call, Joe. He’s definitely been abused on border line calls. Pretty sad.
November 21st, 2011 at 2:53 pm
^^I never read anywhere that we wanted Kyle Rudolph in the draft. Kellen isn’t expendable by any means, he’s a huge part of this offense. That’s just crazy talk.
November 21st, 2011 at 2:59 pm
I wonder if the drop kick in this picture woul draw a flag…
November 21st, 2011 at 3:00 pm
It’s not just Kellen it’s the team which is the city…for some reason “America’s next Great City” has been getting dumped on by every sports league in the country…ESPN does literal hit jobs on the Rays NEVER reading a line without at least 1 passive aggressive comment about the fans….
I dunno maybe that’s what happens when you’re down…you find out who your true friends are. And This market is “down”..2 worst economy and housing in the nation. We have nothing but transients here so there is very little loyalty to the city…I mean seriously we have a sociopath governor that is doing his best to keep us down by going after our first responders and killing opportunity for growth with a high speed rail system that would unite the state…beat out of WC soccer matches another Superbowl. What’s next?
Then you have the Bucs ownership that has spent the least money the past 5 years…when you look, act and smell like a loser. People will treat you as such.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:02 pm
No Joe, no grand conspiracy, Winslow just does not understand you can’t consistently push off a db to get position for a reception. He does it constantly and gets caught every time. Also the ref’s did not drop the gimme two point conversion which would have let us tie it with 4:50 to go. No Joe Winslow is just bad plain and simple. I would negate the 100 yards of receptions he had yesterday for all of the mistakes he has made this year. Each week he is costing us at least a touchdown. Yesterday 8 point for sure.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Bad players don’t get 9 catches for 130 yards and lead the team in receptions for two years and possibly three years straight. Sorry Nick, Winslow is a good player that’s made some mistakes. You’d negate his 100 yards yesterday for the mistakes? Huh? Do you realize we wouldn’t be in those scoring positions without his yards? You’re crazy dude.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Oh, wait, lemme guess, you’d rather put Luke Stocker in? LOL. I really love some of the people on this site man.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:18 pm
K2 trust me for the money we are paying Winslow we can get better than Luke Stocker. As I have said before I would take any starting TE in the NFC South over Winslow. You name em I’ll take em.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:23 pm
i think for the most part, winslow has brought negative attention to himself. he drops balls at the feet of refs instead of simply handing it to them and acts like an absolute fool anytime he’s tackled, kicking and flopping around like a spoiled brat.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:23 pm
I usually don’t believe that the zebras target individual players, but I’m not completely sold on that with Winslow. First off, I like Winslow and am happy he’s a part of this team. However, one thing I don’t like about him is that he seems to be unnecessarily confrontational, mainly to the other players. Whenever he is tackled, or even pushed out of bounds, he always seems to get upset with the other player (as if they are doing something wrong??!). He either pushes back or gestures towards them. It happens every single time! I’m sure he is also talking quite a bit, which I assume the refs can hear. Perhaps the refs just get sick of listening to him and watching him do it. So when there is a close call that could go either way, it may be a little easier to throw the flag on 82. To be honest, taking off my Bucs homer status, I can’t say that I blame them.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Nick we have 2 all-pro tightends in the NFC South, that’s not a knock on Winslow at all lol….Jimmy Graham and Gonzo are two of the best in the business, I would take them over Kellen as well. Doesn’t mean Kellen is any less of an awesome player.
Show me the numbers that say Greg Olson is a better tightend than Kellen, go ahead and try to find em, cuz they don’t exist. If you’d really take Olson over him you’re just hating on Kellen.
November 21st, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Yes, Winslow may be targeted, but he pushes off more than any player I can think of in the league right now (although I agree about Irvin). And it wasn’t necessary on the TD since he had position. The replay made it not look so bad, but he put his hands on the DB and created separation and that will get the call. It seems to me he pushes every single time.
He did have a great game yesterday, despite the 2 pt drop which really changed the end of that game.
November 21st, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Bet he’s an A$$ on the field..never does anything wrong
November 21st, 2011 at 4:25 pm
Wow. This is how Tampa fans thank a player that goes for 9 catches 130 yards. We bash the guy. Pretty embarrassed by this thread.
November 21st, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Two suggestions for Kellen: Take some acting classes and watch soccer for pointers on how to make the other guy guilty.
November 21st, 2011 at 4:32 pm
@K2theSoldier:
Hold your horses on annointing Jimmy Graham as the next great TE. He’s in the midst of his 1st good season. Let’s also keep in mind that he’s got Drew Brees throwing him the ball. Put him in Tampa and his stats wouldn’t be what they are. Besides, Graham only has 15 more reception that K2 this season.
K2 has a proven track record. Not to mention, for a guy who so many claim is so injury prone, he’s only missed 6 games the last 6 seasons (all in 2008 season with Cleveland).
As for the topic of this thread, there’s NO doubt K2 is a target of the refs. That push off penalty yesterday was CRAP.
November 21st, 2011 at 4:33 pm
It’s hard to defend him, yeah he leads in yards and catches, but he also leads in targets, but he has a piss poor attitude. Just 3 weeks ago we saw him bitching at Free for not feeding him the ball even though he was covered. He whines on the field, and is overly confentational. Would be nice to see him at least chip a blitzer or DE once in a while too. Would be curious to see what stocker could do with 10-15 targets a game. And if you want to say Stocker can’t get open like K2….you are right, Stocker doesn’t push off.
November 21st, 2011 at 4:55 pm
@ Snook, you are right, Kellen definitely has a better track record than Graham. But if you look beyond the stats and how Graham plays the game you’ll see why he’s so special. I have a feeling you know he’s an elite player but just don’t wanna admit it because he’s a Saint lol, I have no problem with that though. Screw that team, but you’ve gotta recognize their good players for what they are. I see no problem in anointing a young player as elite as long as they’re showing up. Along with having 15 more catches than Kellen he’s got 400 more yards and 4 more TDs. He also competes with 3 or 4 other talented guys for targets.
Also Captain Stagger, players are generally targeted for a reason; the QB trusts them to make a play. Up until this week actually Mike Williams was the 9th most targeted player in the league, ahead of Kellen at 12.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Kappa08, this has been going on since the late 90’s. Very rarely do the Bucs get a call that makes a huge impact on a game. You are right on, just a little late, and it’s been going on since before the Glazers were cheap.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:24 pm
It was great seeing Winslow play well yesterday outside that 2pt conv and the interception that went off his hands. Nice seeing all of the receivers working themselves free from coverage. The play from the picture was sort of funny. I guess Winslow thought Bishop would drop to tackle him and Bishop stood up and bear hugged him in the hurdle. I think Winslow got really lucky on that play. Bishop could have really hurt him during his hurdle. Happy he didn’t.
November 21st, 2011 at 5:36 pm
K-2 is one of the best moves Dom has made IMO. As far as rankings, id say he is one buc player arguably in the top ten in the league at his position.
Can’t think of anybody else, except potentially Talib when he is playing well.
Maybe Penn.
List isn’t very long, thats for sure.
November 21st, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Not only K2 but Talib is too. Remember when Talib got in a shouting watch with the Refs a couple of years ago? They said what a tight fraternity they all are and how they didn’t like him. Like K2 every time they get a chance to make a judgment call against him they do. These calls have cost us many games over the past couple of years. Whats up with the refs being friends with some players and not liking others. Just last night the announcers were saying how the ref was friends with Eli Manning and after he throws the ball for a touch down the ref congratulated him for a ‘good job’. It’s Bull sh…!
November 21st, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Amazing how “fans” bash a guy that plays balls to the wall whistle to whistle, and is our best receiving threat. Just unbelievable.
Kellen Winslow is one of our best players. I’m really glad we got him. And Joe is absolutely right- he is targeted by the refs. But thus whole team is. Like the 3 consecutive Calls against the D, that enabled The packers to keep their fourth quarter drive going.
If this is scripted, and the Refs have an agenda to keep, then they should just say so- like pro wrestling! It felt yesterday like the Pack got a boost when they needed it- repeatedly
November 21st, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Ladarius Green…..google him
November 21st, 2011 at 7:18 pm
i dont think anybody here is saying winslow is a bad player, but he does act like a dick on the field and thats hard for refs to ignore.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Winslow isn’t a target. I’ll tell you EXACTLY why he gets called so much…. His WHITE GLOVES makes it easier to see, why do you think cops controlling traffic wear them? To be seen.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:42 pm
Just to make it clear, I am not bashing Winslow. I have his jersey for crying out loud. The guy was an unbelievable pickup (or trade actually) for Dominik. However, I’m just saying his attitude on the field is not the greatest. I’m not talking about the beef with Freeman, as that’s meaningless and happens to every team. I’m talking about his attitude towards the other team. Watch what he does after every single catch and tell me I’m wrong. I’m serious, show me just one play where he just flips the ball back to the ref. You won’t do it, because it doesn’t happen. EVER!!! He’s not doing enough to warrant a flag, but he’s probably doing enough to irritate the refs. The refs are human, so they are susceptible to those types of things (trust me, my friend is a big time college ref and he has admitted this to me).
November 21st, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Its not just K2, the Refs pick on our entire team. It is true that many calls are borderline penalties that usually are not called, especially when THEIR MEDIA DARLING Teams commit them, they are never called. The problem is there is no CONSISTENCY in the officiating and honestly the Lightning are getting hammered too. It is just the EVERYONE hates Tampa Mentality, and Penalties are not reviewable, but somehow the onside kick penalty got reviewed yesterday. I still kinda wonder about that one. The Bucs got hammered against the Texans early and often which broke their spirit as well. It is really hard to play against a good team when you add 5 or 6 officials to the equation. You can’t possibly win in that situation. They do everything they can to ensure you don’t succeed, and Roger Goodell, the suck@$$ that he is, won’t do a daam thing about it. It is hard to watch games as a fan when your team gets screwed week in and week out. It makes a difference and has cost the Bucs a couple games this year alone. It just never ends and there is no accountability with the officials. They should have every game reviewed after completion and fine them upwards of $10K for every bad call they make. Better yet, they should fire each and every ref in the game and replace them. Some of those idiots have been officiating for so long they should be forcibly retired. They all suck, each and every last one of them suck, and that’s all I have to say about that.
November 21st, 2011 at 7:54 pm
They Suck!!!
November 21st, 2011 at 8:39 pm
K2 tossed the ball at the opposing player yesterday because the guy dived at Winslow’s knees as he was going out of bounds. K2 is REAL protective about what he perceives as cheap shots at his knees. Can’t hardly blame him but it is football and he’s a big dude. They’re gonna try to hit him low to take him down.
November 21st, 2011 at 9:10 pm
@BigMac,
I was watching the game with a friend of mine (Cowboys fan. I know, I know, but there’s just not too many Bucs fans in Hawaii. I made him at least wear a Bucs shirt before he could watch with me). Every close call he kept saying that we were going to get it. I was telling him if it’s close, we never get it. Not since I’ve been watching this team, which is most of their existence. He laughed. By the end of the game, he wasn’t laughing anymore.
November 21st, 2011 at 10:47 pm
I haven’t read all the comments yet so maybe this has been said but I love how everyone on this site screams for big name free agents or trades and the guy Dom actually went and spent for people are trashing like crazy. I just find it a little ironic. I love K2 9 catches for a buck thirty and he is trash? Child please!
November 21st, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Winslow would be an elite TE if he could just shut up and play. He has made himself a target with the officials. Winslow is the Talib of the offense. He is constantly running his mouth with the opposing players and yelling at officials.
Does Winslow get some ridiculous calls? HELL YES! You would have to be blind not to see it. Unfortunately ref’s are human and when you rub them the wrong way repeatedly they will exact their revenge.
November 22nd, 2011 at 1:01 am
@ Hawaiian Buc,
Completely agree with your assessment of K2.
He is a great player and an asset to our offence but his antics and attitude on the field are unprofessional at best. If fans see it everytime he catches the ball, I am sure refs see it too and it might influence their calls.
November 22nd, 2011 at 7:45 am
Amen @Kappa well said.
November 22nd, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Kellen is not part of our youth movement imo.. Hes becoming a liability rather then a asset.. we are wasting plays with his drops and pushoffs..puting us back yards.. im sick of the penalities hes suppose to be a leader on this team and is playing like a whining rookie!