Mike Mayock Talks To Joe
January 21st, 2013
Saturday, Joe got a chance to talk with NFL Network draft guru and overall exceptional football analyst Mike Mayock after he worked the East-West Shrine game at the Fruitdome in St. Petersburg. Attired in a dapper 1920s Chicago gangster pinstripe suit, Mayock touched upon a few hot-button Bucs issues.
JoeBucsFan: What are your thoughts on the job done by Greg Schiano in his first year with the Bucs?
Mike Mayock: Coach Schiano, to me, did a nice job of changing the culture in that building. I think that is what had to happen. Now in Year-2, you have to build on some of that success and go from there.
Joe: Locally, a lot of fans and some radio types have been hounding Gerald McCoy as being soft, injury-prone and grossly overrated. This year, his first full year, he makes the Pro Bowl. Is this the type of player Bucs fans can expect to see or was this a fluke for McCoy?
Mayock: I had him rated ahead of [Detroit tackle Ndamukong] Suh because I thought he was a better pass rusher coming out of college — I thought they were the two best players that year. I think what you saw this past year is what he can be when healthy: dominant in both the run game and the pass game.
Joe: Josh Freeman is really catching heat locally for his meltdown the final month of the season when the Bucs had a clear shot at a playoff berth. When he is off he is really off. When he is on he is dynamite. Will Freeman ever be a top-tier quarterback that can lead the Bucs to the playoffs?
Mayock: I think you just said it. His inconsistencies are frustrating. When you get to the NFL level, inconsistencies cost you football games. With a good run game like they have with Doug Martin, with Vincent Jackson in town, I think they have to augment that offensive line to protect him. But he has to be a more consistent football player to win more games.
Joe: Freeman has had a rotating set of coaches with both his position coaches and offensive coordinators in his four years with the Bucs. Shouldn’t it be expected that he will be more consistent, more comfortable having a full offseason, and a second football season, to work with Mike Sullivan?
Mayock: Oh, yeah. I am a big believer in continuity. It’s partly about who your coordinators and who your coaches are but it is also about players who you play with and are surrounded with. He’s still a young quarterback. I thought his [first full season as a starter] he looked really good. I thought his second year was rough and this past year, he was both good and bad. We are at the point now where he needs to step up and become a more consistent player.
January 21st, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Continuity is definitely important, and hopefully another year of Sullivan will help iron out some of Josh’s inconsistencies.
Hopefully Bucs fans are learning something as they watch Joe Flacco in the playoffs this year. Like Freeman, Flacco has often been blasted for his inconsistency and having dreadful games from time to time. Flacco’s greatest perceived strength is also the deep ball, which leads to his completion % being low quite often. The local media in Baltimore have criticized Flacco plenty over the past couple of seasons, but they have stuck with him and it’s paying off. If the Bucs can develop a solid defense, Freeman might be able to take this team somewhere.
January 21st, 2013 at 2:56 pm
I’m a big Josh fan and believe he can be a good q.b.
That being said I agree that this year is make it or break it. I, as a from fan since ’76, hope the kid can show us his true potential and get himself a ring as a Buc and not be another Steve Young.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Sorry about the typo. I meant a fan since ’76.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:03 pm
@Joe
Man you should of asked Mayock who he thought we were targeting with our first and second rounder!
January 21st, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Shayne:
Way too early for Mayock to guess. Shoot, Senior Bowl practices just starting.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:13 pm
“Oh, yeah. I am a big believer in continuity. It’s partly about who your coordinators and who your coaches are but it is also about players who you play with and are surrounded with.”
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.
Shaun King is right, the Bucs are wasting time with a mediocre coach and a mediocre QB with mediocre records.
Why not strive for excellence? Now that the owners are mandated to spend as much as their competitors, why not build a successful product that everyone can be proud of? Why not sell out CITS Stadium?
Geez, that 49er QB has only part of one year in the system and 1/2 a season as a starter, and he’s driving that team to the big show.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:14 pm
I could not have said it better myself on his take of Josh Freeman. He has the potential to be elite but he needs to step up and be more consistent.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Well Joe, I just assumed Mayock would have an educated guess for that considering hes known as the draft guru and the experts on NFL.COM are already starting to do there mock drafts about 5 days ago.. I would be interested in what Mayock had to say about our upcoming draft, he always has good insight!
January 21st, 2013 at 3:18 pm
Shayne:
Might want to re-read his answers. He gave a clue.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Your fickle Chip Kelly finally is in the league, we shall see what comes of it Miguel 😉
Schiano is a great pick up and has made us respectable in just one years time.
Free gets the final year of his contract to prove us wrong, he deserves that much…
Till than, it’s useless to repeat the same things over and over again about him. He’s gonna get that last shot regardless.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:33 pm
He thinks we have to augment our offensive line? wow. I thought Mayock was a smart guy but if im correct we were in the top 10 in sacks given up this year? with Nicks and Joseph injured.. when they return healthy, and a mobile Freeman, I expect us to be in the top 5 next year in giving up QB sacks. If he thinks were going O-line anywhere in the first three rounds he is very stupid, so are you Joe IF you agree with his take, but still you’re slacking not asking him who he thinks were targeting in the early rounds this year.. common Joe!! save the ice cold beer for the pro bowl! ( probaly the last pro bowl ever, since all the players give no effort. I was watching the highlights from last year and the O-line and D-line were giving about 5% on each play, fuc*ing pathetic )
January 21st, 2013 at 3:50 pm
@Shayne
He didn’t say anything about drafting an Oline. He said they need to augment the Oline which I am sure he meant was the Bucs need improve play from the Oline. He knows that injuries were a problem, and the Oline wasn’t that good down the stretch.
Those mock drafts you see from the experts are just that mock drafts and will change after the Senior Bowl and Combine. The end up having around 8 to 9 revisions before they are done.
I watch Mike on the NFL Network all the time and he likes to get his facts together and view film before he talks about about a player. It’s too early for him to suggest anything yet so I understand why Joe didn’t ask.
January 21st, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Zebras can’t change their stripes. Freeman is inaccurate and great and terrible. I want accurate and good and consistent. Our win loss record will reflect the qb’s completion percentage. Gosh! That will never be good enough for a Super Bowl run. Maybe a brief one and done but Freeman will freak and meltdown and lose the game consistently . Go Bucs!
January 21st, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Shayne:
Gil Brandt predicted the Bucs yo draft an offensive lineman at No. 13:
Mayock isn’t going to guess in January who the Bucs will draft. If Joe’s interview with Mayock didn’t meet your standards, feel free to read Mayock’s interview with others Bucs beat writers.
Oh, that’s right, no one else saw fit to interview him.
January 21st, 2013 at 4:04 pm
I think Joe has an excellent point when he hints at the Bucs picking up an offensive tackle with the 1st pick. There was an excellent tackle at Michigan, two at Texas A&M, one at Oklahoma, one at NC and one at Alabama. CB’s are available up into the 3rd round.
@PRBuc
“Your fickle Chip Kelly finally is in the league, we shall see what comes of it Miguel ;)”
Why fickle? He just wanted complete control when he left one of the best jobs in the world for the hot seat of an NFL gig, especially Philadelphia. Chip has specific theories about what he wants and needs to run his program. He did not want to be force fed 1980’s (big, dumb, slow) style players for his 21st century football team.
Waiting one more year at Oregon paid off handsomely for him, getting $1-1/2 million more per annum than the Bucs offered. I believe if the Glazers had fired the Teflon Dom with Raheem and let Chip hire his own GM, the Bucs might still be playing.
Of course you are right PR, we will see what comes of it.
January 21st, 2013 at 4:09 pm
I guess for me it was more the whole “seemed commitment” aspect to it.
As long as he doesn’t dip out after the first rough patch and head back to Oregon he may just succeed with the crop of players he has at Philly.
January 21st, 2013 at 4:26 pm
so when you leavin miquel payasito? i thought you’d be on to eagles’ greener pastures. you just have to stay to spread your hate and venom? kelly cheats, gets busted, but leaves to not face the consequences and you idolize him…lol
you just love that einstein quote on insanity, huh. you use it often enough. how about some more:
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
or
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
or
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”
or
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
how about 2 by Frederick Douglass:
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
and
“Without a struggle, there can be no progress.”
January 21st, 2013 at 4:29 pm
Gil Brandt predicted we get a second round offensive lineman at #13. Toss that mock in the garbage.
I could still see us going OT at #13 if the right guy (not Fluker) slips to us and the best defensive talent is gone. I could also see us picking up some RT competition later in the draft.
January 21st, 2013 at 4:32 pm
Here’s a new thought. Manti Teo may be available at our pick now. Do we draft him as our MLB and move Foster to strong side?
Definitely worth some discussion.
January 21st, 2013 at 4:51 pm
@Miracle
IMO for the Bucs consider drafting him, he will need to shine at the Combine. They know that he is a leader (minus the invisible girlfriend issue) he has be a model player. Him pulling out of the Senior Bowl might hurt him a little, because after seeing him get embarrassed against top talent. It would of helped him if he shined here to prove it was coaching which made him look bad and not his skills and athletic ability.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:18 pm
If Dominic wants to take a chance with his career, he’ll choose “Red Flag” Manti Teo. Somehow I see Dominic making less riskier, safer bets. He’s being criticized to much for past selections and will not take unnecessary risk. Whoever they select you can bet they will be vetted and they will meet the criteria of what the organization refers to as a “Buccaneer Man”
January 21st, 2013 at 5:23 pm
even Dominick wouldn’t select Manti Teo with the 13th Pick. And i think The rock star selects draft picks with a dart board, until Coach Schiano started telling him what to do.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:31 pm
Let me first start by saying im a HUGE Josh Freeman fan. That being said I do agree that competion at any position brings out the best in any person. While watching the AFC championship game I had an Idea. Why not try to pull off some sort of trade for Ryan Mallett from NE. Seeing how the NSO has a decent relationship with coach spygate maybe something is possible. The theory behind my suggestion is that New England is notrious for breeding the heill outta some backup QB’s, that always seem to be in demand by other teams.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:35 pm
^^ competition, notorious, and hell ^^….my bad guys for not spell checking
January 21st, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Joe: Gil Brandt’s age must be really getting to him.. cause were not selecting any offensive line player in the first or second round, third at the VERY earliest. I see us selecting a right tackle in the 5th-6th round.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Tyler Eifert is the one I’d like to see them get. Give Freeman two great receivers at 6’6″ tall and I think we move the ball at will.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:50 pm
Mayock basically reaffirmed everything we already know. I think it’s pretty cool that he took time out for Joe’s fandom. Mayock is one of the very few on NFL channel that isn’t a loudmouth idiot. They really need some new blood on Total Access. I’m sick of Faulk, Irvin, Heath, Sapp & Sanders. All they do is blah blah blah BS.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:54 pm
miracle your boy teo will be available at our second pick, there are 3 middle linebackers better than him, that have real girlfriends and no controversy. Picking him at 13 would be a joke.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:54 pm
I wouldn’t take Eifert at 13th. I’d trade down and grab him.
January 21st, 2013 at 5:57 pm
@Lurker
“so when you leavin miquel payasito? i thought you’d be on to eagles’ greener pastures.”
Luckily, I can multi-task.
I see you can google famous quotations.
Let’s see if you can identify this one without a web search? (sorry off topic) It’s my favorite and quite pertinent in this day and age.
“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?
January 21st, 2013 at 6:19 pm
OOOOOOKKKKKKKKK…….How many think Miguel has some serious issues??
My hand is raised…..
January 21st, 2013 at 6:20 pm
For the Te’o crowd:
Joe would be shocked if the Bucs drafted him. You think Schiano wants the circus that will come with the guy? Besides, after his stunt with imaginary broads and lies, how could anyone trust him?
January 21st, 2013 at 6:27 pm
BPA in the draft+FAs (2CBs, RT, FS/LB)+ QB competition= success
Wes Welker anyone?
January 21st, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Wonder if she took Tèo’s imaginary virginity?
January 21st, 2013 at 6:31 pm
Hey boobby,
Put one of them fingers on each hand up and stand in front of a mirror. 😉 jk brosef
January 21st, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Great interview and cut/dry Freeman is inconsistent.
January 21st, 2013 at 6:38 pm
miguel, just because you memorize a russian author means what?
einstein also said, “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
my point is your diatribes are tireless pandering to negativity. you dislike what the bucs are doing, leave for you bromance with kelly.
like i said before, you are just showing your grandkids how to hate.
January 21st, 2013 at 6:41 pm
i thought te’o was a long shot for us until the national championship game, he disappeared. the imaginary gf is just a weird story.
January 21st, 2013 at 7:03 pm
Man… I was really high on Manti Teo to. Its a shame things played out the way they did with the bad Championship game and the whole making up a girlfriend thing because the guy is talented. O well, just gotta move on to the next LB because there’s not a chance in hell we draft him.
January 21st, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Who is that LB from Rutgers you all want to draft. Im usually good with knowing a lot of the draft prospect, but this year Im slipping.
January 21st, 2013 at 7:28 pm
Say no to drafting guys with imaginary girlfriends.
January 21st, 2013 at 7:29 pm
Khaseem Greene
He’s going to be a stud.
Quite a few mocks i’ve seen have us taking him in the second
January 21st, 2013 at 7:50 pm
@ PRBucFan
Thanks. just got done watching some video of him and I came away impressed. He seems to be a very, very physical LB that is at the same time a playmaker and difference maker. Almost like a bigger version of Lavonte David. He did struggle at times in some different situation but so does every other prospect. I would be more than happy if we draft him.
January 21st, 2013 at 7:54 pm
ha, I’m not a Teo supporter or detractor. I do think its an interesting angle. Dominick has shown willingness to take risks when players drop much further than when expected.
Do I think he’s the right call? NO.. Do I think he’s the wrong call? I dont know.
To whomever says that there are more talented MLBs in the draft then why weren’t these people rated higher than him before last month? Were all the draft guys wrong who put him in the top 1-10 throughout the entire college season?
Again, I’m not a supporter but I do believe that there is a chance that Dominick may look his way. We have a long ways to go before the draft and a fake girlfriend will be of little concern when its time to get serious.
January 21st, 2013 at 8:15 pm
@ Miracle
It’s not a matter of the fact that he created a fake girlfriend (allegedly) Its why he did it. I’ve read reports that he had several real girlfriends around campus, so why this hoax?
Khaseem Greene and Steve Beauharnais are 2 LB’s that Schiano recruited. I would think the Bucs will certainly atleast look their way.
January 21st, 2013 at 8:32 pm
To be a contender this team needs:
Solid QB play (possibly by a player not with the team);
Pass rush;
A top 10 corner and a solid complementary corner on the other side;
I would keep Ronde for his versatility.
A versatile, Sproles-like, home run threat would be nice. Mike Smith(don’t know)?
January 21st, 2013 at 8:53 pm
A difference maker who will be a FA is DB and return man Leodis McKelvin
January 21st, 2013 at 9:13 pm
Especially after seeing young QB s vastly outperform Free in the post season. Think about this comparison; Freeman to Colin Kaepernick……….nuff said right Free is pure garbage compared to him.
Kaep is a 2nd yr player who shows more pose, accuracy and leadership ability than Free, who has been in the league…….wait for it………4 years going on 5.
Like S. King said on the radio the other day, the Bucs are wasting their time hear…..period. Freeman is pure crap and the coaching staff who I liked earlier is making questionable hires now. WE R IN SERIOUS TROUBLE HERE. 2013 will be a grand disaster and I predict the WORSE season in Bucs history……..ten fold.
My prediction……WE WILL NOT WIN A GAME AS LONG THIS BUM, POO, POS QB IS OUR SIGNAL CALLER NEXT YEAR!
January 21st, 2013 at 9:23 pm
@ Rajah
Step away from the keyboard, take a deep breath and by all means, wrap that towel back around your head cause your getting a brain freeze.
January 21st, 2013 at 10:57 pm
The Bucs will draft a ROT. Brennan Williams-North Carolina or Ricky Wagner-Wisconsin in the 4th round or Xavier Nixon-Florida in the 5th. All could move up a round with a good Combine.
January 21st, 2013 at 11:35 pm
I here you Rajah-I two think the Bucs will B….waite 4 it….. 0-140 next year. Nuff said!
January 22nd, 2013 at 12:39 am
@ JobBucFan
Holy sh!t dude thats racist as Fuk. Theres no need to ridicule people for their race on this site. plus I dont even think Rajah is muslim, Im pretty sure thats an Indian name, so personal attack didnt even make any sense.
January 22nd, 2013 at 1:04 am
Don’t even bother acknowledging that ignorance Rajah
January 22nd, 2013 at 8:51 am
miracle, minter, arthur jones and ogletree have been rated higher than teo by people in the know. Even before this. Dont read mel kiper or mcshay they are clueless