Greg Schiano Has “Guts”
December 14th, 2013
Joe’s not quite on the same page as Peter King
Joe has heard Bucs commander Greg Schiano called all sorts of things, bad, good and unprintable. Such is the life of a public figure. As Abraham Lincoln once said (allegedly), “You can’t please all the people all the time.”
Perhaps Bucs fans should add a new name to their lexicon in discussing Schiano? How about the word “gutsy?” Why? Because pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball box score-reading Peter King of SI.com and theMMQB.com fame believes Schiano has guts.
That’s what King told the one and only Chris “Mad Dog” Russo during his weekly appearance on the show that bears his name, “Mad Dog Unleashed,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM Radio.
Peter King: How about Gus Bradley and Greg Schiano? Both of those guys — aren’t I correct that both of them are 4-1 in their last five?
Chris “Mad Dog” Russo: The only thing I would say about Schiano is they have better talent than Bradley did. So Bradley’s four wins are a little more impressive to me than Schiano’s.
King: I would agree with you, but the other thing about Schiano vs. Bradley is, the thing I really like about Schiano? He took the medicine by taking the very, very, very unpopular decision of firing Josh Freeman and saying, “Hey, I not only think Mike Glennon is better, but I am not worried about making this decision during the season and putting my money where my mouth is with Mike Glennon over Josh Freeman.
Russo: It took guts. It took some guts. It did.
King: That one took guts. And look, if you are Jacksonville, you go into this draft, you have to take, oh, I don’t know, take Aaron Murray or Tajh Boyd or whoever is the great college quarterback, one of those great college quarterbacks. You have to take one of those guys. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t. They can address something else. Now I am not saying Glennon is going to be a great player but he really has eliminated their need to take a quarterback high next year.
Joe isn’t sure how much guts were needed took to run leaky Rip Van Freeman. The locker room was distracted and the atmosphere at One Buc Palace had a pall over it from all the Freeman drama. If something like that is dragging a team so far down, then it’s not terribly gutsy to cut ties with the main source of rancor.
Now had Schiano moved on from Freeman prior to training camp, that would have taken guts. Joe isn’t so sure Schiano had the power to pull off such a move in the offseason even if he wanted to.
Notice Schiano consulted first with Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, and then, once Dominik signed off benching Freeman, the two had to gain approval from Team Glazer?
Joe isn’t ready quite yet to give up on Johnny Football in the first round. Let’s see how Glennon finishes the season before he’s knighted as the next franchise quarterback. Let’s see if Glennon can turn around his recent slide.
Joe is pretty sure no one is going to draft Murray in the first round, as King seems to suggest, and Joe is very doubtful Boyd is a first-day selection.
December 14th, 2013 at 9:10 am
@Joe
I know JFF is as exciting as it gets to watch in college, no doubt about it. What do you see in him that makes you think he will be successful in the NFL? He is small, okay arm, most of his plays are improvised (which doesn’t translate to the NFL), and on top of all of that he has a very questionable work ethic. He is a huge party guy and a bit of a d*ck from everything I’ve read. Again, love watching him in college, but I don’t get the love fest over him from you guys. Please sell me on it cause I don’t see it.
In addition, for anyone that has actually taken the time to watch Bridgewater this year and not just one game from last year (Sugar Bowl), please tell me why anyone thinks THAT guy is a sure thing!
December 14th, 2013 at 9:21 am
@ everyone- what Tony said I ditto.
December 14th, 2013 at 9:27 am
@Joe
I don’t see Johnny in the 1st. How about Gurrapalo in the 4th? Good competitin for Glennon. May the best man win.
I am impressed by Gurrapalo’s footwork, quick release and he makes bombs look effortless. I think he could push Glennon and one day may beat him out.
Only 1st round talent that has those skills is Carr but he will be gone when we pick.
December 14th, 2013 at 9:41 am
Bridgewater, Carr, and Hundley are first round locks. Manziel, Mettenberger, McCarron, and Boyd are seen as second rounders right now. Murray shredded his knee, like Mettenberger, but he wasn’t viewed any higher than a 3rd before the injury. Mettenberger was seen as a mid-to-late 1st rounder before he got hurt.
December 14th, 2013 at 9:41 am
@Joe.
It did take guts to Sit Freeman. I remember alot of people were screaming how Freeman gave us the only chance to win. Some even called the few who thought Freeman wasn’t the guy a “mob” . But i guess it is the Buc way to revise history around here.
You are one of the folks who doesn’t get that sports is a constantly fluid, evolving soap opera. That’s what we love about it. Passions, opinions, assessments change with each passing comment, game, missed practice, media leak, captains vote, etc. Were folks “screaming” that Freeman gave us the only chance to win when the switch was made, when the Bucs were 0-3? Joe doesn’t recall such passion at 0-3. But sure, some were loud in Freeman’s camp. But the “reality” is Glennon was not ready to lead the team to a winning season. The Bucs started 0-5 with Glennon and they’re 4-9, in case you’re not paying attention–Joe
December 14th, 2013 at 9:45 am
I think the Bucs should get a good experienced Quarterback free agent that can at least manage the team if Glennon fails,get some defensive line help, a receiver with speed AND good hands. if Glennon takes off and becomes our quarterback.. great. if not we use our back up free agent next year and draft a quarterback next time.I think Glennon is doing fine for a rookie,but the real challenge will be how he handles himself when defenses know him better. wait and see is the way I see it for now. as for Shiano, he seems to coach better when there is nothing to lose,(less conservative) but when the game is on the line he coaches not to lose, and has no killer instinct. maybe he can change but I dont know. again wait and see.
December 14th, 2013 at 9:56 am
@ BD
Totally agree, when there is nothing to lose he gambles. How many leads has he blown by being conservative? What really woukd have taken guys and smarts organizationally would have been to trade Freeman. Reportedly could have received a 2nd, that would have helped to offset the Revis deal.
I’m not at all sold on Glennon, we need a Pro Bowl caliber QB not an ok game manager. He may grow and get better; however I have yet to here one respected player personnel type guy say he’s ceiling is very high.
December 14th, 2013 at 9:56 am
Give credit where credit is due, Schiano has lots of admirable qualities. But is he NFL smart and can he win games? So far, he hasn’t done enough of that yet!
December 14th, 2013 at 10:04 am
Schiano had guts with Freeman…he could have just tried to manage him through the season but he challenged him….by picking Glennon in the third round….that….Freeman could not handle….melted down..
As for the draft…I think if the opportunity presents itself, we should trade our pick and pick up another second round pick and select the best QB available to back up and challenge Glennon.
I suspect Glennon will react totally differently than Freeman to the challenge!!!
December 14th, 2013 at 10:08 am
I honestly don’t think Johnny Doucheball has the maturity to handle all the temptations of this area and focus on what would be his job.
December 14th, 2013 at 10:18 am
Mettenberger in the 2nd or Murray in the 3rd
(trade up??) would be like stealing.
December 14th, 2013 at 10:26 am
@joe
Is it really worth doing the Johny man-crush thing on a Saturday morning?
LOL
December 14th, 2013 at 10:46 am
I have never made a comment about Freeman. I did’nt like the pick from day one. Shiano knew Glennon was an upgrade and excised the problem after one year. Good for him, the team and the fans. Glennon as a rookie is a work in progress. The jury is still out, but the upbeat improvement is building up momemtum and support all around.
December 14th, 2013 at 10:53 am
Just how well would Johnny Football do on this team now? We are on our 3rd string /fa RB we have 1 quality receiver in 83, our line is questionable at best most games, our TE is a promising Rutgers rookie. Do ya’ll think Johnny Football would take these things and make more or less happen in comparison to Glennon? I do not see any more from Johnny Football imho he is 1 NFL sack/tackle from being on IR. Keep Glennon get a better core of players around him and move forward. I read on here how poor Glennon is but he got some GREAT rating from none other than our Super Bowl winning coach. Are we joebucsfan posters better evaluators than coach Grueden? I do doubt it.
December 14th, 2013 at 11:08 am
Tampabaybucfan…agree. I would like to see us draft another QB…and if we could trade down and pick up another pick, that would be great. We need to make sure this position is locked down for years to come. We can always trade the loser of the competition if we end up with two excellent players. And you are right…Glennon has the head on his shoulders to deal with the competition…and he has a years head start in the competition.
December 14th, 2013 at 12:25 pm
i know some people might not like this one but how about giving vick a shot to compete against glennon?? vick wll come with the right attitude and then you can see if glennon is ready to compete against some decent competition for the starting job??
December 14th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Not sure who this guy is you are suggesting in the fourth round. If, by chance, you are referring to Jimmy Garoppolo, he flamed out big time last night against Towson State.
December 14th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Some people???
December 14th, 2013 at 12:42 pm
If a DE is not available then pick Mike Evans. He’s 6′-5″ and will fit perfectly with Jackson and the NFL game. Just like the pairing of the Bears two big receivers. This type of move would almost instantly give the Bucs a great offense with the return of players like mike Williams and Doug Martin.
December 14th, 2013 at 12:50 pm
There is nothing i would love more than landing phillip rivers in the offseason ,we would be built to win now draft a de in the first and let us groom glennon behind rivers for a couple years
December 14th, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Honestly, I have not seen enough from Glennon to make me feel we can skip taking a QB in the first round. Even if he plays lights out, we still need to take one in the later rounds at least for a good backup…which, of course, was what Glennon was supposed to be and should still be.
Glennon looks like Luke McCown to me…only not as fast on his feet. Backup until he proves otherwise.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:13 pm
ander Says
“i know some people might not like this one but how about giving vick a shot to compete against glennon??”
If the Bucs bring in Vick than that would be the one thing to make me stop watching the games at all. And honestly, I never thought I would feel that way until you asked that question.
Even so, bringing in Vick would create a QB controversy.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Tampabaybucfan Says
“Schiano had guts with Freeman…he could have just tried to manage him through the season but he challenged him….by picking Glennon in the third round….that….Freeman could not handle….melted down…”
I still believe Glennon was always meant to be a backup.
I think Dominick and the Glazers believed in Josh, and that is why Schiano could not draft a first round QB in any of his drafts. They threw him a bone by letting him draft a 3rd round QB to be a backup.
And when Freeman bombed, he basically could have said, “Well, I wanted a first round QB to come in but you wouldn’t let me, so now we have to try to make this 3rd rounder work out.”
And that’s why I think Schiano’s job is secure so long as the players do not turn on him. Dominick and the Glazers will have to allow him to draft a 1st round QB in the draft as well, unless Glennon lights it up.
And really, from this point on we only have two games to judge the kid, because the last two games will be against teams that are a lock for the playoffs and might not put forth their best efforts.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Why would San Diego trade him? Chargers are making a playoff run.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
I think it did take guts to move on from Freeman. Sure there were lots of rumors and speculation at the time, but no one knew what was true and he risked losing the fan base over the whole thing. And almost did. Glennon started playing good just in the nick of time right when Schiano’s approval rating was going down faster than Obama’s, and it was about to fully implode.
Looking back, if we knew then, what we know now, it doesn’t look like it took guts. Back then very few people wanted to put the season on the back of a third round draft pick.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Keep dreaming Joe, cause that’s the only place the manchild Manziel
Is going get even close to this organizatio.
Unless we are facing him of course, which will be a nightmare for him with the monster our defense is becoming.
The backlash he got from the NFL and the fans with the whole Free Free situation was unlike what any coach has gone through.
It took guts to get rid of him when he did, when most everybody thought it should have been later and that he should have kept trying harder to get value out of the bum.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Who’s JFF??
Gruden never gives a negative rating on anyone. He thought Osama Bin Laden had great ball skills and impressive leadership qualities.
If the Little General had guts, he would have traded Freeman in the off season, saved the Glasers $8.4 million and received a 1st round pick.
I would love to see Philip Rivers in a Buc’s uniform but he is playing lights out this season. The Chargers would be crazy to trade him.
Aaron Murray would be an impressive pick in the 4th round.
December 14th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
P.S.
BB, unless Glennon completely flames out there’s no way in hell that we take a QB in the first.
Sorry 🙁
December 14th, 2013 at 1:45 pm
His plan was for Freeman to finally realize his potential and be our starting QB. Why on earth would he get rid of him in the offseason without giving him one more shot after he saw that Freeman could have success in this system last year during the winning stretch?
That would not have been gusty that would have been idiotic and irrational.
December 14th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
All this talk about Manziel, Bridgewater, Murray, etc…
You all are sleeping on Blake Bortles out of UCF. Mark my words— he will go somewhere between the first and third overall QB in this draft, if he decides to leave after his junior year.
December 14th, 2013 at 2:17 pm
Exactly. Everybody and there thought Freeman earned the right to start his last year to prove if he was or wasnt the franchise. Even people like me, who knew and could see that he was a bum.
December 14th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
“That would not have been gutsy that would have been idiotic and irrational”
I guess you would prefer paying Freeman $8.4 million to sit on the Vikings bench and getting absolutely nothing in return. All while embarrassing the NFL, the team, the fans and the Tampa Bay area.
Your blind homerism does not make sense.
December 14th, 2013 at 4:01 pm
Rivers is the Tony Romo of the AFC.
December 14th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Hey genius,
What part of what I said did you not understand?
They planned for him to be the guy because they saw his potential work in the system last year.
Of course they didn’t have the omniscience you somehow expect them to have to know this season would turn out this way.
What kind of idiot gets rid of the person they are hoping is their guy?
Your blind hate is laughable.
December 14th, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Good name to post by but just change it to ‘CLOWN’.
December 15th, 2013 at 12:16 am
This coaching staff is the worst in the league and you all will see this next year too with a 5 win season all this hope talk is crazy and I for one wont get my hopes up because ive seen this before glennen cannot take a team where it needs to go he just isn’t an athlete and when a coach makes a statement that he is my qb as long as I am here is a moron