“Victory”
March 19th, 2014
For those who monitor prickly Pete Prisco, of CBS Sports, on Twitter, you know the guy is a bitter dude. Angry. Snarling. Sometimes, Joe doesn’t know if prickly Pete can crack a smile.
So to get prickly Pete to throw rose pedals of respect to an NFL team is quite an accomplishment. That’s what Bucs general manager Jason Light got. Prickly Pete is so pleased with Licht’s work the past week or so, prickly Pete gave Licht and the Bucs an A-grade for free agency.
I love what the Bucs have done the past few months. I like the hiring of general manager Jason Licht and coach Lovie Smith. And I like the haul they took away during free agency, while getting rid of a corner in Darrelle Revis who had a huge contract and cap number.
They essentially took his number and added three players. That’s a victory.
The Bucs signed a defensive end in Michael Johnson (Bengals) who gives them a pass-rush threat on the outside. They added a starting left tackle in Anthony Collins (Bengals), a starting corner in Alterraun Verner (Titans), a pass-rushing defensive tackle in Clinton McDonald (Seahawks) and a starting center in Evan Dietrich-Smith (Packers). That’s quite class for Licht and Smith.
This also brings a smile to Joe’s face but it is tempered. All too often the winners of free agency are not the winners when chin snaps are buckled and pads crack for real. Did the Bucs make headway? It sure seems like they did… on paper.
Only time will tell if the Bucs are a playoff team or not. At least on paper, it seems they took a step closer.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:07 am
If Prisco likes it, I’m even more certain we should have kept Revis.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:09 am
Joe since everything in a league is what did the other teams do and how does the team and coaches play together time indeed will tell.
Having said that, how did the other teams in the division do compared to us so far in free agency? I think Carolina has less good receivers, and I am not sure how the Saints and Falcons did, so what say you Joe?
March 19th, 2014 at 9:10 am
If those players fit the system and scheme, the bucs will be much better this year. There is no reason to think that they do not fit.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:14 am
A return of the Paper Champions.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:14 am
Watkins at #7. Gotta keep it rolling SpecialJOE
March 19th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Meh. Agree on revis. Id rather have revis than Johnson and verner. Then draft the DE
March 19th, 2014 at 9:22 am
You guys are idiots!
Keep a 16M a year salary and the rest of the roster is lousy! Yeah that’s bright!
March 19th, 2014 at 9:28 am
I do like what I see on this lengthy list of new Buc players who have already played well in the NFL. Most where starting players last season. The influence of Coach Smith for these players to want to play for us, even with the uniform change. VICTORY!
This crew of men appear to be humbly hungry to play here and for Coach Smith. Great job by Licht!
March 19th, 2014 at 9:34 am
Maybe the Bucs can get lucky and pick up a bunch of late round players like Seattle and just add Adderall.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:43 am
We are still a paper team, but I think a better one.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:43 am
im in
March 19th, 2014 at 9:44 am
@ Architek
Actually, the Bucs could have carried Revis’ salary for the next 5 seasons without any cap issues and would have still been able to sign most of if not all the players they signed this year. The cap will grow to $160 million by 2016, that’s an increase of $27 million over the next 3 seasons, even with having to pay McCoy and LVD, we’d still have cap space, there was something else going on, namely Revis is Dion Sanders a CB mercenary, he’s just playing the business game better than Primetime ever could.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:44 am
Ross Tucker…a fringe NFL player yet fantastic analyst on Sirius XM NFL Radio ( A Joes’ favorite ), mentioned this am that he thought the Bucs could win the division in ’14. His reasoning was that all other NFC South teams have gotten worse of late whereas the Bucs…in his words…may have had the best offseason in the entire NFL. Even as a homer, I’m not sure I fully agree but it was nice to hear coming from a “smart” NFL guy nonetheless.
March 19th, 2014 at 9:56 am
This cleaning house reminds me of the overhaul Gruden did with the Bucs roster in the 2002 off-season. Not big names but key pieces to move this team forward. Not saying we’ll win the Super Bowl next year but we finally have a real head coach again who knows what he wants in his team.
March 19th, 2014 at 10:08 am
flmike Says:
“…would have still been able to sign most of if not all the players they signed this year.”
Not accurate. The Bucs spent more than what they had before they were halfway through.
I could see all the signings turning bad because not one of them has consistency. All had either a few good games, one good year, or never lived up to potential.
March 19th, 2014 at 10:19 am
@JonBuc, I heard that too from Ross tucker and I agree. I have been thinking the teams in the south are regressing and finally, the bucs seem to be progressing. no reason to think we could not be this years chiefs. injured players coming healthy, weak spots being filled, and just better talent depth overall.
March 19th, 2014 at 10:36 am
Signing a bunch of free agents may not mean we instantly become a good team – but it beats the pants off of signing a bunch of guys from Rutgers – does anyone agree??
March 19th, 2014 at 11:12 am
Looks like brilliant work so far.
Naturally the field and the record is the ultimate Judge, just like the standard applied on here to Dominik.
I mean we cant go off half cocked and sling praise at the GM until the team produces winning seasons, right?
Of course not.
March 19th, 2014 at 11:43 am
Agree they’ve done all the right things. But now comes a huge element.
LUCK!!! HEALTH!! Let’s hope we had enough bad luck last year to lead to good luck this year. I’m not a Schiano supporter, other than to say he was a class act, consider how he treated Eric Legrand. I just believe Schiano was in over his head as an NFL head coach.
But ya gotta admit…he had some serious bad luck!! MRSA? The worst penalty I can remember by one of the best players? IF Levonte doesn’t pull the bone head move the Bucs start 1-0 with a victory on the road. Would that have made a difference? Carl Nicks…the best lineman…never really plays.
Let’s hope we’ve gotten all our bad luck, or at least all the horrid luck of last year, behind us.
March 19th, 2014 at 12:31 pm
the bucs additions, looked at by themselves, seem pretty phenomenal. but they have to be netted against the exit of a starting CB, LT, and RG at a minimum. the CB is indisputably a step back in talent, despite potentially fitting the preferred system better. Collins is uncertain to provide an upgrade at LT, and even a 1st round pick can’t be counted as an instant upgrade. and guard is anyone’s guess. even if you think all 3 outgoing players are overrated it’s hard to assert that pre-existing holes were addressed with 3 of those players, just swapping for guys they believe offer more value. ditto with the “hole” they filled at starting QB. i’m looking forward to seeing it all work and work well, but you can’t just look at every signing and say “upgrade”
March 19th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
Spring is here and hope springs eternal. The Bucs will be better. This ship is about to be righted. All aboard.
March 19th, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Lovie Smith is like Pete Carrol.
He cares about his players and his players love him for it.
Do u know why Chicagos D was 30th in the NFL last year?
Because the players felt betrayed by ownership.
They quit because they felt like their Dad had been fired.
Thank god we have Lovie!
March 19th, 2014 at 1:01 pm
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