Worst 20 Bucs Of Past 10 Years: The Aftermath
July 25th, 2014
No, leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman wasn’t worthy of the dubious list.
Yes, the recent “The Countdown: Worst 20 Buccaneers Of The Past 10 Years” was very popular.
But in some circles, it angered Tampa Bay fans.
It wasn’t like Bucs fans did not enjoy guessing who would land on the dubious list. They were mad because [insert a player’s name] was not included, or at the top of the list, even. So Joe decided to explain why those whose absence irked many readers did not make the list.
Alvin Harper/Hugh Culverhouse: What was it about the headline of this series that some couldn’t comprehend? 10 years!
Kenyatta Walker: Yes, this was one of the biggest busts in Bucs history. A walking penalty. PETA at one point wanted Julius Peppers jailed for abusing Walker so badly. Walker, however, started at right tackle in the Bucs lone Super Bowl win. Just how awful could he have been if he started on the best team in the NFL? Little did anyone guess that his career would fall off the cliff after that. But for starting through the Super Bowl season, Joe wouldn’t qualify him.
Josh Freeman: Now, if Joe had a list of most hated Bucs players, Freeman would be atop the list, battling Michael Clayton for a spot. Freeman had his moments, coming a whisker away from guiding the Bucs to the playoffs in 2010. After that season, his peers even voted him to the NFL Top-100 for NFL Network. In 2012, under hated Bucs commander Greg Schiano, Freeman had one of his best seasons on paper, throwing for over 4,000 yards. No, Freeman did not qualify. And if Joe did put Freeman on the list, there was no way he couldn’t also add a certain backup quarterback to the list, the guy who led the Bucs to the worst offense in the NFL. Freeman never did that.
Kregg Lumpkin: Ah, “The Great Lumpkin.” Now this got beer bottles thrown across the room at JoeBucsFan.com headquarters. One Joe was adamant he stay off the list because of the low expectations surrounding him as a backup running back. The other Joe felt the complete opposite. Lumpkin was basically signed in 2010 to replace the aging, bad knees yet popular Cadillac Williams, who left the team the following year. Lumpkin sucked out loud. In 2009, Packers general manager Ted Thompson, widely regarded as one of the best personnel men in the NFL, cut him and put him on the practice squad. The Packers weren’t stocked with running backs as it was, and if Thompson cut a guy at a position that wasn’t deep, that should have been a major red flag.
Derrick Ward: The Kardashian-chasing running back wasn’t as bad as “The Great Lumpkin,” who did not make the list.
Arrelious Benn/Brian Price: A major disqualifier for this list was serious injuries, which both players had. As a rookie, Benn seemed to have just turned the corner and was evolving into one of Josh Freeman’s top targets when he blew out his knee against Seattle in December 2010. Benn was never the same. As for Price, when he was a rookie, the dude was an absolute terror in training camp until he had a horrific hamstring injury that ripped the muscle completely off of his pelvis. Doctors had said they had never seen a football injury like that. He never recovered.
E.J. Biggers: For reasons Joe isn’t sure of, Bucs fans loved to hate this guy. Yet stat geeks loved him. He was no Myron Lewis.
Raheem Morris: Nobody’s going to confuse Raheem with a young Bill Belicheat, but he was runner up for Coach of the Year in 2010, and he was handcuffed by a front office that refused to give him free agents in 2011. Heck, they wouldn’t even let him re-sign his own Bucs free agents that he wanted to keep. Bad head coach, but not worthy of the list.
Greg Schiano: One could make a great case for Schiano, but he just didn’t make the cut. There were at least some good things done on the player development/personnel front.
Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik: Dominik delivered extreme highs and lows. That’s for sure. And the team didn’t win under his regime. But Dominik was not a coach. Joe can’t hang the failures of Raheem and Schiano on Dominik. Defensive guru Lovie Smith is likely to have nine starters on defense from Dominik’s regime, and fans are expecting a top-10 defense. Dominik wasn’t great, but there’s talent on the roster and the Bucs were well cared for in the contract/money department.
For those who missed it, here’s your Top-20 Worst Buccaneers Of The Past 10 Years.
No. 1 — Dexter Jackson No. 2 — Eric Wright No. 3 — Jeff Jagodzinski No. 4 — Albert Haynesworth No. 5 — Sabby Piscitelli No. 6 — Myron Lewis No. 7 — Byron Leftwich No. 8 — Edell Shepherd No. 9 — Jerramy Stevens No. 10 — Jim Bates No. 11 — Gaines Adams No. 12 — Keydrick Vincent No. 13 — Dre Moore No. 14 —Kevin Ogletree No. 15 – Sean Mahan No. 16 — Da’Quan Bowers No. 17 — Daniel Te’o-Nesheim No. 18 — Kyle Moore No. 19 – Jeremy Trueblood No. 20 – Michael Clayton
July 25th, 2014 at 9:06 am
Thank you Joe for the follow up!
July 25th, 2014 at 9:18 am
Joe, you didn’t mention DJ Kellen Winslow…. a walking cancer
July 25th, 2014 at 9:19 am
Joe, first of all, thank you for the time that you put into this. Even though I do not agree with The GM reasoning ( what highs??? high draft picks maybe???) I will try not to slam all the people that made the last 5 years so terrible. Here is to new beginings. May the Bucs Finally find success!!! Go bucs, and Go Beer!!!
July 25th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Sheridan deserved a spot too
July 25th, 2014 at 9:23 am
Screw franchise-killer Freeman.
July 25th, 2014 at 9:24 am
Greg Schiano: There were at least some good things done on the player development/personnel front. Agreed!
I still think he owes season ticket holders a refund for last year. 🙂
The NIGHTMARE is over!
July 25th, 2014 at 9:24 am
Has Luke Stocker gotten hurt yet today?
July 25th, 2014 at 9:27 am
People are still gonna b!tch and moan about Dom and Free and some claim the GM picks the final 53 man roster lol
I never once said Schiano should be on this list EVEN THOUGH I might have been one of the loudest saying how terrible he was when he was signed (don’t think I was really commenting on here then..but I would tell anyone that listen in person 🙂 ) that’s because I knew there were going to be alot of players that everyone remembered (Clayton, Moore, Wright, Jackson, Sabby to name a few) and figured there would be some really bad ones that were so bad most wouldn’t remember (Vincent, Moore, Mahan… yuck)… And didn’t think his first year was bad enough to warrant a spot (even with how bad 2013 was)… But damnit we should have had it as a top 21 just to include him I mean seriously.. I wouldn’t have mind him being 21 either just a fyi (Rankings don’t mean anything till the top 5 to me 🙂 )
The kneel down play ALONE is absolutely embarassing
Him hijacking the offense towards the end of 2012 with the infamous run run pass punt routine ( I was b!tching about this on here and Twitter where Joe finally blocked me 🙂 1st week of the 2013 season)
The stunts
The 0-8 start
The highschool drama that the coach could have(and should have) squashed instantly with players
The inability to mold a scheme to the current group of players instead of players forced into a scheme
No halftime adjustments… I’d p!ss all over his office if I was one of the players
The constant lean on former Rutger players
I really can’t stand him as a Coach if you can’t tell (He sound like and probably is a great person though) and think he should have been included..
Rant over.. Excited for them to start cracking helmets today!
July 25th, 2014 at 9:29 am
Raheem Morris was a 33 year old defensive backs coach who was drowning as a head coach from his introductory presser. A 10-6 season against the lightest schedule I can remember the Bucs ever facing shouldn’t keep him off of that list IMO.
July 25th, 2014 at 9:30 am
Under your criteria which features prominently the word “expectations” I agree Lumpkin shouldn’t have made the list, but I do think Derrick Ward should have been in the 20 spot (with mike clayton being higher and Daniel Te-O Nesheim being removed. The expectations for this guy shouldn’t have been anything. Yes he was just awful as a starter, but he shouldn’t have been a starter, but a backup instead. That’s what happens when you have coaches start the wrong dudes.
July 25th, 2014 at 9:32 am
@Joe
First let me say this… I know you don’t care about page clicks because you do plenty a month BUT… Do they count as clicks if the person is just on the page and constantly refreshing waiting for that first TC article? I feel like if you do this might be the MOST clicks you get ever in one day just from anticipation of how the team looks with a real NFL HC for the first time since Gruden was sacked… I feel like there are some on here that took the day off from work just to read the article or go to TC lol… GO BUCS (fingers crossed NO INJURIES!)
@Phillip – There aren’t that many crazies that will sit around all evening and refresh waiting for a sniff from training camp. I know that’s hard to believe. 🙂 –Joe
July 25th, 2014 at 9:33 am
Hugh Culverhouse should never be on a list of worst Buccaneers. Worst owner list, sure. Without him, there would be no Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and by extension, no Joebucsfan.com
July 25th, 2014 at 9:39 am
Thanks for the follow up Joe. I agree with Freeman not being on the list. I do not necessarily agree with leaving Raheem off the list, but I can buy the reasoning of him being handcuffed. I may not agree with leaving Dominick and Schiano off the list either, but this was very entertaining no the less.
It’s time to hear some pads cracking. Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!
July 25th, 2014 at 9:41 am
Joe. Looks like you should do a follow up of worse bucs of all time
July 25th, 2014 at 9:44 am
Mort is 100% correct. That is why the list is filled with nobody’s… nobody but an off-season spring training reporter would know 25% of the list.
“Under your criteria which features prominently the word “expectations” I agree Lumpkin shouldn’t have made the list, but I do think Derrick Ward should have been in the 20 spot (with mike clayton being higher and Daniel Te-O Nesheim being removed. The expectations for this guy shouldn’t have been anything. Yes he was just awful as a starter, but he shouldn’t have been a starter, but a backup instead.”
July 25th, 2014 at 9:53 am
“But for starting through the Super Bowl season, Joe wouldn’t qualify him.” But you’re cool with Dexter Jackson being on that list? Makes sense.
You’re thinking of the other Dexter Jackson, the Super Bowl MVP. –Joe
July 25th, 2014 at 9:54 am
Every list ever made is debatable, but your qualifiers pretty much explain all the ones who didn’t get on the list (injuries, last 10 years, etc). Thanks for a great list to lead us up to the start of training camp!
Go Bucs!!! Time for the fun to begin!
July 25th, 2014 at 9:58 am
I think Freeman should be on it only because when you draft a franchise QB and he fails it has devastating consequences, which were feeling now.
Him not making it had much more far reaching negative effect than Dexter Jackson even though Free was a much better QB than Jackson was a receiver.
Gaines had an enlarged heart which led to his unfortunate death, so he should not be on the list IMO.
When the Glazer boys fired Chucky and inserted Raheem, they secured the top spot IMO. It from that decision that a lot of our despair flows IMO.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:02 am
Buccanole… you are pretty dumb buddy.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:03 am
Did you just infer that Kenyatta Walker is an animal? RACIST!
July 25th, 2014 at 10:08 am
Thank you for laying out Dominik’s case. Couldn’t have said it better myself. He didn’t get the job done and that can’t be denied. However, the cupboard is definitely not bare, and the cap is in excellent shape.
I’m a little surprised ODB hasn’t logged in yet to complain about Dom’s non-inclusion again. It’s still early though…
July 25th, 2014 at 10:09 am
Phillip’s 1st comment is perfect!
Training camp is here!
Players may smile and put their hands on their hips if the feel tired. Last year showed us those rules did not help a 4 -12 team.
Go Bucs!!!
July 25th, 2014 at 10:44 am
At least you got out of the way the depressing bad memories of the worst 20. Only way to go now is up from here on out. Nice set up for “hope and change”, second act sure enough to follow. Go JoeBucsFan, Go Bucs.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:09 am
Could someone point out to me one of Mark Dominik’s “extreme highs?”
July 25th, 2014 at 11:13 am
“No, Freeman did not qualify. And if Joe did put Freeman on the list, there was no way he couldn’t also add a certain backup quarterback to the list, the guy who led the Bucs to the worst offense in the NFL. Freeman never did that.”
With all due respect Joe, This is why your list is such BS.
You have a guy who was a 2nd or 3rd (it escapes me at the moment) round pick, drafted primarily to run kicks back as #1. I think we all agree that he was awful, but at the end of the day he was just another bad draft pick that didn’t work out. It was more to do with Allen and Gruden drafting him so high than his overall awfulness. If he was drafted in the late rounds as he should have been we wouldn’t even remember his name, well, actually we would remember the name but not because of him.
Freeman absolutely should be on this list because of the damage that his freefall did to the franchise, he is the epitome of what this list should be about. ( but I swear I still don’t care.) That is, if your previously stated criteria of production vs. expectation even matters.
He had all the talent in the world, showed that he was capable of being very good if not great but squandered it. In the process he torpedoed the entire team/season, got a coach and GM fired and set the team back for years possibly. Though, maybe not as much as it could have been now that Lovie is here.
Glennon, on the other hand, was a third round pick with no expectations of even starting as a rookie, was thrown into the fire when Freeman flaked out and did an admirable job. Not sure how that would put him on this list, regardless of the rank of the offense.
Remember, I said with all due respect but your logic on this as well as this whole list is ridiculously flawed.
I’m just glad it’s over so I don’t have to keep not reading it.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:15 am
Good stuff joe….the one I was looking for was the DB who got burned over and over and over again during that horrific Monday night game against Indy where they came back in the 4th Q. That guy may have fallen outside the 10 yr mark though
July 25th, 2014 at 11:16 am
Thanks Joe,
I was going to ask you to do this (explain the list)
but I didn’t want to be discourteous.
You the man!
Hopefully this already notorious list will be
avoided at all costs by the current Buccaneers.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:22 am
The list is over. And, like the Realist, I’m turning over a new leaf. Dom is gone, and there’s no more reason to say his name and any negative connotations. New coach. New staff. New GM. Training camp is starting.
And, with the new leaf, I’m changing my moniker. Say goodbye to Oil Derrick Brooks and and hello to Love and Warrick Dunn (not that anyone cares).
It’s easy to go from one Nole and Buc, to another.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:30 am
Apparently really good players who were
idiots (but not bad people) did not make the list.
e.g.
*Sgt Winslow: Great player, no major arrests, but
just a real idiot with off-color comments, motorcycle
wrecks and synthetic weed-sturbation.
* Tanard: Great player, great guy, he just simply
refused to stop being a rastafarian for anything or
anyone.
*Freeman: Was he ruined by Schiano. Was he secretly on drugs?
He showed epic promise in 2010 and 2011 setting new Buccaneer QB
records only to flip-out in 2013
On non-players being included in the list:
*Dominick, Morris, Schiano:
In retrospect they were all bad, but
not as bad as Jagz and Bates (the only 2 non-players to make
the cut).
I think if a 3rd coach was included it should be Sheridan
with his free coffee and cokes insult to fans.
Again; Jagz and Bates were epic bad.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:37 am
The lone Bucs Super Bowl victory was over ten years ago. Perhaps Kenyatta Walker does deserve a spot on the list.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:40 am
Senseless jabs at Glennon will never stop, bias is very plain to see
July 25th, 2014 at 11:47 am
Joe this was a fun list to check out while we waited through the dull days of the NFL season.
Let’s hope the franchise won’t have so many bad players/coaches for the next decade, and you will be making a list of the Best Buccaneers of the last 10 years in 2024
July 25th, 2014 at 11:59 am
Touch_Down_Tampa_Bay Says:
“[Greg Schiano…] I still think he owes season ticket holders a refund for last year.”
Give me two good reasons why you say that.
MRSA? Not his fault.
Freeman? Again, not his fault.
Media embarrassment? Again, not his fault.
Game one embarrassment? NOT his fault.
Goldson getting penalties? NOT his fault, as we will see when even the great Lovie Smith cannot fix the idiot.
Injuries? Again, not his fault.
Defensive Stunts? He wasn’t DC. Not his fault.
Offense at all? He never touched the offense. That was all on Sullivan, the OC. NOT his fault.
You people seem to forget. Greg Schiano told his entire staff to take the bye week to think of ways to improve results. When they came back, he let them try those ways. Sullivan moved up into the box to call plays, for example.
His staff failed him. Who hired that staff? Mark Dominick.
Greg Schiano was a NFL Rookie head coach when he got the job. He was forced to rely on Mark Dominick for a lot of things, including the search for staff.
Is he blameless? No. He made a few mistakes. But not as many as you seem to think. He was a good man, though a strict one. He demanded much.
Players who had no chance to make the team complained that he was too hard. They had an axe to grind. The pros? Most of them supported him as the press tore him apart.
You, my friend, bought into the media’s claims, even when nothing was proven.
Another year with Schiano would have stacked this team with an overwhelming amount of talent. Imagine what Lovie would have to work with then.
July 25th, 2014 at 12:03 pm
Joe, it is for that reason I wish Mark Dominick were on the list. You say he had highs and lows. The truth is, his only highs came when he drafted McCoy, and when Greg Schiano was hired.
That’s a big coincidence.
July 25th, 2014 at 12:11 pm
Here’s one that was forgotten:
Booker Reese, DE, 1982
Horrible pick!
July 25th, 2014 at 12:15 pm
Eric Wright was on your list for nothing but off field issues. His on field play, when he played, wasn’t that bad. Freeman went out of his way to blow up our season AND he was a garbage QB. Shoulda been on this list.
July 25th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
Hah you’re right Joe I apologize I didnt look at the article I completely forgot about this Dexter Jackson until now
July 25th, 2014 at 12:27 pm
Wow, all of these comments about who should be where on a made up list on Joe’s opinion. People are acting like Joe made them pay $100 for it and they don’t agree they want their money back. Dang, it’s just a list!
Let’s get to helmet cracking!!!
July 25th, 2014 at 12:30 pm
Tom:
Read the headline and then look at the date next to your suggestion.
D-Money:
The gun that was put to your head to read this post, was it a rifle, a shotgun or a simple pistol?
July 25th, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Dominic should have been on that list(in a way he made this list come true). I’m not going to explain why because it’s too obvious and very easy to look up if you can’t remember. Just google buccaneers draft and look at the last 5 years excluding the recent draft of course. It might make you sick.
July 25th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
@Bonzai
First… The GM doesn’t not pick the coordinators, that would not make any sense what so ever… Hey I’m gonna hire you as the HC but you have to hire Sullivan and Sherridan.. No sorry Dom doesn’t get blame for Schiano picking HIS coordinators… Reason why most smaller coaches came from Rutgers at some point…
Second… Sherridan is on record saying that the defense he was running was Schiano’s defense… Numerous players that played for Schiano at Rutgers said there really wasn’t a difference between the Rutgers D and Bucs D…
Third… The thing with Freeman is as much of Schiano’s fault as it is Freeman’s… or might not be 50-50 but to think Schiano wasn’t as childish with his off-season comments about Freeman is crazy and the constant rumors of bringing Cassel or Palmer to be the STARTER probably doesn’t help.. Preaching competition at all positions only to back track and say Freeman is the Franchise QB… Just to name a few
Fourth… Any game during the season is the Head Coaches fault… How would it not be? Is it on the players as well… yes of course but to say it’s not Schiano’s fault is absolutely ignorant.
Fifth… So you are telling me Schiano didn’t say ANYTHING to Sullivan and he just started calling plays conservatively to end 2012(ended as the 9th ranked offense) and all throughout 2013 when we finished 32nd or 26th for the Mob? So Mike is saying hey our offense is humming right now lets play run run pass punt football of the sudden?
Sixth… Schiano got to see Goldson in practice all year last year and couldn’t tell he wasn’t hitting high? Ya blame goes to Goldson but it also goes to the Head Coach and coaching staff for not fixing the problem or resolving the problem another way (benching)
Seventh… How many players have come out and said they are glad there is a new coach and how they were over the getting treated like a child…
Eighth… Everyone preaches whatever Dom’s record was… How about Schiano’s as a HC for a NFL team? 11-21
You usually say stuff that I agree with… But damn you couldn’t be more wrong on this situation…
July 25th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Talking about players only, I was shocked and disappointed that EJ Biggers was not on this list? How could that be?!?
The guy was garbage! He made 2 decent plays in the 2012 season, THAT’S IT!
Every time you saw Biggers, he was 5ft behind a receiver who was running in for TD or big completion. Dude just couldn’t hack it, terrible, period. The rest of the list was pretty accurate. I’ll let other squabble about Dominik and Schiano.
July 25th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
This was an enjoyable read. The follow-up was equally informative.
I hope that we can now move on from all the non-list bashing. I’m sick of talking about FORMER GMs, coaches, and players. Freeman’s this! Schiano’s that! Dom’s the worst ever…give it a rest now, OK?!
New regime, new hope, and hopefully, a winning football team are here. Hitch up to the wagon and bury the freakin’ hatchets already. PLEASE!
Go Bucs!
July 25th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
Thanks Bucsfanman.
July 25th, 2014 at 3:30 pm
You mean the same year he played for the Bucs they were a handful of yards from setting an all-time NFL record for passing yards allowed?
July 25th, 2014 at 4:27 pm
@JOE
What about Arron Sears! But I guess you could lump him into the Serious Injury Catagory?
Any update on his health or lawsuit?
July 25th, 2014 at 5:31 pm
What was that?
Josh Freeman is number one? Oh, Ok much better 😉
July 25th, 2014 at 6:54 pm
“The gun that was put to your head to read this post, was it a rifle, a shotgun or a simple pistol?”
Read my quote again Joe, I haven’t read one of those posts. Admitadly I look to see who you have ranked each day but that’s more like a train wreck that you can’t look away from….I have said from the start I wasn’t going to read them and I haven’t .
Dexter Jackson #1? Really?
That’s just silly.