Changes Not Just On Offense
December 9th, 2014
Bucs safety Hawk Goldson’s below average play and above average salary don’t add up to job security
After watching the Bucs offense lead the team to the coveted No. 1`overall pick in next spring’s draft, Joe cannot sit here this chilly Tuesday morning and remotely fathom that the current offensive starters will remain the same.
There is no question the offensive line needs another retool.
And as much as Joe likes the guy as a person and a leader, there is no rational excuse to have Josh McCown starting next year, short of being a bridge to let a rookie quarterback learn the ropes first.
Changes are not just coming on offense for next season. So too should be on defense, but just a few. It is the defense, after all, that more often than not is playing good ball.
If Joe was going to lay cash on the table, he’d bet Hawk Goldson will not be wearing a Bucs uniform next season. Goldson has never lived up to the standard of play he set in his days with the 49ers. And he had a bad game Sunday, as documented by Roland Bardon of Pro Football Focus.
Dashon Goldson, SS: -3.3
Breakdown: Goldson put up his worst performance of the season in a year filled with poor performances. He managed just one tackle in the game while missing two, and gave up four catches on five targets for 91 yards, including letting Johnson get behind him for a 53-yard gain in the third quarter.
Signature Play: Q4, 7:55 remaining. Here Goldson takes too hard of an inside angle as running back Joique Bell breaks through the line and ends up sprinting for a season-high 57-yard gain, setting up the Lions’ final touchdown.
Joe likes Goldson but the NFL is a business. Per Rotoworld.com, Goldson is due to make $7.5 million each of the next two seasons. The guaranteed revenue portion of his contract ends after this season.
Given Goldson’s average play, his above average salary and the fact he is not guaranteed any more money, you don’t need a degree in trigonometry to come to the conclusion that Goldson, barring a reworked contract, will be an ex-Buccaneer soon.
December 9th, 2014 at 7:38 am
There is still $3m dead money if we cut him after this season. I still think we should, but it is incorrect that it won’t impact our cap next year if he’s cut.
December 9th, 2014 at 7:51 am
If he won’t restructure to $4.5M per season or less – then he will probably be cut. Have heard a lot of praise from the coaches about him being a leader and a teacher etc – but tape don’t lie and Goldson has been way overpayed ever since he got here. We may just be better off letting him go regardless of his willingness to restructure because we need better play from the FS spot than he has been giving.
December 9th, 2014 at 8:24 am
Goldson’s nickname shouldn’t be “The Hawk” it should be: The Big Poop!
December 9th, 2014 at 8:31 am
Joe, can you break down for us this whole strength of schedule stuff and what results are better to go our way for the final three games? With the Titans being closest to us right now, them winning the game against the Jets will onbviously be best, but if the Bucs and the Titans both lose their remaining three games, who will get the first pick? Tennessee right?
Yes our Bucs lives are sad enough to fall to this level.
December 9th, 2014 at 8:44 am
Pickgrin Says
If he won’t restructure…
I don’t think he is worth restructuring. The entire time he has been here, he has not produced the way he was hired to do. In fact, he has played no better than a bad rookie. Best thing is to let him go and clear $8.5m from the books, especially since we have to work out a contract for David this off season.
@meh
You are right about the $3m dead space.
@Shipwrecked87
So long as the Bucs lose their remaining games, they will keep the #1 pick.
If the Bucs win one, and the others do not, we move a good ways down the board…like to 5th or 6th.
December 9th, 2014 at 8:57 am
by by birdie
December 9th, 2014 at 8:57 am
He played good lately because the teams didn’t have deep threats. Megatron exposed him as what he is: a run support safety
December 9th, 2014 at 9:03 am
I saw that it would be 3.8 million in dead money.
http://overthecap.com/player/dashon-goldson/1717
I don’t know if it is still this way, but they use to wait until a certain date (june 1st maybe) , then split the dead money between 2015, and 2016 with charges only being 1.9 million each year.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:03 am
On another note. Joe asked “why Lovie does not start some of the younger players and Glennon to evaluate talent level for next year.
He knows if he remains with the same QB, there is a greater chance to continue the loss streak and the no. 1 pick overall.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:08 am
The Bucs had no significant injuries nor lost any significant contributors via Free Agency that voluntarily left Tampa from 2013’s roster to 2014’s. To regress this badly from one year to the next when the rest of the division is also down (not to mention the huge blow-out loses to Atlanta and Baltimore), is inexcusable. Schiano would not have merely won 2 games, not that I’m advocating he should have been kept. The roster is not the only thing that needs overhauling and the Glazer’s desperate attempt to bring back Dungy-ball via Lovie appears to albeit failure thus far.
Should Lovie/Lyght be given a second season? Maybe…though I doubt seriously they can improve much in one season and drafting a rookie QB (I prefer an O-linemen, or trade down and get more picks) typically means the head coach gets a free pass for the upcoming season to groom the QB into a starter by the QB’s sophomore season. That means Lovie could get 3 seasons. Not sure I believe in the direction of this franchise under Lovie/Lyght currently. If the Glazer’s truly wanted to reach into their past to bring back a winner, they should have swallowed their pride and opened the same wallets to lure Gruden back home.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:16 am
Lovie will be here at least 4 years!
December 9th, 2014 at 9:19 am
I think Goldson is a giant tool who seems more interested in being chill and having swag than doing his job.
Good thing it don’t matter what I think. It matters what Banks, and Verner and company think of him.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Kaptain Morgan Says:
December 9th, 2014 at 9:08 am
If the Glazer’s truly wanted to reach into their past to bring back a winner, they should have swallowed their pride and opened the same wallets to lure Gruden back home.
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I’m not down on the Lovie hire as much as many on this site seem to be – and I believe that within a couple years L&L will be fielding a winning team – but I will absolutely agree with this statement.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:28 am
I’m not sure many of these guys want to be Buccaneers.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:28 am
Johnson has too big a hit to cut. He’s going nowhere.
Clayborn and Bowers will be Free Agents, so that will clear around $10.5m for the cap.
Michael Koenen can be cut with no dead money. That will free up $3.25m.
Oniel Cousins will be a free agent. He made less than a mil though. You have to wonder, if Lovie thought Cousins was a “fix”, why give him a one year deal for so little?
Mason Foster needs a new deal. His salary was only $1.4m.
Louis Murphy and Major Wright will be free agents. I think they should at least get a chance to compete for roster spots. Murphy could be deep depth. Wright is starting, but he’s really not starting material.
The problem is, we can’t flip every position and we have nearly an entire line on offense to fix. And we already will need to replace our other starting safety.
Dashon Goldson. Cutting him will cause $3m in dead space, but it would also save $5m. Trading him would be best, but if Licht can get a trade done, I’ll be impressed. It is possible some team will offer a 5th. Dom might be able to get that, but not Licht. Dom was an expert at trades.
December 9th, 2014 at 9:31 am
Mason Foster should get a deal for two reasons. First, he has improved. Second, his salary will be low enough to keep him as depth. Quality depth.
People tend to think if a play isn’t a top starter they should be cut, but players who play decent get low salaries and make quality depth. Foster fits that mold.
If he would rather test the waters, fine. Let him. But drafting a quality MLB this year is not going to happen (not with our other needs), and Fletcher isn’t even as good as Foster.
December 9th, 2014 at 10:34 am
Before his injury, seventh round pick Cody Grimm played better than Goldson is currently playing. He ought to be replaceable.
December 9th, 2014 at 11:58 am
As I see it…
If McCown continues to play the same, Lovie is likely to cut him and keep Glennon. Then if he drafts a QB, he will have another year with an ‘excuse’ (two young QBs) if the team fails to greatly improve. McCown has had twelve years to hit his ceiling, while it is highly unlikely that Glennon, with barely one season of starts, has hit his. The upside, for next year, is on Glennon’s side. McCown can be hired as QB coach, since it’s HIGHLY doubtful that any team will pick him up.
Of course, Lovie could also go with another veteran QB, and save the draft for linemen, etc. But if the team doesn’t improve, significantly, he may not get the ‘bye’ from the Glazers that two ‘learning’ QBs would get.
Lovie has put himself into a tough spot by having as many (or more) holes than he started with. It will be almost impossible to fix in one year, so he’ll need to ‘guarantee’ a third year. This coming off-season will see Lovie either go for the wins, like this year (epic fail), or go for a scenario that gives him an excuse to be brought back for a third year.
No position, on the team, gives a coach a ‘bye’ more than the QB.
December 9th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Tires aint cheap and the Hawk as another overpaid retread, was another grasp at relevance that has’nt panned out.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Hawk Says:
As I see it…
If McCown continues to play the same, Lovie is likely to cut him and keep Glennon. Then if he drafts a QB, he will have another year with an ‘excuse’ (two young QBs) if the team fails to greatly improve. McCown has had twelve years to hit his ceiling, while it is highly unlikely that Glennon, with barely one season of starts, has hit his. The upside, for next year, is on Glennon’s side. McCown can be hired as QB coach, since it’s HIGHLY doubtful that any team will pick him up.
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I LIKE that.