Shameful Quarterback History
January 7th, 2015
Not even Vinny Testaverde could change the fortunes of Bucs quarterbacks.
One could argue the Bucs have had such a putrid past with quarterbacks, the team has never had a franchise quarterback. It really is sad.
Oh, sure they got competent play (barely) from Doug Williams, and squeezed a Pro Bowl out of Jeff Garcia and Brad Johnson, which resulted in a Super Bowl, and a flash in the pan from leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman.
Other than that, it’s been a whole lot of awful. Oh, sure, the Bucs had Steve Young but had no clue how to develop him with Lovie Smith Leeman Bennett. Then there was the Trent Dilfer fiasco. His most credible season resulted in a Super Bowl win … for the Crows!
It’s enough to make a Bucs fan want to jam a finger down his throat.
A recent TBO.com podcast with Olivia Stacey and the “Custodian of Canton,” eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune, began with Kaufman explaining to the former Miss Tampa that she does not need to include a weight-loss regimen in her workout routine. He moved to claim the Bucs may very well have the sorriest history of quarterbacks in the NFL.
Olivia Stacey: If you could make one resolution for the Bucs, what would it be?
eye-RAH! Kaufman: Getting them — you know, I don’t even want to use the word ‘franchise quarterback’ because, you know, Tony Romo, maybe he is a franchise quarterback maybe he is not. Maybe he is in that second group. Philip Rivers, maybe. A Russell Wilson.
A quarterback that will be under center for 10 years. And I want to remind your listeners — all of them — and I think Joey Johnston dug this up so give him the credit. No Buccaneer quarterback, and they have been around since ’76 so we are almost talking four decades, no Bucs quarterback has ever signed a second contract with the Bucs. So that is my way of saying — that is nuts with Testaverde and Chris Simms and Josh Freeman, of course. It has never happened.
So I think their resolution is, find a quarterback in this draft or free agency starting with 2015 that they can build around and that is going to be a Buccaneer for a long time.
The reality is Brad Johnson did sign a big second contract with Tampa Bay. But the way Joe looks at it, if you’ve only had one quarterback in the last 40 years do that, then you really have to be trying to be that inept. At least the Bears had Jim McMahon some 30 years ago, a team notorious for garbage quarterbacks since the Korean War.
It is high time this Bucs team resolves the issue once and for all. Hopefully, that change will begin when Jameis Winston walks across the stage to shake NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell’s hand to start the 2015 draft.
January 7th, 2015 at 7:24 am
Don’t rob Dilfer of his pro bowl year with us.
I’m trying to find the right words to describe Vinny’s forearm. Alien? Gross? Photoshopped in 87?
January 7th, 2015 at 7:25 am
It could have been me
January 7th, 2015 at 7:49 am
And the continue trend would continue if the Bucs even thought about drafting Winston. Thank God everyone in the free world , minus Joes and few people he digs up, that the Bucs will select the most talented accurate QB in this draft, Mariota!!!
January 7th, 2015 at 8:03 am
Joe,
Famous Jameis can’t sign a second contract from his jail cell…Publix won’t be so kind to a second time offender ( best case ).
January 7th, 2015 at 8:07 am
Doug Williams was just coming into his own. His quarterback coach was Joe Gibbs….who about that for a position coach. Say what you want about John McKay but he had an INCREDIBLE staff….that why they advanced so quickly and got all the way to the NFC championship game….unheard of for a time when there was NO free agency.
Problem here is that Lovie, overall, has a lousy staff, poll the entire league and the perception may be that he won’t last the years on his current contract.
That was Schiano’s problem, the league knew he wouldn’t last and no decent assistant would work for him.
Simple as that……
January 7th, 2015 at 8:38 am
We traded our only franchise QB away. Bucs know QBs.
January 7th, 2015 at 8:49 am
The history could have been worse, they could have drafted Johnny Foot-tall!!!
January 7th, 2015 at 9:06 am
@Tom Edrington
…agree with everything you said…both staffs are/were full of college coaches…the Doug Williams curse continues as far as I’m concerned…killed McKay’s Bucs, his career and cursed the QB position of this team….Just read how the Steelers were horrible for the first 40 years of existence before they became an envied franchise…cue up the worst to first signs again…hoping for a 79ish turnaround 🙂
January 7th, 2015 at 9:06 am
The only thing worse than the bucs qb history is the head coaching history which includes the has been that never was king Lovie and his clown posse.
I’m still not convinced Lovie can land a legit OC considering the number of other jobs open with better organizations. Despite the fact that some are in denial on this site but Lovie is the oc killer from hell.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:07 am
Dilfer made the Pro Bowl as well in 1997.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:20 am
What makes me sick is teams like Green Bay, Indy 4,9ers etc. that go from Franchise QB to franchise QB when we just continually swing and miss!!!
January 7th, 2015 at 9:23 am
Seems like we have had franchise QB’s, the only problem is they’ve only come into their own once they’ve left Tampa for better teams (Williams, Young, Dilfer…well OK the last is a stretch but he is a SB winning QB). Based on history I’m hoping the Bucs don’t dump Glennon yet regardless of what they do in the draft this year, well unless the team decides to keep the Swiss cheese OL that would get any non-scrambling QB injured.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:24 am
I’m sorry to break it to you people, but Doug Williams was not a great quarterback. He was average at best. He just happened to go to a team that could win with and average quarterback. His stats were not even good.
Trent Dilfer left here and did the same thing.
Vinnie left here and didn’t win a superbowl, but his numbers improved greatly.
Steve Young…well, you know.
We lost Doug Williams to the Redskins. Many consider that to be the start of the quarterback curse. It could be argued that the curse was broken when we got Brad Johnson (who came from the Redskins) and he won a superbowl. We have pretty good luck with QBs from the Skins.
That’s why, if the Skins release RGIII this year, I think we should sign him. Not as a starter, but as a backup…in case he can turn things around. He would come cheap, and in a couple years, if he does turn things around, he could get us trade value.
He would also be a good backup to Mariota, since they are both mobile QBs and the offense would remain the same.
I know the knocks on RGIII, and I get them. But changing teams, going from starter to backup, might just be the shock he needs.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:34 am
I vividly recall the mantra from many of the the locals that Doug Williams was not a good QB and were glad to be rid of him.
Turned into a total disaster.
Similar to all the joy when Chucky was let go. That really worked out great also.
All the more reason to believe that the Glazers wont allow anything other than a QB with our number one pick. I am confident that L@L feel the same way.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:42 am
We did not lose Doug to the Redskins. Check your facts.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:47 am
If you didn’t see Doug Williams play, there was one important thing to consider and that was the fact that the players TOTALLY believed in him, loved him, busted their butts for him….
With Doug’s arm, he could hit the bomb at any time, they were never out of a close game, we haven’t had that BIG STRIKE threat in a long, long time…
You could compare it to a boxer with a huge right hand, he might not be the best guy, but he can end a fight with one shot…
Doug made games exciting, for sure, and if Vincent Jackson is worth $10 million for being a great guy, Doug was worth far more than that because of the belief he instilled in the team.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:48 am
Ahh yes…Tampa Bay Buccaneers where QBs start, move on, and go to the Super Bowl. A total of 5 QBs have done so! The winners…Williams, Young, Dilfer, and the losers…Chris Chandler and Steve DeBerg.
Doug Williams, like many other players, left for the Oklahoma Outlaws with new USFL league.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:52 am
@Tom Edrington
…agreed again!..stats dont tell the true story…
January 7th, 2015 at 9:55 am
For those who are waiting (hoping) that the Glazers will force Lovie/Licht to choose a certain player, please show the rest of us PROOF that the Glazers have EVER inserted themselves into a decision concerning a player. The ‘old man’ said, early in the ownership, that they weren’t ‘football’ people. They would HIRE football people and let them do their job. They have most certainly been aggressive, if not successful, at going after personnel they believe to be the right ones. Not being football people, it has been a struggle for them to choose correctly when hiring a HC and GM, but it has been apparent that they are ‘hands-off’ when it comes to players. I have no doubt that they are kept informed on all player decisions, as a formality and to make sure they can ‘afford’ the move.
The draft is all Lovie/Licht. Some us will not sleep well, until it is all over.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:59 am
I don’t think there’s been a QB to start four full seasons in Tampa yet which is crazy if you think about how long we’ve been a team.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:02 am
Early in Freeman’s career was a glimmer of hope. It died when he displayed one of the bizarrest regressions I’ve yet seen in the NFL. From accurate, gunslinging captain comeback to confused and shambling in just a year or two.
I still don’t get it.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:18 am
Williams, Vinnie, Dilfer, played 5 years each.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:19 am
I can’t believe the resemblance between the photo of vinny and mariota. vinny was color blind. no really he was. it came out after the bucs drafted him. mariota will be the highest drafted Samoan American. I hope he has a better career than vinny did with the bucs and the jets!
January 7th, 2015 at 10:21 am
Warthog
Not surprising, if you been around someone that has bad bodily intake issues.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:22 am
“Franchise quarterback” is the most overused and least useful term in all of football.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:27 am
Joe, your insistence on Winston is making me ill.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:34 am
@tom
No doubt, Doug could completely change a game with one throw. His team knew that.
And the other team feared it.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:38 am
Hawk Says
“For those who are waiting (hoping) that the Glazers will force Lovie/Licht to choose a certain player, please show the rest of us PROOF that the Glazers have EVER inserted themselves into a decision concerning a player.”
There will never be proof, because no one has listening or video devices in the rooms at one buc. You ask the impossible.
However, it’s reasonable to assume that Greg Schiano, who did not want Freeman as his QB, was forced to accept him instead of drafting a QB in the first round his first year. Freeman had a decent season the year before.
When it became clear that Freeman was not going to work out, they finally allowed him to draft a QB, but they had traded away the first pick. He had no choice but to go with Glennon.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:46 am
We have our franchise QB in Glennon.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:47 am
Like Buccaneer Bonzai said, RG3 would be an interesting free agent to pair with Mariota due to the similar styles but due to his salary would he be the bridge gap starter until Mariota is NFL ready? Of course that would require an OC that would run an offense suited to their abilities. Also without a running game and upgraded OL, neither will survive. There is also one thing I would like to see the Bucs get better at and that is screen passes. I think that is where Sims could show his value.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:49 am
Beware “The Cannon”.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:09 am
@BucBonzai
I like the way you think and in case you missed it on that Jameis thread I wanted to share that you wrote the best post on the Jameis-Marcus debate I have read and that includes Joe’s.
As for you ideas about RGIII….they make perfect sense if the price is right. He would be a great backup to Mariota and we could then find an OC and run a consistent offense.
That was part of the problem last year. I’m not a member of the MGM but I’m not an MG8 hater. But he does have his limitations. He can only drop back and pass…he’s a 2015 Brad Johnson. MG8 and McCown were not complimentary QB’s. They possess totally different skill sets. MG8 does not fit well with today’s offenses and would be a horrible backup for Mariota or Winston both of whom can run and move in the pocket.
January 7th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Fifty plus years of watching the NFL tells me Bucs should take Winston without hesitation. He can make all the throws any HOF of your choice has made, including the game winning bombs as Tom Edrington correctly points out (miss your articles Tom). He commands the huddle just as well and without doubt his teammates believe in him. Forget all those “yeah, buts….” about this young man, nothing else needs to be said.
Sure, the rules have changed quite radically in favor of the offense over the last few years and Mariota’s style plays well to them, but history wins out over what may only be a fad-of-the-day style of play. There’s a lot of brilliant NFL defensive coaches out there with decades of experience to damper all the enthusiasm of what is in essence an option-QB, no-huddle system on steroids.
Besides, Fran Tarkenton had a similar style of play a few decades ago too that drove defenses absolutely crazy, but that didn’t lead to every other team to mimic that style and bring in scrambling QB’s excelling at throwing on the run, defenses simply adjusted.
Just as if not more important is the Bucs choosing the right coaching staff to put around either of these two fine QB’s. In football more than any other sport, the right players in the right system win, it’s that simple. Without the right coaches, either one of these QB’s will likely go on to win somewhere else, just like many other former Bucs QB’s have. And Lovie’s track record making those choices is what worries me most.
Therefore at least from my perspective, Licht is THEE most important person to watch. Yet, all the “noise” is about everyone else while his name is hardly even mentioned. If he is a only Lovie’s puppet, the Bucs are doomed, if not……..well, we’ll see.
January 7th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Bucs history hardly ever brings up the transactions the team made to acquire a “franchise QB.” Does anyone else still have nightmares over the name Chris Chandler (aka the Chrystal Chandelier)?
January 7th, 2015 at 1:28 pm
I liked Chris Chandler. He was one tough player. Sure he ran for his life, but he was fun to watch. I remember a game at San Diego, Chandler was hounded and pounded all game yet played well. The Bucs have never put all the pieces of a successful offense together that lasted besides the SB win.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:41 pm
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
“Hawk Says
“For those who are waiting (hoping) that the Glazers will force Lovie/Licht to choose a certain player, please show the rest of us PROOF that the Glazers have EVER inserted themselves into a decision concerning a player.”
There will never be proof, because no one has listening or video devices in the rooms at one buc. You ask the impossible.”
I believe, BuccaneerBonzai, that you misinterpreted my point. It’s OK, as I don’t type with the same number of words that I speak with. Sometimes, things get lost in the ‘abridged’ version.
Actually, there is proof that the Glazers will insert themselves when (they believe) necessary. When McKay was HC hunting (and ‘found’ a candidate), the Glazers stepped in, told McKay to ‘take five’, and went after Gruden. When they truly want something/someone, I don’t believe they will hide from the public about it. Player decisions, though is an area where they have NEVER made any public references. As the old man said, they are not ‘football’ people, so they will do their best to hire football people who will (hopefully) make the right personnel decisions.
January 7th, 2015 at 4:13 pm
Vinny was a physical specimen. He used to routinely win the old QB contest and held the record for the longest throw….80 freakin yards in 1988. Too bad Ray Ray Perkins drafted him.
January 7th, 2015 at 5:23 pm
All I know is that my mom watched and rooted for the Bucs for 30 years and now she won’t even turn the game on. That is a sad state of affairs. Lovie, why don’t you follow George Costanza’s lead and whatever you think the right choice is… DO EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE! I believe that is your only hope.
January 7th, 2015 at 5:56 pm
Joe Buc, is there any merit in the Buccaneers needling the Other 30 (Not Named Tennessee) for a High Profile Trade? And, would getting the Storm’s Quarterback from The St. Pete Forum get Tampa Pro Football on the bus? And, if Mariota says in Eugene, I think would turning Gerald McCoy into QB help vs. the 2015 Version of “Donny,Don’t” or even turning the Defensive Coordinator into the Offensive Coordinator? I hate to sound Simpsonian or throw more Welcome Freshmanized Mystery Meat into the open and call it steak, which the wonderful citizens of Hillsborough County and Tampa Bay would loathe, but, where’s JJ Raterink when you need him?