Recent History Good For Bucs’ Future
February 27th, 2015
A turnaround on the horizon?
How many ways can someone describe a trainwreck? Joe has run out of adjectives to explain the garbage that was the 2014 Buccaneeers.
Offense was bad enough to induce vomiting. Defense was a bad horror movie.
But there is hope Bucs fans, qualified hope, but hope nonetheless. The could even be a run at a Wild Card berth. One only needs to look at NFL history, types Mike Sando of BSPN. Change is in the air.
The Buccaneers will almost certainly improve, in other words, but by how much? The past three teams to pick first overall went from 2-14 the previous season to 9-7 or better in the next. Is it plausible for the Buccaneers to make that kind of improvement? In taking a closer look, I see four reasons Tampa Bay should be on the radar as a team that could make that kind of jump.
Sando also writes that in the past decade, teams finishing with two wins averaged six wins the next season. In other words, tripled their win total from the previous year.
Of course, Sando has one major, significant qualifier. He is basing the turnaround of the Bucs on drafting Jameis Winston, not Marcus Mariota (or trading down or drafting a non-quarterback).
February 27th, 2015 at 11:41 am
After Bucs finish lauding their all-world TEs they might look at Brian Hartline the new ex-Fin as a spot on receiver for their newest all-world QB.
February 27th, 2015 at 11:43 am
More than 4 reasons…
General improvement with defense
OC
Stonger QB play
Oline strengthening
Better Punter
ASJ/Sims
Schedule weaker
February 27th, 2015 at 11:58 am
What do you guys think about signing Harry Douglass?? Good depth.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Hartline became a ghost last year after landry burst onto the scene. We need to draft a landry or sign someone like him. Someone who can also handle our return duties
February 27th, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Winston
February 27th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
damn video game like general managing going on here joe…..i hate Atlanta, panthers and saints. we don’t need their aging players and besides none of them work out. carl nicks was enough of a disaster and harry douglas is average and couple that with the word old then he shouldn’t be on the radar. draft well simply draft well because receiver is the deepest position this year please don’t bring in anymore players that were average for some other team that would end up starting here
February 27th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Didn’t we hear the same jibberish this time last year on how big of a leap the Bucs will be taking?
February 27th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
Hey Joe, you may remember that I am all in for Winston…but are you, really?
Let’s put ourselves in the Bucs shoes. If they make a mistake at #1, it is probably their jobs.
So, would you risk your website on drafting of Winston or rather go the more safe route with Mariota? For example, if YOU take Winston and he’s huge, your website becomes the Mecca of all football sites..and if he busts, you lose your site…and likewise with Mariota.
When I put the same question in relation to my career…it puts things more in perspective… but I still come back with Winston.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:16 pm
@joe
I said this exact same thing at least 5 times on previous posts. You shouldve quoted me
February 27th, 2015 at 12:31 pm
None over rule the top reason that the Bucs will finish 4th in the division.
Lovie!!!
February 27th, 2015 at 12:35 pm
What?
1. Joe is not nor has ever offered up ownership of this site to anyone in a wager.
2. How is Mariota the “safe” pick? Look at the history of spread-option quarterbacks in the NFL. It’s not pretty.
3. People seem to forget, Joe is not anti-Mariota, but pro-Jameis. There’s a difference. If the Bucs pick Mariota and he turns into Aaron Rodgers, that means the Bucs win, and if that happens, we all win. Joe would love to be wrong if it meant wins.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Heard the same thing last year. Show me first then I will believe it. As for now we are what our record says we are 2 win team with a ceiling of 4 wins.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:41 pm
Amazing, an ever so slight breath of optimism from Joe. Thank You. You have made an old mans day. Go Bucs….
February 27th, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Lets see how much the movie repeats itself…
1. Generate a lot of buzz through FA signings
2. Make a big pick/move at the draft
3. Be declared offseason winners
4. Have almost every expert pick the Bucs for playoffs.
5. Start 1-3/0-4
6. Season over after 1 month
Because that’s pretty much been the last 3-4 years. Forgive me, and most, but lets get to October first before we start getting excited about anything.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:09 pm
@bucrightoff
your right on my friend……everybody agrees we aren’t contenders for anything serious so why not try to improve your team mainly through the draft and stop trying to sign free agents to start for your team and the only investment they have is because we paid them to like us
February 27th, 2015 at 1:16 pm
@bucrightoff – I have seen that movie enough. I can quote the lyrics by heart.
You can add one more line:
7) Repeat steps 1-6, then fire head coach.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:19 pm
1 game at a time. Not even going to fall for that again before this year starts,
February 27th, 2015 at 2:18 pm
The Bucs shiuld sign free agents but there is a smart way to do so. Like last year they got rid of their offensive line. Litterally. The group with more continuity than any other positions on the team. Sure they had a down 2013 but to totally blow it up…it forced Licht to go overpay for a bunch of players, some overated some just not that good, and just randomly put a buch of guys together that have never played together. Thats just the stupidest thing to do and it abused free agency. They had a core in place and they went wild in free agency and just got rid of the that core group of players.
Hopefully they dont do the same thing. Getting rid of the entire oline would be a mistake. They could be smart about and sign a free agent and draft a guard or what ever in the 2nd/3rd. That would keep the oline together while also upgrading. Thats what they need to do to acheive a balance. If L/L would’ve done that a year ago we might not have won Jameis but we would probably have been alot better off on Sundays.
February 27th, 2015 at 3:31 pm
I swear I’m about ready to vomit because of almost every single story having to do with drafting Winston.
As for whether or not the Bucs do well nest year, what does it matter to a pack of trolls who don’t possess season tickets, let alone stepped into RJ Stadium when a Bucs game is going on.
It doesn’t hurt your pockets one dime since the majority of your fat, lazy stupid rear ends are parked on your Salvation Army recycled couch.
February 27th, 2015 at 4:11 pm
Bucrightoff speaks the truth. They had better change the script this year – it hard to cheer for your team when they’re out of it by October.
February 27th, 2015 at 5:18 pm
CurseofGruden, I guess you weren’t paying attention last year or in 2012 either, but the Bucs weren’t out of the playoff race in October.
Due to the records of the teams in the south, they were still in the playoff hunt until the end of November.
In 2012 it wasn’t until December when Freeman started serving up more INT’s than Mickey D’s serves cheeseburgers that the Bucs fell out of playoff contention.
Still, what difference does it make. Like most of the morons out here you probably don’t have season tickets or have even bought a Bucs game ticket so it doesn’t cost you anything.
Just get your facts straight if your going to post out here and at least then you won’t sound like Robert 9.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Hit the reset button!
February 27th, 2015 at 9:52 pm
Jamarcus Russell, E J Manuel, and Christian Ponder all came from pro style offenses in college. Give it a rest with this crap argument for this kid. If Jameis is the better QB than fine you draft him, but this pro style offense garbage is annoying. Spread QB’s can and do succeed in the NFL too.
February 27th, 2015 at 10:07 pm
Joe Mamma. You say get off the spread qb crap? If you can name two that have come from a spread run based offense and been successful then maybe people will stop saying it.
February 28th, 2015 at 12:35 am
Winston + better OLine = an actual chance at a winning season
Make it so L&L. Your jobs may literally depend on it
March 2nd, 2015 at 6:01 am
[…] is why Joe, despite recent history, would be very surprised if the Bucs stumbled into a playoff berth this fall. Everything would have […]
March 2nd, 2015 at 7:41 pm
2 win seasons usually involve alot of the proverbial “bad bounces”, especially in close games. over time, those bounces tend to even out to what the ability of your team deserves. so, after 2 years of luck mostly going the other team’s way (3 if you consider how badly our secondary let us down in winnable games in Schiano’s first year), maybe the weak-looking schedule and some regression to the mean will lead us to a better season than it looks like we ought to have. then again, maybe not