The Bucs Got Better Today
February 11th, 2015
Good riddance to arguably the worst starting quarterback in Buccaneers history.
Sorry. Josh McCown is a nice guy, but this is football. Unlike McCown, Joe’s not shedding a tear tonight.
In his 35-year-old, low-mileage body, McCown brought rookie quarterback play to Tampa Bay last season. It was reprehensible bordering on disgusting.
What McCown turned out in the first three games of 2014, effectively eliminating the Bucs from playoff contention, was miserable production and leadership.
Great leader? Where’s the evidence? McCown really had the fellas ready to play for their only national television appearance against a division opponent. Oh, sure, McCown led offseason optional practices and rallied the troops. He visited Mike Evans right after he was drafted. He cried his eyes out after a loss. He talked the talk, but the guy couldn’t produce. He didn’t make anyone around him better. And his offensive line surely saw no reason to play their balls off to protect the guy.
The Bucs are a better team now without McCown and his bloated salary. There is no evidence McCown can mentor a rookie quarterback, so Joe’s not feeling any kind of loss. Quick. Name a young QB McCown has helped develop in his dozen or so NFL years.
Now the Bucs can shop for a veteran backup to mentor Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. Let’s hope the organization doesn’t leave a rookie QB without an experienced QB to lean on. It’s not like new QB coach Mike Bajakian has ever thrown a pass on the league.
Joe’s heard Andrew Luck rave about Matt Hasselbeck, who likely will be a free agent. There are other vets out there that have got to be better than McCown.
The Bucs have another $5 million to play with as a result of cutting McCown. It’s also evidence that Lovie Smith is seeing clearly. Joe is invigorated.
February 11th, 2015 at 9:47 pm
“Now the Bucs can shop for a veteran backup to mentor Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.”
Thank you Joe….for a flat-a$$ right on target, no bias startement!!!
February 11th, 2015 at 9:47 pm
Hooray! The only thing he coulda taught Winston was how to hold a clipboard. Good riddance.
February 11th, 2015 at 9:48 pm
thank the lord lol
February 11th, 2015 at 9:51 pm
Wish Lovie would go too
February 11th, 2015 at 9:53 pm
No surprise. C’mon bucs get behind the 8 ball(s) already! 🙂
February 11th, 2015 at 9:53 pm
Still a tough call on the draft. If the Bucs emerge from FA without a veteran, they will certainly draft a QB. Then that rookie will compete with Glennon.
My fear is that Liar Smith sticks with his old habits and signs Brian Hoyer to start for us. Of course they could sign Hoyer and trade Glennon, but this is Lovie Smith we are talking abo ut here.
February 11th, 2015 at 9:56 pm
What if they just released him to sign him at a lower salary?
February 11th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
If Glennon is on the roster after FA then we still need to sign a veteran QB. It will just be one that sucks less than McPick. No matter what, it would be an absolute shock if the Bucs don’t draft a QB even if they trade down.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:06 pm
Well, I’ve been told that its the fans who’ve made all of the
poor decisions over the last decade.
So it must be Joe who got McCown cut.
Joe’s a mean, mean man who doesn’t see the great upside
of McCown who cried for his team after a loss!
What more do you want? Bastards.
# TheKevinsays “Worst fans ever!”
February 11th, 2015 at 10:07 pm
Overkill.
The man had to play with no oc and a bad line.
Should be cut but that stuff is way over the top.
Hardly the worst it bucs history by a long shot.
Thompson. Hanratty. Goldstein. Just to rattle a few off.
Amazing how none of this vitriol.was ever directed at rock star. For five years. Authentically the worst gm in bucs history.
C’mon, Eric. Hanratty started one game. Golsteyn started three in 1983. Joe’s talking about QBs that were really handed the starting job and got some time. McCown’s 1-10 with a load of talent around him is right there with the all-time worst. Joe would rather hand the ball to Bruce Gradkowski. –Joe
February 11th, 2015 at 10:10 pm
….. i gotta be the first to suggest this name, really?…. fine
michael vick
February 11th, 2015 at 10:13 pm
I actually agree with Eric on that one.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:18 pm
I wish Josh well. He tried hard, worked hard and is a class guy. And geez, he sure took one for the team
February 11th, 2015 at 10:19 pm
I think the list of QB’s who could have done much in those circumstances is pretty darn short.
I agree he should be gone of course.
I thought he hung in there bravely and took his beating.
Best of luck Josh.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:23 pm
Bravo. Joe. I spent $2,000 to watch this crying idiot bring shame on the community. All these panies here forget how awful this guy was out of the gate, when we needed him most. The guy who trims my palm trees is real nice too, but I fired his ass when he did a crappy job and overcharged me.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:28 pm
Mike10
About 15 people already beat you. Read All the posts. And still a bad idea.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:41 pm
Big Girls Don’t Cry!
Draft Jameis Winston!
February 11th, 2015 at 10:43 pm
He took 5 million dollars from the team too Mr. Hatrick.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:55 pm
Yeah the guy playing what is widely considered the toughest position in sports is just like the palm tree trimmer.
Identical.
February 11th, 2015 at 10:56 pm
Yeah Eric as bad as Jack the throwing Samoan Thompson was, I do believe he would have been a tad better than McNown was this season…. Thompson was snakebit by a stingy Hugh Culverhouse who was so ****ing cheap that he charged the players for using their motel phones on the road and made them pay for sodas in the locker room at home though Thompson did not have Arroyo….. There have been some lousy qbs in Buc history and McNown belongs near the top of that infamous list. But McNown did serve a purpose: he insured that the Bucs would tie the Titans for worst record in the NFL and thus net the Bucs the 1st overall pick in the draft. If Glennon started games after the loss to the Browns it is likely he could have got the Bucs more than the one win that McNown got @ DC and probably could have got the team to 4-12 or 5-11 where they would slip back a bit in the draft order and run the risk of slipping behind too many teams to get a franchise qb in the draft as DC or the Jets might have slipped head of them and/or slip behind the Jags or Raiders who could trade down to a qb needy team….. So thanks to Josh and Marcus the “plug in” qb/OC tandem one uses if you want to tank games and get an optimum draft pick!!!!
February 11th, 2015 at 10:57 pm
“He talked the talk, but the guy couldn’t produce. He didn’t make anyone around him better.”
You talking about McCown – or EDS? Collins? Johnson? Goldson? Foster? Hell that statement could apply to 1/2 our team last year… LOL
And yea – the worst starting QB in Bucs history moniker is Waaaay over the top Joe.
February 11th, 2015 at 11:02 pm
The only thing worst then watching him play, was all of those who called it out a year ago and still had to watch that garbage!
February 11th, 2015 at 11:04 pm
Steve Young was very bad as a starter in 1986, when the team only won two games. He was so bad, that in the first win against Detroit, he completed only 6 passes for 39 yds. We won that game because our defense forced 5 turnovers and we were running the crap out of the ball. 8 TDs, 13 INTs that year.
I had watched his career start as a pretty good QB in the USFL playing for the LA Express. But when he got to the Bucs, he was just terrible, jittery behind the line and prone to run. Sound like any QB’s you know? Funny thing, his O-line could run block with the best of them, they just couldn’t keep him or Steve DeBerg off the grass…56 sacks allowed. But the Bucs still rushed for almost 1900 yds…go figure.
No one remembers how hideous he was as a Buccaneer QB, they only remember the HoFer he turned into at San Fran. As for Josh McCown, for the beating he took behind a worse O-Line, for the dignity and heart he showed on and off the field, and for all the derision he received from Bucs fans, much respect, and best wishes to his future. You weren’t as bad as Young.
February 11th, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Joe
Touché my friend. Ty for the pic. Lmao
February 11th, 2015 at 11:12 pm
Matt Hasselbeck or Brian Hoyer. Take your pick.
February 11th, 2015 at 11:31 pm
Yo Joe,
Allow me to break this down (haven’t even read the comments yet). Hilarious, got say your writing has been inspired lately. Outstanding work my friend.
“Good riddance to arguably the worst starting quarterback in Buccaneers history. Sorry. Josh McCown is a nice guy, but this is football.”
Exactly!
“was reprehensible bordering on disgusting.”
Went way past disgusting into down right offensive. Insulting even.
“What McCown turned out in the first three games of 2014, effectively eliminating the Bucs from playoff contention”
Well according to lovely we were like 0-8 and still on the verge. 2nd place. Lol
“Great leader? Where’s the evidence? ”
It’s all in there head Joe whatever they make up. La la la la la mccown is a great leader, a great mentor, blah blah blah blah blah. Mccown has great hair that’s it.
“The Bucs are a better team now without McCown and his bloated salary.”
Addition by subtraction
“QB coach Mike Bajakian has ever thrown a pass on the league.”
He’s never called a play either. We’ll come back to that.
“There are other vets out there that have got to be better than McCown.”
understatement of the year and second I wouldn’t be completely against Vick.
“It’s also evidence that Lovie Smith is seeing clearly. Joe is invigorated.”
I would not be so sure lovely wanted this. This could be what the Florio report was about. Arguing about a qb, maybe it was about mccown not Mariotta.
February 11th, 2015 at 11:35 pm
Not a message board link parade. –Joe
February 11th, 2015 at 11:44 pm
Great – now if they can cut the Glazer boys, they will really be on the way to improvement.
February 11th, 2015 at 11:56 pm
The Bucs took the next step on their way back when they cut McCown. Lovie gave him five mil and 11 starts for which he took a beating, partly because he was so bad.
I hope he lands on another team and we get to play them with him as their QB some day.
I wonder if Koetter or the GM made the decision because I don’t believe Lovie did.
February 11th, 2015 at 11:59 pm
The Buc Realist Says:
February 11th, 2015 at 11:02 pm
The only thing worst then watching him play, was all of those who called it out a year ago and still had to watch that garbage!
Exactly!
February 12th, 2015 at 12:00 am
You people are in need of a history lesson, and let this proud, Orange wearing, Bucco Bruce displaying fan show you a little something that the Joes won’t.
These QBs started the most games for the Bucs in the years listed, and here are their QB ratings:
Josh McCown 2014 70.5
Craig Ericson 1993 66.4
B. Gradkowski 2006 65.9
Steve Young 1986 65.5
Trent Dilfer 1996 64.8
Trent Dilfer 1995 60.1
Steve Spurrier 1976 57.1
Doug Williams 1978 53.4
Doug Williams 1979 52.5
V. Testaverde 1988 48.8
Gary Huff 1977 37.4
Josh McCown isn’t even in the bottom 10 of the worst QB performances for the Bucs. A real Buccaneer fan would know that, and take the rhetoric out. To hear the Joes say it, McCown was Jack the Ripper slinging the pig-skin. Well, sorry to break it to you fair weather fans and those of you too frakking lazy to do your homework before posting, but in those years of futility, I damn sure would have loved to have Josh McCown throwing the ball. Imagine him at QB with Gruden calling the plays instead of..ahem…Bruce Gradkowski. Go ahead and sling your venom about McCown and his inept play. But get your God Frakking facts correct first.
Josh McCown’s QB rating this season ranked 67th in the NFL. Yes, 67th. It’s pretty comical that you’re using QB ratings. There’s a reason why you never see Joe write about them. Second, comparing QB play in previous eras is ridiculous. The game has changed. The rules have changed. –Joe
February 12th, 2015 at 12:16 am
Thank goodness he’s gone! Mccown was a turnover waiting to happen.
February 12th, 2015 at 12:22 am
Supersam
How come we didn’t trade mccown? If there is a market then was it a mistake to just cut him? I doubt 5m was attritive to many teams. Maybe they do bring him back for less. Seriously, why no trade?
February 12th, 2015 at 12:32 am
And IStillbleedOrange rests his case. No further witnesses necessary.
February 12th, 2015 at 12:58 am
“Bring shame on the community.” Gee, Mitchell, I think your sense of reality is a bit skewered and also your perspective on life.
McCown lost some football games, a very meaningless event in the scope of life.
I felt no shame after a Buc loss, just a sense of malaise or a monotonous languor.
It wasn’t like he was running Ponzi schemes like Wall Street hedge fund brokers or lying to the country about WMD’s or imaginative ties to Al Quada.
Get a grip, pardner.
The same thing that happened to McCown last year happened to the entire offense and it was called Mark Arroyo.
Can’t for the life of me understand why Joe doesn’t see this as well.
February 12th, 2015 at 1:51 am
They didn’t get better. They still have Mike Glennon.
Improvement by subtraction is not improvement. It is preparing the way for it though.
February 12th, 2015 at 1:53 am
“Second, comparing QB play in previous eras is ridiculous. The game has changed. The rules have changed. –Joe”
Well, in that case…throw out all the record books and the hall of famers, right?
February 12th, 2015 at 2:05 am
Your first sentence in this article calls McCown “…arguably the worst starting quarterback in Buccaneers history.”
I just gave you examples of how that statement wasn’t true. You weren’t comparing him to the other QBs in the NFL this year. Yes he totally sucked. That fact is a given. There were many reasons and excuses why he sucked. That isn’t the issue. You boldly plastered him up as the #1 worst QB in franchise history. No, Joe said he “arguably” was the worst starter in Bucs history. See above. –Joe
I merely showed a common denominator that showed the truth to be otherwise. It is not a “common denominator” when you are comparing QB stans across multiple NFL eras. –Joe
I have neither the desire, nor the time to break down statistically and analytically why each QB in BUCCANEER history was worse than Josh McCown. You don’t like QB ratings? I’m sorry to hear that, but since you yourself brought up McCown’s abysmal ratings (in comparison to 2014 QBs) to qualify your statement about him being the worst in BUCCANEERS’ history, I find that to be pretty fallible. Joe only mentioned it because you did. Point was Joe almost never writes about QB ratings after games or anytime.–Joe
You really should remember that not all of your readers are “Johnny Come Lately” Buccaneers fans. Quite a few of us have been here from the beginning, when Hugh Culverhouse won the Tampa Bay franchise because of his Anti-trust suit against the NFL because he was blocked from buying the Rams. We also remember the horrid days of being in the AFC West. But those conversations are best set aside for another time, with plenty of suds to share.
But when you so adamantly declare that Josh McCown was the worst QB in Buccaneers history, I say, not so fast! Yes McCown played terrible. Yes, you and many Bucs fans were disappointed, a feeling magnified by the previous 9 years of futility. But don’t discount how awful it really was back in the beginning. Our history doesn’t start in 1996, but rather 1976. Again, the word Joe used was “arguably” the worst starting QB in Bucs history. The argument can be made. You may not agree, and that’s fine.–Joe
February 12th, 2015 at 9:36 am
I’m sure he will have plenty of offers. Also, he had 2 problems…. he needs a good OC?coach around him with weapons. He had weapons but the Tedford thing killed him. Problem 2, he didn’t get to play against the Bucs, that was key to the play of derek Andersen, teddy b, and austin.
February 12th, 2015 at 9:36 am
Lets get matt hasselback an then trade first pick in first round pick to the Broncos for Peyton manning. An use manning as bucs starter QB .
February 12th, 2015 at 9:46 am
Joe I have Never seen a “journalist” come into a comment section and defend themselves so much. It is telling
Joe enjoys engaging. You’ve also never read a third-person Bucs blog, either. Not sure of your point.–Joe
February 12th, 2015 at 9:50 am
This is a setup for a trade. What you you think Joe?
February 12th, 2015 at 9:57 am
@knuckledragger
it is telling! Tells us there are a few idiots posting dumb sh@% on the message board.
February 12th, 2015 at 10:57 am
even love smith can’t find a poorer use for that $5 million. Guaranteed improvement no matter how those savings are spent