Cornwell Right; Bucs Fans Wrong
April 13th, 2015
Last week, three things launched Silly Season and sent Bucs fans, for a variety of reasons, into orbit.
First there was the freakout caused by NFL draft guru Mike Mayock demoting Jameis Winston to No. 2 in his quarterback rankings — all while Mayock stated he believes the Bucs will draft Winston.
Then there was a Yahoo! report claiming Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, member of Team Glazer and co-owner of the Bucs and co-president of the Glazer Family Foundation, was concerned about how drafting Winston would play with community relations.
The week finally ended when David Cornwell, Winston’s lawyer, said Winston was not ready for the NFL off the field. It was part of an effort to note how college athletes are not prepared for the NFL lifestyle.
Bucs fans went so wild they were doing shots of Jim Beam by the time the whistle blew Friday afternoon.
In retrospect, it seemed Cornwell was just stating the obvious, about all college players being drafted. Andrew Astleford of Fox Sports Florida said Cornwell was absolutely accurate and his words apply to all walks of life, not just the NFL.
Forget football. What young adult is “ready” to be a professional in their chosen industry when they leave college? What 21-year-old is “ready” to handle everything that comes with life beyond the ivy of the ol’ alma mater: The time management, the personal finances, the office politics?
Hardly anyone. Do you remember what you were like at age 21? Do you remember the hopeless feeling of being dropped into an entry-level position and being expected to perform?
Do you remember worrying that you’d screw up? Do you remember how terrifying everything about Real Life could be?
Joe can’t argue with any of this, which is partly why Joe didn’t think Cornwell’s words were as earth-shattering as some believed
You think college players are ready for the rigors of the NFL off the field? Why does the NFL and individual teams sponsor all sorts of symposiums to help players adjust. And they employ lifestyle counselors by the dozens to help players settle in new towns with pockets full of cash – likely for the first time in their lives.
It is not just Winston; it is very player the Bucs will draft and every rookie trying to make an NFL team this summer.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:06 am
JW will be the most investigated athlete in History by draft day. If we call his name then it means he passed. Im good with that.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:12 am
Why would Cornwell be so dumb is to have that public service anoucement now? I understand his intent but ESPN, Bucsnation, the Bucanners own website, the Tampa Tribune, and most media outtlets still have his words plastered on thier sites that Winstons Lawyer said he was not ready for the NFL. Not one of them has posted his clairfication. Stupid word choice from Cornwell that provided a great dramtic headlines and it doesn’t matter how many retractions or clarifications Cornwell makes later, his poor choice of words are still all over the public domain, his clarifying comments, you have to look a bit harder for those.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:13 am
If people took time to read into his comments…. and also other websites, they would’ve realized what the lawyer meant to say. It’s not like the guy crucified JW, he just said the obvious. But now the GM, coaches, owners should have a meeting with the lawyer to get more info…. as if they haven’t already done that.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:17 am
I don’t think he caused any real damage, it was just a boneheaded speach to make at this point in time.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:21 am
I was 21 once. I had common sense. I made good decisions. Age is not a means to avoid taking responsibility.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:26 am
#5
April 13th, 2015 at 9:26 am
99.99999999% of 21 year olds graduating from college (something he’s not doing) are not handed millions of dollars and made the face of a billon dollar company/franchise either, they can afford to make mistakes and make boneheaded, he cannot….
April 13th, 2015 at 9:30 am
Mariota! All the Way!
April 13th, 2015 at 9:31 am
I beleive the lawyer saw a chance at some free publicity and took it,he had his back story ready to go before he said what he did.Just another lawyer thinking about himself before his paying client.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:32 am
if I were a woman I wouldn’t want to come to the games with my kids to cheer for this guy. I think the lady glazer has it correct.
Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, one of the five Team Glazer siblings in control of the Bucs, was reported to have misgivings about Winston because of his off-field history and how that would play with community relations.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:32 am
Is it just me, or has a palpable sense of panick begun to set in with those hardcore Winston supporters over the last few days? Even Joe is freaking out now that the chinks in Winston’s armor have become more obvious. So now here come the stories…he didn’t mean what he said….discredit everyone who disagrees with us….pay no attention to the man behind the curtain….blah, blah, blah…. Joe would be a hell of a political operative for the Hillary 2016 campaign!
April 13th, 2015 at 9:34 am
Ron Jaworski thinks the Bucs are taking Marcus Mariota first.
this article is up on profootballtalk.com
April 13th, 2015 at 9:36 am
I will admit the gruden interview was impressive
but all these apologist for his behavior is silly.
the most serious allegation is no joke and is my main concern. just low character. some would say criminal
but if winning is all that matters then i guess JW is the pick
April 13th, 2015 at 9:38 am
Well taking in their past, I believe it’s safe to assume Mariota will transition in better than Winston. I shudder to think what kind of monster Winston will become, considering some of his immature past transgressions, and a bank account full Benjamins. His ego is too big, and I actually think he thinks he’s untouchable. What’s he gonna be like when things don’t go his way? Will he throw temper tantrums? Let’s face it, Winston was under a veil of protection from FSU, and he still found ways to test their authority. His “better than thou ego” will now have to be monitored by NFL babysitters since they can’t expect him to have some sort of self control. You won’t have to do that with Mariota, period.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:45 am
@ Dreambig:
It is the modern media. It is agenda based, it hasn’t been FACT based in ages. The sole reason Winston’s off field issues became so magnified was because at the time and even to now, the “media” is still on this “Athelete’s are thug’s” and “Rape is the norm in college” meme. Even with the Rolling Stone’s article imploding, even after all the hell those Duke lacrosse players went thru.
When your news sources stop reporting only on the FACTS, what you have is character assassination.
Look at the Lawyers comments. If you watch or read the full transcript, the guy was speaking about all college students entering the real word. Another classic example of taking someone’s words completely out of context.
Ladies and Gentlemen – we are in the middle of Silly Season. 17 days left before we can put this chapter to bed and begin then next one.
“We got Jameis, will he produce on the field?”
Personally I cant wait till draft day so I can personally forget all this silly nonsense and wait for Rookie Camp and reports of Jameis tearing it up.
You get better writing, more in depth reporting and investigation from Bloggers like Joe and Gil (TheBayCave) than you will ever get from any mainstream media outlet, but they are all agenda driven while most bloggers are looking for what is really going on so they hunt for the truth more oft than naught.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:45 am
@joe… I’m a true winston believer. Are you as confident today as you were last week that Winston’s a lock?
April 13th, 2015 at 9:47 am
Agreed Bonzai. I always find these type of arguments silly. There are lots of 21 year olds that are mature and responsible. Generally the ones that aren’t may grow up some, but still won’t be as responsible as the ones that already are. I started working an engineering job when I was barely 20 and was thrown into it right away without any real problems. Stayed out of trouble, put all the new money into retirement plans, instead of blowing it on getting into trouble. There’s many others that are the same.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:55 am
@bonzai yeah you probably was 21 but you never had or will have the responsibility that these athletes have with this kind of income thrown at you all at once you can lie to yourself and make you feel good but the the reality is this not like the average job this is like Hollywood it will swallow you up and spit you out. Prime example! When Phillip Buchanon was a first-round draft pick in 2002, his mom decided that his payday would be her payday, too.
Buchanon, who has written a book offering cautionary tales about athletes going broke despite multimillion-dollar contracts, says that once he was drafted, his mom began to demand money. Buchanon says his mom told him the bill for raising him was $1 million, and she wanted it paid back right away.
April 13th, 2015 at 9:58 am
lets not marginalize the maturity debate. Mariota gets a check in this category.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:04 am
I tried to post a link to the bucs official website . the tampa bay bucs posted the article about the bucs taking mariota that had been on profootballtalk’s website. why would the bucs put that on their own website?
April 13th, 2015 at 10:07 am
My sneaking suspicion is turning into a real bad feeling that incompetent Lovie Smith will not be drafting the best QB in the draft and will instead opt for best good guy at QB.
It is a real real bad feeling. Someone please don’t let that rube make any decisions of consequence. Let him decide what kind of cobbler is served in the cafeteria on Fridays, not who should be taken 1st overall.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:09 am
port richey george Says:
April 13th, 2015 at 9:32 am
if I were a woman I wouldn’t want to come to the games with my kids to cheer for this guy. I think the lady glazer has it correct.
Darcie Glazer Kassewitz, one of the five Team Glazer siblings in control of the Bucs, was reported to have misgivings about Winston because of his off-field history and how that would play with community relations.
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Great parenting. Teach your kids that facts do not matter. Teach them that merely being accused is enough to be punished and guilty. Its great to know that if your kids are accused of a crime you would be on the prosecution side even when there is no evidence to support such an accusation. Its good to know you are all for them going to jail just because there are accused. You are a great parent.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:09 am
Winston has been and will be the pick. It’s the only chance lovie has of finishing his contract. The real question is this the last dust up the “media” creates before the draft. I predict at least 2 more false alarms that give the mariota crowd false hope. just a few days ago mariotta was dropping now all of a sudden he is the savior with no games having been played nor any negative incidents by either qb. come on… just the media doing what they do best — made for tv drama. facts no longer matter being first does.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:14 am
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
April 13th, 2015 at 9:21 am
I was 21 once. I had common sense. I made good decisions. Age is not a means to avoid taking responsibility.
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Well it is good to know you and your buddy Coburn are perfect in every way and have never sinned. Its good to know that if one were to dig in your personal life they would find absolutely nothing in your background or currently that is remotely questionable. You are perfect in every way. Three cheers for bonzai and coburn………..hip hip horray……hip hip horray………hip hip horray!!!!!!!!
April 13th, 2015 at 10:16 am
It certainly is a league problem. The league is over 65% African-American and over half the players are broke 5 years after they retire from the league. I’m hoping the suburban caucasions can figure out the math.
All guys in the league are getting paid over $300,000 per year at a minimum. Its obvious there needs to be more education and support. Cornwall was very much on point.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:19 am
DallasBuc
we are in total agreement about incompetent lovie however, I would say calm your fears… I am hoping after the embarrassing 2-14 season the glazer clowns looked at the lovie situation and stripped him of all or most of his power. However, since we have the blind leading the blind and the glazer clowns have never made a good hire since daddy stepped down maybe they gave him more power. All the glazers had to do is look at the obvious to say they were fleeced. For the life of me please explain to me how this guy is considered such a good coach when he has accomplished nothing. All smoke and mirrors but lacking in substance. No Superbowl wins… Only 1 back to back playoff appearance in 10 years, under 500 record against winning teams, barely over 500, 3-3 playoff record. It’s been 8 years since back to back play off appearances. Having a top 10 defense does not make a coach a legend or even a good head coach. The game is 3 phases and you can’t win with d alone consistently. having a top 10 defense with NO superbowl wins does not make one a legend. Lovie is an average to below average coach and a HORRENDOUS personnel man. simple as that. dungy nut huggers and those living in the past believing the lovie hype are simply just wrong. history does not lie. If your best argument is that he went to a superbowl with rex grossman… well that’s just a stupid thing to say to justify a coaches lack of wins or championships.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:24 am
trox- how is it a league problem that former players are going broke 5 years after being out of the year? Can argue it is a societal or cultural problem but the league is not responsible for poor financial decisions of young people.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:30 am
Personal Responsibility is just that PERSONAL
April 13th, 2015 at 10:32 am
…*league?, not …year?
Auto-correct is a pain in the ass sometimes
April 13th, 2015 at 10:42 am
trox- why don’t you go ahead and explain that math in detail for all the “suburban caucasians” out there? Show work smart guy.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:43 am
I guess the only issue is the sensitivity and timing of the remark but I understand the spirit of what he’s saying.
The same applies for Mariota to become a millionaire overnight and the CEO of a brand of football is a lot to ask of a 21 year old kid.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:48 am
Financially I would probably worry about Jameis. He seems like the type that would go all Warren Sapp and waste his money on hundreds of Jordans, god-like self portraits, child support, and exotic dancers. But, I don’t know that for sure, and it wouldn’t be a problem while he is on the Bucs making money, it would be a problem when he is out of the league, filing for bankruptcy and latching on to the nearest analyst deal for support. Lmao.
Nah Jameis should be fine though. Not my business how he spends his money as long as he doesn’t get suspended (Eric Wright), jailed (Vick), stabbed (Mike Williams), and wins games, we’re all good.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:55 am
“Hardly anyone. Do you remember what you were like at age 21? Do you remember the hopeless feeling of being dropped into an entry-level position and being expected to perform?
Do you remember worrying that you’d screw up? Do you remember how terrifying everything about Real Life could be?”
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Call BS on that, been on my own since I was 17, so yeah I remember being 21 and no, I wasn’t scared of anything described above. I was excited to be in my position after college and I drove myself to be the best – and I was. If Winston is as confident as he states he is, none of that should apply.
What his attorney did was actually slip and tell the truth, his kid is a time- bomb waiting to happen. He’ll make the Freeman era look tame in comparison.
Pick the sure pick, Leonard Williams, plays all positions, is ready for the NFL and doesn’t come with the baggage. Instant production so our defense gets off the field quickly and the offense just pounds the ball. Winning formula every time.
April 13th, 2015 at 10:56 am
To Joe Buck Fan,
Only time will tell who goes #1. I am sure the Bucs and the Glazer family have did a extremely in depth investigation of both QB’s and lets be frank, what they know and what they release to the public is 2 different things. Its their money and they call the shots behind closed doors. Should Winston be chosen and after 2 years and a bunch of money in his pocket he then resorts back to his old ways, what then. Just look around the league at the many players over the years that money was a strong contributing factor in civil and criminal litigation. The likely hood of a costly mistake can occur in 3 weeks or less. will Tampa Bay have egg on its face until another good QB comes along. Only time will tell – lets hope the right choice is made now and not later. As Joe has flatly supported Winston all the way I just hope that he knows just what seasoning to put on his CROW if he is proven in time to be wrong.
April 13th, 2015 at 11:02 am
Port Richey George: if, after all of the investigations have been done and the Bucs still feel comfortable making him the pick, doesn’t that tell you something or are you just clueless?
If the Bucs were to pick him after everything, I would explain to my daughters that sometimes people of both genders do bad things, including making up stories, in an attempt to make others look bad.
April 13th, 2015 at 11:07 am
Damn, I feel like I am on a seesaw, on the other side is a 400 pound behemoth. I can’t lift him off the ground, but he sends me flying willy nilly. This is happening to my brain also with this back and forth QB roulette.
April 13th, 2015 at 11:30 am
JBuc Says:
April 13th, 2015 at 11:02 am
Port Richey George: if, after all of the investigations have been done and the Bucs still feel comfortable making him the pick, doesn’t that tell you something or are you just clueless?
If the Bucs were to pick him after everything, I would explain to my daughters that sometimes people of both genders do bad things, including making up stories, in an attempt to make others look bad.
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Actually the easiest explaination, especially since it’s guaranteed to happen again, is:
“Honey, it’s the NFL. Unless these guys are physically in jail, or unless they have a Ray Rice situation with a video, they are welcomed in the NFL. Talent trumps all, winning erases bad deeds.”
April 13th, 2015 at 12:07 pm
@WalkdaPlank
I would love it if he went all warren sapp and waste his money on hundreds of Jordans, god-like self portraits, child support, and exotic dancers.
it would mean he did it after his hall of fame speech
April 13th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
it makes me laugh after tiger woods, lance armstrong and “excellent community guys” like ray rice and adrian peterson, people still stand around and arrogantly assume they can tell who the good guys are