The Countdown: 20 Worst Buccaneers Personnel Moves Of The Past 10 Years — No. 17
July 11th, 2015
It’s the countdown feature you’ve all been waiting for. Not really, but on the heels of last year’s award-winning “20 Worst Buccaneers Of The Past 10 years” feature, Joe had to deliver.
A list like this is highly subjective and toxic. Fits of rage were common during production meetings at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters. Scared interns soiled their pants. Full beer bottles were smashed, and a treasured Rachel Watson poster was accidently destroyed. But order was restored.
Current and former general managers and head coaches might not like what’s coming, but it had to be done. This is what happens when your team is 30-70 in its last 100 games.
No. 17 — Drafting Cadillac Williams Over DeMarcus Ware
With this decision, Joe is taking you inside the mindset of the Bruce Allen regime. It’s an evaluation born from officials of that era.
Cadillac Williams, the No. 5 overall pick in 2005, was beloved and helped lead Tampa Bay as a rookie to an 11-5 record and a division title. But Ware was the lost Bucs prize of that ’05 draft.
That season, Tampa Bay had the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense, though it was the last good year for then-31-year-old defensive end Simeon Rice. Ware would have been a super replacement for a guy the Bucs still haven’t been able to replace 10 years later.
Through 10 NFL seasons, Ware has recorded eight double-digit sack campaigns and had missed just three games. With one more good season, Ware is a near lock for the Hall of Fame.
The ripple effect of this draft decision is massive, though Joe can’t give it a more prominent ranking because Cadillac did make strong contributions
Again, this is Joe providing an intriguing peek inside the minds of those who were in power at One Buc Palace.
July 11th, 2015 at 11:21 am
big ripple indeed. that cadillac pick is also the reason a dude named Adrian Peterson was not selected by the bucs a year later
July 11th, 2015 at 11:35 am
As much as I like Cadillac Williams and believe he would have been a stud had he not gotten injured I have to agree knowing what I do now. Ware was a FUKN animal. And just as @PICK6 says, drafting Cadillac caused our YUCS to miss out on AP because they had to draft Gaines Adams in 07′. Had they drafted Ware in 05′ the YUCS would have definitely picked a RB in 07′, assuming they wouldn’t have taken Reggie Bush in 06′. $HIT! All these FUKN scenarios. Why can’t our YUCS be the lucky ones for once?
July 11th, 2015 at 11:47 am
This was actually a bad call on a prior move– in the 2004 draft.
When we decided to draft Michael Clayton over Steven Jackson…smh.
I can recall Steven Jackson being pissed, because he was promised-the BUCS would select him at 15. An when we didn’t -He vowed to destroy us, whenever he got the chance.
July 11th, 2015 at 11:58 am
Still believe we should have retained the services of DE Dewayne White. Instead of letting him bolt to Detroit.
July 11th, 2015 at 12:04 pm
Screw Ware… We could of had Aaron Rodgers…
Gruden met with Rodgers and to!d him he was the pick…
Then we ended up picking Mr. Bum Knees instead…
Boo… Booooooooo!!!!
July 11th, 2015 at 12:05 pm
After Dewayne White redshirted his 1st year with us. Over the next 3yrs he posted a total of 14 sacks ( *6, *3 and *5) and 7 fumble recoveries.
Detroit gave him $30 million-He posted 13 sacks in two years (6.5, and 6.5) before injuries derailed his career. Shame, because the dude could play inside and outside, was a solid utility player.
July 11th, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Purely hindsight…..
July 11th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
We take Steven Jackson a year earlier and Pinto Williams was never an option leaving us open to take Aaron Rodgers.
Clayton & Williams or Jackson & Rodgers, fairly sure we’d have had better results the past decade with the latter options.
July 11th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
There’s no guarantee that Ware would have turned out the same
way if he had spent his formative years with the Bucs instead of
the Cowboys.
July 11th, 2015 at 2:26 pm
I’ll say it once again, the Bucs had Thomas Jones the year before they drafted Williams and the team shouldn’t have needed to draft a RB but that offensive genius that they had at head coach at the time couldn’t figure out how to use him.
July 11th, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Gruden had flaws.
But he had a hell of a lot less flaws than Raheem Morris, Greg Schiano or Lovie Smith.
July 11th, 2015 at 4:59 pm
I hope the clown who destroyed the poster was shown the door
July 11th, 2015 at 5:39 pm
Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20…that being said Waterboy^^^ has the biggest and most relevant point on the entire matter…At one time we had Mike Alstott, Pittman, Earnest Graham, AND Thomas Jones on the roster…WHY ON EARTH was the gr8 Caddy ever even considered as a draft pick….oh yeah, i forgot..we used to draft names not football players.
July 11th, 2015 at 7:00 pm
Well actually they could have drafted Aaron Rogers in the 1st and Frank Gore in the 2nd, but Gruden fell in love with Cadillac at the Senior Bowl, Gruden told him that he was going to “hide him” because he was going to draft him. If not for Gruden coaching the Senior Bowl he would have drafted Rogers.
July 12th, 2015 at 7:34 am
Rodgers > Ware…
July 12th, 2015 at 9:20 am
I don’t think Rodgers is Rodgers without Mike McCarthy and 3 seasons behind Favre on the bench so let’s just put a pin in that.
July 12th, 2015 at 12:01 pm
Did Joe totally forget that Aaron Rodgers was not only available in that draft but Gruden told him he’d draft him if he fell to 5? What league does Joe watch where DeMarcus Ware is more valuable to a team that Aaron Rodgers?
July 12th, 2015 at 5:30 pm
aaron rodgers would not have thrived here jumping into the gruden system and without the long sideline stint he used to learn NFL offenses. that transition has generally squashed highly touted tedford college QBs, he’s the only guy who got a few years to adjust
July 12th, 2015 at 6:11 pm
Ware?
Ware?
We passed on Aaron Effing Rodgers AFTER telling him we were going to draft him. Chucks would still have a job had he done that.
July 12th, 2015 at 6:39 pm
Don’t be so sure you know what Aaron Rodgers looks like without sitting on the bench for three full seasons, and in Chucky’s wacky offense.
July 13th, 2015 at 1:53 am
Give me Rogers over any other player in the draft that year. Wanting Ware over Rogers makes Joe as daffy and stupd as the Dummynick and Allen.