SportsCenter Hurts GMC
February 10th, 2016
Former Bucs assistant Herm Edwards blames SportsCenter for fan unrest with GMC.
Joe listens to Bucs fans. Yes, Joe really does.
Upon hearing complaints about a player that don’t make sense, Joe launches a quest to find merit in the kvetching, and if Joe can’t see it, football folks are consulted for answers.
Take the outrage among some Bucs fans over Gerald McCoy. Is GMC a Hall of Fame player? Of course not. Is he a good player? Well, stats suggest, yes, of course.
So Joe has talked to quite a few football people to help figure out if any anger about GMC is justified.
Joe ran into Herm Edwards at Super Bowl Opening Night. The former Tampa Bay defensive assistant keeps close tabs on the Bucs, partially because he and Lovie Smith are so tight. Joe asked Herm if there was a nugget of truth from those who want GMC wearing another uniform, if GMC was overrated or — gasp! — a bad player.
Herm did not agree with this line of thinking, and the current BSPN talking head indirectly pointed a finger at his own employer for GMC unrest.
“It’s funny, when you are a defensive player, if you don’t do SportsCenter highlights, people think, ‘Well, maybe he’s not a good player?’” Herm said. “That’s the problem.
“It’s being consistent. That is your job and [GMC] does that. Now, is he Warren Sapp? No. He doesn’t need to be Warren Sapp. Warren Sapp has a gold jacket. But I know [GMC] is a tremendous athlete. He works hard at what he does. He was injured some, too. I just think he is still growing up. He will be fine.”
This was a money quote. The folks who wring their hands over GMC, what is their biggest complaint? He doesn’t make enough splash plays. There you go. Splash plays equal SportsCenter highlights. Bingo. Herm hit the nail on the head.
This is why Bucs fans ought to be excited over the hiring of defensive line coach Jay Hayes. The former Bengals assistant just may take GMC to the next level, not that GMC’s current level is anything to wave off.
February 10th, 2016 at 8:13 am
I think you missed the mark Joe!! You need to look closer to home, Its that some of the media claim that GMC is the best 3 Technique in the game today!! That and GMC has said that he is the leader at least 1000 times of one of the worst NFL teams in the last 5 years!!!!
February 10th, 2016 at 8:22 am
Andrew Billings at number 9 lined up next to Mccoy with any free agent pick up Mario Williams Vernon or Bruce Irvin and our d line is dominant….and if u can throw in a Shaq Lawson in round 2 then I’d be inclined to thint we might actually have some depth quality depth at that
February 10th, 2016 at 8:23 am
Much of the rap against GMC stems from durability issues.
February 10th, 2016 at 8:25 am
Bashing GMC for being one of the best at his position is beyond silly. Bucs need to find their next Simion Rice. Someone who dominates from the defensive end position to take some heat off of McCoy. Sap would not have a gold jacket if the Bucs did not have Rice reaking havoc from the edge. I periodically watch my Bucs superbowl CD and it is too bad Rice is so under appreciated. His name belongs in our minds with Sap, Brooks, Lynch, and Ronde. He was every bit as important to making that defense great.
February 10th, 2016 at 8:33 am
The big problem with the entire Tampa Bay Defense is lack of splash plays. Those moments when the game is turned in our favor by GMC, or any other Buc player. You don’t see it. They are either being beaten by slants or runs and can’t stop 70 per cent of the passes thrown. Until you start controlling the game and making those game-changing splash plays, we will rightfully be upset with GMC and every other slug that plays for us.
February 10th, 2016 at 8:48 am
Yeah Joe, you missed the mark! No matter who you ask or what you say, the critics are not going to relent!
Blah, blah leader, blah, blah splash play, blah blah durable! Tis’ the life of a Buc fan!!!
February 10th, 2016 at 8:57 am
Give the young man a couple beastly edge rushers
+ Mario Williams
+ Greg Hardy
Rare to see – two premium edge rushers hit the market. Especially at bargain prices
February 10th, 2016 at 9:17 am
Fans claim Gmc dosent rack up enough of his sacks in tje fourth qtr or on third down. But by that criteria, every dt would be “soft”.
February 10th, 2016 at 9:24 am
…perfect time to unload and get something for this overrated player…repeated injury issues and a lack of urgency when it comes to winning are his red flags…strong DT class to find a replacement > SOMEONE WITH FIRE AND COMMITMENT TO WINNING!
February 10th, 2016 at 9:38 am
Simeon was a great player and one of my favorite Bucs, but didn’t Sapp win defensive POY before Rice came to town?
With that being said, McCoy needs help on the line. However, my biggest problems him is that, he disappears in crunch-time, and it appears that he is having too much fun playing on a losing team. Scheme this and Scheme that, but sometimes you have just beat the man across from you and make a play. In five years, how many times has McCoy stood up in the clutch?
February 10th, 2016 at 9:38 am
We won six freaking games last year. One of those wins was saved by GMC’s sack of Matty Ice at the end of the game!
I think we are coming to appreciate GMC for what he is…a very good player…who is simply not an HOFer and therefore no Sapp.
Our Super Bowl heroes have done us a favor as well as curse us a bit…they have set the bar very, very, very high. If we compare every DT or LB we bring in to HOFers they are obviously going to suffer in comparison. Is anybody here really ready to anoint LVD as the next DB55. Not me. Doesn’t mean LVD isn’t an excellent player.
February 10th, 2016 at 9:45 am
Herm Edwards said it right. He isn’t Warren Sapp. That is the issue. Sapp didn’t help him by saying that he was a faster, stronger version of himself. GMC is a very good player, but he needs to play with more consistency. I think he does need more help so that he can be part of a rotation up front. Once again, I will beat the Nick Fairley drum. Sapp did a great job of rotating in and out so that he could make the plays necessary late in the game. This would also help his durability issues.
February 10th, 2016 at 9:50 am
Every time you type: ” Is he a good player? Well, stats suggest, yes, of course.”
… I will rebut with, “Top 5 picks aren’t supposed to ‘good.'”
February 10th, 2016 at 10:08 am
I’ve said this before and I will say it again… GMC is soft. I don’t mean because he gets injured. He is physically soft and even more mentally soft. He is not an “it” player. He does not make a play when the Team needs it most. Key stat would be Third Down (or fourth) sacks, pressure TFL. Plays to get off the field or cause a turnover. He is invisible at the most important juncture of the game. That is what fans are frustrated with.
February 10th, 2016 at 11:04 am
Of course GMC is no Warren Sapp and never will be. But let’s not forget Sapp was surrounded by top-shelf mates on defense for most of his career with multiple HOFs on the unit.
The real question is can the new DC build a defensive unit to rival the franchise’s best from 2002 starting with the likes of David, Alexander, Gholston and Banks? I believe he can because unlike his predecessor, he adjusts his game planning to the talents of the players he has to work with. What a novel idea, eh Lovie?
I’m most curious to see if Smith is that good, if so, then perhaps he can resurrect Da’Quan Bowers while he’s at it?
February 10th, 2016 at 11:16 am
trade gmc for a 3rd or higher…keep glennon…draft Andrew Billings in the first round and go get Mo Wilkerson from the jets and a veteran de like Mario Williams or Bruce Irving…grab carl nassib with a mid round pick(4th) and alex mcallistar from uf with a late pick(5th or 6th)…draft a safety and olineman with picks in round 2 and 3…bam..dline fixed…cant double big mo and one of the de’s…go get Travis Benjamin…he is a must that can stretch the field and add some juice to the return game…get either Marvin Jones or Muhammad Sanu…starting dline…w.gholston(lde), Andrew Billings, Mo Wilkerson, Bruce Irving(rde)…starting wrs…m.evans, v.jax/t.benjiman(slot),Marvin Jones/Muhammad Sanu…I think that fills all of our holes….GO BUCS!!!
February 10th, 2016 at 11:18 am
I’m very tired of hearing “he’s disruptive.” Make plays already.
February 10th, 2016 at 11:25 am
^^ Dumbest thing I’ve reason here in a while.
“Trade GMC for a 3rd or higher”?!?
Man, some of you just love to show how little you actually know about football.
February 10th, 2016 at 11:26 am
*dumbest thing I’ve read here in a while
February 10th, 2016 at 11:55 am
🤐
February 10th, 2016 at 12:01 pm
When you keep asking the questions like…..Why the hate? and…..Is he a HOF player?….or Does he have a rift with Jameis? You keep the questions about GMC alive…..
When a team loses like we do…..its natural to go after the highest paid player and expect more…..in my book, we simply need more talent.
February 10th, 2016 at 12:08 pm
yeah sapp played with a few HOF players behind him but other than simeon rice, sapp played with just about the same talent along the dline as gmc is currently playing with…our super bowl starters were greg spires(drafted 3rd round), sapp, chartric darby(undrafted) s.rice(3rd overall pick in ’96)…stylez g white(7th round), ellis wyms(6th round), james cannida(6th round), brad culpepper(10th round)….he only played with simeon rice for 3 years and booger for 4years and they never won another playoffs game after they won the superbowl…I understand we need to increase the talent level on defense as a whole but people act like sapp played next to a HOF dt and de his whole career…sapp was known for wrecking havoc in the backfields years before rice and booger got there and consistently impacted the game each and every sunday…gmc not so much…GO BUCS!!!
February 10th, 2016 at 12:13 pm
@unbelievable…goes to show how much you know…with gmc we had a stout run defense and barely any sacks…without gmc we had the same exact results…sometimes it helps to watch the game and not google stats….GO BUCS!!!
February 10th, 2016 at 12:32 pm
GMC skips to work.
February 10th, 2016 at 12:33 pm
GMC is a back up dancer for cold play.
February 10th, 2016 at 12:42 pm
GMC is a good player but I think the reason people are unhappy with him & I am one of them is his want to. As Jameis says that during the off season we have to change a lot of team mates why they play the game and GMC is one of them that Jameis needs to change.
February 10th, 2016 at 1:30 pm
Surround GMC with talent and watch him be the player we all know he is. It starts at DT then DE. If we do not draft Adrew Billings in the first round we should go after the man beast of the draft DT Vernon Butler (6-3 325). Jaquies Smith, Butler, McCoy, Noah Spence would make a nice DL.
February 10th, 2016 at 1:42 pm
I am so tired of hearing we should go after Mario Williams.
Tampa fans never learn. Year after year, they make the same mistakes, and then blame everyone but themselves.
February 10th, 2016 at 1:44 pm
LUVMYBUCS Says
“Give the young man a couple beastly edge rushers
+ Mario Williams
+ Greg Hardy”
Wow. Normally, we see better suggestions from you. Mario is no good anymore. Hardy is…well…Greg Hardy. Nothing but trouble. He’d spend more time suspended than playing.
February 10th, 2016 at 2:33 pm
The biggest reason for the McCoy criticism- is that many posters here are incredibly stupid.
Cant hire or draft anyone to fix that.
February 10th, 2016 at 3:05 pm
Get ’em Capt.Tim!
February 10th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
So by that standard, the Bucs shouldn’t sign Mario Williams? He was a No. 1 overall pick and he’s not a Hall of Famer.
February 10th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
@813, I Have watched every single game for the at least the last 15 years, so try again.
Trading GMC for a 3rd rounder? Like I said, dumbest thing I’ve read here in a while. And this is JBF. And btw we were right in the middle of the league with # of sacks last season if u wanna start talking stats.
February 10th, 2016 at 5:15 pm
@unbelievable…clearly you didn’t continue reading the post…a third or higher means 3rd 2nd or 1st round pick…with his injury history I would be surprised if he got anything higher than a 3rd and I’ve been watching the bucs for 20+ years…being in the middle of the pack with a player making 100million isn’t good enough…middle of the league means average at best…you claim you watched the games…did our defense look average?…hell no..as I said earlier we stuffed the run and got very little pressure with him and we had the exact same results with him out of the game…GO BUCS!!!
February 10th, 2016 at 5:18 pm
Somebody here hit it dead on..GMC can ball. Its just that his injuries are starting to mount. To many more and he’s about done. GMC needs to try to stay healthy for a whole season. If you watched him play those last 4 games, All he was trying to do was get sacks. He missed quite a few assignments. Joe’s right though, DL coach Hayes might be the best acquisition on this coaching staff for the coming year. His Dl play with lots of speed and aggression.
February 10th, 2016 at 6:25 pm
Bucs fans who don’t appreciate GMC are baffling to me.
Do you not watch the games? In 2013 and 2014 he was the best DT in football. This year he was still incredibly productive, while fighting through injury.
It’s simply because he is the face of the defense, but the organization hasn’t built the talent around him to be successful. The only Top-Tier DE the Bucs ever paired with him was Bennett, and they let him walk.
February 10th, 2016 at 10:36 pm
Joe Says:
February 10th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
Every time you type: ” Is he a good player? Well, stats suggest, yes, of course.”
… I will rebut with, “Top 5 picks aren’t supposed to ‘good.’
So by that standard, the Bucs shouldn’t sign Mario Williams? He was a No. 1 overall pick and he’s not a Hall of Famer.
Damn straight
February 11th, 2016 at 1:17 am
I think it started when the bucs made him a (nearly) 100 million dollar man. He hasnt exactly lived up to the price tag. Not when guys like jj watt who make around the same dough are winning defensive player of the years awards and getting 18+ sacks every year and more qb pressures than you could count.
Its not all GMC’s fault, there is only so much a DT can do by himself. He needs a good supporting cast, and most importantly good coaches with a good scheme, to get the players playig well.
Im an optimistic person. I feel like we will see a lot more out of GMC next season. Injuries and bad coaching has plagued his career. I hope next season is the fresh start he needs to get back to dominating.