Questions Answered
April 18th, 2016
Shuts up the critics.
Joe doubts strongly anyone wanted Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to draft America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, more than Joe.
Daily, starting in November of the painfully dreadful 2014 season, until the very moment the Bucs were on the clock, Joe begged, pleaded and, yes, demanded Licht save the franchise by drafting the franchise, Jameis.
In Joe’s eyes, Jameis was the answer to all the Bucs’ problems — on and off the field.
But Joe seemed to be in the vast minority. The easily offended, ill-informed midwives and wet nurses of the world screamed bloody murder, led by noted quarterback savant Father Dungy, implying the Bucs would be drafting Lucifer himself.
The Bucs, and Licht in particular, were under heavy pressure by the thin-skinned elitists and thought-control crowd not to draft Jameis. As it turned out, not only did Licht make the right choice, but in retrospect, George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel notes the loud wails of Jameis-hate were terribly inaccurate.
Before any skeptic starts the eye roll — what’s the big deal? — well, it kinda is. Winston began his career with a lot of ambient noise. Screams for the Bucs to ignore him and take Marcus Mariota. Pleas from journalists to skip the potential headaches. Crab-leg jokes cluttering cyberspace, as well as Winston’s misogynistic turn in a video meme that went viral his final season at FSU.
Winston has since shut down most of the noise. For comparison’s sake, check out recent headlines involving another college kid and NFL prospect labeled a problem child — Johnny Manziel.
Shoot, even Mike Mayock, who Joe respects a great deal, said his view of Jameis was somewhat tainted by Johnny Football, who he said conned him.
So because Jameis followed Johnny Football, so many expected Jameis to con them, too, and did little research.
Joe finds it funny that a large slime campaign against Jameis turned so many against the Bucs drafting Jameis, yet it was Licht and the Bucs who were sitting on a massive, expensive and extensive background check that no one else could access. Yet Licht and the Bucs were, some believed, so very wrong.
Not a day goes by that Joe doesn’t thank Lovie Smith for ignoring the heavy sell of Father Dungy (and too many others) not to draft Jameis.
One can say a lot of things about Lovie, all accurate, and there are many reasons he’s no longer in Tampa Bay. For ignoring the then-deafening noise and drafting Jameis, Bucs fans rightly should thank Lovie for many, many years to come.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:07 pm
If Lovie would have done his job, the team could’ve flopped like Tennessee and then maybe the Bucs could have all those high draft picks the Titans got for the next two years from the Rams. Really, I’m glad things are looking up, but when Lovie got here the cupboard wasn’t completely bare like the the Titans.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:25 pm
Not for nothing Joe, hindsight’s 20/20.
Yes, I was more in favor of Mariotta. Yes, I am glad they drafted Jameis.
Saying “I told you so” is a privilege of said hindsight and counter-productive. I dare say anyone would disagree now, would they?
April 18th, 2016 at 12:25 pm
@Rrsrq
Coach my scheme effort (or rather incompetence) was good enough for the #1 overall pick, It was the schedule was historically soft!!!! If we had this years schedule last year,, he would have been the hands down favorite!!!!
unless some of you guys think that Carolina is 23 points away from being the historic team that ran the table!!!!
April 18th, 2016 at 12:28 pm
You can also thank Lovie for not keeping Glennon as the starter after McCown returned from injury……Glennon would have certainly won at least one game, thus keeping us from getting Winston.
You can also thank Lovie (Licht) for ignoring Joe’s countless pleas for Johnny Football…..drafting Evans instead…….so now, we have Jameis and Evans…..thanks to Lovie.
Lovie Smith somehow grasping success out of the claws of failure!!!
April 18th, 2016 at 12:29 pm
LOL!!!
April 18th, 2016 at 12:34 pm
Anyone that put in the research that I put in on Jameis knew he was the pick and wouldn’t listen to ANY outsider. I think the Bucs put in 20 times the research that I did. Sooooo Lovie gets no credit for not listening to outsiders. They did the research. It’s that cut and dry for me.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:44 pm
Johnny Football was also Joe’s answer. Got lucky with Winston. Still look like a fool for pimping Manziel.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Talked to one NFL suit at combine. GMs were smitten with Johnny the football player. Said GM called him “dynamic.”
Hope you call Joe out as well for calling Josh Freeman a “bust-in-waiting.”
Joe will always stand by Johnny. 🙂
April 18th, 2016 at 12:47 pm
I’m convinced the Glazers n Licht chose Jameis. Lovie wouldve choosen a defensive player or traded down.
How can any sane fan give that loser credit when looking at his long list of bad choices?
April 18th, 2016 at 12:49 pm
As for thanking Lovie, I don’t think he’s deserving. Jason Licht and his staff did the scouting and as any informed Bucs fan knows, Licht has had final say on the draft since day 1. So, thanks Jason Licht, and thanks Lovie for recommending Jason Licht as GM to the Glazers.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Joe (either one or both? Who knows) may stand by Johnny Drunk but their credibility goes down with each drink he chugs
April 18th, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Lovie not listening to critics? WTF? Are you people serious.?
Did Lovie seem like a guy that would listen to ANYONE?
Or
Was Lovie a stubborn type of person?
Come on man…..stop it.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:51 pm
Joe, the loud wails of Jameis-hate were all over the place. Starting with the writer of the article himself, George Diaz. He made an about face, apparently. I just have no time for “experts” that get proven wrong and then change their tune. If you doubted Jameis from the get go, you have no right to toot his horn now. IMO.
April 18th, 2016 at 12:57 pm
Joe… It doesn’t matter what scouts said about Johnny Football’s “dynamic” talent. You draft for the total package, and when the person is a turd, red flags go up, and you either move him further down your board or remove him completely. There is no GM in the NFL right now who regrets passing on Manziel, and Cleveland has nothing but regret over that jackass.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:08 pm
Can’t wait until the draft is over. Seems like the NFL doldrums for Bucs fans are filled with nothing but useless mock drafts (whack, whack) and Joe posting ANOTHER article about how he was right all along about Winston and everyone who questioned this pick was either racist or stupid.
We get it, Joe, you were RIGHT! Jameis can play. I’m not ready to say he will be the first legitimate franchise QB in Bucs history (it will take a FEW more years of improving play), but he looks like the real deal so far.
Contrary to the way you tend to paint all those who had doubts about Winston, not all were saying he would be a mistake to draft, only that he was a much higher RISK to draft. Mariota hasn’t exactly looked like the second coming of Brady Quinn, either.
So, can we all just move on?
April 18th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Also thank him for his heroic tank job that last game. Made sure we lost
April 18th, 2016 at 1:10 pm
BucsFan85 …nothing wrong with tooting his horn now as long as you admit you were wrong in the same breathe.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:23 pm
@1987, the Joes refuse the admit they were wrong about Johnny Chugsalot. Hurts their credit ability big time in my eyes.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:29 pm
LOVIE’S FOUNDATION WILL MAKE THIS TEAM RISE!!
April 18th, 2016 at 1:43 pm
Things to thank Lovie for:
All Offensive Draft 2014
2-14 Record 2015 (including masterful tank vs Saints)
Hiring Koetter
Drafting Jameis (he gets at least part credit for that)
All but one Offensive Draft 2015 with the exception being Kwon Alexander
Being himself in 2015 and losing last 4 games getting himself fired.
Causing his Sons to be fired too.
Getting employed by Illinois, saving the Glazers $4mil
Two curse free years for the Bucs (not certain that’s good)
Achieving near consensus from Buc Fans that his coaching truly sucked.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:45 pm
As an FSU fan, I was saying back in 2014 before the fameous jameis hype began, before the undefeated season played out that we should draft Jamies. I just never thought we’d be finish high enough in the draft to obtain him! Oh, and before the draft Manziel Mob. 😉
April 18th, 2016 at 1:45 pm
After JP4 falsely claimed there was a 2nd accuser of Jameis he wrote:
jp4 Says:
April 13th, 2015 at 1:15 pm
So, maybe Jaws is just allowing what he WISHES to be true to creep into his prognosis…we all want to like the stand-up guy at QB over the guy who may be a rapist, right?
Then he went on to compare JW3 to Al Capone:
jp4 Says:
April 13th, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Al Capone was never convicted of criminal activity (until he was convicted of tax evasion), either. I still wouldn’t want Capone playing QB for the Bucs, either. My knuckles remain 2.5 feet above the ground, thank you. Name calling against people who disagree with your point of view does NOT win any arguments. It’s a fallacy of argument called ‘ad hominem’. I don’t know whether Winston is guilty or not, but regardless, there is nothing compelling the Bucs to draft him and ignore his possible crime (or the documented petty crimes of which he is guilty).
The only reason to draft him is to get superlative QB play, which no one knows whether he will deliver. In the face of all this – it is extremely risky to draft a guy that the press and fans will turn on viciously when (ok and if) he falters. How long after his 3rd INT in a game will it take for fans to begin screaming ‘rapist’ at him? It will be extremely difficult for a guy with acknowledged ‘maturity issues’ to succeed with this kind of baggage.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
YES 87, I guess it makes it a little better that the new article says positive things while also admitting he was wrong. The ones I can’t stand are the ones that act like they were for Jameis all along.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:57 pm
The Jameis Winston character assassination by the media at large was practically criminal. Its like NOBODY wanted to check into the facts. Even a cursory look at the readily available facts would suggest to anyone who bothered to look that Winston did not do what Erica the gold digger accused him of. The rest of Winston’s “offenses” would never have been given a 2nd thought if not for the false accusation. All the talk of “character concerns” regarding Winston was BS.
Yet it was so prevalent in JBF comments this time last year that I almost couldn’t stand coming here and reading all the nonsense that was spewed.
I’m with Joe in saying to all the MFers who were blasting and slandering our future franchise QB on a daily basis this time last – a big fat “TOLD YA”. Of course, 97% of them either changed their screen name or never posted again so its an empty attempt. Some purging of the memories of all that nastiness is still needed apparently.
April 18th, 2016 at 1:57 pm
We got our franchise QB thank God, and now we can move forward and look forward to many years of competitive football. Let’s get the defense fixed and give Jamies a speedy good hands receiver and look out we can and will surprise some folks.
April 18th, 2016 at 2:07 pm
Ha ha ha ha….Joe LOVES college football.
Manziel would have been a nightmare in Tampa or anywhere as we’re finding out.
I always maintained we wait until next season for JW, even if we had to trade up to get him. Turns out we had the #1 overall. Thanks Lovie.
Jameis to me is NOT going to let me or the rest of you down. That’s how sure of this kid I am. Yes we have to wait and watch him develop a couple more years, but I’m not worried about being wrong about him.
He is truly a gift from the Football Gods. Ahem and Lovie Smith….
Can’t let a day go by without mentioning that dude.
April 18th, 2016 at 2:14 pm
You mean like Father Dungy?
April 18th, 2016 at 2:17 pm
Pickgrin Says:
April 18th, 2016 at 1:57 pm
“The Jameis Winston character assassination by the media at large was practically criminal. Its like NOBODY wanted to check into the facts.”
Your entire post is great but I took this snippet out because my wife and I talk about this all the time. It was the typical drive by media of today. It’s the America we live in now.
So I was talking to my wife the other day again about this. I said at the dinner table that some big national media outlet needs to do the research on the whole case and tell it like it really was. What was really IN the case. Then come back and tell the truth even with an opinionated slant if they have to Just present the facts. NOPE white girl accuses black athlete of sexual assault. Much bigger story, and too much competition from the other outlets to not keep that guilty narrative going. Doing other minor college-like stuff only fueled their fire even more. Not going to get into like I did for 5 months on here last year and explain my reasoning for the other college-like stuff he did. It makes sense to me even more now than it ever did anyways. So no need to re-hash that theory anymore.
CNN, ESPN or someone do a REAL story on the FACTS.
April 18th, 2016 at 2:43 pm
I find it funny that those who have a problem with i told you so are the ones who spewed so much hate prior to the draft. Had jameis not performed this past year, those same people would be saying i told you so. Just take your medicine like a man and admit you were oh so wrong about his talent, his work ethic and character. And those who want fans to wait 5 to 10 years before we praise and rejoice that the bucs have jameis fall in the before mentioned catagory. Just admit you were wrong and move on already.
April 18th, 2016 at 3:04 pm
I am Glad Winston has done good his 1st year but… did you see the video of Jameis at school standing on the table screaming ?? He yelled pure nasty things about what he wanted done to some girl … so good qb ,maybe but still a thug.
April 18th, 2016 at 3:17 pm
Rrsrq Says:
April 18th, 2016 at 12:07 pm
If Lovie would have done his job…..
—————————————————–
Internet post of the year! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 18th, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Ben is still spewing lies! Please show us the video.
I did hear about him skipping down the steps at the library/Landis green arm in arm with fellow students singing a popular internet meme. Yes the Meme had bad words and for those who didn’t know of the meme it seemed demeaning to women and showed poor or immature judgement for a 19/20 year old given the amount of responsibility he was given.
April 18th, 2016 at 3:21 pm
Jameis was FAR from a thug. I’m really beginning to hate that term. I’ve know some really bad people in my lifetime and Jameis isn’t even a blip on the radar…or sonar in my case 🙂 Former Sonar guy in the Navy.
April 18th, 2016 at 3:54 pm
Puhleasssssseeeee..we’ve all sang or done things in that age range..the only difference is that there was no internet then or otherwise I would have been in a few viral videos..
Heck I’ve even said a few things about Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman that would make people cringe..lol…
April 18th, 2016 at 4:04 pm
99 times out of 100 I would say race is not the issue that the people make it out to be.
This is the 1 in 100 cases that racism played a major part in the character assassination of a teenager that also happened to be the best college football player in America.
Jameis has a gregarious personality and wants to make everyone around him happy and the media and a lot of adults used that against him and jumped on him even more despite the overwhelming facts, logic and witnesses that supported his story.
I appreciate all the Gator and Hurricane fans that are also Buc fans that have gotten to see what kind of person Jameis is and are big enough people to admit the media depiction of him could not be anything more than opposite of who he is.
He’s still a very young man(22 and 3 months), but if he can stay healthy and the Bucs provide him with good coaching and a strong supporting cast we are going to see great things from him and the Bucs going forward.
April 18th, 2016 at 4:04 pm
Now that’s rea
April 18th, 2016 at 4:10 pm
–I meant that’s real talk right there Joe..
April 18th, 2016 at 4:13 pm
Yes Joe like Father Dungy. LOL. AKA Lovie’s BFF
April 18th, 2016 at 4:20 pm
“ben Says:
April 18th, 2016 at 3:04 pm
did you see the video of Jameis at school standing on the table screaming ??”
Did you?
April 18th, 2016 at 5:50 pm
Ss for Lovie deserving credit for beong on-board with drafting Jameis, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
April 18th, 2016 at 6:20 pm
Joe!!!!!
The all important question to Licht….
His thoughts on Axle/DC
And
Angus Young being AC/DC by himself.
(Phil Rudd – jail for hiring a hit, malcolm young – dementia, Brian Johnson – on a Sarasota beach trying to not go deaf)
April 18th, 2016 at 7:12 pm
I’ll say it… I TOLD YOU SO!
I was all in for Winston the second we lost the Saints game.
The only problem was with 87, first, he HATES any and all Gator fans and he boldly predicted that ANY team that drafted Winston would WIN the Super Bowl in 3 years!
The clocks ticking 87.
April 18th, 2016 at 7:28 pm
He’s saddened at the demise of Brian Johnson.
April 18th, 2016 at 9:25 pm
Dave Pear Says:
April 18th, 2016 at 7:12 pm
“I’ll say it… I TOLD YOU SO!
I was all in for Winston the second we lost the Saints game.
The only problem was with 87, first, he HATES any and all Gator fans and he boldly predicted that ANY team that drafted Winston would WIN the Super Bowl in 3 years!
The clocks ticking 87.”
The prophets on it baby….. See ya at the Super Bowl next year.
April 18th, 2016 at 9:33 pm
Where have you been anyways? I was actually thinking about you awhile back. I forgot who the name was though.
I just kept remembering some whiny Gator’s fan upset over my deep hatred for all things Gator. Snot my fault if you’ve never ran into a rea,l true blue, take this shyte serious, Noles fan. We’re out there and I can guarantee it works both ways.
Red red whiiiiinnne….stay close to meeeeeee…
The Gators SUCK!
April 19th, 2016 at 3:31 am
I was for drafting Winston and I’m glad we did, but I don’t think anyone can say with certainty yet that Mariota isn’t going to be as good as Winston. Now I don’t think Mariota will be as good (I think he’s more of a Jeff Gracia type of QB) but let’s not yet go overboard in the hype. Again I think Winston is going to be an elite QB, probably within a year or two, but he’s only played a single season at this point, lets wait a bit longer before putting him in the Hall of Fame.
Also Dungy’s son played with Mariota and he loved the guy, I always took his opinion as being related to that.
April 19th, 2016 at 10:20 am
Stanglassman says:
‘After JP4 falsely claimed there was a 2nd accuser of Jameis he wrote’
Stanglassman:
You seem to want to lay claim to ‘arbiter of who is right and sincere in the joebucsfan comments section’. I never ‘falsely claimed’ any such thing. If you are going to be an arbiter, learn some simple legal and debate skills, rather than copy/pasting words out of context. You need to be more concise in your language. I wrote – ‘With news that an additional alleged victim of assault’. Key word there, mate, is ‘alleged’. That it was reported that there was a possible second accuser is an indisputable fact. Whether the reports were true is another matter.
Besides that, how does my earlier comment bringing up an ‘alleged’ second accuser negate any of the comments I made above? The only apparent reason for your post was to quote me out of context.