Future Is Not Now
July 13th, 2016
Next year, says “The Professor.”
As Joe has stated previously, there is excitement in the air Joe hasn’t smelled for the Bucs in a long time, not since months before the second year under former Bucs commander Greg Schiano.
There is a new vibe at One Buc Palace, and with new additions to the defense, and the fire in the belly of America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, many fans are expecting, a real push for a playoff berth. Finally!
Tap the brakes, says “The Professor,” John Clayton of BSPN. While he loves the Bucs’ moves under AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, he believes Bucs fans should look toward 2017, not this year, for meaningful January games.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be a playoff contender in 2017. The offensive rebuild is almost done. Upgrades at cornerback and defensive end make them more competitive. One more draft should get them over the top.
Joe doesn’t think Clayton is off base. Surely, if the Bucs do not make a run this year, all eyes will be on next year and, more pointedly, on Dirk Koetter.
This is why many folks believe a realistic goal for the Bucs this season is an 8-8 mark.
July 13th, 2016 at 9:03 am
Predictions are idiotic. Expectations are appropriate.
July 13th, 2016 at 9:10 am
Super. Bowl.
July 13th, 2016 at 9:12 am
Well if the prediction is yes or no you have a 50-50 chance of being right, not bad odds. I predict the Bucs will win over 6 games, the odds just nosedived.
July 13th, 2016 at 9:12 am
I’m still playing the optimistic homer card…10-6 even with the brutal schedule. What the hell, since I’ve got the crystal ball fired up…JW3 will have a minor injury that keeps him out a couple games, and the Cannon will step in and lead the Bucs to two crucial victories that seal a playoff berth for the Bucs. Winning lotto numbers are also available if you send me $10 cash 🙂
July 13th, 2016 at 9:47 am
9-7 barley miss playoffs by bad second half play in final game. Miko goes off on GMC for whiffing on a play and disappearing in second half of the final game that if won would have given bucs a playoff gane….
July 13th, 2016 at 10:09 am
joe says,…”Surely, if the Bucs do not make a run this year, all eyes will be on next year and, more pointedly, on Dirk Koetter.”….
dirk has no room for error…he and this team can not regress….dirk has a lot of pressure on his shoulders and he knows it…with the additions we made on defense we should win 10games and have a playoff berth….if the players won 6games last year being coach by who some would call incompetent, being forced to play in a system that doesn’t put them in position to succeed and a coach scared to score points, surely with a new hc that loves to score, a dc that puts players in position to win and makes proper adjustments they should make more than a two game improvement….
or let me guess, it will take a year to coach the lovie out of players…or the defense needs time to adjust to mike smith….or the schedule is too tough…GO BUCS!!!!
July 13th, 2016 at 10:12 am
@tmax…that actually sounds about right….wouldn’t mind 9-7 but I would be highly disappointed if we finished 8-8 and im sure licht would too….GO BUCS!!!
July 13th, 2016 at 10:59 am
“It was, It is ,and It will always be about the QB” Kobe Faker
2016 8-8 no playoffs
2017 10-6 playoffs *if Nipples Licht gets him 2 playmakers
2018 -2028 championship games and superbowls
*90% of all games is decided on the 4th quarter and is decided by less than a touchdown. Throughout the season, It is the QB who will win/lose/decide the games
Jameis is still not ready at the level to control/win the games consistently throughout the season
***2016 nothing but Jameis development matters
July 13th, 2016 at 11:00 am
That is a cop out. We are as compete a team as any in the NFL, right now. Yea we have holes, so does every other team. We just don’t have the pedigree those winning teams have… Yet!
July 13th, 2016 at 11:18 am
With their tough schedule it is going to be tough year. I am not so worried about final record this year. I just want to see them fight and be competitive in games as they got destroyed and gave up in games last year. Need to seem some improvement especially on defense
July 13th, 2016 at 11:32 am
Considering this team hasn’t been good in a decade, I’ll take 8-8. I think local sports media tends to over-value the talent on this team. I’m not sure they are a playoff team in 2017 but we may hit a comfortable stride of mediocrity.
July 13th, 2016 at 12:01 pm
The late Casey Kasem always ended every show with…
“Reach for the stars but keep your feet firmly planted on the ground”.
Works for the Bucs. I just think Joe and Clayton have their feet planted in mud.
Other than injuries or MRSA there is no reason this team cannot win 10 games.
I believe one can hold that opinion and still have his feet on the ground.
The stars I’m reaching for that I realize are unpractical this year is a Super Bowl.
A deep run into the playoffs is the only thing I do not believe the Bucs are ready to achieve.
I think they are ready to give Carolina a run for their money THIS YEAR!!!
July 13th, 2016 at 12:16 pm
9 and 7 season
July 13th, 2016 at 12:32 pm
Seems over the years the results of the NFL are predicated on just 4 components, of which only two are controllable:
1) Talent
2) Coaching
3) Health
4) Luck of the Bounce
I see this team having a solid stock of 1) and 2).
The determining factors will be 3) & 4), and no one can predict them.
July 13th, 2016 at 12:37 pm
Amen Cobraboy!
July 13th, 2016 at 12:53 pm
Koetter made the statement that nobody has higher expectations for this team than he does, and that (I believe) was before the draft. I expect playoffs this season barring any major losses to injury. No SB, but that’s coming soon. Free agents wil be fighting to join this team next year. The Bucs are a team on the rise.
July 13th, 2016 at 1:44 pm
If 4 things can be accomplished on a regular basis (all of which are coachable and doable), this is a 10 or 11 win team in 2016:
1. Successfully Defend slant passes
2. Get off the field following 3rd and long
3. Increase Red Zone TDs by 20%
4. Average 5 penalties or less per game
July 13th, 2016 at 2:21 pm
@ Pickgrin, agreed. In essence, score 6 ppg more, and prevent 6ppg less.
I’d be curious how many defensive penalties were made during opponent scoring drives, i.e., how many D penalties kept scoring drives alive. And how many O penalties resulted in scoreless possessions.
July 13th, 2016 at 2:33 pm
Cobraboy – the answer to both questions is “dozens”.
July 13th, 2016 at 3:02 pm
DallasBuc Says
“Predictions are idiotic. Expectations are appropriate.”
I think “expectations” are for winning teams myself. And predictions are really nothing more than setting the stage for expectations.
For 7 years, expectations have led to the firings of three coaches. Clearly, expectations is not working.
Insanity…doing the same things and expecting a different result.
We need to stick to our guns, and that means adjusting our expectations or doing away with them…and trying to just be fans.
July 13th, 2016 at 5:06 pm
If the offence just stays the same, the upgrade in defense alone will take the Bucs to 9 and 7.
July 13th, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Can someone refresh my memory?
Who won the contest Joe had last year about the Bucs final record?
And did Joe take that winner to lunch?
I really don’t remember hearing about the results.
I know. It wasn’t me. I predicted a 10-6 season.
Gonna do it again this year too!!!
Go Bucs!
July 13th, 2016 at 7:48 pm
Hold my predictions till after training camp when you know the roster. Right now we look average to me. I agree with Clayton we need a few more additions. Especially at wr, dt, s. We’ll learn about hump and bell this year.
July 13th, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Haha!! Okay Bonzai, where do I begin?
Taken in order, expectations are not the providence of winning teams only. All people involved in a competitive effort such as sports from coaches and players to fans and the opposition can fairly have expectations, even high ones, because they fall within a reasonable range of opinion. Your assertion that predictions do nothing more than set the stage for expectations is really nothing more than nonsensical Bonzai rhetoric that means exactly nothing.
Now, the 7 years of expectations in fact did not in any way lead to the firing of 3 coaches because by any reasonable assessment longevity of head coaching tenure is in no way a function of fan expectations. Winning is such a function however and that is an empirical, provable observation. Can you possibly see the difference?
Insanity. Um, you do know that the definition of this word is not actually doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, right? This is just something that lots of people like to say when they have nothing of import to actually say, much like your regular utterances. An actual definition for your reference: in·san·i·ty
inˈsanədē/
noun
“the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness”
Finally, part of being a fan is having expectations, else there is no interest in a team.
Have a good one Bonzai!
July 14th, 2016 at 8:08 am
Saying that all the pressure is on dirk to reach the playoffs in just his first year is totally unfair. He was given a defense that was a total mess and has filled alot of the holes we had on Defense with sum young talent but you gotta give these young men ti e to develop into what there capable of. While I think playoffs or bust is unfair, I do think they been to go .500 or better and show sum improvement on the defensive side off the ball. I think we can all agree the other side will hold its own with the offensive minded Dirk at helm.
When u sum it up, u cut down on the penalties and stop beating yourself, as well as making those critical FG’s we missed and put a respectable defense on the field and yes, we will be a much better team, but let’s not put too high of expectations for a team that went 6-10, & 2-14 the previous 2 years. It’s gonna take sum time for coach Smith to insert his scheme and for our younger guys like Noah Spence, VH3, and Kwon to develop. As bucs fans we should know better to expect so much from this team cause in the end we always get our feelings hurt like that hot chick that always builds u up to break you down. 2017 is a whole different story tho. It’s playoffs or bust then. I’ll give Dirk a pass this season, but still expect a a respectable product on the field. Preseason is almost here fellas!!!!
#DEFEND_THE_BAY
July 14th, 2016 at 8:12 am
I think 8-8 or 9-7 is a fair guestimate for this young team that has a whole new defense scheme they have to learn, let’s not forget that. Because the key to our success lies on that side of the ball. Cause we all know that #3 will do his part n more. Pressure is on for coach Smith, his staff n players.
July 14th, 2016 at 8:39 am
Some?
Sum.