Crossroads
October 10th, 2016
It’s hard to believe that the fifth game of the season could be so significant, but it is.
If the Bucs lose tonight, forget playoffs. It’s all draft, full-steam ahead. Again. In October.
At 1-4, a wild card is a pipedream. But why is this game a crossroads game? Consider if the Bucs lose tonight, they will be 1-8 in their last nine games. If that isn’t a sign of a team hellbent on acquiring the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017, then nothing is.
It could move Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to start trading players.
Per Woody Cummings, typing for something called Florida Football Insider, there are two names to watch: Mike Glennon and Jonathan Banks, two free agents after this season.
Barring something unforeseen in the next week, who exactly would want Mike Glennon? Is a team out there that desperate for a quarterback? The only team that might — keyword: might — would be Houston, but they just paid rotten Brock Osweiler loads of cash. And has Glennon done anything in his career that even matches Osweiler’s experience? No.
Banks might bring something because teams cannot get enough corners. And let’s be brutally honest: Banks has yet to recover from the PTSD he suffered under Lovie Smith.
Joe will have more about this concept later. If the Bucs do lose tonight to the decimated Stinking Panthers, powerbrokers at One Buc Palace need to start making serious decisions about the immediate future of this fractured franchise.
October 10th, 2016 at 7:20 am
Scary……….and it’s not even Halloween yet.
October 10th, 2016 at 7:43 am
Im sure we will get a huge bounty for those two superstars.
October 10th, 2016 at 7:46 am
I’m not sure that there isn’t a need for some of this regardless of the outcome tonight. We’re not going on a playoff run this year. I don’t like typing that any more than anyone likes reading it, save for those still carrying the water for Lovie, but we’ve got too many injuries and too much internal turmoil with Jackson deciding he wants to try out this diva WR bit that he’s heard so much about and the defense not being the positive overhaul that was promised.
We have a number of holdover players who we’ve identified as cornerstones of the franchise that are talented but I think have too much losing under their belts. They’ve seen too many coaches and staffs come and go and the losing is too normal for them. We need a blood transfusion. You’ll be able to get a healthy number of draft picks for GMC and LVD. Get something for Banks if you can and let’s give Jackson his gold watch and thank him for his service. We need talent on the team but we also need to the right mentality. If we’ve got people who struggle early but we see that they’re headed in the right direction and they have the right mentality then it’ll be a lot more palatable than what we’re watching now. Plus, it’ll go a lot further to convince an already disinterested fanbase that you’re doing what you can to cleanse the place of this being the “same old Bucs”. As of this morning, that’s exactly what we look like.
October 10th, 2016 at 8:16 am
No comment………at this time! NOT, Lovie ain’t got nothing to do with this mess, this all on Coach K and THE BACK/STABBER…..sometimes you gotta crawl before you walk Coach K! “PTSD” what’s that Poor Tackling Shitty Defender! Tearing the team apart will only give an excuse for this ALL/WORLD-COACHING STAFF to stick around for a third year! Just “Coach the LOVIE out of them” and WIN TONITE! 12 games to play with 8 more games to win to show improvement over the last REGIME!
October 10th, 2016 at 8:19 am
…just another season in the life of a Buccaneers fan.
October 10th, 2016 at 8:30 am
Everyone is more down than they should be. No one predicted a better start than 2-3. Yes we need to win but even if we lose its only one off. I say 8-8 would still be in reach.
Remember guys. We have started this season off against the best teams in the NFL. That includes the falcons who trounced the broncos yesterday
October 10th, 2016 at 8:35 am
No comment at this time!……NOT, LOVIE ain’t got nothing to do with this mess, this is all on COACH K & THE BACK/STABBER, “PTSD” what’s that Poor Tackling Sh*tty Defender, sometimes you gotta crawl before you walk COACH K, tearing this team apart is just an excuse to garner a third year for this ALL WORLD/COACHING STAFF! Just and I quote “coach the LOVIE out of them” and WIN TONITE, 12 games to play with 8 games to win to show improvement over the last REGIME!
October 10th, 2016 at 8:55 am
I watched ATL throttle DEN yesterday, just a week after the Bucs looked awful at home against the Broncos. A really bad look for TB.
I am just so tired of the season being over after September. It’s the same team year after year…Raheem, Schiano, Lovie, Koetter; Dominik, Licht. Good drafts, bad drafts.
Since Malcolm Glazer gave control to the kids, we’ve blown.
October 10th, 2016 at 8:58 am
Licht got try and get a #1 for #93 while you are at, what good is a injured DT that leads you to 4 wins a year
October 10th, 2016 at 9:50 am
Big Hog
Again could you explain your math? You saying Koetter needs to win as many games in ONE season as Lovie did in TWO? Really?
I forecast ten wins before the season. Everybody can laugh all they want. My thoughts were predicated on a 2-3 start…and as always injuries are the wild card.
We have a chance to get to 2-3 tonight right back on schedule.
What concerns me most are the injuries. We are simply not deep enough to absorb heading into a contest with the entire opening day starting DL out!
Our offense cannot afford to give up the 2nd leading rusher.
My major concern at this point is how healthy can we get during the bye.
TMAX believes Dougie is going to be damaged the rest of the year. I understand his point. Hammy’s can linger. OTOH Mike Evans wrestled with a hammy and finished the year in good shape so perhaps I’m more optimistic than Tmax but I do not argue his fundamental point…hammies on running backs are scary.
But if Ayers, Spence, McDonald, and yes Martin can come back at even 90% I remain optimistic.
October 10th, 2016 at 10:02 am
@SPBF – Judging by the rate at which our players are going down, I’m not sure I have faith in our S&C staff to get Martin in a place where he can perform through the lingering effects of the injury. I’m going to side with TMAX on this one.
October 10th, 2016 at 10:52 am
Well, yesterday I saw Cleveland put their WR in to play QB. Granted, I know he played QB in the past but wow…talk about a team that is desperate. The Bucs can reunite Glennon and McCown.
October 10th, 2016 at 10:55 am
I just want to watch this game against Carolina. I want to truly see..what kind of heart we have guys. You’re down, everybody has counted you out, injuries galore..What will we do? Do we pick our manhood off of the ground and come out swinging or do we…Whimper and cower with our tails between our legs?
Tonight Buc fans we will get a chance to see What we are. Are we fighters? Or are we,,Hee Haw porch dogs?! IF..the Bucs can pull this game off with a win..It could be a turning point. IF………………………..
October 10th, 2016 at 12:18 pm
Let that same D line that was “ballin” against Denver start tonight and see what weve got in them. I will say, Denver didnt have Simien at QB, so I’ll chalk that one up to that.
Regardless, this is a winnable game tonight even with some of our injured starters. But we all know how back up Anderson chewed up our DB’s last year. If he does that again, we’re in full draft talk mode. And topping my list is Safety and another DE! WR and TE too according to where we’re picking. Might have to trade down that first draft pick so we can pick a few more players. We need some new talent on this team and thats the only way any of this will be fixed.
A new infusion of young heart hungry talent!
October 10th, 2016 at 12:49 pm
So Joe, I really hate talking about upcoming drafts extremely early and you never know whats going to happen with players in pro and college, but if we do end up with the #1 pick then who would be your choice at the moment? I ask only to help understand your direction of where the team needs to go, not to start draft hype in early October. I would like S Jabrill Peppers or WR Mike Williams in the first, but are they really #1 material? Who would be the best to come in and help this team right away at a needed position at #1?
October 10th, 2016 at 1:00 pm
I don’t get all the hate and negativety towards Banks, other than VH3 he was the only corner who flashed and made plays throught the preseason in the little playing time he was given, ya it was against backups but that beyond the point. I thinl he should be given his shot at playing time as well. I’ve seen 3 no ugh of Verner, he is who he is at 5his point, don’t see becoming any better.n what a waste of 8 mill. nice to see them Finally giving the young Jude his shot at playing time. I’ve always liked him, he played very well at times last year as a UFA. Especially when u look at the rest of our corner and what they did, he out performed and lot of them at times.
October 10th, 2016 at 1:24 pm
@DemBoyz
Yeah I liked Jude last year also. Felt he wasn’t getting his due credit being an UDFA in that horrible secondary. He has looked good this year and I think he is only going to get better with time.
October 10th, 2016 at 1:42 pm
I doubt we end up with the #1, maybe top 5 though. And with that I would trade down and hope we can land Safety Malik Hooker in the teens. Or DE Derek Barnett around 10th. Then trade back into the bottom of the 1st for WR Mike Williams. Which ever we miss out on, safety or DE, that should be addressed with the 3rd pick. Could use another RB too, it would be nice to get Dougie back 100% but I still think we need another one since Simms isnt the answer for a bell cow back.
October 10th, 2016 at 1:58 pm
Could get ugly fast tonight. Without McCoy, Ayers, and McDonald we could find ourselves in a big hole very quickly especially with the slow starts we’ve become accustomed to on offense.
October 10th, 2016 at 5:02 pm
This game is going to come down to how good Jameis plays tonight. Will he be the inaccurate (INT throwing) QB he has been for the past few weeks or will he play like he did in the Atlanta game? The defense is going to give up 20 or more points so he better be ready to score himself. It is time for the excuses to STOP and start protecting the football, it’s that simple. We can win without a running game, we ALMOST did the last 2 weeks if we didn’t turn the ball over at least 2 times per game. Just give us a chance tonight JW. Go BUCS!
October 10th, 2016 at 6:25 pm
I like Banks….but don’t see much if any trade value with him or Glennon. More like “free” on EBay…just pay shipping. 🙂 The decent players like David & McCoy have long term bloated contracts. Future’s so bright…gotta wear beer googles!