“In Everyone’s Face”
December 5th, 2016
First, congratulations to sports radio 1040 AM host Erik Kuselias for being married to Holly Sonders.
Second, Kuselias accompanied Saunders to San Diego for the Bucs game and shared what he saw while “on the sidelines,” presumably with a pass he got through his affiliation with the fabulous FOX sideline reporter.
Speaking on radio this morning, Kuselias talked about seeing a driven and confident Bucs bench with “10,000 Bucs fans” shockingly in the stands at Qualcomm Stadium.
He also shared observations of Bucs players pointing to fans and acknowledging the Tampa Bay faithful during the game.
And of America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, Kuselias said he watched Jameis go up and down the sidelines kneeling and standing, kneeling and standing, in front of his teammates. Kuselias said Jameis was “in everyone’s face” saying, “We got this” at key points in the game.
That jibes with what Dirk Koetter said on the Buccaneers Radio Network moments after the victory, describing how Jameis uplifts the team and manages his head coach. If you didn’t read that, then Joe suggest you do.
What a genuine presence and stud James is. Everyone can see it.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:38 pm
Wow..what else can I say?
December 5th, 2016 at 2:42 pm
I was there. Great atmosphere.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:43 pm
Looks like the emotional leaders on this team are Winston and Ayers. Maybe it’s time to put a C on Ayers chest? Winston, Ayers, LVD and Shep. Oh yea baby that works.
“Winning is a habit, unfortunately so is losing” – Vincent Lombardi
December 5th, 2016 at 2:44 pm
I feel like I’m living in a dream. Playoff Run, Franchise QB, Defense on the Rise..???
I guess it isn’t actually living in a dream but more like living THE DREAM. So proud of this Qb and team, oh and coaches. Let’s keep it going.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:45 pm
I feel like the past few weeks have been an indictment on the Glazers. Shame on them for rolling out an inferior product for so many years to a fan base that is clearly aching so badly for a competitive team. We’re still a long way from even getting a playoff spot, but this fan base is losing their minds about simply being relevant. Just being discussed as a possibility has people coming out in droves and wanting to throw their support at the team. They’ve been treating this team as a piggy bank for all these years at the expense of a fan base that wants so badly to get behind a good team. The cavalcade of bargain bin coaches, the flimsy band-aid players they’ve gone out and gotten to convince us that they’re trying, it’s all been a cruel joke that we’ve been enduring for way too long.
Finally, finally we have a quality coaching hire and look how quickly the fans turn up in droves. It’s just a shame.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:47 pm
Us west coast fans tried to pack Qualcomm as best as we can and be as loud as we could be… Now we challenge YOU guys to go to ray j and pack it as full as YOU can and be as loud as YOU can be!!!
December 5th, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Patrick – Yes the Glazers haven’t shown much but doesn’t feel good to watch this team grow, RIGHT NOW? Enjoy what we’re seeing there’s plenty of time to gripe during the off season.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:50 pm
Rejoice – for the kingdom of Jameis is at hand.
All Hail the Messiah!!
December 5th, 2016 at 2:51 pm
@ChanEpic – You’re absolutely right, and I’m not one to revel in the negative. It’s just so heartbreaking to see this fan base react so feverishly to a little bit of success.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:51 pm
^^^ challenge accepted Bucsfan951!
December 5th, 2016 at 2:52 pm
He is something else. Look forward to him being a Buc for years.
P.S. Holly Sonders wears too much make-up. 😉
December 5th, 2016 at 2:53 pm
@Patrick – just to keep the grrrrr on the field, let’s all pile on Arguayo some more… He’s awful and a great segue into grrrrrr-ing about the Glazers in the off-season. LOL, Happy Holidays buddy!
December 5th, 2016 at 2:56 pm
From an eagles fan…patty, hush
December 5th, 2016 at 2:56 pm
Wish there was a local radio show to listen to about these Bucs wins in the AM. Shame on WDAE for ditching us during the football season. Low class cheapness personified. Sorry Joe, you know it’s true. Go Bucs!!
December 5th, 2016 at 2:59 pm
I imagine Erik Kuselias will have a happy Holly-days.
December 5th, 2016 at 2:59 pm
As a huge jameis fan. Leave the hail this and that out of it..dont tempt fball gods, or maybe others?? Lol
December 5th, 2016 at 4:08 pm
@Patrick, you are talking about an ownership group that has eaten multiple years of contracts on consecutive coaches once they determined that they did not have the right guy in place to win with. As disastrous as the results have been, the bucs have been regulars on the Free Agency leaderboard many an offseason post-raheem. Schiano had one of the largest coaching staffs in the league including one guy (butch davis) who was paid 6 figures but literally not permitted to coach. I think Lovie had more coaches for his secondary than some coaches have for their entire defense (kidding), and they basically asked him to name his price to come to Tampa. Busts like Anthony Collins and Michael Johnson were released within a year despite hefty bonuses
you can absolutely fault the owners for making what turned out to be several bad coaching hires in a row and one debatable GM hire in Dominick, but outside of 3 seasons of Raheem and his bargain-bin coaching staff (one of which produced our second-best win total since the superbowl), lack of investment and desire to win on the part of ownership hasn’t been evident to me. Dollars have never been a constraint when they felt like a change was needed.
December 5th, 2016 at 4:22 pm
pick6 says:
“lack of investment and desire to win on the part of ownership hasn’t been evident to me. Dollars have never been a constraint when they felt like a change was needed.”
Um – Bucs had THE LOWEST payroll in the entire NFL for EIGHT STRAIGHT YEARS 2004>2011.
Much better since 2012 but there’s no way to forgive, forget or sugar coat that fact.
Not being negative – Just sayin’…
December 5th, 2016 at 5:04 pm
I’m certainly happier as a Buc fan than the Panther fans are….
I live in NC and I can tell you after we beat the Seahawks without allowing a touchdown and they lose 40-7……
December 5th, 2016 at 6:05 pm
no question there were financial issues weighing on ownership for a few years (man u, global financial crisis), and they definitely exploited the heck out of the uncapped seasons, but hitting the reset button was also the right thing to do after bruce allen’s personnel moves stagnated the franchise and forced endless restructures for cap reasons. I don’t think the bucs being bigger spenders in those years would have improved their prospects in the short or long term, given who the team had the option of spending that money on. If the likes of Chris Simms, Cadillac Williams, and Marquise Cooper turned out to be stars, the 2004-2011 spending would have looked quite different, but aside from Aqib Talib and GMC we simply failed to find stars in the draft for over a decade.
I’m trying to think of big-money players that I badly wanted during those years that the bucs passed on. I was fiending for in-his-prime headcase brandon marshall when he ultimately went to Miami, and i know the bucs did everything they could to land Brett Favre at the time. beyond that, i’m struggling.
I just think the bucs’ post-superbowl awfulness has far more to do with well-meaning decisions (draft picks, coaching hires) that totally failed to work out than with some amount of money that wasn’t spent after the team realized its Super Bowl window had slammed totally shut
regardless, the past is the past, the Glazers appear to have finally gotten the GM & HC they needed, and they ate what must easily be over a decade’s worth of coaching and GM contracts (the thing that they most directly control) to find the right combo
December 5th, 2016 at 6:17 pm
and yes, raheem’s hiring had a definite financial motivation, but it also proved that spending doesn’t guarantee wins, as one of those bargain basement squads gave us our second-best season in the 15 years since the superbowl. the problem is the coaches and players could not avoid regression and most of those players turned out to be duds in the long term. many of those who weren’t eventually got weeded out by schiano for reasons that had nothing to do with money or talent.
December 5th, 2016 at 6:39 pm
This is nothing new about jameis. Those who follewed him at fsu will tell you he was like that during his redshirt year when ej manuel was a senior. He is who we fsu fans thought he was. And now he is a buc!!!!! We are going to party like its 2002!!!!
December 5th, 2016 at 9:48 pm
Joe please stop! Too much good news about Winston.
I can’t take it anymore!
It’s losing it’s impact!
It’s like we drafted an unholy crossbreed of Tom Brady and Warren Sapp at the QB position!
This is just too much!
We don’t deserve this!
We are not worthy!
I’m crying with joy!
December 6th, 2016 at 8:39 am
@pick6 – You make a lot of solid points. Looking back, I guess it was easy to see the moves that followed putting Raheem at the helm to be equally financially motivated, but you’re right that they did throw a lot of money at the problem over the years. The problem was that they just made a litany of poor choices over the years. Which is almost more frightening in a way. That means there were multiple different flavors of ineptitude going on.
All that said, at least they’ve gotten it right now. I think that the Licht/Koetter marriage is one that is going to be what resurrects this franchise. The wounds are still fresh from us being really bad just a few weeks ago, but the arrow is way up and it looks like the switch has been flipped. Here’s to hoping that it stays that way.
December 6th, 2016 at 3:50 pm
@Patrick in VA – thanks for the dialogue. I think there’s alot of luck, but it’s a double edged sword and we might finally be on the good edge.
Bob Kraft had 2 decisions that worked out insanely well for his organization 16 years ago and he has had very little to do to preserve his aura of greatness. He’s spent the last decade building an entertainment complex around Gillette Stadium and finding himself a trophy wife, not interviewing GMs or head coaches, but he gets indirect credit for every good thing Brady & Belichick do
Tom Benson was one of the worst owners in the league with one foot in San Antonio before Katrina, Payton, and Brees. Now he’s a world class owner and the Saints fans (who couldn’t fill the Superdome for years) became known as some of the best in football
so, when an ownership group finally gets it right at coach & QB they look like geniuses and are done making major decisions for a good decade or so