Curious Words From Jason Licht
March 28th, 2017
What was he trying to say?
Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht sure got Joe to raise an eyebrow last night.
Speaking on “Late Hits,” co-hosted by Alex Marvez and Tom Pelissero heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Licht had intriguing words about embattled second-year kicker Roberto Aguayo, a guy Licht spent a second round pick on.
For some reason, Licht more than once referred to maturity when discussing Aguayo. Licht was specifically asked about Aguayo’s status with the Bucs.
“Well, last year he didn’t have competition,” Licht said. “We drafted him very high, he came in and he was ‘The Guy.’ Now, he does have competition so we will see how he reacts. He was 21 years old playing a big man’s game now with a lot of adults, mature adults, on the team that are relying on every other player to feed their families and get their paychecks.
“It’s just natural for anybody to mature over a course of a year and realize, ‘Hey, this is the NFL. I’m not just doing this just for fun anymore and to get my tuition paid for. Now, this is a career.’
“So, we will see how it goes. I’m actually very excited to see how the competition goes and in the offseason between those two.”
Well now. If you ask Joe, it sure smells like Aguayo didn’t exactly take his job very seriously. Or thought he could just show up and kick like Adam Vinatieri.
At the very least, it seems Licht is suggesting Aguayo is messed up mentally.
Licht invoking Aguayo’s teammates also caught Joe’s ear. Could it be that some players had zero confidence in Aguayo and let Licht know about it in no uncertain terms?
This is all very interesting to Joe.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:07 am
I think this move will wind up being one of our better moves outside of Djax this offseason. Licht potentially made a mistake, we won’t know until Aguayo either beats Folk for the job or gets cut, and he made a move to correct that potential mistake.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:08 am
Must have some decent free time at the moment Joe. That was one of them most obvious things Ive read so far on here.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:08 am
When Licht decided to draft Aguayo, there wasn’t really a lot of evidence that he was a bust since his accuracy was really good. Hopefully Aguayo has learned his lesson from this past season.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:12 am
It’s a win win. If Roberto beats out folk it means that he’s straightened things out and should/could be a major contributor for years to come. If folk wins out then it’s a non issue. Licht will move on from the draft pick
Either way our kicking game should be fixed
March 28th, 2017 at 11:18 am
Nobody on the team wants to lose because the kicker sucks. It’s demoralizing in the middle of a game when you go on a 10 play drive only to have the kicker shank a 40 yard field goal, or score a TD to potentially tie a close game and have them miss an extra point.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:22 am
Haha I love how the w
March 28th, 2017 at 11:23 am
I really don’t read too much into Licht’s comments…..Obviously, Aguayo is young and perhaps he felt additional pressure because he was a very high draft pick (not his fault)…….I think the competition will help him or send him packing….either way….it’s a good thing for the team.
Kickers can’t sit on the bench after a mistake…..they have to get back up and kick again, usually in the same game…..that is the difference between that position and all others….even the QB position has a backup.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:24 am
I could see someone that is actually having success not taking the job seriously but someone who struggled the way he did if course he took it seriously especially when getting negative press but nice Try with this old story. No players have ever had the attitude I can’t be replaced I don’t care that’s silly, his family is near by so I’m sure he will be motivated to fight for his job. Competition brings out the best
March 28th, 2017 at 11:26 am
I recall a BS line from Licht after he initially had to defend the pick after the draft by pointing out that Augauyo never missed a FG inside NFL hashmarks (as college has wider hashmarks). He speculated that college was harder to kick in. By that theory dear Licht, the player that never missed an NFL kick should have been a guaranteed bet to make them in the NFL with or without starving children amiright?
Or at least better than the lowest FG% in the NFL with a long of 43 yards over a full season.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:28 am
There is not enough Xanax in the world, for me to watch Aguayo (Senor Choke) kick.
I bite my nails, and grind my teeth, every time he comes on the field.
I sure admire Jason Licht for bringing in Folk, and basically admitting he made a mistake with Aguayo.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:29 am
He said something else interesting. Rick Shroud wrote on Tampa Times Licht is quoted as saying “we expect to be to drafting late in the draft going forward”. Translation to all you don’t give up future picks types. Those future picks are already diminishing in value. Its like y’all expect to be drafting in the top ten for years to come. Me and Jason Licht clearly don’t.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:38 am
time will tell…..GO BUCS!!!!
March 28th, 2017 at 11:43 am
I think Aguayo will beat Folk out for the job …
March 28th, 2017 at 11:46 am
“Those future picks are already diminishing in value. Its like y’all expect to be drafting in the top ten for years to come. Me and Jason Licht clearly don’t.”
True but not having a pick in any of the first 3 rounds in any given year sounds terrible regardless of where we pick. I’d rather trade a current #4 or 5 than a future #2 or 3
March 28th, 2017 at 11:47 am
your overreacting his words joe what he’s saying is basically what aguayo has said that he quickly realized that it’s not the same as the nfl and the pressure to actually make these kicks are real no one really factored in the fact that aguayo really didn’t have too many high pressure situation kicks in college i think he maybe had 2 game winners but every kick in the nfl is so important because the need for every single kick i like to think the last half of the season he adjusted to the pressure and played well minus the final game agianst the panthers even tho one of the kicks he missed was blocked we will see the best man surely will win this competition and i still have a feeling that the better man might be aguayo
March 28th, 2017 at 11:50 am
All I know is that I have NEVER seen footage of a group of teammates praying on the sideline for the kicker to make a FG in a regular season game like I saw during a Bucs game last year. It was sad to watch. Welcome to Tampa Mr. Folk.
March 28th, 2017 at 11:50 am
and i understand the concern about his long range kicking and the fact his longest make was 43 let’s not forget he made a 50 yarder in some bad weather in preseason
March 28th, 2017 at 11:55 am
Fifth game of the season!!!
March 28th, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Our kicker was unmotivated, apparently.
March 28th, 2017 at 12:04 pm
The issue is, winning the job and dealing with the pressure in preseason means nothing. So, even if Berto beats out Folk in August, what about when the season starts in November?
March 28th, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Actually I think Roulette Roberto was good for gambling. Kind of like betting for red or black. Miss or good. 50/50 odds.
March 28th, 2017 at 12:25 pm
I would guess Roberto needs 1-2 years to get there, if folk win , Roberto should be put on IR or PS , until he is ready , maybe than he will take his job seriously
March 28th, 2017 at 12:40 pm
When your teammates are caught praying during the game that means they have zero confidence in you.
Dude should’ve never been drafted. Making a bunch of 40 yarders doesn’t make you great dude was awful when it came to long kicks and that carried over from college
March 28th, 2017 at 12:43 pm
What’s the mystery, J0E?
We all knew it was mental last year, and we all saw the faces of his teammates when he missed his shots. This isn’t anything new.
And your comment that maybe “Aguayo didn’t exactly take his job very seriously” is a guess at best, and probably wrong.
My guess is that he didn’t prepare properly going into last year because he didn’t know how different it would be. That would about be the extent of his not taking it seriously…but during the season?
My ‘guess’ is that he was overwhelmed…in shock. He’d never been through anything like that and did not know how to get through it.
The big question is what has he done since to make himself better?
You can bet Jameis works on his weaknesses during the off season, along with ALL of the players who want to be great. Has Aguayo been doing so? Has he been getting coaching up somewhere? I can’t believe no one has investigated to find out. Seems to me that would be a good discovery.
Competition brought in a great thing, but regardless of who wins the battle, I think Aguayo should be kept a year…maybe doing kickoffs as he trains. OR, if he wins out, I STILL think they should keep both for this year.
March 28th, 2017 at 2:43 pm
Maybe, just maybe, Roberto isn’t as good as quite a few folks thought he was. Even if he wins the competition with Folk, which I seriously doubt he will , folks would still be on pins and needles every time he kicked this coming season. Doubt that the Bucs would carry 2 kickers on the roster, and you can’t just stash somebody on IR. Tend to think that Roberto was kind of thrown to the wolves last year… he needed a mentor .
March 28th, 2017 at 5:01 pm
NosBos – you are speaking my language but you know I have been calling for some trades of future picks for a while now.
March 28th, 2017 at 5:19 pm
Get your jit together or get out Aguayo…..simple as that
March 28th, 2017 at 5:54 pm
This is getting nauseating. Can somebody please tell me how long now thos organization has failed to field a capable kicker?
March 28th, 2017 at 6:51 pm
We could IR him like others indicated if he isn’t ready. Political way for the the org to save face.
March 28th, 2017 at 7:54 pm
Nick atoll, the savy veteran bridge player for our 2nd round kicker.
March 28th, 2017 at 8:49 pm
Licht is saying exactly what Berto needs to hear. This is a serious business not college. To me it still sounds like Licht is behind him, just not a very long rope right now. Either way we will come out of this ordeal better.
March 30th, 2017 at 11:36 am
The kicker did not cost the Bucs and games or the playoffs. That’s a fact sure as the suns sets in the west. There were 2 losses the cost the Bucs a playoff berth and, in each game, there was 1 terrible play that cost them that game. 1: RAMS – Jameis gets stripped and the Rams recover and run for a defensive TD. This was major screw up beyond anything the kicker did and cost the Bucs the game. 2: RAIDERS – on what should have the game ending play, “hey Jude” commits a face palming stupid, unnecessary holding penalty away from the play to give new to raiders, who went onto win. By simply not touching his receiver, Bucs would’ve won the game. 2 PLAYS, 2 LOSSES that cost the Bucs a playoff berth. STOP acting like the kicker was the problem. Sure he’s gotta get better, and he will, but the disappointment from last season was all tied to those 2 plays.