“I Believe In Weeding Out The Weak”
May 10th, 2017
Bucs fans paying attention know Robert Ayers is the big bad bully of the Tampa Bay defense.
Ayers isn’t a jerk. He just oozes real with supreme confidence, and he has extraordinary high expectations for teammates and let’s them know it.
The real Ayers was on display for Joe and local media today at One Buc Palace. Ayers even dropped an expletive when discussing the head-butt personal foul by America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, in Dallas last December.
Joe asked Ayers for his impressions on the Bucs’ 2017 NFL Draft and the new-look offense.
Ayers rolled into how he thinks tight end O.J. Howard is a stud but he didn’t like that he played for Alabama. Regardless, Ayers sees a man he can mold — even if he’s on the other side of the ball.
“I feel I can play a part in making him better,” Ayers said of Howard. “You know, in practice and stuff. So I look forward to that challenge of trying to go at him, not necessarily to make him tougher, but to challenge him and to push him to get better. You know, I think that’s what this is about is everybody pushing and challenging each other.
“… I believe in weeding out the weak. You know, if we got somebody that’s soft, I want weed him out. When he comes in, I’m going to try to challenge him whether it’s offensive lineman or whoever. You can see early who is going to fold and who’s not. That’s how I look at things.”
Love that guy.
Ayers added that he expects rookies to “bring it back,” and Ayers won’t try to hurt Howard or any rookie but the game is about plucking the weeds on a roster.
That chatter reminded Joe a lot of the words of a certain Hall of Famer and his weeding philosophy.
May 10th, 2017 at 1:34 pm
We need to bottle up some of his intensity and serve the tonic to the rooks.
This guy brings it.
May 10th, 2017 at 1:35 pm
Is he fully healthy for the season? Haven’t read much about his status.
May 10th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
Right mix of old and young.
May 10th, 2017 at 1:45 pm
Robert Ayers was a good addition, but he didn’t help us break the lack of double digit sacks and was injured a lot. We still need an upgrade at this position.
May 10th, 2017 at 1:49 pm
I like Ayers and his passion but he was a bit of a bust as a first round pick for Denver. I’m glad he’s around given the lack of depth at DE…but his talk is far more pro bowl caliber than his play. Meanwhile, McCoy is almost apologetic by comparison. Seems strange to me…
May 10th, 2017 at 1:51 pm
Yeah we need more Strong 20 sack guys like Robert Ayers, to weed out the weak.
May 10th, 2017 at 1:56 pm
GMC and Roberto the kicker are wondering if he is talking about them. lol
May 10th, 2017 at 1:59 pm
hopefully this attitude starts to move through the troops…
May 10th, 2017 at 2:05 pm
He talks the talk, I just wish HIS production would walk the walk. He was OK last year.
Attitude does not equal production.
May 10th, 2017 at 2:14 pm
My college career was all about “weeding out the weak” too. But instead of beastly Bob Ayers staring down at me, It was a 6 foot bong named Peaches.
May 10th, 2017 at 2:15 pm
LOVE THE ATTITUDE!
STAY HEALTHY MANG!
May 10th, 2017 at 2:31 pm
Ira: did you gain more respect for GMC the 5x pro-bowler?
Ayers: leans into mic – “no”
Bahhhajahaha
May 10th, 2017 at 2:33 pm
Attitude does not equal production.
———————————–
To be fair, our D did get a whole lot better after he returned. Recovering from a high ankle sprain is an off season affair.
May 10th, 2017 at 2:42 pm
@biff- He’s a decent player and he and GMC returned at the same time. That’s 2 of your 4 starters right there. Yea, that will improve your defense.
I take nothing away from the guy, I like his fire. I would like to see more production though before we continue with the “beastly” label.
May 10th, 2017 at 2:59 pm
This obsession with a double digit sack guy??? When the analytics prove a correlation with winning a superbowl I’ll jump on board, until then I personally could give a rats @$$. Kobe told y’all yesterday make’em one dimensional and gameday is relatively easy. That’s the key.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:00 pm
I, would be totally fine with a group of 8 sacks guys.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:00 pm
Emphasis on the word “group”.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:09 pm
You guys are asses about Ayers production. He’s not a passrush specialist. Never has been in the league never will be. I’m sorry if you had a dream that didn’t come true about Ayers but he is/was a key piece to our defense.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:18 pm
I wonder
May 10th, 2017 at 3:21 pm
@Ayers … “… I believe in weeding out the weak. You know, if we got somebody that’s soft, I want to weed him out.” Classic Robert Ayers. Personally think he’s been a great addition to our DLine. Now this year with GMC, Baker & McDonald in the middle, plus Ayers, Gholston, Spence, Jack Smith (and several others) on the ends, this DLine should rock. No excuses for not keeping pressure on the QBs AND being able to shut down the run.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:22 pm
NOS says – “This obsession with a double digit sack guy???”
Probably the smartest thing I’ve heard you say, dude. Three 6-8 sack guys are just as good (or better) than one 20 sack guy and a few who have 3 or 4. The 10 sack guy will eventually come just like we rid ourselves of the invisible “curse” of not being able to win a cold weather game. In the meantime who gives a crap if we’re winning? None of the Pats defenders last year sniffed 10 sacks. Hightower had 2.5 sacks last season (!) yet had his most impactful sack in the SB.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:28 pm
With you, JimmyJack. This is where stats are misleading. Ayers contributed a decent pass rush when he was on the field and he’s a great energy to have in our defense. I think Spence is going to have a great year and Ayers should benefit from that as well.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:34 pm
Love Ayers. Love his passion and ferocity!!
But hes getting old and injury probe, unfortunately.
Anytime some list our DEs, and says they feel good about them – najes me wanna run to the game tapes- and try to see what I missed!
Ayers- love him. Old and small
Spence- is a LBer. Small, coming off shoulder surgery.
Jaq Smith- always in the tub
Gholsten- Run stopper only.
If anyone here, thinks that group can take us to playoffs- I dont know what you are looking at.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:36 pm
Only 8 4-3 ends hit 8+ sacks last year. I would rather have total sacks in the top 5-7 in the league.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:39 pm
Ayers, McCoy, Baker, Spence, Gholston, Jac Smith, McDonald – That is a very solid group of DL players. IF they can all stay healthy. What are the odds of that based on recent history?
We saw the difference on Defense for 5 games right about the same time most of these guys got back on the field together relatively healthy after early/mid season injuries.
Baker was a good signing and the above 7 are quite adequate to get where we need to get to this year – but only if all are available to play week in and week out. Its a risky gamble to have not added more young talent to the DL this year – But the draft fell the way it did and I assume DL will be a focus of the draft for the next couple of years now that many of the more glaring holes at other starting spots on the roster have (hopefully) been filled.
May 10th, 2017 at 3:48 pm
We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition: A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy….Sweep the leg!
May 10th, 2017 at 3:52 pm
Now show me paint-the-fence!
May 10th, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Nos-Princess…….
I agree.
Glad the new meds have evened you out.
Go Bucs!
May 10th, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Nos-Princess…….
I agree.
Glad the new meds have evened you out.
Now take down the Dalvin posters….
Go Bucs!
May 10th, 2017 at 4:08 pm
FYI
We are not the Patriots. so please stop the ” The patriots didn’t have this or the Patriots didn’t have that” conversations.
The patriots didn’t have a 10 sack guy
The Patriots don’t have a number 1 receiver
The Patriots take risks on guys that get in trouble off the field
blah blah blah blah
31 other teams don’t have Belicheck or Tom Brady
May 10th, 2017 at 4:22 pm
Did you guys hear Ayers calling out the crazy people for talking crap about and writing about Doug Martin? I wonder if the joes are going to write about that????
@ nole
Good to see you are still alive. I am trying to determine which jersey i want.
May 10th, 2017 at 4:46 pm
Maaaaaan reading that article during schianos reign let’s you know just how far we’ve come since then. Didn’t have a true QB or 5 key players. I can’t even fathom the level of talent we’ve gotten since. Well done Jason. And our coach- my god outside of his defense it’s like having a real coach. What a freaking difference
May 10th, 2017 at 5:49 pm
Am I the only one that thinks Ayers is just as big a talker as GMC? He talks up this massive game and then doesn’t bring much on Sundays.
I admit, I wanted this team to draft him coming out of college instead of Josh Freeman, but Ayers has pretty much been a bust considering he was a top 20 pick.
Oh well, he talks tough, and I guess that’s fun for media folk to write about.
May 10th, 2017 at 7:06 pm
Gotbucs I also get that feeling. Dude speaks a big game but doesn’t really produce. But he’s a dog and a bully so you have to think he produces.
Does have leadership qualities but he doesn’t do much bullying during the games
May 10th, 2017 at 7:07 pm
When you figure it out holla. Summer’s if common sense is the med you refer to then yea, I’m on one.
May 10th, 2017 at 8:40 pm
U come through nicks program and you a are a full blown man
May 10th, 2017 at 9:30 pm
@@@@@ MUST READ FOR EVERYONE INCLUDING JOE @@@@@
Let’s weed out the weak posters … like … TAMPA TONY ….
All quotes are from a post by Tampa Tony … everything else is by yours truly.
“So does that mean Ira, Koetter, Licht and many many many others are wrong that Jameis needs to cut down on his turnovers?”
Yes, that’s what I meant. They should all be saying Jameis needs to turn the ball over more. Don’t be stupid! ALL QB’s “should” turn the ball over less, duh. However, HISTORICAL FACTS prove that the amount of turnovers a QB has has very little to do with his success or how great he is. Again, 20 of the 51 SB era years, a HOF QB has “led the league” in interceptions. Jameis hasn’t done so even one yet and may never do so, but the facts are the facts whether you like them or not.
“41 turnovers in 32 games is not a good stat line.”
It’s a fine stat line considering with what he’s been working with. Andrew Luck who was drafted by a team just one year removed from playing in the conference title game and which was loaded has had 75 turnovers in 54 games over 4 of his 5 years, or 1.39 per game … Jameis was drafted by the laughing stock of the NFL and has averaged 1.28 per game. Jameis also already has a higher CAREER completion percentage than Luck despite Luck having 5 years in the league.
“Yeah, there are some QB’s who turned it over who are HOFers doesn’t mean that will be Winston (I hope it is) but as your list shows those QB’s might lead the league in INT’s for a season but never consecutively and don’t consistently turn it over like Jameis”.
Tampa Tony … Jameis has never led the league in INT’s even once, let alone consecutively so I’m not sure what your point is, however even if he had you’d be wrong as Joe Namath did so … twice. And, yes, many of those QB’s consistently turned it over … Namath, Favre and Eli especially.
“The true franchise QB’s of the modern game Brady, Rodgers, Carr, Ryan, Brees, Wilson, and Rothelisberger are accurate and protect the football for the most part. The franchise label needs to be earned and not just thrown around for pr purposes”
You lost all credibility putting Derek Carr in the above list. The guy had one great year playing with some of the best offensive talent in the NFL and behind the best offensive line in the AFC … Jameis’ first two years obliterate Carr’s first 2 years in the league … you’re goofy!
Your inclusion of Russell Wilson is also goofy imho. The best stat to measure any QB is QBR and Jameis had a higher QBR as a 22 year old than Russell did last year as a 28 year old … if Russell is elite, Jameis is more so. By the way, even though Wilson is little more than a Dak Prescott-eque game-manager he has only thrown 45 picks in 80 games, he has also fumbled 46 times in 80 games for a total of 91 in 80 games … as a game-manager …
BEN ROETHLISBERGER turns the ball over quite a bit! He led the league in interceptions before and even last year had 13 picks and 8 fumbles in just 14 games … that’s 1.5 turnovers per game … Jameis had 24 turnovers in 16 games or the same 1.5 … and he was 22 years old!
DREW BREES: has always turned the ball over a lot … 220 picks and 96 fumbles for a total of 316 in just 223 games!
MATT RYAN: has had one great year, at the age 31, in the 8 years before that he threw 107 picks and fumbled 45 times for 152 turnovers in 126 games.
TOM BRADY … in his first 6 years of playing (after his quasi redshirt year backing up Drew Bledsoe) he threw 78 picks and fumbled a WHOPPING 69 times for a total of 147 in just 95 games which means Brady was MORE TURNOVER PRONE ON AVERAGE THROUGH HIS FIRS 6 YEARS THAN JAMEIS HAS BEEN AT THE AGE OF 21 & 22!
AARON RODGERS: Seeing as Rogers didn’t even throw his first TD pass until he was TWENTY-FOUR years old (Jameis will probably have 125+ by then) and had four turnovers BEFORE he ever even threw his first NFL TD, it’s sort of a weird comparison … but … if we just take Rodgers first two years of full-time football which was when he was 25 and 26 years of age, in those 32 games he threw 20 picks and fumbled 20 times .. 40 turnovers in 32 games or 1.25 per game … at the age of 25-26 …
TAMPA TONY … for the sake of Bucs fans everywhere and to prove that mere common sense exists in this ark world, you should post the following:
“NFLNut, thank you for showing me the error of my ways, I was wrong. Jameis is the greatest and most accomplished 23 year old QB ever and doesn’t take a back seat to any other all-time great QB at this stage of his career. From here on out, I will rejoice in the fact that my favorite team has such an unbelievable QB1.”
@@@@@ MUST READ FOR EVERYONE INCLUDING JOE @@@@@
May 10th, 2017 at 10:42 pm
If Ayers is bent on “weeding out the weak”, a philosophy I fully endorse, many Buc “fans” will be disappointed that he won’t be weeding out the favorite RB piñata, Doug Martin.
Said Ayers:
“We’ve got Doug [Martin], who I think is going to be a monster. People have been talking junk about him like he didn’t just run for, what, 1,500, 1,600 yards two years ago? Second-leading rusher and people are talking junk about him like he didn’t just do that two years ago. People were saying we were going to draft a running back and I was like, ‘You’re crazy.’”
But what does Ayers know?
May 10th, 2017 at 10:55 pm
Cobraboy – Nice dig out of the quote about Martin there.
NFLNut – nobody else here needs convincing that Jameis Winston is a special talent at QB and we are super lucky to have him. That was a lot of effort to try and one up Tampa Tony. Not that I’m taking up for Tony – but to be fair, he has softened his stance of late just a bit regarding Winston I’ve noticed. And also – you were just a tad selective with some of the stats you gave. Just give the full picture or stick to one level of comparison. Jameis doesn’t need your selectivity of other QBs stats for his own to look good.
May 10th, 2017 at 11:34 pm
“Selective”? Tampa Tony’s argument was all about turnovers so that’s what I focused on. That’s not selective, just sensible.
May 10th, 2017 at 11:39 pm
I can also guarantee you that most fans don’t know the history of various QB’s statistica backgrounds which is why so many want to compare QB’s year by year instead of age by age … I mean, seriously, what sense is there in comparing a 22 year old Jameis to a 30+ year old Brady or Rodgers? It’s dumb.
However people literally see Brady and Rodgers NOW and just assume they were that good early in their careers and never turned the ball over and that is pure nonsense. Tom Brady was a turnover waiting to happen for SIX YEARS … and by the way he won three of his 5 SB’s in those 6 years (that’s a whole other point as since Brady has been the MVP caliber Brady he is only 2-for-4 in SB’s but when he was the game-manager and turnover-waiting-to-happen Brady he was 3-for-3 in SB’s which is proof positive that a great QB is a very small piece of the puzzle in winning a ring).
The truth sets people free and I like dropping truth!
May 10th, 2017 at 11:46 pm
Oh come on – don’t play coy NFLNut. You cherry picked the stats you cited. Last year only for Roethlisberger. Brees whole career. Ryan minus his best year, Brady 1st 6 years, Rodgers 1st 2 years he started…. You were all over the place choosing stats from top QBs careers at whatever point of their career best exemplified your desired point. The stats may be correct – but yes they were very selective.
Jameis Winston’s stats are just fine at this point in his career and will improve with additional experience. He doesn’t need defending. Tony is just a naysayer when it comes to Winston and spending so much time and effort trying to prove him wrong with cherry picked stats is a fools errand…
May 11th, 2017 at 12:13 am
^ No, I did not. In fact, you should know that if you know the history of these QB’s as both Big Ben and Brees LED THE NFL in interceptions before an yet I didn’t use that year for Ben. Ben also seemed to have hands or iron and rarely fumbled early in hiss career an then started coughing up the ball a great deal as he got older and I didn’t use that either.
If I really wanted to “cherry pick” I would have and I’d admit to doing so, but I didn’t.
As for Rodgers … I specifically said it’s a weird comparison as he didn’t even throw his first TD till he was almost 25 years old but comparing his first 2 years at the ages of 25-26 vs. Jameis’ first two years at the ages of 21-22 was the most sensible thing to do.
If you want to nitpick, have fun, but that was a great post and you should be applauding it.
May 11th, 2017 at 12:20 am
Pickgrin … your statement is what I was talking about earlier … some people want data, facts, evidence not just common-sense platitudes like “Jameis is already good and since he’s young he’ll get better” … I mean really man, what sense is there in even saying that, every fan of every young QB on any team in the NFL could say the same thing … it’s silly.
You could say that about Jared Goff … an odds are you will be 100% right but there is a massive difference between Goff and Jameis and while that’s clear to many, there is also a massive difference between Jameis and Derek Carr, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Drew Brees and most other QB’s you can think of people should understand that.
The above statements are all fact-based but as you seem to favor mere opinions and personal statements, I will give you one and put it like this … Jameis isn’t just some good young QB who people can expect to get better, he is the greatest and most accomplished QB of his age in the history of football and barring-injury will go down not only as one of the greatest to ever play the game but as the Wayne Gretzky of NFL QB’s by owning the record books.
May 11th, 2017 at 1:41 pm
Could be problems here. OJ is coming in with a soft reputation. Hope he proves his doubters wrong.