Do The Bucs Need “Magic?”
January 15th, 2018
As much as Joe wants to look at things from a glass-is-half-full angle, it’s hard to think otherwise.
Yeah, the Bucs lost a lot of close games, true. But watching the playoffs this past weekend, and looking at the holes on their roster — three massive craters — it’s difficult to see the Bucs in the postseason this time next year.
The Bucs desperately need an edge rusher, a corner and a running back. And Jenna Laine of ESPN seems to think the Bucs might need a magic trick to get the running back.
The Bucs chose to stick by Doug Martin despite his four-game suspension and admission into a drug treatment program. Martin failed to produce, averaging just 3.0 yards per carry, was benched for one game for violating an unspecified team rule and wound up being overtaken by Peyton Barber. Rookies Leonard Fournette, Alvin Kamara and Kareem Hunt dramatically changed their teams’ offenses this year, and the Bucs need that type of magic.
Generally, a good running back can be easily had in the draft, provided the folks at One Buc Palace have come to the conclusion Doug Martin is done.
However, finding a competent if not dangerous defensive end and a strong cover corner is a bit more complex than showing up to a Sam’s Club liquidation sale in south Tampa.
January 15th, 2018 at 9:07 am
Bucs could have had kamara, cook,hunt, perine, mixon, clement, mack but no lcht out foxes everyone and grabs a dummy that cant read a playbook, another huge misread by licht when evaluating personnel, love what #91 is doing in jville, too bad bucs grabbed a K instead
January 15th, 2018 at 9:36 am
Any chance the Bucs trade for Marcus “GOAT” Williams, Saints Safety during the off season?
January 15th, 2018 at 9:53 am
For some odd reason – I’ve always felt RB Sony Michel (Georgia) – will be drafted in the 1st round. But for some odd reason he falls into the 2nd – cool.
• Kerryon Johnson*, RB, Auburn
• Ronald Jones II*, RB, USC
• Akrum Wadley, RB, Iowa
• Martez Carter, RB, Grambling State
Note: RB Damien Harris – decided to go back to Bama’
January 15th, 2018 at 9:56 am
We need two backs
Id get Bo Scarborough and Sony M
January 15th, 2018 at 10:03 am
No magic needed. Just systemic/leadership changes administratively. And of course..complete coaching changes. Bucs should take a cue from J-ville who brought in Coughlin as Senior VP. Bring in proven winners and not retreads. This team is not going anywheres but average or mediocre under our present coaching staff. Defense is softer than charmin toilet paper. I had my surround turned way up during the JAG-WARS game. Both team were hitiing violent and hard. Never see that with our Bucs. I’m sorry. But I just see..sad sailings under Koetter and Smitty. Very sad.
January 15th, 2018 at 10:15 am
The Bucs don’t need magic, they need wisdom
January 15th, 2018 at 10:17 am
Luv mybucs im w you on Michel, def his combine 40 time eill cement that 1st round or keep same
January 15th, 2018 at 10:22 am
I was a Jason licht fan and hoped he would do well but no more of this he’s drafted well nonsense because he’ll be fired after this draft for positions he didn’t address. Now one could argue beckwith was a streak but strong side linebacker barely plays in a 4-3 and he should have addressed running back instead. When you keep hiring GM’s who role the dice on old players and guys with injury history before entering the league your going to lose.
Sticking with Martin should have gotten everyone fired sucking with old players hoping for one more year of magic is simply stupid.
We drafted two studs at positions where there was no need then ignored both lines and corner the most critical spots, there aren’t enough drafts picks to fill them all, if you go home wild in free agency well there goes your cap space to resign your cornerstones. This will be one of the glazers years where they decide not to spend big money and tear these guys like they did Raheem and Dominick
January 15th, 2018 at 10:28 am
The G’Boyz need a position/title above GM….they are incapable of making GM or HC selections ….of course they’d have to make the choice for president of football operations or whatever the position would be called…..and are the capable of making that decision….OMF’nGawd ! what a futile circle of football incompetence….maybe Google and AI can come to the rescue
January 15th, 2018 at 10:41 am
My thoughts are the bucs just need a competitive defense with at least 2 or 3 impact players just take a look at the pass weekend games. for all the Winston hatters who put him in the comparison to Bortles Bortles is 1 game away from the Super Bowl the reason is he had a hell of a defense behind him Bortles made some mistakes but the defense help won that game. sack fumble recovery that went for a score which could’ve been the game winner the bucs rarely got a sack this year and the disappointing part for the defense is they done so well at the end of last year and this year they regressed badly so what is wrong with this team STILL LOVE MY BUCS
January 15th, 2018 at 10:49 am
Martez Carter, RB, Grambling State is a beast. Please lets not go into training camp thinking Charles Sims will become one day a Kereem Hunt or Alvin Kamara. Sims is who we know he is… tip toe in tip toe out. Martez Carter is a cloned Tarik Cohen’s of the Bears, a playmaker. We need excitement in the backfield and as of late, we just don’t have it. That guy Kamara is a natural…he’s the “IT” factor. I watched Fournette, Dion Lewis, AB, Martavious Bryant, n Michael Thomas play lights out ball when the game’s on the line. i mentioned the wr because once in the playoffs u gotta quit pouting n complaining something ME needs to quit doing n learn how to just play ball,. Antonio Brown is a Beast. Koetter n Smith, 2019 is it, no gray areas…shape up or ship out.
January 15th, 2018 at 10:58 am
I’ll be short and sweet on this one…
Fix the trenches, fix the Bucs!!
January 15th, 2018 at 11:04 am
S. Michel
R. Penny
R. Jones II
N. Chubb
M. Carter
N. Hines
January 15th, 2018 at 11:13 am
I have been waiting since 76 for some magic…
And for the exception of about 8 years…nothing but duds…
And..there is NO REASON to believe that with Barney Licht at the helm..anything is going to change..
Everyone thinks ( including Joe ) that he is some kind of draft master…
He is a LOOOSER…ecept for a few picks, the rest were either not needed or he blew high round picks…
This next season is a throwaway by the Glazer stooges…then another shot at hiring a good g.m. and coach…
Where have heard this song?
January 15th, 2018 at 11:15 am
Too bad Jeremy Mcnichols is a head case. He would have definitely gotten some carries had he remained on the team…. I am not saying he would have been special but I would have at least liked to see what he could have done….
January 15th, 2018 at 11:19 am
It is still amazing to me that the Bucs GM and coaching staff remains unchanged after all the mistakes that they managed to do over the past year! Logic dictates that Martin should be done as a Buc but that conclusion should have been reached a year ago and the Bucs should have brought in some fresh talent to replace him. I understand being loyal but not to the point of looking so idotic and foolish. I am not sure if it was ineptitude, stubbornness, loyalty or a combo of the 3 that led Koetter to undermine the running game so badly by sticking with Dougie. And the Glazers! How can they simply allow the GM and HC to make mistake after mistake without taking some action or forcing some changes? Look at the Titans they just let go of Mularkey after a 10-8 season and reports out of Nashville is that he simply was too fond of his OC to let him go even though Mariota regressed even worse than Winston did in year ; throwing more picks than TDs….. Seems like the BUcs are the only team in the NFL along with the lowly Jets and Browns who look to stand pat with their below average coaching staffs. That is very telling to us fans, seems like the Glazers are not committed to improving this club. Granted cancers like Swaggy, Martin and TJ Ward as well as others contributed to a nonchalant loser mentality but the coaches are the ones who continued to play these dudes and Licht signed them in the first place and in the case of Martin threw away somewhere around $8 million for sub 3 yards a carry. Where is the accountability????? Is Licht/Koetter the best tandem the Glazers think can lead the Buccos in 2018????? Incredibly baffling and frustrating after a 5-11 season…..
January 15th, 2018 at 11:19 am
Bucn Enough right on, and for those that say licht is a god because he drafted 2 similar LBs… good defenses roll with 5 DBs most of the time so in the bucs 4-3 only 2 lbs play most of the time which points out licht not having the ability to see the forest thru the trees
January 15th, 2018 at 11:36 am
There is very seldom a magic cure in free agency. Sometimes I think it is more about luck with these guys than anything. Half of them get that huge paycheck then check out. The other problem is this team has so many holes is it wise to spend in free agency when we may be two years removed from even making a run at the playoffs? The Glazers I’m sure feel they wasted a huge amount of money last year because everyone including the media felt the Bucs were one or two players away. The best move would be to trade both McCoy and Jackson for whatever you can get for them. Trade down in the draft to get as many picks as you can and hope the GM can do magic with the additional picks. These older players will have ZERO value by the time the Bucs make a legit playoff run!
January 15th, 2018 at 11:53 am
It’s no guarantee if Kamara would have been on the Bucs, that he would have been any good..
January 15th, 2018 at 11:55 am
Bjim
THIS !!!!
” These older players will have ZERO value by the time the Bucs make a legit playoff run!”
January 15th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
I suppose it would be magic for the Glazers to be smart enough and willing to pay money to put together a good front office and coaching staff.
January 15th, 2018 at 12:36 pm
^^^ SOE….that would be Fantasy Football
January 15th, 2018 at 12:39 pm
@Joe … “Bucs desperately need an edge rusher, a corner and a running back.” Bucs are gonna need a LOT more magic than that Joe. I might buy 3 DE, 2 CB & 1 RB … as a minimum. But then we’d need to also add 1 LG, 1 C, 1 DT & 1 SS … as a more realistic minimum. That’s NOT counting re-signing our own FAs (Fitz, McDonald, Grimes, McClain & most likely Pamphile, Clarke, Evan Smith & Sims). If any of those 8 don’t get re-signed, then another hole just opened up that we’ll need to fill in either FA or the draft.
That’s 10 priority holes plus another 8 if we don’t re-sign our guys. It can be done (we’ve got 8 draft picks & a LOT of CAP space) BUT … is Jason Licht the one to do it? Aah yes, the BIG QUESTION.
January 15th, 2018 at 12:56 pm
This will be the make-or-break offseason for Licht – and most important Free Agency period he’s had.
He needs to significantly upgrade the talent before the draft – hitting D-line/O-line/CB/S/RB as hard as he can.
LG/C/RT/RB on offense
DE/DT/CB/S on defense
Add at least 4 very solid players in FA across those positions; and 4 in the draft – and there is hope; if the team has good health.
In terms of what is available and our cap space; we should be able to do some damage.
January 15th, 2018 at 1:05 pm
PEOPLE, ONLY WAY WE WILL BE ABLE/GOING TO DRAFT A RB THAT CAN MAKE IT WORK LIKE MICHEL IN THE SECOND IS IF A BIG MOVE AT OLINE IN FA OR DRAFT A PLAYER LIKE ANDREW NORWELL OR QUENTON NELSON. The Bucs along with everyone else realize they had the worst defense in the league this year. Unless they trade down, they might not even pick up RB or any offensive player till at least the fifth. And that’s fine by me. I know we need a second RB to go along with Barber but I think I believe in him much more than others. Try to find some gems off the street and UDFA. Plant High School vet and former Buc son RB James Wilder Junior was named CFL most outstanding rookie this year. BRING HIS ASS IN FOR A TRIAL RUN!
What I would like:
#1 DE
#2 CB
#3 DT/DE
#4 DE/CB/DT
#5 RB/OG/OT
#6 CB/S
#6 RB/OG/OT
January 15th, 2018 at 1:26 pm
^^^And spend money on all-star players at at least two of these positions: OG, CB, S, and DT ^^^
January 15th, 2018 at 1:32 pm
SOEBuc
Agree!!! Didn’t see the first half of the Jax game…apparently Fournette went off…but in the second half the Steelers shut him down because his OL couldn’t open a crack in the Steelers front seven. Fournette is a great back.
I do not think RB will be an issue if we got a dominant OL…Barber would be a stud with blocking…he still needs more work on blocking and catching but this is his third year and he has improved in each of his first two.
Getting a burner like Kareem Hunt is not that hard either. Getting a burner with size like AP and other greats is a challenge but there are a zillion 4.3 speed running backs to be had in the later rounds.
The only place I change in your draft SOEBuc is at #2. I grab yet another DE and overload that spot until we finally get a decent pass rush.
As for DB…first we must resign Grimes…then find a talented FA…Talib may be leaving Denver…there are others…but imagine Talib alongside the leading interceptor over the past five years…Brent Grimes. I’m fine with our young guys backing up a duo like that.
Now imagine we succeed and actually find a DE. If the pass rush was top ten ALL of our DB’s will look much better. Maybe Smitty might allow them to play press since they would have to cover for a much shorter time.
TIME is of the essence…when a QB stands back there forever he not only gets to review his progressions…the guys running the routes have that much more time to get open. It’s a double loss for our D.
January 15th, 2018 at 2:30 pm
@StPeteBucsFan
I guess that number two pick comes down to if Chubb is there at #7. I would love Nelson or Fitzpatrick but if Chubb is gone I would very seriously consider trading down adding more picks. Then I would be down to pick up a DE in round 1,2. I would not like to go with Key at #7 if they just HAVE to stay there and HAVE to get a DE. CB situation I would like to bring in a good looking rookie and FA. Miko says Brent is retiring and what Miko says Brent does so I really have a feeling he’s not coming back (or at least to the Bucs), and even though he is our best CB (not saying much), a stand-out rookie (possibly Fitzpatrick) and Malcolm Butler type in his prime could totally turn that position around for the long term if they were used correctly. DT is a big need for the Bucs that people aren’t talking about so much. We all want to kick Baker to the curb but playing against Jonathan Stewart/ Christian McCaffery/ Devonta Freeman/ and Alvin Kamara twice a year we need a big body run stopper in the middle. I’ve been talking about DT Poona Ford (Texas) 6’0, 310 lbs in the fourth or fifth if he’s still there. All-American/ 2017 Top Big 12 defensive lineman of the year award.
January 15th, 2018 at 2:34 pm
NO MAGIC NEEDED … THEY JUST NEED TO SPEND ALL THEIR CAP SPACE AND DRAFT WISELY
1. Ziggy, Malcolm Butler, LaMarcus Joyner and a DT in free agency
2. DE, OG/C, RB, OT, CB/RS, BPA, BPA, BPA in the draft
3. ALL FIXED, NO MAGIC NEEDED
January 15th, 2018 at 4:36 pm
I don’t know why we need magic if it’s true like they say that it’s a deep RB draft. Maybe magic is needed if you want Barkley. Im sure theyll draft a rookie but they cannot rely on an unproven player and better sign somebody, will be interesting to see who they bring in.
I get a kick out of the people crying about last draft that we didn’t get a Hunt or Kamara. For all we know they liked McNicolos just as much. They got a RB they just got the wrong one, it happens all the time some calm down. Just give it some time and look back 3 years from now and you’ll see plenty of other RBs aside from McNicols that busted from that class. Probably not Hunt or Kamara but let’s not pretend those two players were the only other choices. Hindsite is indeed 20/20 but tunnel vision factors in with a lot of halls opinions about it.