Bell Would Energize Locker Room
February 16th, 2018
Dare to dream.
Sometimes you have to have the stones of a burglar.
Joe has made it known if Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht wants to make a bold move to shove this Bucs franchise out of rut of mediocrity, Licht should see if he can get Le’Veon Bell’s attention by forklifting the Team Glazer vault to his front door. That’s if the running back is free when the dinner bell rings in less than 26 days.
End the one-dimensional offense and then Licht can reach for a guard at No. 7 the way the rabid offensive-line-is-horrid rabble wants him to do.
Joe got hungrier to make a run at Bell while watching the recent “Football Life” episode featuring Jerry Jones on the NFL Network.
The Cowboys had just lost the NFC Championship game to the 49ers in 1994, and a big reason why was 49ers cornerback Deion Sanders, a pending free agent. In the “Football Life” episode, Jones said he made up his mind that day he was going to sign Sanders.
But Jones’ son, Stephen, was the team’s capologist and adamantly against signing Sanders for two reasons: It might wreck Dallas’ salary cap and, he argued, Sanders would destroy the locker room by fostering jealousy between the current Cowboys stars.
Jerry Jones waved this off. The ensuing argument with Stephen Jones got so heated that Stephen shoved his dad against the wall after his dad told him, “Well, I just signed him.”
Stephen Jones turned out to be dead wrong in every way. In fact, after Sanders was signed, Jerry Jones called a team meeting to explain why he wanted Sanders. There he broke down the contract, making a point to write the details financial details on a whiteboard for the entire team to see.
Jerry Jones then turned to the team and asked, “Now, should I have signed Deion or should I rip up the contract?”
The team responded in unison not with yes, Jones said, but yelled, “F— YEAH!” … Al Davis actually had offered Sanders more money, per Sanders’ comments in the episode.
Joe thought of the Bucs right away. You think if somehow, some way, the Bucs signed Bell, anyone on the Bucs would be jealous? Hell, no!
What happened to the Cowboys after Jones signed Sanders? They won a Super Bowl. With Barry Switzer.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:10 am
Every year, Joe chooses a RB to focus on. I can relate. I’ve wanted a good FB for years and years, and I will keep wanting one until we get the right one.
But honestly, I hope we don’t get one with our first pick. That would be career suicide for Licht and Koetter.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:10 am
Sure he’d be great for a week until cancer93 sucks the life and desire to be great from him. No free agent or coach has survived cancer93 8 yeasrs and counting.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:10 am
The Bucs aren’t one player away from the championship and are most likely going to be dealing with a 6 game suspension for Jameis. My bet is that Koetter is going into a lame duck year where he is being put in a position to fail. If he somehow succeeds, then he will be able to keep the job. If he fails and Jameis is trash next year then this team is about to get another top 5 pick with whole new coaching staff and a lot less veteran talent on the roster in 2019
February 16th, 2018 at 8:15 am
Bell is not coming here if he were to leave Steel town. Jets. Bucs are not real players in FA when the real players come around (see C Campbell for reference).
February 16th, 2018 at 8:16 am
Bringing in a young proven FA RB…..would save a draft pick that can be used elsewhere….and there are many elsewhere’s….I don’t mind spending the G”Boyz money
February 16th, 2018 at 8:17 am
I think the only way that Bell leaves is in a trade…..If the Steelers can snag the Penn State RB in the draft, then they pull the trigger. Other then that, he can be tagged…he may say he’s sitting out but $14 million says he plays. He’s 26….if he sits out a year, he’s 27…..aging RBs with a history of substance issues dont have much leverage.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:33 am
Not needed in this type of offense Bonzi.
HB yes, but not a true fullback.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:44 am
Sure he’d be great for a week until tmaxcon sucks the life out of everyone…
February 16th, 2018 at 8:45 am
LUVMYBUCS Says:
“Not needed in this type of offense Bonzi.
HB yes, but not a true fullback.”
If that were the case, Koetter would not be trying to find one, and he is.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:45 am
“Sometimes you have to have the stones of a burglar”….meh
I’d rather have the stones of a cop!
February 16th, 2018 at 8:46 am
You glossed over another point though, Joe. Deion took less money to go with a winner in Dallas instead of the Raiders.
Why in the hell would Bell sign with a losing franchise for more money when he can continue to win in Pittsburgh, or even go elsewhere to a better franchise who actually has a chance at winning a Super Bowl?
Unfortunately, he probably wouldn’t, if we’re sticking with the Deion example.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:50 am
High risk for a guy 1 more puff away from a year suspension.
February 16th, 2018 at 8:57 am
Le’Veon Bell would not only energize the locker room he would energize the fan base and the city in a way that has not been seen in many years.
Then again, with this coaching staff he’d likely have to compete for a starting job with the Muscle Shamster.
February 16th, 2018 at 9:05 am
@D-Rome
“Then again, with this coaching staff he’d likely have to compete for a starting job with the Muscle Shamster.”
LOL it’s funny cause it’s true, sadly.
February 16th, 2018 at 9:10 am
Bonzai
He’s looking for HB types. If he wanted a true fullback or thought that it was really necessary – for his verison of the Air Coryell scheme. He could’ve got one.
Kyle Juszczyk, Patrick DiMarco, or Zach Line would’ve been linked to the BUCS last offseason. But they were not. Hell, they didn’t even bring snot knockers like Jerome Felton or Will Tukuafu.
So…..
February 16th, 2018 at 9:11 am
We don’t need a guard if we get Leveon. Isn’t that why you’re getting Leveon?
We need a guard if we keep Dug
February 16th, 2018 at 9:14 am
I believe tmaxcon was a victim of bullying as a youth by someone named Gerald. Must have taken his lunch money everyday and stuffed him in the garbage can. He probably needs to seek some therapy.😭
February 16th, 2018 at 9:20 am
Joe might have to steal that! 🙂
February 16th, 2018 at 9:31 am
Great talent! But No RB is worth $15M+ per year. That’s 3 times the cost that teams pay upper end RBs in this league. And Bell would want multiple years of guarantees at that rate as well. Yet is only 1 failed wizz quiz away from a year long suspension
Makes about as much sense as trading for and paying $28M or whatever to Suh.
February 16th, 2018 at 9:44 am
What do y’all want sheesh. Go all in or blow up the roster. I just want players who hates losing.
February 16th, 2018 at 10:03 am
One other point…..the Bucs just got burned by Martin on a substance issue right after signing him to a new contract. I just dont see Licht rolling those dice again….his free agent signings have been poor….while some of it was simply bad luck, Licht has been going more and more toward best value signings vs big splashes.
February 16th, 2018 at 10:12 am
There are gambles and there are gambles.
We have three serviceable RB’s already who may actually look good behind a solid OL. IMHO Barber is already a decent back and can run for power….Sims is a solid 3rd down back with GREAT hands out of the backfield and capable of lining up in the slot…and Quizz is a nice hybrid little guy. I get that we should be looking for another RB but this is the area I’m willing to roll the dice…if the odds favor us.
Bell is a huge gamble! First as Waterboy points out he’s a puff away from a big suspension. Think the NFL is on to Bell’s weed use by now? Second he’s a freaking head case who has given the Steelers all kinds of fits.
We do not have the organizational cred like Pittburgh or N.E. to deal with prima donnas….especially prima donna heads who are looking for a career paycheck.
We need a SOLID running game not a great one. Just enough to run some clock late…good line and Barber can do that.
Anybody who doesn’t realize we are a passing team must be really cheesed that we spent 3 or 4 really good draft picks selecting Jameis as our franchise QB.
(can you imagine the trade up draft picks we could have secured in that draft?)
Again I totally support the Jameis selection but might as well be realistic in how much we spent. We spent a 7th overall pick on ME13…again a good pick IMHO but again expensive in terms of overall talent we would have acquired trading back.
We drafted Chris Godwin a future star in the 3rd round and we made our biggest FA move with DJAX. Two more UFDA’s in Hump and Brate and drafting OJ in the first round give us an embarrassment of riches at targets for our franchise QB.
We selected two OL high in the draft to protect him.
This team is built to pass NOT run. We are not…nor IMHO should we think of ourselves as a “pound the rock team”.
IF Nelson falls to us from his current projection as the 5th pick by Denver I say grab him….unless of course Chubb is available. We are currently slated to pick Minkah at 7…I’m ok with that…in fact this entire draft should be defense…defense defense…unless we can get Nelson. All the rest…DEFENSE.
Because of how far behind the 8 ball talent wise this team was after Lovie we’ve had to play catchup. This means gambling every year.
Last year the gamble was that Noah would remain healthy…Ayers would play like he did the year before and perhaps even Jack Smith could play a few snaps.
NONE of those gambles worked out. Sometime you win sometimes you lose.
The gamble I’m making is of course at RB. Our three RB’s could be more than enough…then again….
February 16th, 2018 at 10:13 am
Keep dreaming Bell is not leaving the Steelers
February 16th, 2018 at 10:13 am
Joe if the Tampa fanbase is to take Licht and the Glaziers serious they need to make BIG splash moves in free agency to show they are serious about beefing up this team and getting is to the playoffs.Sign Suh,get Grimes resigned and get Talib, and Finally give Leveon Bell what he’s asking for and if he refuses raise the percentage of guaranteed until he’s begging US to sign him.
February 16th, 2018 at 10:37 am
We are not allowed to bring in good football players.
Or have decent coaching.
February 16th, 2018 at 10:45 am
we wont win games until we start playing with ba**s no mercy for the opponent because the opponent will have no mercy. hitem hard early and often but no this bucs team is softer the a roll of charmin.
February 16th, 2018 at 10:48 am
Joes are on the same drugs that Laveon Bell ingests.
February 16th, 2018 at 11:15 am
He is a great player but don’t be fooled. If he comes to Tampa, he will be a PITA that will not perform nearly as well as he did in Pittsburgh. Tampa simply does not have the infrastructure on offense that Bell had to work with such as a HOF QB and WR as well as a strong O-line and great coaching….Tampa has none of that.
February 16th, 2018 at 11:32 am
I don’t see Bell leaving the Steelers. But, we still need a running game. Get Nelson if he’s there, and a RB!
February 16th, 2018 at 12:05 pm
I would love to get Bell. But then we need to draft alot of defensive starters in this draft and next year IMO because we are gonna be tying up alot of $ on offense..Jameis, Evans, Marpet, Brate and Smith will be seeking raises very soon so looks like we are going the explosive offense average defense route. But hey if you got the horses ride them.
February 16th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
Simplisticly put, if Tomlin can’t handle him what makes us think that Koetter can? Koetter can’t even call the right play, let alone manage the personality.
He’s a talent, no question, BUT are we one player away from being good?
February 16th, 2018 at 12:55 pm
i hate to say this but pass i LOVE bell but i would rather see us draft a RB to develop with jaboo, then sign a value guy like hill, mckinnon, or murray and keep barber and quizz— so long sims and muscle shamster(lol)
February 16th, 2018 at 1:09 pm
IMO we have a team that is actually closer than people think , BUT this is a crucial point in building a powerhouse we can be proud of. I wont list the core young players we have , but if u actually look into our roster u see the cupboard is not totally bare. We had chance to weed out certain players and have $ to continue to build our yeam. It will probably take another 2 years of ALMOST there games but if we trust the process, and the process doesnt fail by blowing our cap space on players who will be upgrades but still not become game changers just “better” than we have now. On here and other sites we all seem to be dialed in on a plan to steer the ship. So I PRAY Licht is working as hard as we are at BUILDING A POWERHOUSE by not only going for need as much as quality game changer players. Maybe we fix o line at moment since our real biggest need DE at moment does have much promise, but at oline, rb, and possibly db, we should be able to solidify those spots for years to come this season. Of coarse we might not be able to clog all holes in one swoop, but we we can def take a serious swing. And the core players we do have IMO at least srem to play jard n fight in every game. Who knows we may turn into the next last to first team and be playoffs next year, but if just keep adding couple keepers at a time then we will be a problem for years to come in nfl.
February 16th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Only issue here is the 2017 Bucs are not the equivalent of the 1994 Cowboys lol.
The 94 Cowboys won 12 games; and lost in the conference championship game; but won the SB back to back the 2 years prior. They were a dominant team.
And Jerry Jones sh1t on that team by doing things like this and making it more about himself than anyone else.
Johnson built the team up but Jerry wanted all the credit; so he fired him and got his Deion Sanders and a Super Bowl off the back of the talent that was already there. Then the team went on to do this:
10 wins
6 wins
10 wins
8 wins
5-11 3 years in a row
Sure Deion worked out for 1 season but for all we know that team could have won without him – not that he didn’t play great.
So nah I duno about Leveon Bell even more now lol
February 16th, 2018 at 1:38 pm
No. He might be the best RB in the league but we just can’t afford him even with giant cap space. We have too many good young players that haven’t been given their large due payment’s yet. Continue to build through the draft. If it comes down to it, draft Nelson or get Norwell in FA and get Jerick McKinnon in FA. Then defense the rest of the way in both draft and FA with the exception of OG with first number six pick and RB with the second.
#Jerick McKinnon#Build through the draft
February 16th, 2018 at 1:48 pm
So give away a drug addict for a pothead? Great, but no thanks. Any wife beaters out there we can sign? We could lead the league in suspension time
February 16th, 2018 at 2:01 pm
I’d love bell but why would he want to play here
February 16th, 2018 at 2:23 pm
We need 2 d line man
2 offensive lineman
2 corners
Saftey
Before we entertain a running a free back
February 16th, 2018 at 2:34 pm
SoeBuc,
If the Bucs cut Martin and Gholston there’s the money to sign Bell. Cap space would remain the same. Now that’s the best RB in the NFL for two stiffs and no cap space hit.
If there is anyone who is theoretically opposed to this then there’s a great probability you’re a bucs fan.
February 16th, 2018 at 3:48 pm
THIS IS A PIPE DREAM IMHO as I have little doubt the Steelers will franchise Bell again if they can’t reach a long-term contract with him … at which point they may TRADE him but for the Bucs to get him they’d probably have to give up the #7 pick PLUS MORE … that’s too much …
February 16th, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Said it before, but IF Bell is available the Bucs should make a run at him. The Bucs have a 2-year window until Winston has to get paid which gives them an extra $15m or so to work with. Obviously if there was defensive lineman you’d go that route first, but there isn’t, so if there’s not, then what do you do? Well if I’m the Bucs I just beef up the offense and try to outscore everyone. Get Bell, get a new C, move Marpet to guard and then draft the G out of ND. Bam, the offense is now fully loaded and if Dirk bothers to gameplan for games the Bucs should put up a ton of points.
As for the deal you just front load it to take advantage of the huge amount of space currently available. Bell, if he got say $15m, that’s Martin + Baker + Sweezy AND you get another $2m to play with. What combo would you rather have?
February 16th, 2018 at 4:47 pm
i hate the idea of overspending capital or draft capital on RBs, in general.
Bell is the one exception.
A terrific runner who always sees and finds the openings.
The best receiving back in the game.
I would be in on Bell.
But this doesn’t change the most important focus…
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!!
February 16th, 2018 at 5:17 pm
If Licht can pull that move off he will not be worrying about his job next year.
February 16th, 2018 at 5:19 pm
Build the lines! You can get an effective running game without forking over $15 million a year or whatever ludicrous amount Bell wants. And Joe’s constant “it’s not my money, why should I care” is retarded. You should care because the salary cap is real, and once we sign Evans and Winston (assuming he ascends in year 4 and 5), Marpet, and whoever else, we aren’t going to have nearly as much room to play with. Our free agent spending would be wiser spent on DE, CB, C or G, and an above average back like C. Hyde.
February 16th, 2018 at 6:51 pm
Agreed he likely won’t hit free agency. But I don’t understand why anybody would say no if he does. Uuuumm we have no RBs and he is the best in the league. Let’s just take the poster who compared Barber to Bell out of the equation for obvisous reasons. The rest of the reasons are just excuses.
He gets popped with drugs then he violates his contract and we cut his ass if we want. You think he wants too much money? This excuse basically doesn’t make any sense…..so you’d rather us pay small time money for a average back and stay 80 million under the cap?
I just don’t understand the thinking of Tampa fans sometimes. You guys all know we have holes in the roster but you don’t want the best players available to fill those hole…..I’m talking Bell, Bennett, Talib. Each one of those three has different arguing points but the arguments against Bell make no sense.
February 16th, 2018 at 6:54 pm
Oh Buc-365 brings up another arguing point. Fix the lines and we can be effective at rushing. Well, I will agree with that but I’ll take explosive over effective. I just don’t see how that argument has any merit
February 16th, 2018 at 7:16 pm
Andrew Norwell for big money FA offensive player!!!
1. Dominate OG in his prime (26 years old)
2. Gives us other options if it comes down to Nelson at #7 (Derwin James, Top tier CB, Vea/Davenport, etc.)
3. Gives us info on Panthers/knows the NFC South
February 16th, 2018 at 8:06 pm
If we signed Norwell and drafted Quenton Nelson at #7 and Sony Michel in the 2nd round I honestly think we could lead the league in scoring and have the best O-Line in the league … Smith/Nelson/Marpet/Norwell/Dot is a dominant line.
However, if we sign Ryan Jansen and drafta guard like Will Hernandez in the 2nd, we’ll also have a GREAT line with Smith/Marpet/Jansen/Hernandez/Dot and could use our #7 pick on Minkah …
Personally I think the Giants will get Norwell but we’ll see what happens …
February 17th, 2018 at 3:24 pm
It amazing how the Buc Sheep still doesnt know how Dumb and Dumber think and act
absolutely amazing how gullible
Our 2018 buccaneer running back in the starting rotation will be…
Doug Martin