Jason Licht Love
April 16th, 2018
“Jason, remember to feel our love when our contracts are up.”
Don’t blame Jason Licht.
No, says America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. The Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager is doing his job. The players aren’t.
That was the message Jameis sent today when asked about the offseason moves of Licht to bring in Jason Pierre-Paul, Ryan Jensen, Vinny Curry and others.
“Absolutely,” Jameis said. “I think [the front office], they continue to do a great job. It’s our job as a team to come together and put those pieces together, but we’re definitely excited for all the new additions that we have and we’re definitely looking forward to the draft.”
Jameis admitted he’s going to be locked in on the draft next week and he’s even pulling for one non-Florida State player to land on the right team.
Jameis is a big fan of Louisville signal-caller Lamar Jackson and Jameis said he just hopes he gets a fair chance to play quarterback wherever he lands.
“I hope he gets a shot,” Jameis said. “I believe he is an outstanding player. I mean, any guy that puts up numbers like that in any conference should get some looks so I know he’s a baller and he wants to be a quarterback. From what I see, he’s a great quarterback.”
Joe just hopes Jackson is not drafted by the Saints.
April 16th, 2018 at 6:21 pm
Jason Licht is paid to evaluate/draft/acquire players for the team. It’s his top job and somehow when the players he spends millions of dollars and draft picks don’t pan out, it’s not his fault?
Naturally Jameis, as face of the franchise is going to stick up for the people on the Bucs payroll, but the idea that a 22-42 GM shouldn’t be judged on the success or failure of the teams he creates, coached by the people he literally interviewed and hired is stupid.
So naturally Joe would start this post with “Don’t blame Jason Licht.”
April 16th, 2018 at 6:39 pm
But…but…he drafted a kicker in the 2nd round who was a bust!!!!!
Waaaaaaahhhhhh!
April 16th, 2018 at 6:40 pm
……..
.
….yawning. …….
Same old same old
…..same ol mumbo jumbo lip service
April 16th, 2018 at 6:40 pm
@Tom S
Well since the Bucs suck in your opinion Tom who do you root for in 2018?
Perhaps Jax?
April 16th, 2018 at 6:41 pm
Just forget Koetter and we are good.
April 16th, 2018 at 6:42 pm
Tom, does Jason Licht “coach” the players? NOOOOOOO, he doesn’t. He’s brought good players to this team based on how they have HISTORICALLY performed. The failures of the players lie on either inept coaching or players getting lazy & satisfied with earning big dollars and coasting on their next paycheck. That’s why Licht is looking for guys with chips on their shoulders and guys that have really grinded to get where they are now. He’s the best GM I think we’ve had.
April 16th, 2018 at 6:49 pm
Not a bad GM (except for the kicker drafting fiasco). The coaching is the issue to be reckoned with. The tandem of Dirk and Mike couldn’ get it done in Atlanta. Why would it be any different here?
April 16th, 2018 at 6:53 pm
Hey Joe…
Do you think Licht may have shopped DJax a little?
My concern is Bucs pay this guy a ton for little production, and he never shows his face around One Buc…
Like he isn’t part of the team, like he’s just hired help and not part of the locker room.
They talk about getting guys who are dedicated, and not that I don’t think DJax isn’t desiccated, but on the surface, it REALLY appears that he doesn’t care.
April 16th, 2018 at 7:07 pm
Fire the Glazers
Good point…that is my fear as well. What if Jason shopped DJAX and between his age and salary and his performance last year there were no good offers?
April 16th, 2018 at 7:38 pm
Everyone seems quick to blame this coaching staff for last year’s 5-11 record yet many of those seem to give Licht a pass. His 2 big FA acquisitions (Baker & DJax) got paid very handsomely for what they contributed to this team (which was well below expectations I might add). Another FA pickup, TJ Ward, had me shaking my head all year long. Robert McClain was a solid FA pickup IMO (who I still wish Licht would re-sign), but since he played for Smitty prior to coming here I’m not sure Licht deserves credit for that one (same way with Brent Grimes). Sweezy finally came back from his back injury, but I was usually underwhelmed by his performances on the field. The Doug Martin fiasco speaks for itself.
The 2017 Bucs’ team was simply not that talented and had inadequate depth in a number of key position groups, especially on defense. They played hard for this coaching staff IMO, but the Bucs needed those FA additions to step up big-time, and they simply didn’t. Thankfully, a number of rookies & 2nd year players came on strong, and the coaches deserve credit for that too (well, except VHIII when he played outside). Licht deserves a lot of credit for drafting a number of key rookies IMO, but personally I expect 1st & 2nd Rnd picks to be starters and/or key rotational players (getting starters from Rnds 3-7 and UFAs is a very big plus).
So a lot of Jason Licht love? No, not yet. But I am ‘cautiously optimistic’.
April 16th, 2018 at 8:21 pm
I’m with Defense Rules. He has to prove it this year. Sweezy, Ward, Carter, Baker, DJax (so far), plus Evans (safety), Aguayo, and all the round 5-7 McPlaybooks.
He’s made some good UDFA pickups and found some third and fourth round stars, so there’s that.
This year, avoid the temptation to panic and trade up. Take Barkley in the 4 QB scenario or make a great trade-down for QB4 which now looks like it’ll be Rosen or Darnold. If you do pick up a bunch of picks, make them work. Odds are of the non-QBs, there’s maybe five HOFers. Two of three of the big three, one more from 4-15 (after QBs) and one from the rest of the draft. We don’t have to get one of those to be successful. You can find guys that will go on to great careers all through the draft. A GM can have a lot of success in this league just by not doing anything stupid, not making any big mistakes. Licht can’t have any more Aguayos or Hargreaves or he’ll be out of a job.
We’ve kept a lot of guys a yea
April 16th, 2018 at 8:38 pm
I totally blame the coaching, lol. A great coach figured out HOW to get the ball to his dynamic players, designs plays for them and makes them better than they already were. The opposite is what happened here. On the other side of the ball, a peewee coach can recognize that when you play 15 yards off the line with your CBs a one or two step drop is all it takes to beat you and then the whole offseason is spent talking about how there was no pass rush (and there wasn’t), but it all starts with the DC never recognizing it even with the best vantage point in stadium. Almost impossible to fathom.
April 17th, 2018 at 4:27 am
Blah blah blah
Lichts great, Koetters great, Jameis is great, the teams great, the new signings are great, the draft picks are all great.
And yet- every year they suck. And suck hard!
They all are just walking the company line. You can almost see the strings attached to them