No One Left To Blame
October 30th, 2018
When Joe was growing up, Joe knew what the Vietnam War was and heard about Watergate daily but didn’t understand what it meant at all.
The war news was on every night on the CBS Evening News. Stanley was killed there. He was from Joe’s tiny hometown where everyone knows everyone. Joe seems to recall the gossip that Stanley was killed when an enemy combatant ran up and tossed a grenade in his tank.
To this day when Joe visits his hometown, one of Stanley’s brothers will buy Joe a beer if Joe doesn’t whip out his wallet fast enough and buy the brothers a beer first.
Joe’s dad, typical of the time, came home from work daily, read the afternoon newspapers while Walter Cronkite spoke of Khe Sanh or “The Plumbers” on the tube in the background, his pipe smoke rising to the ceiling, an adult beverage at his side. Every night it was the Vietnam War and later, Watergate. Every night.
Joe didn’t give a hoot about the national news and was bored with the daily skipping record of war and political chicanery. Didn’t know what all the nightly standings (body count stats) really meant and surely didn’t care about congressional hearings concerning Watergate. Joe just wanted to watch F-Troop reruns on an independent channel, one of five Joe had access to in the pre-cable days.
(Joe never, ever got the chance to watch F-Troop or anything else at that time slot. Watching the CBS Evening News was mandatory in the house. Even a rare late-afternoon/early-evening Cardinals baseball broadcast was off limits until Uncle Walter signed off, even if Bob Gibson was pitching.)
Joe didn’t learn until later how those ugly standings were cooked, first by the Lyndon Johnson administration and then by Richard Nixon’s henchmen. And Joe didn’t learn until years later what Watergate meant until it was all over. By then, Joe had an appetite for history that he still has to this day.
Joe learned that when Watergate first began to unravel for Nixon, one by one Nixon fired people in his administration until his closest advisors and some cabinet members were sent packing. In the end, there was no one left to blame but Nixon — and out the door he went.
When Joe heard yesterday that Bucs coach Dirk Koetter lowered the flag on America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, Joe thought of Nixon.
No, Joe’s not calling Koetter a scoundrel or anything like that in any way. But it got Joe thinking.
In the past two months, Koetter changed playcallers (Joe wasn’t anti-Koetter playcalling but his move has been a home run). He then changed defensive coordinators (another good move, though maybe nine months too late). Yesterday, Koetter changed quarterbacks citing a need for a win. (When have you ever heard of a coach with the NFL’s top offense, with virtually no running game, throwing his quarterback overboard?)
So here we are. Koetter has made three radical moves (Joe wholeheartedly supports the first two).
With the possible exception of telling shaky kicker Chandler Catanzaro to go home, Joe isn’t sure what else Koetter can do to turn around his team.
Koetter has run out of chess moves.
Yesterday, Koetter backed himself against the wall with a firing squad standing in front of him. Now he has to hope nearly 36-year old journeyman backup Ryan Fitzpatrick can guide the Bucs to the playoffs.
Let that last sentence sink in.
The future of the Bucs has likely been sacrificed by Koetter. It’s now or never for the Bucs’ top coach.
Like Nixon in the months leading up to his resignation, Koetter has promoted, dismissed or benched just about everyone he can. There are no more bodies to shove aside, no more names left to terminate for a Saturday Night Massacre. All the klieg lights of the TV sports network news departments are fully trained on him now.
Can Fitzpatrick save Koetter?
October 30th, 2018 at 5:11 am
Great write up Joe. It’s hard to say if he can. But Jameis has shown no ability to control his turnovers as the INT and fumble rate has increased annually for him. I think that koetter can get a break from this as Licht missed the pick and Jameis was a bust. Hard to say what will happen for Licht.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:26 am
If Koetter was not fighting for his job or if Fitz hasn’t had some of the good games he played, then Jameis starts tomorrow.
He has played awful much of this season and he definitely cost us that game ,but what team benches their #1 pick in a pivotal year for his future?
A desperate team.
Jameis HAS shown he can play in this league but he hasn’t shown it this year which sucks for the Bucs and us fans.
Last season he was 12 TD to 0 int in the red zone. This season he is 5TD to 2 int. He is just having a poor season for whatever reason. If Fitz loses this next game, at 3-5, Jameis needs to come back in. We need to know if his bad play is an aberration or if that’s who he is going to be. If Fitz wins, like I said last time, ride the hot hand until he burns you.
Go Fitz, Go BUCS!!
October 30th, 2018 at 5:36 am
The HC knows this is his last chance and is trying everything
Don’t need to see anymore of JW, he is who he is
Dirk just isn’t HC material – is a great coordinator
Just like in business, your most productive employees are not always good managers – takes a rounded skill set
Seems to me Dirk is lacking in fire, energy and up til
Now accountability- too little too late
October 30th, 2018 at 5:41 am
Only reason we have the no. 1 offense is because of Fitzpatrick and his 3 consecutive 400 yard games. Winston is less productive with same personnel and less precise even on many completions. Stop manipulating stats and start trusting your eyes.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:50 am
At least Koetter is very aware of his predicament and is trying desperately to right the ship. Problem is that Koetter does not have the talent on the team to compete in key positions and his fate was pretty much sealed by Licht in the off season. As far as Winston, he does have skills, but is not dependable and makes boneheaded plays that affect the outcome of games. The most frustrating aspect of Jameis is that he simply refuses to learn from past mistakes. I’m not sure his benching will have any impact on him.
October 30th, 2018 at 5:50 am
Fitz is more responsible for that#1 offense as I recall he stated 4 games and almost puked out the last one. Jameis closed out the Chicago mess, played 2 games and got benched in the third. Fitz has two 400 yard paying games. Tell me again how Jameis is the key to the #1 offense?
October 30th, 2018 at 6:04 am
At least Koetter is doing everything he can and fighting like his job’s on the line. The same cannot be said about Winston. He acts like nothing is wrong and he doesn’t seem to give much of a damn. Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, plays like a man on a mission and his teammates feed off of that attitude.
Winston should be traded before the deadline or in the offseason. A middle to late first round pick can be had for him. He’s not the future of the Bucs.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:09 am
Winston’s horrible performances on the field got him thrown overboard. And he needs to stay there.
Kutter can be thrown over as well, he has not shown the goods to be an NFL head coach. Best decision he has made was benching Winston. 95% of everyone on the planet approves of that move.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:17 am
Jameis gave Koetter no choice. Jameis talks about getting better every day. The problem is that he has not gotten better in 4 years. He still makes the same mistakes over and over. Coming out of college he made the point that he wasn’t worried about being the best in his class, but being the best in the NFL…comparing himself to Tom Brady. If Brady had the weapons that the Bucs have…he would score at least 40 points a game (maybe 50 or 60). Koetter and Licht have made some good calls and some bad ones…but Jameis will be the down fall of both. It’s hard to win games when your QB is the best player for the other team.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:18 am
They need a sports psychologist on staff over at One Buc Place for Jameis, Koetter and anyone over there in a high profile anxiety job like cornerback and quarterback and kicker–used to think VH3 needed one, definitely the Bucs kicker –whichever one that might be at the time.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:22 am
Koetter has been fighting a real war with a suction cup gun. He doesn’t have and never will have the skills or the smarts to be a head coach. Got fired from the Atl and from Tampa soon enough…. not soon enough IMO.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:23 am
I think the main point missed with the benching of Jameis is the real reason why……..what do you put your kids on probation?……why put a person in jail? Why keep a kid after school?
Jameis is being benched to teach him a lesson….you do that again & you will be sitting on the bench…..Koetter has tried everything else to get the message to Jameis that he has to think before he acts……nothing has worked.
This might work but I fear it could also make Jameis more too hesitant and that would not necessarily make him better
As long as we have a very capable backup, this strategy can work..
Jameis wants to play so badly, this has to have an affect on him.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:27 am
Which quarterback are you talking about here? You mean, when he benched Ryan Fitzpatrick in Chicago? Is that when he threw his quarterback overboard?
Fitz is the Bucs quarterback. The Bucs never had a franchise QB in Jay-Miss.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:31 am
Good article Joe. Seems we agree on everything except for anything to do with Bucs QB’s. Not sure we’ve ever agreed on that lol
October 30th, 2018 at 6:47 am
It’s a no-win situation for Koetter. Ever since JW was drafted, every decision by the GM has been made with him in mind. When Lovie was fired, the GM/Team Glazer kept Koetter mainly because he had good chemistry with JW. The belief was that Koetter would develop JW into a prototypical NFL QB and that they would build the offense around him. Regardless of the stats (in the previous article), benching a QB in their fourth year is not only “radical”, it is tantamount to admitting that he has not progressed. That’s not what Licht/Team Glazer wanted to see. In other words, playing JW means you lose while benching him means you lose. This franchise is on the verge of being set back another 5-10 years with Team Glazer forking out more money to pay people not to play, coach, or manage. Does it take a graduate from Harvard to figure out how to play QB? We are about to find out!
October 30th, 2018 at 6:50 am
Koetter can fire the ineffective OLine coach(es) as Dallas recently did.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:55 am
I actually think it has come to the point where the decision was a “no lose” situation for Koetter…..
It’s all about winning and losing from this point on…..but the jameis decision is a no lose one.
If Fitz stinks it up, he goes back to Jameis who should have learned an important lesson and it may fix him.
If Fitz wins (probably won’t) It makes it look like the problem was Jameis and Koetter fixed it.
It is like any other decision a person makes when you have nothing to lose because you have already lost.
October 30th, 2018 at 6:58 am
The entire coaching staff should of been fired in the off season. That didn’t happen so now we’re here, worst defense in the history of the NFL. No running game and a QB that knows he has to score 40 points a game with his arm or they lose. Once the pressure is on Fitz he’ll fold like he has every time in his career, in his last 2 years with the Jets he threw 32 picks, remember that.
I think in reality Koetter has already been fired he just doesn’t know it, he’s here to develop Jameis, he’s failed at that. So what’s the plan next year? Season 15 for Fitz? Draft a QB in a year that looks to be a bad one for quarterbacks coming out? The only question is does the GM get blown out with the coaching staff at the end of the season.
October 30th, 2018 at 7:05 am
Fitz needs to play. Even when Jameis isn’t throwing pics or near-pics, his throws almost never hit a receiver in stride. They are sliding to the ground or reaching behind or jumping in the air on an overthrow- there is almost no YAC. That’s also accuracy, and Jameis doesn’t have that level of precision and the medium plays never have a chance to be big plays. Fitz has several years left in him, I think we have seen enough of Winston to put our $$ elsewhere. We can draft a qb in the first and develop on the cheap. We pay a #1 pick starting qb money we won’t have the $$$ to pay for the defense we will need for all those short fields thanks to the turnovers. Throw in his penchant for bad life decisions and he’s no face of a franchise. It’s ok though you don’t pick them all right all the time he could have been great. Own it and move on. If Jameis has another 2y before the payday sure you keep him but we are 4y in now people, he’s no rookie
October 30th, 2018 at 7:14 am
I hope Fitz throws all over the panthers on Sunday
October 30th, 2018 at 7:20 am
The whole problem is one of perception!!!!! The sheep wanted a playoff or bust year!!!! They wanted a hold them accountable season!!!!!!! And with “NO” running game and a bad defense, they only chance of winning games is for the QB to play at a pro-bowl level!!!!!!! And while there is a slim chance of Fitz doing it for the rest of the year, there is no chance with JW3!!!!!!
The sheep demanded for the Bucs to win for this year!!!! and now you have the gall to say anything about the future!!!!!!!!!!
What happen to hold them accountable!!!!!!! Unless it is a favorite right!!!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 30th, 2018 at 7:22 am
Jameis has played terrible football this year. No question about that. The question is “why?”
If you draft a 21 year old kid with turnover issues to be the face of your franchise, why in the world would you put the entire offense on his shoulders and ask him to throw as often and as far downfield as the Bucs have asked JW?
The recipe for grooming a young QB is well-established, and we’ve seen it played out recently in LA with Goff. Protection, run game, sold defense. Let your QB develop in those conditions so that he can grow into being the focal point. Aside from a solid run game in year one, the Bucs never provides Jameis any of those necessities for growth.
And so much hate for the guy from the fan base.
Kick him to the curb. Start over (hopefully with the plan above). And watch Jameis as Big Ben’s successor in Pittsburgh fulfill his immense potential.
Oh, and what young player HAS this franchise developed under this regime?
Fitz deserves to start and has played tremendous football this season (after 14 mediocre seasons), but let’s not pretend that he is the answer for this franchise. He’s the right fit right now, but Koetter never will be until this team actually starts developing players and putting them in position to succeed.
Until then #blamejameis #jaboohate
Bucs are gonna Buc.
October 30th, 2018 at 7:24 am
It has been Jameis not the coaching….geeshhh….
October 30th, 2018 at 7:27 am
So, you are comparing Koetter to Nixon? This really only applies if you look at it from the ” do whatever it takes to win ” approach. However, one could take it as Koetter is blaming everyone else for his failures. If it’s the former vs the latter, I would have to agree. If YOU ARE suggesting that Koetter is blaming everyone else for his failures, I’m calling BS!
The evidence is right in plain sight. Jameis got himself into this mess doing the same dumbass crap he did in college. It’s clear his teammates have lost faith in him as he wasn’t even voted team captain. For 4 yrs we have watched him continue to make boneheaded mistakes, yet we are told how his football IQ is off the charts. So, I’m inclined to believe one of two things are happening here; one he doesn’t get it or two he doesn’t care. Either way, I’ve seen enough and what Koetter is doing is more than justified. Fitzpatrick is just a better quarterback than Jamies is right now.
If Jameis wants to be an elite talent he has a long way to go! I would not pay 100 million based on what somebody wants to be or could become. That money is reserved for success not potential!
October 30th, 2018 at 7:41 am
Koetter was hired as the Bucs’ head coach for ONE reason & one reason only: Jameis. Would the Glazer Boyz have taken a chance on him otherwise? Not a chance. And in the end, as goes Jameis, so goes Dirk (the two are inevitably tied together).
Jameis screwed not only himself with the Uber ‘hassle’. He also screwed Koetter AND what was his team. People keep crowing about how well he did in preseason. Well, he missed out on a LOT of reps for one thing (impacting chemistry among others?). In the games, he was also playing against the other team’s 2nd string (doesn’t help him improve). THEN missing 3 full weeks AWAY from the team (in Jameis’ case, the kiss of death, even though he ‘practiced’ with more 2nd stringers).
Jameis or Fitz at this point? Which one gives Koetter the better chance of winning? The dilemma leaves out one important variable Joe. Actually 51 other variables … the OTHER 51 guys on the Bucs team. Are THEY good enough to win? From what I’ve seen, not by a long shot. Jameis has already shown that he’s not good enough to ‘carry them’ … he doesn’t put up enough points to make up for our other weaknesses. Does Fitz? Periodically yes; consistently no. This team won’t sniff the playoffs with EITHER QB for more reasons than the QB. It’s poorly constructed and it’s not particularly well coached.
Glazers have already figured that out would be my bet. Where they decide to go from here though is anyone’s guess at this point. I know what I’d do: I’d be running a very thorough analysis for this last half-season on what’s worth keeping & what to throw away. Many of those decisions have already become painfully obvious.
October 30th, 2018 at 7:43 am
Maybe it’s time for me to take a break in this site. This is appalling joejameisfanrules.com
Yah the reason the bucs have the number one offense is because of what Fitz has done on the field.
Remember his jersey being sent to HOF because of 3 straight 400 plus games with how many tds? No one in history did that
Do you know that Fitz has one of the highest qbs rating in nfl. You know what that really measures. It measures how much a qb can put a team on its back to win.
October 30th, 2018 at 7:52 am
Benching Jameis was a no confidence vote. Jameis has done nothing in his fourth
year to earn that trust. Team morale has to be at a low point when Jameis starts.
The benching is a step in the right direction, but deactivating Jameis in this game might also be a way to finally get the message across. His turnovers have to be corrected. He has to throw with better anticipation and accuracy. Jameis had an adequate running game last week that should have complemented our passing
attack.
I have to wonder if the benching of Jameis for only one game was all that was allowed by Licht or Glazers. Jameis needs more time to think about why he is being benched and I don’t believe one game benching will magically fix his turnovers and flaws in his passing.
October 30th, 2018 at 7:56 am
Honestly, Dirk deserves better. Imagine you’re an NFL head coach and you have your success directly tied to a 23 year old kid with a long history of making bad decisions. I remember watching Hard Knocks last year and the look of frustration on Dirks face as JW continued to screw up in camp.
I get holding him responsible for Mike Smith. It now looks like that was a move made too late. However, you can’t blame Dirk for Jameis being who he is. Dirk has always been straight up about JW making plays worse by forcing things. Unfortunately, in this league, stupid players get coaches fired. Bill Bellicheat has no tolerance for it and neither should Dirk.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:02 am
Bird says “Maybe it’s time for me to take a break in this site.”
~~~~~~~~~
YAYYYYY!!!!!!! (and the crowd goes WILD)
October 30th, 2018 at 8:07 am
19-29 thats the most important stat. You can ints and win. You can have ints and be loser.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:24 am
The mistake made was benching Fitz in the first place.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:29 am
What a bunch of garbage Joe.
You’re analogies have never been great, but you wasted many words with the Nixon/Watergate crap.
Koetter may not be the best HC in the NFL but he’s far from the worst.
Jameis needs mental help. How much more proof do you need?
JW’s regression isn’t coaching it’s between his ears.
I think he is uncoachable.
How you can still think it’s Koetter”s fault is beyond me.
Fitz ain’t the long term answer…… we all get that, but when he came into the game and INSTANTLY made us better how do you deny that Winston IS the problem?
Sorry you put all your eggs in the JW basket man, but you really need to wake up.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:30 am
When a QB loses his team like Winston has there is no other choice. There are many careers at stake between players, coaches and the GM. Plus there is the huge cap killing contract coming up for Jameis. Is he a $120 million QB? No and he may never be.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:34 am
This whole team is a dumpster fire at the end of the season the glazers are going to come clean it up.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:37 am
Winston has gotten so bad I’m waiting for the rumors to start– girlfriend issues, drugs, drinking again? Kind of like Freeman. I hope he gets his life together, but just not in Tampa…
October 30th, 2018 at 8:39 am
The biggest mistake by Winston is not coming clean in 2017. Even if he just said hey I don’t remember what happened and taken his lumps last year it would have been long past him before the start of the 2018 season and Fitz wouldn’t have started the first three. Glad he did because we may be 2-6 now instead of where we are but 100% of the blame is on him not anyone else.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:40 am
Fitz doesn’t need a qb coach so he should be working with Winston even though the win coach should have been replaced a couple years ago. There’s no way Fitz saves dorks job and knowing the glazers they probably would think a new coach a new voice would get through to him
October 30th, 2018 at 8:41 am
Winston can be the team’s new placekicker. Then he can kick interceptions
October 30th, 2018 at 8:41 am
The Bucs have averaged around 120 yards the last 3 games, from a variety of players including both QB’s. Barber had a good game last game as well. It’s not the best running game for sure, however that wasn’t an issue the first two games.
JW’s turnovers are much more of an issue since he’s been back then the running game or defense. You only get so many offensive possessions a game and when he turns it over 3 times plus a game on average it’s impossible to
consistently win. I surprised it was even that close the last few games. Last game he could of had 6 or 7 picks of Bengals hold on. Think about that, it’s crazy. He had a number of fortunate drops in last 2 games as well.
He needs to sit and learn for a bit imo.
October 30th, 2018 at 8:43 am
Disagree with dumpster fire because there are few if any offenses that have more weapons then the Bucs
October 30th, 2018 at 8:52 am
Facts
Jamies has played bad and Sunday was horrible
The team didn’t pick him as a Capt even with Dirk waiting for Jamies to come back to vote
The lockerroom is the problem Cancer
Jamies
McCoy
Trade both
October 30th, 2018 at 9:01 am
Who was the coach who was hired specifically to build Jameis (an eight-figure investment) into an NFL starting quarterback? Did Greg Schiano sneak into One Buc Palace as head coach that Joe somehow missed?
It’s not like Koetter can wave a Chuck Noll-like resume in front of the Glazers filled with Lombardi trophies and argue, “Don’t blame me.”
If you can’t figure this out you seriously need therapy and might need to stay off the internet for your own personal well-being. That’s like saying Hue Jackson is a scapegoat for the Browns winning just one game in two years.
What next, Brazil was at fault for Pearl Harbor?
October 30th, 2018 at 9:05 am
dirk hasn’t gotten Winston to take the next step in his development……its an indictment on dirk…..simple as that…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
October 30th, 2018 at 9:11 am
I want to know who’s call it was to switch from Fitz to Winston in Chicago? These guys are smart football coaches that have been around the block a few times. Fitz was averaging 400 yards and 4 TDs a game. You would hope that they would know better than to pull the plug so fast. Fitzpatrick obviously had the support of the locker room, and the coaches and GM know that…so why the switch?
It screams business decision over football decision.
Fitzpatrick was a couple of dropped Chris Godwin TD passes away from being 3-0 at that point…
Everybody likes to claim that the Glazers stay out of football decisions, but I’m sure they dont stay out of business decisions. Just saying.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:18 am
Joe
When the player you were hired to groom turns out to be a mental midget, it’s more on the GM and ownership than on a the HC/OC.
They saw he had the physical ability and rolled the dice on the mental ability and lost.
We needed a QB and we had to take a chance……. it didn’t work out.
Get rid of him and move on.
And please, don’t give me the line that it sets the franchise back 5-10 years.
Quit trying to find a leg to stand on when you just need to move on.
Go Bucs!
October 30th, 2018 at 9:24 am
Agree 150%!! Dirk is making a BIG mistake benching Winston for Fitz! Mark my words, when defenses start preparing for Fitz then it’s over and Dirk is gone. Winston may not be the answer, but I love Fitz but he isn’t the answer either. You have to play Winston for the remainder of the year regardless what happens. READ MY LIPS! The Bucs are not going to the playoffs no matter who is playing QB! You have to let Winston play out the year to determine what to do next year. You can’t just never let him play again would be the dumbest decision ever.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:34 am
Its also not like Koetter can wave a magic wand and get Jameis to stop turning the ball over.. He has been doing it so long its a bad habit. That jameis hasn’t bought into this is just selfishness on his part, he has stop trying to be the hero.
He has one win against one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. He can’t play within the system and playing him without him being willing or able to fix the TO issue is just not fair to the
players or coaching staff. AT this point Jameis is to Koetter as Michael Vick was
to Jim Mora in Atlanta: a potential coach killer.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:37 am
Dirk Koetter brought the number one offense to Tampa Bay. His job is secure, we just need to get him a good quarterback, a good defensive coordinator, and a good kicker
October 30th, 2018 at 9:39 am
You guys forget how abysmal tampa bay’s offense was until Koetter came
October 30th, 2018 at 9:39 am
Vfl these people can’t understand that. The hate for Winston is real . If he gets a chance like fizpatrick did I think with the same kind of team fizpatrick had with jets or Blake Bortles in Jacksonville he will win a super bowl. Jamies on the norm gives a team a chance to win with a ok defense and running game.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:39 am
Great nostalgic article.
It should have been titled, “We’re the Hekawi?”
October 30th, 2018 at 9:40 am
Nice! 🙂 Although the sentence is slightly flawed. Should be “Where the Hekawi?”
October 30th, 2018 at 9:42 am
Dirk had Freeman playing special teams. Look at Matt Ryan now when Dirk K left.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:44 am
Joe is a Koetter fan and thinks he’s a decent coach but help Joe out here.
So a quarterback who puts up franchise-record numbers (the good ones) is a scumbag that should be thrown in the street for not enough wins but the coach who is responsible for everything that happens on the field, every coach on his staff, every player on the field, every playcall both on offense and defense gets a complete and total pass for the same amount of wins and losses????
Talk about a double-standard.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:48 am
Well, your theory goes out the window when Koetter told Lovie and Licht that he can work with Jameis — those words come straight from Koetter.
And Joe is going to guess Koetter told the same thing to the Glazers when they offered him the job. If Koetter told the Glazers he couldn’t work with Jameis, he wouldn’t have been hired.
Koetter had one job: Develop Jameis. The wins, in theory, would come once Job No. 1 was reached. Yesterday, Koetter admitted he has failed at Job No. 1.
Joe has never heard of a coach not being responsible for non-development of players. Like’s like saying a janitor should be kept despite the trash piling up on the floors so much it looks like the office carpeting is new.
October 30th, 2018 at 9:53 am
Are we a top offense because of Jameis ?
October 30th, 2018 at 9:55 am
@Joe That question is for you, buddy?
October 30th, 2018 at 10:03 am
Sure, he moved the ball.
October 30th, 2018 at 10:32 am
We’ll written, evocative piece about the Nixon era Joe. I remember it well. Of course, you’re wrong in your support of JW though… 🙂
October 30th, 2018 at 11:26 am
” No One Left to Blame. ” The list of scapegoats dwindles but the buck stops
at Jameis .
October 30th, 2018 at 11:39 am
Its the kicker’s fault he accounted for more points than Jameis in the last two games. Apologies to TBBF for borrowing your material.
October 30th, 2018 at 12:29 pm
Koetter’s #1 mistake was going back to Winston.
The coach puts players in a position to be successful. After that success is up to the players.
I do not blame Koetter for Winston’s abysmally poor game performance. Stats aside, fact is because Winston’s turnovers put easy points on the board for opponents, many of those yards and TD’s were vs. garbage time prevent defenses.
AT some point a player has to bear responsibility. In this case it is Jameis Winston.
October 30th, 2018 at 12:31 pm
BTW, Joe, in case you missed it Winston has “lost” the team. Body language when Fitzpatrick took the field told the story.
October 30th, 2018 at 12:33 pm
Hey Joe for a guy who has and “appetite for history that he still has to this day.” You sure have not learned that if you do not know your history you are doomed to repeat it. Jameis first 3 seasons are history? Has his grasp of playing QB in the NFL gotten better or worse in those 3 seasons? I get it you are a Jameis Winston fan and that you want him to succeeded, I do to. Ut you can only go so far with that, if he is not getting better and his off field issues are causing him troubles like it did in his past(history). Then how can we as fans continue to support his failure to get his needed NFL game improvements on track? History is not kind to those who have their heads in the sand.
Go Bucs!
October 30th, 2018 at 12:34 pm
Hey Joe for a guy who has and “appetite for history that he still has to this day.” You sure have not learned that if you do not know your history you are doomed to repeat it. Jameis first 3 seasons are history? Has his grasp of playing QB in the NFL gotten better or worse in those 3 seasons? I get it you are a Jameis Winston fan and that you want him to succeeded, I do to. Ut you can only go so far with that, if he is not getting better and his off field issues are causing him troubles like it did in his past(history). Then how can we as fans continue to support his failure to get his needed NFL game improvements on track? History is not kind to those who keep their heads in the sand.
Go Bucs!
October 30th, 2018 at 1:03 pm
Go research Fitz’s 12+ years of NFL history and get back to Joe.
October 30th, 2018 at 1:03 pm
Number 1 offense doesn’t mean a whole lot when you’re not winning.
Look around, rules changes have made most offenses more prolific.
Jameis’ faults are Jameis’ faults, not Dirks. Same can be said for Dirk.
JW isn’t an NFL QB, and Dirk isn’t an NFL HC
They both need to go, and take Licht with them. For those crying about being set back for years, so what..This current organization and it’s players aren’t going to turn this thing around.
#REBOOTTHEBUCS
October 30th, 2018 at 1:49 pm
Joe … After that ‘Islam By Force’ comment, I’m speechless. You need a new filter.
October 30th, 2018 at 1:59 pm
Joe you are so correct when you say to research Fitz’s 12 year history in the NFL, it is what it is, mediocre to bad. He has thrown a lot of interceptions and didn’t play on winning teams. You win that point.
Look at Winston’s history, he also has been mediocre most of the time, brilliant some of the time and awful some of the time. His history of turnovers is undeniable and it’s gotten worse.
The issue right now isn’t about the direction of the franchise, it’s about trying to win games and get the most out of your team.
Fitzpatrick clearly has more players behind him than Winston. How do you overcome that. It’s a team game. But it’s about getting the ball to your playmakers. Winston bails out to Humphries and Brate and moves the chains but Fitz gets it to Jackson and Howard and also to Evans. 3 All Pro type players that are game breakers.
If Winston didn’t have these turnover issues, innaccuracy issues, emotional/judgement issue and had a great sense of how to move around in the pocket, how to avoid taking sacks, when to throw the ball away, I,would be 100% in with you, I loved the way Winston beat Atlanta, Kansas City and Philadelphia over the years but all the losses to bad teams and the way his teammates respond to his mistakes make him unsellable to the Tampa fan base.
The majority of your followers are not buying your evaluation of this QB. When you listen to broadcasters like Ronde Barber, Moose Johnson, Terry Bradshaw and other national NFL insiders puke over Winstons stupid picks and taking those sacks in OT at Cleveland I have to wonder what it is you see in this QB that makes you think he’s a winner.
October 30th, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Hey Joes: what’s with the Tricky Dick image?? You guys alive when that horrorshow was Prez?? The problem now is DKoetter may be way over his head as a HC. Even with ME13 hurt and Jameis benched, he still has not drawn up the gameplan for this offense that he built! Sure, start Fitz but make sure Griffin is his backup not Winston. Fitz may not last long so Griffin needs to be ready.
October 30th, 2018 at 4:13 pm
What about Archie Bunker? Fred Sanford? Grand Funk Railroad?
Bruh 😂
October 30th, 2018 at 6:20 pm
The organization did everything for Winston and he repayed them by puking all over the place. Get rid of him now and move forward please.
October 31st, 2018 at 11:04 am
Joe did we draft Fitzpatrick in the first round as the first pick of the draft? How is it that the history of the player WE drafted not a part of our history, and the player that has played 14 seasons who we did not draft is not?
November 1st, 2018 at 2:25 am
A special teams holding penalty nullified DJax touchdown punt return and the win in Pittsburgh. A mishandled ball at the end of the Atlanta game ruined another win. These wins mean Bucs are 5-2 and all of this talk goes to sleep. A decent running game means that a real plan can be put into place that will allow Jameis to put action to the words of accountablity that he speaks. While Jameis had a questionable rep coming out of FS, his talent at QB was #1 pick worthy. His issues were well known, this TO issue is no surprise. Koetter was given the job because they thought he could fix it. All things considered, if Jameis goes, so does Koetter. If Koetter was Licht’s choice, then Licht goes as well although I think he has made some good picks. Based on the history of this franchise, the QB position has not been a strength. We won the SB with Brad Johnson, a great running game and a very talented defense. I think Jameis is better than Brad Johnson. Jus sayin.