“Jason Licht Has Done A Good Job”
February 11th, 2019
Gets props for roster-building.
The new leader of your Buccaneers, baby, is pretty happy with his roster.
Most new coaches take over moribund teams, and boy the Bucs sure have been that the past decade. Someone came after Joe on Twitter yesterday for being too “negative” on the Bucs. Joe asked this guy if he was talking about the same team that finished in last place all but two seasons since Chucky was jettisoned and the same team that has the worst home record in the NFC since Chucky was jettisoned, or the same team that has the longest playoff drought in the NFC since Chucky was jettisoned?
Now a lot of fans are throwing rocks at Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht for the losses. Hey, it comes with the territory. If you run a team that consistently loses, people are going to quit buying you beers when they cross paths with you at watering holes.
Don’t come at Bucco Bruce Arians with that noise, however.
Saturday night while appearing on the FOX Sports Florida set after the first period of the Lightning’s win over the Penguins, Arians joined J.P. Peterson, Bobby “The Chief” Taylor and Dave Andreychuk. Arians, of course, was talking about his Bucs and he raved about the roster and the job Licht and his staff have done.
“I think it is a heckuva roster,” Arians said. “Jason Licht has done a good job putting players on the team. I’ve never walked into a situation with this many skill players. I mean loaded up skill players at every position.”
Arians’ words continue a drumbeat of what we have heard going on three years. Remember the Hard Knocks video of former Bucs coach Dirk Koetter sayig the Bucs had the most talent he’s seen since he came to Tampa Bay?
Then last year Father Dungy said there was no doubt in his mind that the Bucs had the talent to make the playoffs?
Now Arians is trumpeting how much talent he has. Either there’s a helluva lot of people blowing smoke in Bucs’ fans faces or someone or some people didn’t know how to use that talent.
You can see the full segment of Arians on FOX Sports Florida in the video below.
New @Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians joins the set to discuss tonight’s battle against the Penguins! The @TBLightning lead 2-1!#GoBolts #NHL pic.twitter.com/7bgsY3oon6
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) February 10, 2019
February 11th, 2019 at 8:20 am
He’s done an average job at best.
February 11th, 2019 at 8:27 am
You are what your record says you are! 27-53 in 5yrs. Yea, that’s just great! smh!!
February 11th, 2019 at 8:37 am
Bucco Bruce sure has mastered the ole pucker up and arse kiss! Yeah Bruce 27-53 is a GREAT job!
February 11th, 2019 at 8:38 am
It’s not who is on the roster that is a good measure…..it’s who is not on the roster.
ASJ, Aguayo, Kadeem Edwards, Pamphile Kenny Bell, McNichols
Then there are players who are there but not producing……Rojo, Spence, Benenoch,
And, aside f
rom JPP…..and perhaps Grimes…..name another FA player that has made an impact.
I will give him credit for some quality UDFA……Brate, Humphries, Barber
I don’t fault Arians for pumping up Licht or speaking highly of the Bucs talent…..he is putting things as positively as he can…..until he doesn’t.
February 11th, 2019 at 8:38 am
Licht should have been gone !!.
February 11th, 2019 at 8:39 am
Should give him credit for Nassib.
February 11th, 2019 at 8:40 am
Licht’s job is building a team. So individual player picks and feel-good stories are beside the point. Let’s look at the roster as a whole and at position groups in particular.
STRONGER: Since Licht came, the receiving corps is clearly improved. The LBs are somewhat better. The QB has had an upgrade, and we are waiting to see how much.
WORSE: The OL and the secondary were big problems. They still are.
NEUTRAL: The Bucs have been trying to get a running mate for McCoy for nearly a decade. JPP is wonderful as a player himself, but he doesn’t justify the struggles of the last six years. Likewise the RB is no better and likely worse than when Jason came.
DEPTH AND SPECIAL TEAMS: Still a big problem.
In short, our team has rearranged the chairs. Some talent has been upgraded. But on a position basis do we really think that the team is improved?
February 11th, 2019 at 8:52 am
Absolutely love Bruce Arians. The sky really is the limit with him in charge. Anyone though expecting him (or any new coach) to come into town & NOT praise everything about their new team would have to be considered delusional. Coach is saying all the right things right now about the team, about the Glazers, about Jason Licht, about Jameis & about the various players we have under contract.
But I hope folks don’t miss the key word that he uses virtually every time he gives an interview: ACCOUNTABILITY. And yes VFL98, the Bucs record these past 5 years is 27-53, and they’re ACCOUNTABLE for that. Part of that ACCOUNTABILITY is on our GM, part is on coaching, and part is on the players themselves. BA & his staff will figure out soon enough which part is which.
Speaking of his staff Joe, Buccaneers.com has several GRREAT interviews with members of BA’s staff (Todd Bowles, Harold Goodwin, Keith Armstrong, Byron Leftwich) as well as a great article on BA himself. Amazing how far back these guys go together & some of the folks they’ve worked with over the years. Incredibly impressive.
February 11th, 2019 at 8:55 am
Licht is a joke of a GM and his finger prints are all over this horrible roster, trying to be all tricky and kooky with lichts’ head scratching drafts and FA moves are the reason the bucs were 10-22 in past 2 years, he cant sniff out a Kicker an nfl RB, defensive backs, OL, etc. And I hear ya on the Nassib grab but licht also claimed when nassib was available in the draft that he was not an NFL high level player, ooops. Wish BA would just push the mic away and get to building the team, barry melrose 2.0
February 11th, 2019 at 8:55 am
been saying for years that the coaches(dirk & smitty) have screwed licht over by not developing players…..we have talent, they just havent been developed….
but i guess bruce is just being nice right….just like dirk and just like tony….lol…what else were they “suppose” to say right…..lol….
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
February 11th, 2019 at 8:57 am
@Lou
Nice analysis with some thought behind it.
“he same team that has the longest playoff drought in the NFC since Chucky was jettisoned?”
For the sake or historic accuracy Chucky was a losing coach for the Bucs…even though he finished with a flourish with two majestic 9-7 seasons. His overall record after the SB was below .500…45-51 AFTER the SB. He did manage one 11 win season but he put up 7-9 followed by 5-11 immediately following the SB. He did put up one 11 win season and was one and done in the playoffs…he was lucky enough to reach the playoffs with one of those 9 win seasons and was one and done again in the playoffs.
The reality is that we have never won a playoff game since the SB and Chucky being jettisoned doesn’t really describe what hs happened to this franchise. 45-51 is hardly anything we should miss. If BA lives long enough to go 45-51 I hope he gets jettisoned too!
Truth is if Gruden hadn’t won that SB he would have been dumped years earlier after that 7-9 season followed by the 5-11 year. He had too much power in player selection and cratered this team.
In fairness to him not sure any coach would have prospered after losing a 1st round and 2nd round pick and then doing again…two years in a row without a first or second round pick depleted our talent base of four starters.
February 11th, 2019 at 9:00 am
Again how we judge talent if the coaching sucked?
February 11th, 2019 at 9:04 am
Much more bogeys than birdies………He is the biggest responsable for our present…….
February 11th, 2019 at 9:04 am
BA has been around this league longer most, if he says it’s a good roster I believe him;I don’t think he’d come out of retirement for some huge overhaul of a job…
I think the coaching and player development over the last 5 years has been the real problem…hence the reason Lovie and Dirk got the axe and not Licht…
February 11th, 2019 at 9:07 am
@Lou…good analysis there, and fair.
But before even writing the article @Joe would know that BA talking up the roster and glowing about possibilities undoubtedly and 100% of the time for any coach and franchise front office, does 1 simple thing entirely….CREATE EVERY POSSIBLE BIT of trade value for any given member of the roster that could possibly exist! Every ounce. And the converse is 100% true also. Say nothing good (or don’t be effusive) about the roster you inherit, and you can bet no other NFL front office would be enticed (or as nearly as enticed) to acquire any of your “great skill players”, etc. on the terms you would prefer.
That’s the only point. THAT’S ALL….he is doing. Objectively. Without cynicism. In his first offseason here. It’s PART of his “job” to politic. While nauseating though.
If Licht sits here…and thinks he’s just gonna hoodwink everyone at the Combine, then sign one average FA between March 13th and the draft….then “see what happens” on night one and night 2 of the Draft….he’s gonna fall way the f*ck behind! And right now, (meaning the past few offseasons) he ain’t coming off as the sharpest knife in the drawer. However, if BA is running all this “wait and see” stuff, and Licht has been told to stand down….well that’s alarming. Cuz of the rope that BA has been given.
Get 2 work GANG!
Go Bucs!
February 11th, 2019 at 9:16 am
He also has the most wins of any Bucs coach.
February 11th, 2019 at 9:39 am
So….I guess we could say that BA has the best W-L record for the Bucs at 0-0
February 11th, 2019 at 9:52 am
@Ndog … “Again how we judge talent if the coaching sucked?” Just curious ndog, but why didn’t you phrase that question THE OTHER WAY AROUND? ‘How do you judge coaching if the talent sucks’?
IMO, BOTH left a LOT to be desired this past decade (or longer). Raheem wasn’t ready to be an NFL HC. Neither was Schiano. Lovie should’ve stayed hunkered down in his Chicago basement. And Koetter certainly wasn’t ready to be an NFL HC. A key indicator to me is that NONE of those four knew how to put together a top-notch COACHING STAFF & it bit each of them in the arse. BA has surrounded himself with a high quality coaching staff consisting of a mix of highly experienced veterans & some very talented ‘newbies’. THAT alone should get every JBFer excited.
I’m admittedly not a big Jason Licht fan (wasn’t a big Dom fan either). However, if he takes his lead from BA in free agency and the draft this’ll all work out fine I’m convinced. If he keeps trying to get ‘cute’ with some of his FAs & draft picks, my gut tells me he won’t last long. It’s this ACCOUNTABILITY thingie that BA keeps talking about.
February 11th, 2019 at 9:55 am
@Joe … “He (Chucky) also has the most wins of any Bucs coach.” Wasn’t he also here the longest of any coach Joe? And didn’t he have Monte Kiffin running his defense for all those years? That defense that happened to be one of the best of all time? Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a relationship between great defense and won-loss records.
February 11th, 2019 at 10:23 am
This roster is laughable. Licht should have been fired immediately after drafting Vea…and then again after drafting ROJO.
February 11th, 2019 at 10:28 am
It’s the coaching that does make the biggest difference.
Why do you think some teams seem to come out of nowhere with new (better) coaching and mostly the same players.
Look no further than Licht “coaching up” Vita for the second half of the season and the results that created.
It sure wasn’t happening with Vita’s regular coaches.
February 11th, 2019 at 10:33 am
bucs are tight on cash and have a continual losing record … Licht is responsible for the bottom feeders !!!
February 11th, 2019 at 10:48 am
For every good move Licht made he made two or three bad ones.
February 11th, 2019 at 11:35 am
Licht will benefit greatly, IMO, from having a coach like BA.
As far as accomplishments and Licht, put me in the “not impressed” category. There is some talent on this team but the guy missed on several picks that should’ve been guys that are contributing right now.
February 11th, 2019 at 12:15 pm
Again in fairness to Chucky the price to get him ruined the Bucs and Chucky’s chances after the SB. How would we feel if we had NO picks in both the first round and second round. Then what attitude would we have if we knew that next year…again…we’d have no first round or second round pick next year. We’d be panic stricken for sure!
I’m keeping an open mind about Chucky. I give him a couple more years to see if his strategy in Oakland pans out. He did the opposite out there…trading vets including perhaps the best pass rusher in the league for a real haul in the draft. 3 first round picks could make the Raiders good in 2019 but by 2020 he should be in great shape with no cap issues having all those stars on rookie contracts.
Chucky should start winning bigtime in Oakland or Vegas. Let’s see how he does.
February 11th, 2019 at 12:39 pm
Wow what a low bar. This roster needs overhauling and help. Licht is a fool that should be let go. FIRE LICHT
February 11th, 2019 at 12:50 pm
BA might’ve had one too many drinks at the game
Licht has been here all this time and still has question marks at
OL
CB
LB
S
K
RB
February 11th, 2019 at 12:50 pm
I saw this live on the Bolts broadcast. I completely agree with BA. He does have talent to work with, and if a few holes are filled, the success of this team could turn around quickly. Yes, Jason Licht does deserve a measure of credit.
I really don’t understand the hate directed at him. Most fans wanted him to draft Jameis. I heard the chants at the stadium: “shame us for Jameis”. He got him. Then fans said “get weapons for Jameis”. He did. He tried to solve our ongoing kicking issues by drafting one of the best college kickers ever. There was no indication of what would happen. He drafted to improve the secondary and the running game. We all wanted JPP and he got him. Has every pick worked out? No, but it never does. Bucboi is right. It’s more about coaching and schemes.
February 11th, 2019 at 12:57 pm
Backstabbin’ Jason Licht is the one constant over the past FIVE YEARS where he had led the Bucs to an even worse record than Mark Dominick over that same stretch.
February 11th, 2019 at 1:26 pm
With the amount of lip service going on around here…no doubt this ends very badly for Tampa and its fans.
We have idiots that act like this is a playoff team.
Rude awakenings should be the new slogan.
February 11th, 2019 at 1:34 pm
If the price is a Lombardi Trophy in return, where does Joe make that deal?
February 11th, 2019 at 1:45 pm
The only pick I will always question is the Aguayo pick. The End….
February 11th, 2019 at 1:51 pm
D minus
February 11th, 2019 at 1:52 pm
Absolutely! We all knew it back then (or should have) that the Bucs were selling their soul for a Super Bowl. It was worth it.
February 11th, 2019 at 1:58 pm
Licht has found some players for us, damned good players; its just that he’s been cursed with having a bunch of crappy coaches that have failed to develop them. Things are about to change around here. Wait for it. Specially the Winston dilemma. Haters will be begging for a ride on the bandwagon.
February 11th, 2019 at 4:19 pm
I see some analysis of facts is needed here based on the comments of many…
A General Manager’s primary job is to find and procure talented players at as many positions as possible for his football team.
The best and most cost effect way of raising team talent overall – is through the draft. Draft well. Develop the talent. Reward excellent play from “homegrown” picks with high dollar 2nd contracts that match the level of play displayed. Add a couple or few key pieces and back-ups needed via free agency each year as finances allow. Continue drafting well. Continue developing young talent into legit NFL players….
This formula is the key to success in today’s salary cap/free agency era of the NFL.
Sustained success in the NFL is in fact achieved in this exact manner. Draft well – develop well – coach well – make good decisions about who to keep and who to let go on a year to year basis. Repeat.
The Patriots are the model. (For those who were not aware btw – Jason Licht worked as a College and national scout – and then became asst player personnel director in New England during his time there from 1999>2002. OTW – he understands and learned firsthand the “Patriot way” of doing things).
Free Agency – especially at the top of the pay scale – is a MAJOR crap shoot and should for the most part – be avoided. For each FA player a team could bring in with high hopes – like a Vincent Jackson – who actually EARNS their high end FA contract and contributes at a high level consistently – there are 3 or 4 Djax, Alterraun Verner, Carl Nix type FAs lurking out there just hoping to get paid the big bucks – who for 1 reason or another wind up not “working out”.
So for a good GM – its largely – “all about the draft”….
Every GM has “misses” – and plenty of them – lets start with that fact.
46% of all 1st round picks (taken as a whole) wind up being “busts” (don’t meet expectations of their draft position and/or don’t get signed to a 2nd contract by the team that drafted them.)
55% of all 2nd rd picks are busts
60+% of all 3rd rd picks are busts
70+% of all 4th rd picks are busts
So what is Jason Licht’s drafting record in comparison to the above listed average success rate for NFL GMs (taken as a whole of course – some are much better than others).
Rd 1 – Evans ’14 – Winston ’15 – Hargreaves ’16 – Howard ’17 – Vea ’18
Rd 2 – ASJ ’14 – D. Smith and Ali Marpet ’15 – Spence and Aguayo ’16 – J. Evans ’17 – ROJO, Stewart and Davis – ’18
Rd 3 – Sims ’14, Godwin and Beckwith ’17, Cappa ’18
Rd 4 – Kwon ’15, Ryan Smith ’16, Jordan Whitehead ’18
That’s some damn good drafting right there. 2nd rd is Licht’s only “weak spot” through 5 years of drafting – and even then he’s at or better than average so far with regard to “bust” percentages in the 2nd rd.
In all other important rounds (1>4) aside from the 2nd – Licht is WELL ahead of the curve.
1st rd is a 20% bust rate – and that’s only IF Hargreaves continues to struggle. If VH3 can start looking like a 1st rd pick and is retained by the Bucs after the 2019 season – then Lichts success rate in the 1st rd will be 100% through 5 years!
2nd rd is much tougher to judge. Only 2 of 9 2nd rd picks are confirmed busts (ASJ and Aguayo) – but Spence, ROJO and Stewart all appear at this point to be headed in that direction. If all 3 of those just listed don’t “come around” – then Licht’s bust rate in the 2nd round would be right at 55% – (which is the NFL average for 2nd rd picks). Odda are at least 1 or 2 among Spence, ROJO and Stewrat will wind up NOT being busts – and Licht’s 55% 2nd rd bust rate would improve.
3rd Rd – 50% bust rate at worst with Sims being off the team and out of football now – but Cappa is more likely than not to come around and become a starter within the next couple of years – so more likely Licht’s 3rd rd bust rate is only 25% – and even with that one “miss on Sims – we did get some decent play out of Charles for a few years (when he wasn’t injured) – so its hard to consider Sims. Godwin is a stud – and Beckwith who showed in his rookie year that he is a good player WILL be back…
4th rd – No busts there. 0% bust rate. Kwon was a great pick regardless of what happens with him headed into this year. R. Smith is a valuable special teams player and also has shown himself somewhat capable as a back up NFL CB. Whitehead looked great in his rookie year….
So we’re going to flip bust %s into success %s
NFL average success rate / Jason Licht’s drafting success rate
1st Rd – 54% NFL average / 80>100% Licht’s 1st rd picks (depending on Hargreaves progress this year).
2nd Rd – 45% NFL average / 45>75% Lichts 2nd rd picks (depending on how Spence, Rojo and Stewart pan out.)
3rd rd – 40% NFL average / 50>75% Licht’s 3rd rd picks (depending on how Cappa turns out)
4th Rd -30% NFL average / 100% Licht’s 4th rd picks
Bottom Line – Jason Licht is doing a lot better job of drafting than many commenting here on JBF seem to think…
What’s been missing since Jason arrived just over 5 years ago is the “good development” part and the “good coaching” part.
That’s all about to change…..
February 11th, 2019 at 4:58 pm
This team will be average at best until Licht is gone.
February 11th, 2019 at 6:03 pm
Or we have a lot of talent…………
and it has been the crappy coaches, schemes and play calling for all the losing………..
February 12th, 2019 at 4:01 pm
a) What else is he going to say?
b) AC/DC sucks