Bad Week For Bucs
March 19th, 2019
Big-shot NFL scribe explains.
There seems to be a difference of opinion among NFL stenographers.
Now Paul McDowell of Rotoworld.com believes Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht did a solid job last week amid the free agency frenzy and that the Bucs currently have no big needs.
But it appears that mock draft-scowling, L.L. Bean-wearing, Second Amendment abolitionist, Mike Florio-arguing, parrot-insensitive, chewing-with-his-mouth-open, soup-gulping, California train-romancing, anti-football proliferation, outhouse-admiring, airline-napping, steerage-flying, Yogi Berra-worshiping, urinal picture-taking, video game-playing, Taylor Swift-listening, pickpocket-thwarting, Bucs-uniform-frowning, Allie-LaForce-smitten, Big-Ten-Network-hating, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, craft beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball-box-score-reading, NPR-honk, filthy-hotel-staying, fight-instigating, barista-training social activist Peter King of NBC fame has a different take.
In his recent Football Morning in America column on NBCSports.com, King wrote few general managers had a worse week than Licht.
I think the last week was not kind to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At all. The Bucs wanted to hold serve, basically, and keep Kwon Alexander and Adam Humphries, and, if he could be happy, DeSean Jackson. The Bucs went 0-for-3. The Humphries loss, even though slot receiver is not the most important weapon in a Bruce Arians offense, is hard because he’s a tough over-achiever, very productive, egoless, and just 25.
Joe tends to agree the loss of Humphries will sting, especially since the Bucs had the bread to keep him.
Joe is one of these weirdos who if of the mind that good players who produce shouldn’t be allowed to just walk away. If you have to unload the guy, then trade him while he is trade-eligible. Get something in return. The fact Bill Belicheat pitches a tent while in Barbados to sign Humphries tells you all you need to know.
You would think of all franchises, this outfit, the Bucs, would learn from their own (numerous) personnel mistakes. It is to the point where Bucs fans expect good players to just up and leave and play in Super Bowls for other teams with little more than a shrug from the Bucs.
Of course, Humphries will be forgotten if the team wins. If the Bucs lose and Humphries plays well and his new team wins, well, let’s just say Bucs fans will have a long memory.
Hell, people are still p!ssed about Matt Bryant.
March 19th, 2019 at 5:08 am
So much for players wanting to play with Winston.
Wonder why that is.
March 19th, 2019 at 5:26 am
^^^ at 25 who is going to pass up millions to play with any qb? anyone smart and trying to build their brand wouldn’t and that’s what most fans don’t get. Not everyone is all about the team like you think. THIS IS A BUSINESS NOT POP WARNER FOOTBALL
March 19th, 2019 at 5:34 am
Why should this week be any different than the last 10+ years?
March 19th, 2019 at 5:37 am
Can someone explain why they let Andrew Adams walk? wasn’t he decent?
March 19th, 2019 at 5:54 am
The Bucs, known for overpaying FA players that reside in halls of mediocrity, are finally forced to confront their past mistakes–head-on.
And how have they dealt with this confrontation?
1. They hired a no bullspit coach with a solid reputation who, in turn, hired coordinators with the same reputation.
Good move–on paper!
2. The free agents they did sign were often signed to “prove it” one year deals.
Another good move–on paper!
As the draft awaits and the 2019 season is soon to follow, all we can do is wait with cautious optimism.
At least I will. Some of you are filled with so much hate for this team that one wonders why you don’t find another.
With many players from last year’s team returning, albeit forcibly for the reasons listed above, we will finally get to see the effect a coach has on his players.
If BA succeeds, then we will all know that Koetter was in over his head. If he fails, then we will all know that Licht is amongst the worst evaluators of talent on the planet and Koetter was simply dealt a bad hand.
As for King–TAKE A HIKE! I doubt very seriously if he has ever watched the Bucs play a full game.
March 19th, 2019 at 6:09 am
“ As for King–TAKE A HIKE! I doubt very seriously if he has ever watched the Bucs play a full game.“
JA, I agree.
March 19th, 2019 at 6:28 am
Everyone continues to debate Jameis vs Mariota
The bigger debate may be Jason Licht vs Jon Robinson.
March 19th, 2019 at 6:32 am
Time for change ya Big losses I mean we went 5-11 last 2 years how sure is this guy the Bucs really wanted to keep any of them I think it’s all been over hyped if they wanted to keep them they would have
March 19th, 2019 at 6:44 am
Joe(s) have way too much info on Peter King….parrot-insensitive?
March 19th, 2019 at 7:03 am
The Bucs roster is significantly worse than it was a week ago. Yet some will sit her yet again with blind optimism. We lost a lot of weapons last week and really just downgraded our roster. Typical low expectations of our Bucs. Same old story
March 19th, 2019 at 7:10 am
Peter King intro is so old and worn out
March 19th, 2019 at 7:12 am
Humphries was an asset while here. Unfortunately, slot receiver is the functional equivalent to nickel corner (or second base in baseball). The Bucs cannot afford an expensive slot receiver. It appears to me that Licht was preparing for the departures of Jackson, Humphries and Alexander by drafting Godwin, Watson and Beckwith. You don’t know if they can fill the shoes when you draft them, but he has the ball club in a position to avoid forced drafting if they do and they had a year plus to figure ithat out. Regrettably, Beckwith’s accident threw a wrench in the works. The change in coaching staff could impact his plan as well. Regardless, this part of Licht’s draft strategy is spot on. My problem with him is the “I’m smarter than you picks”. If he’s right he looks like a genius. If not you have a 5 – 11 record. Until the roster is full and appropriately balanced, he needs to stick to basic metrics and proven college performance in tough conferences. The nfl prototype receiver is 6’2” or taller now…so basic physics says don’t draft short DB’s (Hargreaves and Stewart)…especially slow ones, Kickers are late round or FA positions unless your roster is superlative at all positions and you just lost the super bowl on a kick. Never draft a RB out of the PAC 10 who is smaller than multiple RB options that are bigger with the same or better production in the SEC. There’s nothing wrong with flyers from small schools (In fact, I think you have to take them given the constraints of the draft and salary cap), but do it in rounds 5 or higher. Winston (whether you like him or not) and Howard were the right picks. If they don’t/didn’t pan out then they are appropriate busts for a GM. Heargraves, Stewart and Aquayo were inappropriate picks. They were foolish. Vea could ultimately prove to be a bust, but it was still an appropriate pick. If Licht improves on his blocking and tackling (i.e., the basics), then this team will improve along with him. Hopefully he is maturing in the role and has learned from his mistakes.
March 19th, 2019 at 7:22 am
JA Says:
At least I will. Some of you are filled with so much hate for this team that one wonders why you don’t find another.”
I agree there are people like that. We do get a lot of trolls here. But there are also a lot of fans who are more frustrated than anything else.
Personally, I can be counted among that group.
Here’s how I am seeing things right now:
My hope in hiring Bruce Arians was that he would complement Licht so far as bringing in new talent…be strong in the areas where Jason is weak.
Thus far, he is not doing that.
What I see thus far is a welfare program…Bruce is bringing in career thirdstringers that he or Bowles worked with in the past to give them new opportunities to prove themselves.
What I see is evidence that Jason Licht is now longer calling ANY shots in the area of recruitment. Luring Arians to Tampa must have required a promise of complete control. That last time the Glazers did that was with Lovie Smith. We all know how that turned out.
Now, I do get it that with the cap situation the way it is, choices are very limited, but it isn’t going to get much better next year. And I feel they made a HUGE mistake by letting Humphries get away.
What I see is a Head Coach with a huge ego…now that’s fine IF he backs it up with wins. But at this point, he can’t, so all this ego-talk from him is driving me crazy. Maybe it wouldn’t if we had not been let down so much in the past decade.
And finally, what I see are a bunch of fans desperately clinging to the hope that Arians can turn this team around…so they have put on blinders and not seeing the forest through the trees.
Thus far, Arians has done nothing to make this team better.
If BA succeeds, then we will all know that Koetter was in over his head. If he fails, then we will all know that Licht is amongst the worst evaluators of talent on the planet and Koetter was simply dealt a bad hand.
Or, if Arians fails, then Arians is a con man.
March 19th, 2019 at 7:33 am
I’d like for King to point out where we would find the $30 million it would take to keep those 3……..no, he is like most very lazy media types who will simply take shots without any suggestions on improvement……like some fans.
Only a fool wouldn’t see this coming….and it didn’t help when Licht & BA told the whole world they wanted to keep Djax…..what a joke.
March 19th, 2019 at 7:34 am
TDTB, very well said.
The only thing I disagree with is your assumption that Stewart was a bad pick.
If you remember last off season, Stewart was a star. That was because he was playing tight coverage, which is his strong suit. Then in the seasone, he was forced to play very loose coverage, considered zone…but in truth it was exaggerated zone. Smith had them playing too far off than even for zone.
Stewart is much better in man coverage. Hopefully Bowles will let him play that way.
And don’t believe for a second that Stewart is really making the move to Safety. If that were true, Arians would not be bringing in so many Safeties.
March 19th, 2019 at 7:52 am
“Hell, people are still p!ssed about Matt Bryant.”
🙋♂️
March 19th, 2019 at 8:45 am
is Light the worst gm the bucs have ever had?? No cash for a lousy team,…HUH !….Its got to be a joke ,doesn’t it???
March 19th, 2019 at 8:57 am
We finished 5-11 the past two seasons with all three of those important players. I’m sure we can do it without paying them mega millions.
March 19th, 2019 at 9:14 am
We also finished 5-11 with lazy ass D Smith, Dotson, McCoy & Winston.
March 19th, 2019 at 9:28 am
Yep, Bucs fans have a long memory. Remember the time the Bucs were about to win a game against the Bills and Humphries fumbled the ball?
March 19th, 2019 at 9:30 am
i agree with paul mcdowell…..solid job by licht…..
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!!
March 19th, 2019 at 9:33 am
All head coaches have huge egos. Even the GREAT Tony Dungy had a huge ego. You reference this ego-talk but has Arians really be very vocal since his arrival in Tampa?
March 19th, 2019 at 9:40 am
So many topics…
When you look at the contracts thrown around during Free Agency, Donovan Smith looks like a bargain. I put him in the win category so that is 1-3 at worst. Getting anything for DJax.. this becomes 2-2.
Hump… the big thing for him was to lock him up last season when Licht chose to lock up Brate. While I like Brate and wonder just how much the injury took out of him, his contract looked rich at the time to me and so far, he hasn’t performed to that level. So many like to compare him to Edelman because he’s short and white but Hump just doesn’t have the elite quicks that Edelman does short shuttle was .4 seconds slower as an example. Hump is a VERY good complimentary receiver, and should fit very well in the Titan’s offense with all of the quick drops, rub routes etc. Hump will be missed, but the Bucs simply couldn’t allocate long term money to him.
Kwon. I love all the intangibles, but sorry I’d have a hard time with the Bucs sinking that contract into that player, at that position. Yes he led the league in tackles…. but that was the scheme of the Mike Smith defense. Funnel the play to him. This only hurts so bad because of the Beckwith injury. There is a huge void in the middle of the defense, but allocating those funds to him…
as far as going 0-3, there was no universe that DJax was going to come back. All of the “love” he was getting was purely posturing so that someone would give something for him rather than just out and out releasing him.
on the MK Stewart pick. I will never come off this. Terrible pick because he had slot corner as his best outcome when coming out of the draft, and the Bucs already have a guy that could be an elite slot corner in VHIII. When he played that during the 2017 season, he was playing it at an elite level. MK Stewart made no sense because of how the roster was already set up. Isaiah Oliver and Carlton Davis on the board (at least the Bucs got Davis) Yes Stewart looked good in preseason, but the he was playing vs practice squad guys at best. Now he’s already been termed a project at safety???
I will be disappointed if they don’t restructure McCoy, and convert that money to a veteran corner. I think there is still a trade coming that will get the Bucs a corner. They must clear money in order to make this work still.
If two QB’s go early, the Bucs will be guaranteed, Bosa, Williams or Allen. If only one goes then they are in the spot to trade out. Get a second tier DL (which is a first tier vs most other drafts) and a first tier RG.
March 19th, 2019 at 10:16 am
Peter King is full of crap.
The Bucs had no intention of keeping Humphries or Jackson unless on their terms, which was never going to happen. Money.
Fact is the Bucs have overspent on offense and underspent on defense. This is a trend that needed to stop.
Alexander was not that great of a player, not to mention he’s coming off an ACL. “Fan Favorite” does not mean “great player.” I wouldn’t call David or even Singleton from The Day “fan favorites”, and both are vastly better players than Kwon Alexander. ‘Course both are quiet guys who just play without chest-thumping, silly t-shirts or rooster tops.
But I have a bias toward “just shut up and play” guys, not self-promoters. And I hope to never see another W eaten.
March 19th, 2019 at 10:27 am
Time for Jason to go
March 19th, 2019 at 10:32 am
As Tnew just said Donovan Smith would have gotten a huge contract in FA..we got a bargain keeping him. The same could be said of Marpet.
DJAX is a wash or even a win. Yeah he got 20 million of Glazer loot and didn’t produce at that level and didn’t even return punts…but we actually got two draft picks out of an FA investment. A slight win.
Kwon had heart and we loved him but he was never a truly elite LB…not even in his own division where Kuechly was light years ahead of him. He was NEVER worth the money Lynch threw at him and coming off the ACL it could even be worse.
Hump was a good “complementary” player. He was never the impact player and hence not worth the mega bucks.
So AGAIN…Licht messed up getting desperate in FA…his drafting has been very good…40% of our OL drafted by Licht and two guys who could have cashed in this year if they made it to FA. A 4th rounder and an UDFA DID cash in. That’s 4 players right there who validate Licht’s drafting.
But as I’ve said before…Licht’s drafting will not come down to the mistake on Aguayo or any other picks…it’s now down to the nitty gritty.
When you have the #1 pick in the entire draft you simply cannot miss. This year is when we truly find out about Licht’s drafts.
Either JW lights it up as many of us believe he will…or he busts and Licht busts with him. This season and two careers hinge entirely on JW’s performance. Before NDOG and ’87 jump me for “blaming JW”…not blaming him just pointing out where the responsibility goes when your a franchise QB and I’m already on the record as believing he’ll light it up this year.
IMHO this was far and away Licht’s best year in FA! The deal you don’t make is frequently the best deal you’ll ever make.
March 19th, 2019 at 10:50 am
The only player I was concerned about letting go was Hump because that guy is clutch on third down. Watch the film, Kwon is all hype, no loss. Djax is not a team player and causes problems well beyond his contributions on the field, not worth keeping at any price. We need to fix the defense and keeping those guys for the money they were commanding wouldn’t have allowed the Bucs to do that. Let’s hope Jason Gump doesn’t screw this draft up.
March 19th, 2019 at 11:00 am
The biggest upgrade for the Bucs is not players but coaches. In 2016 teams were clammering for Koetter after his 2015 offensive unit looked promising. Fast forward to 2019 and not one team was looking at Koetter ad a HC. That says volumes that other teams weren’t pursuing him. The off-season adds have not been flashy but flashy hasn’t worked. I like the grinders brought in.
March 19th, 2019 at 11:16 am
I think Postman is right about the coaches. We’ll see though.
March 19th, 2019 at 11:20 am
JA,you are right on.
Solid post.
Seeing a off ball LB getting 17.5 mil and Primodonna WRs getting 20 …… no thanks.
Give me hungry signings of Buccannon and Barrett and the resigning of our LT and RT.
Smart moves.
Expecting some quality pick ups after draft as well.With the base of high quality already rostered players Mix with BA and Bowles and we are cooking with gas.
Season can’t get here quick enough.
March 19th, 2019 at 11:34 am
WITH ALL OF THAT RED INK I KINDA GET THE FEELING THAT YOU DON’T LIKE PETER KING.
Now, I will read your actual comments, JOE.
March 19th, 2019 at 11:38 am
I did not like letting Hump or Kwon go. Right now I am giving BA the benefit of the doubt.
March 19th, 2019 at 12:03 pm
I was one that wanted D Smith gone or moved to LG or RG or RT. I also hated Warhop and every coach on Koetter’s staff and while I was blaming coaches for everything and everyones poor play, I did not give D Smith any of that slack. Hopefully I am wrong about him and the new O-line coach will challenge him the way he needs to be. Also if he fails, hopefully the coach will bench his a$$ or move his a$$ they way Warhop should have. OtW, we may see RG4 sooner than we think.
March 19th, 2019 at 12:30 pm
I believe Licht was smart to let Humphries and Kwon move on. The value simply did not match the cost. DJax wasn’t worth keeping at any price for bad attitude and lack of effort. Superior coaching and the coming roster adjustments will get this franchise back to winning. The NFCS can be won by the Bucs.
March 19th, 2019 at 12:49 pm
We still crying about a slot receiver? 😂🤦♂️
March 19th, 2019 at 1:05 pm
Don’t worry, when Hump has 500 yards and 3 TDs next season and the Titans cut him, we can sign him back at a 1/3rd the cost.
March 19th, 2019 at 1:33 pm
Wow a lot of hate on this site
March 19th, 2019 at 1:53 pm
“If BA succeeds, then we will all know that Koetter was in over his head. If he fails, then we will all know that Licht is amongst the worst evaluators of talent on the planet and Koetter was simply dealt a bad hand.”
You are automatically removing any responsibility from BA here. This statement is a joke. You should be banned from posting again. He’s 67 and came out of retirement. He gave himself a C on his own health. He’s NOT calling plays. LOL.
Our fans suck.
March 19th, 2019 at 2:13 pm
Hump and Alexander both got massively overpaid. There was no sense in trying to keep either one of them. They were both very good players that I think highly of, but not for the numbers they signed for.
March 19th, 2019 at 3:03 pm
Peter King must never watch this team, how he figure we are going to afford hump or want Jackson back?
March 19th, 2019 at 3:15 pm
I hope every national writer hates our offseason. They are usually completely wrong in their grades each year.
Just look up 2018 offsesaon grades. First article I find by Gil Brandt has the Bucs, GIants, Vikings in their top 7 offseasons and those 3 were massive failures. The Giants look like a joke of a franchise right now with Gettleman. Vikings didn’t even make the playoffs with the #1 paid QB.
I hope everyone talks sh1t all year.
We’ve earned that and need earn respect through winning because it’s the only thing that works.
March 19th, 2019 at 3:59 pm
In the same article he pondered why teams didn’t follow the Patriot way in free agency, ie don’t overpay for mediocre talent.
I love Kwon and Humph, but they weren’t worth what they were paid.
Also, Peter King complained a couple weeks ago that Indianapolis played “old” music, and it wouldn’t hurt to play Cardi B.
Maybe Peter King is a dunce
March 20th, 2019 at 4:53 pm
That’s just lazy journalism. Pure 💩. Bumphries is a mediocre player who was exposed last year. He’s too slow and not fast enough. Plus he fumbled away a season in Buffalo. Kwon, has been hurt a lot, and is injury prone. MeJax is human garbage and a lockerrrom cancer. Throw in booting Fitz to the curb and the Bucs are turning in the right direction.