Free Agency Illustrates Blessing Of Arians
March 12th, 2019
Think for a moment about where the Buccaneers sit in the NFL landscape.
Coming off back-to-back 5-11 seasons, they have no salary cap room, a garbage defense and an inconsistent quarterback.
Yes, it’s a near miracle that general manager Jason Licht retained his position with little or no changes to his staff.
But it’s becoming more and more clear as free agency after free agency has kicked off how lucky the Bucs are to have hired one of the best NFL head coaches of this decade. The Bucs were not an attractive job.
Kwon Alexander and Adam Humphries are not worth their new salaries, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good young football players. And they are gone with little resources to replace them. A nothing special offensive line is overpaid and in need of upgrades. Joe shakes when thinking of the Bucs’ secondary and think linebackers corps. Yet here is Bucco Bruce Arians and his sound coaching staff.
Joe knows Bucs officials firmly believe coaching was lacking the last two seasons, but in many ways they have to sell that to themselves because the alternative evaluation is an overpriced roster that needs a rebuild — with a head coach who wouldn’t be here if he had to rebuild.
Joe’s just happy this morning that Arians signed on the dotted line.
There’s legitimate hope that he can fix a lot in a hurry. And that wouldn’t have been the case with, say, a first-time head coach, a ton of released players and possibly even a new quarterback.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:03 am
I’m sure Jason Licht has done a great job throwing Dirk under the bus and convincing everyone that it’s not his bad player evaluation and poor roster construction that are the problem.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:05 am
“Give Kobe 21 million in 3 years and ill wear a real kangaroo on top of my head”
Kobe Faker
March 12th, 2019 at 9:05 am
We all know Brucie Almighty is playing coach/GM………………we all know this
Brucie saved Licht job…………..but I have a feeling Gump will be gone in 2020
March 12th, 2019 at 9:05 am
The sky is NOT falling! For perspective, we lost a MLB off of one of the worst defenses in history, a misused unhappy WR, and a slot WR that were part of a 5-11 football team. None of them made a difference here. Each and every one of their “production” can be replaced.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:05 am
Maybe Arians can save Licht’s job. The GM has had far too many misses in the draft and in free agency. No one is perfect but he is medicore at best. There are some good building blocks in Tampa but better decisions need to be made with personnel.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:06 am
Kobe’s head is too big for a Kangol
March 12th, 2019 at 9:09 am
Draft and develop….
March 12th, 2019 at 9:11 am
“Joe knows Bucs officials firmly believe coaching was lacking the last two seasons, “…..define “officials”….Licht ?….Glazers ?…of course I don’t expect names
March 12th, 2019 at 9:12 am
This is not BA’s first rodeo.I am getting a little nervous about getting quality players and releasing more dead wood.I have to believe that BA has a plan and will not let Licht screw things up this year.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:12 am
Kobe how much do we have to give you to go away?
I’ll start a go fund me in a second.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:13 am
The whole weapons for Winston philosophy has taken a huge toll on our salary cap situation. I believe we are in the top 4 or 5 as far as offensive cap spending. If we don’t draft straight D across the board and have success we will be in the basement for a long time. Well longer than we already have been. This year BA will have to be able to turn water into wine in order to get this D back to even middle of the pack. Best chance is to get young and angry then hope several turn out to be pretty good.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:17 am
A couple of seasons ago we had big money on our bank…….Where was that money spent? Now we have to do some magic in order to get some second or even third tier players, because money is gone………..Don´t have to be Einstein in order to understand managment have been really poor…….Bad free agencies ,regular Drafts, you have the record you deserve…….
March 12th, 2019 at 9:21 am
lol yea well see if it was all on coaching or if its the players/jason dumps poor GM ing skills. my guess is the latter. bucs suck until they dont anymore. im not giving them any benefit of the doubt anymore they will suck again this year most likely. Jason dump is a clueless meathead gm who cant build a team and is an even crappier scout.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:23 am
Again this is exactly the Patriot way! Let the expensive players walk when their contracts are up and find replacements in the draft with all those comp picks and add some cheaper “value” FA’s not the big splashes. Bassenger had a great analysis of this about a month ago.
No QB? If JW doesn’t work out Licht will definitely be GONE. And he should be!! If he has wasted the #1 pick in the entire draft that’s an unforgivable mistake.
It’s not just JW’s career on the line this year…Licht is attached to JW at the hip.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:26 am
Licht continued to overreach …instead of rebuilding…so now instead of a few tough years with a solid foundation of young homegrown players that developed in the Buc “system”…..Licht continued to bring out the decorations before the house was complete….it is a disparate situation with player like Mike Evans looking at another overall subpar season on the team…front office is going to have to do a very very special job this offseason in both FA and the draft…of course Jameis is going to have to play like he has never played yet
March 12th, 2019 at 9:28 am
The previous coaching staff was awful.
If the Bucs hit on their draft choices and fill in the gaps with free agency, the Bucs have a chance at drastic improvement.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:28 am
I agree that the Bucs have misses on several players in the draft and free agency. It is important to remember that GM’s are trying to select players they believe in and that the coaching staff wants. Clearly, some of those combinations have not worked out. It will be interesting to see…if all the sudden Licht’s picks improve with the change in the coaching staff. I believe that the Bucs have a much more talented team than they were when Licht started. As arm chair GM’s we tend to remember our winners and minimize our terrible picks.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:29 am
Bucsfanman — Could not agree more with you. We spent a 4rth round pick on Kwon and hump was an undrafted FA. We just turned a none drafted guy and a 4rth round drafted player into a 3rd and 4rth round pick. This is the most Patriots like thing we have ever done that I can remember. If Licht is able to draft well this year and replace what is lost this will be a very exciting offseason.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:29 am
How do you have 4 out of 5 losing seasons with multiple top 10 and even top 5 picks, yet you have a salary cap crunch to the point you have to unload multiple starters on both sides of the ball? That seems a bit unique.
For the record….the one unit Arians hyped as the most talented he’s ever walked into was the WRs/TEs. We just let two of the most productive and explosive playmakers we had in that unit go. Those were grand statements before FA….now they don’t look so talented.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:32 am
Let’s relax a moment. The “Patriot Way” works because arguably the smartest guy who ever ran a football team is pulling the strings. The Bucs, nor the rest of the NFL, have Belicheat running their teams.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:32 am
Imagine this cap situation without BA & Bowles
March 12th, 2019 at 9:33 am
Oh this article is going to be very fun to look at 8 months from now!!!!!!! Coach stale biscuit and company have a lot to prove!!!!!!! The question the sheep need to start asking is, what if the Buc’s officials are wrong and when Coach stale biscuit will re-retire???????? Free agency is still yet to come and the draft, where they will need to fix the “real” problem if they are going to actual improve!!!!!!! So far, local media and the sheep have crowned the coaching staff already!!!! and months from now those opinions might be as useful as colin kaepernick on flag day!!!!!! The “real” truth will be revealed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2019 will reveal answers to the sheep, that the “real” fans already know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!
March 12th, 2019 at 9:45 am
IMO, knowledgeable football fans think the Bucs have done a fantastic job this offseason simply with the hiring of Arians and his in-place staff.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:49 am
No team that wins the off season derby called free agency does well the next season. Every year teams mine for fools gold in hopes of striking it rich. Sitting out this rush for fools gold is probably the best thing that could happen to the Bucs after years of getting suckered. Now lets just draft and sign undrafted free agents and let it work itself out.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:49 am
I also think BA is talking a good game. Let’s wait & see if he can back it up.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:50 am
Good take logical joe !
March 12th, 2019 at 9:54 am
@TexBuc I seem to remember the LA Rams grabbing everyone in FA last season, and then making it to the superbowl.
The only thing this free agency illustrates is that we overpaid everyone. You cant be a bad team AND broke. That’s not a winning strategy.
March 12th, 2019 at 9:59 am
Get back with me in October if we are talking the draft then Bruce failed
March 12th, 2019 at 10:00 am
Completely agreed, Joe. Seems like legions of Bucs fans are crying over players the Bucs have been losing with over the past several years during Backstabbin’ Jason Licht’s reign of terror. Quite frankly, yesterday was probably one of Backstabbin’ Jason Licht’s best day as a Bucs GM.
The Bucs already won the off-season by hiring Bruce Arians. There’s no need for them to make any splash moves in free agency. Being somewhat limited with the cap is going to force them to find value.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:02 am
Siege
Most were trades, but yes they took a shot including over paying for a RB with a bum knee. I believe they will not be the same team and will not sniff a Super Bowl for a while.
i think we are both trying to say basically the same thing
March 12th, 2019 at 10:24 am
Rebuilding……. whether they admit it or not, that’s all this is AGAIN. We’ll finish 4th place in the South again this season.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:28 am
You need a scheme that can put pressure on the QB, not over priced players that can do it. You need multiple players that can situationally rush the QB, not one or two guys that can be game planned out. Bowles will be able to do that.
You also need a scheme on the other side of the ball that can protect the QB, this I’m not confident Arians can provide. Everywhere he’s gone the QB has been beaten to a pulp, granted for the most part that was before the league put so much more of an emphasis on protecting the QB.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:29 am
Definitely one of your best articles Joe. Kudos on your perspective regarding BA & his staff. Totally agree that we were blessed to “have hired one of the best NFL head coaches of this decade”. Tend to think that a lot of his early musings were simply tied to getting these players (and fans) feeling positive about what can be.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:32 am
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! That’s why Joe will throw up if they draft a linebacker if Josh Allen or Montez Sweat are on the board at No. 5.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:38 am
i dont think kwon and hump were overpaid…..
with that said, kwon will be replaced by kevin minter or a draft pick(not devin white) while hump and djax will be replaced by bobo and watson…..
im surprised brate is still here or at least hasnt restructured…..
REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
March 12th, 2019 at 10:39 am
I think the dynamic in the NFL is changing.
Free agency is way overpriced, at least the 1st wave.
I believe the best value to be had is when the Alliance season ends.
I watch the undefeated Orlando Apollos and I see at least 3 players that could make the Buc’s roster.
They have a CB named Reaser that has excellent coverage skills, 3 picks, 2 pick sixes, and AAF weekly player of the week award.
Their kicker from S Carolina (Frye) is 11-11 on field goals. They don’t kick off or kick extra points.
Terrence Garvin is a quality LB with good ball skills and several interceptions with a pick six and a player of the week honor..
There are many Adam Humphries on these squads just waiting for that big break. Dontae Dye and Kenny Bell play in this league and they are not very impressive at all. So there must be a pretty good skill level there_
I don’t know how the acquisition process works but I think these guys will be available for a cheap price. They won’t come in with big egos and a chip on their shoulders.
I believe the GM who mines this valuable resource will pioneer this process in a copycat league.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:41 am
Well, THE MAJORITY PATRIOT WAY does work….
Free picks….
Pats:9 extra (FREE) pics in last 4 years. TOM BRADY was a compensatory pick btw
Ravens: 32 in 13 years
Steelers 19 in 13 years
Seahawks: 9 in last 4 yards
Packers:11 in last 5 years
Kc: 8 in 4 years
Dallas: 8 last 3 years
TOM BRADY
LARRY ALLEN
BRYAN DAWKINS
HINES WARD
LAROI GLOVER
MARQUES COLSTON
MATT HASSELBACK
MIKE VRABEL
PIERRE GARCON
Etc…………
Bucsace: 2 in last 11 years
March 12th, 2019 at 10:46 am
How can we have so many bad players and still be against the salary cap!
March 12th, 2019 at 10:47 am
How can we have so many bad players and still be up against the salary cap!
March 12th, 2019 at 10:48 am
realist
no one has crowned the new staff yet…..but there is no debating that BA is a complete upgrade in every category over dirk…..
the question is, will BA surpass dirks 19wins in 3years in 2years?…..judging by his pass, i say yes…..
REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
March 12th, 2019 at 11:01 am
What_the_buc! Says:
March 12th, 2019 at 10:46 am
How can we have so many bad players and still be against the salary cap
.
.
.
.
and there are other contracts that vanished
2016 ($28.5M)- Jackson $12.2M, Sweezy $9.5M, Verner $6.8M
2017 ($19M) – Baker $6M, Ward $4.6M, EDS $4.5M, Sweezy $3.9M
2018- ($41.8) Jensen $12M, Grimes $8M, Curry $6.5M, Allen $5M, Unrein $3M, not trading Jackson mid season $5M, EDS $2.3M
2019- Jensen $10M
cut and pasted from somewhere by JC5100
March 12th, 2019 at 11:10 am
Backstabbin’ Jason Licht and his 5+ year reign of terror is how.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:15 pm
All these teams that are out there spending big will be in the hole in 3 years.
Every single team believes with a few key players they can be the next Philly.
No way we should have paid Honey, Collins, Mosely, Kwon, Hump, the ridiculous money they are getting. Sitting “PAT” was the right move.
Scheme it up, add Sweat or White, coach up the young secondary etc.
Just because it feels like a rebuild doesn’t mean it is.
We may call them garbage 2nd and 3rd tier, but Arians sees differently.
We shall see what happens, but I for one am thankful we didn’t bite yet.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
I’ve seen nothing but negatives so far. Wjen does the good stuff start in this REBUILD?
March 12th, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Aren’t the people on this thread whining about not resigning Kwon the same ones who go on and on about how he misses tackles, takes bad angles and can’t cover? So, are you guys now saying we should have made him the second highest paid MLB in the league?
March 12th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
SCBUCSFAN; I will give two bucks if he takes tmaxcon with him!
March 12th, 2019 at 1:13 pm
You guys worry about the talent. I’ll worry about the product.
I not watching to see how many uber tallented players we acquire Im watching the new HC and expect his team to be prepared for every game and all situations. I will be expecting to see us make the routine plays 100%. I will expect this team to stop beating themselfs with momentum killing Turnovers and pentalties………..We have not seen solid football for well over a decade.
March 12th, 2019 at 1:17 pm
I want to see a team that’s prepared to run a 2 minute offense and a one minute offense. Not run out of time like we are famous for.
And I don’t expect to see us give up a wide open flat for a easy TD to Kamara and then want Freeman run the exact same f***ing play and again is uncovered and wide open. And then the next week Barkley does the same f***ing thing!!!!! Then McCaffery.
I expect to see a adjustment.
March 12th, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Do all that then we can talk talent and which high end players are needed.
But trade up for Q. You’ll need him no matter what.
March 12th, 2019 at 1:40 pm
JimmyJack- 1,000% yes! It ain’t about the name on the back of the jersey that matters!
March 12th, 2019 at 4:59 pm
Fans are in for a rude awakening. This is a bad football team and an old Arians(figurehead) isn’t going to change that. Licht should be make to walk the plank. He’s blamed everyone but himself. Man, this sucks.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:05 pm
“… it’s… clear as free agency… has kicked off, how lucky the Bucs are to have hired one of the best NFL head coaches of this decade. The Bucs were not an attractive job.”
I’ve often thought the same thing. We are blessed!
March 12th, 2019 at 11:31 pm
The Bucs inked Ryan Griffin to a new three year deal today, so there is still a chance. I would rather see them look good on the field than on paper.
March 13th, 2019 at 1:05 pm
All we are missing right now is a Veteran CB and Adams. With our number 5 position in this draft we are blessed and you know BA will be setting with Licht and we will get quality players to fill our holes. BA has the Coaches to develop what he needs from those quality players and he has leaders now to change our losing culture. And if there is anything we lack when the Alliance Football’s Bowl is over there will be plenty of talented and proven players for us to tap to fill out our roster with proven backups. I am so looking forward to this coming season! Load the cannons!