Martín Gramática Has Questions About The Kicker Pick
April 30th, 2019
Former Bucs Pro Bowl kicker Martín Gramática is the lead analyst on the Buccaneers’ Spanish language radio broadcasts.
He’s also among the legions of Bucs fans questioning drafting kicker Matt Gay early in Round 5 on Saturday.
Make no mistake, Gramática loves his Bucs and has long been a devoted member of the Tampa community. And he has all the respect in the world for kickers and the rookie Gay.
But Gramática was left a bit unsettled by the drafting of Gay.
Specifically, Gramática would have preferred if the Bucs selected him later. That way, the organization would have less invested in Gay and, subsequently, the upcoming kicking competition between Gay and Cairo Santos would be more fair. Gramática talked about this on The Martín Gramática Show yesterday on WWBA-AM 820.
Kicking competition is critical, Gramática noted, and it’s always best for all involved when it’s a truly open contest. As an early fifth-round pick, Gay will have to lose the job; and that’s not the ideal framework for a rookie, Gramática added.
Joe understands Gramática’s point, but Joe also believes Bucco Bruce Arians is the kind of coach who won’t stick with the lesser kicker for the sake of appearances. Arians isn’t holding the kicking baggage of general manager Jason Licht and the Bucs’ years of painful kicking personnel blunders. Ultimately, for Arians, Gay is just a fifth-round pick — a shot at a biscuit, if you will.
Overall, Gramática took the attitude of many ex-players when it comes to the NFL Draft. Little matters until any of these guys get on the field.
April 30th, 2019 at 12:03 am
Makes sense…
April 30th, 2019 at 12:10 am
This wouldn’t have come to fruition most likely. The browns probably would’ve selected Gay if we didn’t, and they most probably got hurried to select the kicker they got because of this. Anyhow. What’s done is what’s done and time to see what we have and where we go from here. Stay positive in a negative situation folks. Maybe the negative now will show the fake positive of the past.
April 30th, 2019 at 12:14 am
QB-DE-LT- CB and kicker. 5 most important positions on the team. Kickers NEVER get the respect they deserve. Think of how many games in the NFL are won or lost by a kicker. If this guy works out it could be a real coup for Licht and Arians.
April 30th, 2019 at 12:16 am
It’s a 5th rounder. Something like 80% of 5th rounders never play a down in the NFL, so there really shouldn’t be any huge expectations on the kid. Personally I would have drafted a offensive lineman or a LB, but it’s a huge gamble there. Also the issue with taking Gay later is that the Bucs didn’t pick until the very late comp picks of the 6th round, so it’s really unlikely he’d have gotten that far. Obviously then you trade down – but to do so you need someone who is trading up and we don’t know what, if anything, was being offered.
Anywho people need to chill, you’re almost certainly not getting a guy who will help your team in the 5th normally.
April 30th, 2019 at 12:21 am
Martin would certainly know, he’s been through it all. He beat out a 6th rounder at one point in his career. I’m not worried about BA gifting anyone a job, ain’t happenin’. Not on his watch and certainly not at this point on his career. Just ask GMC how safe you are on his team.
April 30th, 2019 at 12:36 am
Imagine getting worked up over a 5th round pick…
April 30th, 2019 at 12:49 am
“iMAgInE rOOtING FoR a TEAm tHAT aLwAYs loSEs”
Draft better
April 30th, 2019 at 12:53 am
Imagine being a fan and always having rose colored glasses. Or don’t.
April 30th, 2019 at 1:01 am
Buc’s luck = Santos wins competition then melts down and Gay turns into a Pro Bowler on another team.
April 30th, 2019 at 1:10 am
Alaskan. Yes, you’re exactly right with everything that’s happened. But we need to come together as a fanbase and quit being part of the cancer that’s become this team. New regime, new players and new day.
April 30th, 2019 at 1:38 am
You do realize that the 5th Round pick, 145th overall, has a value of 33 (with 3,000 being the highest) right? Were any of you crying when we GAVE AWAY a 5th Round pick to the Detroit Lions when we signed George Johnson? I would’ve rather us draft an O-Line prospect in the 5th, but as long as he’s a good kicker it’ll be worth it.
April 30th, 2019 at 2:09 am
Man. Going and looking at the history of Bucs draft picks might wipe away the tears some of you have. Go take a look. Ain’t pretty and unfortunately for some of you, Jason has been a bit better than anything our past has to offer.
April 30th, 2019 at 2:19 am
Yes we have questions about the 5th round kicker because he hasn’t had the pressure of playing professional sports but not sure why people act like the same wouldn’t be true if he was brought in as an undrafted kicker. Call it what it is and admit you fools are hoping for starters in rounds 5-7 lol a kicker has the best chance to start and I can’t think of any 5 th round picks coming into this weak roster making any noise over my lifetime
April 30th, 2019 at 3:02 am
Is this kicker Gay?
April 30th, 2019 at 3:44 am
That’s truly ironic coming from a kicker drafted in the 3rd round and annointed the starter from day 1
April 30th, 2019 at 4:58 am
@Blackmagic00
That is truly one of the dumbest comments I have EVER heard on JBF and there have been a lot of them. How many drafts did you look at dummy? If you knew anything about the Bucs you would KNOW that Rich McKay was the BEST GM this team has EVER had. Take a look at the 1995 through 1999 drafts when you come down from the clouds or come down from whatever you are smoking. After picking 2 HOF players in ’95 McKay had 4 of the best drafts in Buccaneer history and probably even NFL history. Every one of those drafts were amazing to say the least. How could a GM draft SO many starters in just 4 years? And, he also added depth. Something Jason Licht couldn’t do if you helped him yourself. Rich McKay should be in the Ring Of Honor for building our Super Bowl team but he’s not. The good to great players he drafted are endless it seems. In those 5 years he drafted Sapp, Brooks, Upshaw, Jones, Alstott, Dunn, Abraham, Anthony, Barber, Singleton, Hape, Green, Kelly, Duncan, McFarland, King, Gramatica, and SB MVP Dexter Jackson. I should have named ALL the starting OL guys he drafted too but you get the point. He knew how to build a TEAM! It’s too bad Gruden ran him off or we could have won another Super Bowl or two. He knew how to evaluate talent but Licht has no clue. I wish McKay wasn’t the CEO for the Falcons so he could build us a REAL team again. Maybe our owners will wise up one of these days and see we are getting nowhere with Jason Licht. All he does is get coaches fired every 2 or 3 years because he can’t draft or evaluate FA’s.
April 30th, 2019 at 5:46 am
Hunter renfrow was taken right behind him so let’s see how his career pans out. There are still guys in the 5th.
The big mess up on this was that he would have gone un drafted. We could have drafted him in the 7th round to lock him down on our team.
That’s the problem with Licht. Every year there are these picks of guys that are taken a round early. He has zero confidence. His Poker player sucks
April 30th, 2019 at 5:48 am
There is reason to bust Licht ‘s chops for taking a kicker in 5th round
Even gramatica a former Bucs kicker has a problem with it
He should support all things kickers and he can’t believe it
That’s very telling
April 30th, 2019 at 5:57 am
You know how I know he’s gay?
April 30th, 2019 at 6:15 am
That position was another that needed competition….along with increased pressure for both players. Cairos must beat out the young guy, the young guy has to unseat the vet, there’s investments in both either with cash or draft capital so its even in both regards. This has been a nightmare for 5 yrs, glad to see we aren’t just signing one dude and handing him the job.
That’s probably been the biggest failure of Licht’s career as our GM. Whether he signs a player or drafts one, he anoints them the starter with no competition….ever. D. Smith, Hargreaves, even Winston have obvious talent but never seem to put it all together until you light a fire under their rears.
April 30th, 2019 at 6:37 am
TDTB
Lol
40 year old virgin . Good flick
April 30th, 2019 at 7:21 am
The only reason there is any controversy over this pick is the Aguayo pick…..otherwise, it is nothing to be concerned about…..5th round.
I do think this means a tie goes to the draft pick, not Santos.
April 30th, 2019 at 7:24 am
There should be a rule that you can’t draft kickers.
April 30th, 2019 at 7:43 am
Personally I liked the pick…
I’ve watched our kickers lose so many games the last 5 or 6 years it’s unreal…I totally understand Jason’s obsession with fixing the problem…
Gay Imo looks promising; he has a strong accurate leg and he’s also (unlike Roberto A.) had to kick in more bad weather games as well as pressure kicks to keep his team in games…For all of our sake as fans, let’s hope he’s the next Justin Tucker…
April 30th, 2019 at 8:16 am
Licht has shown over the years that he zero ins on a pick and then has panic attacks as the pick get closer and jumps the gun fearing he’ll miss out on taking the player….
April 30th, 2019 at 8:20 am
At least Gay’s highlights show him making long kicks in the snow. If Martin had done that in Green Bay, we would’ve had a bye and home field throughout the playoffs in a year we were hosting the Super Bowl. If Gay ends up being a reliable kicker, it’s a fine pick. Kicking has cost us SO many games the last few years.
April 30th, 2019 at 9:01 am
licht has to go……
go bucs!!!!
April 30th, 2019 at 9:09 am
Well after watching his highlights…
J/K
April 30th, 2019 at 9:24 am
If he’s better than Kenny Bell i’m in.
April 30th, 2019 at 9:35 am
The 5th round pick, Happy Gilmour, is the only kicker in all of football that uses a running start before striking the ball before field goals and extra points..
Watch his 30 second highlight video. Listen to his post draft interview where he says he’s not comfortable changing his style. He also has a major problem with blocked kicks.
Funny thing is that he is not sure he can kick off
April 30th, 2019 at 11:55 am
Am I and ButtMonkey the only ones realizing that Martin himself was drafter Rd 3. Kinda hypocritical if you ax me
April 30th, 2019 at 12:18 pm
Red.. about to type the same thing… and I consider Martin a friend. Being said, I don’t think Martin honestly liked liked being drafted, but he didn’t mind the starting salary it gave him..
April 30th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
And the three step start is an issue.
April 30th, 2019 at 12:25 pm
You guys just don’t get it. The organization is simply making another PC move. We not only have a male cheerleader but also a Gay kicker.
April 30th, 2019 at 2:23 pm
Gramatica forgot he was a 3rd round choice.
Maybe he forgot, or feels guilty.
A 5th round pick? Meh…
May 1st, 2019 at 10:27 pm
Wow, Chris Simms, what interview did you watch? I heard him say he’s excited to work with an ex-kicker now coach to help him improve his kicking style and he said he worked on kicking off last year and this offseason on kickoffs (which is not really an issue since the new punter has handled those duties). Missing only 5 kicks with 3 of those being blocked is not a major problem. Not counting blocking breakdowns, part of the reason is because he kicks the same kick regardless of distance and it does have a lower trajectory but that might be easily correctable but I honestly wouldn’t screw with it because making 8 50yd+ FGs the last years means it works for him, especially with Santos only making 3 of 7 from 40yds+ last year.