Bucs Need(ed) Team Players
June 24th, 2019
Team building analysis.
As more time goes by, the more Joe is convinced that the Bucs were torpedoed and have yet to repair the roster from the destruction a pair of outsiders did to the locker room.
That would be when the Bucs decided to bring in a couple of me-players in offsides-jumping, Lightning-trolling, belly-shirt-wearing, practice-hating, kicker-heckling, tree-grinding , non-contact-football-loving, chicken-wings-grilling, playing-time-squawking, TV-cooking-star, half-sack Swaggy Baker and malcontent wide receiver DeSean Jackson.
The Bucs had just finished 9-7 with a rising young, franchise quarterback. The team just needed some help at wide receiver and a pass rusher, it seemed, and all would be just peachy for 2017.
Instead, the Bucs added what would become a pair of hand grenades into the locker room. Since, the Bucs have lost 22 games.
The reason why Joe brings this up is that Joe was reading a column by former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi. His recent piece in The Athletic was about how to bridge the gap from a good football team to a great team. Joe could argue the Bucs finishing at 9-7 in 2016 qualified them as a “good” team.
Lombardi listed five points and one was that a team should add to its roster team players.
2. Add more great team players.
All three teams have added players to their roster. Former Bears head coach John Fox believes the Bears have not had a great offseason, and only time will tell whether he is right. Adding talent is always important to making the team move from good to great, but adding the right team players allows that talent to shine. Analyzing the moves each team made is hard unless you understand the player and his willingness to work within the system. We tend to look at all the offseason moves as adding baseball cards to a collection and ignore how the player will fit into the team’s culture. Players must understand their roles each week — and be willing to put the team’s interests ahead of their own. All great teams have a strong bond and a strong culture, and that culture is dependent upon players being willing to sacrifice. This area will be rookie Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens’ greatest challenge.
This is a helluva point.
Now Baker and Jackson were anything but team players. In fact, a high-ranking Redskins official told internationally-popular JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman after the Bucs signed the dismal duo that Baker was a lazy slob.
To reinforce how Baker was all about himself, in a recent edition of the “Redskins Podcast,” Baker said he is emotionally struggling seeing guys his age “getting paid” by NFL teams. Not that the guys are winning games or that he misses the camaraderie of a locker room, but that players at his position his age are collecting checks and he is not.
Jackson was another that guy that was all about himself, to the point that he damn near killed the career of America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
Quick, how many games did the hero of the joystick jockeys win for the Bucs? Two games?
As it turned out, a month after signing Jackson, the Bucs drafted a better asset in Chris Godwin. Sure, Jackson has better skills than Godwin but Godwin was and is a much more valuable teammate.
To be fair, outside of the late great Steve Duemig, The Big Dog, Joe doesn’t know of anyone who thought Jackson was a bad addition at the time of his signing. Joe doesn’t think anyone had a clue just what a piece of poison this Jackson would turn out to be.
June 24th, 2019 at 12:15 am
Joe desean will help philly … yes Chris Baker is a lazy ass… but it takes a true quarterback who knows how to lead to be able to deal with selfish players… we have seen time and again over the years Big Ben and Antonio brown in Pittsburg be regulars in the playoffs … we seen Washington with desean make the playoffs … we seen it in philly… we seen the patriots take in selfish players and win super bowls (Corey Dillon , josh Gordon ) hell even the Bucs with Keyshawn … so you can’t blame desean on the bucs having a disastrous 2 seasons because this team has had issues for the past decade
June 24th, 2019 at 12:23 am
Eric y:
Joe doesn’t believe for a second Key pulled anywhere near the stunts Jackson did with the Bucs. The only thing Joe can tell that irked the Bucs about Key was he didn’t show up for voluntary workouts. Dude was a baller. Jackson is a whiney little female dog.
Josh Gordon? Please! No player is going to even try to pull any stunts on Belicheat or the dude will be run before sundown.
June 24th, 2019 at 1:39 am
Joe tell us about the stuff mejax pulled on jameis. You holding out on us brother. Spill the beans.
June 24th, 2019 at 1:40 am
Eric I’ve personally seen how it takes 1 cancer of a person to tear down a organization an I’m not talking about the Bucs. JOE even at this stage in the game Jackson isn’t that good in madden anymore hahaha so glad he’s gone go Bucs #endthedrougjt
June 24th, 2019 at 1:49 am
Yes I agree with this article but the coach and leaders of the locker room need to come together and squash this s..t out. Dirk didn’t have any control of that locker room after that 9-7 season, his first…. getting to know you season, and I am sure “Cinderella” man McCoy never chewed Swaggy out for dogging it.
Dirk should have sat DJak’s a$$ a few games and forced the issue with Winston, or traded DJax for something during the season when we fell out of contention. That would take Litcth and Dirk working together which I don’t think occurred often.
Hopefuly teamwork between, Owner/Front Office/HC/Staff and payers can come together to prove everyone wrong that this TEAM can make the playoffs in 2019. I’ve been following since the Bucs come to life and always love when NO ONE gives us a chance. We tend to rise up and play better as a team.
June 24th, 2019 at 2:28 am
A diva, a tree hugger and Batgirl all walk into a bar…..? Well we all know the rest.
June 24th, 2019 at 3:05 am
2016 was not a good team. A five game fluke set expectations higher than they ever should have been. After all, Backstabbin’ Jason Licht “cringed” at the expectations after that 2016 season.
Smart Bucs fans has been cringing at his job performance over his 5+ year reign of terror.
June 24th, 2019 at 3:11 am
Joe,
GMC has been doing the talk shows and He was asked which Team He thought would win the NFC East. Dallas or Philly. He said Philly because of DeSean Jackson . GMC didn’t seem like He was anti djax in the least. In fact just the opposite.
Anything you can add to that.
McCoy also said Ali Marpet would be a Pro Bowl center and detailed why. Yes, McCoy said that about Jackson on FS1, Joe noted it in the context that McCoy said Jameis has to prove himself and step up while DJax was painted as a missing piece to a championship puzzle. Joe can’t speak for McCoy. Joe has trouble relating to a guy who said his rookie year was not enjoyable when it was his team’s best season after he had just been given tens of millions guaranteed to play for a player’s coach. –Joe
June 24th, 2019 at 4:26 am
Licht could’ve traded Desean mid season, Desean wanted out, and Licht kept him, even after he committed a mutiny on Jameis. And it always seemed like they forced the ball to Desean to keep him happy…
Koetter was the fall guy.
June 24th, 2019 at 4:48 am
There was really a multi-dimensional problem here. All very true on Baker and Jackson. But the Bucs team lacking leaders was their bigger problem. When you have people who are detrimental to an organization emerge who counter the direction and cohesion of a team, strong leadership will in turn counter those who have that torpedo effect. And I’m not talking about just with authoritarian means per se. Jackson and Baker brought in their bigger names and reps and created hopes for so many, and clearly got away with more than anyone else should or would have, and none of the players or coaches seemed to do anything to get them in line, and the situation festered As far as group dynamics go, one could even suggest DJax and Baker were informal leaders, but I’d never agree with that, but there effective enough at perhaps dividing the locker room. They just didn’t fit in, and probably didn’t want to. The problem is made worse when the guy who was supposed to be the leader faltered, as we saw with Winston. The team did coalesc around Fitz for a while–and while Fitz did exactly what he should in that regard, but it made things awkward when Winston returned from suspension. So there were multidimensoinal problems that destroyed the team, especially for the 2018 season. I think most remember how Kwon’s family tragedy resulted his team rallying around the young guy–a good story. Hopefully Bruce Arians and a re-emergence of guys like David and Evans (and Winston if the team buys in) will help get it and keep it on track. And will there be something positive early this team can find bring them together? And in the back of my mind will Suh (who is not known as a team player) stay on the up and up and not be a torpedo himself.
June 24th, 2019 at 4:52 am
^^^And I’ll add the Bucs sure could use a guy like Devin White to mature quickly into a Derrick Brooks type of leader. Never would have had a Swaggy work his poison with a guy like Brooks around.
June 24th, 2019 at 5:19 am
It’s time to face facts, our team is mentally weak. Come on, no one (out of 53 players, 20 something coaches and GM/Front office staff) could have taken care of these two…..TWO malcontents?
June 24th, 2019 at 5:51 am
Great observations Magadude. You’re so right that the Bucs’ problems are ‘multi-dimensional’. Joe’s fingering DJax & Swaggy as “anything but team players” is probably valid, but they’re hardly the sole reasons for TWO back-to-back 5-11 seasons.
Your point about the Bucs needing Devin White to mature quickly into a leader is also spot on because of the criticality of the MLB’s position in our defense, BUT … we NEED other guys to step up just as much, on offense as well as on defense. Jameis has to step up to regain a TEAM leadership position. Someone on the OLine needs to step up to assume a leadership role there. We also NEED someone to step up on our DLine as well as someone to grab the leadership reins in our Secondary. The talent’s there IMO; now ON-THE-FIELD LEADERS need to grab the bull by the horns.
June 24th, 2019 at 6:24 am
The blame comes from the prior coaches n GM Litch. Bringing Baker n DJax to a team in need of leadership was a BIG mistake. It was proven earlier in training camp when Cheeseburger Baker was taunting his field goal kicker instead of encouraging n motivating the man. Baker was another Albert Haynesworth, selfish n lazy. Then we bring in DJax who brought manipulating n divisive traits to the team. That all falls on the GM n coach.Trust me, with BA, this will be the first time in a long time we had a coach who holds everyone accountable n at the same time knows how to maximize players full potential. McCoy was never a leader, Swaggy n others had no respect for him. I do like the fact that Kwon went off on swaggy. DJax, with intent, got in Winston’s head. Now that we have the right players n coaches with n a new philosophy (attitude, character, n determination) the time for winning begins now.
June 24th, 2019 at 7:12 am
“To be fair, outside of the late great Steve Duemig, The Big Dog, Joe doesn’t know of anyone who thought Jackson was a bad addition at the time of his signing. Joe doesn’t think anyone had a clue just what a piece of poison this Jackson would turn out to be.” – J0E
I voiced my disdain for signing Jackson when it was only a rumor, Joe, so you can add me to that list.
I even listed the reasons, and all of them turned out to be completely accurate and almost prophetic!
June 24th, 2019 at 7:14 am
@dmatt…I’m not saying DJax was appropriate in not giving his all for his teammate, Winston, but it’s also a fact one will perform at his best for a guy he respects. I think everyone has had bosses and peers they try harder for, and those who get what they get. In early ’17 it was clear Winston and Djax were not on the same page and part of that could be Winston clearly had his favorite and proven targets in Evans and Brate–a little trouble with the accuracy on the long ball hitting DJax in stride, like DJax needs to thrive. I didn’t get the impression really tried to go after those that could be catchable either. Enter end of ’17 and ’18 and Winston’s behavior brought a dynamic where a de facto team leader disappointed all…so while it’s no xcuse for DJax, it’s easy to understand why a guy like DJax woudn’t try harder for Winston. There are so many sidebar dynamics that hurt this team. You mention GMC, who some may disagree, had play that was “lead by example” for MOST of his career, but he was never a charismatic guy like Winston for example. So here’s to hoping White can grow into the gaps this season and actually wear the C next year. Was hoping for more from JPP this year in that role, but his injury really hurts that. I am watching closely to see the dynamic between Suh and guys like David, and up-and-comers like White. I do think BA can facilitate that because I think he recognizes that stuff.
June 24th, 2019 at 7:32 am
Magadude Says:
“I’ll add the Bucs sure could use a guy like Devin White to mature quickly into a Derrick Brooks type of leader. Never would have had a Swaggy work his poison with a guy like Brooks around.”
First, great post (this and the one before).
I’ll take this a step further. Imagine if Sapp had been on the team. Baker would have been beaten senseless.
Brooks though, I don’t think he would have done much different than McCoy did. Yes, he was a leader, but he was a soft spoken one…along the lines of Tony Dungy. Sapp was the in your face guy. Ronde was the workhorse guy. Lynch was the 100% guy.
We had a good mix back then, but the keys were Dungy and Monte. Dungy insisted 100% effort at practices and it translated onto the field. Monte reminded me of Rocky’s trainer.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:00 am
Bonzai … Your last paragraph is spot on. I had never thought of Monte Kiffin as ‘Rocky’s trainer’ (Burgess Meredith) but the image is awesome.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:02 am
“…adding the right team players allows that talent to shine.”.
Joe, how do you comment on this article and not mention that Licht signed Swaggy over Campbell – I assume because Swaggy was so much cheaper. AND look what Campbell did for the Jags his first year. Fits right in with what Lombardi is saying, signing the RIGHT player ELEVATES the team to greatness.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:10 am
Jameis’s off the field drama torpedoed last years continuity and killed his second Head Coach. You just can’t have that kind of crap from a big locker room presence and the face your franchise. Lying to the org. and his teammates and then getting suspended the first 3 games in an important season for Koetter’s regime did that locker room in. There would never had been a controversy if Jameis has started the season game one.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:12 am
Licht was between a rock and a hard place. The Bucs (though laughable in retrospect) were not out of the playoff hunt at the trade deadline. Had Licht unloaded Jackson, the coaching staff may have pulled a code red on Licht. And, at that time, Licht probably didn’t know his job security either and a playoff run would save them all.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:14 am
Absolutely
June 24th, 2019 at 8:15 am
GMC is not anti-DJax. That says more about GMC than it does DJax.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:41 am
Uh huh…
June 24th, 2019 at 8:49 am
I’m wondering when Joe will be able to report on exactly how poisonous djax was for Jamies and the team. It is obvious to me Joe knows more than he can currently type.
June 24th, 2019 at 8:53 am
dmatt Says:
Baker was ncouraging n motivating the man. Baker was another Albert Haynesworth, selfish n lazy.
_______________
This is called “irony” right here. “selfish n lazy”. How much time do you save everytime you write “n” instead of “and”? LAZY!
June 24th, 2019 at 9:07 am
When all the parties involved are no longer employed in their current positions. It might be a while.
June 24th, 2019 at 9:26 am
Joe Says:
June 24th, 2019 at 8:15 am
GMC didn’t seem like He was anti djax in the least.
GMC is not anti-DJax. That says more about GMC than it does DJax.
sounds to me like djax wasnt the only player trying to “torpedo” winston or the team for that matter…..especially with GMC running his mouth and feeling butt hurt….
imo, it starts with the coaches….the HC shouldve laid down the law….instead djax and baker became the new sheriffs in town in a blink of an eye…..
dirk wasnt scared to send ASJ home packing for not giving full effort and not knowing the offense….dirk shouldve held everyone accountable…..
the team was mentally weak and had weak leaders “trying” to run the show….
GO BUCS!!!!
June 24th, 2019 at 10:11 am
Cheeseburger Baker was taunting his field goal kicker instead of encouraging n motivating the man.
————-
In certain parts of the country this is considered motivating or motivational.
Most people come down here and get soft.
I remember the day I arrived in Fl. We stopped by a convenience store and as I entered some dude held the door open for me and I wanted to fight him. I was like wtf is wrong with you man? Opening up the door for me? You got a mf problem?
That stuff doesn’t happen in other parts of the country, people are so nice down here it’s down right weird at first but then you get used to of it or maybe you just get soft like everyone else idk.
But yea outside of worrying about some magadude emptying a clip on you in a movie theater or a school there’s not too much to worry about down here so the team is already at a disadvantage.
Maybe someday we’ll have a leader that grew up down in FT Myers or even better Carroll City those kids got it rough and dodge bullets on the way to school. That’s the mentality tough leadership the Bucs need. Wait! Where did JPP grow up? Well I guess Deerfield beach will have to do, he spent enough time in the Big Apple to grow some calluses.
June 24th, 2019 at 10:12 am
813
I’m think he sent asj home Bc he was drunk but that’s pure specula.
June 24th, 2019 at 10:25 am
@Bonzai…I think Sapp would be more in your face for sure…but I think Brooks had (and still does have) a bettre bigger picture. All good though.
June 24th, 2019 at 11:30 am
Joe
“Had Licht unloaded Jackson, the coaching staff may have pulled a code red on Licht.”
Don’t understand this opinion at all.. Wouldn’t return punts, half arsed effort most of the time (plus all the things Joe knows, but hasn’t divulged)
Why would they code red Licht for getting something for a malcontent?
It wasn’t like he was the missing piece for a SB run.
June 24th, 2019 at 4:16 pm
Db55
Holding the door open for someone is soft? Lmao foh. That’s ridiculous.
I’ve beat the sh** out of several relocated yankees who came to the South and got fresh after southern hospitality.
People down here may be “weird” or “soft” because they were raised that way but try this fight a lot of them and you’ll get embarrassed real quick.
That mentality is a joke.
June 24th, 2019 at 9:23 pm
Desean isn’t a hand grenade dirk was just a puzzy footed peniz wrinkle.
June 24th, 2019 at 10:48 pm
We have lots of team players now that BA is running things. If not they know they will be tossed in a NY Minute!!!