The Biggest Mistake
June 8th, 2019
Looking back.
When you talk about mistakes and the Bucs the past decade, where do you start? And just as importantly, where do you end?
If there was a class on mismanagement and bungling at an institute of higher learning, a prerequisite to obtain a degree in sports management, the Bucs of this decade would be a great case study.
Joe doesn’t want to list all the mistakes made in the post-Chucky era. Why? Joe doesn’t want to make people barf on the bar on this fine summer weekend. Let’s just say a drunk over in the corner wouldn’t pull stunts the Bucs did through the past 10 years.
Over at Bleacher Report, Gary Davenport looked at the worst mistake each team has made in the past decade. He believes the Darrelle Revis affair helped doom the Bucs.
Revis made the Pro Bowl again in 2013, but it was much more due to reputation than performance. He wasn’t a great fit in Tampa’s Cover-2 defense, which required him to play a lot more zone than press man.
Well, first, Revis played so much zone because he wasn’t quite fully recovered from knee surgery, yet he was still an upgrade from what the Bucs had in the secondary.
Then-Bucs commander Greg Schiano was a fairly decent defensive coach (sure as hell better than his two successors). If Revis was 100 percent, you don’t think Schiano, a former defensive backs coach himself, wouldn’t have used Revis in a retooled man defense?
No, the mistake was letting Revis go. Just tossed him aside like the weekend trash full of empty beer bottles, discarded pizza boxes and chicken bones. Didn’t get a dime for the guy.
That wasn’t just a mistake, that was beyond stupid. (Hi Lovie!)
The reason the Bucs traded for Revis? The Bucs had no pass rush thanks to some imbecile who decided to toss aside Michael Bennett for no good reason. It was easier to pay for a future Hall of Fame corner than to find anyone to replace Bennett.
Running off Bennett was the worst decision of the Lost Decade. How many draft picks have been burned and how many tens of millions of dollars of Team Glazer loot have been spent trying to replace Bennett?
June 8th, 2019 at 12:15 am
Schiano was better than Lovie, worse than Koetter.
As for Revis, that pick wouldn’t have been worth much. That draft was filled with busts, and knowing the Bucs, we would’ve drafted a bust.
Not resigning Bennett was a terrible decision, but I’d say it was the constant changing of coaches that really set this team back. You can’t hire and fire guys every two years and expect success.
The Josh Freeman disaster set this team back too. Can’t underestimate that
But to be real, changing the uniforms was the worst decision of this franchise this past decade
June 8th, 2019 at 12:20 am
No mention of the first round pick that was used to trade for Revis, to then pick Sheldon Richardson. That makes a two player swing the the Bucs threw away. This is a year after picking Mark Barron. Then letting Bennett go.
I want what Dom & Licht were smoking.
June 8th, 2019 at 2:00 am
Imo Michael Bennett is by far not the worse decision in the last 10 years. There is too many to be the worse but I refuse to believe Michael Bennett alone could of made a difference. We would of still lost.
I think signing Djax was the worse as I said the day we signed him and it had stopped the momentum of coming off a rare winning season. You can throw in Baker.
June 8th, 2019 at 3:55 am
Lots of mistakes. The root cause of many if not all mistakes was Malcolm’s Stroke in 2006. From the moment he became ill and the kids took over the Biz, the Buc’s started downward. One playoff year occured in 2007 but then the lost decade + went basically unabated.
If Malcolm had stayed healthy who knows. In many ways it is too bad that upon his death in 2014 the kids weren’t required to sell the team. But Malcolm was enough of a good business man to work out the details to pass the empire to his kids. Other families in NFL history didn’t or couldn’t.
Ask ManU fans how they feel about the Glazer Kids!
The “Best” QB in Buccaneers history is not even on track to make the Ring of Honor at Ray Jay.
June 8th, 2019 at 4:03 am
None of the coaches and management knew how to draft talent …which is why neither could win!!! There is some real talent being brought in with this regime…..time to watch this team improve!!
June 8th, 2019 at 4:05 am
The “Best” QB in Buccaneers history is not even on track to make the Ring of Honor at Ray Jay
Joe – the real concern is that if you write this article 10 years from now will Jameis Winston be added to the biggest mistake list? BA or Bust for Winston?
of course they could be the London Buccaneers then… and you would be writing for Blokebucsfan.com
For the many here who have no idea – Bloke is simply a British slang term for ‘man/guy’, with perhaps slight connotations of masculinity, and used only in an informal setting.
June 8th, 2019 at 5:15 am
Too obsessed over Michael Bennett – one guy does not a pass rush make. JPP had more sacks for the Buc’s last year than Bennett has ever had in any season. 10 sacks BTW is his best season and only once. Letting him go was likely a mistake but not as big as some others. We would still have lost the decade.
The “Best” QB in Buccaneers history is not even on track to make the Ring of Honor at Ray Jay
June 8th, 2019 at 5:29 am
Since 2008: Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Josh Freeman, Josh Johnson, Byron Leftwich, Mike Glennon, Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick and finally Jameis “meaningless stats” Winston.
This appears to be an issue.
The “Best” QB in Buccaneers history is not even on track to make the Ring of Honor at Ray Jay
June 8th, 2019 at 6:08 am
@westernbuc … “Not resigning Bennett was a terrible decision, but I’d say it was the constant changing of coaches that really set this team back”. Ding ding ding, we have a winner. The coaching carousel that’s existed here in Tampa for far too many years is the root cause of all our problems.
Bucs have had THREE coaches who had stability here for 20 years out of our 44-year history: John McKay (7 years), Tony Dungy (6 years) and Jon Gruden (7 years). McKay’s 76-78 teams struggled being new (7-37), but his 79-82 teams did have some success (29-27 & had 3 playoff seasons). Dungy’s 96 team struggled (6-10), but his 97-01 teams all did quite well (48-32 & had 4 playoff seasons). Gruden won his SB here of course, and he also posted an overall winning record despite 3 bad years (57-55 & had 3 playoff seasons).
But our 83-95 teams were REALLY bad (58-149 with ZERO winning seasons in those 13 years). That’s a 28% winning ratio … REALLY bad. And yes we had FOUR coaches in that period. Our 2009-2018 teams were also REALLY bad (55-105 but with TWO winning seasons in those 10 years). That’s a 34% winning ratio … still bad and we also had FOUR coaches in that period.
And so here we sit in 2019 with our 12th Head Coach & coaching staff in 45 years. We had reasonable success when we had coaching stability for 6-7 years each. We had miserable results when we’ve changed coaching staffs every 2-3 years. Coaching selection falls on ownership & management … they win the grand prize for being the weak link in the Bucs organization.
June 8th, 2019 at 6:25 am
Oh yeah….. Revis Island was so scary.
Ha.
The biggest mistake was letting Matt Bryant go.
June 8th, 2019 at 6:47 am
Signing Michael “ghost” Johnson
That guy absolutely …positively …sucked
June 8th, 2019 at 8:01 am
Worst mistake….trading u for kicker
June 8th, 2019 at 8:38 am
I will never agree with Joe on this one.
Signing Darrelle Revis was the mistake. Paying $16 million for a player who was still recovering? Horrible investment. And Darrelle Revis never…never earned the money he got paid.
So far as letting him go…what exactly did he accomplish after leaving?
June 8th, 2019 at 8:38 am
We aren’t the worst franchise in the nfl by accident
June 8th, 2019 at 8:49 am
The coaching carousel since Gruden was fired has set this team back more than anything. This is the result of the owners caving in to the fans and media.
The Glazer boys need to learn that regardless of how the fans and media whine, once you start winning that will go away. The problem we have here is expecting immediate gratification.
We see it in the fans year after year, always fed by the media. The hype is built up, fans start buying in, and then by 4 games into the season every year, the fans start realizing the hype was wrong.
The hype is ALWAYS wrong.
The simple truth is that draft picks uncommonly pay off in their first year. When the Bucs make a pick, fans should expect 2-3 years of development. This accounts for one-year-wonders and slow to develop players. Warren Sapp was horrible his first year. So was Barber, Lynch and such. But they developed.
Yes, we hear about first year players doing well every year…but there are usually very few of those in an entire draft class. Solid is about the best you can hope for in rookie years.
Occasionally, we see an elite player show up, but that is rare. I suspect Devin White may be just that…maybe.
But don’t be surprised if some of last year’s picks start producing this year…if they are kept long enough. (new coaches and all that)
June 8th, 2019 at 8:52 am
Tampabaybucfan Says
“Worst mistake….trading u for kicker”
See, I don’t view Aguayo as a mistake.
How many second round picks don’t pay off? It was no different. Aguayo was a risk that didn’t pay off, but the entire draft is a risk.
Yes, we could have had certain other players instead…but we don’t know if the Bucs would have taken those players. I’m not big on crying over spilled milk.
June 8th, 2019 at 8:53 am
I don’t often agree with DooshLaRue, but Matt Bryant is a great example.
June 8th, 2019 at 8:56 am
Defense Rules Says
“We had reasonable success when we had coaching stability for 6-7 years each. We had miserable results when we’ve changed coaching staffs every 2-3 years.”
Great point. This is also why it is hard to get good talent and great coaches in Tampa. They know the Glazers are too impatient, so the organization is unstable.
June 8th, 2019 at 9:19 am
After this year it could be Winston’s failure after being the Number #1 pick in the draft… Time will tell if he learns accuracy , keeps his hands to himself and limits his fumbling .
June 8th, 2019 at 9:42 am
There are soooooo many…. Tempting to say hiring and firing so many coaches. But that is not one mistake, it is repeated mistakes.
No, the worst single mistake was hiring Lovie. Why? Lovie set the Bucs back YEARS with all the personnel decisions he made. He released Penn, Larson and (?) and they continued to play in the league for years. Trading Foster for a bag of peanuts was stupid, just to see another coach put Foster in another position and excel.
Soooo much very valuable draft capital had to be used to make up for all this blundering. That is the single worst mistake – hiring Lovie
June 8th, 2019 at 10:21 am
The biggest mistake was hiring Coaches who had no clue on how to develop players. Another mistake was giving up tons of future picks to get Chucky which was why Chucky could not get back to the Super Bowl after spending a fortune for Free Agents to get there and win once! The lack of a gifted GM during Chucky til now was another major mistake. We had to get a novice GM who has slowly developed and finally resulted in getting BA who will keep Licht improving on his picks now! BA will turn us around!
June 8th, 2019 at 10:24 am
I thought the mistakes started when they signed Albert Haynesworth.
June 8th, 2019 at 10:40 am
at first glance, i thought the pic was of Carnell Williams, another huge mistake!!
June 8th, 2019 at 10:52 am
Why are we still picking at old scabs? Why Joe? Why?
June 8th, 2019 at 11:18 am
I rarely agree with Bonzai, but I do here. Signing Revis in the first place for all that coin coming off a very significant injury was idiotic.
June 8th, 2019 at 11:55 am
Good thing you are only going back a decade here Joe. And you forgot a
plethera of Buc mistakes. I’ve been following us since inception. and buddy let me tell ya somethin…….We’ve made more mistakes probably than any other NFL franchise in existence. Simply to many to list. Would take me a few hours. You young Bucs don’t know nothin bout that.
June 8th, 2019 at 12:07 pm
The Bucs worst mistakes.
#1. Mark Dominic
#2. Building around #5 Josh Freeman
#3. Picking Mark Barron over Luke K.
#4. Licht picking a worthless kicker in second round
#5. Lovie Smith
#6. Rah Morris
#7. Greg Schiano
#8. Michael Bennett
#9. The Revis deal
#10. Mike Smith as defensive coordinator
June 8th, 2019 at 1:15 pm
The biggest mistake in Buc history, and there has been some real doozies, is trading the 70th pick in this year’s draft for two magic beans.
The Bucs passed on the greatest all around RB back in NCAA history, who is #1 all time at career YPC (8.2). Name a great college RB, any one, Darrell Henderson has them beat.
The LA Rams created a dynasty by trading two compensatory (free) picks to a dullard named Jason Licht who was too stupid and uninformed to know what he was doing.
While the Bucs waited in anticipation for their 94th and 99th picks to arrive, they were probably a little shocked and dismayed that the Rams chose twice more in the 3rd before the Bucs finally got their turn. I know I was.
All Gump had to do was ask, but he didn’t know. The Rams would have given them just about anything for DH.
Letting Doug Williams go was the 2nd worst boner.
June 8th, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Good list there marine Buc. But I have..26 more though. Just to many to list.
And not worth me time.
June 8th, 2019 at 3:24 pm
@ Mike
I have a much longer list. Instead of going through all of Mark Dominik’s drafts and listing each bad choice I just decided to put him #1… The list could be much much longer.
June 8th, 2019 at 3:56 pm
Joe, Revis wanted out and asked to leave. He’s quoted thanking the glaziers for not franchising him. Bucs with 75% healthy Revis had 15th ranked defense.
June 8th, 2019 at 6:08 pm
Has always pissed me off from the time we let him go….and i was very vocal here about it….Blount! Absolutely screwed the pooch on that one.
Never shouldve cut Legarrette Blount! Look what he did! Or Matt Bryant! Look what he did!!! Oh the curses!
But batmanfan….yeah im behind that one 100….screw gmc….the one we held onto for far too long!
June 8th, 2019 at 6:46 pm
We played Tampa 2 under Schiano and ghastly DC Bill Sheridan? That’s news to me. From what I recall, we played a ton of cover 0 and 1… don’t recall Mason Foster EVER running down the middle of the field splitting those safeties in Tampa 2. Stupid uninformed people should not be allowed to write articles… or in Kobe’s case, post responses to articles.
June 8th, 2019 at 10:19 pm
Hiring Mike Batt and Friends-lovin’ Bucs’ ex-GM Mark Dominik was clearly the franchise’s worst mistake. We, as the fans, have been paying the price ever since. Using the word “imbecile” to describe his moves is correct, sir!
June 9th, 2019 at 11:14 am
I knew it when it happened. A first rounder for an aging corner when you were the only team willing to trade for a guy who said he wanted out of NY.. and then paying him $16 million when you were no where close to being a winning team.
The lost decade could be blamed on bad management more than anything!
June 9th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Bucsfaninchina Says:
June 8th, 2019 at 12:20 am
No mention of the first round pick that was used to trade for Revis, to then pick Sheldon Richardson. That makes a two player swing the the Bucs threw away. This is a year after picking Mark Barron. Then letting Bennett go.
DING DING DING !!!!
This is the full story of yet another moment of Bucs ineptitude. 1st round pick for a 1 year rehab. Only the Bucs.
Hopefully BA has better senses and is instilling them in Licht.
June 10th, 2019 at 9:03 am
I still say Winston. Number One overall pick should NOT have us where we are SIX YEARS later!!! Period.
June 10th, 2019 at 10:14 am
Most of the things Dom did make Licht look like a genius. Wanna talk about second round busts and free agent mistakes? look no further than the “rock star” himself.
June 10th, 2019 at 12:42 pm
Morgus you should try learning some math.
Winston has played for 4 seasons. The upcoming season will be his 5th year.
Does he need to improve? Yes.
Now, can you show me a QB who has ever led his team to a winning record while having a bottom 3 defense AND a bottom 3 rushing attack? Go ahead, I’ll wait….