Dangers Of Banking On Hope
July 8th, 2019
False hope?
Joe doesn’t like hope. Because hope is often empty, vacant, false.
Joe believes football teams should be built as if a loan officer is running the show. Want a loan for a new car? Prove that you have income. Lending institutions are unlikely to loan someone $20,000 with the hope that the borrower somehow finds revenue to pay back the loan.
And with the Bucs willfully ignoring running back this past offseason both in free agency and the draft, and [thus far] not doing anything to replace Jason Pierre-Paul’s sacks and quarterback hits and the hole at right guard, it gives former Bucs guard Ian Beckles indigestion.
Beckles, currently a popular local sports radio personality, took to his podcast “In the Trenches” and suggested hoping guys who have yet to prove anything in the NFL all of a sudden become productive is a good way to set yourself up to get in a whole lot of hot water.
“When I keep on hearing ‘Noah Spence, Noah Spence, Noah Spence.’ Second-rounder, great,” Beckles began. “That was ages ago. And you had a long time to show everybody you can play and I have not seen it. I mean, Noah Spence has 6.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. And [he] was in the 2016 draft? That’s a long time ago people. Look, 6.5 sacks is not a lot of sacks.
“And when you keep on hearing Ronald Jones, I mean, OK! He was a high draft pick. But why? It’s like Jason Licht is trying to make guys good. He’s trying to justify why he is picking all of these guys. And, good luck.
“Alex Cappa. That’s another name. [Caleb] Benenoch sucked last year, everybody saw that. But Alex Cappa was on the bench. Behind Benenoch and came in every once in a while and didn’t play any better. So all of a sudden we are expected to believe that Alex Cappa is going to be a good football player? That’s tough. That’s tough.”
This is exactly what makes Joe nervous about this coming season. Areas crying for help were ignored like these dense fools who leave dogs in hot cars in the summer. In Florida.
Sure, Joe hopes America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, is a top-10 quarterback. The thing is, he’s shown he can be elite.
Spence, Jones and Cappa have shown what, exactly?
As always, Beckles welcomes feedback and encourages listeners to submit Bucs questions by e-mailing him at IanBeckles@RadioInfluence.com.
July 7th, 2019 at 11:43 pm
I agree. We have holes on our team. You may not like it, but these areas were addressed.
DL S Barret and Nelson. Spence having a nice year would be welcome.
OL E Watford, J, LeRibeus. Cappa having a solid year would also be welcome.
Its also been stated multiple times ‘the roster will be different in Sept’.
In BA I Trust!
July 8th, 2019 at 8:23 am
@Sport – “They were addressed.” I guess if you mean they found some warm bodies off the street to man some positions you are correct. They were addressed. The problem is they were not really addressed with upgrades. Noah was a healthy scratch for a number of games last year. Hoping he turns it around is foolish at this point. He is probably to still have a job. Cappa couldn’t replace the worst starting guard in the league last year. I would love them to prove me wrong but believing they will simply because we have a new coach is silly.
July 8th, 2019 at 8:29 am
“There Ain’t No Hope in Football”
July 8th, 2019 at 8:33 am
Almost as silly as D Freeman becoming a Pro Bowl RB as soon as Dirk leaves…
Sound familiar?
Coaching will make a difference
Knowing how to hide your weaknesses and playing to your strengths
You know, like a real HC, not an over promoted OC
July 8th, 2019 at 8:39 am
@Joe:
Last year’s Cappa situation EITHER boiled down to (1) the player not being very good OR (2) Koetter not trusting rookies, especially on the O-line.
Which was it?
The evidence for #1 is Cappa’s draft report. His athletic spider graph was below average IIRC. Add to it the fact that he just didn’t play.
The evidence for #2 is Koetter’s whole history in coaching, with the Bucs and the Falcons and elsewhere. As Bonzai pointed out some time ago he regularly coached around bad O-line talent with pass blocking schemes. Run blocking not so much.
So which is it? A below-average talent with a temper? Or a bad-ass not given a chance (last year at least)? Inquiring minds want to know. . .
July 8th, 2019 at 8:41 am
Coach Bruce Arians isn’t a moron the staff last year that’s a different story. I’m going to relax and enjoy the show only 2 more weeks till Training camp and the speculation will end.
July 8th, 2019 at 8:44 am
It seems to me that the absence of hope is far worse…….hope is what gets you from the unknown to the known…….you really can’t have anything at all right now (before the season) than hope.
How about skepticism, negativism, pessimism, gloom, doom…..how does that feel?
I chose to hope…..not blindly…..just in my DNA.
July 8th, 2019 at 8:46 am
So all of a sudden we are expected to believe that Demar Dotson will be a good run blocker?
July 8th, 2019 at 8:53 am
First I agree with Sport’s take. It would be NICE if Spence blossomed into a terrific player…it would be NICE if ROJO turned into a star…it would be nice if Cappa turned out to be the real deal….but that’s just it….NICE…not essential.
We are counting on…Suh…White and two of those DB’s to emerge as true NFL starting caliber DB’s something we haven’t had in a long time.
I HOPE Spence is so healthy he can at least play to his rookie stats achieved with a bum shoulder. But I do not believe his play will make or break us. White and LVD on the other hand are different stories. They MUST play great.
And as far as “addressed” I agree with Sport there as well. IMHO “addressed” means using all available resources to fix the problems. Frequently…almost always in the NFL there are more needs than resources to properly “address” them all.
Andy to Red in Shawshank Redemption….
“Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
July 8th, 2019 at 9:02 am
80% of athletes are system players…
dirk’s system didn’t work well for some people…
let’s see if the above mentioned can find some new found life within a new system…
nuff said…
#SystemPlayersOrPocketPoolKings
July 8th, 2019 at 9:05 am
TDTB – We are aligned that it doesn’t appear to be an upgrade.
I am firmly in the camp that our greatest acquisition this offseason was BA and his staff.
Therefore, I’m expecting elevated play from every player on this team. I’m also expecting any new player to meet or exceed our new standard of effort and execution.
In BA I Trust!
July 8th, 2019 at 9:07 am
The Bucs sell hope better then anyone and the fans buy into it every time….This team hasn’t produced a playoff team in a decade…we’ve had two winning seasons. The rest have been absolute garbage seasons where we are out of the conversation by October. At best the Bucs might get ONE game out of me at the stadium, the rest I watch on TV and if we are down by two TDs in the first half, i’m moving on with my day. Say what you want, but the stats don’t lie, we weren’t coming back to win. They may rally, they may make it close but ultimately they lose and i’m not wasting time on a product that cant compete for at least a wild card spot each year.
July 8th, 2019 at 9:17 am
Also….Spence’s strength was his speed off the edge, problem is he’s to lite in the pants and his body cant endure the pounding. If he adds weight, he loses his speed and he’s not even avg. I’ll be shocked if he amounts to much but we’ll see. Maybe the new system will offer him a better fit….but what are we talking about…a handful of 3-4 sacks? For 2nd rd pick he’s done a whole lot of nothing.
July 8th, 2019 at 9:18 am
Noah keeps us all in suSpence
July 8th, 2019 at 9:24 am
Hope is not a strategy…
July 8th, 2019 at 9:38 am
That’s the essence of being a fan, is hoping your team can exceed expectations! It’s easier to be pessimistic because it’s safe. So if the team exceeds your pessimism, then great, I was wrong, no big deal, and if they don’t, you feel validated. How do we know these players won’t improve? Past history doesn’t guarantee it will be the same. If Ariens had success turning teams around, then, why not be hopeful? I know I am! Go Bucs!
July 8th, 2019 at 9:51 am
Those players were picked before BA arrived. They’ve been given a long leach, that will end this training camp. BA won’t hold on to dead wood like Licht has. If a guy like Zach Bailey plays better then Cappa I have to believe Cappa will be working a loading dock at Lowes where he belongs.
July 8th, 2019 at 10:18 am
HOW THE HELL ARE WE BANKING ON THESE 3 GUYS ENOUGH TO SAY WE HAVE FALSE HOPE? Maybe you should have invoked peyton barber’s name considering he’s the starting back. So stupid to listen to media sometimes then joe try to dive it up with some dumb fake narrative. The offense doesn’t need cappa or jones to be as good as it was last year. The defense doesn’t NEED spence although yea we saw what he could do in a 4-3 never mind we are in a 3-4 he’s better suited for. Your gonna have to block a lot of people this year because your opinion will be worse less than dog doo if you keep up the illogical nonsense. Who needs coaches I guess Patriots would go to the superbowl every year if raheem Morris was coach because they have Tom Brady.
And yes jor you do sound stupid for saying we are banking on a guy with 23 Carrie’s and a tackle who isn’t even designated a starter just more fake news
July 8th, 2019 at 10:24 am
The only people that bank on hope are the fanbase of losers.
6-10. The only hope I have for the season is that I hope the Bucs prove me wrong because I’m tired of being proven right about this sorry franchise.
July 8th, 2019 at 10:24 am
yes, those guys are on their roster because there is some hope around them. but there have been moves to add depth & potential upgrades at all the positions. not desean jackson or vinny curry type headliners, but guys the coaches have some trust in or who have shown on film that they can fill a role on this team
July 8th, 2019 at 10:26 am
and by the way, how much did those bigtime free agent “upgrades” give us once the games actually began? if you want to talk about false hope, the conversation should begin with the myth of the free agent savior
July 8th, 2019 at 10:54 am
Can’t stand Beckles, but he’s right on this one. Too much “hope” with too little to show. Agreed, Winston has the most “promise” from a football standpoint of anyone who is here to prove something. But using Joe’s “loan officer’ example, not sure he’s not already proven to be a credit risk.
July 8th, 2019 at 10:56 am
It appears that Beckles can see how bad some of our o-line is….
July 8th, 2019 at 11:01 am
I agree to some extent joe. Let’s use Spence for example his rookie year he gets 5.5 sacks in a rotational role. That’s decent an with injury at that but then he declines cuz the coaches don’t wanna develop him or matter of fact be near him like he’s the plague. Maybe he did something to get himself sidelined but no story has come out about it. So In my opinion guys like Spence Hargreaves an Rojo an there’s more just don’t wanna name them all but if these guys get actually developed they just might be good. So I’m not putting my hope in these players what I am hoping for is this coaching staff to develop these guys they have some talent an if this coaching staff can’t then let them go plzz
July 8th, 2019 at 11:08 am
There were lots of negative posters when another Pittsburg trained Coach was named)—Tony Dungy, and especially when they lost every game at the start of the first half of their first year, but then they went on a long win streak winning the second half of the year and all the sky is falling posters had to eat their words. The facts that BA took a sorrier 3 win Arizona Team with less talent than our team has, and turned them into a 10 WIN Playoff Team in his first year, another HC from the Pittsburg Tree who as an OC developed their still star QB and won a Super Bowl Ring as their OC is a legitimate source of hope! Cappa was only developed as a Center last year and is a former LT, you have to expect it is going to take time for BA’s Coaches to teach him how to play RT, which is not OT which is his forte and where he excelled in the Senior Bowl. If he cannot succeed at RT no worries. Liedtke is a Veteran OG and can step right in and start at RG.
July 8th, 2019 at 11:21 am
Back when I was selling computers on Florida’s west coast, I had a sales training class that I thought was worth while. The instructor commented that a poor sales practice is to base your sales approach to “hope”. When asked if you are going to sell to a particular customer, the wrong answer is to say, “I hope so.” Then the sales guy is in “Hopa-hopa land”.
That’s where I think many of the bloggers here are. They are hoping that players that have shown–nothing, will become stars in 2019. They are in “Hopa-hopa land”. Hope springs eternal, as it should, but should carry little weight when rationally discussing how a team will perform.
I think this is what Joe is attempting to say in this thread.
July 8th, 2019 at 11:53 am
the previous coaches couldnt develop mud with water and dirt let alone an NFL player…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
July 8th, 2019 at 12:10 pm
“The thing is, he’s shown he can be elite.”
When? Speaking of “hope”, that’s all we’ve seen from Jameis. And please don’t quote his stats when you want to show he’s elite. Elite QBs WIN football games.
July 8th, 2019 at 12:33 pm
I cant wait for soence to be playing OLB like he should have been playing all along and become von miller 2.0
ITS ALWAYS BEEN COACHING!!!!!!
July 8th, 2019 at 1:04 pm
Poor o-line
Weak D-line
among the leagues worst running backs
a negligent qb
a good receiving corp
and numerous DBs
all with few talented ones sprinkled in
The Patriots should be learning from the Bucs {sarcasm!}
I’ve seen high school and college teams built better and be more competitive among their opponents!
July 8th, 2019 at 3:48 pm
I just HOPE..these Bucs can finish at 500. My expectations are not high at all.
July 8th, 2019 at 11:51 pm
Spence played well a time Smith did not use him
I think the D will be better with Bowles
BTW Ian Beckles is a blowhard
This guy is like herpes on the radio
Joe you give great feedback but this guy is a bum
Please keep him out of your site thanks