Don’t “Rob Peter To Pay Paul”
March 8th, 2020
Decisions.
On the day before Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians spoke at the combine in Indianapolis, Scott Spratt of Football Outsiders must have channeled their thoughts.
At the combine, Arians stated how his main priority is keeping the Bucs defense intact. It was a tremendous defense the last few weeks of the season. Arians hinted that without that defense returning, it’s will be a rough haul for the Bucs in 2020.
Spratt, in an article for Football Outsiders, wrote how the Bucs must find a way to fix the rushing attack and he insinuated this should be done through the draft, not free agency.
Why? Because, writes Spratt, the Bucs must keep the defense together and that’s going to take a lot of Team Glazer loot.
The Bucs may be reluctant to increase their financial commitment to the running game if it would rob Peter to pay Paul. The team’s surprising jump from five to nine wins … was carried by defensive improvements, and that has left the team with a handful of costly free-agent defenders. The most valuable of that bunch is pass-rusher Shaquil Barrett, who led the league with 19.5 sacks and finished fifth with 55 pass pressures. But Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, and Carl Nassib added 29, 28, and 24 pass pressures, respectively, as well as four, five, and six run defeats to contribute to the league’s best run defense.
The Bucs may want to hold onto several of those key defenders. Fortunately for the team, they may be able to. Their near-$85 million in available cap space is the third most in football and way ahead of all three of their NFC South rivals. They should have some financial flexibility even after they address quarterback, and even if the way they address quarterback is a cap-expensive franchise tagging of Jameis Winston.
Joe cannot argue with Spratt’s theory there. Draft a running back(s). They are cheaper.
The Bucs have stated Shaq will return and Licht said Suh wants to return (though Joe thinks we all know he is unlikely to take a discount).
The wild card here is JPP. Does he want to come back? He told Joe back in November he did. But what if JPP is sick of Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, and holds the Bucs hostage on a starting quarterback? What then?
Do the Bucs allow themselves to be railroaded into letting a defender choose their quarterback? That would seem to be counterproductive.
March 8th, 2020 at 8:14 am
Joe Says….”The wild card here is JPP. Does he want to come back? He told Joe back in November he did. But what if JPP is sick of Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, and holds the Bucs hostage on a starting quarterback? What then?
Do the Bucs allow themselves to be railroaded into letting a defender choose their quarterback? That would seem to be counterproductive.”
What are you trying to do with this statement Joe? Are you trying to get the Bucs to keep Winston At JPP’s expense? How can you accuse JPP of all people of trying to railroad Arians & Licht? You are playing a dangerous game with this wild and unsubstantiated statement! You may lose your credibility trying what looks like a desperate attempt at keeping your favorite QB.
March 8th, 2020 at 8:21 am
Draft an OL player high and a RB lower, and that could be enough to shore up the run game with Jones, the new guy, and Barber. I’m not saying that’s stellar at all, but if it is at least average that will help the pass game. Dump Winston, and bring in any of Rivers, Bridgewater, Tannehill, Carr, and Dalton and manage the game well enough to use this fine receiver squad while turning the ball over half as much (by Winston being gone), and the no reason this team can’t eek out 10-11 wins off the bat. There is no reason to use a tag on anyone. And if the CBA passes (it is expected the players will vote FOR it), there will be only one tag…if it goes to anyone, would be Shaq. But that perplexes me becaause I don’t know how he could have had a fluke year in their minds. But dump Winston. The Bucs can easily pay $24-27M for a FA QB (and they can draft one next year if need be) that can be more effective (take care of the ball, make better decisions to enable more wins).
March 8th, 2020 at 8:37 am
I like the article. While the Bucs only had 7 wins, in reality he knows if the Bucs should have won 9 games if they had a kicker. I am guessing that is why he gave us credit for 9! SMH! Are we supposed to give any credit to a writer who doesn’t even know what our record was last year.
These national guys are so bad. I just read another article that stated JW should be the teams 8th option. Behind Tanneyhill, Folds, Dalton and Rivers. GTFOH.
March 8th, 2020 at 8:42 am
Ditto TDTB… Don’t respect anyone who can’t get the most obvious stat correct.
March 8th, 2020 at 8:55 am
No question here. Keep JPP. Get a FA QB or trade for one after the musical chairs of QBs stops. My preference is Carr if he becomes available. Maybe you rrade OJ and a late round pick for him.
I really hope one of the top 4 OTs is still available at 14. Our best hope is the Browns and/or Jets get a T in FA and the Cards pick a WR. If a OT isn”t available, the Bucs will have a hard decision to make, chose DL or trade back for the #5 or 6 OT. I would prefer to trade back to 21. Philly wants to get in front of Denver at 15 to get a WR. An extra 2nd round pick would be great. The Bucs could get both a S and DE in the 2nd. This is a strong DT class and they could get one in the 3rd. WR and RB (AJ Dillon) in the 4th. Developmental QB and LB depth in the 5th and 6th.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:01 am
Bring in the Dallas Renegade kicker Austin MacGinnis to training camp. He hasn’t missed a kick yet. He would be good competition for Gay.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:02 am
Joe has taken silly season to the next level. He’s now completely making stuff up. JPP making QB demands? I’m sure the defense does have an opinion, we heard plenty from Shaq, it was realistic criticism. Is the next Shill Joe article going to fabricate off that too.
Don’t expect to come to JBF to get smarter. Hah!
In BA I Trust!
March 8th, 2020 at 9:19 am
Fixing the running game does not necessarily mean RB, fixing the offensive line will pay dividends in both rushing and passing ! It is too bad most mocks show an early run on OT’s ahead of the Bucs pick, so maybe a RB will be first, if a trade down partner can be found.There are aging starters on both lines that are my priority early in the draft. I could even go with last years starting RB’s with a better OL.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:24 am
1) Keep JPP and sign either Rivers or Dalton (Or equivalent alternative)
2) Let JPP walk and sign Jameis at his asking price
3) Keep JPP and sign Jameis for what he’s actually earned and is worth (under 25 mill)
This is easy for me and every fan I talk with daily.. Option 1 or option 3 it should be! Option 2 is a terrible decision.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:30 am
What blows me away is the 100% belief that our defense was so great last year at the end. Hey I hope that is the case but let’s not forget that was against David Blough and the hapless Lions, Foles/Minshew and the horrific Jags, the Texans who at their core are a running team which we was our strength and the Falcons who drove down the field not once but twice in the 4tj quarter of the last game to tie the game and send it into OT. I’m sorry but which one of those was impressive enough to erase how unbelievably Horrible they were against the Saints both times or the Cardinals or the Rams or the Seahawks or the Giants?
March 8th, 2020 at 9:31 am
Let’s all just remember better than disgusting does not equal quality.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:46 am
“The wild card here is JPP. Does he want to come back?”
I called this into question the moment they reworked his deal. The last year was not guaranteed, so that means JPP wanted it dropped, sending the signal that he wanted out.
If that is the case…well…sometimes I hate on the rare occasions that I’m right.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:46 am
As stated before, to let any of their defensive playmakers walk because they need the cap space or cash to sign Winston, the Human Turnovers Machine, Mr. Pick 6 , would be absolutely ignorant. Find a less expensive option at QB who doesn’t continually turn the ball over and cost your team games.
March 8th, 2020 at 9:47 am
I think the Bucs look at the 49ers, particularly with Lynch being the GM, as a model to replicate. Garrapollo is a very good game manager, they play great defense and had a solid run game. It seems we aren’t all that far off from having the same. Say what you want, teams were drooling over Garrapollo with just 5 games of film. Winston is about to be a free agent with 5 yrs of film and you can hear crickets when it comes to teams’ interest. I think the Bucs go for a game manager that Arians coaches up….at a discount. Reload the defense, draft RB/OL to shore up the run game. The kid from Wisconsin at RB might be in the same caliber at Barkley, Elliott….I just cant see them passing on him for OL….except for maybe the d-linemen Kinlaw?
March 8th, 2020 at 10:06 am
Hey Bucs, how about this…
Franchise Barrett ($16m) to make sure legit before long term deal.
Sign Teddy Bridgewater ($22m/year) to Foles type deal
Trade OJ Howard and maybe late round pick to Washington for Trent Williams and re-up him for ($16m/year for 3 years). Starting LT and move Smith to RT.
Resign JPP to ($12m/year for 3 years)
Let Suh walk and draft Kinlaw to pair with Vea
Still have enough money to sign draft picks and maybe also keep Nassib.
Would love it.
March 8th, 2020 at 10:09 am
Ndog
“Let’s all just remember better than disgusting does not equal quality.”
Yes let’s all remember that,including you…it applies to all positions.
March 8th, 2020 at 10:10 am
30 int’s and 7 pick sixes…pretty disgusting in my book.
March 8th, 2020 at 10:13 am
Ndog I wouldn’t have a problem with what you said if you would just apply that same logic to Winston the double standard is real
March 8th, 2020 at 10:18 am
You who are discounting a writer for not having facts straight could be correct. It does hurt credibility. Kinda like a QB who is a dismal failure, leading the league longterm in turnovers, saying he’s ballin’.
March 8th, 2020 at 10:19 am
Youngbucs Says:
March 8th, 2020 at 10:13 am
Thought the same thing but didn’t bother replying
March 8th, 2020 at 10:19 am
Serious question how come every position has to play like all pros except Winston why does he get a pass how can everyone be held accountable but him I’m ready for him to go just so the soap opera can b over
March 8th, 2020 at 10:26 am
Starting to think jpp price will be too high but as long as we have something other than nassib on the other side like a 14th over pick of an edge rusher it would be ok
March 8th, 2020 at 10:40 am
So jpp is now the GM ?
Let jpp walk. Tag and trade shaq. Sign suh. Nassib. And draft Chaisson and another DE like AJ
March 8th, 2020 at 10:45 am
JPP pays the same in the negotiating room as he does on the field true Buccaneer spirit , the sailing kind ! I don’t like to over pay but in this case his play and presence on the sideline and in the locker room is exactly what this team needs and has been sorely missing ! JPP > Suh if it comes to deciding which, I’d love both !
March 8th, 2020 at 10:56 am
At #14 SAFETY.
March 8th, 2020 at 10:58 am
Because we can’t draft we have to play the free agency game and that takes cap space and coin
March 8th, 2020 at 11:02 am
Folks might not realize the dire straights the Bucs are in , this off season draft and FA will the first of 2 years of do or die for the future. If they don’t hit big on every move and pick the older established players will be on the down side of their careers and the roster will be bare going forward. Dire Straights !
March 8th, 2020 at 11:05 am
“So jpp is now the GM ?
Let jpp walk. Tag and trade shaq. Sign suh. Nassib. And draft Chaisson and another DE like AJ”
Only one man walking this week and JW has only himself to blame.
Remember Defense first – a few days and we will have Rivers signed up and on the way to relevence.
Go Bucs
March 8th, 2020 at 11:22 am
Teams save the most money when they draft a new qb!!!!!!!!!!!! The “real” fans would not sign a qb to a second contract unless the qb was elite and multiple playoff runs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 8th, 2020 at 11:34 am
Sign Mr. 5,000…because a game manager in his first year in this system with no running game will not bode will for the team!!! Then sign all defensive lineman that want to be here …that should determine the way we draft …just please get a thumper at running back !!!! So you see signing Mr. 5,000 is the number one PRIORITY!!!!! BUC 2020!!!
March 8th, 2020 at 11:42 am
I stopped reading at 9 wins.
March 8th, 2020 at 11:53 am
@bighog
Word on the street, is that ole Bruce Arians, is looking for the “white”, errrrrr I mean the “right” Quarterback, to work with!!!!!!! Like the “right” ones that he has worked with before!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!
March 8th, 2020 at 11:54 am
I believe you have to look at it over 16 games. I think our defense played collectively well enough to win 10 games last year. I agree we should go all out to keep Shaq, JPP, Suh, and Nassib and add offense through the draft. RB and O-LINE. This is all possible with the Quality of the Draft in our area of needs and with the cap space we have available. The biggest obstacle for the Buc’s is a Competent QB. We cannot achieve above and throw $30 Million at a QB. BA and Licht are the only ones who can work this out and we won’t hear anything from them until until they decide to to tell us. Only honest approach is to sit back, relax, and wait for their decision. Many will be happy and many will be pissed. It is the game within the game.
March 8th, 2020 at 11:58 am
Formerly Tampa 2 … Glad you caught Joe’s conspiracy theory first. Statements like that boggle the mind, especially when no one even knows if JPP even wants to remain a Buc regardless of who the QB is.
Paul Schmidt … I could see the logic in your post UNTIL you got to ‘Let Suh walk and draft Kinlaw’. Right now we have exactly ONE DT (Vea) … Suh, Allen & Nunez-Roches are all UFAs (Gholston isn’t a real DT). So you’d let the guy walk (Suh) who was on the field for over 75% of the defensive snaps in the HOPES that (1) Kinlaw is there when we draft; (2) that a rookie could even come in and perform any place close to as well as Suh performed; and (3) that our OTHER NEEDS (OLine, etc) will magically be fixed by drafting someone (?) to start in the later rounds of the draft. No thanks.
If the Bucs don’t re-sign Suh we’re dumber than dirt. And the same goes for JPP, Shaq AND Nassib BTW. Good teams don’t let quality DLinemen walk away in free agency UNLESS they simply can’t afford them. That’s not the case with us right now.
March 8th, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Who in the hell is jpp to make demands about anything. Dumbarse blew his hand off then missed half the season because he cant drive…. you people are insane. Jpp slightly above average hardly a building block and definitely not a leader… hes a decent football player not a leader of men by even the weakest definition of the word. Any businessman that would let one of the dumbest players in NFL history make any demand should sell his business, turn in his man card and audition for a low budget drag show. You people are so desperate it’s pathetic
Jpp missing half the season for another dumbarse decsion cost the bucs a postseason birth not jameis. You hypocrites are pathetic and your selective memory is closer to delusions than fact
March 8th, 2020 at 12:07 pm
Very tricky off season for our Bucs here. I don’t think we will be able to keep everybody on the D line. So draft another one. Its hard to hit everything just right. I think JPP might be gone. Suh to if..somebody pays him.
March 8th, 2020 at 12:29 pm
Sign Conklin and DLine FA’s
Draft J Taylor in 1st round
Draft 1 or 2 safeties in 2-4 rounds
Go after Brady- he would attract FA’s , sell tickets and attract media to Bucs
If no Brady, go after Bridgewater- more risk and would have to prove it on the field, but he will win games
Otherwise, best option is Jameis if salary is cap friendly.
No other FA QB is going to attract FA’s or sell tickets and Dalton or Carr would cost draft pick(s)
March 8th, 2020 at 12:53 pm
Vets like JPP and Suh want to win can’t win with a turnover prone qb who doesn’t improve
March 8th, 2020 at 1:23 pm
Youngbucs Says:
March 8th, 2020 at 10:13 am
Ndog I wouldn’t have a problem with what you said if you would just apply that same logic to Winston the double standard is real
I’m sorry I didn’t know the number 4 scoring offense in the league was equal to 3/4 of the year being HORRIBLE on defense. I guess leading the league on passing is also a horrible thing for an offense to achieve. My bad I didn’t realize that given up points and passing yards at an historic pass was equal to scoring at a elite level. Yeah you’re right those units are exactly the same.
SMH at you people and your bias, CLUELESS, intelligentless comments.
March 8th, 2020 at 1:23 pm
Way to pull out the race card, El Bucco Realisto. That’s what people do when they have nothing to back up their statements. Totally negates your opinion in my book. And Joe, you should really provide context when you make statements like JPP controlling who becomes the QB. Do you have a source or are you just throwing it out there?
March 8th, 2020 at 1:55 pm
Joe, Under that JPP scenario…You do what’s best for the franchise – whatever that is…If he’s not on board, you let JPP walk…No player holds the FO hostage. None. Not QB1 – not RB1 – not Part Time availability DE’s on the back end of their careers. Even good ones.
If you are not committing $13M to JPP…That’s $13M towards position group/DEF/roster unit as a whole. There are option available in FA & the draft to improve the DEF….Though unless your willing to over pay, there’s slim pickings in FA. (Clowney or Bust…Most of the other potential FA DE/OLB replacements have already been tagged & will cost too much in draft capitol & salary to go get / others that reach FA will want more than there production deems reasonable.)
When looking at options to replace JPP…It’s likely via the draft & before day 3…. But JPP’s lost opportunity in TB’s starting line-up may also open door to spinning that Cap room into multiple FA players that help improve the overall strength of the roster.
March 8th, 2020 at 2:17 pm
I would give Shaq a three year contract. Fifteen mill guaranteed each year and incentives. Third year is a team option.
Give Nassib the same deal but at 12 mill.
JPP ans Suh, one year 18 mill
Trade down and get a second round pick too. Safety in1, RB and RT in 2, QB in three, IDL in 4. O-line the rest of the way.
March 8th, 2020 at 2:29 pm
Ndog blah blah but it’s ok for Winston to turn the ball over at a historical rate ??????????????????? Why because u like to talk about offensive rating u get a clue
March 8th, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Bruce knows he won 9 games last year too… and is really ticked off at the ‘baller who robbed him of the last 2. See ya Jameis… and hopefully a few of the blind-as=bat apologists on JBF.
March 8th, 2020 at 11:09 pm
Lmao 🤡🤡🤡🤡 won 9 games last season cool! News to me.
March 9th, 2020 at 3:21 am
How could anyone who played with Eli Manning hold anyone hostage?