Near Perfect Offseason
May 23rd, 2020
Winning the offseason.
The hype is just unreal.
The Bucs are quite literally all over national media. It doesn’t matter where you turn, there are the Bucs.
SiriusXM Radio? There’s Lavonte David and Cam Brate and Tom Brady, on Mad Dog Radio, NFL Radio and Howard Stern’s channel, respectively.
The hollering cable talk shows? A day seemingly cannot go by without the Bucs being mentioned and debated.
Late-night talk shows? Bucs tight end Rob Gronkowski makes an appearance.
Syndicated afternoon talk shows geared to women if not non-sports fans? Gronk is there too.
Joe is convinced this is what happens when you acquire a six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback who is married to a supermodel and a future Hall of Fame tight end who dates a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl.
This unmatched Bucs hype might actually be justified if you believe the words from follicly-challenged Billy Barnwell of BSPN.
Per Barnwell, no NFL has had a better offseason. In fact, Barnwell said you have to pull out a magnifying glass to find something that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht did wrong.
What went wrong: Not much. You could make a case that they should have added a veteran running back, but they let Peyton Barber leave and only replaced him by drafting Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the third round, suggesting 2018 second-round pick Ronald Jones will have a big role.
Joe has touched upon that as well, that the Bucs could certainly use a free agent running back like Devonta Freeman to go along with Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Joe’s been writing about a free agent running back additions for months now so it’s good to see Barnwell jump on the bandwagon.
Joe knows Team Glazer likes splash and for the moves Licht has made this offseason “splash” is an understatement.
When the paparazzi catch Brady working out with a few teammates and it makes such waves that the BBC picks it up, that friends is splash!
Joe sincerely hopes that this time the Bucs won the offseason that it doesn’t blow up in their faces. Joe had a similar tingle of excitement when the Bucs signed Vincent Jackson and DeSean Jackson.
The result was a big ol’ splat!
(Yes, Vincent Jackson was a good player but his first year here the Bucs had a losing record and it was Josh Freeman’s last full season. Vincent Jackson’s last season the Bucs finally had a winning record but he was on injured reserve. DeSean Jackson helped wreck the locker room.)
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:08 am
VJ was an amazing Buc. Great signing and made bad teams watchable on many occasions. Desean was mostly just hurt and hype.
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:10 am
Dear Bucs. Please remember Hard Knocks. Lesson learned I hope
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:13 am
Without a single proven starter at running back on our roster, getting a vet is a must. Carlos Hyde is signing with the Seahawks (according to Schefter), so scratch one off the list.
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:16 am
Vincent jackson was a big ole splat
Cmon man stop
Vjax was a pimp but i see how you spin that
I would say another d end is bigger play
Clay matthews?
Pretty sure running back will be ok
Teams wont Fixate on one player to beat them
They are gonna make brady beat them? Yah right
No stacking the box
Arians has long plays so brady wont see gronk or Oj on the shortie
Cool
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:17 am
Jameis and manziel
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:18 am
Wrong Jackson.
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:22 am
Ok. What?
Im curious
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:27 am
Ok. Gotcha
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:28 am
Latter
My bad homie
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:35 am
Joe
I will take a bet on rushing next year . Top 15 is like …around 1800 total
I think bucs will be in top half with guys we got
You in ?
I lose aNd i donate to charity of your choosing or website
I win …you Give me a jersey of my choosing
Same price of course
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:43 am
You had a tingle of excitement about DeSean prior to the season?
Really?
Not me.
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:45 am
Damn did I start something with this bet a jersey thing or what?
America and JBF what a country!
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:49 am
1987
Nah
Desean had almost 10,000 yards before he came here
He has done splat since then
But. I hear yah.
May 23rd, 2020 at 1:07 am
Sure. Knew about his baggage but thought he would ball out.
Instead, he became a massive clubhouse lawyer and poisoned the locker room.
May 23rd, 2020 at 1:10 am
Bird:
Joe doesn’t want to bet against the Bucs, because he wants the Bucs to succeed. There just isn’t anyone in the backfield Joe has any confidence in.
And it irks the hell out of Joe teams like Seattle, who have proven they know how to build winning teams, are not satisfied with their backs yet the Bucs, who haven’t done squat since Chucky left, are sitting on their hands seeming satisfied with three unproven backs.
And yes, the only thing Ronald Jones has proven in two years is that he is an underwhelming running back.
May 23rd, 2020 at 1:14 am
Tom Brady not only brings worldwide media and paparazzi but he also brings accuracy. Ck out this throw from a Yacht in Monaco.
https://youtu.be/RB6aMprvweE
May 23rd, 2020 at 1:45 am
“And yes, the only thing Ronald Jones has proven in two years is that he is an underwhelming running back.”
Dayum…now hear THAT Rojo!
May 23rd, 2020 at 2:08 am
Devonta Freeman would make Peyton Barber look like Walter Payton. He’s done.
May 23rd, 2020 at 4:35 am
Good job. A story with nary a single mention of America’s backup QB
May 23rd, 2020 at 5:10 am
When it comes to rushing production on the year, have often wondered how much of it is the RBs, how much is the OLine, how much is the OC, and how much is the quality of the opposing defenses. All 4 factors (and very probably more such as injuries & Lady Luck) come into play IMO in each & every game.
It’s obvious that at least one of the Joes doesn’t think very much of RoJo, hasn’t exactly been enamored with Dare, and we don’t know what we’ve got in Vaughn. I wonder if the 2017 Patriots (13-3) thought the same of their 4 RBs … Dion Lewis, Mike Gillislee, Rex Burkhead & James White. It took the 4 of them together to produce 1,714 yds & 16 TDs rushing, then add another 912 yds & 9 TDs receiving.
If you look at each one of them individually before that season, guarantee you’d come away unimpressed. Lewis lasted 2 yrs with Philly & had 2 yrs with New England prior to that & was mediocre at best … yet he blew up that year (896 yds rushing). Gillislee was a journeyman who’d gotten 2 yrs with Miami, then 2 yrs with Buffalo, then 1 yr with the Pats & 1 with the Saints before being out of football last season … but he added another 383 yds in 2017 for the Pats. Burkhead had a very blah first 4 yrs with Cincy, but came to the Pats in 2017 & added another 264 yds rushing. And James White was in his 4th year with the Pats & his best rushing year was 166 yds … until that 2017 year when he added 171 yds rushing for the Pats.
And yet in 2017 those 4 RBs combined to create the #10 ranked best rushing TEAM … on their way to the Super Bowl (which they lost to Philly BTW). New England had a pretty decent OLine that year, and it stayed relatively healthy. They had a seasoned OC in Josh McDaniels. They ran 43% of the time versus passing 57% of the time … with 4 very average RBs. Who knows, maybe the Bucs will get a similar performance out of RoJo, Dare & Vaughn this year.
May 23rd, 2020 at 8:02 am
We need to just forget the idea of Devonte Freeman as he’s prepared to sit out the yr unless he gets the kind of contract he wants, a co tract the Bucs likely can’t afford. Would I like a freaking prime Terrell Davis back there one cutting to 55yd touchdowns, sure but my god the overemphasis on running back is hurting my brain. It’s almost as if getting a hall of game quarterback, a hall of game tight end, draft a top tackle, have the most amazing off season a team has probably ever had and it is STILL not enough. Unbelievable
May 23rd, 2020 at 8:28 am
My concern is the lack of quality known depth at RB this year! I’m excited what I feel Rojo is going to bring to the field this season!! A true young RB that seems to have the desire to just get better! Vaughn is that good North/South back that will also be Brady’s check down. Vaughn just seems to be that grinder type back! 2 young backs, both with good experience (Vaughn being 22 and Rojo only 21).. we will be able to sign/trade for a veteran if one of them go down, cause the allure of playing for the Bucs has taken on new measure w Brady and Gronk joining our talented team!
May 23rd, 2020 at 8:39 am
Agree Swampbuc…Freeman is done. The guy has had too many concussions (as you can see by him thinking he’s worth more than the $4M he was allegedly offered by Seattle), and he’s a brittle RB (seems like a curse with the recent crop former FSU RB’s on NFL rosters) with plenty of wear on the tires. If we’re signing a cheap FA vet who can pick up blitzes and catch passes I’d rather see Lamar Miller (injury prone too, but not one concussion away from calling it a day) or even Theo Riddick. IIRC Riddick had a wrist injury that kept him out last year, so I guess if that’s healed he might actually be a good option at the right price?
May 23rd, 2020 at 10:09 am
Awesome!!
May 23rd, 2020 at 10:31 am
Wow Joe, only 5 hrs to make it out of the cooler on that one. I knew when I mentioned ‘the Joes’ in there that it was probably headed for the dungeon though. Kinda renders that comment pretty much useless at that point (10:30?).
Just as an aside, JBF.com seems to be a less ‘interesting’ to me as of late. Got a hunch that ‘The Sickness’ has really dampened a lot of spirits insofar as football goes. We had a good off-season, but the drama really subsided after the draft IMO. HOPEFULLY the NFL lets teams start getting together AS TEAMS fairly quickly.
May 23rd, 2020 at 12:33 pm
How can it be a “perfect” offseason, when the team will have to have a full rebuild the following season!!!!!!!
This is the “no excuse of all no excuse season”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 23rd, 2020 at 2:04 pm
The Sickness has messed with everyone’s minds. How could it not? Our world has turned upside down from wondering if we are going to die hooked up to a ventilator to being under house arrest. Not to mention millions thrown out onto the street without a job almost overnight due to an unseen enemy?
May 23rd, 2020 at 5:13 pm
Still need to add a proven veteran r.b..
May 23rd, 2020 at 5:14 pm
D.R.
Thanks for putting in the work on that excellent analysis. I’ve always been a fan of RB by committee…fresh legs and depth and all of that. And if the backs bring something different to give the offense a variety of looks better still.
Vaughn is similar to ROJO but beefier and hopefully a little more physical.
I’m curious as to who else they bring in. Dare may round out the top four but they’ll at minimum need some camp meat and according to Joe,, Dare gives even camp meat a chance to make the team.
May 23rd, 2020 at 5:19 pm
He paid too much for Gronk, coulda used some of that money on a solid r.b..
May 23rd, 2020 at 9:02 pm
Yet you still reference jameis as “America’s quarterback”… which he never was