“Roasted” In Philly
July 16th, 2020
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Longtime Eagles/NFL writer Jimmy Kempski fired a blast at Bucs general manager Jason Licht recently and while it may be unfair, it is rooted in cold reality. So perhaps it is fair?
Kempski typed up an intentionally harsh look at every NFC team, including the Eagles. How Philadelphia of him!!
For the Buccaneers, he didn’t choose to laugh at their running game, mock their pass defense stats, laugh at Tom Brady’s age or point out that Bruce Arians hasn’t had a winning team since 2015, the same year Todd Bowles last coached for a winning team. Kempski went right for the GM.
Buccaneers: In Jason Licht’s six years as GM, the Bucs have compiled a 34-62 record (0.354), which is better than only the Jaguars and Browns during that span. They have finished dead last in the NFC South in four of those seasons, and in 2019, their season was essentially over in October after starting 2-6. But, sure, they’re only one player away. Boom roasted.
Ouch!
Yes, the numbers are harsh on Licht, and that’s even without scrutinizing the loaded two rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft that saw the Bucs leave the party with rotten fruits in their goodie bag.
Regardless, Bucs fans largely approve of how Licht has matured in his role and believe he’s built a powerful roster capable of tearing up the NFC. Obviously, Team Glazer agrees.
This is a huge year for Jason Licht. At some point as a general manager, barring off-field shenanigans your record has to define you.
July 16th, 2020 at 1:48 pm
“Bucs fans largely approve of how Licht has matured in his role and believe he’s built a powerful roster” ??????????????
The “real” fans demand a 24 hrs “confidence poll” to see if this is true!!!!!!!!! There are not that many sheep out there!!!!!!!!!! Let us see the ” real ” numbers Joe!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let us see how many know the “truth” that the GM and stale biscuit made desperate moves that mortgage the future that the bucs will have to pay for a very long time!!!!!!!!!!!
Give us the “confidence poll”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 16th, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Blame Jameis
July 16th, 2020 at 1:51 pm
I vote no confidence on Coach BS and his merry men.
I vote Licht into early retirement.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:08 pm
Who cares it is an Eagles reporter who is saying all this. Should ask him if he remembers the last game in the Vet, and follow it up with how about the first game in your new stadium. Great memories for sure. We spanked that eagle arse both games.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:09 pm
N dog why don’t you use your old handle anymore?
July 16th, 2020 at 2:09 pm
Licht had two major problems.
1. He allowed the #1 overall pick to be wasted on Jameis Winston vice an edge rusher.
2. He stuck with Jameis Winston two seasons longer than he should have.
No, Winston isn’t the only reason they lost so much, so long, but he had a huge hand in it. Don’t forget: Even in a good year he was USUALLY still the 4th best QB in the NFL South even though he arguably had top 2 or best receivers in the division.
I’d not go as far as to say “Bucs fans largely approve” of how Licht’s matured in the GM role. I think a lot of it that he DID bring in Arians, he DID get rid of Winston and we DO have Tom Brady now. Not approval for me, so much as wait and see. The wheels are still off the wagon. Let’s see if 2020 can get them back on. T’aint nuthin’ happened yet but giant helping of “hope.”
July 16th, 2020 at 2:16 pm
When you have someone who pretty much has a hand in every player acquisition, has had some bad draft picks with that kind of record he should be holding a clipboard at some Home Depot
July 16th, 2020 at 2:16 pm
Landed Brady was a trip and fall on Lichts part. Brady called Licht, Licht did not know what to do so he called BA. BA woke up and said why in the hell would Brady want to play down here. Licht responded how the hell do I know. BA said offer him 2 years at 25 mil each year and see what he says. Licht đź‘Ś.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:17 pm
Yeah…but for five years Licht had coach and potentially GM career killer Jameis at the helm.
So recently Jameis fired his lawyer because of the Saints deal; and so speaks the 30 mil. dollar man. Gruden thinks Jameis may be a savant on the football field. I won’t argue that one way or another. But when it comes to taking care of business off the field? He is mentally lacking.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:18 pm
If this Brady marriage doesn’t work out a house cleaning is in order.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:19 pm
I’ve been saying all of this since the good ol’ backstabber said he “cringed” as the expectations of the 2017 team. No single person in the Bucs organization over the past six years has done more to set this team backwards than Backstabbin’ Jason Licht.
Three teams have gone from worst in their division to the Super Bowl during the Jason Licht Reign of Terror. Many others have seen significant improvement from having a dismal record to being competitive.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:21 pm
No Winston was not the only reason they lost…but Mr. 5000 is and will always be one of the reasons that they won any games at all!! ALL UP IN YO GRILL!!! Don’t get upset …smile and realize !!!
July 16th, 2020 at 2:28 pm
@clean house/npuppy
well, jw didn’t help matters. from the start of the season to the end of oct., bucs were 2-5 with Winston at a 14/12 td to int ratio with 3 pick 6’s. his passing rate in those games was 85.8% which is slightly better than his season average of 84.3%. only 5 other starting qbs had a less rating than jw’s 84.3 and 1 one was tied with him.
so to answer your statement with blame jw, the entire blame doesn’t fall on his shoulders but he sure as hell didn’t help matter, either!
July 16th, 2020 at 2:30 pm
I have never been a fan, but I’m giving him a second chance since he brought TB12 to town.
July 16th, 2020 at 2:56 pm
coming from an Eagles fan i would not worry
July 16th, 2020 at 2:57 pm
Doug…you do realize that it was Brady’s idea to come to Tampa right?
July 16th, 2020 at 3:01 pm
We certainly suffered through his learning curve but we have talent matched with capable coaching. He’s had two good offseasons/drafts in a row….At some point its got to come together but the Bucs do seem cursed. We get Brady and Gronk to go with the talent we have and Covid hits, possibly killing the season, putting a dent in the offseason and wiping out any chance of a sold out stadium. It gets old with this team but I remain hopeful.
July 16th, 2020 at 3:08 pm
The first two years he was Lovie Smith fetch boy. He didn’t run squat.
And Lovie was a complete mess.
July 16th, 2020 at 3:26 pm
Roy, I’m confused by your 1st point. Which of the following edge rushers was Licht/Lovie supposed to draft that year:
1. Dante Fowler (who tore his knee rookie year and didn’t make a splash in the league until just this year)
2. Vic Beasley (who splashed his soph year but hasn’t done much since)
3. Leonard Williams (who’s been a bust)
As bad as Winston turned out, none of these 3 were “the answer” in 2015.
July 16th, 2020 at 3:46 pm
@Cobraboy – I was just about to type that. Lovie went 8-24 in his two seasons as GM.
Licht is 26-38 since actually taking over the team, and with a kicker who didn’t gag he’d have at least 6 or 7 more wins over those four year and be at or above .500. .
Meanwhile, Mark Dominik, the worst GM in Bucs history, was 28-52 which explains why he’s a third string talking head instead of a football business person.
July 16th, 2020 at 3:49 pm
I think this team is stacked this season. Anything short of playoffs is a huge disappointment and should be treated accordingly.
July 16th, 2020 at 3:50 pm
Leighroy, I was talking about greatest need…BUT…nothing says any of those three wouldn’t have a better outcome in different situtions. One we know, is Winston was not the answer in 2015.
July 16th, 2020 at 3:57 pm
^^^Not to mention the picks they could have collected by trading down two spots….
July 16th, 2020 at 4:23 pm
I blame Jameis
July 16th, 2020 at 4:38 pm
Jameis was on the team for 80 of those games
July 16th, 2020 at 4:53 pm
I’m going to be a little bit of a hypocrite here, but I’m not 100% sure that all of Jason’s decisions as GM have been made without heaping helping of the Big Storm Brewing Co. family of products.
July 16th, 2020 at 5:10 pm
It is what it is. After this year, Jason Light will be a Superbowl GM.
July 16th, 2020 at 5:20 pm
After reading the comments, I see the regular haters are still in attendance. They’ve made this website less and less desirable for me.
Here is the simple truth on this:
Jason Licht had little to no control his first year. His second year he had more say-so, and so he should share the responsibility from that year on.
That said, a GM doesn’t often have a lot of say-so with his team. A Head Coach is hired because of his vision for a team, and the GM, among other things, is there to make that vision a reality by signing/drafting/ trading the playes the coach wants to fulfill that vision.
Jason Licht’s real job is to keep us from long term cap issues, structuring contracts in a way that allows more players when we need them, and presenting options to the head coach.
He isn’t responsible for wins and losses at all. The owners tell him who to hire as head coach. He might come up with options to present to the owners, but in the end it is up to them.
In the current case, Bruce Arians was willing to come back, Licht told the Glazers, and they told him to do what it took to get him. Once he did, it became the Bruce Arians show 100%.
And to be honest, Arians has made some decent picks, even if they were unexpected.
July 16th, 2020 at 5:22 pm
So far as blaming Jameis…he played a big part, but it wasn’t all on him. He had to scramble a LOT because of pressure, even to the point of injury. His offensive line was horrible, and the lack of running game played a role.
His picks were all on him though. Most of them.
July 16th, 2020 at 5:32 pm
Licht has 3 major f-ups – Jameis, Aguayo and Hargreaves in the draft and several free agency bust. Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins come to mind. No one is perfect but they sure do stick out. I am hoping Licht is a late bloomer and the past two years have been a turn around.
July 16th, 2020 at 6:26 pm
For the sake of this post I wish to split this a bit.
First JW. Either it was his fault or it was the Bucs fault for “misusing” him or not supporting him properly with their #weaponsforJameis.
As far as Licht is concerned his rep took a huge hit when JW didn’t work out no matter WHOSE fault that was. It’s a simple fact. In the NFL the search for franchise QB’s is littered with expensive failures that cost their teams.
The #1 pick in the ENTIRE DRAFT is a tremendous amount of draft capital to spend. When it ends up wasted that’s at least 3 and maybe more good players at other positions lost to the draft capital spent on JW.
Finally…as Forrest used to say AGAIN…it doesn’t matter whether JW was worth that pick or not…whether the Bucs made the mistake with him after the draft or picking him to begin with is not the point. Whether it’s JW’s fault or the Bucs fault that Licht decision has had tremendous repercussions for the franchise.
If Licht had 3 or 4 top picks other than JW that year his record wouldn’t look that bad…but he DIDN’T…so JW will always be the albatross on Licht’s rep…fair or not.
July 16th, 2020 at 11:36 pm
stpete
*If Licht had 3 or 4 top picks other than JW that year his record wouldn’t look that bad…but he DIDN’T…so JW will always be the albatross on Licht’s rep…fair or not. *
Maybe, maybe not.
Past history is past.
I prefer to learn from it as opposed to dwelling on it.
Who knows what could have been.
Work around and for what you have with an eye to what could be has always been my view
July 17th, 2020 at 2:02 am
I almost disregarded this article entirely since it’s about a writer from Philadelphia making fun of Licht, but he makes some good points. Licht is on the upswing though and I have some confidence in him going forward. Philadelphia however, is destined for the trash heap, if it’s not already there. WTF kind of pigs make fun of someone losing their kid?
July 17th, 2020 at 6:12 am
El Pessimisto aka Little Bo Peep – what exactly did we mortgage in this offseason?
Draft picks? Nope.
Cutting or losing young talent for veterans? Nope.
Cutting or losing our core talent? Nope
Cutting or losing our stars? Nope
So what the did we lose or mortgage for the future? NOTHING! Just like substance of your !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In BA I Trust!
July 17th, 2020 at 8:47 am
There’s no hiding from such a dismal record, and there’s no denying he’s been a bad GM. Getting Arains saved him, and having Brady, Gronk fall in his lap is the life preserver that’s kept him from drowning. If this doesn’t work out, he’s out of bullets, and will certainly be fired.
July 17th, 2020 at 11:28 am
If If If If…
Fact is Licht built this roster, for Arians out of retirement and signed Brady, Gronk and others.
You cannot take that away from his accomplishments.
July 17th, 2020 at 12:07 pm
Licht may be the worst GM the Bucs ever had. And that’s really saying something.
July 17th, 2020 at 3:12 pm
That’s a fair article.
It took him 6 years to finally put together a semi decent defense.
Still not sold on the offensive line either.
July 18th, 2020 at 12:02 pm
When we got Licht he had no prior experience as a GM so he had to go through a learning curve as a GM. It was a rocky road but he finally has learned how to be an effective GM and now we need to keep him. BA has helped him greatly too. Also early on part of the problem was we had no Coach who had any clue on how to develop players! When Licht picked for the Patriots he excelled in bringing in players with potential and Bellicheat excelled at developing them. As you can see BA is great on developing players and he has been able to take Licht’s picking of players with potential and then developing them. They need to keep working together.