“This Isn’t The Year”
September 10th, 2020
Digs in her heels.
Earlier this year, Dianna Russini of BSPN just wasn’t buying all the 2020 Bucs hype. She said the Bucs would finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
At the time, people were buried in their houses hiding from the Chinese Plague like it was the angel of death to kill the firstborn sons of the Egyptians in Biblical scripture. Many folks were too freaked out at the time to be paying much attention to football chatter. So Russini’s words got little traction.
Then, after much of America calmed down and, to a degree, was released from their prisons, BSPN brought Russini on “Stay in Bed” seen weekday mornings on the four-letter where she repeated her stand. And all hell broke loose.
On a recent edition of the “My Sports Update Football Podcast,” Ari Meirov brought on Russini to perhaps offer her a chance to issue a mea culpa. Meirov confesses he’s “all-in on Tampa Bay this year.” Instead, Russini didn’t take the bait. She held firm in her belief the Bucs will not make the playoffs. Next year, she believes, should be different.
And why does she think the Bucs will miss the playoffs? It has to do with park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring Bucs quarterback Tom Brady. Yes, really.
Russini doesn’t believe Brady will mesh quick enough to make a difference. And Russini wonders if the Bucs have surrounded Brady with like-minded mentalities like Bill Belicheat did.
“Here’s what I know,” Russini said. “Tom Brady, more than any athlete I have ever covered in my life, likes a pattern of behavior, likes schedule, likes the way he does it. Routine. I don’t know if you have anyone in your life like that but I do. The simplest things throw them off.
“This would have been a conversation pre-Covid of him just going to Tampa Bay. The culture change. Can that locker room change to the standard of what Tom Brady needs and asks for? That is really what my doubt is.
“Can the rest of [the Bucs] step up to Tom Brady’s eliteness? The way he liked it in New England? If you talk to New England players, and I have talked to a bunch of them since Brady has left — and some of it has just been casual. ‘Hey, what do you think of Tampa Bay? How do you think they are going to fare?’ And I should add, by the way, I did have some Patriots players text me after I made that prediction [of the Bucs missing the playoffs] that I’m not far off.
“[The Bucs] have the weapons, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that this is their year because Tom is sssooo maniacal about how he wants things. That unless these guys all buy in and follow suit — which they could! — but if there are a couple of bad apples, its not going to work.”
Joe gets where Russini is coming from and it’s not like she’s talking ish here. But who would these bad apples be?
Think about it, guys on the Bucs are dying for a playoff win. After Brady arrived, two guys who played in a Super Bowl returned to the Bucs. Brady had one of his old teammates come out of retirement to play with him, and another guy with a ring later signed with the Bucs.
Evans and Godwin are the opposite of bad apples. Who on the offensive line is a bad apple? Ryan Jensen was on a winning team before he came here.
Younger players, specifically on offense, are eating out of Brady’s hands. He brings street cred and six rings. Who exactly is going to tell Brady to eff off when he is trying to explain, “This is what it takes to win.”
It seems Bucs offensive players were craving for a guy like Brady to take the reins. Instead, they got Brady himself.
Look, Joe doesn’t think Russini’s arguments are empty. They hold water. Joe just doesn’t believe there are simmering malcontents on offense ready to try stand in Brady’s way.
It may take the Bucs a while to get their offense in gear. Joe doesn’t believe that will be enough for the Bucs to finish 8-8 or worse.
September 10th, 2020 at 1:45 am
What? There are elite weapons for his disposal to throw to. More than he ever had to play with. He won with less and what will he do with these accessories players?
September 10th, 2020 at 2:36 am
I have no idea who this person is, and I’m happy about it.
September 10th, 2020 at 2:55 am
Opinions are like….well you know, everyone has one. Enough already , four more days and the fun begins.
Go Bucs!
September 10th, 2020 at 3:19 am
Let them all think that way; the negative way..let them underestimate this New and Improved Tampa Bay Team…they won’t see us coming…..🤪
September 10th, 2020 at 3:59 am
the covidity has caused her delirium
September 10th, 2020 at 4:01 am
Well the concern isn’t so much simmering malcontents waiting to stand in Brady’s way, but more so are there players who are used to coasting, and not putting in the effort, discipline, and grueling preparation needed to really be the best? And how would Brady handle players behaving this way?
*cough* Leonard Fournette *cough*
Fortunately for us, I think most of those types are no longer on this team, but you never know. We have seen year in and year out a mentally weak football team for the last decade+. I do think that has started to change under Arians. The question is how much.
Then to play Devils advocate- we hear these reports of a much more relaxed, rah-rah Brady in Tampa. So maybe the whole point is moot regardless?
September 10th, 2020 at 4:33 am
Maybe the left tackle smith
September 10th, 2020 at 5:21 am
She is completely wrong that Tom would not quickly mesh with elite receivers. His track record with elite players is impressive even the first game. Moss, Bennett, A Brown, Gosh produced big games immediately.
September 10th, 2020 at 6:04 am
What are her credentials?
September 10th, 2020 at 6:45 am
Tom is one motivated MFer. He is going to ball out this year.
September 10th, 2020 at 7:15 am
I disagree Joe, I do think she is talking “ish.” Comparing Brady to people in her life. Getting texts from the Patriots players who agree with her. “The Bucs have the weapons but Brady is sooooo manical.”
Yeah, ish. I wonder if she’s talked to the Bucs? Or gotten texts…which seems to be very important to how she form her opinions (based on the article anyway).
September 10th, 2020 at 7:23 am
^^^
In fact, I don’t give soccer playin’, hoop shootin’, track runnin’, hot dog eatin’, Yankee lovin’, sports writin’, borough livin’ outsider Russini any credibility at all.
September 10th, 2020 at 7:37 am
I think we would have already seen a blowup from Brady but just the opposite….he looks relaxed and having a great time.
I think the entire team is on his page.
From what it seems, we can look for big improvement & growth from Scotty Miller, Rojo & OJ.
September 10th, 2020 at 7:50 am
We’ll find out on Sunday.
September 10th, 2020 at 8:19 am
Who?
September 10th, 2020 at 8:24 am
Dumb bitch doesn’t know what she’s talking about unless she’s clairboyent
September 10th, 2020 at 8:30 am
Agree with you Joe. Her logic is sound, but apparently she hasn’t been paying attention to the vibe coming out of training camp. It seems everyone on the Bucs is buying what Brady is selling. I get that the team would be in a much stronger position if they had had OTAs and pre-season games to tighten things up, but a sloppy start won’t be because the team isn’t buying into Brady’s way of doing things.
September 10th, 2020 at 8:55 am
And L. Blount was about as bad an apple as you can get, and he promptly won a Super Bowl with Brady. I say this thinking of Jones and Fournette, and both their careers are on the line here, without any prompting from Brady.
September 10th, 2020 at 9:14 am
Good point.
September 10th, 2020 at 9:30 am
It’s time to punch people square in the mouth. Go Bucs! It’s our time!
September 10th, 2020 at 10:26 am
These predictions are basically random guessing without seeing how the team plays in a game.. the Bucs weren’t a bad team last year.. their qb and kicker were giving games away… They have both been replace by much better talent…
That alone makes 10+ wins at the least believable.. now whether they pull it off is yet to be seen!
September 10th, 2020 at 12:24 pm
As long as she doesn’t dig in her nose. And a big schnaz it is.
September 10th, 2020 at 2:05 pm
She is a full of Sh!t as a Christmas Turkey
September 10th, 2020 at 4:47 pm
As if Belicheat didn’t change half of his players every year. He almost never re-signed anyone to a big contract.
This is the Bucs year. The rest of the Bucs know it and will play it as such. None want to be the first to upset the schedule Brady has dragged along with him.
It is a shame that all of these sportscasters have to dig in the mud to find anything to create a discussion. That is all this is and she drew the short straw.
Can’t wait to see the real thing.
September 10th, 2020 at 5:44 pm
We have a hard working group of players. “Bad apples” isn’t a term that has ever come to mind while thinking about the upcoming Bucs season. We have hungry players that want to win and are excited to finally have a QB that won’t throw away games in the first half. You know they have to be excited about that!
September 10th, 2020 at 8:20 pm
This woman is really pretty….. pretty f.ing stupid!
September 10th, 2020 at 10:01 pm
She really make female sport announcers look bad. I mean if she had some points to back up her statement rather than a gut feeling, then she would come across more credible.
September 11th, 2020 at 12:05 am
Tom Brady in isolation may be one thing we here in Tampa Bay know little about. Especially for those who really could not follow him for, say, the past five years.
How Brady will jell with the guys who were already here and with other new players will tell a big part of the story, How he will meld with Bruce Arians’ culture and coaching style is another big factor.
I have seen no reports of any discord or bumpy transitions so far. Sunday’s game will be the first hard look for the fans. It will be an eye opener for many outsiders who have ignored the Bucs in recent years.
September 11th, 2020 at 2:52 am
She is free to have an opinion. But I do not agree. The Jambalaya juggernaut rolls into Nawlins on Sunday. Enjoy the season Bucs fans. GO BUCS!!!!
September 11th, 2020 at 10:34 am
She is just showing her ignorance and has the football I.Q. of a dunce!