Emotional Arians Gives Shipley Update
November 27th, 2020
Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians.
People can throw rocks at Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians for a variety of reasons. But don’t tell Joe he doesn’t care about his players.
Arians — at least to Joe’s eyes and ears — got a bit emotional discussing the future of center A.Q. Shipley. It appears we may have seen the center’s final NFL game when he left in the fourth quarter with a neck injury.
Arians was awfully coy at first about Shipley saying he wouldn’t play against the Chiefs. When pressed about Shipley, Arians with his voice beginning to crack at the end of the sentence said, “It was determined he really shouldn’t play anymore.”
This, of course, raised more questions. Then Arians told the story. The team and trainers initially thought Shipley had a stinger. If you remember after the game Monday, Arians mentioned Shipley should be OK.
An MRI and X-ray conducted later suggested something different.
When asked follow-ups about what “anymore” exactly meant for Shipley, Arians said, “He will go on IR and start his coaching career.”
Arians had the look of a man who was just told his dog had to be put down.
The Bucs’ offensive line is riddled with injuries. Ali Marpet is still in concussion protocol but will be listed as questionable for Sunday. Donovan Smith will get a test drive on his bad ankle right before gametime Sunday. He too will be listed as questionable.
Jamel Dean is also out on concussion protocol. Arians hinted there may have been a slight chance Dean could have suited up Sunday but said with a bye week coming, it didn’t make sense to push it.
Joe can’t remember too many pressers where Arians looked or seemed that depressed.
November 27th, 2020 at 1:24 pm
Man that’s tough.
November 27th, 2020 at 1:28 pm
damn damn damn, this bye week cannot get here quick enough, we need to get healthy for the final push to hell with the chiefs, but we need to go undefeated or at least win 3 out of 4 in the last stretch
November 27th, 2020 at 1:45 pm
Great point if we lose this game we are still in the playoff hunt with a bye and a weak 4th quarter of the season schedule. It’d be great to get this one heading into the bye, but a healthy team heading down the strectch is more critical. Get healthy for the playoff push. But I’m still hoping we can sneak one out this weekend with no more injuries.
November 27th, 2020 at 1:55 pm
Wish you all the best Shipley. Arians butch up and do like every other competent coach has done and get the back ups ready to play you know like rams backup left tackle did by shutting your guys out and allowing no sacks
November 27th, 2020 at 1:55 pm
Wish you all the best Shipley. Arians butch up and do like every other competent coach has done and get the back ups ready to play you know like rams backup left tackle did by shutting your guys out and allowing no sacks
November 27th, 2020 at 2:21 pm
Looks like Shipley was with Arians for quite a long time … from the beginning actually. He was drafted in 2009 in the 7th Rnd by the Steelers (when BA was their OC) but didn’t get hardly any playing time until 2012 with Indy (when BA was their OC). Then he went to Arizona in 2015-2017 (while BA was their HC). And now here in Tampa, once again with BA.
Coincidence? I think not. My guess is that Bruce has a definite soft spot for AQ. Hasn’t made any Pro Bowls or the like, but he appears to be a warrior and started all 16 games at Center in 3 seasons with the Cards. Hope AQ’s neck injury is one of those things that can ‘repaired’ post haste and that his recovery is swift.
November 27th, 2020 at 4:08 pm
Not sure what AQ’s injury is, but a colleague of mine got blown up in Iraq, with a blunt trama that meant this: Broken neck. Anymore serious physical trama and you are paralyzed. However, we can repair your neck and you can be fairly normal doing normal guy stuff.
So for Shipley, if his injury is this serious, hope it just means don’t play football anymore, and with some medical procedures, and he’ll be fine.
To Joe’s early comment: No question Arians cares about his people. All decent people who are leaders do. That’s a minimal thing expected. He doesn’t get cool points with me for doing the obvious. Yeah, I’m just really bumming out that what I feared before last year started is happening. That is, mediocre coach, with own cronies, coming out of retirement who can’t do we’d expect with an All-Star cast.
November 27th, 2020 at 4:21 pm
Fell in love with AQ listening to his interviews with Pat McAffee…what a funny, sharp-witted personality. I can only imagine his positive presence in the locker room. Based on BA’s loyalty to those he trusts, I imagine AQ will be one helluva coach within the Arians coaching tree. He has a bright future ahead of him. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he ends up calling games as a player announcer.
Really going to miss his play this weekend, though.
Damn.
November 27th, 2020 at 4:48 pm
Say Ship… Don’t be like a lot of these fools who love the money and just cannot do much else. Heed the Docs advice and get on with your life. You’ve been further than most of us dare go. Good luck to you sir.
November 28th, 2020 at 12:53 pm
If Marpet can’t go I’m gonna start thinking his career is dunzo too. Wouldn’t that be some Bucs luck?
Good luck Shipley, your health is more important than a game.