Bigger Makeover Than Thought
February 9th, 2021
Brilliant with new veterans.
Joe remembers when Dirk Koetter was the Bucs coach, he always said roughly a third of a team’s roster is changed from year to year in the NFL. The change in the Bucs roster from 2019 to 2020 couldn’t have been more impactful.
Of course, everyone will point to park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking Bucs Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady. Even the most devout member of the Mike Glennon Mob will concede the Bucs don’t win the Super Bowl without Brady.
But that’s about as duh-obvious as saying the Chiefs don’t make it to the Super Bowl without Pat Mahomes.
In an interesting piece from CBS Sports HQ, every point scored in the Super Bowl by the Bucs came from a player who was not on the roster in 2019.
Brady was not on the roster.
Foot-rubbing, car-littering Rob Gronkowski was not on the roster.
Furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing Antonio Brown was not on the roster.
Playoff Lenny was not on the roster.
Ryan Succop was not on the roster.
And three of those guys arrived September or later. (Joe doesn’t ever want to hear this bullsh!t about the importance of those worthless preseason games. That’s just a lame excuse for weak coaching.)
Joe has no idea if that is a record or not, but Joe cannot imagine any other Super Bowl winner that scored all of their points from players who were not on the team’s roster the previous season.
Joe always — and still does — think Chucky did a magnificent job restructuring the Bucs offense on the fly to be able to make a Super Bowl run in 2002. But at least he already had Brad Johnson, Mike Alstott and Martin Gramatica already on the roster.
Joe wrote it Sunday night and will repeat it now: Bucco Bruce Arians is the best coach in Bucs history.
Tom Brady and the Buccaneers secured the ultimate achievement in Year 1. And they might just be getting started. (@SamsungMobileUS) pic.twitter.com/RPoH48DYVb
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 8, 2021
February 9th, 2021 at 7:27 am
And, Brady recruited and wanted Gronk, Brown, and Fournette!
February 9th, 2021 at 7:30 am
He didn’t score points, but after Brady, no player was more impactful to offense than Tristan Wirfs.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:35 am
Speaking of O players that contributed in a huge way that where not on the Roster last year. Can I get a shout out to the right side of the O-Line!!!
I don’t think we can say the Bucs win without those studs.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:37 am
@Alan,
You beat me to it but you forgot about Stinnee or whatever his name is. Dude literally was so good that as improbable as it may seem. We got better once he took over for Cappa.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:45 am
Sure……we have a free agent haul that helped…..but what excites me is all the playoff experience and SuperBowl rings our young players received…
Players like Winfield, Rojo, SMB, Dean, Wirfs, Miller, Johnson…..Davis, Edwards, Vita…..
Rings….all of them!!!
February 9th, 2021 at 7:45 am
How could I forget Devin White……guess because he stands out like a 10 year vet….
February 9th, 2021 at 7:46 am
I’m still just relishing in the win after so many years of bad season. LOVE U BUCS U DESERVE THIS WIN.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:46 am
I find it strange that I’ve seen no Jason Licht interviews. They didn’t even let him talk after the win. Crazy to me. I’d like to hear from him.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:51 am
We have reached the pinnacle, we have offically reached football fandom heaven, the thing we have waited decades for. I’m not even sure what to do with myself, im so used to talking draft, thinking future, wanting this guy cut and that guy cut. The Bucs don’t have any weaknesses really, prohibitive NFC south and conference favorites next yr. This…is it.But speaking of draft, I saw a mock that had the Bucs getting Najee Harris, cant even imagine THAT freaking stud on our roster. Good times, the Bucs are kings of the NFL universe – feels amazing.
As an aside we are just a few yrs removed from the eating w’s moment, those disgusting uniforms, desean and Jameis, Mike Smith etc etc. Basically – the irrelevant dark times, no light at the end of the tunnel except an oncoming train. Losers like NDOG, El Bucco Realisto, TMAX are probably dead now….
February 9th, 2021 at 7:53 am
Bucs had a chip on their shoulder and that should continue next season when the media will still pick the Packers, Chiefs, etc.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:54 am
It was REALLY nice to watch a Bucs team that didn’t 1) routinely self-sabotage with dumb penalties (especially on defense with, say, 3rd and 8), 2) miss FGs inside of 40 yards, 3) play a soft zone, 4) miss wide open receivers on short throws, 5) go into prevent defense mode with a lead and 6) get GREAT pressure with just the front 4 (with an assist from a banged up O-line).
February 9th, 2021 at 7:58 am
Last 3 first round picks
Wirfs – home run
White – home run
Vea – home run (few liked that pick at the time)
The D line is made up of great signings: JPP, Suh, Barrett. Every one of those signings was a home run.
And of course Licht realized that you can’t win with 30 picks, and knew he had to move on from his own first round draft pick.
Licht has been pretty awesome.
February 9th, 2021 at 8:07 am
Just think, Joe Haeg (who almost had it), wasn’t on the roster either. Still not sure why you put faith in him on the big stage (but it almost worked)
February 9th, 2021 at 8:14 am
Crazy how much easier winning is when you can score points kicking, running, catching, blocking and throwing. The new guys delivered. Kudos Jason Licht.
February 9th, 2021 at 8:36 am
The Jason Licht Jackazz Yahoo Haters better not plague this blog for a spell. He learned his business the hard way down here. I knew he was a keeper the year he signed Cam Brate and the Hump as UDFAs. Wonder how many times he jumped in the pool Sunday night?
February 9th, 2021 at 9:00 am
Smh, idk i just wish Brady could have put up MORE YARDS! 200 yards passing and we rolled them passing yards don’t mean JACK when it comes to winning! FACTS!
February 9th, 2021 at 9:15 am
Hindsight is 2020 and all the naysayers are chiming in how great the win was but I love how this dude put it, ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS!!! We stomped a mud hole in their butts and didn’t need the cannons to hype it. Their little war chant sure didn’t help them!
February 9th, 2021 at 9:24 am
Good adap[tive coaching in the final stretch. Young core of defensive players , especially in the secondary rendered Hill powerless…no meaningful receptions!!! Brady threw to whoever was open. That’s how you win rather than forcing it to your fav’s.
February 9th, 2021 at 9:37 am
Joes, while I wholeheartedly agree, the REAL transformation began the minute Geraldini was shown the door and replaced by Suh. The former 93 was a fine player and all-around nice guy. The latter 93 is the sort of rabid Alpha Dog that gets in QBs heads, plays with a nasty edge and is feared and respected by his peers. Booting Geraldini also had the added benefit of allowing LVD’s voice to be REALLY be heard for the 1st time in his career. Combine that with the trade for JPP’s addition (another Alpha on the field and in the locker room who could now carry more weight and had the bonafides to back it up, and you can see how this D was built. Adding two more Alphas in 45 and 31, hitting on 58, the evolution of 50 and the ongoing development of the CBs…all playing nasty…all WORLD CHAMPS. Football in the town has always been about the D. We needed to boot the old 93, embrace the new, to remember that.
February 9th, 2021 at 9:39 am
Biggest difference was replacing the interception machine – Jameis.
February 9th, 2021 at 10:09 am
Last year draft was excellent. Remember 2016, 2017? We had terrible drafts and paid for it. Licht has to have another hit this year. Let’s not draft a QB, Bucs have a chance to run it back. I’m excited for this team. It’s going to be hard to resign so many stars. I think Fournette and Brown have proven their value. Are the Bucs going to extend Brady’s contract? Licht has a lot of work to do and I want to know all the details
February 9th, 2021 at 10:22 am
Clearly, Brady was a difference maker, but to be honest and blunt, the biggest things we lacked last year was a firm leading quarterback, a kicker, and a good right tackle.
Donovan Smith was serviceable, but they needed to replace him for years.
Our other guys may not have scored in the Superbowl, but they were a huge part all year in the journey to the big game.
That was part of the genius in Leftwich’s gameplan. He knew the Chiefs would expect guys like Miller and Evans to get the ball know, so he used the other guys more.
February 9th, 2021 at 11:08 am
That was an entire Team win. Defense took Mahomes soul.
No disrespect intended to our amazing Offense or Tom Goaty
February 9th, 2021 at 11:14 am
Just saw Wirfs had the highest grade of any player in the SuperBowl. 91+.
What a BEAST!
February 9th, 2021 at 11:31 am
All the players that the Bucs signed that wern’t with the team in 2019 made the difference. As far as the signings they could do nothing wrong even getting a great kicker, who is often overlooked. The stars were aligned. The Super Bowl was mean’t to be. I hope they don’t dismantle the team the way they did back when in 2002. Sign as many starters as you can. If any are expendible because of $$ it would be D. Smith & it hurts to say this but maybe Godwin. Also it seems TB & Brate have a special chemistry so oft injured Howard could become expendible. IMHO
February 9th, 2021 at 11:37 am
Everybody has overlooked this season wouldn’t have been possible without a uniform change… :):)
February 9th, 2021 at 12:42 pm
@TOM
Agreed about the uniforms lol.
Disagree on Smith though. I’ve been a harsh critic of him, but he has really stepped up his play over the last 6 weeks. He was great through this playoff run, and more than anything, he finally showed consistency. That makes his contract worth it.
Brady also loved Howard, so i think he’ll be back.
Godwin is a weird one… I love the kid, he’s tough as nails and usually catches anything that comes his way, runs great routes, lots of YAC, punishing blocker in the run game, etc. Had that incredible catch in Green Bay, but he also had a lot of drops in the playoffs… Not good.
February 9th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Great pick J Licht, RT Wirfs played like an All-Pro in his rookie year. He will be an anchor for the next decade. Just another of a lot of very sound decisions made by J Licht and company. Way to go!! World Champions baby!!!!! GO BUCS!!!!
February 9th, 2021 at 1:10 pm
This is where licht can separate himself from other GMs….find a way to keep the band together….he’s already set a trend this year….teams will be asking and trying to figure out how we made it work….now licht has to make it stick….
But today, we’ll worry about being CHAMPS!!!!
GO BUCS
February 9th, 2021 at 6:42 pm
Unbelievable
I third that motion: uniforms.
Brady resurrected DS76 I believe.
Hoping and praying CG14 was just an injury situation. Dude plays hard, gotta believe something was not right the last month.
February 9th, 2021 at 7:24 pm
Pre season should only be 2 games and be played by ONLY the rookies!! Let the starters have scrimmages and things like that… But I think there would be an audience for 2 games of all the newly drafted rookies to show their stuff and make the roster or not
February 9th, 2021 at 9:11 pm
Crap – this post from Ipad came across as Anonymous vs my handle.
Net – Great job Jason!
Anonymous Says:
February 9th, 2021 at 8:14 am
Crazy how much easier winning is when you can score points kicking, running, catching, blocking and throwing. The new guys delivered. Kudos Jason Licht.