Michael Irvin Says The Bucs Are Winning The Offseason
March 18th, 2021
Talkin’ Bucs
The Playmaker believes the Bucs are making the critical plays of the offseason.
Appearing on NFL Network, Michael Irvin, the Hall of Fame wide receiver and noted talking head, gave the Bucs and Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht mad props for winning the offseason, at least in free agency.
“Free agency means you can take the word ‘agency’ out of it and put in ‘hope,'” Irvin began. “Because that is what ever team picks up when they pick up new players, free hope, unless you are the Chicago Bears.
“But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won [free agency season] because they are not picking up free hope. They are picking up what they know. They are picking up players they know can win a championship, they know can win a Super Bowl. The guys [the Bucs re-signed] are the nucleus of what they just won a Super Bowl with.
“Everybody else is signing guys they hope fits together and hopes their team can get to a Super Bowl. They are hoping.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed what they know.”
And yet Joe notices the PFF tribe, probably after spending way too much time at their local Dublin pub yesterday, believes the Bucs have gotten worse in free agency! Can you imagine?
Joe thinks Irvin is making a helluva point. Usually when the Bucs won the offseason, they lost, often big-time.
This year they are winning the offseason by keeping guys who won a Super Bowl.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:11 am
My only concern is depth and that probably can’t be helped with the salary cap situation.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:19 am
Of course we’re winning the Offseason…all the players we are bringing in have rings.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:32 am
Well, PFF has a point. If you start with last year’s team
The Bucs don’t have Suh, Brown, Fournette, Nunez-Roches or McCledon Back, and they haven’t added anyone from another team to help them win, so technically they have moved back so far.
BUT…. where PFF is blind and where statistics drags down the entire sports world, is that the Bucs have done incredible things and have been massively successful in the offseason. They have locked down all the of premier talent on their team that was scheduled to hit free agency, and still have tons of time left, money flexibility, and the draft to fill out the team and polish it into form for Tom Brady to use to get another ring.
Think about all the pieces that were added after the first day of free agency for the Bucs last year. Gronk, Wirfs, Winfield, Succop, Fournette, Brown all became Bucs after the first wave of free agency.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:35 am
Irvin makes a good point. For how many years have the Bucs been “hoping” to hit paydirt on FA? Hell, many thought Swaggy Baker was a game-changer.
@Buc50: the cap pretty much means every team has two-tiers of players. Almost every team suffers from a lack of depth. Few have enough horsepower that won’t skip a beat when a starter goes down. In most positions, the Bucs are truly blessed.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:37 am
Arians brought a new way. We stop being the lost decade the day he signed the contract. Other teams will take note of how the new way evolves.
It’s a NEW Bucs Life!!!!!!!!
March 18th, 2021 at 8:40 am
Just hope that LIche and his accounting staff can withstand an audit by the NFL cap police. I don’t understand how they accomplished all they have by adjusting contracts – but more power to them.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:50 am
I’d hate to lose Lenny to the Pats
March 18th, 2021 at 9:13 am
He’s absolutely right. And if you look at the history of Super Bowl winners, they are usually teams that draft well and keep their teams together, not big spending free agent teams.
Granted the Bucs brought in a bunch of free agents and it worked, but keep it together, have a couple more runs at it.
Bring another phrase it at this point come up big-name free agents, could be detrimental. The pieces might not fit.
Get the band back together and go draft well
L. F. G.
March 18th, 2021 at 9:19 am
If AB and Suh are not signed both Offense and Defense take a step backwards. Agreed depth is important, that is not secured yet. Need to restructure Godwin and Smith
March 18th, 2021 at 9:20 am
I am very happy with the offseason so far. However, the bucs have not signed back any of their depth yet. Auclair, Haeg, Wells, Nacho, McLendon, Cockrell, Adams, and Ryan Smith are all still pending free agents and at some point during the season were big contributors to the team.
The bucs still have a lot of work a head of them in the next two weeks..
March 18th, 2021 at 9:30 am
Belichick is taking the old kill two birds with one stone approach to free agency. By taking players from the Bucs, he’s accomplishing two things.
1.He’s improving his team.
2. Which I think is his greatest motivation, Is to try to weaken the Bucs
March 18th, 2021 at 10:22 am
Did Playmaker’s use of the word “hope” trigger Joe like the suggestion that Ryan Fitzpatrick return to Tampa as the emergency QB? Fitzy is living right…top dollar and going as QB of the month club.
March 18th, 2021 at 4:23 pm
@Bucs50 That is why there is this thing referred to as the NFL Draft. Bucs’ have at least a half dozen draft picks to round out their roster.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:01 pm
I don’t think they skip a beat by losing playoff Lenny- assuming Rojo and Vaughn get their blocking improve this off-season.
I think Johnson looks more than capable of stepping up as the main slot receiver over AB if he goes.
SUH would hurt. They need him back.
All three of them would cause a little depletion in depth but that’s what the draft is for.
March 18th, 2021 at 8:30 pm
Suh will get signed and ab not going anywhere were toms not he understands now were he has a support system and a friend in tom so licht reworks evans and and someone else contract and gets it done before succoups deal the bucs had about 9 million left under the cap they can get 3 or 4 maybe 5 players done if the contracts are worked properly lichts the man i have all the faith in his talent
March 18th, 2021 at 8:37 pm
After telling us he thinks Dak can become Brady he’s lost ALL credibility.