Hidden Trait For Bucs’ Success
December 29th, 2021
Talks competitors.
The Bucs have been ravaged by injuries, particularly in the secondary.
Yet despite injuries to key players for many games, the Bucs have an outside shot at the No. 2 seed and if there is a divine being, perhaps the No. 1 seed.
So how did the Bucs do that? Well, interim Bucs coach Harold Goodwin today raved about reserve players. Of course, he used the well-worn cliché, “Next man up.”
However, in offering up praise of backup players, Goodwin may have revealed a trait Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians and AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht seek in a backup.
Maybe the trait isn’t just talent. Perhaps it’s an inner drive?
“From Day 1, ‘Next man up,'” Goodwin began. “[Arians] always tells the team that. Everybody in the locker room… you are capable. You are here for a reason.
“So if a man goes down, the other guy has to rise to the occasion. As a player, as a competitor, you want to do well. And so far, so good.”
The word “competitor” jumped out at Joe. Look, if a guy doesn’t have football talent, if a guy doesn’t have superior athletic skills, he won’t make an NFL team, that’s all there is to it.
“Competitor.” Is that a quality that Arians/Licht covet? A guy who is not satisfied with just being a special teams dude and wants to show he’s as good as a starter, or better?
That might be it. Hey, during the Lost Decade, too many guys came to the Bucs just happy to be collecting a check. So long as they didn’t embarrass themselves too much on the field, they were content cashing those six-figure checks and making it rain for their arm candy in clubs.
How’s Myron Lewis doing these days?
If a guy has a burning desire to stay on the field when given a shot, he can’t help but raise the bar for the team. He’s going to bust his tail to give 110 percent. And that may either rub off on teammates or keep a starter on his toes.
Joe won’t mention any players’ names on offense but a couple spring to mind who may have needed (and may have received last Sunday) this type of motivation from reserves.
December 29th, 2021 at 2:11 pm
why wouldn’t BA appoint bowles or lefty the head coaching position…???
seriously…this is weird like a lady with a beard…
something bigger might be going on…
he swerved around his DC and OC…
what’s up with that…
one would think this was clearly a gig for bowles, with lefty 2nd in line
December 29th, 2021 at 2:13 pm
also it is the week between christmas and new years…
it’s one of the weirdest weeks of the calendar year…
things are kind of in a stand still, yet they’re in full flow…
#WeirdWeek
December 29th, 2021 at 2:19 pm
Adam, they do this to keep the OC and DC doing what they do best. If they have to pull back to cover HC duties they can’t prepare the way they normally do. It’s not a slight on the coordinators. You see this more and more these days. This guy is just BA’s mouthpiece until he returns.
Go Bucs!!
December 29th, 2021 at 2:29 pm
Arians wants them to focus on their assignments. He is using someone he trusts to handle the overall picture and give him a head coaching start. Go Bucs
December 29th, 2021 at 2:58 pm
We’re going to need everyone to be at the top of his game this week with the coach and a number of key players either injured or on the Covid list.
December 29th, 2021 at 3:02 pm
It’s not weird Adam. A lot of teams do this so the coordinators can focus on their main job.
December 29th, 2021 at 3:08 pm
nah i get it…
i just thought he was trying not to showcase them too much since they’re up for other gigs…
and potentially his
#justTryingToCreateAyeFussOverHere 🙂
December 29th, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Joe
I disagree with you talking about “superior talent” talk.
Many kids from College has this already……it’s just the mental
part of the game and also being the right system or on the
right team utilize it to it’s maximum potential.
This is no different to a professional workplace environment
where talented people get let go all the time because they just
don’t fit what their employer wants are is looking for…….and that
doesn’t mean that person is less talented or intelligent.
December 29th, 2021 at 4:20 pm
You are on the right track but you are going in reverse.
Bowles and Leftwich don’t need to be showcased. Goodwin does.
December 29th, 2021 at 4:38 pm
Smart move by Arians. f we are gonna go deep and all the way in the playoffs, Our Defense is gonna have to play an even bigger role than before. He wants Bowles to do nothin but D and make it better. Goodwin is the man for this Sunday.
December 29th, 2021 at 5:10 pm
Tell me Joe, “The word “competitor” jumped out at Joe” does Grant Stuard come to Joe’s mind?
December 29th, 2021 at 6:21 pm
Myron Lewis: Poster Boy for the Lost Decade?
Ok, sure… but there are lots of canidates to chose from.
December 29th, 2021 at 9:38 pm
When the (former) GM goes on national radio and says a week into training camp of the guy’s rookie year he realized he made and terrible mistake and got conned by the guy in the combine interview, yeah, that’s pretty much the poster boy for laziness and just worried about cashing a check.
December 30th, 2021 at 11:36 am
The difference a superior coaching staff makes in the formula for success should be apparent by now. I have been arguing this with a few of our fans from time to time. When we heap blame or praise on our head coach we need to keep in mind where he fits in the scheme of things. There is a significant difference in what Bruce Arians has demonstrated from what many of his predecessors accomplished.
Even the GOAT, Tom Brady, cannot bring a Super Bowl to a downtrodden franchise by himself! Football represents what teamwork is all about at many levels.
December 30th, 2021 at 11:40 am
Adam, if you go to the Buc’s site you will find that Goodwin listed as Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator.
Who knows, he may be first guy from this staff who gets a head coaching gig for another NFL team!