So What Does Bruce Arians See In Blaine Gabbert?
March 4th, 2022
Bucs QB Blaine Gabbert
It is sometimes interesting to Joe to see how national NFL outlets look at the Bucs compared to the local pen and mic club.
So when Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians stepped to the podium at the winter football festival known as the combine held at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, one question Arians fielded while under the glare of the TV klieg lights was what he sees in Blaine Gabbert?
It seems if the NFL season were to start next week, Gabbert would be the Bucs’ starting quarterback (they’d have to sign him in a hurry, as he is a free agent). Arians has been talking up Gabbert as a modern version of a misunderstood Kurt Warner.
As a starter for four other teams, Gabbert was woeful. There is a reason he’s bounced around the league. Joe has not read one word from any ex-player or coach or front office suit who thinks Gabbert can be the answer at quarterback.
Except for a guy who may know Gabbert the best, and that is Arians. So Arians was asked what he sees that others do not.
“Everybody is judged on record,” Arians began. “When you get drafted high or No. 1, you’re probably on a [bad] team. Ben [Roethlisberger] was lucky and went to the Steelers. He dropped to No. 11 and got on a good team. But you go through those growing pains – eight head coaches and nine coordinators in your first eight years. You’ve got to have something about you to keep going.
“When we got him, I was always a fan. I go back to his rookie year in Jacksonville at Pittsburgh. They don’t block James Harrison off the edge, and he threw a touchdown while James Harrison hit him in the mouth about the time the ball was going out. He jumped up and grabbed his guys and I thought, ‘He’s going to be a player.’
“He won two big games for us in Arizona when we were decimated by injuries, so I know what he can do. I don’t judge records from the past. It’s, ‘What are you going to do for me today?’ I like what he can do for us today.”
It is interesting to Joe that Arians admitted the first thing that stuck in his mind about Gabbert was that he got clobbered by one of the best linebackers of his era and bounced up like it was no big deal.
At the same podium session Tuesday, Arians had earlier been asked to describe his perfect quarterback. The very first word out of Arians’ mouth was “grit.” Arians added to that his perfect quarterback must be a tough SOB.
So perhaps Arians believes if a guy has the desire and mental makeup to take a beating and not get rattled, that Arians can work with the guy and mold him? And maybe that is why Arians seems so fond of Gabbert?
March 4th, 2022 at 10:04 am
Uggggghhhhhhhh. Really don’t care about Gabbert anymore. It’s boring.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:06 am
Better brace yourself for being bored for about a year.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:08 am
From ClutchPoints yesterday, quoting Arians at the combine on Trask:
“I’ve got a year with Kyle. Got to see Kyle every single day, watch him improve those nuances in the pocket, cause he ain’t afraid to stand in there. He can really sling it. He’s got all the throws.”
Bad hair day for Rod Munch & The Haters.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:09 am
For the good of the team, I really hope Gabbert starts. The sooner that fails, the sooner bruce arrogance will be exposed and ran out of town! If you keep a coach that needs to buy the best QB in the league to run the team and win, then why keep the old fraud head coach? It is no coincidence that bruce arrogance best year was when he was furthest away from the team. It confirms some of the rumors of players calling the coach, “bruce absent”
Go Bucs!
March 4th, 2022 at 10:09 am
I will tell you what he sees in Gabbert, he is a smokescreen!
March 4th, 2022 at 10:10 am
“He won two big games for us in Arizona”
Bwahahahaha.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:18 am
Did I miss the story about Arians on something about Kyle Trask being #1? I saw something but was waiting for it to pop up here.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:18 am
Very good points. Gabbert wouldn’t have stuck around with Arians for so long if Arians didn’t have faith in him.
Many fans think “Arians only likes him because he knows the system”. Well I imagine in the number of years Arians has worked with Gabbert, someone else could have learned the system just as well. Still, Arians has stuck with Gabbert.
Now, the idea of Gabbert being Arians’ sure fire starter? That’s a completely different level of faith that clearly isn’t there, not yet at least.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:20 am
Blane will play until TB12 comes back out of retirement
March 4th, 2022 at 10:20 am
It’s funny I saw a list ranking all the QBs and Gabbert was like #48 or so…
How in the heck does anyone have the ability to rank Gabbert?
Based on what?
He has played like 10 plays in 4 years.
LOL. Just shows how idiotic some of this “analysis” is.
If Blaine sucks then let Trask take a turn. If Trask sucks then at least we know where we are heading in 2023 and beyond…
March 4th, 2022 at 10:21 am
Gabbert won two games out of 5, that isn’t good in that context.
He will be a place holder, maybe competition and a back-up to Trask. Personally, I would prefer griffin as Trask’s back up, I have seen him look like a star.
I have never seen Gabbert look like a star, and Griffin wad never replaced by Blake freaking Bortles.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:25 am
No faking in this NFL. We shall see what Mr. Gabbert really has. My guess is he will be a yo yo QB..up and down. At some point, Arians will go with Trask. We will probably be anywheres from a 5 to 7 hundred ball team at best. Might not even win the division. Our Bragging days are gone for a while fellow Buc fand.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:25 am
Trash starts.
Trask kills it.
Brady wants to come out of retirement.
Arians says, “You’re now #2.”
Trask earns next year’s Super Bowl ring. Brady picks up his 8th with a clipboard (clipbored) in his hand. Trask goes on to break every Tom Brady record and ends up with 10 rings.
Sign me,
J.R. Tolkien
March 4th, 2022 at 10:26 am
I been sayin all along Bucco is going with Gabbert. He is stubborn thataway. He will let Trask ride the bench and bring back Ryan for 3rd string.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:27 am
Gabbert’s not even under contract for us….not sure why we keep hyping him up. If he’s our default plan, then we’re certainly giving him all the leverage in negotiations as well as tempting other teams to bid for his services.
It’s literally the biggest fluff job I’ve seen since Winston was here.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:31 am
“Better brace yourself for being bored for about a year”
Jump off the JoeBandwagonBucsFan if you know I’m going to be bored all year, I just already know how much Gabbert sucks so you don’t have to remind me.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:33 am
1. Gabbert is not under contract.
2. This talk would only give fuel to Gabbert’s demands in contract negotiations.
3. Arians is not that dumb.
4. Arians is building up Gabbert for a trade.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:35 am
^ Todd = butthurt at Arians’ praise of Trask lmao
March 4th, 2022 at 10:37 am
Mike Johnson, I’ll take a 7 hundred ball team, thats 12-5. Or did you mean 7 wins?
March 4th, 2022 at 10:38 am
Arians is terrible with the media. You can’t trust anything he says.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:42 am
Fully understand why. If his coach is bragging him up as the starter, he probably wants to be paid starter money. He’s not going to sign a backup contract when his coach is saying he has a chance to lead the Bucs to glory.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:49 am
Come on guys. The truth is nobody really knows. He has great measurables. That is why he was drafted so high. He had seven different coordinators. That is simply the truth. Aryans loves him. That’s what we know. He hasn’t played in 4 years for all practical purposes. But he has practice the great deal. And this is a damn good offensive coaching staff. We will see what we will see.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:49 am
What the hell is wrong with all you people…..everyone deserves an 8th chance!!!
If you want any chance of a Brady return….you’ve got to go with Gabbert/Trask or Trask/Gabbert.
If you want Godwin, Jensen, Cappa……you can’t afford a $30 mil QB….
March 4th, 2022 at 10:56 am
@ Joe
You are correct. However – Gabbert could sign a $3 million dollar deal (salary) with incentives worth $6-$7 million linked to games started, completion %, TDs,playoff wins, etc…
If Gabbert starts all 17 games or even a portion of them he would earn those incentives and will be paid much more than a backup QB.
Incentive bonuses won’t be paid until 2024…
March 4th, 2022 at 10:58 am
Forgive me for not giving full credit and remembering, but one of you commented recently that “if it’s between Gabbert and Trask, might as well go with Trask”. That is exactly the way I see it. Use the next season to reload roster and train young guys. Try to retain certain players or bring in free agents willing to help develop new players and show them how to be a pro. In addition, we do need to get younger in some areas and have depth to secure a chance in the future. You do that by drafting well, which Licht and his staff can do.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:58 am
What’s to like about Gabbert?
Size.. he has prototypical size for an NFL QB
Arm strength… he easily has one of the better arms in the NFL…he’s not Allen or Mahomes, but he is in the next tier.
Mechanics… he has a nice compact delivery, quick release, decent footwork in the pocket
Feet… decent feet in the pocket but excellent speed and a good scrambler
Experience… he’s easily the most experienced QB in the NFL in BA’s offense.
The question marks are his accuracy, toughness (for a whole season), and leadership ability. If we went into 2022 with Gabbert at the helm, I would fully expect a division championship and hope that he catches some of that Gannon/Plunkett/Alex Smith late career magic and finds the most of his ability.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:05 am
Proud Bucs Fan…don’t you get tired of saying the same shyte every single day?
Especially when no one agrees with you.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:07 am
“Joe Says:
‘1. Gabbert is not under contract.’
Fully understand why. If his coach is bragging him up as the starter, he probably wants to be paid starter money. He’s not going to sign a backup contract when his coach is saying he has a chance to lead the Bucs to glory.”
That’s exactly why I went on to say:
2. Such talk only gives fuel to Gabbert’s contract demands.
3. Arians is not that dumb.
4. Arians is building up Gabbert for a trade (not to sign him).
March 4th, 2022 at 11:08 am
Basically Arians is cheerleading for Gabbert and perhaps should put on a Bucs cheerleading uniform.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:10 am
Gabbert is a big guy with a big arm who is tough enough to take alot of sacks- and that’s why Arians likes him. Unfortunately, you’ll get twice as many sacks as TD passes when Gabbert’s the QB.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:12 am
TBBF nails it: if you want to re-up the important FA’s, you cannot afford a $30mil. QB.
And based on what a guy who has coached some of the best QB’s in league history says, unless he’s blowing a massive diesel battleship smokescreen, maybe Gabbert has more mojo than casuals think.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:23 am
That’s about what I would expect with the Gabbert inaccurate love affair !! First thing Bruce tried to do with Brady was tell him if you are going to QB for me you better get a lil tougher / still live for the next down but we have a downfield offense and I need you to be tougher/ hang in there a touch longer …… the Medis went nuts but Bruce was spot on and they won a Super Bowl ,,, almost the sad snark on as with Gruden/ Dungy / Mckay just Qb instead of Coach Approach ………. Next Bruce loves Gabberts Arm ,, he literally thinks he throws one of the best righted pretties spirals with way above Avg arm strength that he has ever seen and his arm has gotten stronger !!! However that is combine love and doesn’t win Games ………. Gabbert just simply doesn’t throw consistently good balls and can be down right Awful ,,, way more inaccurate than Winston !!! But see Gabbert knows every re run practice route and that along with that grit play , that mamouth arm and crazy tight lazer ball he pitches has Bruce out of Reality !!! Blaine checks all the boxes but he just isn’t a very good QB !!!!
March 4th, 2022 at 11:24 am
It’s not what he sees in Gabbert, it’s all the time he’s had to spend with him. I told ya all this was coming, and I’m O.K. with it. Gabbert at least could be the best bridge vet QB for Trask. As a Buc fan I hope Gabbert tears it up, and proves everyone wrong. As a Buc fan we’ve always rooted for the underdog, because we always were. We’ll I’m rooting for Gabbert. That’s my QB until he isn’t. Than I’ll root for the next man up. So much gloom, and doom from Buc fans. Get behind your team.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:26 am
For whatever reason Arians offense has a glitch where in the first year the new starter throws up to 30ints so something is wrong here with the offense; HOWEVA…gabbert has been in the system a while so it seems that Gabbert for this team and this year might be the best move for 2022; make the playoffs and then see what happens. If the defense plays like crap again it really doesnt matter who is behind center
March 4th, 2022 at 11:42 am
Don’t really see a point in starting Gabbert over Trask. The only thing Gabbert has on Trask is experience. And that only goes so far. Many rookie QB’s are better than the average NFL journeyman, especially ones drafted in the 1st or 2nd round. Why? Because the ceiling of the journeyman (Gabbert) is well-known whereas the rookie’s is not. If Gabbert starts Week 1 it will tell me that Trask was not up to the task and Licht swung and missed with yet another 2nd rounder.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:43 am
Buc1987 Says:
March 4th, 2022 at 11:05 am
Proud Bucs Fan…don’t you get tired of saying the same shyte every single day?
Especially when no one agrees with you.
I was wondering the same thing…..and I thought, you certainly don’t want him around women & children….especially little boys.
March 4th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
Makes no sense what arians is talking about … jameis went thru the same .
March 4th, 2022 at 12:17 pm
cataracts…
March 4th, 2022 at 12:24 pm
Blurred or double, but that is from all the alcohol. It is no coincidence that bruce arrogance best year was when he was furthest away from the team. It confirms some of the rumors of players calling the coach, “bruce absent”
Go Bucs!
March 4th, 2022 at 12:39 pm
Trent Dilfer left Tampa & won a SB in Baltimore, going 10-1 during his only yr in the Ravens system.
The point being…Sometimes other peoples trash is someone else’s treasure.
Gabbert may be better than his starting record indicates, but we will not really know until he leads a better team than he’s piloted before. (But who really knows what the 2022 Bucs roster will look like come SEP!)
March 4th, 2022 at 12:41 pm
87, it is clear that Proud Bucs Troll has nothing else to add. Nothing. He is obsessed with our coach. He is horrified by the fact that he has won two coach of the year awards. He is mortified that he is now also a super bowl winning head coach. By any metric he has been a successful coach and previously a successful and respected coordinator. He’s a hater. It’s that simple. OneNote troll. The usual internet policy is DNFTT. Do not feed the troll. But sometimes he deserves a morsel or two.
March 4th, 2022 at 1:56 pm
I honestly think Arians is hyping Gabbert for two reasons…..
1. They have another option at starter
2. To help him land as a backup elsewhere.
If Trask isn’t ready to at a minimum be a backup in his 2nd year, this staff is incompetent. Carr was a 2nd rd pick and started his first year…..if Trask isn’t ready to be a back up at this point, that’s pathetic planning by this coaching staff.
March 4th, 2022 at 2:13 pm
I hope I am wrong if he ends up being the Bucs QB, but from what I have seen he stinks.
March 4th, 2022 at 2:43 pm
Proud bucs, AKA tmax troll, just stop, no one cares.
March 4th, 2022 at 2:52 pm
Gabbert and BA are friends and Ira Kaufman and the rest of the media know that’s the only reason why he’s even on the team. BA is just being a good friend over being a coach when it comes to Gabbert and the media knows it !!
March 4th, 2022 at 3:02 pm
Joe Says:
March 4th, 2022 at 10:06 am
Uggggghhhhhhhh. Really don’t care about Gabbert anymore. It’s boring.
Better brace yourself for being bored for about a year.
…….
Gabbert will never play a snap unless Trask gets hurt. Screenshot this.
I mean have you even Seen Gabbert’s college stats.
Who on God’s green earth ever thought he was a top ten pick????
16 TDs to 9 INTs in 13 FREAKING GAMES in his final yr??/
March 4th, 2022 at 3:03 pm
Gabbert wasn’t even average in College and was never average in the NFL
Someone explain to me what has changed.
March 4th, 2022 at 4:02 pm
Mike C…… I agree with you completely! Proudbucsfan and T Rex need to take their childish rants elsewhere. GoBucs!
March 4th, 2022 at 4:29 pm
Don’t believe anything that comes out of Bruce Arians’ mouth. It’s all coach talk, hot air. When he signaled publicly to Jameis Winston as he was coming in the door he did not really mean what he was saying. You know he meant “Go ahead and do your own thing Mr. Winston. Don’t take any of my coaching seriously. My reputation as a ‘QB Whisperer’ is just a joke!”.
Everything coming out of One Buc Place is all hype to sell tickets to us suckers. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Winning another Lombardi is just a farce. Tom Brady did it all almost by himself (with a little help from a couple of his good close friends). He had some small help from the rest of the team. Not to mention the coaching staff or the management staff. The other people working for the franchise are all second rate.
March 4th, 2022 at 6:16 pm
Gabbert sucks. Brady is gone–hopefully retired. Griffin is practically unknown cos it was Winston, then Brady. Trask? Well, Arians is supposed to be a QB whisperer. So, QB shouldn’t be a problem. The DL should be first priority.
March 4th, 2022 at 7:08 pm
Brandon….
That analysis is 100% SPOT. ON.
Perfectly well said.
Gabbert, with his abilities, could easily surprise a whole lot of people.
Rich Gannon was a career JOURNEYman… as a Viking and Chief. No ONE would have seen him becoming a frikking MVP. But he did. With talent.
March 4th, 2022 at 7:11 pm
lol Todd.
March 4th, 2022 at 9:23 pm
Blain Gabbert sucks he’s had chances to start a multiple teams and you got the same results even with BA . Trask should be the starter period . He’s a second round pick who played good in college. He was the number one quarterback in college in 2020. He put up 46 points against ALABAMA. So stop with the Gabbert talk please !!
March 5th, 2022 at 5:23 am
In the words of Bruce Arians
“If you have 2 quarterbacks, you really don’t have 1”
So if you believe you have none you pretend to have one? All smoke and mirrors for FA IMHO.
March 6th, 2022 at 8:49 pm
does Trask have grit–I really do not know–I only know highlights