Bucs Had Players-Only Meeting
October 19th, 2022
Our beloved Bucs are determined to figure out why they’re not playing like champions.
That has Joe off the couch at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters.
In fact, per manbeast defensive tackle Vita Vea, Bucs players gathered this week, after dissecting film with coaches, to put the microscope on themselves. Vea shared this on The Richard Sherman Podcast.
Vea called Sunday’s upset loss to Pittsburgh a “gut check” day.
“Us as players we sat down and met on our own to figure out, you know, what was going on with [us] as a group,” Vea told Sherman. “You know, we figured out that obviously this is not the same team we’ve had in the previous years. We got a couple new pieces in here that have big roles to play, so those are all (then gets cut off by Sherman).”
Unfortunately, Sherman changed the subject on Vea, perhaps to keep him from revealing something he would regret.
Joe took it all as good news that team leadership realizes something is very wrong when you lose to Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky, and the Steelers’ JV secondary.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:11 pm
Was Brady present ? š
October 19th, 2022 at 4:11 pm
Does make you wonder what he was going to say though. Problem is and will remain lack of dynamic TE play.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:12 pm
Joe- any word if Brady attended the meeting or was he at the Kraft honeymoon ?
October 19th, 2022 at 4:15 pm
GOOD! It seems Brady is a bit distracted to be the entire glue for the team and someone needs to step up in a more prominent leadership role to help Brady. Without Suh and JPP, I can’t see anyone other than LVD being one… Maybe Winfield, on offense, maybe Mike? Either way something needs to happen. This gives me a little more confidence going into Carolina. I think we can expect a complete game now by all three phases of the team… I’d hope so, but I need to see it too.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:17 pm
Soooo much drama surrounding our team right now. I hope our guys get it figured out, because right now it’s starting to look like a clown show.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:17 pm
Cris, that wasn’t funny
October 19th, 2022 at 4:18 pm
Itās always scary when teams have players only meetings. It can go either way, but good teams donāt need them and they rarely work out for the positive.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:23 pm
I would say make a trade for a LG and CMC but Leftwich would find a way to neuter the talent anyways. I also have been wondering how much of the offensive game plan is being sifted through Bowles fingers every week. Maybe that’s why we aren’t throwing as much and scheming for our playmakers like ME13 I’m just as down on Bowles as I am Leftwich. Sad to see so much talent and potentially TB12’s last season being pissed down the drain because of the coaches ego and incompetence. If the Bucs can’t beat a 3rd string QB panthers team in shambles on Sunday, blow the whole roster up.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:27 pm
It is never a for the coaching staff when teams have players only meetings
October 19th, 2022 at 4:28 pm
Hopefully that meeting came with a big mirror for Vita to stare into.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:28 pm
We had better win Sunday, or I have a funny feeling this team will Implode.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:29 pm
This team lacks the real DAWGS. Without Gronk, JPP, Suh, Jensen, Marpet, etc and with Brady dealing with all of his offfield stuff, we lack a real identity of grit and toughness and will to win. I see too many guys loafing, collecting checks and okay with the status quo. Someone needs to give this team a backbone but sadly it won’t be the coaches
October 19th, 2022 at 4:34 pm
BucsfanFred- Iāll make sure to check with you first before I post from now on.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:34 pm
God am I the only one fed up with all the excuses?! Lack of TE production… weak running game… banged up offensive line.
With the Goat at QB, the weapons at WR, a more then capable RB, we should be finding creative ways to just blow people out consistently. Look at that 2007 Patriots… they had basically just Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Other than Moss and Welker they just had a bunch of very average weapons (WR Dante Stallworth, TE Ben Watson and RB Laurence Maroney.) That team curb-stopped people all year!
October 19th, 2022 at 4:39 pm
Where are the super star players from free agency?? They have been hurt or whatever 90% of the time. They need to either get well or get gone. Sorry! Both of these guys have been hurt where ever they have gone!! Why are they here??? Like they say, “you can’t help the club by sitting in the tub”!
October 19th, 2022 at 4:43 pm
lol
October 19th, 2022 at 4:46 pm
TB had to go with Kraft to help out on the honeymoon, remember Kraft is 81 wife is 47. They also has an Asian lady , supposedly a cook, accompany them.
October 19th, 2022 at 4:53 pm
Get back in the fight!! Now would be a good time. š
October 19th, 2022 at 4:54 pm
Now all we need is a ‘players only game plan’. Has to be better than what the coaching staff is doing!!!!!
October 19th, 2022 at 5:01 pm
Itās funny how entitled and comfortable some Bucs fans are in taking shots and the guy who made this franchise relevant again. This team was known as a āpoverty franchise.ā A franchise where fans and media mocked Brady for choosing, and now you whiny losers want to throw him under the bus and blame him for the entire team woes. Heās been the ultimate scapegoat because of his stature and his entire life has been played out in public. This franchise was a nonexistent blip on the national stage. We were mired in early games and TV blackouts. Tom would never quit because itās not his style, and heās mental tough. A lot more tougher than you snowflakes. I would just quit and let Trask and Blaine take over. Go back to being the irrelevant āYucs.ā Bradyās not beyond criticism. Heās not perfect by no means, but fans are piling on worse than the national media. The Packersā fans are supporting their QB though a difficult time and they defended him vigorously when the media came after him for his podcast tour and COVID stuff. Thatās because Packers are a storied franchise with real fans who support their stars. We have the GOAT and weāre throwing him to the wolves. Absolutely shameful.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:05 pm
We need fewer Vita Veas and more Lavonte Davids on the team
October 19th, 2022 at 5:06 pm
Hopefully two of the talking points was to audible from those 1st down runs and soft zone defense on 3rd and long…
October 19th, 2022 at 5:07 pm
good to hear about a players only meeting…
dudes balling up to rally back is the move…
also i think they’re catching the vibe that if they lose to carolina this weekend, someone could maybe get fired or something…
there might not be room for a loss in carolina at this point – that would essentially be hitting rock bottom
October 19th, 2022 at 5:08 pm
Suffering..
Agreed.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:08 pm
^^^ SteveYoungisaKaren
October 19th, 2022 at 5:09 pm
I see this meeting as a positive. Hopefully the conclusion was that the players need to take responsibility for their own play and at least get they mentals right. Let’s see the Bucs come out with much more fire on Sunday against the Panthers. If not….Oh boy.
I’m expecting a much more competitive game win or lose.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
As for free agents, Gage sucks and canāt catch. Heās dropped balls that could have win games. Boot him to the curb. Nicks to the curb. Julio to the curb. Those 3 garbage signings that have net zero return could sign any o line help needed. Jason Licht has really done well since getting Brady, but he really blew it with Free Agents this year. Ryan is good though but now heās on IR. WTF
October 19th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Cut the talk ! And perform period.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Yeah man. Our free agent signings have been a disaster. Straight up.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:19 pm
āManbeast,ā is an overused and unearned monicker typed on this here website.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:28 pm
I’ll remain skeptical until I see a turnaround on the field. I like the sounds of a come to Jesus meeting, but means nothing if they still under achieve, have mental errors, lack roughness, etc.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:29 pm
āUs as players we sat down and met on our own to figure out, you know, what was going on with [us] as a group,ā
You would know that from reviewing the tape after 6 games so did you really have a players only meeting to call out each others bad play?
October 19th, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Left witch is not on the field ā¦he throws no passes, he blocks no defenders, he doesnāt run any routes to get open, and certainly doesnāt tackle any running backs! ā¦but we all know this!
October 19th, 2022 at 5:31 pm
The players only meeting can’t really hurt much….
October 19th, 2022 at 5:32 pm
The way this whole division is going, 9-8 may win it. 10 wins should be a lock. If we just keep improving and group some good wins together toward the end of the year, I think we will be okay. Look at Cinci last year. 10-7. After their bye week last year they were 5-4 and had just lost in a blow out to Cleveland. Their season turned out pretty good. No reason yet for us to jump off the ledge, even if we do stink it up again against Carolina. I will feel nervous if we hit 7 losses and there are still a few games left in the season, but for now, let’s stay optimistic. Do some chanting or meditation or burn some incense, rub some crystals under your pits or some other hippy crap like that and everything will be okay.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:39 pm
Players only meetings only work if all the players completely buy in and decide that they have had enough of silly mistakes, and losing. Maybe another leader will emerge other than Devin White. He has been part of some of the breakdowns and shoddy play that have kept us from winning ā¦ie getting the roughing the passer call on 3ārd down to extend the drive for the Steelers. Also the blown assignment on the touchdown pass to the back out of the backfield. That was Whites man and he didnāt even try to cover him.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:42 pm
When the coaches suck, that what players do!
Next wont be a players meeting, it’ll be just them giving up.
October 19th, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Players only meeting very early in the season hmmm the team is in turmoil and alota guy are playing for contracts and not a super bowl
October 19th, 2022 at 5:50 pm
Folks I have some amazing news! I found my lucky Bucs sweat pants. We are about to go on a winning spree!
October 19th, 2022 at 6:22 pm
Bucs will beat up on the panthers. But we will truly see if they are turning any corners against them Ravens.
October 19th, 2022 at 6:24 pm
CAN SOMEONE ANSWER THIS:
Bowles said JULIO was ready to play way back during the Packers game. That he was good to go (enough) to play. But they sat him out that game just to be safe.
Subsequently, he hasnāt played at all.
So what happened? How could his knee have gotten worse while resting it? And now theyāre indicating he might not play till January.
Did I miss updates on what happened? Can someone give me a QRD?
October 19th, 2022 at 6:26 pm
@Tackleblock
Awesome! We need all the help we can get to ward off the hex Gisele put on us!
October 19th, 2022 at 6:26 pm
They need motivation, someone or something to piss all of them off. They play passive.Did that last game of season Rams.Played passive until they hurried up the offense and we almost won.
October 19th, 2022 at 6:28 pm
Maybe its just the Bucs fan in me but when I see the team playing uninspired football my natural instict is to worry there is some kind of internal problem happening behind the scenes. We’ve seen this be the case just way too many times.
Gotta admitt Im worried this team is about ready to implode. Its not hard to imagine………Reported hassle over a red marker, then a retire/unretire, our trusted HC retires seemingly out of nowhere, our QB misses time in preseason, Cole Beasley shows up for a cup of coffee then abruptly leaves, some wierd reports about Toms Wednesdays then no walkthrough and starting off flat this Sunday. It wouldnt really shock if if some players arent too happy with the “arrangements” and changes that are happening on this team.
The fan in me envisions a 7 game winning streak and a trip to Arzona but the Buc in me is shaking and scared.
October 19th, 2022 at 6:36 pm
They need a coaches only meeting, and serve pink slips.
October 19th, 2022 at 6:49 pm
Coaches suck Iām looking at you Bowles itch
October 19th, 2022 at 6:58 pm
The defense is mildly better than last year, (a couple plays could have turned the game) offense is grossly limited, which has nothing/little to do with Brady. Could better scheming fix it? dunno
October 19th, 2022 at 6:58 pm
Uh Shaq said it wasnāt really a players only meeting. More lies and drama from the media. Now you bunch of snowflakes can gripe because they didnāt have one.
October 19th, 2022 at 7:21 pm
Good
October 19th, 2022 at 7:33 pm
Ouch. Never heard of teams doing this getting out of last place
October 19th, 2022 at 7:44 pm
Brady certainly has the cache to lead a players only. Name the situation, he’s been in it. Many times the Patriots were written off. I suspect it went something like this. We have the talent. How do you want to be remembered? It’s still all in front of us. It’s up to everyone in this room to be accountable, do your job, and perform.
October 19th, 2022 at 7:49 pm
Those who actually watch and listen to head coaches press conferences know that Todd Bowles spread the blame around well enough. He did not shirk his own responsibility either. (JBF and the Sage will appreciate that verbiage. š)
I don’t care if we are 11 and 6 or even 10 and 7 at the end of the season as long as two things happen. (1) We are in the playoffs. (2) We have some mo’ going at that point.
Go Bucs!
October 19th, 2022 at 7:56 pm
Fun fact: Leftwich has made Ryan Succop the top kicker in fantasy football! That’s the first time a Bucs kicker has ever lead in fantasy after week 6.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:02 pm
Wow – did you all read the Jenna Laine ESPN story that just broke? She said Hainsey loved Tom chewing them out.
“Everyone can call it what they want, but I want nothing else from a quarterback than that — than the guy who’s wanting to tell us what we need to do and step up,” said Hainsey, who is in his first year as the starting center and second season in the NFL. “If he was just sitting over there and not get us going and not try to help us — he wouldn’t be who he is today.”
“I love that from him. I know we all love that from him. It might look weird on TV, but that’s football. That’s what you want from great teammates and great leaders, and he’s the best there is.”
October 19th, 2022 at 8:09 pm
D-Rok – Women get moody and throw a hissy fit because someone yells at them. Men respond to it by answering the challenge.
And again, I’ll point out, the line played better after that.
Any player that wouldn’t respond like Hainsey shouldn’t be on this team. The dopes on this site that think what Brady did was ‘uncalled’ for, those people are losers, and get demeaned all the time at their job because they’re failures.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:12 pm
D-Rok, just saw that. Makes sense. Would you rather have Russell Wilson patting guys on the back for sucking? Or Brady getting on your ass, and demanding you perform better. Every effective leader I’ve been around, has demanded high standards. No shortcuts to success. D-Rok, you’ve been talking about identity a lot. That’s 100% a coaching issue. Strip it down, and do what works, not what you want to work.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:12 pm
D-Rok. That doesnāt fit the narrative so media wonāt report on it. Theyād rather have drama and talk about players only meetings that didnāt happen.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:15 pm
Pretty much on-point, Rod. Due to all the sensitive ones being offended that an athlete would cuss out his teammates for poor play, I wanted to make sure people knew how the recipients felt about being cussed out.
This is critical because many commenters feel like Brady isn’t all-in this year. I think he is.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:17 pm
Good comments/thoughts, guys.
I was in the Army, Redeemer, so I totally understand leadership, which is WHY I’ve been leaning on the identity narrative lately.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:24 pm
If you look at it as though we just had a six week preseason warm up then we are starting an eleven week season that matters. Of course one big plus is that we are at the top of the NFC South in reality.
Now, if we should lose against Carolina then we will be sure that our season is in the toilet swirling around.
Go Bucs! I have faith in you!
October 19th, 2022 at 8:26 pm
Btw the interview with Hainsey is on YouTube if you want to watch it. Donāt know if itās on the team site.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:26 pm
They were yelled at because they were playing like s— at that time. When you know you’re not doing well, and you got a leader yelling at your to get your a– in gear, so long as that leader is respected, that can help get guys to focus and sort of reset things.
Now if you have some fraud yelling and screaming, people will tune them out or mock them. That’s not an issue here.
From Brady’s side, the only thing he did wrong was not going over to Leftwich and chewing him at 100x the intensity he showed the o-line.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:52 pm
The problems are obvious and cumulative. No Bruce, distracted Brady, no Suh or JPP, much worse online. I am beginning to accept this team is no longer championship material. Too many changes in the off-season that Litch did not properly address.
October 19th, 2022 at 8:58 pm
When u draft a crap center and guard
Then bring in a below average guardā¦
Itās makes it harder then it needs to be
October 19th, 2022 at 8:58 pm
They are flummoxed by the Pantherās move to start PJ Walker.
October 19th, 2022 at 9:01 pm
I’m sure they all ran up the middle
In all seriousness, this season was destined to be a trainwreck.
October 19th, 2022 at 9:04 pm
Sometimes you have to let the players connect directly. It can be really good.
Donāt mess this up, like Torts did when Andreychuk held a players-only meeting.
October 19th, 2022 at 9:06 pm
Letsbuccingo is right. The tough tone setters and leaders who left were not properly replaced. They should have been immediately replaced with equal or better veterans, but more importantly, leaders.
Simply shoving rookies and younger guys out there doesn’t replace the intangibles and experience. Brady can’t do it alone. Logan Ryan was one guy, but now he’s out.
This is a top-down issue: leadership, tone, direction, identity. As well as week to week preparation, that players alone can’t address.
They’ve already committed to the youth/in-house approach, and that will decide the season.
October 19th, 2022 at 9:57 pm
This team is has not gelled yet & has not played good FB for most of the season (not up to TB12 standards)…But looks to still be beating favorites for winning the division & making a run in the playoffs.
October 19th, 2022 at 10:20 pm
D-Rok, me too. Did you have a problem with Brady comparing football season to a deployment? I love me some Brady, but it’s a bad analogy. He’s paid millions and isn’t under gun fire. He also gets to see his family during the week. he’s so careful with his words, it just surprised me. A little too self important for my taste.
October 19th, 2022 at 10:23 pm
Brady would never get in any public altercation with Leftwich. This isnāt NE with McDaniels and Bill OāBrien. When it happened, the media had countless articles and segments about how Brady was the bad guy. The media would kill Brady more than theyāve already have and he would be cancelled. Could you imagine the optics of Brady arguing with his black coach on the sidelines? The woke people would be out with the pitchforks. Remember when Brady shook of the call from Leftwich in a critical situation against Dallas in 2021? The media went wild and accused him of disrespecting his coach. Leftwich himself looked kinda pissed.
The discussion surrounding if Brady is all in is all so disingenuous. Heās an easy punching bag. Devin White blew an assignment and gave up a TD to Najee Harris. Heās also been missing a lot of assignments this year. How do we know that Devin has personal issues off the field? Why arenāt we questioning him about it? You know why? Because his private life is private. Bradyās life is out for the public to see, so itās easy to attach personal issues to the bad play of the team. Why canāt it be that Brady might be off and it has zero to do with his personal life? Why isnāt he afforded that reason?
October 19th, 2022 at 10:26 pm
WOW ok,
Let me help all of you out. Todd and BL are not PERFECT. Who among us is???
HOWEVER, they are OUR guys and the deserve OUR support. NONE of us are in the situation they are in.
HOW ABOUT YOU SNOW FLAKES back the F u C k OFF!!!
You included JBF!!!
October 19th, 2022 at 10:59 pm
Some others said it and I agreeā¦our lack of dynamic TE play is killing the offense coupled with a step down in o-line play. And players meeting – who cares? Iāve been in players only meetings – theyāre BS survivor island meetings that tend to further divide the team because thereās usually no accountability in these meeting. Much better for a small group of leaders to address players individually.
October 19th, 2022 at 11:21 pm
Keep smoking that crack , CrackHead. Get mad because we’re calling them out on their failures and obvious immature tactics and play calling. But its ok, you dont get it low IQ crack smoka.
October 20th, 2022 at 12:34 am
No CrackWise, Leftwich is a buffoon in terms of being a coordinator. Always had been.
The difference is when he had 8 – 9 pro bowl / all pro / HOF players in the lineup, it would mask his deficiencies as a coordinator.
Now that he only has 5 – 6 of those types of players (which is still very good) heās been exposed for what he is – a below average coordinator who doesnāt know how to be creative, scheme guys open with misdirection, or exploit mismatches.
October 20th, 2022 at 12:41 am
Always a good sign. It shows that the leaders of the team give a crap and want to be better.
If they went in to the Baltimore game at 5ā2, it would be right where most thought they would be because most of us felt 2 losses in the first 4 games was reasonable.
They simply should have never lost to Pittsburgh. Even though they havenāt looked good on offense yet, theyāre fully capable of turning that around
October 20th, 2022 at 3:39 am
Steveyoungwasright.
Bingo bingo bingo
October 20th, 2022 at 5:36 am
From my point of view, the offense (while admittedly predictable and uninspired) is about where I expected at this point in the season. TEās not top grade but getting better. OL not a finished product, but getting marginally better. They need better play calling on offense to be sure, but I think the real culprit is the defense. I expected the team to lean on the defense the first half of the season, but theyāve folded like a cheap umbrella. Vea is a very good part-time player, but has not demonstrated the ability to be great or a game changer. White runs away from the play too much and when the run is at him canāt stop it. We are missing Sue and JPP tremendously. Hall and JTS show potential, but they arenāt fully baked yetā¦and Iām not seeing star quality in their play (hope Iām wrong). They should be in a rotation with starting caliber players. Shaq has been a disappointment for a couple of years now if you ask me. Poor first and second layer defense has exposed weaknesses in the third layer. Thereās not nearly enough pressure up the middle on passing plays and the outside rush is hit or miss. The run defense is atrocious. I think itās the defense that thinks itās as good as it used to be not the offense. They need to get off the talk shows, interview circuit and podcasts, and get in the G.D. game.
October 20th, 2022 at 7:02 am
Team meeting needed to happen about a month ago.
BTW team meetings don’t usually bode well for coaching staffs
October 20th, 2022 at 7:32 am
Crackhead, the meeting was about how can they get rid of Bowels and lefty dumb arse. Watch a freaking Giants game and how their coaches react to good and bad. The players want emotional coaches that show they care not ones that cower and throw them under the bus. Hainsley said this about Brady, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if two time loser sour puss would show he cares and fires Leftnut. All you BA lovers out there, just remember who stuck the Bucs with these clowns!
October 20th, 2022 at 9:46 am
Wow look at the talent in that picture. Sure could use a few of those guys back.
October 20th, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Useless.
October 20th, 2022 at 6:48 pm
I can not believe the nasty COMMENTS . It is not TB12 the players need to catch the ball, tackle better etc. The entire team needs to do better. The line needs to do better the entire team needs to play better. No need to be so nasty to one person. The entire team needs to play better.
October 20th, 2022 at 6:52 pm
To Bucks team 13. Great message. Thank you
October 21st, 2022 at 1:03 am
The Bucs did this back in the Dungy days…and that was when things turned around for the team. Lasted 10 years.
October 21st, 2022 at 8:48 am
You all keep talking about the goat. Yes you have probably the best receivers in the league but it is hard to catch a ball thrown in the ground or over their heads. I don’t know what you have been watching but it is hard to get first downs when your quarterback is throwing the ball away so he doesn’t get hit. It’s easy to blame the boss when their workers are not doing their job
October 21st, 2022 at 10:12 am
All these comments about brady…THE BUCS WOUKD BE NOTHING WITHOUT BRADY..THE ONLY REASON THE BUCS ARE RELEVANT IS BECAUSE OF BRADY!!!!all these wannabe couch potato sitting on their axx as if they could do better!!!!and all of you who had a problem with the military comment need to go back to school and revisit critical thinking …MILITARY HAS ALWAYS BEEN USED AS AN ANALOGY TO SPORTS…” PEYTON LIKE A FIELD GENERAL” I wonder how many vets had something to say about that…and that was just one example!!!!…all of you making these negative comments about a man JUST TRYING TO WIN FOR THIS TEAM is a dam joke!!!!
October 25th, 2022 at 8:47 pm
WELP…After this Sunday…Looks like the players only meeting had a huge impact. 21-3 Panthers.