“They Looked Stunned”
October 26th, 2022
This commentary is disturbing because it comes from a guy who readily admits — and did so this week — that he’s good friends with Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote.
Joe is referring to former Steelers guard Max Starks, who was a teammate of Leftwich and Foote, and he played for Bucco Bruce Arians.
Starks works part-time hosting on SiriusXM NFL Radio and also is a regular on Arizona sports radio.
This week with Alex Marvez on Late Hits, Starks revealed his shock by what’s happened to the Bucs and he claims it looks worse than it is. Starks said he wouldn’t be so particularly disturbed if he wasn’t live on the sidelines himself for the Steelers-Bucs game 10 days ago.
“They looked stunned,” Starks said of the Bucs defense. And he noted that the Tampa Bay offense looks equally miserable. “You never think of a Tom Brady-led team looking this bad,” Starks said.
“I wonder if the effects of the preseason and the [Brady] time missed [in August] created a gap between Tom and the rest of the team”
Joe heard that and Joe’s antennae went up. Why? Because Joe has no doubt that Starks talked to Leftwich and Foote before the game, at the game and after the game.
“I wonder if the message is growing a little bit stale” because of Brady’s time off,” Starks said.
He went on to insist that Leftwich and Foote, and others on the Bucs staff, are such good coaches that it magnifies the problems at One Buc Palace.
Ira Kaufman Addresses The Crisis State Of The Buccaneers, Next Steps, And Ravens Game Predictions & More
October 26th, 2022 at 4:02 pm
Him saying BlairWitch is a good coach ended his credibility.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:04 pm
BL throwing Brady under the bus, that’s a good one. I decided to torture myself and watch the Carolina game again, that was until the play after the dropped pass by Evan’s on 2&10, BL calls the up the middle run to put the O in a 3rd and 11. After that I shut it off. BL is a horrible ay Caller and the fact that Bowels doesn’t recognize this confirms he’s even worse if a coach.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:08 pm
If the players are doubting Brady, then they should be off the team, period. That’s such a stupid take, it’s insane. Some d-bag 2nd stringer throwing a fit because Brady got time off and they didn’t – literally cut them if that’s true.
But of course it’s not true, it’s just someone speculating trying to pad out a radio broadcast.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:09 pm
“I wonder if the effects of the preseason and the [Brady] time missed [in August] created a gap between Tom and the rest of the team”
So Starks talked to Leftwich and Foote, then came away with “Tom was missing from training camp in August. And THAT’S why we are playing like Sh**”
Uh huh.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:10 pm
A freaking 4th round pick for Robert Quinn. Are you kidding me?
October 26th, 2022 at 4:13 pm
philly gets a stud for a fourth did we even try??
October 26th, 2022 at 4:13 pm
Even the Bucs players, can’t believe how bad they are playing.
Time to coax Uncle Bruce out of retirement? Maybe, a new Cadilac Deluxe golf-cart?
October 26th, 2022 at 4:15 pm
Not really disturbing to me. This guy is just sticking up for his pal, because everyone is now railing against his pal. In other words, this guy is biased and has little credibility.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:20 pm
On the contrary, Mr. Munch, it would be human nature to doubt the commitment of a guy who bails on training camp for 11 days after an offseason of retirement then un-retirement. It doesn’t matter if it’s Tom Brady. As a fan, I certainly have my doubts. I think people buy into Brady’s legend and think he’s infallible and can do no wrong. To think there’s not a possibility his actions have had an impact on the team vibe would be burying your head in the sand… That’s not to say that is the main problem or the only problem.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:22 pm
What credibility does BL have to throw Brady under the bus. Without him, BL wouldn’t have even been considered for a HC job, and is probably sitting at home. Brady’s time away in camp was always a built-in excuse for these bum coaches. If they struggle again against a poor Baltimore defense, fire BL and promote Clyde.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:29 pm
Starks knows his buddy Leftwich is toast. He is actually making excuses for him and blaming Brady for his ineptitude. F Starks.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:31 pm
This is not stunning or surprising to me.
The team is not all in.
Because their leader has not been all in.
Add coaching failures on top of that, and you get what we are seeing.
October 26th, 2022 at 4:31 pm
Dayummmmm, Robert Quinn to Iggles for a 4th rounder????
No worries folks, we have the incredible duo of SB58 & JTS9 !!
Yahoooooooo!! 🙄🙄🙄
October 26th, 2022 at 4:48 pm
Im wondering if Tom did run off Bruce. I could certainly see where that would piss off a lot of people on the team and in the orginization. It would also explain why they are playing like they dont give a rats ass.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:02 pm
Maybe they are all just tired of hearing TB12 TB12 junk pseudoscience constantly…
October 26th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
And the finger-pointimg by the coaching staff has begun via the press.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
I would like for everyone to do this and remember the FEELINGS you crybabies had while MOCKING it.
Please do this before posting any more.
You ready.
HOLD FOUR FINGERS IN THE AIR.
There, I just fixed the season. All of you need to RELAX!!! Many of you same crybabies thought that we would be LUCKY to have a 1-3 record after the first 4 games. SOOOO, 3-4 while being in FIRST place in OUR division aint so bad.
STOP ALL YOUR CRYING. It’s not doing you or ANYONE any good. Pitt and Carolina where desperate teams. It’s not really that big of a shock that they played the way they did. Timing is important and we caught those teams at bad times. CLEARLY, they had not packed it in for the season like the JOES narrative wanted you all to believe.
NOW, we will start to see what kind of team we have. Let’s hope we have NO MORE Distractions or Suprises.
ANY IF ANY of these players are not performing well because Brady than that is on them, and it is PATHETIC considering they are professionals and get paid very well.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:22 pm
^ What’s pathetic is to excuse Brady as if he’s some kind of god. After all the Brady drama since the offseason, it would not be surprising at all for team chemistry to be affected negatively. You can’t call guys weak and pathetic if they felt put off by all that crap. It’s fundamentally unstable and it does impact people. Guys will roll out the boilerplate hard-guy clichés and say it has no bearing on the team. That’s just talk. They’re human, not robots.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:23 pm
All these pundits blaming everything on Brady’s time off is a great excuse for the horrendous coaching and loafing and lack of discipline going on. The real issues are coaching and laziness by the players. No one has any heart or pride anymore.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:33 pm
sasquatch
I can tell you failed to hold four fingers in the air prior to responding.
I didn’t call anyone weak or pathetic. I called the idea of Brady being the reason they are not preforming PATHETIC.
Here is a life lesson for you and everyone else. Things are never as good or as bad as we perceive.
Just think about it. When was the last time you have EVER seen the BUCS play THIS BAD and STILL BE IN FIRST FREAKING PLACE????
EXACTLY!!!
October 26th, 2022 at 5:38 pm
This team, UNDER BRADY, has started seasons much like they have started games. SLOW!!!
You know who I BLAME for that? No one, I don’t argue with RESULTS that paint a PICTURE of a WINNING football team.
You know who else has been here during those SLOW STARTS???
Wait for it………………………………..
Thats right, COACHES!!!
October 26th, 2022 at 5:44 pm
Brady does look like someone turned of the gas to his fire, and it has to stun the players as much as the fans.
Maybe he will have some urgency tomorrow.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:48 pm
COACHING & Alphas…they let all of the dogs go. No one left with any credibility to hold the locker room accountable.
October 26th, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Brady: is the #6 passer in the NFL. In gonna say the problem doesn’t start with him. Rodgers is in almost the same boat–having to throw a lot of short passes (though obviously for different reasons)
October 26th, 2022 at 6:17 pm
Even Jacksonville didn’t even want Leftwich. Just by them not wanting him should say something.
October 26th, 2022 at 6:54 pm
These players are paid well to be professionals. They are grown ass men, not high school girls.
If anyone is upset that Brady missed some training camp time almost 3 months ago, they should have been dealt with by Bowles (here we go again). Obviously Bowles let that fester.
Brady is the best QB of all time. He won the Bucs a Super Bowl two years ago and, no doubt, would have won another last year — barring the horrible coaching decisions by, you guessed it, Bowles.
At this point, anyone who isn’t 100% committed to the team & Brady, can go. They are men of low character.
October 26th, 2022 at 8:01 pm
Many blaming Leftwich But come I don’t see him out there under,and overthrowing those passes? I mean Leftwich is even underthrowing his utility outlet valves. Talk about Clark Kent…..
October 26th, 2022 at 8:09 pm
sasquatch – The CEO of a company is not treated the same as a bag boy. If the bag boy throws a fit because the CEO gets more days off, and a parking space up front, well, tough luck, kid.
I understand that in life, most Brady haters are the bag boy, they’re upset and angry that someone can be that gifted, that rich, that successful.
If we have bag boys on the team upset at Brady, then you promptly escort them out the gates of One Buc Place, and issue a press release wishing them the best at their new job at Wendy’s, because there’s no other NFL team that would want that crybaby either.
October 26th, 2022 at 8:16 pm
I can’t believe the Quinn deal, we are so dumb. I’m glad I don’t have Amazon Prime as the Bucs are going to get slaughtered tomorrow night. Six players out, a QB that is done, nothing in the trenches on either side and a OC that won’t change plays. Total blow out.
October 26th, 2022 at 8:40 pm
Sure, we’ve been watching talent get moved all over the NFL. Bucs fail to land anyone great. Because they’re committed to existing in-house investments, even when their production has been JAG-level at best.
When they have deigned to look outside, what do they do but pass on a long list of the best free agents in the spring and summer. Roll the dice and lose on Hicks, Rudolph, Gage, Nassib. Draft guys who at best need 2 years of development, and expect them to start like Hall of Famers.
But the main problem now is even bigger than all that. It’s the coaching, the top-down failure to lead and unify. There are now too many wack-a-mole fires erupting, many of them pernicious.
Brady is not the problem. He is one of the few things we can rely on. If he were a young stud who attended every single practice this year fired up beyond belief, it would have little or no impact on what is happening right now, which is far beyond.
October 26th, 2022 at 9:37 pm
aGAIN–Quinn is 32, has had ONE sack in 7 games, his pff is 43. How old is Hicks again?
October 27th, 2022 at 12:08 am
Munch. Playing hard-ass makes for nice rhetoric… but I’m being realistic about how human beings actually are. People respond to instability around them. It’s not out of protest or any attitude towards Brady. To use your CEO analogy — if the CEO of a company retired, un-retired, took time away from his job, the employees couldn’t be faulted for starting to wonder a little bit… and in this analogy we’re not talking about bag boys or even employees, we’re talking about peers to whom Brady is crucial to team success. You’d have to be an idiot to think the Brady drama couldn’t potentially have a negative impact on chemistry, timing, trust, and cohesiveness. Go ahead talk like a hard-ass, be intolerant, and condemn people… but I’m just describing human nature. Bury your head in the sand and tune out reality, that’s fine.
October 27th, 2022 at 3:07 am
Joe!
You guys just overloaded may BS Meter!
October 27th, 2022 at 10:56 am
Such good coaches!! 🤣 … Yeah they must be really good friends for him to say what is obviously such a lie!!
October 27th, 2022 at 11:31 am
HOW MANY PEOPLE SUBMARINED THEIR CAREERS …
Bowles – He won’t get another HC gig.
BL – Won’t get another OC gig.
D. White – Highest paid LB ain’t happening.
LVD – Not the leader we all thought he was.