“His Footwork Is Like A Ballerina Right Now”
September 24th, 2023
Hardcore Bucs fans might remember that Warren Sapp himself was on the sidelines cheering on Shaq Barrett in 2019 when Shaq broke Sapp’s franchise record mark of 16 1/2 sacks in one season.
Sapp got in his hugs as Shaq finished with a three-sack day in the season finale as the Bucs fell to a bad Falcons team after Jameis Winston threw a pick-6 to end the game — and his Bucs career.
Sapp is a huge Shaq admirer, and it’s not easy to get Sapp to like anyone playing along a defensive line.
What Shaq is accomplishing now after offseason Achilles surgery and his toddler daughter drowning in the spring is blowing Sapp’s mind, he told the Fearless podcast. And it’s not just about a man overcoming adversity; it’s about what Sapp is seeing on the field.
“Oh my goodness, ohhh, his footwork is like a ballerina right now,” Sapp said of Shaq.
Joe has been very impressed by Shaq, too. He’s got a ton of burst so soon after his surgery and folks at One Buc Palace say he’s close to full strength but not there yet.
Shaq has 41 1/2 sacks in a Bucs uniform. That puts him 13 sacks behind Gerald McCoy, who sits in fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list.
Could reaching McCoy be in play for Shaq this season? Joe can dream, though it might not be a total fantasy given the quarterbacks the Bucs face in their final 15 games.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:08 pm
Saints lost
September 24th, 2023 at 4:09 pm
Falcons and Saints both lost. Setting up nicely for Bucs.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:09 pm
Falcons lost
September 24th, 2023 at 4:10 pm
Bucs can be alone in first place. Go Bucs!
September 24th, 2023 at 4:14 pm
I don’t know if Shaq lost weight, but he looks quicker to me than he did last year. I wonder with the injury, if he’s actually trained himself so he’s in better shape than before the injury. He looks quick though.
Keep in mind Shaq is also playing for his contract. When you look at the Bucs cap next year, the most obvious cut is going to be Shaq, so he needs to have a big year to get paid by Tampa, or somewhere else.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:15 pm
Saw the Packers beat the Saints. The refs finally started calling the DB muggings the Saints were dishing out, and the game turned. Hope they call all those mugging of Evans and Godwin against the Saints when we play them, and I think we can handle them…especially if Jameis is the starting QB.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:17 pm
Saints have some awful coaching.
Winston is on a roll on that last drive, and the moron coach pulls Winston from the game to run with Hill who promptly gets a penalty, and seemed to kill any momentum they had.
Still, Winston gets the team into FG range only to have the kicker miss it. In Tampa, over his 5 years here, he had the NFL’s worst defense and the NFL’s worst kicking game. Amazing how that stuff follows him around even when he’s doing his job.
Anywho, now it’s up to Baker to prove he isn’t 2018 Fitz and only good for two games, and actually win this game and get first place in the NFC South.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:18 pm
Saints blowing a 17 point lead gives me a warm glow inside. Taking the grandkids out for ice cream.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:19 pm
Ooof, the Vikings lose and the Bears are about to get destroyed – they’re not helping the Bucs SOS.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:19 pm
We’ll see if JW starts for Saints against us I’m hopeful.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Munch… Saw the entire game. Winston didn’t throw any picks but his stats weren’t impressive, nor were many of his throws. And don’t blame the D here for as many heartbreaking picks as TD’s in some years. He gave away too many games.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:22 pm
Shaq’s story this past year is amazing. That man MUST have a fire burning real deep, and to overcome what he has is simply inspiring.
Get you about 5 sacks this Monday – for us fans and for you – you deserve it!
Wow he’s so impressive.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:24 pm
Irish…if you saw the game in Green Bay, you would know it was mostly that the Refs started calling those Saints DB’s for holding and pass interference. They started playing the good young Packers receivers straight up at that point, and the game turned on its’ ear.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:24 pm
mark2001 – Yeah, I watched it as well. Winston was pretty hesitant when he first came in, was slow to make reads, took a little to warm up. But that last drive he was good, was moving it, then their (thankfully) stupid coach takes him out of the game to run Hill, which promptly gets a pentaly and loses yards, and seemed like it killed the drive. But let me guess, it’s Winston’s fault, even though the defense gave up 18 points and the FG kicker missed the game winner. LOL!
Always the same thing with the Winston haters.
BTW, big takeaway was seeing Winston throw balls that you absolutely know are catches if Evans was catching it, and some crossers that you know Godwin gets 10 yards on that their WR’s are only getting 4 yards on. Olave is a very good WR, but he’s not quite in their league yet.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:34 pm
Rod… Winston threw a ball or two that would have been a pick six if the young DB had crossed the receivers face a half second sooner. His big pass was basically a misplay by the D back….some no named guy named Ballinger or something, that should never been completed. I’ll give you that he didn’t screw it up. But he didn’t have one TD drive. So I’ll leave it with that.
September 24th, 2023 at 4:48 pm
mark2001 – Back to counting the ‘almost’ interception, another stable of those with Winston Derangement Syndrome.
Anywho, I don’t disagree that Winston didn’t look good until that last drive, but part of that is his WR’s, outside of Olave, are not very good. Also Winston looked hesitant early on – which would make sense since he’s barely played in over a year and has been injured a lot since he got to NO.
Regardless, if that same situation happened with a different QB, everyone would be saying how he came alive when it mattered only to be betrayed by the kicker. But with Winston, it’s his fault the defense gives up 18 points and the kicker misses a game winner.
September 24th, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Poor Rod…can’t deal with the fact Jameis ran out his welcome here, couldn’t start for the Saints and keep the job, that no other team wanted him seriously as a starter, and the best he can do is back up the Saints. Face it.. will never be a Brad Johnson or a Trent Dilfer. He just doesn’t have it.
September 24th, 2023 at 5:03 pm
And BTW Rod… after Jameis’s “in your mind outstanding play”, would any lowly team, including the Bears, say “man did you see Jameis pley? Yeah, we need to call the Saints and see if we can bring him in as a starter”. Newsflash.. none would. But keep sniffing his shorts, if you wish.
September 24th, 2023 at 5:07 pm
I think Bowles should let Calijah Kancey play a Michael Pardon role. Kancey has 20 yd split time is 1.58 vs Parson’s 1.59. Let the man loose n he’ll terrorize offenses for years.
September 24th, 2023 at 5:21 pm
mark2001 – The Bucs win a SB, yet the only joy you feel is when Winston loses, even when he’s not the issue. That’s what WDS is all about. It’s a legitimate mental issue, and you should seek help (and by that I mean drink some Drano – LOL!).
September 24th, 2023 at 5:41 pm
Bought a Shaq shirt after that sack campaign in 2019. Dude is my favorite Buc from the current teams other than Marpet.
September 24th, 2023 at 6:11 pm
I always wondered about marpet. My ignorant perspective saw a guy come from a small grade 3 college, struggling at first, then getting really good after a few years; then quitting out of the blue, as he reached his prime.
Never could quite get my arms around that….
Then again, I never walked a mile in his shoes…
September 24th, 2023 at 7:12 pm
Bring back the lawn chairs – What are you talking about? Marpet came in and dominated pretty much from day 1, he should have been a pro-bowler in his first year – and was one of the very best guards in the NFL. Your version of events is not how it happened.
Also, if you don’t want to trust someone, do it because he played the ukulele. That’s an untrustworthy trait if I’ve ever seen one.
September 24th, 2023 at 9:39 pm
I know the Bucs won a SB. But you don’t seem to know that we had to jettison Winston to do so. You are sadly s example of a jock sniffer that can’t admit he placed his hopes and his nose on a loser.
September 25th, 2023 at 12:29 am
Yup! This dude is doing some really amazing stuff especially when you consider the last year or so of his life. Most people don’t have the mental toughness to overcome half as much.
Go Shaq!
Go Bucs!
September 25th, 2023 at 12:36 am
Only the folks on here could take an inpiring story on Shaq and disregard it to turn the thread into a debate about Jaymiss. Sad…
Go Bucs!
September 25th, 2023 at 8:22 am
Winston is old, old news unworthy of more than momentary conversation. Loooser.