Jason Licht Did More Than Enough
December 11th, 2023
Watching the Bucs yesterday really hammered home to Joe the reality that Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has done a hell of a job this year.
The Bucs entered 2023 handcuffed with about $75 million in dead salary cap. That’s bascially unavailable cap money previously spent via the NFL’s version of credit, a financial hit the team absorbed this season without real live players on the roster to show for it.
It was necessary for the glorious Tom Brady era to be what it was. And now the Bucs are paying that debt.
Still, Licht built a roster capable of sitting in first place (with tiebreakers) on Dec. 11. And the Bucs are not overachieving. Not even close. They’re not playing to their talent level.
With that in mind, it not Licht’s fault that the Bucs unnecessarily choked away a lead in Houston, or have done dumb things like were seen in yesterday’s win at Atlanta.
Licht is not a perfect GM, but he’s damn good. Underrated, Joe believes.
Joe has maintained that if the Bucs win the NFC South this season, Licht deserves an express pass to the Buccaneers Ring of Honor. That means not waiting until 2035 when Licht retires or is working for another club. The man built a talent-laden team Tom Brady wanted to play with without screwing up the salary cap, and he will have avoided a 2023 crash landing many expected. Licht reworked the roster with a unique blend of young players and Super Bowl veterans, and the Bucs have seen contributions from nearly all 13 of their rookies.
Sure, the Bucs could hiccup to the finish line with an 8-9 record, but Joe wouldn’t hang that on Licht.
What Joe would hang on Licht is a fancy ribbon for the 2023 season.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:16 am
Bucs need to move on from JTS next year. A free agent could easily replace him.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Licht has done a good job but he should allow Bowles to play our best players REGARDLESS of what round they were drafted in. Drives us fans insane when Bowles keeps playing JTS sorry, weak, soft, useless as instead of YaYa Diaby and Watts. Todd Bowles forcing OCs like Leftwich and Canales to run the ball between the tackles where our run blocking is weakest is crippling our offense. Baker Mayfield was the best quarterback we could get for the price but he is holding our offense back because he can only score two touchdowns a game. Licht did an excellent job getting us a great kicker and punter, our special teams is our strongest, most reliable, and consistent unit. Jason Licht needs to sit down with Todd Bowles and force him to hire a DC so Todd Bowles can focus more on being a head coach instead of being distracted by DC duties.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:25 am
This defense sucks I dont why Licht is getting praise for this year…..he let a affordable legit starting safety in Mike Edwards walk for Ryan Neal, still cant upgrade from JTS and his $100 million duo at corner are failing.
Licht is good with oline and linebackers but has been iffy with pass rushers, secondary, tight ends and depth at running back
December 11th, 2023 at 11:27 am
Joe, if Rich McKay was not the CEO of one of our divisional foes, do you think that the Glazers would have put him in the Ring of Honor by now? Am I being too simplistic in my assumption?
I wasn’t yet a Bucs fan back then (moved here and embraced pewter during Rah’s last season), but from what I have picked up it sounds like the architect of our first great rosters was not Dungy or Gruden, but actually Rich McKay. Is he an unsung hero, or am I misunderstanding how that all went down?
I have been very curious to hear your thoughts on this for some time.
Keep up the great work!
December 11th, 2023 at 11:28 am
JTS get abused has to be the nail in the coffin
December 11th, 2023 at 11:28 am
Licht did more than enough is unbelievable. This roster is terrible. You basically got rid of Gerald McCoy because he was what Calijah Kancey has been to date in this defense. Look at all the high priced guys on this defense, none of them are playing to their contracts. So now you can’t stop the run, rush the passer, or cover. This team is paying Anthony Nelson 5 million to be our backup or 4th outside backer, but we are complaining about Ryan Neal making vet minimum?
I give the guy credit for buying the super bowl, outside of that. He swings and misses a lot, lets not call that efficiency.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:29 am
Credit where credits due Licht signing Baker Mayfield was a good move as this team with a poor defense and a OC obsessed with a non existent run game could easily be 3-10 instead of 6-7 with a bad QB.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:30 am
I agree with Joe. Missing $75M is no joke. It’s a money game. He’s running the Rays while the Dodgers can just buy Ohtani for $700M. Having said that, if they free up cap space next year and return with Bowles and Baker, the ownership isn’t serious about winning a title. They are happy with middle to the pack Wild Card level teams.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:38 am
We are 6-7 because of a bad defense and a very average to below average QB who can barely score against bad teams. No amount of lips to Mayfield’s baker will change that. We absolutely have enough talent to be winning more games than we lose. Mayfield signed in Tampa for cheap because nobody else wanted him to start for them. Only the ReTodd. Your delusions of him being wanted by all the GMs Is just that. Nobody will want him after this season either. Licht is a good GM. I would still like to know if he had any say though in hiring the ReTodd.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:39 am
Say what you want about Jason Licht, but he is one of the best GM in the league. Al GMs misses on draft picks but Licht has added more draft picks than most teams. Can’t knock the guy too hard when he basically assembled a super bowl team in 2021.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:39 am
Bruce Arians is already in the ROH…Brady one day as well. Perhaps Licht can be honorable mention to those two.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:41 am
I can live with keeping Baker another year as long Bowels is flushed at the end of the season.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:43 am
Licht has done an excellent job. He put together a Super Bowl ready roster in 2019 and attracted the final piece to the puzzle that won the Championship. He kept the roster together and had a real shot at a repeat in 2021 and won the division in 2022. Then cash strapped, he managed to hang onto and procure talent to be in good position now.
Truth be told, I had us no worse than 8-5 at this point in the season… and looking back at the games, we would probably be even better than that… but the Dave Canales hire has been crippling… he’s just plain bad. I wasn’t a big Baker fan at the beginning of the season, and i’m still not, but he’s done wonders with such a rotten coordinator. Having Cade Otton out there on every 3rd and 10 and then splitting him out wide makes ZERO sense… he threw ONE screen the entire game… and it was a TD…. the 4th down sweep to the left was a miserable play call from the start… how was that not a playaction with the TE on the backside and crossing WR from the playside not the primary and secondary receivers and the option to run being there as well? Just dreadful. I’m 100 % sure that Leftwich was quite a bit better of a coordinator than Canales only I’m also sure that Mayfield doesn’t have the autonomy and unofficial co-coordinator role that Brady had to change the play calls.
At this point, I don’t blame ANY of the offensive players for their poor performances… I look squarely at Canales boyish shoulders for blame. If Bowles stays… I’m not sure how Canales can stay as well. He’s lightyears away from being a competent coordinator.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:43 am
Absolutely. People forget the three cornerstones to the Bucs great defense, Brooks, Lynch and Sapp, were already on the roster when Father Dungy showed up.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:43 am
The importance of the young players drafted the last three off seasons and showing progress while in cap jail. That is what this season is about for the Bucs:
White: Up
Otton: Up
Goedeke: Up
Hainsey: Push
Palmer: Up
Durham:Up
Kancey: Up
Diaby: Up
Hall: Push
JTS: Down
McCollum: Up
Izien: Up
Camarda: Up
Kieft: Down
Britt: Up
December 11th, 2023 at 11:44 am
Lol such a low bar in the nfc south, I guess didn’t have to really do much considering the division is so bad. The team looks dysfunctional as all heck but I guess good job Jason?
December 11th, 2023 at 11:46 am
For those of you still crying about JTS…. you do realize his stats are pretty darn close to being the same as Shaq Barrett’s only JTS doesn’t have nearly as much play time, right? You’re probably also the fools that wanted us to cut Goedeke, McCollom, and White when they struggled last year. JTS was a great gamble… the dude didn’t play the season before, he had flashed in college, there’s a very good chance he would have been drafted far higher had he returned to college… but COVID was the wildcard that shook things up. Jason Licht is still a top 5 GM.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:46 am
This is why NFL football has a bad rap as a meathead sport. A few fiery moments do not erase poor performances. Scrappiness does not equate to good. Take off the OU glasses and see the world as it really is.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:46 am
Well, Licht never accidently drafted the WRONG guy in the first round, so there’s THAT
December 11th, 2023 at 11:46 am
A year later and Goedke isn’t the problem on the offensive line anymore. Mauch will be a decent player. Otton has been average but a decent receiver. McLaughlin and our punter are lights out.
The bad part is the higher draft picks. Why is Licht drafting guys like JTS, Logan Hall and Vita Vea. They are awful, mediocre and Vea is injured constantly. Devin White also an overreach.
Licht is inconsistent. He has built some good offensive lines but can’t find good pass rushers and running backs.
Kancey has been good and so has YaYa.
Dean and Davis aren’t stars yet Licht paid them like they are. Then there is Trask. Does a good GM spend a 2nd rounder on a guy who never plays?
December 11th, 2023 at 11:47 am
@Tbbucs3, after the last two seasons I would like to know if ANY GM’s would have let Dean & Davis just walk away. NFL.com had Dean pinned as their guess to be the Bucs selection for “2023 1st time pro bowler”. Davis just got a pick yesterday!
There are areas to take a poo on Licht’s resume, but having a late-2nd round and a late-3rd round draft pick both turn into legit NFL starting cornerbacks… pick different scapegoats
December 11th, 2023 at 11:48 am
What has Licht done so great? Build a franchise that has had 3 winning years under his direction? So the bucs maybe make the playoffs this year at 8-9 and get smoked in round 1, get a middle draft spot and stay a dormant losing organization; Licht record has been below 500 by 13 games during his tenure as HC with 4 HCs
December 11th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Thanks Joe! I’ve been wondering that for awhile
December 11th, 2023 at 11:51 am
JTS will be on the roster next year.
His cap charge is low (3.5) with cap savings, even at Post-June.
He would be a valuable ST player and a garbage time OLB. Thats all.
December 11th, 2023 at 11:54 am
Licht is a great GM. Every GM has misses. Point to a team other than the Eagles or Chiefs that has done a better job. Both those teams have good HCs and a star QB, that fell in their lap. The Rams bought their SB as well, who is complaining about that. What have most of the other teams in this league won recently? What have they done that was impressive recently? I will keep JL, all his draft hits, the division titles and SB thank you. Doesn’t mean I don’t shake my head at some of his moves, but I’m pretty confident the grass is not greener elsewhere.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:01 pm
We lost another $20 plus million on IR with Jensen & Gage…..
Licht has done well in particular in later rounds and UDFA….
I question JTS for sure and with Hall, the jury is still out.
Looks like Kancey, Ya Ya, Zion, Camarda, Otton, Mauch, Goedeke Winfield….maybe SVD, Britt are winners.
Palmer is looking good for a 6th round pick…..Izien, Thompkins Watts UDFAs.
:icht has done well. So well, we can’t afford to resign our draft picks. and Some are performing well elsewhere.
Edwards, Whitehead, D Smith, Scotty, Watson Stewart, Cappa
There are mahy NFL players still playing that Licht drafted.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:03 pm
Agree.
It’s hard to diagnose the worst vs best personnel in the office because of the lack of accountability in the NFL, but reading between the lines over the years I attribute a lot of success to Licht while our worst failures I attribute to coaching or the Glazers (since they hire the coaches).
We don’t get Arians or a SB without Licht. And much of that SB core was built in the draft.
You can go look at the drafts over the years and tell when it felt like Lovie Smith picks or Dirk Koetter picks – IMO at least.
The guy has been able to build O-lines consistently in an era of NFL when everyone struggles at it.
Can’t ever forget Aguayo though lol. That was such a blunder man
December 11th, 2023 at 12:05 pm
“There are mahy NFL players still playing that Licht drafted.”
Exactly. Then go look at all the coaches the Glazers have hired and where they are now.
Outside of Todd Monken it’s been nothing but downward trajectories.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Most impressive move by our GM was finding
– starting QB
– starting kicker
– starting LG
– rotational DT
– starting safety
– back up running back
All for @ $13M… I understand not all these players have worked out 100% but you can’t beat the price we paid for the performance we are getting from most of these guys.
Mayfield’s OTC Valuation is currently $30.05M and we are paying 1/8th of that price.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Absolutely correct Joe. Lots of talent walked in free agency because of lack of $. For every JTs or Logan Hall drafted he has delivered an Antoine Winfield, Tristan Wirfs, Goedecke, Mauch, Kancey, Diaby. It’s a frickin miracle to be competitive this year when they were $55M over the cap before free agency. People love to hate on Bowles too, but this roster is thin as a beggars coat, and he has made it work. Loke, no inside linebackers left and he moved Neal up in the box…and it worked. Yep, Todd is conservative and will never deliver that satisfying blowout win; but they haven’t been blown out either. No 3 TD beatdowns
December 11th, 2023 at 12:23 pm
licht is a keeper through and through… all GMs have whiffs… clear some space, sign winfield and get us a long term QB and we should be able to compete in our trash division
December 11th, 2023 at 12:26 pm
He’s the only GM I’ve liked since Rich McKay. I’m bias to Rich because he’s a Tampa native, Jesuit high school guy, and so tied to the inception. Jason is probably the better GM. I’d still love to have Rich back involved this franchise at some capacity.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
It will be surprising if Todd can win another game. Atlanta was missing almost all of its trench starters on both sides of the ball. Two weeks in a row, Todd’s defense makes garbage quarterbacks look like Steve Young and Dan Marino.
Jordon Love has emerged as legit and will skewer Todd’s confused zone bust pass defense. Trevor Lawrence, same. I don’t think Bowles is capable of sweeping the Saints, so maybe the Panthers game is still a possible win, only because they are trying to lose and Todd almost didn’t oblige that last week.
6-11 or 7-10, Bucs fans.
Todd Monken. Please.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:37 pm
No question in my mind that Jason’s grown a LOT as a GM since 2014. He’s made many excellent picks; he’s made a number of questionable picks, but overall it’s definitely an upward trajectory, and that’s the best anyone can ask of a GM IMO.
What amazes me though is how mediocre the NFC has become, with the exception of about 3-4 top teams. Right now we have only FIVE teams with winning records out of the 16 NFC teams. FIVE. The AFC currently has ELEVEN teams with winning records, although 6 of those are barely above .500 at 7-6.
The fact that the Bucs are sitting atop the NFC South with a 6-7 record still has me shaking my head. I love football, but I’ve realized this year that more than anything I love GOOD FOOTBALL, to include quality coaching. Not seeing much of that this year. Very strange year.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
Licht is solid. He’s done a hell of a job assembling a competitive team despite the cap constraints. Yes, he’s responsible for kicking the can, but it brought home another Lombardi, which was well worth it.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
He’s done a fine job. I b*tch about the roster not because of him, but the reality of having young players with roster attrition and no $ to augment with veterans. To be competitive this year with the roster is remarkable.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:43 pm
I’d love to see Jason’s short list of next head coaches. Monken, Belichek, Harbaugh – who else will be considered?
December 11th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
TOM BRADY WON a super bowl not Jason Licht.
When we keep sucking every year but Brady’s years you all will finally get it.
Jason licht is mediocre at best. LUcked into Brady and now people think he is some kind of genius. Dude is straight up trash.
December 11th, 2023 at 12:51 pm
@DR, the AFC-NFC discrepancy is driven by QBs.
The AFC boasts:
* Lamar Jackson
* Josh Allen
* Joe Burrow
* C.J. Stroud
* Trevor Lawrence
* Patrick Mahomes
* Justin Herbert
* Tua Tagovailoa
The NFC boasts:
* Dak Prescott
* Jared Goff
* Jalen Hurts
* Brock Purdy
But some around here think trying for a franchise QB is wasted effort. smh
December 11th, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Completely agree.
December 11th, 2023 at 1:10 pm
Licht has performed miracles with smoke, mirrors, duct tape, and chewed gum. We may not appreciate a playoff appearance this season, but heads around the league will notice what he has done here- in spite of Todd Bowles.
December 11th, 2023 at 1:18 pm
All of you Jokers saying it was all Brady mustve forgotten why he came to Tampa to begin with. You also forgot that Daddy Licht went out and got Gronk, Ab, and Playoff Lenny for him as well. Honestly, if there were truly just one player to make it all work out, I would submit Gronkowski, and not Brady as that guy.
December 11th, 2023 at 1:23 pm
Licht has been great.
December 11th, 2023 at 1:38 pm
For every Licht hit there is a miss. He’s been solid but has had more than his share of mistakes. Winning a SB helps. I like this past draft class… ALOT. But I am still not happy of how he (did not really) addressed the OL the past two off-seasons… and I am not pleased with where he decides to spend the (FA) money… no way he should have paid both CD and JD… would have loved to have kept Whitehead or Edwards… and then there is letting Cappa walk.
December 11th, 2023 at 1:42 pm
If he can break the curse of 2nd round picks he might become one of the better GMs.
The big question is next season. Still a lot of dead money and another bunch of FAs.
Biggest question mark of next season will be QB. If Baker goes 8-9 he will want big money and the Bucs have a big decision.
Trask is in his final year next season and there are not a lot of decent QBs lying about.
December 11th, 2023 at 1:53 pm
Great reality check Duane! Haters gonna hate no matter what.
“Having already been in the select 0.01% of the top 1.6% of the top 7.3% of the nation, the chosen players might be dismayed to learn that only 30% of those drafted will ever make it onto an NFL roster.”
I think 30% is low but I’ve also seen 50% which is probably about right and again an HOF GM pegged it about 30% as well. 7 drafts in a row trading down from the first round to offset those stats…but what did he know..his teams competed in seven Super Bowls (winning four) Some of the fans here would be pointing out yeah but look that the three he lost!
All Da Way
I appreciate that little chart you created. I agree with your ups and downs.
This is what I think is really important…is the team improving or regressing?
Bottom line….JUST WIN BABY!!!
December 11th, 2023 at 1:55 pm
optimisticbucsfan Says:
December 11th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
TOM BRADY WON a super bowl not Jason Licht.
—————————-
Are you outta your head? Why do you think Brady lowered (rolling my eyes) himself to come here? You and Duthsty Rhothdes have dirt for brains. I’m partial to Rick McKay cos his father was the Bucs’ first coach, and he grew into his job. Licht is just a wee bit better. He sure got the Bucs a Stupid Bowl (their 2nd) faster than the old guard who got them their first. Licht made a believer outta me when he signed Cam Brate as an UDFA.
December 11th, 2023 at 2:04 pm
BRADY brought in Gronk, Lenny, AB and SUH NOT TOM.
You think those guys were coming here without Brady?
You people are nuts. I guess when we go .400 over the next decade with Licht in c harge you will all fin ally see that TOM won a SB and not Licht.
Brady. Not JL. Wow. Duane, stop the drugs bud. SMDH.
December 11th, 2023 at 2:14 pm
Wow can’t believe y’all so called fans are CRYING bout our GM. Dude has done a fantastic job. I’m with ya JOE. He will most likely go down as our best GM. He will have drafted 3 hall of fame players in ME13 TW78 and I do believe AW31 will be in the hall of fame 1 day. All drafted by JL. Just like JOE said he put together a team that the greatest player in NFL history wanted to come to. Y’all TB12 came before he brought his possie in gronk AB and Lenny. That’s right JL did all that. He also GOT BA out of retirement. Take yo CRYING BABY SELFS BACK TO YO MOMMAS
December 11th, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Slurp, slurp, slurp. Please keep giving me buffet access and free tickets. – Joe
December 11th, 2023 at 2:32 pm
I agree Joe, the dude is an excellent GM!
December 11th, 2023 at 3:53 pm
Weird that Jason built a Super Bowl winner…lol.
But without Tom his record is 34-62 pre-Tom
He wins the Brady sweepstakes…and even then Licht managed to have Brady’s only losing season.
Why? Because Licht stinks out loud. What the heck are you people on?
Licht is back to being a loser. No way. Who would have guessed that?
No Tom? Team stinks. But the GM is fine. LOL. Only in Tampa.
December 11th, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Let me see. Hmm. Who do I believe has a clue? Hmm.
Is it arm chair Johnny or should I lean towards the men who have been living ALL THINGS football and ESPECIALLY the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Hmm……
And the only reason I’m saying anything is because of the attacks on the Joe’s concerning their opinion that I absolutely agree with…
Let’s see, what qualifies arm chair Johnny? Pretty much NOTHING AT ALL!
Let’s see, what qualifies Joe at JOE BUC FAN? To be fair, I’m not exactly sure if it’s 15 or 25 years of INSIDE INFORMATION that arm chair Johnny IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM seems to understand the SIMPLEST ISSUES like for instance WORKING WITHOUT “75 MILLION DOLLARS” that at least 90% OF THE LEAGUE DID HAVE TO WORK WITH! And yet EVEN WITHOUT that advantage, we are IN FIRST PLACE of our division! “Despite the head coach” and THAT’S saying A LOT!
Plus MULTIPLE ISSUES that are juggled LEAGUE WIDE that the Joe’s seem to MAKE IT THEIR BUSINESS to understand, sort through, evaluate, and PRODUCE MULTIPLE ARTICLES PER DAY…… Or does arm chair Johnny just so keyed in on one little thing that the trees ARE COMPLETELY BLINDING ARM CHAIR JOHNNY FROM SEEING THE WHOLE BEAUTY OF THE FOREST? Hmmm….
I personally WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGREE with the Joe’s on THIS issue and it’s more than they CLEARLY HAVE A BETTER GRAP OF THIS ISSUE. No, it’s more than that for me.
Though I ADMIT I do not agree with every thing the Joe’s do, BUT ON THIS ISSUE.. COME ON…!
I suppose I just happen to agree that there is FAR MORE going on besides this one player or that. IT’S THE ENTIRE SHOW! And my point of view is CLEAR. We are LUCKY as a Leprechaun with a horse shoe jammed up his arse to have Jason Licht running the show.
Apparently the Billionaires agree as well. And I’d like to remind those who are in doubt or are a bit CONFUSED….
Jason Licht IS NOT THE COACH! IT IS NOT HIS JOB TO TEACH THEM! Nor is it his JOB to Motivate and inspire the players to Greatness. That would be TODD BOWLES that you people have an issue with! TODD BOWLES decides who will play and for how long. Not Jason Licht. OK!……. And under TODD BOWLES steward ship players are REGRESSING! That is TODD BOWLES RESPONSIBILITY! NOT Jason Licht’s sandbox. That IS NOT his fault…..
Hmm… armchair Johnny or the Dedicated 24/7 for DECADES Joe’s?
Jason Licht good for us? Easy answer… CLEARLY THE BEST WE’VE EVER HAD!
I will say we had a GM once before that had STELLAR draft. But he only seem to have one or two of those. But WHAT A COUPLE DRAFTS THEY WERE! On the other had for the last what 5 maybe in a row, Licht “CONTINUES” to Knock it Out of the Park with MANY, MANY contributions to this team AND GOING! That doesn’t count his Very First draftee that WILL BE A FIRST BALLOT HALL OF FAMER. Winfield WILL BE ANOTHER First Ballot, Wirf’s WILL BE ANOTHER and so on…….
GO BUCS!
December 11th, 2023 at 4:38 pm
realistic-optimistic … ‘The AFC-NFC discrepancy is driven by QBs. But some around here think trying for a franchise QB is wasted effort. smh’.
I agree totally with your observation, but keep wondering WHY such a discrepancy exists. Looking back over the past few years of drafts, it looks like the AFC has drafted better in terms of QBs. Thinking back, the NFC was probably stronger for a number of years in there, but it looks more like that the AFC has just been drafting smarter (in terms of QBs at least). It’s like last year, with the Panthers picked first & opt for Young while the Texans went for Stroud.
December 11th, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Fortunately, Licht escaped the “Rockstar™” moniker…
December 11th, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Licht just needs to trade away his 2nd round pick every year
December 11th, 2023 at 6:21 pm
The Bucs found a gem in Licht. Every GM hits on a few and loses on a few but Licht has done a great job finding hidden gems. We need to hold on to him and let Bowles go. Hopefully they can get a Head Coach who can whip this team into Super Bowl champs again sooner rather than later. Go Bucs!
December 11th, 2023 at 6:22 pm
@DR, over the last 10 drafts (2013-2022) 30 QBs have gone in round 1. 17 of them have gone to AFC teams and 13 to NFC teams. Pretty close split, but the AFC selections have definitely been more productive.
A few teams picked QB multiple times in that span (BUF, JAX, CLE, NYJ, ARI, CHI).
December 11th, 2023 at 7:02 pm
Licht is a top-10 GM without question in mind. Maybe top-12 at worst.
Yes the 2016 draft was very bad. And the 2021 draft doesn’t look great either. But otherwise, he’s hit more than he’s missed overall in rounds 1 – 4.
Let’s not forget that Licht doesn’t coach the players. He’s not the one telling cornerbacks play 15 yards off the LOS, or deciding to punt from the opponent’s 40 yard line, or taking 3 timeouts into his pocket every single game at halftime, or taking a knee because he’s afraid something bad might happen before the end of the half, etc. He’s put assembled a good amount of talent for sure.
That said, yes he has some weaknesses when it comes to evaluating certain positions, like D lineman and tight ends.
December 11th, 2023 at 7:03 pm
@Defense Rules – 100% agree about liking “GOOD FOOTBALL”. Brady wasn’t wrong…
December 11th, 2023 at 7:45 pm
The people that hate on Licht are in 1 of 2 categories:
1. Former players that felt “wronged” (aka. “He’s an idiot because he cut me”..)
2. Idiots
December 11th, 2023 at 8:30 pm
“Move on from JTS”? FFS. He’s still on a rookie deal. Some of the people on this site… I swear.
Licht has done pretty good but he and our scouts are sketchy at a few position groups. We are crap at picking D Ends. YaYa Diaby may end up breaking the trend. Running backs… again, Rashad White may break the trend. He’s definitely a great pass catcher. QBs… No end in sight though to be fair, Jameis was probably the best pick he could have made that year as far as QBs go. We do ok in free agency and it’s not Licht who started that trend.
The one thing I really like about Jason Licht if he doesn’t hit on the first try he goes back as long as it takes. You remember the corners? He went to the well how many times? He is doing the same with DL and D Ends as well. The team is relentless in the pursuit of a position group.
December 11th, 2023 at 9:46 pm
What? This team is awful. It lacks skill at most positions, JTS and White are complete busts. Aside from Winfield, the secondary is a joke. No running game with a disaster of an OL. Yep, great job.
December 11th, 2023 at 9:59 pm
So, here’s the truth about Jason Licht:
When he first arrived in Tampa, I was really hard on him. I did not like how people only blamed the head coach when things went wrong. I felt he wasn’t being held accountable.
But there were things I was not considering:
• Jason Licht came here as a rookie GM.
• Because he was a rookie GM, he was basically a ‘Yes’ man. He had not earned the trust of the owners, and so he had to focus on fulfilling the visions of the head coaches that were hired.
• The Glazers made the decisions on the head coaches…they told him who they wanted, and he had to try to make it happen. This was well known at the time.
• When the Glazers finally decided to trust him, Jason Licht went out and landed Bruce Arians…a superstar coach. That was huge.
• Then he and Bruce convinced the Glazers to move on from Winston.
• Then Jason went out and landed Tom Brady.
• And at some point, I realized that teams generally are very lucky to hit on 50% of their draft picks. Don’t believe me? If they hit on more, where would they put them all? Rosters are too small to keep so many picks, year after year.
• Sometimes, a team or two hits on more than 50%…but its uncommon.
• Jason Licht hits right around 50%. If you consider that the head coaches made much of the picks early on, he’s even better than 50%.
• And finally, the salary cap. We’re only having issues because we had a superbowl QB. Tom Brady. Salaries were restructured to push money back in so that we could win a ring. It happens to every superbowl team. But Jason is on top of it. Remember the last time we had issues? It was after Gruden won a bowl game. We had no first round picks. The fans felt the Glazers were too cheap to spend. Bruce Allen took years to fix the cap…like 4-5 years.
Jason Licht is going to have it fixed in 1-2 years.
• So then…the losing seasons before Arians?
Remember, the Glazers did not fully trust him until the year he hired Arians. That’s when his experience kicked in and he started to excel.
I look at it this way: we invested the time to watch him grow into a good GM…you don’t develop a good player and get rid of him as soon as he is good.
We need to keep the man for the next 20-30 years in my book.
December 11th, 2023 at 10:08 pm
Bonzai
Agree about the years before Arians. Licht was hired to be Lovie Smith’s caddy, it was Lovie who had final say. Koetter and Licht had a more traditional balance, but it was Lovie who saddled the team with the bad personnel not Licht.
It was Lovie who ignored ALL the warning signals and still selected JW.
BTW IMHO JW may yet reclaim his career…not here but perhaps somewhere if he’s had a character transplant since he left Tampa.
December 11th, 2023 at 10:21 pm
One thing I know is that Bucs fans, for the most part, have no patience for true player development. It’s been that way as far back as I can remember. If a player does not excel in year one, the fans want that player gone.
There are examples throughout Bucs history. Ronde Barber once said that he went his first few years not knowing if he would be cut or not. In 1997, he played in one game…and had 4 tackles. Not impressive at all. Back then, fans considered him expendable. He didn’t even earn a starting role until halfway through his second year.
Gerald McCoy was injured in the beginning. There were Bucs fans who gave up on him. It took 3 years for him to become productive because of injury. This was during the cap years, when the Bucs failed to build around him. To this day, there are people who think he was a bad pick…but guys with 8+ sacks are not easy to come by. By the time the defense started getting fixed, he was past his prime.
Vita Vea. Fans gave up on him before he even played, because he was injured.
Mike Evans. Fans wanted to dump him after his second year, when he suffered from more drops. Imagine if they had gotten their way.
There are tons of examples.
December 12th, 2023 at 1:41 am
The anti-Licht crowd are literally the dumbest of the dumb. Zero football IQ, just flat out idiots.
December 12th, 2023 at 2:44 am
“hammered home to Joe the reality that Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has done a hell of a job this year. ”
That fact will not keep some folks on here from screaming from the rooftops that we need to fire him though Joe.
They forget the truly awful draft picks and free agent signings of his predessors. Anyone want Doninic back? Phil Krueger? Bruce Allen? Hugh Culverhouse?
We have folks who want to replace him with Our HOF Safety John Lynch…As if John would just snap at the chance to leave his current gig. LOL
Go Bucs!
December 12th, 2023 at 10:42 am
@optimisticbucsfan –
Suh signed with the Bucs in 2019 (along with JPP), before Brady was even here.
And Brady would not have ever come here if our defense was trash. Check yo stats, son.
December 12th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
No Licht = no Brady= no SB. It doesn’t seen that difficult. Does it?
December 12th, 2023 at 1:27 pm
^ Oviedo Jim gets it.