It’s Not The Veteran Stars, It’s The Younger Players
July 3rd, 2024
When has he had a bad year?
The question for Joe is, not can the vets play well, it’s can the youngsters play better?
That’s the way Robert Mays, host of The Athletic’s “Football Show” podcast, summarizes the Bucs.
Mays recently had Seth Galina of the PFF tribe on his podcast. Galina, based in Montreal, is way down on the Bucs. He believes the Bucs banking on old stars like Lavonte David and Mike Evans to carry them is like walking on a tightrope because sooner or later, Father Time comes calling.
Galina said it is “unsustainable” for David and Evans to keep playing lights out.
Mays sort of agreed, but in the opposite way. It’s dangerous not to expect David and Evans to play well, he said, as they have a massive body of elite work.
In other words, when have David and Evans had a bad year, much less in the same season?
What Mays wants to see is all Bucs rookies who got massive snaps last season take that next step up. In Mays’ eyes, if Calijah Kancey, Cody Mauch, YaYa Diaby, Trey Palmer and Christian Izien don’t play better, that is more likely to doom the Bucs rather than expecting Father Time to (finally) catch up with David and/or Evans.
July 3rd, 2024 at 7:25 am
Montreal is pretty far from Tampa.
July 3rd, 2024 at 8:40 am
Mike Evans has been a OC-QB nullifier his entire career, doesn’t matter who’s calling plays or chucking the rock because Mike is going to Mike.
July 3rd, 2024 at 9:09 am
So, he thinks Mike Evans is going to just fall of the cliff in the next TWO seasons… REALLY!? And, ‘speed’ has NEVER ever been part of HIS game… He was never a burner. He thinks LD isn’t making it through THIS season… Okay!? GTFO Please. Barring injury they are BOTH going to be just fine.
July 3rd, 2024 at 9:14 am
Montreal?? Come on joe, this article is the epitome of dog days of summer.
July 3rd, 2024 at 9:20 am
Lights out! That was rude. Has Galina actually been at a Bucs game, watched a game, or does he just sit in the basement in Montreal and do podcasts?
July 3rd, 2024 at 9:54 am
l Totally Agree that to Be A Super Bowl Team, We Absolutely Need All The Players Together. A Tight and Sharp Team, and A Quick Urgent Desire To ALWAYS WIN. This Includes The COACHES! GO BUCS!
July 3rd, 2024 at 10:12 am
The last two seasons has been the coming out party for young players that were not even part of the Super Bowl squad while navigating a mega cap crunch.
The icing on the cake is the Bucs still have the young and older veterans from that SB squad with the young ascending players.
I have high hopes for this year’s rookie squad and I believe that this team has navigated the cap crunch very well by competing and developing the youth and new core of the squad.
July 3rd, 2024 at 10:32 am
Well, no one who scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl is still on our team. So, I would have to say our team is evolving.
July 3rd, 2024 at 10:49 am
WHY WE’RE ACTUALLY FRUSTRATED
I’ve noticed “experts” don’t do any real research. They make generalized assumptions based upon the names and faces they know. They are working in the past.
WHAT WE KNOW …
>Yaya, CK, and Vea are ridiculously talented and hungry. They are grinding and they are going to blow up.
>Braswell is already an improvement over JTS.
>Zyon is a football junky, physical freak, that will ball out.
>Godwin is moving to his Pro Bowl spot.
>Barton is a major upgrade at C.
>Canales was hot garbage (Sorry Joe but it’s true. You’ll need to provide evidence beyond hurt feelings.)
Those bullet points aren’t household, newsworthy names. National media experts cannot follow 32 teams in such detail.
WHAT THE MEDIA KNOWS …
>A vet QB joined a talented team. The last vet QB to join a talented team won a Super Bowl.
>The NFCS used to be worst-to-first nearly every year.
It’s stupid AF reasoning. Cousins isn’t TB12 and the Bucs have won 3x. You’re frustrated because you know more.
July 3rd, 2024 at 12:18 pm
Mike Evans performance may not fall off the cliff this year, but his play could fall off in 2025 much like Tom Brady’s did in his third season due to his marital issues with his wife.
I’m not saying Evan’s has marital issues, but unexpected events can happen in life. One never knows…
July 3rd, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Mays has a solid take. A Galina is what the alt lifestyleres sip in Saucilito.
July 3rd, 2024 at 1:00 pm
Why wouldn’t all these talented rookies, 2nd and 3rd year players continue to improve? Hell – at least a couple are going to be break out stars this year.
Just look at this list of talented 1st, 2nd and 3rd year players:
Barton
Braswell
Smith
McMillan
Irving
Kancey
Mauch
Diaby
Palmer
Goedeke
White
Otten
Camarda
McCollum
July 3rd, 2024 at 1:04 pm
IMO you would be hard pressed to find a roster with a better list of “rookie contract” players than what we have.
July 3rd, 2024 at 3:14 pm
this posting today was good by all no negative Nancy gatbage
July 3rd, 2024 at 3:30 pm
^^^
You think Baker worked out with a QB coach this offseason or are we still going to tolerate him moving in the pocket like a bingo ball in the basket
July 3rd, 2024 at 3:47 pm
Seth Galina joined PFF full-time in April 2020 as a college analyst for them. He still focuses on college for them. He lives in Montreal, Canada.
He certainly would be an expert on the Bucs. /s
July 3rd, 2024 at 5:16 pm
If Mike was 35, sure. He’s 30. He’s not a quick twitchy speed guy anyway. He’s faster now than he was when he was playing with VJax for crying out loud. What a weird concern. LVD has at least a year or two left. And he’s 34. Be concerned at MLB, fine. But until you see any evidence either is on the decline, zip it.
July 3rd, 2024 at 10:14 pm
Pickgrin – Well said! That’s a damn fine group of of young talent we’ve brought in the last 3 classes. Plus we have the vets like Evans, David, Winfield Jr, Wirfs, Vea, Godwin, etc.
July 4th, 2024 at 6:40 am
I expect all those guys to be better this year and our established (not old) stars who never get enough respect from these so called journalists to yet again prove just how full of it they all are.
These days anyone with a laptop and some green screen software can start his very own media empire out of his moms basement. Most all of them should go get a job at Wendys instead. That includes this one.
Go Bucs!
July 4th, 2024 at 8:15 am
SlyPirate makes some good points, especially about the “experts”. Stat nerds are the worst. They seem to think it makes them look smart to rattle off individual stats raher than look at a team as a whole. It IS a team sport.
“,The young gus need to step up” can be said about every team with aging players. The only response needed for this here article is “No, sh*t, Sherlock!”
Also, KC just won the Super Bowl without a single 1,000 yard receiver. We had two 1,000 yard receivers. ME13 had most of his 1,000 yard seasons on teams thst didn’t even make the playoffs. It’s a TEAM sport.
Give R. White an offensive line like Emmitt Smith had in Dallas back in the day and the dude would be unstoppable.
It’s great to have “star players” like Evans and David who contribute at a high level but you need the supplemental (non star) players to contribute… move the chains, get a key stop on D, etc.
Every team, not just the Bucs, need their young talent to step up eventually to become valuable starters and contributors. So my response to this “expert” is still, “No sh*t, Sherlock”.