John Spytek Seems A Mix Of Old School And New Age

August 9th, 2024

Bucs assistant GM John Spytek.

Bucs assistant general manager John Spytek was given a platform yesterday after practice as he addressed the local pen and mic club.

Joe sees the Bucs working here: More exposure for Spytek may help grease the wheels for Spytek to get a general manager job, if he chooses to leave Tampa Bay.

A Michigan Man linebacker who played for Lloyd Carr and as a freshman was teammates with Tom Brady, Spytek sounded like an old Big Ten coach when he described how he wanted the rookies to play tomorrow night in the Bucs’ first worthless preseason game.

“I want to see them compete,” Spytek said, almost sounding like Bo Schembechler. “I want to see them strain to finish. If you’re tackling people, put your face on the ball carrier and get them down.

“If you’ve got the ball and you’re carrying it, I don’t want to see people running out of bounds. I want to see them finish plays.

“Those are the kind of guys we’re looking for around here.”

That doesn’t mean Spytek is Schembechler-like when it comes to offense. No, Spytek doesn’t seem to want to go full-blown ground-and-pound and be a classic 20th Century, Big Ten three-yards-and-a-cloud of dust offense.

“Yeah, I mean, let’s score 40 a game,” Spytek said when asked about how scoring fast is critical in today’s NFL. “That would be awesome.”

Can the Bucs be both? They sort of were under Bucco Bruce Arians. They haven’t been since.

But the way the roster is shaping up, the Bucs may have a chance to do just that. To be fair, 40 points a game seems just a bit too optimistic, though.

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8 Responses to “John Spytek Seems A Mix Of Old School And New Age”

  1. DavidBigBucsFan99 Says:

    30 a game should be more than enough for the defense to pin its ears back, as long as the offense can score more on the 1st drive and half

  2. Permanently Moderated Says:

    I hope the Bucs can figure out a way to keep Spytek for the long term.

  3. BucsFan55 Says:

    can’t let him leave tampa, ever

  4. Dave Pear Says:

    It is worthless to keep calling preseason games worthless.

    Spytek just answered how the Bucs will get value out of the games. Yes, 2020. But obviously the league and the players union see value in them or they’d already be eliminated.

  5. Crickett Baker Says:

    I hope his goal is to be a GM for the Bucs someday.

  6. SlyPirate Says:

    “If you’ve got the ball, I don’t want to see people running out of bounds. I want to see them finish plays.”

    Marshall Faulk used to “finish plays” at Indianapolis. He was always hurt. He went to the Rams and they told him to get down or run out of bounds before he got hit. The team became the Greatest Show on Turf and won Super Bowls. Faulk became a perennial Pro Bowler and HOF player. Ever since then, teams have learned protecting their stars is the better path to success.

    Unless it’s for a crucial 1st down, touchdown, or playoff game, we want guys to avoid contact and stay healthy.

  7. WanderingWallflower Says:

    How about 39.5?

  8. Mac Says:

    Joe. Why would the Bucs want to lose Spytek for a GM position. He is a huge part of this team being built and I believe would be a big blow to the future of Tampa. You can tell he loves his job and hopefully they keep him financially happy so that he never wants to leave!