Too Early For Rich Gannon Talk
July 17th, 2014
A former Buccaneer weighs in
Yearning to find real hope that starting quarterback Josh McCown can lead Tampa Bay to the promised land, many Bucs fans evoke the name “Rich Gannon.”
Why? Because Gannon, like McCown, was a below average starter and a good backup who bounced around the NFL, but then he then changed his fortunes at age 34 under Chucky in Oakland.
Keep in mind Gannon, when he joined Chucky, had 31 wins as a starter under his belt. McCown has just 16, and about half the game experience.
But Gannon’s story represents hope. He made four Pro Bowls and went to a Super Bowl as an NFL old man. McCown is coming off his best year, albeit only five starts in Chicago.
Former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht, an analyst on the Buccaneers Radio Network, isn’t buying the hype.
“I don’t know if I want to put him in Rich Gannon’s category yet, guys. Josh has a lot to prove this year,” Becht said on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday.
Becht went on to say McCown needs to prove he has the football “tangibles” to get it done and leadership is no substitute for talent and execution.
The Bucs “kind of built that similar type of [Chicago] offense with players around [McCown] to make him to be successful,” said Becht, who is hopeful for McCown, assuming the Bucs’ mysterious offensive line can come together.
“It’s almost like his rookie year. He’s getting a chance right now to kinda get that “Rich Gannon type of start” towards the end of his career,” Becht said.
Joe liked the “rookie year” analogy for McCown. It fits.
McCown has to produce fast. He’ll get the rope of a typical rookie that wasn’t a first-round pick. And that rope will be short. Just ask Mike Glennon. His rope lasted 13 games.
(Enjoy audio of Becht’s full interview below.)
July 17th, 2014 at 8:02 am
Just ask Mike Glennon. His rope lasted 13 games.
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Didn’t realize the 14th game had been played yet? Until it has, we have no idea how long the rope lasted.
July 17th, 2014 at 8:10 am
“…leadership is no substitute for talent and execution.” Prove it McCown.
July 17th, 2014 at 8:46 am
Yeah on one hand he doesn’t have as much experience as Gannon did when the light when on for him. On the other, his body doesn’t have nearly the wear and tear that Gannon and a lot of QB’s have at 35.
July 17th, 2014 at 9:12 am
Last year’s rope was also extended to Williams, Joseph, Penn, Zuttah, Leonard and Lorig too. And none were rookies.
July 17th, 2014 at 9:13 am
Rich Gannon wasn’t as impressive in his first year or two with the Raiders until the receiving corp rounded out with Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, and Jerry Porter in 2001. It wasn’t all the QB…
July 17th, 2014 at 9:38 am
McCown is an average QB with an average outlook. With a great defense and an offense running in sync on all cylinders, he can get you to a super bowl. Without the other two, he can get you 4-12. Which is what we got last year. You know, what the other guy did.
There’s no ceiling here, the guy maxed out last year and kept mistakes to a minimum. The biggest positive I see for him is that he was quite good in crunch time, last minute drives/2 minute warning situations. He keeps his cool. Compared to a youngster, I think that’s a quality being 35 gives to him.
July 17th, 2014 at 9:43 am
lightning,
Are you still believing The Cannon will start opening day? That is some strong Kool-Aid you’ve been drinking! lol
July 17th, 2014 at 9:46 am
McCown does not have to be Superman. Along the lines of what Louis said, he just needs to be good; not Payton, above average, and certainly not bad either. Then the Bucs can be on their way
July 17th, 2014 at 9:54 am
Gannon made the pro bowl in 1999 and 2000, his first two years in Oakland, and in 2000 was impressive enough to win the Bert Bell award for player of the year.
He had never before thrown for more than 2500 yards in a season. In 99 he passed for 3800 yards.
Be nice if our man Josh could have a similar turn around.
July 17th, 2014 at 9:58 am
Agreed Harry. By the way, I define average as Brad Johnson/Trent Green/Ryan Tannehill types. All 3 illustrate what surrounding talent can do to their performances – good or bad.
July 17th, 2014 at 10:46 am
@Harry, Louis – I agree.
McCown has the receivers, tight ends and running backs he needs to succeed. The o-line might be like Chicago’s last year. When it comes to offensive personnel McCown should feel right at home…
July 17th, 2014 at 11:06 am
Harry Says:
July 17th, 2014 at 9:43 am
lightning,
Are you still believing The Cannon will start opening day? That is some strong Kool-Aid you’ve been drinking! lol
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I have no idea who is starting opening day. Why? Because it isn’t opening day! I don’t possess the crystal ball some of you are lucky enough to have.
July 17th, 2014 at 11:07 am
What kind of intelligent prognostication does it take to say ‘you have to wait and see’. Brilliant. Make a call or stay out of the conversation. Good grief, anyone can tell you whether it was the right choice to start McCown after the season is over, or after he proves something one way or the other. I guess the view from the fence is safer than risking being wrong. And he’s getting paid for this kind of insight? Sheesh.
July 17th, 2014 at 11:38 am
I’m glad we’re rounding the corner with the QB talk. Louis and Harry, you hit it on the head, QB can’t do it alone. You need talent around him as well. For all the anti-Glennon/anti McCown talk people have forgotten that football is a team game.
Provided that McCown starts, it would be fantastic if he enjoys the same success as Gannon. We’ll see.
July 17th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
Thank God we did not draft the Cleveland Back up.
July 17th, 2014 at 1:52 pm
No crystal ball necessary, LB. McCown is the starter until he either fails on the field in live games or gets injured. But it’s way too early to compare him to Gannon. Although it does seem like he’s poised to have similar late-career success, he still needs to actually perform before they can be directly compared. We definitely have the supporting cast for almost any serviceable QB to have success, though. Damn, we are much more stacked on offense than we’ve ever been. I seriously don’t know if anyone is going to be able to stop us.
July 17th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Netwalker- so let me get this straight?…it is better to try and predict the future than to call it the way he sees it? What is with the fortune-telling, Nostradamus prediction fetish? I think McCown has no business being named the starter of an NFL football team because his 11 year career says he doesn’t deserve the opportunity. Therefore, since our new HC has crowned him he now has to prove to those of us that think he is a mediocre QB that he actually deserves to be there. Making bold predictions about the future may be the risky thing to satiate the idiot fandom but it cannot be confused for astute insight.
July 17th, 2014 at 2:22 pm
I think a lot of fans know that he’s not in that (Gannon) category YET, the main thing is he has a chance to start this year, a great chance to revive an otherwise lackluster career which I think he’ll do.
July 17th, 2014 at 3:12 pm
@Dallas- I’m glad somebody called him out on that. I’ve been trying to figure it out myself. What can you predict? That the team will field the best 11 players? That we will have an offense and a defense?
Since we truly don’t know anything, we can only speculate. McCown, until he proves otherwise, is no Rich Gannon and as of right now, a journeyman QB.
July 17th, 2014 at 5:48 pm
^^^
And maybe add the only starting QB spot McCown is probably guaranteed is going into camp. A lot can change between day one of camp and preseason…just ask Matt Flynn about how his naming as stating QB in Seattle worked out. Maybe Josh M plays well enough to hold on to that role or maybe Glennon wins it, the only thing that’s for certain is that the coaches will play the QB they feel has the hotter hand
July 17th, 2014 at 7:38 pm
What is the love affair with Mike Glennon the only thing I saw him do last year was lead the league’s worst ranked offense. I just don’t see where all this excitement about a QB that, if not for Schiano, probably wouldn’t have been drafted. I’m not saying that Glennon is the worst QB ever or that he just sucks but I just don’t see anything that makes me say “Wow, that’s the guy I want leading my team”. I don’t think McCown is the answer either but at least he isn’t a statue waiting to get knocked over because even at his age he is still a better athlete than Glennon. The “quarterback of the future” for the Buccaneers isn’t on the roster he is on somebody’s campus getting ready for fall classes.
July 18th, 2014 at 4:30 pm
I can’t remember much about Gannon’s early carreer, other than him being a helluva an athlete running around and making athletic scrambling plays in a lackluster offense in Minnesota. He probably was what Steve Young would have been if he had been stuck in Tampa Bay, longer than he was before going to San Francisco. I agree with Becht, in that I am not sure that McCown has the raw talent and athletic ability that Gannon had. But hopefully we get enough of a better game manager and decision maker in McCown this year to get us back to winning games again with a shot at the playoffs. We will find out pretty quickly if we have the quarterback of the future on our team. Looking forward to watching it all unfold. Think Lovie and Licht made the right decision however to see what they had first, before taking a questionable/risky 1st round QB pick.
July 20th, 2014 at 7:01 pm
Have Faith my friends!!! Josh McCown will do a good job. I think Josh might be the real thing right now. I believe that Josh McCown is good to surprise a lot of people . I know that Lovie thinks he’s the guy right now. And to this point Lovie seems to know what he’s doing. I’m a BUCS FAN I have to believe it. Josh McCown is not like Gannon and don’t want him to be. GO BUCS. GO JOSH. Don’t forget he has A lot OF REAL TALENT around him.