Nightmare On Dale Mabry Highway
July 24th, 2014
Bucs players are filing into One Buc Palace this very moment. Of course Joe will have updates as you can expect.
As we find out today if Carl Nicks still has two feet (and presumably, 10 toes), the memories of the Nightmare on Dale Mabry Highway, otherwise known as the rancid 2013 season, are finally fading away.
A new era is about to dawn. Where this leads us, who knows?
As if waking from his own version of an NFL summer siesta, ornery Alan Dell of the Bradenton Herald chronicled painful if not laughable moments to come out of 2013. There were many.
But a few jogged Joe’s memory of why Team Glazer had a housecleaning. One that really struck a chord was a total d!ck move by former defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, the orchestrator of the famed Schiano Stunts.
When both former Bucs players and fans alike were so enraged by the pitiful season they damned near started a picket line outside One Buc Palace in protest, Sheridan, during his weekly press conference, said all fans who wanted to learn why he crafted defenses the way he did were more than welcome to show up at daybreak at One Buc Palace. Sheridan said that when he arrived to the office, he would be happy to break down his past gameplans with them.
“We have all the Cokes you would want,” Sheridan cooed, smirk firmly planted on his face.
Of course, a handful of fans took him up at his word. But instead of pulling off a public relations coup and sitting down with the fans, even for a brief moment to empathize, Sheridan all but flashed the finger at them while farting in their faces. He cockily mocked the loyal fans who got out of bed early, hoping to talk Bucs football with Sheridan, people that helped pay his salary.
Sheridan didn’t even crack his window open to wish the fans a good morning as he drove right by them with disdain, as if each fan was armed with a squeegee. When reporters later asked if he talked to the fans, Sheridan haughtily chortled, “No!”
What a jerk!
Joe is really sure that’s how Team Glazer wanted its employees to treat what few loyal fans they had during a disgusting season when empty red seats at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway seemed to outnumber red-clad Bucs fans.
It was a low-rent move by a low-rent coach.
Joe’s willing to lay cash not only would Lovie Smith never pull a stunt like that, neither would general manager Jason Licht.
It’s one thing to be mired in a rotten season. It’s quite another for a high profile assistant to virtually throw warm beer in fans’ faces.
In not quite 24 hours, that awful page on the calendar is turned.
July 24th, 2014 at 7:13 am
I don’t know why Joe only thinks that last year was a nightmare, its been a 5 year nightmare. If anything last year cleared the way for hopefully a better regime. Last year players and gm’s and coaches were exposed. So I am glad that they hit the reset button. But Joe is sadly mistaken if he thinks that it was a coaching failure only! Licht sad yesterday that there will be about 40 new roster faces out of the 53. Thats major turnover! And dominick’s name is mud in the nfl. One fourth rounder that Coach Schianio and Butch Davis found will not repair his very tarnished image, no matter how much undo praise the pop-star groupies try to give him. The fact that joe is trying to is just plain sad. You can say it now joe, just say the pop-star was a bad GM.
July 24th, 2014 at 7:18 am
Pumped for this upcoming season. Regardless of record which has to be better. C’mon fans. Buys those tickets. The team needs u. Being a former athlete, playing in front of a packed house makes all the difference in the world. U always play hard but when the stands are filled and the place is going nuts it makes u want to play that much harder. Hope we have O blackout games and the players are able to produce at higher level and the bucs are fun to watch again
July 24th, 2014 at 7:53 am
The fans that waited for Sheridan to show up should have pelted his car with rotten eggs. But as trusting Buc fans they thought he was sincere. I have’nt heard this story before, but what a complete loser was Sheridan.
July 24th, 2014 at 8:02 am
Joe
We only have a wake-up until we can see the difference that change has wrought and you and all the Joes are writing about the here and now, not the past except for hopefully, the comparison of this and the 2002 season.
Thanks for helping us weather the football drought.
July 24th, 2014 at 8:16 am
Looking back turns my stomach.
July 24th, 2014 at 8:17 am
Ah, the early, early dawn of a new season as well…….
Keep seeing a LOT of comments using the words “hope” and “hopefully” which brings an immediate throwback to the old Wall Street saying:
“Hope is your worst enemy in the marketplace….”
Yes, we all want the team to perform but the first step would be to get through this heat and summer camp without any significant injuries. If there is anything that could derail this team in a hurry, it would be just two significant injuries.
That just might be the single-most important factor when it comes to guessing, and it is guessing, as to how this 2014 version of the Bucs will perform in the regular season.
July 24th, 2014 at 9:05 am
Predictable move by a horrible, horrible coach. He took over the Super Bowl winning Giants defense and ran them firmly into the ground. They set records for futility. They couldn’t get to the QB… and then they fired him and the Giants D was back to being championship caliber.
Then we were the GIANT idiots that hired that bum next. I was hoping for Dungy disciple and former leader of several #1 ranked Colts defenses, Ron Meeks, but instead we hired Sheridan. There may not be a worse DC in league history. Absolutely unsound and insane as both a play caller and play designer. He might be my #1 worst Buc of the last 10 years… on further review, he is.
July 24th, 2014 at 9:41 am
I love this hype let’s get the train rolling a lot of stops on the road to the playoffs!! Goooo Bucs!!!
July 24th, 2014 at 11:51 am
I didn’t think it was possible to like a person even less than when they were actually working in Tampa. I did a Google search, but couldn’t find the answer….was Sheridan hired by another team for this season?
July 24th, 2014 at 9:06 pm
I have to say that I have been indifferent as to the prior regime. They were supposed to change culture – check. They were supposed to win football games – fail. But, for whatever reason, this story struck a chord. Screw them. Good job, Joe for reminding me that there is a “personal” side to this…. And at the end of the day, the last regime were a collection of a$$holes.
July 24th, 2014 at 10:14 pm
Bawlmerbucfan:
Linebackers coach with the Lions.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:52 am
Thank you Joe…good luck with that Detroit!