“Michael Johnson Has Been A Turd”
December 19th, 2014
Former Bucs QB Shaun King doesn’t hold back
Yes, Bucs fans are disgusted by defensive end Michael Johnson, who signed for gigantic cash in March. Johnson has treated Bucs fans to three sacks and about three halves of good football all season.
One former Buccaneer says Johnson’s effort is unforgiveable.
Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, a St. Pete native who has loved the Bucs since he was little kid, told the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620 yesterday that the Bucs need to end Johnson’s Tampa Bay career in a matter of hours.
“I’d cut Michael Johnson the second the Saints game is over,” King said of the season finale. “You know because I can understand when a guy doesn’t produce but when a guy doesn’t play with effort, you know, for me, that’s something that’s unforgiveable.
“Michael Johnson has been a turd, not his personality standpoint, just from a performance standpoint. His effort has been subpar. The people within the organization have seen it. They’re fed up with it.”
King, one of three QBs to lead the Bucs to the NFC Championship game, was not as harsh on other underperforming Bucs free agents. He suggested management have “a long talk” with Anthony Collins about his lack of production.
Joe doesn’t have much to add. Johnson has been a massive disappointment, and his effort is consistently questionable.
What was somewhat stunning to Joe is that Johnson didn’t respond last Sunday in Carolina. His good friend from his Bengals days, Collins, was benched in favor of Demar Dotson. Joe thought that might light a fire under Johnson, but he played his typical ghostly game.
December 19th, 2014 at 6:51 am
One of the MANY questionable roster moves L & L made. True fans were skeptical of him and a few others from the beginning….
December 19th, 2014 at 6:52 am
Sounds like he is describing himself when he was a Buc.
December 19th, 2014 at 7:05 am
Johnson was widely considered the best Free Agent available at DE which was an area of great need for the Bucs. So L&L signed him with expectation of effort and productivity – neither of which Johnson delivered. His play compared to his pay scale and the expectations has absolutely been a big fat turd. Good Call Shaun King.
Congrats on your big fat payday MJ – it will be your last and I hope that despite the terrible dead $ cap hit the Bucs will endure – that coach Smith informs you in 10 days that your “services” are no longer accepted at One Buc Place and that you are being released for lack of effort and productivity.
December 19th, 2014 at 7:15 am
He’s checked out. From the sounds of it, he just came here for the paycheck. He still wants to be with his old team so I can see where he’d be happy to take the guaranteed money that the Bucs owe him, preserve his body and go back to Cinci at whatever rate they’ll give him. Just hope he’s putting that money away because this is the only big payday he’s going to be getting.
December 19th, 2014 at 7:17 am
Michael who?
December 19th, 2014 at 7:17 am
@Pickgrin – very true about him being the best available DE free agent. folks act like we plucked him out of obscurity and dropped bags of cash on a nobody. We were widely applauded for the free agent class we brought in because the talent they displayed said we should have made our team better. But, as is often the case with teams going heavy in FA, the players saw all those numbers and decided to go ahead and get started on their retirement.
December 19th, 2014 at 7:50 am
Being the best available FA defensive end is of course relative. Was he the best DE available? Probably. Was he worth $43 million dollars? Absolutely not. His numbers clearly suggested high risk signing, this wasn’t Simeon Rice on a bad Cardinals team putting up really strong numbers, it was a guy on a loaded Bengals DLine who struggled mightily once Geno Atkins was hurt.
The warning signs were plentiful that he wasn’t going to work out. Everyone just hoped otherwise, but relying on hope gets you nowhere. New England could have hoped Mankins would turn it around, instead they played the reality game and it worked wonders for them yet again, Most people here who pumped up the signing used Pro Football Focus as the justification because they said Johnson was great. Same site also said Revis was twice the corner as Verner though you’ll never see those same people reference that.
December 19th, 2014 at 7:54 am
Unfortunately, he isn’t the only turd out there stinking up the joint!
December 19th, 2014 at 7:54 am
What was their alternative? The position was one of need, the market dictated that that was what you had to pay to get him. Of course he wasn’t worth it. Do you think Cutler or Dalton are worth the money they’re getting? Even before seeing how they played since getting paid, it was highly questionable whether they actually deserved that money. It’s a highly coveted position and teams are ready to overpay for production from that position.
Yes, his production fell off when Geno Atkins wasn’t in but the logical thinking is that him playing beside GMC would allow him to operate at the high level that he did beside Atkins. What you couldn’t anticipate is him coming in and just going through the motions. Obviously they wouldn’t have brought him in if they knew he didn’t have heart. They couldn’t have known that.
December 19th, 2014 at 7:59 am
The Bucs organization have a history of signing FA ‘s to large guaranteed contracts. They to start placing incentive clauses in the contracts to keep this from happening.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:06 am
Hopefully we can start winning next year. If we get our act together and the division remains weak then it’ll be a lot easier to lure FAs in without having to over spend on them. If we can go in to each year with a good chance of a playoff spot, along with all the incentives of playing in FL, then I’d say we’d be a tempting place to place. We need to have continuity though, along with a winning record. I think it all hinges on the OC hire this off season. In my opinion, I think Trestman would be a great hire in that regard. We wouldn’t have to worry as much about him having some success and bolting for a HC job, since he flamed out so quickly as one in Chicago. Plus, the bridge games that McCown plays until the new QB takes over could be a lot more successful since we’ve already seen that he flourishes in that system.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:16 am
Unfortunately this looks like an upward trend amongst an unprecedented amount todays free agents. Especially ones who sign onto smaller market teams who don’t have the rich history of being in the playoffs. They just go through the motions to collect a paycheck with no urgency to perform at their best. It is common knowledge that a lot of players who work their asses off for smaller market teams are usually over-looked when it comes to Pro bowl balloting, so why try? The goal becomes, preserve your body, collect your paycheck, get released and try again to move on to a more storied franchise.
Perfect example- Darrelle Revis
He used the Bucs to rehab, and now he’s playing lights out for the Patriots. Look all around the league at players who performed below expectations on sorry teams then have moved onto perennial playoff teams and are playing at or above expectations. It’s proven fact that smaller market teams usually overpay free agents because it’s the only real lure to get them to sign, and when they are finally convinced to sign, it’s usually only for the money. How else do you really explain the high amount of free agent bust every single year. This is just my opinion, and not every player has this mentality.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:17 am
There’s the problem of course, making desperation signings (or trades in Mankins case) hoping things work out. This is why you develop your own players and then overpay them if you wanna overpay anyone. You know them better, you know what you’re getting in terms of effort and off the field and it’s better to reward proven effort you’ve seen first hand versus what the film shows.
We keep delving into the marketing and hoping these guys work out when it consistently shows it doesn’t. I mean we’re two years removed from getting badly burned on 2 big FA signings (Wright and Nicks), and this regime comes in and does the exact same thing? This is why people are worried, Lovie was never a good developer of his own home grown talent. We’re never going to become a consistent winner until we find a coach who is good at doing that.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:17 am
I’d like to hear what King thinks of Lovie and Licht and their personnel moves this year
December 19th, 2014 at 8:23 am
I couldn’t agree with you more about developing home grown talent. Unfortunately, we’re so far behind that some dalliances with FAs is a necessity simply because we can’t get enough starter caliber players through the draft in the short term.
I can’t cosign, however, on Nicks being a FA burn. He was a great signing and he was really good for us until something way out of everyone’s control happened. Much like Brian Price being a pick that didn’t pan out. That’s not a talent development issue and it’s not something that someone could have predicted. Just bad luck. Wright was awful. I’ll definitely give you that.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:26 am
Coach Smith’s reign has featured dreadful personnel choices and an unprepared and undisciplined team that comes out of each halftime as though they had a double agent working in their locker room.
E should be ashamed!
December 19th, 2014 at 8:32 am
We paid $31 million dollars for 9 games of Carl Nicks. I’m sorry if he wasn’t a bust as a player, but that’s the very definition of getting burned. $3.6 million a game? That kills.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:35 am
I guess that’s a similar sentiment with different terminology. It’s an unfortunate situation for sure and it didn’t work out for us, but I don’t see that as being burned. We got burned by Johnson who came in, got paid and kicked his feet up. I think we’re saying the same thing a different way.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:38 am
Biff is baffled that Johnson is a joke.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:45 am
I would not cut Johnson or Collins. I would waste two spots on the practice squad leave them there all next season. Don’t cut them and let them sign with another team for even more money.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:49 am
To say Michael Johnson is a turd is an insult to all turds!
December 19th, 2014 at 8:50 am
@ Patrick in Va:
You would agree that the Bucs were burned on the Nicks deal if that was your money going into his big fat pocket.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:51 am
Cyndi Lauper once had a hit song called “Money Changes Everything”.
It was spot on!!!!
TWENTY FOUR MILLION guaranteed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read that number again and try to absorb it. If somebody at your current place of employment GUARANTEED you TWENTY FOUR FREAKING million dollars would you be as motivated or would you be tempted to ease up.
Football is a game to be played only by those who love it. It’s painful, requires lots of sacrifice, perhaps including your brain. Doing it just for money doesn’t really make sense. But if the money is 24 million guaranteed you will at least attempt to fake it.
Michael Johnson is not a self starter dedicated to his sport. Football is clearly not his passion.
Give up the whining guys. We made a HUGE mistake. But I disagree with King. Cutting him may makes us FEEL good but it’s not productive, unless we could get another team to eat a significant part of that guaranteed 24 MILLION. Johnson won’t care or be embarrassed anyway. If he’s not embarrassed by his effort on the field what makes anybody think he’d care if we cut him. He’d laugh all the way to the bank.
Forget King. I say bring him back next year and use him as a blocking dummy. Put him in every dirty “Oklahoma” drill the CBA permits. Make his life MISERABLE in practice. He may not shape up but that’s more satisfying for me than simply letting him walk and thinking we’re going to “hurt” his feelings. Yeah make and example out of him but do in the heat of the summer practices.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:52 am
We weren’t hoodwinked. Every player brought in has an element of risk. That one didn’t work out. Not because of a lack of want to on the part of the player. It was beyond anyone’s control.
December 19th, 2014 at 8:57 am
We were hoodwinked, bamboozled, we didn’t land on Lovie Smith, Lovie Smith landed on us…
December 19th, 2014 at 9:06 am
I think free agent should be the easiest things to hit on due to a players track record on every level. I am really disappointed in L and L. They clearly don’t have it on the personal side and that’s where games are won.
December 19th, 2014 at 9:08 am
Well he had 3 and a half sacks last year for Cincy so he went down a half sack. I’m not surprised he is reminds us of doo-doo. Maybe it’s just idiots that are signing these people. And I’m not surprised by that either.
December 19th, 2014 at 9:27 am
Patrick is right on with his observations and analysis. These “turd” free agents were lauded by Bill Polian and every other analyst, when the Bucs landed 13 or 15 FA’s. Some of them (unfortunately, the expensive ones) haven’t worked out.
Here’s a little known fact:
Remember when Seattle was crap and their new coach and GM started to rebuild that team? They made over 200 (you read right), over 200 personnel moves the first year. That’s a lot of failure in choices, in order to get a few choices right. But they stuck with it and look what happened!
Give the Bucs time, don’t expect every move to produce an all pro, and we’ll get there.
December 19th, 2014 at 9:36 am
All the players were asked to dive this year, some just did it better than others.
December 19th, 2014 at 9:54 am
“Shaun King, one of two Buc Quarterbacks that lost a NFC Championship Game when his defense gave up 11 or fewer points.”
Cut him after the NO game?…..how about in the middle…..call a time out and go out on the field and escort him out of the stadium.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:00 am
3 quarters of good football??? Are you just being generous or are you that bad at arithmetic? You couldn’t find 15 minutes of good football from this waste in the last 2 years much less 3 whole quarters this year. Cut all the free agents they signed. Not one of them is worth the cash they wasted. Those idiots responsible should be roasted by the media for this but we all know they get a pass with the softball inquiry.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:23 am
Michael Johnson is probably my least favorite Buccaneer of all time. Like King said, it’s one thing to not produce, it’s quite another to not even put forth effort. This guy is a quitter, and an embarrassment to a franchise that doesn’t need any more embarrassments.
That being said, I’m not sure how you can determine how someone is going to react when getting his pay day. I’m pretty sure they are going to say all the right things before they sign their name. There isn’t a franchise out there that hasn’t been duped like this (we just tend to get duped more often than most historically). He was the top free agent DE available, and we desperately needed help at that position. Contrary to what so many on this site are saying now, this deal was not considered to be over the top when we signed him. In fact, most people liked the deal, because essentially it was a two year deal (meaning we could easily move on after 2 years if he didn’t work out). DE’s are a premier position in the NFL, so they are expensive.
We are in a very difficult position for next year, because he’s going to eat $9M in cap next year, and he’s going to get paid that $9M regardless. The only thing I could think of (aside from some idiot team trading for him) is to make his life miserable. Work him like a dog, and hope maybe he quits or becomes insubordinate. I would send him to the left side, and publicly call him out every chance I get. Maybe we’d even get lucky and he gets hurt and we could get an injury settlement (not sure how that works against the cap). Regardless, he’s got no business being on the field.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:30 am
Why not bench a slacker show some nads Lovie.. If he his hart is not in it then bench him. whats the difference?
December 19th, 2014 at 10:30 am
I wonder if they would be interested in letting Clayborne go, test the market and then come back at a reduced rate, assuming he doesn’t get picked up. The kid had talent and we didn’t get to see him play with GMC, McDonald and certainly not Jack Smith. If he has that solid line helping, we could move him back over to his side of the line and have a reduced payroll at our lines. That would make eating that Johnson cap hit a lot more tolerable.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:41 am
Johnson is a PU**Y, plain and simple.
He has no heart and no fight. Now everyone in the league knows it.
Brings new meaning to the term “Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane”.
Johnson is a bit*h!
Karma is real you douche bag! GTFO!!!
Go Sucs!!!!
December 19th, 2014 at 10:42 am
@Soggy,
I agree, but sometimes business gets in the way of your nads. Put it this way, let’s say you just bought a $100,000 car. After driving it a while, you realize it sucks and was a waste of money, but you can’t sell it back. Your only other car is a used Toyota Corolla that runs fine, but isn’t anything special. Would you be okay to leave the new car in the garage and drive the Corolla? That’s pretty much what the team is facing right now. It’s easy for you and me to say bench him, but it’s not our money.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:43 am
Ok…who is this Micheal Johnson everyone keeps talking about?
December 19th, 2014 at 10:48 am
@Jim, MJ is the guy in the bank drive thru with the biggest smile telling his buddy I am not that bad at my job or they would have benched me..
December 19th, 2014 at 10:51 am
No more guaranteed money on these kinds of larks. That’s the part that hurts, is the salary cap hit we take even if we cut him.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:55 am
@Zam – Until we start winning consistently, the guaranteed money is the selling point. We’ve got some home grown talent that is coming up but we aren’t to the point where we can live off of what we have brought up ourselves so we have to roll the dice on FAs. Until we’re a contender, we have to overpay and guarantee more than we want to. That’s just how the dance goes right now.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:55 am
@tampabaybucfan….thank you for reiterating that fact every time joe talks about Shaun King. I am not being a smart a*#…really, thanks.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:56 am
In this case he is correct about Johnson.
December 19th, 2014 at 10:58 am
If I were the Glazers I would have to look at all the FA signings that L&L made over last offseason and give it an epic fail with Michael Johnson simply being the worst of several bad decisions made by our illustrious GM. I think it is enough to give the Glazers some thought about taking some of the powere away from L&L or perhaps even giving one of the L’s his walking papers and bringing in someone else as GM. And on the thought of player personnel decisions do Director of Player Personnel – Reid Williams and Coordinator of Pro Scouting – Shelton Quarles have to take some blame with Licht? I mean aren’t these guys there to make sure that people like L&L do not make insane mistake after mistake???? I sure hope the Glazers do some housecleaning at One Buc Place along with Lovie’s expected purge of players and offensive coaching staff….
December 19th, 2014 at 11:04 am
For everyone that thinks that the moves we made in the off season were made by a bunch of people making bad decisions and don’t know what they’re doing, check out what SI has to say about it:
http://www.si.com/nfl/audibles/2014/03/26/2014-nfl-free-agency-grade
Everyone thought we did a great job. We couldn’t have anticipated the guys we brought in falling off the map this way
December 19th, 2014 at 11:09 am
@bucEight, @Tom E:
By your logic, Darryl Stingley was a bust.
God rest his soul. Hope you find yours.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:17 am
@Patrick in VA,
I’m with you, but unfortunately, most fans are out for blood right now. Funny thing is, many of these same fans were the very ones praising these signings. They think I don’t remember who they are, but they’d be wrong. Hindsight truly is 20/20.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:18 am
@HawaiianBuc, I understand the money thing but what difference if he is setting or playing it still cost the same.. It would send a message that it will not fly here in buc land, I have a lot of money in a boat motor but I wont take it to the races, it is a embarrassment…
December 19th, 2014 at 11:18 am
Doug Farrar of SI certainly drank the L&L koolaid along with all the rest of us Patrick in Va. Thanks for posting the SI article, kind of shows how all these FA and draft grades really do not amount to a whole lot after the dust settles…. Still even if no one anticipated the epic fails of all these signings, someone has to be held accountable by the baby Glazers; but who? L&L, Shelton Quarles (great player BTW), Reid Williams or some of their underlings? We know some coaches and players are gone after the Saints game but I just can’t see everyone on the business/management/talent evaluation side getting a mulligan at One Buc Place….
December 19th, 2014 at 11:23 am
Lets cut him bring back revis..
December 19th, 2014 at 11:24 am
I disagree Dave. There were a few games that were lost specifically because our offense couldn’t get the job done. That can be accredited directly to us having no OC. There were also losses at the beginning of the year that were due to our defense not getting it. They’re getting it now. We don’t need new coaches, outside the OC spot, and we don’t need new personnel people. We could easily have 5 more wins without those things I mentioned earlier being issues and then we’re not even having this conversation. We could have just upgraded the positions in the off season and it’s no big deal.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:38 am
Hawaiian- I trashed these signings when they went down and was roundly criticized by virtually everyone on this site. My top complaints ended up being the biggest failures: McTrash, Johnson, Collins.
Not everyone praised these ridiculous signings. Unfortunately, these signings and many other moves were ridiculous at the time but because it was Lovie Smith in charge everyone just put their common sense in the drawer and put their faith in the name Lovie Smith. This is true for fans and paid analysts alike. Many fans that are mad a Lovie now are secretly mad at themselves too.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:38 am
If they are going to pay him anyway, its better to keep him on the off chance that he’ll start performing.
Keep in mind, he’s also been playing injured. He was never a superstar, so expecting him to need a year to adjust is reasonable.
The money is spent. May as well try to make the best of it.
Plus, if they have to pay him anyway, they could always demote him to backup if he doesn’t perform. An expensive backup, but better than paying him not to play.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:40 am
LUVMYBUCS Says
(January 19th, 2014)
(March 14th, 2014)
December 19th, 2014 at 11:41 am
That was a crazy test that failed
December 19th, 2014 at 11:43 am
LUVMYBUCS Says
(January 19th, 2014)
• LDE Justin Tuck Adrian Clayborne, William Gholston
• DT Gerald McCoy, William Gholston (DRAFT PICK)
• NT Tony McDaniels, Akeem Spence
• RDE Julius Peppers, Daquan bowers
(March 14th, 2014)
Interesting: All of a sudden(Past 24hrs)-Good Prospects-Are leaving without contract-Guys that were scheduled for visits are now canceling. According to Overthecap.com (before we cut and additional players or extend GMC) We have around $15 mill in cap space-Are agent starting to sour players on our low ball offers?
(March 14th, 2014
• Two good Slot corners have turned us down in the past 24hrs
Captain Munnerlyn ($15 Million) Walter Thurmond (???)
(March 20th, 2014)
• Now sign DE Robert Ayers!! (5.5 sacks 2013) Value Pick! Robert Ayers could push-Bowers/Means for a rosters spot. Either way the camp battle will be intense. Not only for them but also the linemen lining up across from them in practice.
May 6th, 2014 at 12:47 pm
• An interior rotation of Gerald McCoy, Clinton McDonald, and Aaron Donald. Will have no peers-And will be key factor to our defense destroying the opposing quarterback; no matter who we face.
May 6th, 2014 at 6:45 pm
• Chiefs reportedly ‘willing to deal’ Brandon Flowers. I’m sure he would clear waivers, and hit the open market. Would be great if he returned home to Florida, and paired up with Verner. Note: Flowers is an excellent cover 2 corner.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:44 am
@Joe
Apologize, can you delete the screwed up post?
December 19th, 2014 at 11:48 am
@DallasBuc,
I wasn’t referring to you. The people I was referring to know exactly who they are. There isn’t a move we could make that won’t have some people upset. There were people pissed off we signed Vincent Jackson. Some were upset we drafted Mike Evans. There were even many mad when we fired Raheem and Schiano! You were obviously right about the signings, but that doesn’t mean Lovie is an idiot. I’m 100% sure he knew that all of the signings were risky. It’s not much more than a crap shoot, and we unfortunately aren’t very good at craps. However, had we had great drafted talent, we wouldn’t have even had to pick up those free agents. No matter what, this all goes back to bad drafts, bad luck (i.e. Carl Nicks), and letting players go we shouldn’t have (i.e. Michael Bennett, Blount, and maybe even Talib in hindsight). Until we start drafting better, you can expect a lot of strike outs through free agency, no matter who the coach or GM.
December 19th, 2014 at 11:52 am
@HawaiianBuc
Spit names..lol
December 19th, 2014 at 11:59 am
@Hawaiian – Agreed. The unfortunate thing is that we as a society are really quick to demand that every misstep by any person that comes up on their radar is cause for not just termination but exile to an island to live in shame for the rest of their existence. It doesn’t matter to anyone that what we’ve been dealing with have been a long way from ideal circumstances, because these people get paid a lot more than most of us that means that they’re either perfect or they need to be tossed so we can find someone that’s perfect.
December 19th, 2014 at 12:08 pm
They should rename the team the Tampa Bay Bustamoves because most of their moves are busts.
December 19th, 2014 at 12:11 pm
Clayborn is going right up to New England and we all know how that’s going to end. We are a wonderful farm team for them
December 19th, 2014 at 12:35 pm
@bucrightoff,
Damn I wish I could argue that with you. Unfortunately, you are probably right.
December 19th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
Ayers, signed to a two-year, $4M deal in March, turned out to be one of GM Jerry Reese’s best finds. Despite limited playing time, Ayers was tied for the team lead with five sacks and was PFF’s No. 4 overall 4-3 end
December 19th, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Flowers is in the midst of a nice bounce-back season, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 corner through the season’s first eight weeks
December 19th, 2014 at 1:54 pm
StPeteBucsFan – The reason to cut him would not be to embarrass Michael Johnson or “hurt his feelings”. It would be strictly in the best interest of the team assuming you can find someone who will out produce him on the field which shouldn’t be hard. $ aside (which is hard to do w/ $9M guaranteed next year either way) – Johnson is taking up snaps that should be filled by someone who can actually play and who will give 110% effort to make plays. Cutting him despite the huge dead $ cap hit sends a strong message to the rest of the team. We don’t care who you are or how much $ you are owed – if you don’t produce and especially if its apparent you are not giving full effort – you are gone. Period.
I say cut Johnson – re-sign Clayborn to an incentive laden 2 year deal with about $2M base but up to $4M a year if he achieves 10 or more sacks. Then draft the best DE prospect you can get in either round 2 or 3 of this year’s draft and perhaps sign a value FA at DE as well and hope he turns into a solid producer and go forward with that. L&L found a great diamond in the rough in Jacquies Smith. Smith, Clayborn, Gholston, a reasonably high draft pick and an additional value FA they bring in may well be able to get the job done – for the coming year at least.
Dean Says:
December 19th, 2014 at 9:27 am
“Remember when Seattle was crap and their new coach and GM started to rebuild that team? They made over 200 (you read right), over 200 personnel moves the first year. That’s a lot of failure in choices, in order to get a few choices right. But they stuck with it and look what happened!
Give the Bucs time, don’t expect every move to produce an all pro, and we’ll get there.”
Good point Dean – and I think it is appropriate to point out that L&L have continued at a steady clip to bring available players in for a look at various positions – trying to find more diamond in the rough type good players like J. Smith and D. Lansanah who can help to fill the void while we spend the next 2 years trying to shore up the serious lack of talent that Mark Dominic left this team with through years of terrible drafting. Would be nice if they could hit on an OLineman or 2 that way – but lots of teams need Line help so its pretty hard to find a good Lineman (on either side of the ball) either walking the street or on someone’s practice squad at this time of the year. J. Smith was an exception and L&L (and coach Cullen) deserve a lot of credit for finding him and coaching him up to the level of productivity we have seen this year.
December 19th, 2014 at 2:52 pm
he is suppose to be a professional football player. he is getting paid just like the coaches. and I cannot believe between lovie the great d coach and frazier also a supposed great d coach they cant fix this guy really good job coaching u morons.
December 19th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
@Pickgrin
All good points
LUVMYBUCS Says:
February 2nd, 2014 at 11:25 pm
What rules will they come up with now, to help the offense? What no press coverage..lol
LUVMYBUCS Says:
February 3rd, 2014 at 12:01 am
(2010 Seattle Seahawks-Present) * Building a Champion
Note: Pete Carroll almost completely overturned the Seahawks roster in his 1st season (totaling over 200 transactions).
*Key Trades (2010)
(Quarterback)
• Traded QB Seneca Wallace to Cleveland for a 2011 undisclosed draft pick.
• Acquired QB Charlie Whitehurst and a 2010 second-round draft pick from San Diego for a 2010 second-round draft pick and an undisclosed 2011 draft pick
(Running Back)
• Acquired RB Marshawn Lynch from Buffalo for two undisclosed draft picks
(Offensive Line)
• Traded G Rob Sims and a 2010 seventh-round draft pick to Detroit for DE Robert Henderson and a 2010 fifth-round draft pick.
• Traded an undisclosed 2011 draft pick to Philadelphia for OL Stacy Andrews
(Defensive Line)
• Traded DE Darryl Tapp to Philadelphia for DE Chris Clemons and a 2010 fourth-round draft pick.
(Defensive Backs)
• Traded CB Josh Wilson to Baltimore for a 2011 conditional draft pick.
*Key Retirements
• Announced the retirement of OL Walter Jones
*High draft picks
• LT Russell Okung First Round (No. 6 overall) 2010
• S Earl Thomas First Round (No. 14 overall) 2010
• WR Golden Tate Second Round (No. 60 overall) 2010
• LB Bobby Wagner Second Round (No. 47 overall) 2012
• QB Russell Wilson Third Round (No. 75 overall) 2012
*Low draft picks
• CB Richard Sherman Fifth Round (No. 154 overall) 2011
• S Kam Chancellor Fifth Round (No. 133 overall) 2010
• LB K. J. Wright Fourth Round (No. 99 overall) 2011
• RG J.R. Sweezy Seventh Round (No. 225 overall) 2012
*Minor free agent signings
• CB Brandon Browner Signed after playing in Canada 2011
• RT Breno Giacomini Packers’ Practice Squad 2010
• FB Michael Robinson Signed from 49ers 2010
• RG Paul McQuistan Signed threCleveland Browns 2011
*Major free agent signings
• WR Sidney Rice Signed a five-year, $41 million contract 2011
• TE Zach Miller Signed a five-year, $34 million contract 2011
• DE Cliff Avril Signed a two-year, $13 million contract 2013
• DT Michael Bennett Signed a one-year, $5 million contract 2013
December 19th, 2014 at 7:09 pm
The Bucs failed miserably in free agency last year but building through the draft isn’t a slam dunk either. Pull up the percentages of 1st – 7th rounders that actually work out. Both are risky and I would say drafting is even more risky as they haven’t done anything at the pro level yet. The Bucs have very few players that are still on the team that we’re drafting more than a year ago. In order to turn this around management has to start making the right decisions. Missing on every free agent signing last year has set this team back for at least 3 more years.
December 19th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Bucfan4life Says:
December 19th, 2014 at 7:09 pm
“building through the draft isn’t a slam dunk either”
Especially if you have Bruce Allen and Mark Dominick in charge of drafting for 10 years!!!
December 19th, 2014 at 11:27 pm
Bucfan4Life: I think the %of players that actually work out in the first round also varies by position. For example I could be wrong but it seems like top 10 OL drafted tend to have a rather high success rate (not too many Charles McRae’s or Mandarichs’ out there) while the qb position tends to be more risky (Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Leinert, Jamarcus Russell, Cryin’ Leif, Sanchez with the Jets, RG3, etc…). Maybe it just gets publicized because its a high profile position while the trenches are often overlooked but that is where a good team starts: the trenches….
December 20th, 2014 at 9:45 am
If you miss on a QB you miss. It doesn’t mean you should never draft one. I agree a lot of o-lineman, especially tackles seem to work out. This team has numerous holes but IMO QB is the biggest need. Last year at this time everyone thought that Bridgewater was the clear choice for the 1st pick along with Clowney. While everyone thinks Mariota (I prefer Winston) is the guy this year, that could change as teams do their research. If the team determines that one of these two guys has a chance to be great they have to take him. They may not have enough picks and free agents to rebuild the o-line in one year. If not, keep McCown as the starter and groom the new guy for a year. This team is a loooong way from being decent so give the rookie a year to learn the game and let McCown take the pounding next year.