Buccaneers’ Integrity Questioned
July 13th, 2015
A major sports media outlet is calling out the Bucs and nearly pounding on a table for a league investigation.
Joe finds this downright ludicrous.
Frank Schwab, typing for the popular Shutdown Corner blog on Yahoo! Sports, is in disbelief because the Bucs playing not to win didn’t become a major story and cause for national revolution.
In Week 17, Tampa Bay led the New Orleans Saints 20-7 at the half. If the Buccaneers won, the Tennessee Titans would get the top pick of the draft. So the Buccaneers pulled starters.
The Buccaneers said they didn’t tank, so everyone shrugged and moved on. There was no 243-page Wells Report on it, although it was pretty obvious what happened and that was not exactly in line with the integrity of the game. …
The NFL made really big deal about the integrity of the game when it came to deflated footballs with another team, but nobody said much about the Buccaneers trying to lose a game. What Tampa Bay did was arguably a worse transgression.
This is so freaking silly.
It’s not like the Bucs signed players off the street and injected them into the starting lineup in Week 17, which they very well could have done. Tampa Bay played real men on their roster, and Joe doesn’t recall the Bucs taking a knee on any third downs.
They were winning by two scores at halftime!
Playoff teams don’t get investigated for sitting starters in Week 17, so why would a bottom-dweller? There is no real difference. Both teams in that scenario intentionally deliver a second-class product to paying fans, gamblers, sponsors and the television audience.
So what that the Bucs sat Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans for about 90 percent of the game.
If there was to be any investigation of the Bucs — and there won’t be and shouldn’t be — then it should focus on signing Josh McCown to be the starting quarterback. That’s the epitome of tanking right there.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:03 am
Putting McCown back in after his injury healed as well….
July 13th, 2015 at 11:12 am
If the Bucs can self-engineer that kind of train wreck perhaps they should talk to the Bills about hiring away Lovie Smith, contracts and promises of Bucs glory to be notwithstanding.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:12 am
Sounds like someone may have come up short on the rent…
July 13th, 2015 at 11:19 am
LOL. Reading Yahoo! is like reading the Weekly World News.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:20 am
The guy has a valid point overall, however, Joe’s point of “Playoff teams don’t get investigated for sitting starters in Week 17” is exactly why nothing will come of it.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:28 am
How about the Colts tanking an entire season to draft Andrew luck? So stupid
July 13th, 2015 at 11:32 am
While they are at it, they should also investigate who pays Frank Schwab for writing that dumb a$$ $hit and slap him!
July 13th, 2015 at 11:37 am
I’m sure every one of those 4th stringers tried really hard.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:44 am
He’s dead on, they should have looked into it. How do you think mc clown got the Browns job short of telling them he was paid to tank?
The only reason it’s a non issue is no one else wanted Jamies.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:49 am
This is why 6 wins is unacceptable. New OC, better prepared defense and not tanking games on purpose should be worth 8 wins at least. Anything less than 8 wins with our easy schedule is a joke.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:59 am
I dont wanna hear that crap. Curtis Painter led the colts for 16 weeks of horrible football to get andrew luck. That was obvious why they played painter. What a load of crap?
July 13th, 2015 at 12:01 pm
No doubt in my mind that we tanked the season to secure Winston… How else can you explain sticking with Josh McCown at QB and Marcus Arrayo as OC? After the first five games it was clear we had zero chance at the playoffs… So for once the franchise made a smart move and scuttled the season to secure a future franchise QB…
The Colts did the same thing for Andrew Luck… They kept Curtis Painter as their starting QB and Clyde Christensen as their OC…
If you am t cheating you ain’t trying!!! Look at New England…
Go Bucs!!!
July 13th, 2015 at 12:03 pm
Let me try that again…
If you ain’t cheatin you ain’t tryin…
Fu#@%ng tablet pissing me off…
July 13th, 2015 at 12:05 pm
It looked to me as if the Saints forfeited the game.
No life at all, in that 1st half.
The biggest blow- they could’ve given us at that time-WAS TO LET US WIN
July 13th, 2015 at 12:07 pm
We are only up by 13 to a Drew Brees-led team. That’s really not much of a lead.
July 13th, 2015 at 12:09 pm
NO 0 7 0 16 23
TB 3 17 0 0 20
July 13th, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Since when have the Bucs ever had to try to lose….it comes naturally…..although, it was quite obvious by sitting the starters that we didn’t want to win.
I don’t remember if we beat the spread.
There is still something very distasteful about losing on purpose….I don’t think any of the players try….but the coaches through their substitutions and game plan certainly do it.
July 13th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
We sure had to endure a brutal season to get Jameis. I hope he ends up being worth it!
July 13th, 2015 at 12:55 pm
I remember screaming at the Bucs for all that scoring in the first half of the Saints game. I was like, “after a season this terrible you are NOW GOING TO BLOW THE FIRST OVERALL PICK!!! Lose, for God’s sake!”
Thankfully they listened to me.
July 13th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
Agreed Joe!!!
There are sooooooooooooo many things going on across the league that not only threaten the integrity of the game, but violate basic human rights.
A QB for a franchise that CONTINUES to prove they have no integrity, alters the field equipment and possibly alters the course of history! When he is questioned, he ignores requests to cooperate and basically laughs in the face of every football fan.
Hardy is found guilty! He slaps around a woman, threatens to kill her, scares her so bad she runs to the neighbors’, and then pays her off to keep quiet. But because he’s a superstar, again, he’s shown mercy.
Frank Schwab needs to stop harping about the league’s worst team, tanking a half of football against another (better) team who very well could have been doing the same thing!
July 13th, 2015 at 1:49 pm
Thanks Tom I’ve been stating that for awhile. Ursay and crew seem to get a pass,Lovie and company d@$! near get crucifide.
July 13th, 2015 at 1:54 pm
Was tanking for Winston ethical? Maybe not. I think the answer to that question is all opinion based, but to compare it to deflate-gate is ludicrous. Is this guy out of his mind or what? There was a clear cut breaking of league rules by the Patriots organization and followed by lies to cover it up. No league rules were broken by the Bucs. Is this guy a chowder head or just a talking head?
July 13th, 2015 at 2:55 pm
Lovie wasn’t tanking. He had had such a bad season he was just playing the backups to see who wanted to play hard and who he needed to cut. Wink, wink. To those who think Lovie is incompetent–he was smart enough to get us Winston. Let’s support our HC! Go Bucs!
July 13th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Win and get Mariota, lose and get Winston. Hmmmm. Not a hard decision when you have won 2 games all year.
July 13th, 2015 at 3:16 pm
I don’t think the Bucs coaching staff was trying to lose!
July 13th, 2015 at 4:07 pm
Sounds more like ol’ Frank is a man crush Brady loving Pats fan! Lol
July 13th, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Dear Mr. Schwab….we didn’t tank….we just REALLY SUCKED THAT BADLY! Besides, the Titans aren’t complaining. Early word out of Nashville is that Marcus Mariotta has been dead on balls accurate so far though OTA’s.
July 13th, 2015 at 4:26 pm
If the Bucs won that final game last year, would Tennessee have drafted Winston with the first pick? Lovie and Licht must of thought so if the tank was intentional. The Titans may have preferred Mariota all along.
July 13th, 2015 at 4:58 pm
The one area where Lovie Smith displays a true competence is losing
July 13th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
I think it is fair to point out that the Saints were obviously tanking in the first half. Lovie Smith was not about to get beat at his own game of losing!
July 13th, 2015 at 5:23 pm
Frank obviously did not watch the whole season. How many of our losses looked lik We tanked?
July 13th, 2015 at 7:27 pm
My favorite Attorneys key phrase
“Prove it”
Gonna have to show what was in their heads and Hearts to prove that accusation. Unless the Bucs have a snitch- you cant prove intent.
I’d be filing Slander and libel charges at this point.
So proud of Lovie &Licht
Meybe they can FINALLY get us out of basement
Well played, gentlemen. Well played
July 13th, 2015 at 8:30 pm
Our Starters won us 2 games last year. If we were trying to tank,we would left them in.
July 13th, 2015 at 8:57 pm
@Joe
You nailed it with this line…Playoff teams don’t get investigated for sitting starters in Week 17, so why would a bottom-dweller?
This is also akin to a team tied with a minute to go and their opponent on the 2 yard line set to run out the clock and then kick a field goal. And so the defense parts like the Red Sea and lets the running back walk into the end zone so that the defending team can get the ball back at least in time to tie the game and go for two after a TD. And so is the defense “cheating” because they simply give up and let the other team score.
What about the integrity of the Bucs organization. Which is more important long term for the organization…winning another MEANINGLESS game or perhaps setting up the team for future playoff runs.
July 13th, 2015 at 9:30 pm
All of these jokers on here that call lovie a losing head coach. Yet he has a winning record in the league. And thats with an inability to let his ocs do theyre jobs. As long as he has learned his leason they will make the playoffs. Lovie tanked and for good.reason
July 13th, 2015 at 10:55 pm
I’m one of the tank job conspiracy nuts as like I said I think we started tanking earlier in the season it was just more obvious in the last game. The Saints were clearly tanking too though. If we didn’t tank more games last season, then Lovie truly does suck!
July 14th, 2015 at 7:49 am
The Glazers were just following the model laid out by the Colts. You know the team that drafted Andrew Luck after tanking an entire season. Then did 180 the next season. Too soon.
July 16th, 2015 at 2:56 pm
Too funny! Before I read the article, based on the headline alone, I immediately thought the only thing they did to “tank” the season was sign McCown AND let him play! Had Frank Schwab done a little digging, he’d see that the Bucs played as bad and blew many other leads all year long. Why in the hell would you put the core of your team for years to come when you’re 2 – 13 going into your last game? I’m gonna say the Bucs would have done the same if they we’re slated to pick 2, 3, 4, or 5……