“Lot Of Guys That Are Comfortable”
October 30th, 2015
Believes Bucs need a roster housecleaning.
One thing Joe loves about Shaun King when he does a hit on local sports radio is that he brings it. No beating around the bush.
This week, King, one of three quarterbacks to lead the Bucs to an NFC Championship game, appeared on “Ron and Ian,” heard locally on WDAE-AM 620.
In discussing the Bucs and their losing ways, King said in no uncertain terms that too many Buccaneers don’t give a damn if they win or lose, so long as the check from Team Glazer clears.
“I am more disappointed in the players,” King said. “I think I have always said that this league is about Joes, not Xs and Os. Some of the things that we have allowed to happen to me goes to the players and their commitment to winning. I don’t know that for a lot of guys, winning is all that matters on this current team.
“I know for Jameis it matters. But for a lot of these other guys, and I am just being honest here, I will probably take some flack for this, but I feel it is the truth: I don’t know how they really don’t get burned up when the Bucs lose. I just don’t know. There [are] too many to name. There are a lot of guys that are comfortable with what they are making. They are comfortable that they are in the NFL. They don’t wake up and feel like, ‘I have to win a championship’ or ‘I didn’t really succeed as a player.’
“I think we have to start eliminating some of those guys and start bringing in more guys where winning matters.”
Those are strong words there, and when a team is 8-30 in its last 38 games under two coaches, one it’s understandable how losing becomes a habit and part of the culture.
Joe can almost understand how a player, after getting stomped on week after week after week after week, season after season, takes the field thinking no matter what they do, the result will be a loss.
To hear King’s full interview, click the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620.
October 30th, 2015 at 8:06 am
If what he says is true… and it probably is, then thats on the coaches so its time for lovie to go.
October 30th, 2015 at 8:23 am
Pro Football is a game that is won and lost on the offensive and defensive lines. The Bucs dramatically improved their offensive line this offseason, which is why the offense is finally performing. Logan Mankins may be the mentor and leader of the offensive line, but it looks like Ali Marpet is the heart and soul of it.
The defensive line has been terrible, with the notable exception of pummeling Blake Bortles. Gerald McCoy is (or at least should be) the leader of that defensive line, and he is the King of Comfortable, even before that fat contract extension. McCoy’s lack of intensity sure seems to be part of the problem. I’d love to see him play with some fire, like Ali Marpet does.
October 30th, 2015 at 8:28 am
No doubt, it’s mostly about the fat paycheck, a sign of the times. That’s entertainment. What’s the solution? We’re watching it.
October 30th, 2015 at 8:31 am
I’m uncomfortable looking at King. Seriously the guy is a walking balloon now and he honestly just says stuff to get noticed. He has no idea what he is talking about which is why places like ESPN dumped him
October 30th, 2015 at 8:33 am
“Too many to name”…….lame excuse for a coward……hey Shaun…..name one!!!
“Shaun King, one of two Buc Quarterbacks that lost a NFC Championship Game when his defense gave up 9 points.”
October 30th, 2015 at 8:39 am
Exactly! A bunch of paycheck collectors on the team!
October 30th, 2015 at 8:43 am
Yep and McCoy is the most comfortable in losing. Trade this softy now while you can get a good player or draft pick. Licht needs to make the deal not Lovie. If I’m the owners I strip all decision making away from Lovie and give it all to Licht immediately.
October 30th, 2015 at 8:46 am
The only thing I’ve ever heard McCoy talk passionately of is his love for Batman movies. When it comes to football and his team’s record, its all good. He’s not Reggie White or Bruce Smith them dudes were nasty on the field, and they made big plays in crucial times. When was the last game changing play that McCoy has made? He got 2 sacks on the Jags final drive, but they scored anyway. He gets the most Random sacks that I’ve ever seen.
October 30th, 2015 at 8:47 am
Makes good sense to me… And until we find the right players no coach is gonna make difference with these guys…. Good thing we are addressing these issues now… As painful as losing is the purge must continue till we find the right guys… And that is done best through the draft… So far L&L have done an exceptional job!!!!
October 30th, 2015 at 8:49 am
Which is why that pic of GMC was so infuriating. I dont expect these guys to be pissed off after every loss. It’s a business. But there are losses that should crush them, and and do crush most players, and Sunday was one of them. There is a way to be polite to the other team without being giggly. Hes just happy to be a pro and have a camera in his face. The rest is just academics.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:01 am
I like King but he was singing a different tune when Schiano and Dominik were losing football games. Another case of Incompetent Lovie loyalists in the media shilling for their buddy instead of holding him accountable.
King is off the integrity roll call until his uncle Lovie is unemployed and replaced.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:20 am
Joe you know who he’s talking about and so do the rest of us. It is becoming clear the patience is getting thin around here for Mr. McCoy.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:30 am
If it’s about players and not coaches, how do the Pats lose their top two CBs last year and basically haven’t skipped a beat? Oh yeah because excellent coaching is how you win a capped league, and what Lovie gives you is how you remain in the NFL equivalent of the “friend zone”.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:33 am
Dallas you should be a fan of hour Boys out there… They sure know how to build a winner don’t they!!! As far as integrity goes… How can you claim to have any when you don’t understand anything more than axe grinding… The last two coaches were obviously in over their heads and made a laughing stock out of us!!!!!! Not because they are bad coaches BUT BECAUSE COACHING IS NOT JUST ABOUT COACHING GUYS UP!!!! Its about finding the right pieces and building a lasting TEAM… When you start with pooo its hard to remove the taste of poooo when you feel like you are eating steak…. Can Lovie do better??? Absolutely noone is questioning that REALLY…. But you can’t blame a coach and fire him every time your steak taste like pooooo sometimes you have to work through it…. You might lose customer in the process but when protected all those bandwagoners like yourself will be back hooping and haulering “I have been a real fan thought thick and thin”….
The key to being a REAL FAN…. is understanding when you don’t support your team…. Just walk away and come back some other day…. I did it… Gave up my season tickets and went and learned to love hockey and baseball… Now I am back because so long as Team Glazer stays the course we WILL BE BACK… Granted it might take riding out Lovie’s contract and getting a really good coach to come in here…. But don’t kid yourself… NO REALLY GOOD COACH IS COMING HERE IF WE CONTINUE TO ESTABLISH THIS… ” run him out of town because we the fans know best and get our way like the big market teams” mind set…
Bottom line, this team is heading in the right direction for a change… So as sorry as it seems and its sorry I COMPLETELY AGREE…. Try looking beyond the wins and loses at this point…. Things are headed in the right direction because we have some real football minded people running things for a change…. BELIEVE IT!!! ITS THE TRUTH!!!!
October 30th, 2015 at 9:40 am
I think simple minds want simple solutions. Shaun’s audience are made up of fans looking for fans looking for easy answers. If, in his terms, it’s the Joe’s, then who get’s replaced by whom? I didn’t notice a deep bench.
A quick look around the league would suggest that some of the top tier players are at the bottom of the stats and standings. So, is Andrew Luck loafing of is his team calling it in? I could go on but I don’t pretend to be able to be that smart.
Lovie said: “We win or lose as a team” So, as a team, the Bucs aren’t ready to win.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:42 am
Comparing us to the Pats is as unrealistic as it gets… You would do better with the line of thinking most people have when comparing us to the Dolphins or Eagles… You only get to be the Pats if you stick things out come hell or high water… Clearly this fan base is not ready for that YET….. But I got a feeling a lot of you are about to become enlightened as to how you become a team like the Pats… Let me give you a head start….
Build through the draft… Cut players that under perform…. Sign players to team friendly. Contracts… Establish a winning locker room… Atrqct players to play with your Franchise guys… reward hard work… BE REALISTIC with expectations…. Establish depth across the ENTIRE TEAM…. Sell out your home games…. and most importantly…. DONT FIRE YOUR COACH EVERY TWO YEARS BECAUSE FAN IGNORANT REVAULTS…
ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT REALLY!!!
October 30th, 2015 at 9:43 am
I know one thing. I was “crushed” after the Washington game and it still is with me. It seems to me that some players are “comfortable” with the current situation. How can you blame the players when that is all they have been exposed to? Losing is a way of life here in Tampa. This season is about development. I mean it has to be. With the way that Lovie has overhauled this defense (Foster, Barron, Goldson, Johnson, Clayborn, Bowers, Casillas) to bring in players who meet his “scheme”, it is going to take another year or two before we get the caliber of player in that it takes to win.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:49 am
But the stuttering-stammering-Scott Brantley-fist receiving-contradicotry circular logic using-show host, says that since players aren’t “grumbling” about Lovie, then all is A-OK. Well, why would they “grumble.” Their is no accountability. They enjoy that. THE $$$$$$ now overshadows the desire. It’s a fact.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:52 am
JAB83 Says:
October 30th, 2015 at 9:42 am
Comparing us to the Pats is as unrealistic as it gets… You would do better with the line of thinking most people have when comparing us to the Dolphins or Eagles…
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The point was not to compare to New England you Lovie nut riding dolt. It was to point out coaching trumps players in this league. See: 49ers, San Francisco for another textbook example. Lovie’s a terrible coach so even if you gave him a stacked roster and Belichick a bottom feeding roster, Belichick’s team likely wins more often than not.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:52 am
I think King is right, and it’s why we have a hard time bringing in talented free agents, good players want a shot at a superbowl, something we aren’t even close to here. So players on are team are either playing for the next contract (Doug Martin) or they have the big new contract (GMC, LVD). Then there are the guys just happy to have a job (Conte, Wright, Jennings, Jenkins) who realize they can’t get a job anywhere outside of loading a truck. I’m sorry but if GMC and LVD were all about titles they would have gone Lebron and be playing in New England, Seattle, or Denver. The best hope this team has is for Jameis to earn the respect of players in the league so people actually believe Tampa is a team that can win like Indy has been with Luck.
For me I don’t want guys that want to win, I want guys who refuse to tolerate losing. It should be painful, they should hate it. Hate is a much stronger and deeper emotion that love. Just think about the lengths people go for hate, for love they just send flowers.
October 30th, 2015 at 9:56 am
@bucrightoff
I think coaching is more important than people because they are responsible in choosing the players that build that team. I think we are failing on evaluating player motivations and competitive drive. Every player in the league has to have been dedicated modt of there life to get here, but was the motivation to get that check or to be a winner?
October 30th, 2015 at 9:57 am
I would also like to submit… Whoever’s idea it was to annoint GMC the second coming of #99 is to blame for the whole “GMC is responsible for the D thing”. This guy would be an excellent side kick for a real super hero…. IMO that should be LVD… Oh snap… That guy hates losing!!!!!
Hey LVD step in GMC face every now and then or better yet… Run up and slap him in the nuts (like they do horse on the starting line) when we need a big play… Which leads me back to JW The Pride of Tampa Americas QB… He intuitively and subtly suggested these guys need their nuts slap when he did his horse jesture… LOL… Seriously LVD… Take over your team on D and learn how to do it from JW!!!!
October 30th, 2015 at 9:58 am
People actually listen to 620? Now that’s some terrible radio right there.
Bunch of wanna be stand up comedians. Just unlistenable. Except when the joes are on. And even then they have to argue with angry old man that seems to hate his life.
October 30th, 2015 at 10:21 am
I hope Shaun King is wrong. I’ve never played in the NFL or been in an NFL locker room. I don’t know an NFL player personally. I can’t comment on which players are collecting a paycheck and which ones are really stung by losing. I can’t tell any of that by sports media interviews and such.
On an unrelated note did any of you guys see that Dolphins vs. Patriots game last night? So many dropped passes, blown defensive miscues, and giving up a safety because of a bad snap. Just a general lack of focus from the Dolphins. I guess all that fire and passion, Oklahoma drills, and a constant reminder to stay focused didn’t help them. Time to fire Dan Campbell, right?
October 30th, 2015 at 10:26 am
I saw it D-Rome. All I could think is if we played the Pats in Foxboro, 70 points is absolutely in play.
October 30th, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Name some names! Call these guys out. Don’t bother starting the conversation if you’re going to speak with vagueness. Another local gas bag.
October 30th, 2015 at 12:47 pm
You can put McCoy at the top of that list.
October 30th, 2015 at 1:16 pm
There’s a new cop on the beat!!! The chief of the fan police JAB83 is here to tell people how to be a real fan with the bandwagon insults and lectures for those of us expecting more from the leadership. Gag.
The team is not headed in the right direction because the HC is an incompetent fool who gets the rare opportunity to hire his own little lapdog GM and the even more rare opportunity to select the first overall pick after earning that spot with barely 2 wins.
Stop making excuses for what was here when incompetent Lovie Smith got here. He had way more than Schiano or Morris and is very clearly doing less. This fantasy that incompetent Lovie Smith can take all the blame if things go well but is immune from criticism when he screws the pooch week after week, poor decision after piss poor decision.
You are free to be proud of your fan acumen and all but best not to lecture others on how to feel. Real fans have a right to feel however they choose about their terrible football team including pointing fingers at the guy in charge. Sorta goes without saying it at least it should.
October 30th, 2015 at 4:46 pm
I also want to trade McCoy but I know that will light a fire under his butt and get him playing with the intensity that we desire…and then he’ll be a superbowl champ…hopefully we get a great player in return but that aint a guarantee….someone once told me, “you get on that horse, you got to ride it”….GO BUCS!!!
October 30th, 2015 at 11:53 pm
With Jameis as the leader on the offense you see how tough guys are becoming. On the defensive big bubba is the leader, and the defense is just passive.
October 31st, 2015 at 2:17 am
These Bucs must now begin to play4WINSton. Its November and we need to get him off to a 2-0 start at the very least. We need redemption from the beating they put on us last year. This show aint about lovie smith if everyone on that team hadn’t noticed. Its November and it’s time to play ball behind Winston and win some games no matter how its done.###play4WINStonfight4LOViE