Excitement At One Buc Palace
April 5th, 2016
So players have been filtering in and out of One Buc Palace working out on their own to prepare for Bucs football 2016. Boring, but true.
(Sorry, Joe is not one of these guys who gets sweaty and pants and rocks back and forth in his office chair over professional football players staying in shape. As the great Warren Sapp once famously said, “You don’t pump weights on the 50-yard line.”)
A reason players may be coming in on their own is the vibe resonating from the coaches’ offices. No longer under the boot of Coach My Scheme, it seems the new coaching staff has brought juice and an open mind to their jobs that may have been lacking in recent years. Joe is reading between the lines of Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
In a recent edition of the “Peter Schrager Podcast,” Licht explained the atmosphere created by the staff of first-year Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter is invigorating.
“It has been great,” Licht said. “There is a lot of energy. Everybody works really well together. Couldn’t be more excited about everything they are bringing now. It is a great place now. Fans should be excited.”
Well, one guy excited is America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. After the Bucs hired rising college coaching stud Todd Monken as offensive coordinator, Jameis, per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, got a call right away from his old college coach at Florida State. Jimbo Fisher was apparently all geeked about the Bucs bringing in the Southern Miss coach who once worked with Fisher at LSU when he served as offensive coordinator.
If the Bucs general manager is excited about his new coaching staff, and a college coach is excited about Koetter’s hires, then, yeah, Joe can see why Licht said Bucs fans should be excited, too.
April 5th, 2016 at 12:19 pm
Ahhh yes the preseason hype… Nothing like a hype story to sell season tickets. If I lived in Hillsbourgh, I’d be on the phone right now getting mine!!
April 5th, 2016 at 1:03 pm
It is exciting this year!!! I feel like this is the very first year that has finally closed the chapter of the Tampa2!!! This is the first year were there was not someone that tied the Bucs back to the mid-late 90’s, Finally we are heading in a new direction!!! It is exciting times Buc Fans!!! And I cannot wait to see where this team takes us!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!
April 5th, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Well if we gone do it LETS DO IT BIG DEN..
April 5th, 2016 at 1:14 pm
I was excited the minute I saw “Bucs Fire HC Lovie Smith”. That was when my excitement started.
This team can go nowhere but up from here and if they draft the right players that want to win at all cost this team could turn things around rather fast!
April 5th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
Speaking of Sapp and saying you don’t pump iron, did Sapp actually win one of those NFL all-star challenge deals for weightlifting one year? If he wasn’t lifting he was just naturally amazingly strong. I very vaguely remember so perhaps I got it all wrong, but does anyone remember what I’m talking about and what the actual event was?
April 5th, 2016 at 2:31 pm
I’m excited!
We have a franchise QB whose potential is literally unlimited IMO.
We have one of the best Offensive minds in the game running the show and have spent a lot high draft picks (6 to be exact) in the last 2 years to give him great tools to work with.
The Bucs had the 5th best Offense in the league last year and the best Bucs offense EVER in 40 years – starting at least 3, 4 or 5 rookies on Offense in every single game. So the expectation is that these players will only improve and that the “continuity” will lead to even greater offensive success moving forward.
On the Defensive side – we have a proven DC in charge who got great results running the Defense in Jax and who also has 7 years of NFL HC experience with an overall winning record. He has a solid base to build from in 3 multi year pro bowlers (McCoy, David and Grimes) along with a rising star at MLB, and solid players at NT (McDonald), SLB (D. Smith), CB (Verner and Banks) and hopefully at DE (Ayers, Jack Smith?). This year’s draft is expected to be heavy on Defensive selections so hopefully more defensive help in the form of young talent is on the way.
Which brings us to the most exciting thing happening with this team (aside from Jameis Winston of course). That would be Jason Licht. Dude killed it in the draft last year which is exactly what this team has been missing for more than a DECADE. Jason is in complete control of this team from a management and player acquisition stand point now and the results so far look VERY encouraging. THIS has been the true Achilles heel of this team under Dom and Bruce Allen and why the Bucs have mostly sucked for so long. BAD MANAGEMENT and even WORSE drafting. Licht gives great hope that this team will be run a lot more like the Patriots moving forward – than the Browns which is about on par with what the Bucs were doing from 2004>2013 after Rich McCay left following the Super Bowl win.
And finally – the addition of high quality coaches in key spots (DC,OC, DLine, DBs) combined with the subtraction of bad defensive backfield coaching thanks to Lovie’s friends and family plan – is some additional icing on this cake of HOPE we are mixing and baking here in this 2016 off-season.
The future looks bright Bucs fans. Although the schedule is pretty tough this year and the team may only win 7 or 8 or 9 games in 2016 if we are keeping our expectations realistic – It FINALLY feels like this team is heading full steam towards being a legitimate contender and there will be no stopping the Buccaneers from being a great team once the players collectively cross that bridge and learn how to WIN as a team.
Isn’t the off-season great? LOL
April 5th, 2016 at 2:32 pm
“Well, one guy excited is America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.” – Joe
You should say this:
“Well, one guy excited is America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler & Rookie of the Year Runner-Up Jameis Winston.”
April 5th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
BTW – I know that Lavante David is not a “multi year pro bowler” – but he damn sure should have been – which is why I included him in that group.
April 5th, 2016 at 2:36 pm
The Buc Realist Says
“I feel like this is the very first year that has finally closed the chapter of the Tampa2!!!”
What gives you the impression there will be no more Tampa 2 at all?
April 5th, 2016 at 2:39 pm
@Pickgrin
I agree about David. And by the way…love the paragraph spacing you’ve been using on your posts lately!
As for myself…I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of all this, but I’m not getting “hyped”. I prefer to give props AFTER they are earned…too many disappointments I reckon.
April 5th, 2016 at 2:41 pm
@Pickgrin
Keep preachin’ it brother. I’m with you!!!
April 5th, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Excellent analysis Pickgrin. The hype is real. Im looking to get my season tix
April 5th, 2016 at 3:10 pm
Finally very exciting times indeed. The night I found out was also when I started looking forward to the new football season. Feel kinda bad from some of the delusional Illinois fans. Only a matter of time until they see fading light.
April 5th, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Excelllent post Pick! It truly feels like the FO and staff could get and keep this team relevent for a long time. It doesnt hurt to have a franchise QB either 😉 I have been excited for upcoming seasons before and thought we were headed in the right direction before but this just feels different. LETS GO Bucs!!
April 5th, 2016 at 3:49 pm
@pickgrin..Excellent post!! I wanted to read it like 10 times..
April 5th, 2016 at 7:50 pm
I haven’t been this excited about an upcoming season since Chuckys first year…I think Koetter has a lot to prove; the coaching staff he has assembled is undeniable proof of how respected he is in the coaching ranks…
I expect big things from the “Youngry” Buccaneers squad. We have a great locker room fulled with young talented players who wanna be coached and are literally chomping at the bit to get better…As a fan it feels good to know that we’re building a Juggernaut that every team in the league will have to deal with for a long time…