Invisible
November 4th, 2016
Joe is a fan of big-money defensive end Robert Ayers, but the guy is starting to resemble Michael “Ghost” Johnson, the ugliest memory of the 2014 season.
Ayers is now two games back from a Week 2 ankle injury, and he’s been rather invisible in both games.
He’s barely a blip on the box score.
Yeah, he’s coming back from an injury. Joe gives Ayers a mulligan for the Raiders game, but what about last night?
Not acceptable.
It’s midseason in the NFL. Lots of guys are battling injuries on both sides of the ball, especially in the trenches.
The Bucs are paying Ayers about $8 million this season. At 31 years old, he won’t be back for a second year unless he can have a rousing second half of the season. Johnson was banged up during his one year in Tampa, and the Bucs paid him a huge buyout ransom not to return in 2015.
Again, Ayers is way more of an effort and team guy than Johnson, but he must produce.
Remember, Gerald McCoy is supposed to be making those around him better, and every current coach Joe hears swears McCoy is that guy. So by that logic, Ayers certainly has no excuse.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:05 am
What about DBs that can’t stop a simple pattern five passes in a row? Of course, they’re far better than Jonathon Banks. But at least Banks wouldn’t get punked around like an 8 yr old trying to cover a grown man
November 4th, 2016 at 7:12 am
Chris.
That opening drive after the half was laughable. I swear, Atl did that just to see how many times they could get away with it. We got punked at home again.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:12 am
Tell this GM of ours we don’t have time to keep giving up picks because he has this thing for jumping up into the second round.
And for the coaching Koetter did have a head coaching gig at Arizona state ya know? Smitty last good defense was in Jacksonville. Not Atlanta just saying.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:18 am
Terrible GM but he’s a buddy of Joes and they have a beer patented together. He’s the fool that drafted a too slow 5’9 DB in the first round and traded up into the second round for a kicker , when every single Buc fan knew we weren’t talented on defense and wr. But he continues to get a pass. Oh and an old 33 yr old DB passed his prime who the Dolphins gave up on.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:18 am
This is Tampa! Sure write an article about Robert ayers being invisible for two games when McCoy never shows up on the stat sheet. But everyone says McCoy is the guy right yea so McCoy is the man all week except on Sundays
November 4th, 2016 at 7:19 am
come on jets
give 2 #1s for jameis winston and promise licht a scout job
#freejaboo
November 4th, 2016 at 7:25 am
Get the big paycheck and coast. The Alvin Harper business model.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:32 am
He sure talks a big game
November 4th, 2016 at 7:32 am
He not quite ready for this label yet, give him a few more games.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:52 am
Time to think about trading McCoy. Maybe a team would be stupid enough to give up a first round pick for him, but I would be happy with a 2nd round pick. Need to stock up on draft picks to build this team back up in volume. It is obvious McCoy can’t do it by himself.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:54 am
HARSH …
Looks like Somebody had a Late Night
November 4th, 2016 at 7:54 am
Trading McCoy sounds great…but no team wants to take on that bloated contract. It would be like paying above sticker price for a “cute” Fiat.
November 4th, 2016 at 7:59 am
<em*Possible Cap Casualties 2017
• Alterraun Verner CB $6,500,000
• Brent Grimes CB $6,500,000
• Robert Ayers DE $4,000,000
• George Johnson DE $2,250,000
• Clinton McDonald DT $2,000,000
• Louis Murphy WR $2,000,000
Total Additional Cap Space
= $23,250,000
November 4th, 2016 at 8:10 am
Glad to see Ayers getting called out. There go the McCoy haters again 🙄
November 4th, 2016 at 8:19 am
Dump the 4-3
Move to a 3-4 w/Monster Dime Package
Defensive Line
• Calais Campbell DT 30
• Dontari Poe NT 26
• William Gholston DE 25
Defensive Backs
• Stephon Gilmore CB 26
• Robert Alford CB 28
• Tony Jefferson S/SS 24
• John Cyprien S/SS 26
Offense
• Kendall Wright WR 26
• Pierre Garcon WR 30
Note: This means we must find a trade partner GMAC (Dallas??)
November 4th, 2016 at 8:20 am
It MUST be GMC’s fault!
November 4th, 2016 at 8:27 am
JonBuc
Dallas came very close to trade a high round pick for Sheldon Richardson.
But decided against the trade – do to his off the field problems.
An the fact the would have give a high draft – and resign him to a big contract.
Gerald the complete opposite + plus his contract is basically no guaranteed moving forward. Giving Dallas the flexiblity to restructure – without taking on a lot dead money.
Giving the fact he’s from the area Oklahoma/Northern Texas. The fanbase will be geeked.
LUV & Respect GMAC. But if a new coach comes in here – and wants to run a 3-4.
Gerald has stated many times that – he wouldn’t be down with that.
November 4th, 2016 at 8:30 am
*Offense
• Kendall Wright WR 26
• Pierre Garcon WR 30
• Terrance Williams WR 27
November 4th, 2016 at 8:49 am
@LUV- You know, I’m starting to come around on the idea of trading McCoy. Clearly, the fanbase here doesn’t appreciate what they have and his talents are being wasted. It’s a shame. Everybody else disappears and yet all fingers point to him.
I think what we’ve learned so far this year is that um, players play and coaches coach. Was it really ALL on the scheme last year? Or, was it the fact that we simply don’t have very much talent?
Where’s the improvement?
November 4th, 2016 at 8:54 am
Seems like smitty head is going to be given to darcie glazers alter to satisfy her anger…scapegoat medium well…cooking the licht way
Backstabbing is what i do – jason gump
Still think glazers going to bring a overseer ceo to takover the whole operation
November 4th, 2016 at 9:02 am
Nothing is going to change until the Glazers sell this team. If they don’t this team will always be the Browns of the South.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:02 am
Joe:
The game is way different than most of us remember . We must understand the speed of the game has increased dramatically. You once had 1 number 1 receiver now you have 2 #1s. Before you had 1 running back who ran the ball 30 times every game now you have 3 that split 15/10/5. My point is Robert Ayres is not as bad as you may think our defense is not as bad as we may assume . They may just be TIRED considering we have no real talent behind our starters .
November 4th, 2016 at 9:10 am
Hopefully this happens:
#1–Keep DK in place as head coach for AT LEAST 2 more seasons,
Glazer Bros.
#2–DK gets rid of Smith at season’s end. He STINKS as a DC.
#3–We will go 8-8. Still can’t get over Raheem Morris coaching the
Dixie Birds’ receivers. He will be a head coach again.
Go Bucs!!
November 4th, 2016 at 9:14 am
Falcons called for a facemask penalty at Tamp’s 23. Koetter declines the penalty, making it 4th and 7, and an easy FG for Atlanta. He knows this defense is one of the worst in the last few decades. He didn’t believe they could get off the field on 3rd and 22. That my friends, is the Bucs season in a nutshell. Someone has already said it, if Harbaugh wins the national championship…the Harbaugh courtship will begin, and yes he has a buyout in his contract like smart coaches do. However, this mess goes beyond a great coach. This is a team that believed it was good enough to draft a kicker in the second round, instead of get another pass rusher or corner. Think about that as every D-linemen struggles to sniff the QB…and Atlanta’s slot corner just happens to be an undrafted free agent, who has played exceptionally well. The product on the field is only there, because of those who put them there. And for those who think a healthy Jacquies Smith and Clinton McDonald would make a difference, in this defense
…keep the dream alive. Yeah…it’s a Bucs life.
November 4th, 2016 at 9:20 am
#purge
November 4th, 2016 at 9:22 am
The GM is the worst in NFL HISTORY…get rid of this moron
November 4th, 2016 at 9:43 am
I officially don’t care anymore
November 4th, 2016 at 9:55 am
Bucsfanman
Yeah, LUV the youngman. But as a organization we’ve done a terrible job of putting complementary pieces around him. Now do to his age & contract – its time to move him. Dallas looks like the most logically spot for him.
It would be a win – win for both parts. Gerald can join a winning organization, and we’ll get a premuim pick or two. Plus additional capspace for our revamped defensive line.
Never thought I would say this as well. But Detroit been looking for a serviceable linebacker ever since Chris Spielman. If the want to give up a premium pick for Lavonte – Do it
I LUV what our organization has accomplished from 95′-08′ (the good & bad). But it’s time to stop living in the past.
-Every (3tech) will be compared to Sapp
-Every (will) linebacker will be compared to Brooks
-Every (DE) will compared to Rice.
Time to switch the defense (back to a 3-4) – and start a new era of Buccaneer football.
Give Jim Harbaugh the biggest contract the league has ever seen w/ full controll. An lets move on. Hopefully he’ll hire Jim Tomsula as new defensive line coach
November 4th, 2016 at 10:19 am
LUV- You hit it man! It’s so frustrating listening to the comparisons. We can’t move forward.
I agree with all your points, even though I’m a fan of both players. Symbolically, moving those players might help fans move beyond their perceptions and hang-ups.
I would love to see a hard-nosed coach like Harbaugh come here.
November 4th, 2016 at 10:21 am
Ahhhhh reminds me of the Freeman years. That LB can’t tackle or that corner can’t cover anyone. That WR can’t catch, that linemen can’t block. All the wasted time by all of us. Trying to figure out why we suck. Mention anything along the lines of the fact that Freeman stinks. That those 5 way off throws each game. Render him unable to play in the NFL. And people lose their ship. Well here we go again. Yesterday was a perfect example of that from afar. Winston # look good. But lets think about the game. He matched Ryan in the first half and was playing well. Then after the half Ryan kept going. Leading scoring drives while #3 was stalling drives with his inaccuracy. He came alive again in garbage time. He looked great in garbage time don’t get me wrong. But then again Glennon looked like the greatest QB in NFL history haha. Garbage time stats are about as relevant as those preseason stats you all love
November 4th, 2016 at 10:53 am
GMac is supposed to make those around him better and coaches swear he’s that guy? Well how many D-linemen have we brought through here and lined up next to GMac and how many of them have actually been better? Cause I can’t think of any.
At some point, you have to start to think he’s the problem.
November 4th, 2016 at 10:55 am
Look, we are a bad football team. I’m not even sure if being a good football team is in sight. I totally get this mentality of getting rid of everyone (coaches, players, GM, etc.) and starting over, but basing off of history, what makes you think that would work? We’ve been doing that for the last 8 years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the other teams around the league. Those teams that continue to hire and fire are all basement dwellers. It just doesn’t work. Besides, what leads you to believe this organization can hire or scout good enough?
We have to have stability. It sucks to lose. No one is more pissed than me. I’ve been to 7 of the 8 games this season. That’s a lot of money and heartbreak. But we are just going to have to take it. How many more times do we need to get rid of players and watch them thrive somewhere else? I remember everyone wanting to get rid of Legarette Blount because he fumbled, or couldn’t convert a 3rd and inches. How does it feel to watch him kill it in NE? Talib, Revis, Bennett, etc. The list goes on and on. What do you think would happen if we got rid of GMC, Lavonte, or Doug? Those guys are Pro Bowlers, unlike those other guys I listed. It’s the system, the organization, and the players around them. We have to build around our nucleus, not blow it up.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:01 am
“GMac is supposed to make those around him better and coaches swear he’s that guy? Well how many D-linemen have we brought through here and lined up next to GMac and how many of them have actually been better? Cause I can’t think of any.”
——–
Michael Bennett quickly comes to mind. Ask yourself this: how many d-linemen have we brought in that were premier pass rushers? Ayers has had one good season his entire career. Ghost Johnson, same thing. Aside from Bennett, how many of these “guys we’ve brought in” have gone elsewhere and thrived? You can only make the guys around you better to a point. Besides, our secondary is horrendous. They play 10 yards off the receivers virtually every play. There is no one D-lineman in the history of football that can dominate a game by himself. It takes the unit to work together, which we haven’t been able to do.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:18 am
#3 went 3-7 for 35 yards. In the 3rd quarter while Ryan drove his team over and over again. He went 7-12 for 90 yards and a TD in garbage time. If he didn’t get hurt there was another 75 yards passing and a TD there for the taking. So his line could of been 24-38 335yards and 4TD no INTs. How could a guy with that stat line be blamed for the loss. Easy the 3rd quarter drive stalls were the reason we lost. Let me guess….we have no weapons. We both have #1 WR Evans and Jones. They had a backup TE and were missing a RB with 5TDs. Ok Sanu is better than our #2 but our slot WR is better than theirs.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:25 am
They signed this guy and I came on here saying…so what.
Still saying…so what.
November 4th, 2016 at 11:38 am
Poor Bucs fan.
November 4th, 2016 at 12:58 pm
@Poor Glennon,
Are you being sarcastic, or just stupid? It’s really hard to tell. Aside from the fact that we don’t have a #2, we’re on our 5th string RB, we have a TE that couldn’t start for one other team in the NFL, and an OL that is getting destroyed, our weapons are just as good as Atlanta. You know, the team with the best WR in the game, a Pro-bowl, stud RB, one of the best #2 WR’s in the game, an OL that is 10 times better than ours, and a backup TE that could walk into One Buc tomorrow and instantly be our starter. But yeah, they’re missing their backup RB who has 5 TD’s and their TE, so everything is equal. LMAO. The stupid is really flowing today.