For. No. Good. Reason.
January 26th, 2017
Remembering this braindead transaction makes Joe just want to scream!
Caution: If you choose to click “read more,” please first ensure there are no projectiles within arm’s reach and that you are convinced you are either safe at home or securely entrenched in your job.
There are really boneheaded moves in sports that live on through the ages. Selling Babe Ruth. Trading Steve Carlton for Rick Wise. Trading Brett Favre for a second round pick.
The Bucs have had their share of imbecilic moves in their dark history. Drafting Bo Jackson after he informed the Bucs not to. Trading a first round pick for Jack Thompson. Cutting Darrelle Revis.
While the following move may not be up there in sheer stupidity, it’s razor close: letting All-Pro defensive end and Super Bowl–winner Michael Bennett walk away for no good reason.
Over in Orlando yesterday, Bennett and his good friend Bucs stud Gerald McCoy were palling around while “practicing” for Sunday’s Pro Bowl. There, Kevin O’Donnell of WTVT-TV Channel 13 caught up with the two and GMC and Bennett hollered on camera about the Bucs letting Bennett go after the 2012 season.
For no good reason.
The thought of that moronic transaction just makes Joe want to billy-club the responsible party — a move that a drunk in Hooters could see was absurd beyond words. Joe really, really wants to punch a wall because it was a direct slap in the face to sane football fans and a steel-boot kick in the nuts to Bucs fans in particular.
For a team that was publicly bawling out loud for a pass rusher — and burned how many draft picks in an effort to find one? — to dump a guy who had nine sacks, proved to be stellar against the run with 43 tackles, and more importantly wanted to stay in Tampa Bay, was mind-boggling on an epic scale.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Bennett supposedly had a bum shoulder. That’s what injury settlements are for!!! You put clauses in his contract that can be voided if his shoulder can’t handle the rigors of the NFL!!!
It wasn’t like the Bucs were trading for Bennett or drafting him. He was already on the friggin’ roster!
How is it Joe can figure this out and guys getting paid seven figures couldn’t? Just insanity! And folks wonder why the Bucs have only had two winning seasons since Chucky was jettisoned.
So if you want to ruin your day, go ahead and watch O’Donnell’s video below. You’ll see Bennett is still hacked off the Bucs didn’t bring him back. Still!
True, it wasn’t the worst move the Bucs made since Joe launched this site in 2008, but it is paper-thin close. Remember how Lovie Smith was too embarrassed to coach the Senior Bowl after running the Bucs into the ground with a 2-12 record after the 2014 season?
Guess he was trying to hide from getting questioned why a Hall of Fame cornerback was good enough to start for the Belicheats in the Super Bowl but not good enough for his two-win fiasco?
(Interestingly, John Fox doesn’t thinks coaching the Senior Bowl is beneath him.)
Now pardon Joe — Joe must clean up the mess made Frisbee’ing his bowl of corn flakes across the kitchen. Readers may want to have barf bags nearby after watching O’Donnell’s video.
Former Bucs DE Michael Bennett crashes my interview w/ Gerald McCoy at @NFLProBowl still upset he’s not a Buc. **Must hear **@TBBuccaneers pic.twitter.com/BDZgLu2Qv8
— Kevin ODonnell Fox13 (@ODonnellFox13) January 25, 2017
January 26th, 2017 at 5:14 am
We got a good thing going now. Sure it wouldve been great if Bennet was a part of it. Can’t dwell on it tho
January 26th, 2017 at 5:26 am
I know the guy is good but he seems to play on that edge of a dirty player. Yeah we need attitude on our team but Bennet takes things to far on and off the field. He cost his team alot of bad PR and lots of penalty yardage. He seems like the type of guy that would be bad for a losing locker room.
January 26th, 2017 at 5:39 am
Looked up the word ‘Bucs’ in Webster’s dictionary. They defined it as ‘An NFL franchise known for bonehead personnel moves.’ Works for me.
Fans have historically blamed the GMs & HCs for our poor record of performance, and rightfully so. But the real culprits in this annual melodrama is the Glazers in my opinion. They’re the ones who made consistently poor decisions picking GMs & HCs. They’re the ones who for years tried to get away ‘on the cheap’ when it came to stocking the roster with talent, then changed HCs every couple of years when they couldn’t make it work. It’s easy to blame Lovie for example for all his bonehead moves (very easy), but at some point folks have to ask ‘Who ever put a guy like that in charge in the first place then gave him GM-oversight to go along with it?’
January 26th, 2017 at 5:43 am
I saw it last night and almost threw up!
January 26th, 2017 at 6:11 am
Wasn’t the “Rock Star” GM responsible for this move?
January 26th, 2017 at 6:18 am
Wonder why he blames the Glazers. I’m sure it was the brain trust of Schiano and Dominik that decided he wasn’t good enough, not the owners. Shoot that may be a big reason they were both canned. That was one of a litany of suspect personnel moved that offseason.
January 26th, 2017 at 6:24 am
Our current GM does not have the greatest record of FA signings and or draft picks yet either…
So..the responsibility lies with the Glazers for poor hiring. Simple as that.
January 26th, 2017 at 6:29 am
What he said stands out , 8 players from that Bucs team , proves what horrible coach lovie was . . . Anyone know who the eight are ?
January 26th, 2017 at 6:32 am
Thank one person for this imbecilic move of epic proportion Mr.Lee.
Your beloved “rockstar” Gm.
Simple as that.
January 26th, 2017 at 6:40 am
8 FREAKING PLAYERS!!!!!!
THATS ALL ABOUT POOP FOR COACHING…
IF THE COACH SAYS HE NEEDS DIFFERENT GUYS THE GM GOES AND GETS THEM…
SIMPLE AS THAT…. (Dam thought I would never type that again.)
January 26th, 2017 at 6:52 am
8???? 8???? 8!!!!!
Ridiculous
January 26th, 2017 at 7:10 am
Your right Joe but not as moronic as calling Mccoy a stud.
January 26th, 2017 at 7:43 am
Fling….SMASH
January 26th, 2017 at 7:55 am
@Sunny
Former/current Players in Pro Bowl i can think of
1.Gerald McCoy
2. Michael Bennett
3. Jeremy Zuttah
4. AqibTalib
5. Donald Penn
6.Mike Evans
7. Matt Bryant
January 26th, 2017 at 8:03 am
It makes me pissed to hear that there are good players out there that WANTED to stay in Tampa and we didn’t keep em. SMDH.
January 26th, 2017 at 8:25 am
@Joe
There is a reason!!!! It was because mark dominik wanted to crowbar his draft picks into the starting lineup!!!
Its funny how in the 4 year stay of Micheal Bennett with the Bucs, Coach Greg Schiano was the only one to start Bennett for 16 games!!!!!!
mark dominik, worst gm in Bucs history!!!!!!!!
Its no wonder the Bucs get better each day it gets further away from that idiot!!!!!!!!
January 26th, 2017 at 8:29 am
Thanks Dom!!!!
PR reported that the impasse for keeping Bennett was “less than $500k”.
Can you even imagine that the Bucs let Bennett walk for less than half of what they paid a rehabbing Revis for ONE GAME…. Let that sink in.
January 26th, 2017 at 8:39 am
Ugh
January 26th, 2017 at 8:59 am
I guess I am going to have to research the Pro Bowl roster to find out who the 8 are
January 26th, 2017 at 9:00 am
Good franchises usually don’t make THIS big of a mistake. It’s not like his sack numbers were “under the radar”. He should STILL be a BUC!
I blame the entire organization. PERIOD!
January 26th, 2017 at 9:03 am
Let it go…already
January 26th, 2017 at 9:06 am
^^^^^^
January 26th, 2017 at 9:07 am
lets NOT forget wasting 2 high draft picks on a kicker!. yuck ..with different gm
January 26th, 2017 at 9:10 am
Yea and joe wants to do the same with gholston! Real smart joe.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:11 am
I would never consider releasing Revis a bad mood. He did not want to be here.
When asked what our colors were he said red and some other color. The guy thanked Lovie for cutting him.
The only bad part in the revis deal is acquiring him at all for a first round pick.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:12 am
bad move**
January 26th, 2017 at 9:18 am
Some think that lovie the incompetent one did one good thing, and that was somehow he greenlit the inevitable selecting of the #1 draft pick JW3. But the best thing coach my scheme did was when he interview and accepted the Bucs head coaching job in October 2013 was that he did not want to work with and fired mark dominik!!!!!!!
Let the history books show the truth!!!!!!
lovie fired mark dominik in Oct 2013!!!!!!!!!!
January 26th, 2017 at 9:22 am
Mark Dominic said a few months back that he wanted to keep Bennett but it was “a team decision” to let him go which tells me that Schiano didn’t see him as “a Buccaneer man”.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:33 am
This franchise has certainly had a long and consistent history of making very poor personnel decisions in the past. Hopefully moving forward that trend will be behind us. Every team makes a bone headed decision here and there, but you can’t make a practice of it and expect to be champions.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:33 am
No need to break it down but Charles Haley was little “too real” for San Francisco but fit in quite well in Dallas once Jerry Jones snagged him. Michael Bennett after having watched him from a distance might’ve been a little too real for the Bucs organization but fit inn quite under Carrol in Seattle. I really hope we lose this a guy has to be polished up a certain way to be a Buc, you missed out a lot good football players doing that.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:34 am
I don’t care whose fault it is. It was a stupid move of epic proportions.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:35 am
What waterboy said. That mindset needs to change and needs to change in a d@$! hurry.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:37 am
He sold us out. He was suppose to let us match Seattles offer. Instead he just signed with Seattle. Points to character. Or lack there of. This guy would have been a cancer on a losing team. Good riddance.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:46 am
Schiano probably wanted him gone for some stupid reason like not covering his mouth when he coughed or perhaps he kept changing the thermostat at one buc place or maybe he had bad breath. SMH
January 26th, 2017 at 9:49 am
What a waist of time. We’ll years ago I shoulda,woulda,coulda. Someone lives in the past lol.move on man. Wow I can’t believe fans still talk about him.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:56 am
@Rob- It’s hard NOT to talk about him when you think about all the years we’ve talked about a pass-rush. Then, to see him at the Pro Bowl and talking about how he wanted to stay in Tampa Bay. I get your point but the subject of pass-rushers gives most Buc fans sore a$$es.
Maybe this will be the year that helps us forget! Lets hope!
January 26th, 2017 at 10:24 am
The dumbest move since 2008 is trading a 3rd and a 4th for a bum kicker. No other transaction is close to being the worse.
January 26th, 2017 at 10:51 am
Realist how could lovie have fired Mark in oct 2013 when lovie wasn’t hired until Jan 2014?
January 26th, 2017 at 11:02 am
Everybody here can be distraught he’s not a Buc. I AM NOT. From where I’m sitting, Bennett went to seattle and showed his true colors. Adopting the richard sherman outlook on life and that “best white running back” comment just a few weeks back…No Thanks. Keep the liberal BS up in seattle where it belongs..That includes Bennett
January 26th, 2017 at 11:27 am
yall sound like fools worrying about having choir boys and conservatives on the team… can the MF play football? is the only question that needs to be answered
January 26th, 2017 at 11:59 am
@Dirks Great GranPappy
You must be new here, so you just get a warning!!!! Take my words as gospel and you will do alright around here!!!!
The Glazers meet with coach my scheme in october in 2013!!! Firing mark dominik was one of his demands as well as roster control!!!! That is why it was so funny when the Tampa2 mafia and lovie loyalist claimed that coach my scheme was backstabbed for his job, when he interviewed months before the Coach Greg Schaino was fired!!!!!
and he was none too happy when Coach Greg Schaino went .500 for the last 8 games of the season!!! losing out of a top 5 draft pick!!!!!!
That is all!!!!!!!!!!!
January 26th, 2017 at 12:59 pm
Frankly, I am sick and tired of reliving it several times every year.
January 26th, 2017 at 2:18 pm
Wasn’t a Schiano man. Dominik has all but said that it was a Schiano thing.
January 26th, 2017 at 2:28 pm
@salish_seamonster
Funny, you should listen to sirius/xm radio where dominik has said multiple times that it was the medical staff!!! Then it is speculated that dominik told the medical staff too so he could low ball offer him!!!!!
January 26th, 2017 at 6:28 pm
wow evo your a moron
January 26th, 2017 at 10:31 pm
It’s a double edged sword when talking about dominick and his track record. We did have some talented dudes come to tampa thanks to mark. But in that same breath he let those same talented dudes walk right back out. I know schiano had a lot to do with purging the roster, in favor of Schiano Men. But mark was the GM before schiano was there, it was ultimately his doing.
Those schiano years set us back at least 5 years as far as roster development. We cut loose a ton of talented players. Im sure Joe could list them all, but that list is far too long for me to recall.
February 8th, 2017 at 5:03 pm
Damm I didn’t think I would be sick but EIGHT players there now who was w/ the Bucs!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!! Thanx the heavens for Jameis!