“He Walks Around With His Shirt Tucked In”
February 7th, 2017
Genuine, says teammate. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com)
When you watch America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, getting his squad fired up before a game or tomahawk chopping on the sidelines at Kansas City, it’s not schtick.
That comes from none other than Bucs starting cornerback Vernon Hargreaves.
In a recent appearance on something called “Big Three Rollup,” which Joe can only assume is an ode to a sweet treat, Hargreaves noted Jameis is the real deal, 24/7, and that’s a very good thing.
“The person you see on TV and the interviews and before the game with the pregame speeches, that’s him every day,” Hargreaves said. “All the time. First one in, last one to leave. First one in meetings. He walks around with his shirt tucked in. I love him.
“We both admired each other and we didn’t know it. He’s impressive. I am excited for what the future holds. He is going to do some great things for us.
“There is always some competition between me and him. He keeps it intense. That’s always how it’s going to be.”
Joe loves to hear that — Hargreaves keeps Jameis on his toes and Jameis tests Hargreaves on the practice field. Teammates making each other better.
Isn’t that how it is supposed to be?
February 7th, 2017 at 5:13 am
Hope its contagious
February 7th, 2017 at 5:29 am
The culture is changing right in front of our eyes. Lets sit back and enjoy the ride.
February 7th, 2017 at 5:57 am
Hopefully Licht gets him some real talent on offense
February 7th, 2017 at 6:00 am
Nothing but streetfa/udfa is all Jameis had to work with other than Evans sad and surprising Bucs went 9-7
February 7th, 2017 at 7:04 am
Listen. Brady has a less powerful WR group and gets it done. True we could get him more weapons… BUT we have to protect him and open up running lanes. The o-line is way more important… James White!?
No to a RB in the first.
February 7th, 2017 at 7:52 am
Another thing to think about…4 VERTICAL offense right? Well Jameis will need time to throw, I.e line help OR Dirk has to seriously tweak his playbook. I love the fact we go deep ALOT. But it seems like every drop back is atleast a 5 stepper. We all want different needs addressed in certain scenarios. But Dirk MUST do a better job play calling.
February 7th, 2017 at 7:58 am
Nothing but streetfa/udfa is all Jameis had to work with other than Evans sad and surprising Bucs went 9-7
Yep Guzzie. And if people paid attention to the SB they saw the Falcons use the exact same formula as the Bucs to lose that game.
How many games last year did the Bucs lose because the offense was totally inadequate not #3’s fault…we had the slowest least explosive skill players in the league last year. ME13 was the ONLY real difference maker.
And by totally inadequate I mean we need an offense to protect the lead as well as defense. If the Falcons had run more time off the clock…kept their gassed defense off the field and given Bryant one more kick they win. Same thing happened to the Bucs last year or we’d have won 11 or 12 games!!!
NE did NOT win this game in the trenches. Where was their vaunted defense in the first half?
I get the need for more OL and DL. But again one could imagine if chips fall into place both lines could be decent…lacking depth so health is the issue.
But what are you guys seeing in the backfield? Quizz Rodgers is not the equivalent of ME13…he’s a Hump in the backfield…nice player but no star!!
Peyton Barber? Really? Doug Martin can’t even play for the first three games and when he does play if you look at his production for 60% of the time he’s not even Brate or Hump.
Bottom line we got NOTHIN’ in our backfield. Nobody to tote the rock. Let’s just all line up and tee off on #3…ignore his play action fakes because we know the Bucs have NO RB.
Some of you wish to gamble and take an RB later in the draft. It “COULD” work out. Same is true of WR. We NEED SPEED desperately. Poor #3 is piloting an offense that scares NOBODY.
Sign a speedy WR..Jackson…Stills..a solid #2…sign a solid DL like we did with Ayers last year…my fave is Poe but Campbell would work as well..
Then pray Dalvin drops far enough for us to draft and use a couple of picks to move up and get Curtis Samuels. We are in the playoffs and could….go…..all….the….way!!!!
The average winning score of the SB the past five years has been 32.6 points.
Does anybody see 32 points out of our SLOW offense? The NFL wants scoring…they loathe 12-9 games and have changed the rules accordingly. We either adapt or lose!
February 7th, 2017 at 8:03 am
Whatda – the scheme, I think, is a big reason the Pats can be so successful without the dominant offensive weapons. They need quick and precise route runners to spread the field and create space. They are easier to find than big and fast WRs and RBs. It doesn’t hurt to have a goat at QB. I’m of a mind that the 4 deep offense needs both protection and skill. The offense still needs pieces in the trenches and on the outside.
I’ll say, though, that after this weekend I am even more convinced that the culture is more important than anything else. All the players in the NFL are supremely talented from a physical standpoint. Coaching goes a long way. Leadership is important. But, a culture where ALL the players buy in, on and off the field, play for each other and give 100% effort mentally and physically is how dynasties are made. Hopefully the Bucs have the first pieces in place to make that happen.
February 7th, 2017 at 8:22 am
@Stpete
“The average winning score of the SB the past five years has been 32.6 points. Does anybody see 32 points out of our SLOW offense?”
Remember. Stats do not tell the whole story. I went back and looked at SBs 46-50 and the winning offense in those 5 games averaged 24.4 points. If you add in SB 51 it goes up to 26 points. Which is obviously much easier to obtain.
On the other hand, we scored 26+ points in 6 out of 16 games this season which isnt good enough. We do have to improve.
February 7th, 2017 at 8:24 am
Bculaw
Amen brother well said!
Again as to the specifics of the SB…NE got CRUSHED in the trenches the first half! Brady was running around like a chicken with his head cut off throwing a CRITICAL PICK SIX right before the half. The problem was that the Falcons gashed the Pats for such big plays they weren’t on the field much..less than 20 plays I think. Meanwhile the Pats had twice as many plays…not successful but the Falcons D shot their wad in the first half…they were totally gassed in the 4th Q.
Brady did not win that game! The Falcon D did not lose it The Falcons offense lost it!!! Blame Shanahan’s play calling…call them chokers…I dont’ care what the reason but they looked like the Bucs on offense the 2nd half.
Sometimes you gotta pay attention to cliches. The best defense is a great offense and particularly an offense that can RUN the ball and burn some clock.
February 7th, 2017 at 8:46 am
@Stpete
I also looked up how the teams in those same SB ranked in points per game during that regular season.
SB 46 – Giants (7th) beat Patriots (3rd)
SB 47 – Ravens (11th) beat 49ers (8th)
SB 48 – Seahwaks (8th) beat Broncos (1st)
SB 49 – Patriots (1st) beat Seahawks (9th)
SB 50 – Broncos (18th) beat Panthers (1st)
SB 51 – Patriots (3rd) beat Falcons (1st)
So in the past 6 SBs the higher scoring team won 1 time, and they won on a defensive play lol.
February 7th, 2017 at 9:00 am
Stpetebucsfan… Lol I hear ya big homie. We do NEED a RB. That’s a given. Like I said, different wants… Same NEEDS. I’m just saying, the, Dot must be replaced. And we need a C to boot. I’m certain of one thing though… The culture here has changed. I’m so not a fan of trading up this year.
Trading up… Only for
C Davis
or
D Barrett
And if the kid checks out I’m grabbing Mixon in the 2nd.
FA will be key this offseason. Who wants to come here? Are we really looked at by players around the league that’s taking the next step. So excited!!!!!
February 7th, 2017 at 9:09 am
Pete don’t be surprised when that line up you are brokering happens right before your eyes good sir.
February 7th, 2017 at 9:17 am
Bculaw… We have the nucleus in #3 & Spawn.
February 7th, 2017 at 9:36 am
matt ryan winning an MVP and having his best ever season in his 9th or 10th year and looking to have plenty of gas in the tank. Tom Brady arguably playing his best football in his 17th season. Jameis in year 2. Might we FINALLY be one of those teams that gets to take the most important position in football for granted for nearly 2 decades, and set the playoffs as the new minimum standard?
February 7th, 2017 at 11:09 am
Joey
Thanks for putting some real though into those numbers. That’s the way to make your point.
Part of this is also quite honestly my personal preference. I think we can all agree that there is more than one way to skin the cat…explosive offense…stifling defense…balanced combo of the two. But growing up I LOVED the old AFL!!! I still remember giving my father the business when Namath and the Jets won that SB. I like good defense..the first Q of the SB was pretty entertaining…but I LOVE big plays…they are the equivalent of a knockdown in the UFC. And if we had the kind of running game to just totally protect any 4th quarter lead that is like choking the other team out. I LOVE offense! So I confess I’m prejudiced. I enjoy Kwon and the guys but I LOVE watching #3…let’s just get him some game changers on O
Two years ago our O was way ahead of our D…thanks perhaps to Lovie’s great D coaching…DK was still OC both years. But last year Smitty got the D to catch up and by the end of the year the D was ahead of the O.
As for the OL….starting lineup if all my dreams came true and the players worked out and were healthy.
Tackles – D Smith and Caleb Benenoch
Guards – Sweezy and Pamphile
Center – Marpet…depth…EDS and or Hawley unless he bolts.
I get the two big questions there…will Sweezy be healthy and is Benenoch’s development far enough along. But at least I can “imagine” a good lineup…
I can’t even imagine a good lineup in our backfield from the existing group.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:13 am
I believe Jameis Winston needs better playcalling from Dirk Koetter. We can get him all the weapons on Earth. But with poor playcalling, it won’t make a difference.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:43 am
@Stpete
You’re right. And I would have those same 2 questions about the OL lineup lol. Just like you said there is more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to winning a ring. There is more than one way to fix the offense. I can’t wait to see how they do it.
February 7th, 2017 at 5:09 pm
If we play our cards right we could fill holes in the trenches and at RB and WR. We have cap money for FA and we have at least 7 draft picks. We need Licht to work some magic.
February 7th, 2017 at 7:11 pm
That pic is too funny. I nominate that pic the best of the past season.
February 7th, 2017 at 11:29 pm
The pats WR geoup is waaaaaaaay better than what the bucs have. Edelman, amendola, hogan, and bennett are a decent group. No barn burners, but adequate route runners and can get open. I think a lot of that is really play calling. The pats are the kings of pick plays and rub routes. The weapon they use the most is the quickness of those smaller recievers. Also having a good variety helps. You dont need to double cover any of them, but you have to play tight on all of them. They can go 4 deep at WR and any one of them could get the ball on any given play.
For the bucs, koetter and winston have a much different offensive philosophy. They dont like short passing. They want big chunks. But the wrs we had just cant get open consistently down field. Dirk and jameis rely on having play makers at WR. Dirk needs to do a better job at adjusting his offense to fit his players. He failed in this aspect this past season. But the blame isnt solely on dirk, Licht needs to give us some usable talent as depth. Our wr depth was atrocious from day 1.
February 8th, 2017 at 8:51 am
Excited about the future. Long time lurker, Bucs fan since the 80’s. What do you guys think changed in our offense from 2 years ago and this last season? I know Vjax being sidelined didn’t help, but we didn’t have any real burners 2 years ago. Do you think Koetter is intentionally dialing it back a little due to the QB turnovers? I’m a big fan of #3 but he has got to get better at protecting the ball. While I love the gunslinger mentality (Farve, Rivers, etc) protecting the ball results in better consistency and deeper playoff runs. Go Bucs! Going to be an interesting offseason