Risky
July 11th, 2018
Overpaid?
One thing Joe can say about Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, the guy isn’t scared of playing roulette.
Licht is a gambler. He gambled on America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston. He gambled drafting a kicker in the second round. And Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report thinks Licht gambled on center Ryan Jensen.
At center, Ryan Jensen started all 16 games for the first time in his career with the Ravens in 2017. He parlayed a solid year into a four-year, $42 million deal during the offseason. The fourth-year pro’s $22 million in guarantees lists fifth among all players at his position.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a big swing at a one-year wonder in a full-time starting role. Jensen doesn’t have an extensive body of work that would make a fanbase feel comfortable, but his presence allows Ali Marpet to move back to right guard. Essentially, the acquisition addressed two interior spots.
It’s possible we saw Jensen’s best in Baltimore, but the Buccaneers hope he’s a long-term solution and a foundational piece for an offensive line that needs a push up front in the ground attack. If the former Raven fails to deliver, many will look back at this deal as a head-scratcher.
Well, it seems Marpet is moving to his third position in three years, left guard. But Joe gets Moton’s drift here.
As for Jensen, yeah, prior to last year he was a reserve. The most starts he has had in one season to last year was six in 2015.
At least Jensen stops the revolving door at center that has been the norm more often than not since 2015.
Joe knows the following isn’t a popular theory: but when it comes to offensive line, Joe trusts Licht, a former offensive lineman for Tom Osbourne at Nebraska.
July 11th, 2018 at 10:34 am
Jason is a scout not a GM
July 11th, 2018 at 10:34 am
Licht (according to Buccaneers.com) started at U of Nebraska, but finished up at
Nebraska Weslyan. You can look it up- big difference!
July 11th, 2018 at 10:43 am
Yeah and Tom Brady was a 6th round pick who rode the pine until an injury. I feel like center is a position you can’t just really be a one hit wonder you have to be good because you are one on one every game and knowing protections sliding them chipping other guys. Its not like a one hit wonder linebacker or cornerback. Who could benefit from a great defensive front. Or just only fit perfectly in that scheme like ronde barber. You shouldn’t as a center just forget how to be good after one year. He got his chance and he shined happens all the time. Will he be an all pro maybe not as long as he is plays good enough where you don’t have to worry about center position for 5 years it was a great signing
July 11th, 2018 at 10:49 am
when it comes to offensive line, Joe trusts Licht,
————
Serious question, why?
No time to debate/discuss it here.–Joe
July 11th, 2018 at 10:58 am
And he LOSES on ALL of his gambles. Sucks.
July 11th, 2018 at 11:13 am
A lot of athletes don’t become better players until they are in their prime age 26-28. For some it takes longer to figure things out and for others they don’t physically mature until that age. Jensen looks physically mature so hopefully he has figured out how to play center in 2017. Time will tell.
July 11th, 2018 at 11:16 am
I don’t think Licht has frequently missed that badly on his talent evaluation.
Obviously Robert Ohnono was a huge miss.
But mostly Licht seems to get burnt by one of two things.
He selects head cases or lazy players…Swaggy…ASJ..and others…Certainly ASJ had the talent just not the heart and brains.
Or our crack medical staff is providing him with horrible information and we pick guys like Nicks and Sweezy who are damaged goods by the time we get them.
That pic scared the beejesus out of me. What injury or health scare was Jensen recovering from there? He looked like my wife the morning after her open heart surgery.
July 11th, 2018 at 11:23 am
Well he likely has sleep apnea
July 11th, 2018 at 11:24 am
I agree with destinjohnny.
Licht was hired by Lovie when there were no viable options for GM available.
July 11th, 2018 at 11:24 am
Was there a better center available at the start of free agency
July 11th, 2018 at 11:25 am
Licht’s gambles have paid off so well that last year his team was 5-11.
This is also a make it or break it year for Licht. The 2nd round kicker is gone, Winston should have been released, and the team still has some big holes.
July 11th, 2018 at 11:39 am
Joe keeps saying that the O-line is solid and good year after year!!!!! The “real” fans would like to know why there is massive shuffling of the O-line every year????????????
July 11th, 2018 at 11:41 am
we’ll see how it turns out!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
July 11th, 2018 at 11:43 am
Jesus you guys are negative. Everyone is aware of the Bucs record last year, you might as well enjoy 0-0 and be optimistic. Some of you will have to look up optimistic in the dictionary as you are unaware what it is.
July 11th, 2018 at 1:06 pm
Fire the whole lot of coaches and GM if they cannot reach the 8-8 mark this season. And thats more than fair. Stop all the fakin Bucs..WIN some games..I..WE..don’t want to hear all the excuses. Win or go fishin with Schiano and Lovie.
July 11th, 2018 at 2:04 pm
destinjohnny Says
“Jason is a scout not a GM”
Jason is a scout and a GM.
July 11th, 2018 at 2:08 pm
I think Ryan Jensen will do fine, but if he goes down to injury, we’ve got Smith, who I am not thrilled about, but he’ll do in a pinch.
July 11th, 2018 at 2:10 pm
stpetebucsfan, I think Licht’s biggest fault is that he takes chances on injury prone players in order to buy time until he can draft for the positions.
But I have to admit, outside of the kicker, he seems to have done well this year in free agency.
July 11th, 2018 at 2:11 pm
btw, anyone see the new Bucs website? I hate it. Can’t even sort roster by position anymore.
July 11th, 2018 at 3:24 pm
BucBonzai, you can sort the roster by position on the new site. Go to ‘Team’, select ‘Roster’ and then click on ‘POS’ and it will sort alphabetically by position. If it gives you an A-Z sort, you can click again and get a Z-A sort by position.
July 11th, 2018 at 3:33 pm
I have little faith Dirk can get this Online to play well. Three years in and he doesn’t even know which positions his lineman play.
It should not have taken multiple injuries last year to get our run blocking scheme to work. He says he is getting the best players on the field but that only works if you know what your doing. Just like he kept running Martin……..Dirk simply makes poor personal decisions.
July 11th, 2018 at 3:37 pm
Why do I always hear that Jason is a scout and not a GM? It sounds like fans blurting out something that sounds pretty but contains no substance. If you actually go back and look at the deals he has structured it’s easy to see he does a very good job at the business end of it…….thus making your scout claim quite lame.
July 11th, 2018 at 4:19 pm
Jason licht sucks at Oline evaluations. Look at his signings. The right side of the line is a mess. Center is a 1 year starter, late round pick that is now the highest paid in the league.
July 11th, 2018 at 4:24 pm
I’d have high hopes for him, but with Licht’s FA track record….. hard to be optimistic.
July 11th, 2018 at 5:03 pm
Overall I like Licht also, still on the job training. With this teams struggles waiting is the hardest part, but entertaining nonetheless. The erratic bounces are bound to turn around so I’ll keep waiting.
July 11th, 2018 at 5:22 pm
How was Winston a gamble? Almost all of football was for drafting Winston. He was the clear favorite while they kept saying Mariota wasn’t NFL ready. Winston was going to take the NFL by storm. Even the Joe’s endorsed him and trashed Mariota. So who got it right? Anyone who wasn’t for Winston was deemed a bigot or racist by fans. Still to this day if someone declares Mariota better than Winston certain jock sniffers go ballistic.
July 11th, 2018 at 5:45 pm
Joe..please..that was a picture of an EIU Offensive lineman after a game against ISU.
July 11th, 2018 at 8:28 pm
The male brain does not fully mature until the age of 25. That is neuroscience and fact. Until then the ..”prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That’s the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal.”
Like it or not. Until they hit 25 they are still adolescence, regardless if they can vote, drink, or be drafted. Facts are facts. Like it or lump it.
July 11th, 2018 at 8:34 pm
In regards to male brain development:
“Well, actually, one of the side effects of these changes in the reward system is that adolescents and young adults become much more sensitive to peer pressure than they were earlier or will be as adults.
So, for instance, a 20 year old is 50 percent more likely to do something risky if two friends are watching than if he’s alone.”
July 11th, 2018 at 9:48 pm
Football 101 says build a Wall in front of your QB. ALL Bucs fans have to do is look at the Titans! They build a very very good wall in front of Mariota. Back to back winning seasons and a playoff win later you can see the results. Licht has ignored the OL or filled it with stop gap substandard players. This is the main reason the Bucs have no running game and why America’s Grouper QB hasn’t developed on the field.
July 11th, 2018 at 10:07 pm
James Walker- between 18-25 I was a police officer in the US Air Force. While I was no choir boy I sure as hell wasn’t committing crimes. As a young man you make choices that you and you alone are responsible for. In Winston history NOT once has he owned up to his misdeeds. He has lied, misled, hid behind his Lawyers, the FSU PR machine or blamed Alcohol. Maybe if Winston had stepped up to the 🎤 and completely owned up as a man would do many in this world would have respect him for it. Instead he chose to ignore it and do everything in his power to get away with it.
July 12th, 2018 at 9:58 am
Bucko40. You life is anecdotal. I am talking about brain science, not your life. The law does not change when you frontal cortex matures, that is determined by biology. I am not excusing any action; however, it is a component to any behavior that should be considered when exercising “Adult” level punishments to an “adolescent”. You can not FORCE frontal cortex growth, it happens naturally at 25 years of age.
July 12th, 2018 at 9:59 am
Bucko40 Also, no male is a “Man” until his frontal cortex has fully matured. Again, at age 25.