“If Bruce Doesn’t Win They Are Going To Blame You”
April 19th, 2019
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
In the words of former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht will go for splash over need in the draft because he is feeling the hot breath of Team Glazer on the back of his neck.
Lombardi, also a former right-hand man/gopher for Bill Walsh, Al Davis and Bill Belicheat, explained in the debut episode of his new podcast, “GM Shuffle,” there are actually two draft boards in a team’s draft war room. A vertical board with players ranked regardless of position, plus a horizontal board listing the highest graded players at each position.
Lombardi suggested teams should draft for need, or use the horizontal board. But because the Bucs have lost so much this past decade in the post-Chucky era and with Licht’s job, Lombardi believes, to be in peril, Licht is going to draft for splash because the Bucs need to win now and the future be damned.
“Tampa Bay, you know if you are Jason Licht, you have to win next year because even though Bruce Arians just came in, if Bruce doesn’t win they are going to blame you. You’re gone,” Lombardi said. “So he is going to forget what holes there are in his positions and he is not even concerning himself with the horizontal board. He’s only looking at the vertical board. The good general managers in the league have to look at the horizontal board.”
Lombardi wasn’t critical of Licht, just acknowledging the corner Licht is painted into.
Lombardi added the Raiders (specifically, Chucky), have been a vertical board kind of team because they like the sexy picks. Lombardi used a quote from Bill Parcells that Joe cannot use in full here but the Parcells analogy has to do with an attractive woman catching a man’s eye.
“Parcells used to say all the time, ‘Don’t get distracted by the girl with the big [headlights].”
April 19th, 2019 at 1:03 pm
draft ed oliver and licht will be fine…..TB knows exactly what to do with him…..
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
April 19th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Sadly this team is not just a splash player away and has never been since Licht has been GM….as a matter of sad fact Jason has splashed all the water out of the pool….best he can do is pick a player that will be a starter for many years and that could be at several positions on either side of the ball….
My prediction is that in 2020 we’ll be having even more serious draft discussions
April 19th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
I have complete confidence in Jason blowing it
April 19th, 2019 at 1:21 pm
wtf is this guy talking about… “splash” / “sexy” picks = going BPA?
Since when?
I thought splash pick = offensive skill player or QB but I guess it could be taking an offensive guard or defensive tackle that is highest on your draft board lol..
wtf..
April 19th, 2019 at 1:23 pm
Does anyone actually remember how bad Brooks, Sapp and Lynch looked till they got real coaching? They were HOF cailber players so coaching does matter. So to act like players like Mike Evans all the way down to Spence, Hargraves, Justin Evans, Gholdston, Vea and many many more can’t greatly improve under MUCH better coaching is ridiculous. But else should we expect from NegativeBucsFan.com?
April 19th, 2019 at 1:38 pm
So I guess we’re not taking the DL with the torn ACL in round 2, Joe?
April 19th, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Jason’s job is safe now that they have the proper coaching.
April 19th, 2019 at 1:51 pm
Okay, here is my totally uneducated prediction:
Bucs will trade down to pick up an extra 2nd rounder, then draft Devin Bush in the first round.
Then in the second round draft Defensive Line (or trade back into the first to do it).
April 19th, 2019 at 2:01 pm
In that pic, Jason Licht looks like he is about to shoot death rays through his eyes at someone.
April 19th, 2019 at 2:08 pm
He is what we all though he was.
April 19th, 2019 at 2:09 pm
LOL! “Thought”
I can’t even post a stupid comment without myself looking like Licht!
April 19th, 2019 at 2:18 pm
@Joe … “Lombardi suggested teams should draft for need, or use the horizontal board.” Drafting for NEED makes perfect sense it would seem if your goal is to win now. If our top needs are MLB, OG, RB & DT (if GMC is released) then that’s what you draft.
I don’t understand I guess how drafting for ‘splash’ (vertical board) would help you win now Joe. DE would be a splash pick since it’s not one of our top NEEDS at the moment … when compared to the obvious weaknesses in our starting lineup at MLB, OG, RB & DT (if GMC is released).
April 19th, 2019 at 2:23 pm
Picking @ 5 with only 4 names call in the 2019 draft…you can comfortably pick for NEED and BPA…it’s not rocket science…paralysis by analysis …example if the Bucs pick Cody Ford at 5 and he goes on to be a 10 year starter…that would have been a brilliant pick back in 2019…
April 19th, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Bucs will draft WILL GRIER in the 2nd round and heads will explode.
813bucboi – CANYOUPLEASEPOSTINGLIKETHIS!!!!! in every post you make?
We get it, you think Realist knows nothing. But stop polluting the comments on every single post you make.
STOPTHEEXCLAMATIONPOINTS!!!!! GO BUCS!!!!!
April 19th, 2019 at 2:38 pm
Not that it should prevent JL from trading back this year …but in the past 2 years he has and has gotten out of phase with picking up the positions he needed on his original draft board. He makes the trade down pick only to see the next player he was going to replace the player he missed by trading down be picked just before his next pick…see RoJo and DB’s …so he doesn’t really complete the trade down tactic with a win -win…it has been a win and a wiff reach makeup call that goes flat
April 19th, 2019 at 2:59 pm
If Licht could build a roster Arians would be in a better position to win
April 19th, 2019 at 3:10 pm
Says the FORMER GM. This guy must talk alot because I see alot of dumb things he said. This one is up there. And not sure why so many people think Licht is making these picks himself. News flash…the coaching staff almost always influences the pick. Aguayo is probably the only exception. Then again that sounds like a Klueless decision.
April 19th, 2019 at 3:19 pm
BucsBandit Says:
“Bucs will draft WILL GRIER in the 2nd round and heads will explode.”
——-
Apparently yours is the only head that will explode.
That is not happening because we don’t need a Quarterback.
April 19th, 2019 at 3:20 pm
bandit
maybe after the draft…..lol…
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!!
April 19th, 2019 at 3:21 pm
They should come out of this draft with no less than three defensive front 7 players, two offensive lineman, and probably a RB.
April 19th, 2019 at 3:28 pm
Bucs have so many needs our vertical & horizontal board could be the same….
Maybe except WR & TE…..
April 19th, 2019 at 3:31 pm
Licht is going to work with the coaching staff to help bring in the guys they want. He doesn’t pick guys to make himself look good. He drafts guys that the coach staff thinks will help the team. His group has fallen down but the coaches are right there with him.
April 19th, 2019 at 3:43 pm
There are so many holes it really doesn’t make a difference how Gump drafts. This team is at least two or three years away from being competitive. Better coaching will help, but we just don’t have the depth to compete.
April 19th, 2019 at 3:50 pm
And not filling the holes only keeps digging things deeper.
Just don’t draft a kicker.
April 19th, 2019 at 3:55 pm
Agreed ptwalk
This roster had many holes under the stupid koetter regime and we had miscast players. Spence has more value in a 3-4 than as a defensive end in a 4-3 Because dude is to small. People like to pretend that we are 2-3 drafts away because only young rookies will fix this team and that’s not reality and it’s why BA was able to turn around a horrible Arizona franchise in one season and with bad drafts. They had a shutdown corner and still they sucked in the secondary.
You need a transcendent player at 5 regardless of position to get this ball rolling because it’s unrealistic to think more than 3 picks will have major impact, this ain’t like madden it’s real life people
April 19th, 2019 at 4:06 pm
@DestinyJohnny, I too share your complete confidence in Licht. He has shown us draft after draft he has no earthly idea what the hell is going on and so like you I am voting he will blow it as well. Very much like John Cooper and Nikita Kucherov blew the first round this year. GOTTA LOVE TAMPA BAY SPORTS!!!
April 19th, 2019 at 4:47 pm
Only splash move bucs could make is drafting kyler murray the rest are just pieces that might help in a few years aside from D White who will fill up stat sheet & start from day 1
April 19th, 2019 at 4:49 pm
It’s got to be a game wrecker at #5 on Defense. I think there are several there that fit that bill, so I am not too concerned with that pick. The 2nd round pick is the key. Will it be a CB, a Running Back, an LB, etc? If we can get a stud CB or LB in round 2, that will go a long way in helping our defense get back on track.
April 19th, 2019 at 5:43 pm
Grab Ed Oliver and trade a 1st round next season and 2nd round this season and jumped back into the first and draft another defensive beast. This draft is heavy with defensive players that would be top 5 pics next season that you can grab right now in the middle to late of round 1.
Just my opinion before some Nazi has a bad sh*t crazy response to me 🤷🏻♂️😂
April 19th, 2019 at 6:01 pm
We all know the outcome after this year … bye bye litch bye bye jameis … bye bye arians …. this season is too predictable… the whole organization needs a severe overhaul … bad choice in head coach for a team without a real quarterback and pretenders on defense and to go along with that a GM way in over his head … only people I trust is ownership … it’s a shame they try so hard to find the formula and throw the check book out only to be screwed over by frauds the past decade
April 19th, 2019 at 6:50 pm
Yikes check out this crazy scenario I just came across with a Bucs / Falcons trade. “Atlanta makes its latest first-round blockbuster and its biggest since the move up for Julio Jones in 2011, betting a slew of picks that Oliver is the next big thing on the inside. Traded to Tampa Bay as part of the move: No. 14, No. 45, No. 117, No. 137 and a 2020 fourth-round pick.”
April 19th, 2019 at 7:16 pm
You’re right Eric y, so you can just go away now since there is nothing for you to be here for. Bye bye.
April 19th, 2019 at 7:28 pm
Jesus, just heard Q Williams interviewed on NFL network and that might be a hard pass. Didn’t sound like that brain is clicking on all cylinders
April 19th, 2019 at 7:43 pm
Naboo … a few days ago I saw an interview with FSU DE Bush and was very impressed with everything about him…
April 19th, 2019 at 8:24 pm
Man, I sure wish someone would blow heat down the Glazers back. Failure begins with them. Period!!
April 20th, 2019 at 1:22 pm
The best thing Licht could do for himself & the Bucs is stay out of the draft room. Would be a win, win situation for him.
April 20th, 2019 at 7:03 pm
It’s not just about the draft… you have to scheme, coach and adjust. The first two-three picks will help, but we don’t win consistently without the rest. We CAN do this. Go Bucs!