The Blame Game

February 1st, 2022

Hollywood spotlight (briefly).

When Tom Brady came to the Bucs two years ago he brought one thing the Bucs organization had lost (a standard of excellence) and one thing the team never had (international superstar power).

Yes, the Bucs had football stars in the past. What the Bucs never had was international superstars beyond the borders of sports. In short, Brady (and to a lesser degree, Rob Gronkowski) brought Hollywood to the Bucs.

Since news leaked to Jeff Darlington and Adam Schefter that Brady was retiring, TMZ and the Hollywood syndicated shows were all over the news.

Over the weekend was a good example. Never did Joe ever expect to read Jason Licht’s name in an entertainment feature. But there it was, typed by Tyler McCarthy, the Bucs’ AC/DC-loving general manager’s name was in an entertainment story on FOXNews.com about Twitter’s reaction to who should be blamed for Brady stepping away from football.

The culprit, per this story? Brady’s supermodel wife, Gisele Bündchen.

So with Brady gone, so too is the Hollywood spotlight from Tampa Bay. The Bucs were a national if not international team for two years. Now, it appears, back to the shadows.

54 Responses to “The Blame Game”

  1. HC Grover Says:

    From Hut 1, Hut 2, HIKE,,,to Yes Dear? Nahhh.

  2. Posey99 Says:

    Doom and gloom marathon today or what?

  3. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Asinine Speculation On Tom Brady Retirement
    January 24th, 2022

    This is the article from Joe starting all of this off…..went back & read it again……seems it wasn’t so asinine after all.

    I find it very interesting that in Tom’s formal retirement communication that he lauds the Bucs & Tampa…..but completely fails to mention New England in any way.

    Very interesting.

  4. BA4President Says:

    Our 5 minutes was fun while it lasted.

  5. zzbucs Says:

    Bollocks!!!! Pure nonsense!!!

  6. '79 Defense Says:

    Disappointing, yes, but how the hell can we not be thrilled with what happened in these two years?

    And if you’re going to just win one SB with Brady, I would take doing it last year where you’re the first team to win it at home as opposed to this year.

  7. SKBucsFan Says:

    I blame Todd Bowles for Bradys early departure. We could be talking about what we need to do beat the Bengals here this week and wait for a couple more weeks before we lament TB12’s retirement.

  8. ocala Says:

    I’m a lifelong Bucs fan, but losing the best of all time hurts quite a bit. Nowhere to go but down from here unfortunately.

  9. Adrnagy Says:

    Damn … if we can sign randy gregory and suh … instead of c. Davis. And whitehead.
    Wow. !

  10. Hodad Says:

    Brady came here as a star, but he didn’t start his career off as a star. Mahommes wasn’t a star until he got his shot, and became a star. Perhaps Joe Trask get’s his shot, and becomes a star. Don’t say it can’t, or won’t happen, check out the Kurt Warner story at a theather near you. Making Brady’s wife out as the culpirt to blame for all this should be beneath you.

  11. T REX Says:

    No doubt Tom looked over at the staff after dragging us to possibly overtime and saw these lugs aren’t winning anything of import again.

    IMHO, the team wasn’t all in from head golf cart guy down to the water boys and Brady demands excellence. He wasn’t getting it.

    Thank you Tom. ANd thank you Todd Bowels. Incompetent boob

  12. zzbucs Says:

    @SKBucsFan…
    With all due respect Bowles has nothing to do with TB12 retirement….
    Todd Bowles made a mistake on the last play? You bet he did….and a big one!!
    But he is one of the best if not the best defensive coordinator in the league…. And I beg him to be with the team next year……Just take a look on Bucs defense for the last 3 years…..and also take a look on what the Bics defense been since Kifin was out!!!

  13. Adrnagy Says:

    Trask will start week 5 or 6.
    Gabbert will start.

    We throw playoff lenny a nice $ payday. Run first offense / play action.

    We sign godwin and a. Humphries.

    Wr. Evans. Godwin. Miller. Humphries. Johnson.
    Rb. Fournette. Vaughn. Draft pick.
    Oline. Smith. Marpet. Heinsley. Cappa. Wirfs.
    Te. Brate. Oj.

  14. Bruce Blahak Says:

    Save The Licht House…Make The Bucs Defense Great Again.

  15. Adrnagy Says:

    Defense.

    Vea. Suh. Gregory
    Shaq. White. David. Joe/ nelson.
    Dean. Smb. Vet cb. Winfield. Edwards.

    Draft Travon Walker, DL Or Kaiir Elam, CB

  16. Pewter Power Says:

    Let the purge begin, now all the bandwagon fans can jump on the bengals bandwagon. No one thought would play more than 2-3 years so this was expected

  17. Adrnagy Says:

    Whoa ! Wow! Back in the playoff. !

  18. adam from ny Says:

    rodgers or wilson would keep us up there in the spotlight…they are league faces…

    the rest, not so much…

    ball is in the glazers court now – to decide how far down the ladder we slip…

    currently we are still the new america’s team…

    tomorrow not so much…

    but if things are handled right, we can simply dip down a notch or so into the nfl’s elite group, that get’s steadily featured on prime time games, game of the weeks, etc…

    it’s all in how the glazers choose to handle it…

    time will tell

  19. tampabuscsbro Says:

    The packers moved on from their ST coordinator. We should do the same but that won’t happen.

  20. SB~LV Says:

    There house will be sold as soon as their Miami exclusive island digs are complete. That and if TB is involved with a front office in the NFL it will be with the Dolphins, mark my words, I have said it here before.

  21. Adrnagy Says:

    Rodgers will go to the broncos.

    New HC was qb coach for aaron / packers.
    So broncos are setting up a trade. They also are loaded at wr / rb.

  22. adam from ny Says:

    carr isn’t a league face, and sadly, watson is the anti-league face at this point (sorta)…wrong guy to touch after tommy…

    so BA wants to see what’s behind door number 2…

    well mr licht and the glazers should probably check who’s lamping behind door #3 as well

  23. Adrnagy Says:

    Nfc will get weak.
    Rodgers will move to afc.

  24. SlyPirate Says:

    We were 1 of 32 teams to get TB12 for the last two years. They made the most of it. It was awesome!

  25. Adrnagy Says:

    Our division is very winnable. Nfc possible. Licht make the right moves and give me a pass rusher. Instead of c. Davis.

  26. WillieG Says:

    Many a divorce was caused by a man stopping doing what he loves for his wife. He misses it. He blames her and the resent grows and grows. Hope it’s not the case with Brady.

  27. SB Says:

    I can’t wait to watch Trask shut people up.
    Kid only started 20 games and threw 68 TDs to 15 ints against SEC defenses and had a 170 QB rating!
    There isn’t a QB in this draft that has that kind of resume!
    Zero doubt he would be the first QB off the board this yr.

  28. adam from ny Says:

    don’t sleep on miami if the brady’s migrate there…

    the team is pretty darn good – yet they hit long stretches of of losing and winning – it’s sorta weird…

    they are playoff ready right now, with the right qb…

    and tua ain’t it…

    2023, tua will potentially be out, the team might be even more dialed up, minus a qb…

    and in comes brady…

    you never know…

    i’m not so sure he’s done, just done in tampa…

    i hope he doesn’t become like a hired assassin of sorts to attempt to fetch a few more rings (just going to superbowl ready teams that need minor tweaking and an elite qb – like the 49ers)…

    hopefully the bucs were his last stop

  29. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    I find it laughable that all these “fans” are quick to trash Licht, BA, Bowles….after celebrating a SB when our terrible defense didn’t allow a touchdown.

    Did Bowles blow it….yep…..it happens. But that doesn’t define his career.

    Strap on the big-boy pants and get to work on rebuilding a competitive team.

    And, thanks Tom, Bruce, BA, Bowles, BL & team…..while I’m at it…thank you Jon.

  30. Adrnagy Says:

    Trask has been all in learning ( mentally). He needs to call up evans. Miller. Godwin (once signed) and pitch and catch. Before pre season.

  31. Adrnagy Says:

    If we stop rams last drive. … that doesnt mean brady and offense will go down the field against rams defense and score in OT. With brate playing slot wr. Lol.

  32. crazyBucs_CL Says:

    @”…Our division is very winnable….”
    —————–
    how come that people forget what happen one week ago…a Tooddd mess…and many other games with 25++ points allowed.. Tooddd mess….
    but they know that we going to be OK in our division????!!!!!
    Delusional!!!
    You think that our division is going to lethargic sleep, and is not getting prepare??!!!
    Saints beat us twice, Atlanta and NC could have come with different result is TB12 was not there….. well guess what, he is not going to be there in September 2022.
    What makes you think “WE GOING TO BE OK”??? pfff

  33. Buc4evr Says:

    The den of depression is back. My hope is that the Glazers finally got a taste of international celebrity for the Bucs and will go after Rodgers at any cost. If not this year, next year when his contract expires. The Glazers like money and Brady rakes in the cash. Rodgers would do the same. After Brady, I don’t see how the fans will settle for anything less.

  34. Listnfrmafar Says:

    As long as BA is pulling the strings, Bowles stills has a job. Dallas fired Mike Mccarthy for his final play, why does Bowles go unscathed? He blitzed 64% of the game on a QB that is known for beating the blitz. This is insane Bowles has a job in Tampa and for BA to blame the players, whose job is it to make sure they know where they need to be. It will come out eventually but if the players weren’t lined up properly or not ready, it is due to the play coming in late or Bowles substitutions weren’t ready for the pass prevent. F-ing PREPARATION! Fire his arse!!!!

  35. Hodad Says:

    Mike Mccarthy was fired?

  36. crazyBucs_CL Says:

    BA has NOT contract. DON”T give him an extension, simple like that. No harm/hard feelings to JL.
    Is the ONLY way we can be free from Bowles and BL. JUST let BA go to his retirement again.
    You want to BUILD, start by letting BA go. Glazers… is up to you guys.

  37. Listnfrmafar Says:

    Hodad, now that you ask I thought I read Jo es was letting him go. Maybe he is holding out for Payton in 2023.

  38. HC Grover Says:

    Is BL a keeper? I think so. Coach staff…nope. Gronk please stay and play. If Gronk leaves now we are really in for it. BA is spent. Time for him to take a hint and go golf with Big Ben.

  39. HC Grover Says:

    Betcha Blunder Bolwes had a hand in Plan 9 from Outer Space fiasco.

  40. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Why must their be blame? How Bizarre! A guy and his wife are worth more than a Billion dollars…he has every record for QB’s in the NFL. What’s left?

    TIME! Time to be with his boys. Why is that so freaking hard to believe. Are we so jaded that we can’t comprehend that Brady realizes there is actually more to life than $$$$ and he wants to spend time with his boys before he gets too old to enjoy them?

    Blame? How freaking stoooopid. Brady simply has a great set of values!

  41. crazyBucs_CL Says:

    No Trask, no new QB, no ANY QB coming here, can score 30+ every game, or most of them. This many point you need to have a CHANCE to win ball-game with Bowles at DC position.
    I hope they see this as importance #1, and let them all go.

  42. Cobraboy Says:

    Not only has Trask been taking mental reps, but the team also focused on his body and footwork without game pressure. He’s supposedly replaced fat with muscle and improved arm strength.

    He could be an interesting case on how to develop a QB.

    Tell me again: how many years did Rodgers ride the pine before his big chance?

  43. ocala Says:

    The Bucs are going to take a major step back with no Brady. If the Bucs somehow are able to get Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers then yes they can compete for the NFC, otherwise they will be lucky to win 7 or 8 games next year.

  44. Mike Johnson Says:

    Tom will have a very long and successful marriage to his beautiful wife. He has learned what all of us happily married men have learned..How to say, Yes Dear.
    Say these words repeatedly guys and you will always have clean clothes, a hot meal, cold beer, and a warm body to sleep with on cold nights. Keep arguing and find yourself sleepin in the garage with Rin-tin-Tin.

  45. firethecannons Says:

    Adrnagy Says:
    February 1st, 2022 at 3:07 pm
    Trask has been all in learning ( mentally). He needs to call up evans. Miller. Godwin (once signed) and pitch and catch. Before pre season.

    yeah why not !
    and make the defense great again while you can afford too

  46. CalBucsFan Says:

    GM Licht I tip my cap to you man, TB would likely never had come to Tampa if he wasn’t impressed with the roster you built, and I trust you to keep up the work! Goi Bucs!!!

    P.S. LA media is chewing up the Bucs like road kill because the Rams are so good…..ARGHHHH… go Bengals!

  47. captivajim Says:

    Glazers need to clean out coaches-Quickly!!!! BA can join BigBen at the lake….No team will hire Bowles–only solution is to fire him since he’s not man enough to offer his resignation to take responsibility

  48. Swampbuc Says:

    Maybe after six months of Horseyface’s stilleto up his ares and on his forehead, he’ll call Jason Licht and retract his retirement.

    THANKS, TODD.

    Where is the blame for Bowels?

  49. Defense Rules Says:

    Joe … ‘So with Brady gone, so too is the Hollywood spotlight from Tampa Bay. The Bucs were a national if not international team for two years. Now, it appears, back to the shadows.’

    What you seem to be saying Joe is that the Bucs rode Brady’s coat tails for 2 years and now that he’s gone we’re back to being ‘Team Irrelevant’. Just my opinion, but IF we lose as much as we did prior to Tom Brady arriving on the scene we’d deserve to be ‘back in the shadows’.

    What would YOU have the Bucs do though, roll over & play dead because we lost Tom Brady? That’s about as absurd as these folks who keep blaming Todd Bowles for last game’s loss. That last play is what it is, and one key thing that it was is ‘very poorly executed’. That’s on the players; never once saw Todd Bowles out on the field because, oh ya, coaches don’t play. Beyond that though, Bucs had multiple opportunities to win that game well before that last play; we blew it AS A TEAM. Offense, Defense & Special Teams.

    Time to roll up our sleeves & re-arm to the degree that we need to, then kick some ass. Too many whiny-babies constantly bitchin about the coaching, the defense, the Special Teams … you name it. It MAY take a year or two or whatever to reinvent ourselves, but this team has learned how to win. We just need to provide them with the weapons to do it with. Forget this ‘back to the shadows’ stuff.

  50. Joe Says:

    What you seem to be saying Joe is that the Bucs rode Brady’s coat tails for 2 years and now that he’s gone we’re back to being ‘Team Irrelevant’.

    You clearly do not have a fundamental understanding of what Joe wrote about.

  51. Swampbuc Says:

    Where is the Buccaneers statement concerning the abject failure of the defensive coordinator in the Divisional Playoff Game against the R ams? Where is the Bucs statement on the utter incompetence to let Cooper Kupp run undefended on two consecutive plays with 30 seconds remaining? The Bucs (Brady and Suh) had scrapped their way back into it with a chance to win, the stadium was electric…………and THAT’s what you’ve got, Todd?

    Buccaneers Nation deserves closure on Todd’s Bowels.

  52. Buczilla Says:

    I’ll embrace the shadows as long as we keep winning.

  53. Allen Lofton Says:

    Time to start a new era

  54. SomeGuy Says:

    Gruden was probably a star outside of the world of sports, at least for a while. But of course he can’t be mentioned because of a word he used in a private email.

    BTW: I wonder how the Enimen half time show is coming along?