Dinner Fixes And Missed Bonding
November 2nd, 2024
Silliness flows.
About 10 years ago, former Bucs guard Logan Mankins told ESPN that a reason the Bucs’ 2014 offensive line struggled so much was because he couldn’t host barbecues at his house like he did when he played for the Belicheats.
That comment made Joe want to defecate on a Bucs flag. (No, Joe didn’t do that.)
Team bonding is nice, but that was over the top. First, Mankins could have barbecued at park if he thought it was that critical or, you know, rent a friggin’ house for a week and a have a pool party.
Enter Lavonte David. He didn’t say something as stupid as Mankins, but he did tell TampaBay.com this week that he called for Bucs defensive players to have a big dinner together to unify and bond — with a goal of it making a difference on the field.
Per the region’s twice-weekly newspaper, also located behind-a-paywall website, safety Jordan Whitehead added that the Bucs defense needs to “regroup.”
Joe is all for that, but then Whitehead said something that got Joe’s head-shaking for hours.
“I know Lavonte this week, wants to get me and the guys together, show a little camaraderie, hanging out with the guys and it starts there,” Whitehead said. “It’s outside of the football, we’ve just got to get to know each other, get to communicate with each other outside.”
Man, “get to know each other,” really? Joe’s not buying any of that noise, especially after the team went on an extended training camp road trip and had a five-day jaunt to New Orleans during the hurricane.
It’s a lame excuse and borderline idiotic this late in the season.
However, if Whitehead and friends actually believe their defensive issues are tied to a lack of personal bonding, then hey, whatever works.
Joe hopes David pays for all the lobster and drinks it takes for the Bucs to love each other deeply enough to tackle, cover and play like they did in Detroit in Week 2 — before, you know, they really got to know each other.
November 2nd, 2024 at 10:50 am
Poor leadership.
November 2nd, 2024 at 10:53 am
They may not be officially injured, but the league is so competitive that if everybody on the team is only at 95%, that can make the difference between dominating and looking inept. They may not even realize it. They just run a tiny bit slower, tackle a little bit softer, etc.
November 2nd, 2024 at 10:55 am
This team should be even more bonded than most due to travel and basically living together in New Orleans for en extended period of time. The majority of this Defense has been together for multiple years. We really don’t need the excuses by not executing and paying attention to detail. As much as I love Bowels and his ability to game plan but the most consistent thing is “communication issues”? It’s more like the inability to develop and put players in the position for them to excel. I see too much regression in some positions but progression in players like Hall, which deserves a round of applause. We have zero progression in our linebackers, pass rush, etc.. The drafting has been solid all around but the vital position of needs like a pass rusher has been lackluster. There has been too much investment in the front 7 to not put serious pressure on the staff and player personnel. No excuses this deep in the season. The Chiefs can be beat, if our offense can put 20 on them.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:10 am
LVD is doing the best he knows how as a leader. But I feel ya, Joe. Just wow.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:15 am
Most of the defensive players have been together for several years. Why is bonding so important now? It’s just an excuse. They have no answers for their play, so communication or bonding become the culprits. At any rate, I’m preparing myself for more creative excuses over the next few weeks.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:23 am
At least LVD is trying something… Jason Licht and Todd Bowles need to wake up.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:26 am
Whitehead – the most disappointing player this season IMO.
We already knew Britt sucked and was a liability. Did not think Whitehead was going to regress to Keanu Neal levels of bad.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:27 am
There’s no Sapp or any former Bucs calling out players this year because this is all on the coaching staff. Shouldn’t have a defense that retained 75-80% of its players from a superbowl talking about needing to bond with teammates. This is a really emotionally sensitive roster. Damn David Hall of Fame do stuff like that because they want to not because they have to. They just don’t talk like that this post was so depressing for the simple fact that I’ve known since the day Todd Bowles was hired it would be a mediocre team no matter who was on the field. What a waste of the last few years of his career.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:30 am
Agree Bubby. Try something. Shake it up. Rattle the tree. Bark if needed. Do something.
I have a weird feeling the Bucs beat KC. Undefeated team goes down and we are the talk of the league, then back to reality. Rise and repeat.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:44 am
They can regroup in the classroom.
November 2nd, 2024 at 11:52 am
Players need to try something different. It’s obvious the fraud is unwilling / unable
To do anything different. Scheme, practice, defect identification? Naa. Just keep doing the same thing that sucks, over and over. This disaster cannot be shown the door soon enough.
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:00 pm
500 coaching no better no worse. Don’t set the bar too high with Todd bowles running the defense
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:01 pm
Hmmm…do I believe professional football players or Joe…hmmm. I am betting they certainly have a company line. I also bet if Joe chooses to discount the players it’s like any regular shcmoe explaining journalism techniques to Joe. Yeah, yeah, yeah…Joe played in High School and his HC was a disciple of the pro game.
I appreciate the take. Discounting the message coming from the horses mouth is silly.
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:19 pm
… or get together privately to discuss the coaching scheme.
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:19 pm
It comes down to HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT!!! The BUCS ARE THERE!!!
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Guess it up to the players to fix this. To bad we don’t have a coaching staff to recognize the problems and coach it up. I mean at least stay close to the receivers and make it a little bit less easy. Is that not a thing? Go BUCS!
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:33 pm
Bonding & all that is overrated IMO. When any player gets an opportunity to start, there should be only one thought going through his head … ‘I’m gonna play so good that they wouldn’t even think of replacing me’.
Unfortunately that’s where TALENT comes in. There are guys on the other side of the LOS who have just as much motivation to succeed … and some of them are MUCH MORE TALENTED than what we’re putting on the field. Just for the record: Tampa Bay’s 53-man roster is the CHEAPEST in the NFL, by quite a bit. And guess what, our offense is a lot more expensive than our defense is. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for (IOW don’t expect filet mignon when you’re paying for hamburger?).
IMO, the 49ers’ defense is underperforming; they have a lot of talent but are only ranked #17 right now (they were #1 & #3 last 2 years). The Bucs’ defense is ranked #28 and is also underperforming, but not nearly as much as the 49ers. Some of our defensive starters simply aren’t that talented, and are only starting because we lack DEPTH.
When you bring in a guy like Funderburk from the Practice Squad & start him shortly thereafter to replace Dean, your depth sucks. When you keep starting a MLB like Britt who really belongs on the S/Ts, your depth sucks. Won’t even comment on JTS & some of the others. Only 3 more days until the NFL Trade Deadline. Do SOMETHING Jason. ANYTHING.
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:37 pm
I didn’t read that as an excuse. Sounds like they’re trying to “bond” as a unit. It’s a good thing especially with Lavonte as ringleader. Not sure how you turned this into something negative but I guess where there’s a will there’s a way 🤣
You’re welcome to read the entire Times article as you continue to mis-ascribe motives to Joe’s work.–Joe
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:38 pm
When you say drinks Joe, I hope you mean unsweet ice tea with lemon. Non of these players should be drinking alcohol during the season. Leave that to us fans. Lord knows we need it!
November 2nd, 2024 at 12:54 pm
Get to know each other? Almost all of these guys have been together in this system for several years.
Some lost decade dysfunction is happening on that side of the ball.
November 2nd, 2024 at 1:11 pm
Leadership comes from within!!! Fake News 👍👍👍
November 2nd, 2024 at 1:12 pm
Do SOMETHING Jason. ANYTHING.
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Yeah Jason, we’re gonna need something to complain about during the offseason. I personally would like to see you give up next years draft capital for some average player this season who won’t be up to speed till it’s far too late.(Sarcasm)
November 2nd, 2024 at 1:14 pm
I’d rather see them tackle together than eat together!
November 2nd, 2024 at 1:25 pm
This Monday loss to Chiefs plus the Falcon loss are going to keep us out of the title this year. We will be too far behind coming down the stretch.
November 2nd, 2024 at 1:57 pm
I don’t know…. Sounds pretty negative. Can’t speak to your motives but whatever.
I, for one, applaud then doing anything that might help the team form a closer bond. It shows they are invested and give a 💩..
November 2nd, 2024 at 4:01 pm
I’m going to call it now…bucs will be up with less than 2 minutes to go against chiefs with chiefs on their own 20 with no timeouts and will march across the field at will and score walk off td…I’d bet money in it.
November 2nd, 2024 at 4:12 pm
Defense rules ????
While the Bucs rank 26th in the league in salary cap spending on offense this year, they’re No. 9 on the list when it comes to cap space invested on defense, according to positional spending numbers from Over the Cap
Where the hell are you getting your numbers
November 2nd, 2024 at 4:16 pm
Even with that wide disparity in the rankings, the actual dollar-amount difference between what the Bucs are spending on offense and defense isn’t that big. Tampa Bay is set to spend a little more than $93 million in cap space on offense this year, compared with just over $107 million on defensive players
November 2nd, 2024 at 9:30 pm
This team needs another Hardy Nickerson!
November 3rd, 2024 at 2:05 am
They just need to get really hammered together, really effed up, then have a good old fashioned back yard brawl. Show some toughness.
November 3rd, 2024 at 5:39 am
I thought the bonding and unifying vibe was already there. What happened?
The Bucs had New Orleans to really bond, plus meetings, camps, events, games, preseason, luncheons at the stadium, etc. The Glazers paid for players, their families, and pets to be in NO during Hurricane Milton for several days. This probably included food and drinks together too. It really shouldn’t be on one player to feel as though they need to treat the team to food or drinks as a team-building session. You can’t force it.