Mason Foster Getting Force-Fed
August 12th, 2011
On any normal NFL season, Mason Foster would have gone through multiple OTA sessions, a rookie minicamp, and hung out at One Buc Palace not just working out but poring over film for months before training camp even began.
But the rookie middle linebacker, who has been handed a starting job virtually from the moment he put pen to paper on his contract, before he could memorize the names of his teammates no less, didn’t have that luxury this year thanks to the asinine lockout.
Now, with the Bucs first preseason game just hours away, Foster will start his first game. He knows he has had to cram a lot into his cranium in just a scant amount of days and he’s happy there’s a game to prepare for, so writes Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
“It’s been tough not having the offseason work with the coaches and the time with the playbook that you would normally have, but at the same time, there’s a game plan now and that makes it easier,’’ Foster said. “Once you get a game plan you can lock into certain things and certain play calls, because in certain situations you know exactly what you’re going to be calling. So, that makes it a lot easier. So, I’m ready to go.’’
Well, there’s already been a hiccup on Foster’s all too steep learning curve. Raheem Morris said earlier this week that Foster will not be playing on pass plays, which sort of reinforces to Joe his heightened fears that no matter how much the haters shrieked over the alleged worthless departed Barrett Ruud and his annual 100+ tackles, that a third round pick from the PAC-10 who played outside linebacker was not going to fully be prepared to play middle linebacker in the NFL and call defense plays with only five weeks to absorb everything.
Joe, of course, hopes he is wrong. But to ask all of the above from Foster is putting a helluva lot of pressure on a young man that nobody knows what to expect.
This will be one of Joe’s focal points in watching the game tonight: How will Foster play? And will he be in the game longer that usual as the Bucs have put Foster on a fast track to starting?
August 12th, 2011 at 8:09 am
I think that Ruud can have the last laugh on those that hated on him (and his every year team leading tackles) when they start all these rookies this year. Sadly, his detractors seem to overlook the fact that the d-line was non-existent and Ruud had to make most of the tackles 5 yard back in the 3 seconds that it took the runner to blow by the d-line. Lets see how those haters feel when Foster is burnt toast by game 5 and they were wishing for a Ruud to be in there.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:25 am
Exactly right Joe! It has been a little while since you have nailed one. Glad to see your back.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:28 am
TAMPA2 PLEASE stop with the “Ruud didn’t have a good enough D-Line in front him” mantra. We know. In 6 years he couldn’t stuff the run at the LOS because he never had could enough play on the line. I get that it matters, but at some point the player needs to be responsible. Face up to facts: he is a smart player but a glorified safety in the wrong position.
Yes they will have some struggles with a rookie playing but at least they are moving forward and on the right track to being a better run stopping team.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:48 am
For all true Buc fans, today is a wonderful day – we get to see our young team in the arena. We who love them and wish them success know there will be bumps and growing pains along the way. But whatever the outcome, true fans looking forward will be encouraged by what the future holds. For those looking back, they can only see what they have already seen!
August 12th, 2011 at 8:50 am
I am done with the Ruud debate, management wants a big physical team on the field. You have to let them work that out. We all know the knock on Ruud was that he wasn’t physical… Buccaneers football is hard hitting, not backing down from contact ever. Period.
Foster will make some mistakes, but the first time he hits a running back in a gap for a loss we will all be back on the Rock Star bandwagon. Even If not I still applaud management for having the balls to bring in a game plan and stick with it. So many franchises get stuck in the middle of what their mission statement is as a trademark for their franchise and stink it up. The Bucs defense needs that reputation again like they had 10 years ago, you are going to hurt when you play against our defense. Barrett did not bring that, great guy but not a fit here anymore.
August 12th, 2011 at 8:55 am
It worked with Kyle Moore JOE !!!!!!!!!!!
Oh Wait …….
August 12th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Well said Macabe…but the two losers above are not true fans.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:04 am
Watch Tyrone Mackenzie blow Mason Foster out of the water, and the team will make excuses as to why he will still be the backup because he wasnt a draft.
That would touble me
August 12th, 2011 at 9:10 am
Joe, you know I love your site, and you make a great deal of snese in this article…but can we please move on from the Ruud discusion? I know that this is more about Foster and the learning curve, but man I am done talking about Ruud. As you know how much I am here, I love the site…just saying.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:20 am
I think the reason Joe brings up Ruud consistently is because love or hate his physicality, He was not a bad player and actually one of the better players on our Defense.
We may suffer from this, and might be obvious in the Passing game at times and maybe even the running game too.
Lets not kid ourselves this is not a Defense built to win a Title now. But I am exciited to watch it grow.
One thing I do hope to see this year is the Flashes of what the Defense might be. Consistency will come in time.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:29 am
I agree about Ruud, but he is gone, time to move on.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:35 am
I can’t wait til tonight. A few things I wanna see!
1) Arrelious Benn- hope that knee is good!
2) lumpkin- 3rd down option?
3) all about seeing Adrian Clayborn- that should be special!
4) is The Grimm reaper slaying, or gimping? Hope he’s back ta speed
5)any play that has Williams, Benn, and Dezmon Briscoe On the field at the Same time- that may be unstoppable.
6) jus watching Freeman – the guy is Magic at times!
August 12th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Joe
I appreciate the passion and all out effort that you provide on a daily basis, but I have to admit I’m a little troubled by your stance (or lack thereof) on the Ruud issue. You’re usually pretty clear (read: blunt), though it seems like you’ve hedged yourself with the Ruud situation by not taking a clear position; you’ll waver from disparaging those that have criticized Ruud, but then highlight comments from his detractors in the media while also openly deferring to Dominik’s judgment because of his track record. You know you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Let’s make it official – Do you think it was a mistake the Buccaneers let Barrett Ruud go? Yes or no? I wouldn’t be pressing this issue if I didn’t value your opinion.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:50 am
Joe,
I too love this site. I could care less about how many articles about Ruud pop up, they garner a lot of attention and that’s why you like them.
My bone to pick with you are the video advertisements that come with your site. Usually two at a time, I have random audio that comes up on my PC, both barking over each other. Is there ANY WAY to disable those videos? It’s affecting my JBF experience in a negative way 🙁
August 12th, 2011 at 9:50 am
Look whos back…Capts back…back again…tell a friend!
This is the first 100% Capt post I have seen in weeks. Welcome aboard Capt Tim!
August 12th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Jrock, those videos help keep Joe’s site free to you and me…I turn by speakers down. I believe Joe has mentioned that they are sent to this site from another site, so he does not really control them enough to stop the double running.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Lol! I never left!!! I love the Bucs! Love don’t mean it’s perfect. I’m pretty pissed with our politicians right now, but that doesn’t mean I’m not Red, white and Blue to the core! Always faithful!!
Believe me! My big butt will be wearing my Buc jersey in Norfolk Virginia itonight at the local sports pub! And I pity any sad lil redskin fan who bad mouths my team!! Lol
August 12th, 2011 at 10:20 am
No wonder you have had a bad attitude, you are still stuck up north! I never thought you left the Buc fan base, just was worried about you moving to the negative nacy side with Eric, Thomas, and Tampa 2.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:23 am
JRock: The videos do not autostart for me…Are you sure it isn’t a browser setting? I am using Firfox 3, your mileage may vary.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:42 am
Lol, I got to come back home Sat and Sunday. First time I’ve seen my house in Four months. Musts revitalized me!
Mason Foster is our MLB. I hope he is a monster, and puts all of my concerns to rest. I was real happy when we drafted him. Hope he is as good as I believe he will be!
August 12th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Jrock:
Those ads are coming from Joe’s friends at TheBigLead Sports Network, which Joe is a proud member of. Joe has zero control over the ads. To do away with them would mean Joe would have to separate himself from TheBigLead Sports Network, which would cost Joe significant cash.
Just mute your computer and you will never hear them… or mute the videos themselves.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Flip Flopper:
Yes. The only thing holding Joe back is Mark Dominik’s judgment. He has proven Joe — and most Bucs fans — wrong too many times.
Joe saw absolutely nothing wrong with bringing Barrett Ruud back and easing Mason Foster into the position. But like Joe’s friend The Fabulous Sports Babe said, the way Ruud was treated by Bucs fans and a specific loud voice in the area, it was probably better for Ruud to just leave.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Sorry, Joe, but I agree with Jrock. You DO have control…you can contact them and jump their cases.
Telling your visitors to “mute” their computers…is that really the smart thing to do? What if we listen to 620 WDAE over the net as we cruise your website? Should we just turn that off?
This is actually becoming a serious issue, Joe. It’s anoying to have a video auto play when the page comes up. It’s alienating people when 2-3 videos start playing at the SAME time when the website comes up.
You really should take this seriously, Joe. As someone who has worked in Internet Marketing for nearl 15 years, I can tell you that not addressing it will eventually kill the site. I’ve seen it happen before.
If BigLeadSports doesn’t fix it? You do not need them. Find a replacement. But most places have various options.
As to the Article…
I could see how you might see it that way. Me? I’m a glass half full kind of guy.
I think that because they could not introduce things to him gradually over the off season, they are limiting things in the preseason so he can process things properly. Next week he will likely play on passing downs.
Or the week after.
Also, I suspect he will get a lot of playing time tonight. By only putting him in on running plays they will be able to give him breaks to avoid injury.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:22 am
Pete Dutcher:
You clearly have no clue how to run a successful business on the internet nor how the advertising world works if you think Joe has this kind of muscle.
First off, those ads not only help keep this place afloat much less keep all the content free. Joe is not a charity and it’s a nice chuck of change just to keep the site up and running, not to mention the many hours per day Joe spends working on this site.
Joe is not in charge of TheBigLead Sports Network. If Joe complains, guess what Joe is told? “Leave.”
Unless you guys want Joe to go all pay-per-read — and Joe does not want to do that — we all have to suck it up. Joe gets the annoying videos too. It’s nothing that one or two clicks of the mouse can’t resolve. And it’s a helluva lot cheaper too… for all of us.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:22 am
Joe,
Have you heard anything officially that the Bucs did not make Ruud an offer? Is it possible they did and he refused it because he wanted out?
August 12th, 2011 at 11:28 am
I totally agree with Joe’s assessment. I was all for keeping Ruud for one year to help develop the young guy.
BTW Joe, Aren’t there at least two mini camps for each team in a full off season and a third for teams with new coaching staffs?
August 12th, 2011 at 11:28 am
Pete:
Officially, no, the Bucs will never release that information.
Privately, Joe isn’t aware that the Bucs offered Ruud a counter offer. The Titans were aggressive in obtaining his rights and — unlike locally — Ruud seemed to think he was actually wanted in Tennessee.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:29 am
Mauha Deeb:
Generally, yes, you are correct.
One only needs to read between the lines to learn Mason Foster is struggling a bit, and who wouldn’t have guessed? Just two days after Ronde Barber noted “the middle linebackers” were missing plays that — again, quoting Barber — “Ruud made all the time in his sleep,” the Bucs announce Foster won’t be on the field on third downs.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:32 am
lol…I know nothing about Internet advertising? I speciallize in it, Joe.
Consider this…all of the videos are from them…so yes, you have to place their ads…but you can limit that placement with a simple editting of code in WordPress…and they would still get their advertising. Are you really required to show their videos in 2-3 spots per page?
It’s your business though…your choice. It isn’t the first time the issue has been raised.
It’s like the guy stranded on the roof to his house during a flood. A rowboat, rescue boat and helecopter come buy and he refuses them saying, “No thanks! God will save me!”
And then he drowns and he goes before God and says, “Why didn’t you save me?!”
God answers, “I tried. I sent a rowboat, a rescue boat and a helecopter and you refused them all.”
These complaints are your rowboats, rescue boats and helecopters. Will you wait until the bottom falls out and you drown and then say “I should have done something sooner…”?
I know how Internet advertising works…I’m just saying there are options if you take the time to explore them.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Aish,
Listen, I understand all the ads help keep this site free. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate a place to go every single day (multiple times) to feed my insatiable appetite for Bucs news. I wasn’t asking you to do away with them as it is obviously a way of revenue for you. All I was trying to figure out is a way to make them not auto-run every time I visit the site, or click on an article to comment.
I’ll google a fix myself. Muting them doesn’t work, after you come back to the site they go back to their original volume level.
I wish you a good day. I’ll click on as many other ads as I can to boost revenue in other ways.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Jrock:
While Joe gets the annoying videos too, it seems they mostly react differently on different computers. For example, Joe is not getting them today. Other days, he gets the same problem you have.
Joe never had the problem of not being able to mute them so this sounds like a very isolated incident.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Pete:
For the last time, Joe’s not leaving TheBigLead Sports Network. Joe has a fabulous, long-term relationship with these fellows and Joe does not in any way control what ads they place on their affiliate websites. If, as you claim, you know so much about internet advertising, you’d already know this but apparently you do not if you are silly enough to want Joe to pick a fight with his business partners and lose hundreds of dollars in the process and either shut this very site down or go pay-per-read.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:48 am
Joe
Or, you could just pray for a muter rescue to resolve the issue.
August 12th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Joe,
I apologize for bringing this up in your comments section. This was something I should have resolved on my own – which I just did with a 5 minute google search.
Either way, my apologies. I’m all for keeping this site free. And hell, there’s no annoying pop-ups so really why am I complaining?
August 12th, 2011 at 11:58 am
No problem Jrock! 🙂
August 12th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
The thing that most makes me think that Foster can handle the job is that Joe has his doubts that he can… and Joe hasn’t been very accurrate for the past several months.,,hopefully that trend continues and Foster does well, along with Black, EG and just about anybody else that Joe has his doubts about.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
He was right about our FA guard and our back up center/guard. Joe has not been wrong any more times than any of us have. Keep up the good work joe, and everyone just remember…You speakers have a control on them that will turn down the sound…if it is a laptop, look for the buttons that have the sound wave icons on them. Pete, let it rest man, all is well. I hope this site lets Joe quit his day job someday. Actually Joe, how the hell do you write this much and have a day jobn, of course I seem to be on here all the time, except when I am presenting, but great job Joe.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Thanks McBuc!