Peter King Lauds Mark Dominik
November 8th, 2012
A funny thing happened along the way to the 2012 season. Suddenly, players drafted by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik began playing like studs.
Why, it was just a few months ago that some Bucs fans wanted to hang Dominik — not just in effigy. Gerald McCoy, the unruly crowd claimed, was a bust. So too was Mason Foster. Roy Miller was a nothing more than a backup. And Josh Freeman was a bust, too. And Mike Williams. The list goes on.
Almost overnight (and not coincidentally with a new, well-respected coaching staff), GMC became the stud player everyone expected, Foster is making a serious bid to have pineapple in his belly in February, Freeman suddenly throwing like an elite quarterback, Williams doing his best Lynn Swann impersonations. Miller has become a rock on the defensive line.
That’s not to mention that three rookies (the Muscle Hamster himself, Doug Martin, Mark Barron and Lavonte David) look to be the cornerstones of the franchise for perhaps the next decade.
Now the naysayers don’t know what to say. It sure looks like Dominik had a clue to what he was doing, no?
Peter King agrees. The cricket-watching, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, craft beer-chugging, Marriott-sleeping, scone-loathing NFL columnist for Sports Illustrated suggests Dominik may very well be the NFL executive of the year.
@SI_PeterKing: So many good candidates for exec of year: Schneider, Grigson, Rick Smith, Dimitroff, Emery.
@SameOleZ: Mark Dominik also?
@SI_PeterKing: Definitely. Should have included him. Done a great job crafting 53-man roster, as has Grigson.
Peter King and friend.
See what happens when good players meet good coaching? Freeman now has legitimate quarterback coaching. GMC and Foster, among others, are playing up to their abilities?
People mocked Joe for his defense of Dominik over the past couple of years. Again, when talent meets intelligent coaching, the results are something to behold.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Joe, love the photo and caption. Nearly spit water all over my computer screen when I finally noticed it.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
I tend to believe this was a Greg Schiano draft (just like many past draft picks were Raheem.Morris’ , INCLUDING JOSH FREEMAN)
Anywho….we have a chance to get 3 studs in the next draft….which will set us up for a SuperBowl level team for years to come
November 8th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
JOE, common man! Martin hates that nickname. D-REX is way a better nickname anyways.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
I think DIG DOUG is the best nickname.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
He’s still the GM of 3-13 and 4-12 teams. Let’s see this team be consistently good before we give him too much credit. He’s the same GM who sat on his hands after the lockout. I want the Bucs to be good but let’s see some consistently good decisions being made by Dom before we annoying him as a top flight GM.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Joe defends Dominik by calling him Rockstar.
Miguel defends Schiano by calling him the Little General.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
That boat has left the dock.
November 8th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Yeah I’ve got to eat a bit of crow on Dom. Schiano has made his picks/free agents look pretty impressive especially when compared to the Gru/Allen regime:
23/30 picks still with the team
13 starter-level players
5 guys no longer in the League
November 8th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
I personally like DOUGGERNAUGHT!
November 8th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
It’s interesting that unquestionably dominik had his best draft with schiano at the helm. I think schiano has done more for dominiks career than the rockstar has done for himself. If the trend continues there is no doubt schiano saved dominiks job. Another 4-12 season this year would have gotten him fired.
November 8th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
Not mentioned is all the boneheaded players that Dominik ousted from Tampa. Just look at what Winslow and T. Jackson have done, even got a 4th rounder for Talib. I give him a B+
November 8th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
In regards to Freeman, did anyone else notice that he is on ESPN’s MVP watch? I don’t really believe is a legitimate candidate but it was pleasantly surprising to see him get the recognition. I bet Boomer told them that Freeman would buy them a round of drinks at his favorite hotspot.
November 8th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Miguel defends himself by calling him El Magnifico.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1417/1264756978_3dc1531f93_o.jpg
November 8th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
I saw a great nickname on ESPN the other day:
“Carpe DM”
November 8th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
So King names 5 execs from 32 teams , only adding Dom as a 6th when promted and that is lauding him?
Surely if Dom was being lauded he would have been one of the forst 2 or 3 unpromted names that came to mind.
November 8th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Thanks, Oar. If some one like Miracle can explain it to me, I’ll use that as my Avatar.
November 8th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
I’ve said on these pages that Raheem was the worst coach in the history of the Buccaneers. It seems evident that Dominik picked good players, but they weren’t good enough to overcome the dolt who thinks Glazer starts with R.
The guy was of such low mental capacity. Raheem couldn’t find his ass with both hands.
November 8th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Dominick still sucks IMO and its Schiano and what his drafting skills have accomlished and what he could get out of Doms past drafts. Dom has still made a crap load of mistakes. Watching Jimmy Johnson’s story on NFL network it’s amazing what a good evaluator of talent he was and I think that’s an advantage of being a college head coach that’s connected. Schiano has that same talent I believe and he will have an advantage in the next 2 drafts in knowing what college players will have the best impact in the NFL.
November 8th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Dominik is quickly becoming one of the top GM’s in the league. That’s not going to change. How ya like them apples, haters? Suck it.
November 8th, 2012 at 5:53 pm
As for Martin, his nickname will be whatever he and his teammates decide it is and they won’t be taking a fan poll either. Fans don’t make nicknames. Players do. It’s about credibility and fans don’t play the game. He’s officially the Muscle Hamster since his teammates at Boise State came up with it, and until he and his Buccaneer teammates decide otherwise that’s just the way it is. I can respect that.
November 8th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
The better the season goes, the more it’s going to become evident that BLAH-eem was holding the team back.
God… what a Charlie-Foxtrot firing Gruden because Denver interviewed Morris. They probably would have been fine with Gruden as HC, Morris as DC running the Cover 2, but the Glazers were scared to death that they were losing the next Lovie Smith/Mike Tomlin so they blinked.