A “House Of Cards Feeling” To Things
September 4th, 2013
Joe is often asked to describe the vibe or feel around the Buccaneers, as if Joe can somehow magically take an accurate pulse of the team.
Joe surely understands the question, but in many ways it’s a silly one before the Bucs have played a game. (No, preseason doesn’t count.)
Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud, however, says he has a feel about the 2013 Bucs.
“It is sort of this, for lack of a better term, there is sort of this house of cards feeling to things,” said Stroud, while co-hosting The Sports Page on WDAE-AM 620 this morning.
That sounds alarming, though the last time Stroud expressed a “house of cards” take on the Bucs was before they went 10-6 in 2010. So fans shouldn’t freak out.
If Joe was forced to state his feel about the Bucs, then Joe would say the team now seems to have taken on the identity of its head coach right now — very intense but not relaxed, aka wound a little too tight. Maybe that’s good. Maybe it’s bad. Regardless, a victory Sunday will do wonders for the “feel” coming off an ugly preseason.
(You can hear Stroud’s take below, via 620wdae.com audio.)
September 4th, 2013 at 11:11 am
I get the same vibe from this team. Much of it stems from the lack of confidence in the QB position. Plenty of leadership on defense though.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:12 am
Man, this is a big game. A win and we are headed in the right direction and hit the bye at worst 1-3. A loss to the worst team on our schedule with saints and at pats and things could fall apart fast.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:13 am
Cant disagree, with the exception of RB and maybe the o line we have zero depth anywhere on the damn roster. Just a couple key players going down may be horrible news for the Bucs
September 4th, 2013 at 11:16 am
That’s it, why even watch this train wreck … <- sarcasm
September 4th, 2013 at 11:19 am
It will always have the feeling “of a house of cards” when the pop-star is the dealer. Hopefully the problem will be fixed on the start of the following off-season.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:21 am
Almost every team is a house of cards. What if Brees, Manning, Megatron, Rodgers goes down?
That said, Stroud rarely has an accurate “take” on the bucs.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:21 am
RBellBuc Says:
September 4th, 2013 at 11:16 am
That’s it, why even watch this train wreck … <- sarcasm
Exactly man exactly. Is this how it's going to be in here until Sunday? Because if so I'm going to go to the store and get some cheese and crackers to go with all this whine.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:26 am
Top ten offense, bottom five defense. Yes, the quarterback is what is holding this team back. Smdh.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:28 am
Doesn’t that apply to almost every team? Not everyone can be Denver, Seattle or San Fran headed in to the season with loaded rosters, and the playoffs are pretty much a guarantee. Sick of all the conjecture. Sunday can’t come fast enough. Time to get this thing rolling
September 4th, 2013 at 11:34 am
Only six quarterbacks in the league threw more touchdowns than Freeman in 2012. Only one defense in NFL history gave up more passing yards.
Freeman and company just need business as usual. The defense needs to prove itself.
It’s amazing how Freeman’s pretty decent season has deteriorated into a train wreck. I guess if enough people have selective memory then it becomes true.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:42 am
@westcoastbuc I couldn’t agree more. I think Freeman will be better than last year. All we need is the defense to stel up and make a few plays to get us the ball back. If the buccaneers can play from ahead that is how this team will win with Martin running and Freeman having to do less
September 4th, 2013 at 11:42 am
Rick Stroud and Tom Jones are a couple of hacks that don’t belong on the radio. Their show is unlistenable. I cant believe that there is actually something worse than Dan Sileo. Horrible.
September 4th, 2013 at 11:50 am
@westcoast buc…. Only one qb (sanchez), turned the ball over more than freeman. You have to protect the ball and move the chains. Freeman really strugled w accuracy and consistancy thus we could finish drives and he turned the ball over too much.
September 4th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
^^^Not true when you take in account all the fumbles coughed up which are also considered turnovers in my book. Go back and do your homework and this time include all the turnovers instead of being selective to try to make your point.
September 4th, 2013 at 12:03 pm
@mike norris
I am sorry but that is simply a flat out lie.
Freeman had 17 interceptions and TWO fumbles lost. A grand total of 19 turnovers.
Players with 19 or more turnovers:
Drew Brees: 19 interceptions + one fumble lost = 20 turnovers
Tony Romo: 19 interceptions + 3 fumbles lost = 22 turnovers
Andrew Luck: 18 interceptions + 5 fumbles lost = 23 turnovers
Mark Sanchez: 18 + 8 = 26 turnovers
Matt Stafford: 17 + 4 = 21 turnovers
There is even more than ^that^ but this all I need to show that you just posted something you obviously knew nothing about or intentionally lied. Please don’t make stuff up to prove a point.
September 4th, 2013 at 12:15 pm
@ westcoast… sorry for the mistake , i saw he had 10 fumbles, but didnt realize the bucs recovered 8 of those
. Ok, so he was in the top 6 of all qbs in turnovers. Thats bad. In the last 2 years, he has the second most interceptions of anyone.
@westcoast, look at his last 7 games, was there any qb that played worse??? if you say yes… ok maybe one or two. Freeman needs to step up and will have a huge say in our final record.
Look, i think Glennon sucks, but does a team draft a qb in the 3rd if they have a young 20 something qb that they have confidence in?
September 4th, 2013 at 12:23 pm
There are more QBs than what I posted. I doubt Freeman was in the top ten for turnovers.
Look at his middle six weeks. Was there any QB that played better?
I’m sorry but the TEAM played bad down the stretch. Yes the 24 year old quarterback couldn’t turn it around by himself but I didn’t expect him to.
September 4th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
And the Glennon being drafted because Freeman sucks argument is terrible. Teams around the league are drafting late round QBs because they are considerably cheaper than a veteran. (As in, about half the cost.) Giants, Patriots, even the Redskins did it in the same draft they took Bob Griffin III.
September 4th, 2013 at 12:58 pm
JOE
You are sure trying to fuel the controversy…way to cut the audio as soon as someone starts talking common sense. all these folks talking about house of cards mentality and questions they have about the team are people that aren’t part of the team, your essentially just critics and your the media so you say something and it takes full head of steam and you feed and feed it to get the fans who dont know football to get paranoid…..just because YOU have questions….it’s pretty comical since im pretty sure the team doesnt and if they do, they’ll address it….
with our fans mentality you would think we pick players in the draft and assume they are all gonna be busts, bring in this elderly cornerback, bring this aged defensive end. you draft with confidence that your guy is going to pan out, sometimes they do sometimes they dont, but no one questioned gerald mccoy when he came back from injury like they are clayborn even though he had 7 sacks as a rookie. RG3 has played how many preaseason games? yet his knee surgery was in january, revis has been out almost a year but you have questions about him? house of cards would be RG3 if that knee doesnt hold up because that one player is their hope, WE HAVE A COMPLETE TEAM
September 4th, 2013 at 1:01 pm
im with you WestCoastBucsFan…..why not draft someone and have a back up plan but everyone wants to talk qb controversy…..if he beat out orvlosky then it was a solid move…im on board for grooming this rookie IF freeman struggles but why assume it, they were saying he struggled last year but if he’s gonna throw for 4000 yards and considered as a player who sucks, i’d rather ride with free than trust a rookie with the talent of this team….watch the jets sunday and tell me if its a good idea to start this rookie glennon
September 4th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Anybody up for some cheese? How about you mike norris?
September 4th, 2013 at 1:04 pm
I for one can’t wait for the Joe and Big Dog show tonight. The last 2 shows were great Joe.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
buc4lyfe…it’s all doom and gloom man. It’s A Bucs Life on JBF.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
@buc4lyfe
Agreed, but the quarterback seems to be the only person responsible for the “W” or the “L”. People claim to understand the term “team” but really don’t.
Two very recent Super Bowl winning quarterbacks watched the 2012-13 playoffs from their couch. Why is that?
Freeman obviously has room for improvement but this team had much bigger problems than Freeman in 2012. Three games were lost by only two points. That is the difference between 7-9 and 10-6. Now, do you ask your 9th ranked offense to step it up, or your 29th ranked defense?
Four days. Just four more days.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
mike norris
your in the wrong business….i think you should put your spatula down and go work as an espn analyst. really gonna quote stats for the last two years and leave out his best year of 6 int’s…. The teams with an all around team will be the teams on top….cant keep saying that tom brady or aaron rodgers will do it because they always do, packers o line is awful, brady can probably make his wr look like probowlers but they probably wont do anything without gronk i guess the buccaneers are the only team with question marks….i cannot wait for this season to start
September 4th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
philly game was the most disappointing game of the season but no one mentions it, josh had a couple comeback games that the defense lost for HIM but he’s getting the blame for the loses when the redskins and philly game would have been two more wins for us lost in the last seconds…9-7 could have been our record but it wasnt BECAUSE OF THE DEFENSE, CANT BLAME THE QUARTERBACK FOR IT WHEN HE WASNT ON THE FIELD IN THOSE GAMES
September 4th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
@buc4lyfe
The Redskins are a team with no depth. They talk as if they whole Dline will get injured in a few games. We have depth along the roster, probably not well known to everyone. The Oline is the only thing I’m worried about. It’s funny how some people forget that the Dline takes up 10 spots on the roster. We do not know how good these players are yet, so you can’t consider it a lack of talent.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
SNEEDY16
Im glad you mentioned that because as a matter of fact the redskins lost 3 or 4 guys to season ending injury but because of RG3 its swept under the rug as if it never happens and they simply say theyve got this guy back and that guy but nothing about question marks or health. Carl Nicks is one man and he only played a few games more than clayborn and he did it hurt doug martin did still go on to rush for over a 1000 yards without NICKS AND JOSEPH. wake up people ya’ll sleepin on the bucs and i love it and im hoping we blind side the league and these idiot analyst and media who are basically just guessing like fans are
September 4th, 2013 at 1:31 pm
^^^EXACTLY. Geno Atkins (you know, the best defensive tackle in the game right now) was drafted in the fourth round quite recently.
Rookies give that unknown factor where as established veterans have a reason that they are/were available. Not to mention the price for vets vs rookies.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
When (if) Nicks comes back next week, and I expect he does. Will everyone stop worrying about the O-line?
September 4th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
@WestCoastBucsFan
Plus, good players get released because they didn’t fit the scheme they were running or like Donald Penn the team already had a Pro Bowl player (Bryant McKinnie) and they let him walk.
@Buc1987
Nope that will not happen until or backups are making it to the Pro Bowl. To be honest with you the Oline isn’t a big concern to me. We got by with less.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:45 pm
WestCoast,
You need to post in here more. I know you’re probably sick of stating your point over and over again, but I need you in here. All this Bucs suck stuff makes me have doubts that I don’t want nor do I think is rational. When you post, it makes me believe again. And why, you might ask? Because you’re right. I could be wrong, I haven’t checked but memory tells me the only time Freeman had a “meltdown” is when the whole team melted down. We need more positive and you bring it.
September 4th, 2013 at 1:59 pm
Chef Paul …I already told WestCoast that before. That I look to him as a voice of reason and we need him in here.
September 4th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
“All this Bucs suck stuff makes me have doubts that I don’t want nor do I think is rational.”
Chef Paul and besides it’s bad karma.
September 4th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
1987.
It looks weird when someone quotes me, because I’m not a chef and my name is not Paul.
Any ways, you keep up the good work too, post Nazi. lol
September 4th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
I was in here for a good part of the summer ranting and raving. It seemed to only make the haters even more vocal and ignorant so I just backed off a bit.
Every once in a while I see something that gets to me, so I speak up. Lately it seems to be this theory that we are “a complete team without a real QB” nonsense.
Just watch, when Freeman lights it up everybody will be “shocked” but I knew it was coming. So did you guys. Freeman has had more good seasons than bad. (And yes last season was “good” for a QB not named Br-ady, Manning, Rodgers.)
I will continue to fight the good fight if you guys will. With all the pissing and moaning from “fans” here it is no surprise that a Saint’s fan came in here talking trash in our home.
We are four days away from kickoff and people openly bash the quarterback, coach, and GM on a daily basis. Makes me sick and embarassed to even be associated with these “fans”.
You can be realistic without pointing out every single negative and overlooking every single positive. The truth is, in the first year of a system, our QB put up franchise numbers. (So, did our defense, but for the wrong reasons.) Now we have a second year in the same system with some MASSIVE improvements on defense but we are not any better than 7-9 or 8-8? Really? People need to get their heads out of their collective asses and realize this IS a competitive team.
September 4th, 2013 at 2:29 pm
Sigh, another high and mighty pulpit for the JF6P peeps, spouting just the Free positives.
September 4th, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Sigh, another “fan” that fails to acknowledge a 9th ranked offense. A QB that threw more TDs than all but six QBs. And a defense that surrendered more passing yards than all but one team in a hundred years of football.
If all I do is “spout positives” then what are you doing?
September 4th, 2013 at 2:36 pm
” Makes me sick and embarassed to even be associated with these “fans”. ”
WestCoast..yup except I used the word disgusted the other day.
September 4th, 2013 at 2:44 pm
So you admit there are positives?
My point is, while there are some reasons to be concerned, it gets taken way way way too far. Of course there are reasons for concerns. If there wasn’t any, we’d be expecting an undefeated season.
September 4th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Some people dwell or gravitate towards the negative side of things as are some people are complete opposites. The perfect analogy has always been,
Is the glass half full or is it half empty.
A lot of it stems on how a person grows up. If there has been a lot of negativity and adversity surrounding them they tend to be skeptical and cautious. Sometimes to a point it’s considered fringe behavior, and of course the polar opposite, a person who is always giddy can be annoying when taken to an extreme. Most of us border between the two behaviors and will hesitate on the choice between half full or half empty. But there are those who are extremist, that reside on both sides of this social behavior.
September 4th, 2013 at 3:47 pm
Well apparently there are a few Buc fans that were beaten like a dog and had no Christmas as a child
September 4th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
^^And bleed uncontrollably for a week.
September 4th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
^^And ble-ed uncontrollably for a week.
September 4th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
a little drastic .. but yeah ..maybe
September 4th, 2013 at 3:54 pm
lol
September 4th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
@westcoastbuc *applause*
September 4th, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Rick Stroud??? Really??? This guy is just flat pathetic. I put him in the same boat as a Dan Sileo. Just a whiney little beyotch who thinks he knows something about sports but comes off as sooooooo deficient on nearly every level. When he’s on the radio it’s time to tune to 98.7.
September 4th, 2013 at 5:11 pm
I agree with whoever said we don’t know what we have till they’ve played awhile. Carl Nicks was a fifth round selection and he turned out pretty decent.
Someone mentioned Geno Atkins (4th round), we all know about Brady (6th round) Donald Penn (UFA) and there are many others. Draft status does not determine how you perform in the NFL. We’ll see what this team is made out of once the season begins. Until then it’s all just meaningless conjecture.
September 4th, 2013 at 5:54 pm
It seems like our media is on a Bucs bashing bandwagon. I agree with Chef Paul on West Coast, I was starting to sucked into the neagtive posters thoughts (very Thomas 2.2 like…remember him?).
We have a solid team on paper and depth in areas that were weaknesses a few yrs ago. I believe we are up and coming, not downward spiralling!
Sunday needs to get here, so we have more believers again!
September 4th, 2013 at 8:00 pm
WCBF,
Tremendous job mentioning the positives. Why doesn’t Freeman work on eliminating the negatives this year, and we are in for a helluva ride surely not to dissapoint.
I don’t like my QB fumbling 10 times, even if only 2 were lost.
I don’t like my QB being tied with Ryan Fitzpatrick for most INTs in the past two years.
I don’t like watching rookies take the reigns of their respective clubs and making a postseason push.
I hate the fact we didn’t make the playoffs in 2010, after going 10-6.
I am just impatient with the Bucs lack of success as a team, and the things that stick out to me are Dom’s lack of pass rush, Dom’s lack of depth, and Freeman’s spotty play.
The time to win is now. We got us a Revis, and a Goldson. These guys still need a pass rush.
WAKE UP BOWERS!
September 4th, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Rick Stroud is the worse sports reporter in Tampa. I saw him as a guest on espn the other day and changed the channel because he is the type of person that gives reporters a bad name.
September 4th, 2013 at 9:56 pm
“It’s amazing how Freeman’s pretty decent season has deteriorated into a train wreck.”
Well that what you conclude when you feel that the win/loss record is the only criteria of success & that the QB is the only reason for either one.
Personally, I think there’s room for a little nuance, in the equation.
September 5th, 2013 at 12:38 am
buc4life24 …you should have been in here this past summer it was a rough one. Negative this and negative that. AND the so what if I’m negative it’s my opinion it does not make me less of fan BS! Blah blah blah and blah on and on it went.
September 5th, 2013 at 8:57 am
Oh I was and felt like my optimism was going down the drain. We have a MUCH better team on paper and im ready to see it play out on the field.
Go Bucs!!