“Going To Be Scary”
January 12th, 2017
Teammates have mad respect for rookie.
Yes, Noah Spence had surgery on his dislocated right shoulder and torn labrum.
The surgery, reported by Jenna Laine of ESPN, wasn’t a real shock because Spence clearly was playing with one wing in the final game of the season, and openly had discussed needing an MRI once the season was finished.
Per a Twitter sent out yesterday, Spence said the “surgery went well.”
Joe has written the following previously and apologizes in advance if this is repetitive, but nothing Joe has seen with the Bucs in recent years has impressed him more than when Spence, in the final week of the season against the Panthers, dislocated his shoulder again and popped the wing back into place while on the field of play at the Den of Depression.
Joe cannot explain what stones and pain tolerance that must have taken. Sure, he may have been on pain medication to begin with, but still, blasting your shoulder back into a socket isn’t exactly like clipping your toenails. Joe saw a guy do that on a basketball court when Joe was in high school and the dude was in another level of agony.
By refusing to leave the field of battle and throwing his shoulder back into place, Spence, if he hadn’t already with his football skills, won over the Bucs locker room. Joe remembers Brent Grimes shaking his head and saying “savage!” when he discussed Spence’s move to stay on the field.
When the Bucs were cleaning out their lockers the day after the final game, Joe chatted with stud defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. The Pro Bowler himself last season fought through a nasty shoulder injury. Let’s just say GMC has serious respect for what Spence did in the final game.
“Our young guys have a vet’s mindset,” GMC said. “That’s something a vet would do. Not saying young guys can’t be tough, but that’s a vet’s mindset. ‘I don’t have time to be hurt. I will be hurt after the game.’
“He did what he had to do and kept going. It’s great to see. That is a very selfless thing to do. He’s not thinking about his pain or what he is dealing with. ‘Hey, my team needs me. Whether I am at 100 percent or 50 percent, they need me out here.’
“That is very commendable and great to have guys like that on our team. He is a force, man. And when he is healthy, it is going to be scary.”
That’s the thing that blew Joe away. Spence was playing with one arm. His right arm just hung next to his body. Yet Spence was still fighting through blocks and getting penetration using only his left arm. Unreal!
That, friends, is a gladiator.
January 12th, 2017 at 6:11 am
Hopefully he has a ” Beasley-like” second season.
January 12th, 2017 at 6:31 am
Jason Licht is changing the attitude at one Buc. Kwon, and now Mr. Spence are the new breed of Buccaneer. I hope we can add more people like Ayers and Grimes this offseason and take that next step to the playoffs
January 12th, 2017 at 7:28 am
To GMC everybody plays hard because he himself plays soft
January 12th, 2017 at 7:30 am
Doing what he’s doing, damn…#Spawn is a hell of a nickname
January 12th, 2017 at 7:43 am
This speaks to why we need the big nasty DT on the team that can get leverage, so Spence can just go, Kwon can just go and McCoy and Ayers can run stunts or not
January 12th, 2017 at 7:47 am
I had Bankart repair surgery – hopefully it was’t that, but the joint must have been very loose to be able to put it back in himself. Here’s to a fast and successful recovery Spence!
January 12th, 2017 at 8:12 am
Guy could opted for surgery before season ended or taken a few weeks off but fought thru significant injury. Thats a great sign.
January 12th, 2017 at 8:21 am
We all hope that he heals quickly!!!! The bad part is that instead of getting stronger, will he be rehabbing to get his strength back????
Go Bucs!!!!!!
January 12th, 2017 at 8:25 am
What is the recovery timeframe? Ready for training camp?
January 12th, 2017 at 8:50 am
He’s young
@BucRealist I hope he just works on getting it back and by week 4 we can begin to see his true power.
@DallasBuc his hunger is unending. He’ll be ready
January 12th, 2017 at 9:04 am
Healing is not a function of hunger for the game. I’m certain he will not be back until his rehab is fully completed because they will not risk re-injuring the labrum and other torn soft tissue from the dislocation. This a serious damn injury
January 12th, 2017 at 9:10 am
Recovery time is listed at approximately 12-20 weeks, but (mere mortal) patients typically report 9-12 months before they feel normal again. Spawn should be fine by training camp because he is a monster.
January 12th, 2017 at 9:12 am
Sure it is, you can rush it, lie about the discomfort to the trainers because he wants to get on the field… No hunger can equal hurting himself in not being mentally prepared for a serious rehab
Again he’s young, tech and medicine are getting these players back in the game much sooner these days
January 12th, 2017 at 9:56 am
He is not returning until the doctors give the green light. Has nothing todo with hunger. This is not even a debate. We have too much invested in this guy to chance reinjuring his repaired shoulder especially since our other 2nd round pick AguaOh,no is an embarrassing bust.
January 12th, 2017 at 9:59 am
That’s the kind of “expletive” that true Buccaneers are made of those are the type of guys that keeps you on the path to win numerous
Super Bowl rings!!! Let’s keep building around guys like him… and GMC,Kwon and the rest of our all or nothing Warriors!!!
January 12th, 2017 at 10:02 am
Your right, I was just implying his willingness to be on the field come training camp
January 12th, 2017 at 10:10 am
“Expletive” what DallasBuc says he’s a Wagon-neer!!! hence the name Dallas Buc so if you would so ever kindly take your negative comments and unsupportive antics elsewhere it would truly be appreciated sincerely
True Buc Fan For Live!!!!
January 12th, 2017 at 10:25 am
@DBrad
Thanks lol I was trying to be positive.
January 12th, 2017 at 11:03 am
Aww, isn’t that cute. DBag67 is the new chief of fan police! Gonna lay down the law on what it means to be a real fan. Let me guess…
1) no negativity
2) no criticism of players or coaches
3) no calling out positive fanboys for their Pollyanna whining
4) no criticism of the Joes. Aas kissing only!
January 12th, 2017 at 11:16 am
5) No Kobe Faker
January 12th, 2017 at 11:19 am
6) no criticism of our sacred cow GM!
January 12th, 2017 at 11:28 am
Screw Lawson, Dodd, Ogbah (my fav at the time). We got the best edge rusher in tbe whole draft!
January 12th, 2017 at 11:39 am
America’s Commenter Says:
January 12th, 2017 at 9:10 am
Recovery time is listed at approximately 12-20 weeks, but (mere mortal) patients typically report 9-12 months before they feel normal again. Spawn should be fine by training camp because he is a monster.
————–
True story if not longer. Had a similar injury myself and thought popping it back in was normal behavior. What do I know?!?! Like Joe I too got a boner when I saw him keep playing. SPAWN IS SAVAGE!!!!
He may not be able to lift full go for a while. He damn sure can’t throw anything without popping it back out. But he should have normal range of motion by April/June timeframe.
What a beast! First time I seen someone do that was Martin Riggs on Lethal Weapon.
January 12th, 2017 at 12:19 pm
Wow! That:s some tough stuff Spence. Exclamation points aplenty!!!!!
January 12th, 2017 at 12:29 pm
Well according to Kobe Faker dude is a bust already even though he had solid production with 1 arm in a limited role.
Best to cut him. I mean he was only tied for 5th among all rookies in sacks despite being the 10th d-lineman taken
January 12th, 2017 at 12:30 pm
I really like this kid! What a maniac! I hope he comes back 100%, he was starting to look the part.
January 12th, 2017 at 12:39 pm
I’m kind of turn on this story. It’s great that Spence displayed his toughness and earned respect from teammates, but I’m not sure postponing surgery was the right choice. Is Spence a beast? Sure. But from what I saw he is a pretty undersized beast. He could have really used the extra weeks of rehab, so that that he could, in turn, benefit from the extra weeks in the weight room. Hopefully his rehab goes smooth and he’s still able to do what most rookies realize they must after their first season, which is build strength and stamina.
January 12th, 2017 at 12:52 pm
@Realist
You and I have shared our battles but I’m glad your here. We can use some provocateurs and at least you think before posting.
Other than that group of racist clowns who showed up for the draft debates about #3 I don’t think anybody should be shown the door.\
Helll…I even read Kobe.
January 13th, 2017 at 12:39 am
Draft a Boss DE in the first in the next couple years