The Day The Talk Died
October 25th, 2014
Joe was up early this morning, not nursing anything but some bug that zapped him of appetite the past few days. So Joe did a double-take when he learned of news the Bucs and good guy Gerald McCoy came to terms on the richest contract for a defensive tackle in NFL history.
Joe is happy for GMC. There isn’t a better dude in that Bucs locker room. And anytime an NFL player can hit the lottery like this, more power to him.
NFL players are beaten to a pulp and the wear and tear on their bodies shows down the road. The NFL is the richest sports league in America (Joe doesn’t give a rat’s No. 2 about abroad). It is the most popular sports league in America. Yet its employees’ salaries drag far behind that of baseball and that non-basketball association outfit.
“From the moment Lovie and I arrived here, we knew it was vital for us to keep Gerald in Tampa Bay long-term as one of the cornerstones of our franchise,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said in a team statement. “We are happy to reward someone that has a rare work ethic, which not only makes him an elite player, but serves as an example for our entire team.”
So kudos to GMC. Now, here’s the other side of the coin:
GMC is a good player. A damned good player. Is he the best defensive tackle in the NFL? Joe has to hit the pause button there. J.J. Watt is arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, a true impact player. Geno Atkins is not only great, but makes the players around him better. Ndamukong Suh is close to GMC, but he gets results and has played in a playoff game like Watt and Atkins.
GMC? Well, for all the hosannas he has received for being such a dominant tackle, GMC has never been in a playoff game. He never recorded 10 sacks in a season, usually the plateau to anoint someone dominant, and does GMC really make others around him play better? That is up for debate.
One could argue, for example, Atkins does. Look how pedestrian Michael Johnson has been as a defensive end without Atkins the past two seasons.
GMC, good guy that he is, is always willing to accept blame when his defense does not play well and is quick to deflect praise when the defense does play well. Vocally, so. That’s a good dude, a great teammate.
GMC likes to talk about how he is the leader of the Bucs defense. That’s a double-edged sword of late. Like it or not, now GMC has a bulls-eye on his back. He is the highest paid defensive tackle. Talking about leading the defense to greatness will no longer work, nor should it. Results are now required. Because now he has that label of “highest paid tackle” next to his name until someone else gets more cash.
Again, Joe is really happy for GMC and sure hopes he lives up to every dime he gets. For the better GMC plays, the better the Bucs will fare. It is an incredible show of faith, a deal Joe has been told has been in the works for some five months.
Now Joe hopes GMC celebrates with multiple sacks tomorrow. Go get ’em Gerald!
October 25th, 2014 at 5:05 pm
Yawn….Scoreboard Sunday….
October 25th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
It’s clobberin time.
October 25th, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Dam JOE where the hell were you at the other day when some dumba$$ was arguing against everything you just mentioned. I told him the same thing. Compared Gerald to Watt Atkins Suh etc… and he was claiming that Gerald was everything and a bag of Funyons. He claimed that Gerald was the best in the league. HELL NO. Im not going to name him but I hope his dumba$$ is reading this. People get so caught up in the hype that they fail to see what they’re eyes are really seeing. A good DT. Not great. Yet.
October 25th, 2014 at 5:14 pm
We had to pay extra to keep him because we suck bad as a franchise. He probably would have taken less from almost every other team.
I am glad he is a Buc but I do not think he is playing at an elite level. I hope he is able to stay injury free and earns this huge contract.
October 25th, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Great player, great guy, great for the community. Great signing.
October 25th, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Good tires aint pretty and they aint cheap. McCoy is wearing the D line near top line tires. A new set with full tread should get plenty of traction towards sacking QB’s starting with Teddy. Nice to get the deal done and GMC ready to roll.
October 25th, 2014 at 5:45 pm
I think we are about to see GMC hit another level of awesomeness. I also think that the team (especially defensively) is gonna be a heckuva lot better in the second half of this season. Don’t be surprised if he and MJ finish with double-digit sacks.
October 25th, 2014 at 6:21 pm
Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has signed a seven-year extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth $98 million, making McCoy the highest-paid player at his position.
McCoy, a 2013 All-Pro, will get $51.5 million guaranteed, the most ever given to a defensive tackle in NFL history. His new deal will average $14 million per year.
Including his current salary for 2014, McCoy would make $111 million over the eight-year period.
October 25th, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Now that GMC, without question, is the leader of the defense, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t start calling certain guys out by name. If he can’t get through to them internally first, he will publicly out them. The pay raise confirmed his credibility with not only his teammates but with management. GMC just gained a larger voice. Let’s just hope he the kind of leader who can separate friendship from the business.
October 25th, 2014 at 7:11 pm
This next off-season, the Bucs need to get McCoy some ‘serious’ help (BIG time FA or #1 draft pick), but after the signing of Johnson, I don’t know if I trust L&L to make the right choice.
October 25th, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Joe.
Great article. Maybe for 2 million more mccoy can learn how to bat down passes like JJ.
@RayRice
Facts don’t matter only emotions. Tom he might get 1 or 2 sacks and well party until midnight forgetting that bridewater has been sacked like 15x in the last 3 games but that doesn’t matter. And when he re-injures his pinky and is out for the season it will just be bad luck. Hey at least everyone gets free ice cream tom. Yey! Geraldine is the BEST in the league actually in the history of the league there has never been or ever will be a better 3tech in Tampa ever!
October 25th, 2014 at 8:13 pm
2 words – SHOW ME! he is nowhere close to being in the upper tier of the best in 2014. SHOW ME GMC. All I hear is talk. Hope you don’t have Ebola Joe..:-)… Just kidding. Get better. We need you on your game
October 25th, 2014 at 8:19 pm
Why do we have to make every player we sign the highest paid at their respective positions?
GMC is a good player, but he is nowhere near a $100 million contract guy. I dont ever recall him making a single game changing play. He’s got what, 12-15 sacks in five years? Bad contract in my opinion. $13 million dollars annually, wow!
October 25th, 2014 at 8:55 pm
You guys are hilarious. Signing GMC is the only option for the bucs. Maybe if the lb didn’t blew up short zones on every PA our dline wouldhave the time to get to the QB. Those complaining about its production should remember that he has a freakin broken hand. Go ahead and try to do a single push up with a broken hand..
‘Its a great signing and everyone complaining should go take for another team.
October 25th, 2014 at 9:10 pm
Gmc does push up with 2 fingers on one hand. He also shoot lightning out of his arse. He is the greatest of all time. Even sapp said he’s better. So what all the other 3techs have taken there teams to the playoffs. So what! Gmc is a really nice guy and deserves to be paid as such.
October 25th, 2014 at 9:30 pm
I love my bucs but the sad truth is where we stand as a franchise meant we had to pay our best player like j.j. Watt but without that production.2nd highest paid defensive player at a key position on the worse defense in the NFL, truth is despite having McCoy we’ve been ranked no higher than middle of the pack since he was drafted. If he’s worth the money, he deserves to be in the playoffs
October 25th, 2014 at 10:00 pm
gotbbucs. I agree. They are paying this guy like he was Lawrence Taylor. Too much money for any DT. Bucs hamstring themselves year in & year out with these massive contracts.
October 25th, 2014 at 10:19 pm
MIKE J”Bucs hamstring themselves year in & year out with these massive contracts.”
Dude do you even follow the Bucs or just make stupid comments..
What massive contracts do they hamstring themselves with. EVERY YEAR WE ARE UNDER the cap the entire season and actually usually have the most salary cap space at end of year. Many of the contract are easy to get out of where it doesn’t hurt the team as much.. Revis ? 16mil AND WE WERE UNDER THE CAP that yr. and took no hit when he left. wHEN THE DAY COMES THAT WE ARE OVER THE CAP and can’t sign players than your comment will make sense.
October 25th, 2014 at 10:47 pm
@SAMCRO: Great take. Foor for thought. I certainly hope that you’re right.
October 25th, 2014 at 11:03 pm
@THETRUTH…lmao I thoroughly enjoyed your post.
October 25th, 2014 at 11:08 pm
“Joe is happy for GMC.”
Me too, Joe. #93 is deserving of an extension like this. #54 will be next. They’re both elite, and I certainly don’t want to see them wearing another team’s jersey any time soon.
Hope you feel better soon.
October 25th, 2014 at 11:27 pm
Hope he buys a big pair of balls with some of that cash. He needs them.
October 25th, 2014 at 11:35 pm
You do realize they probably HAD to pay that much for him right? Look at this franchise, look at the “help” GMC has around him on D. No pass defense for coverage sacks, and no pass rush for sacks or pressured INT’s. Lovie’s Tampa 2 is a joke, it doesn’t matter if the D-line gets better penetration than Ron Jeremy, QB’s are able to dump the ball off in 3 seconds.
It certainly wasn’t success of the team that got him to sign that dotted line, and I’d rather give him superstar money to keep him here than see what this defense would be like without him and watch him go play for the Seahawks or Patriots for a ham sandwich and a bag of chips.
October 25th, 2014 at 11:46 pm
Once again over paying to compensate for other mistakes. I love GMC, but to make him the highest paid DT? total bs…..5th highest, maybe….
Im about done with this bs team anyway…and this site…Joe wont even allow my posts to be seen anymore….another sign to just give up
October 25th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
Just hopes he earns it. GMC would have been franchise anyway. Not like he was leaving right away.
October 26th, 2014 at 12:37 am
And…the Bucs pay “sticker price” plus for another player. Like Joe…not fully sure about this but am happy for McCoy the person. It doesn’t appear that the Bucs will sign an elite QB anytime soon an the punter is already maxed out…so there’s that. :/
October 26th, 2014 at 1:24 am
Joe
A team is more than one player and no one player can carry a team by themselves. But GMC is the foundation of this team in the years to come and when the team gets some more good players, watch out. It is just like LVD in the LBing corps.
October 26th, 2014 at 5:18 am
GMc is a good player, definitely not a great player. This was a perfect time to get him at a bargain, he is not having a good year and he has only had two healthy seasons to this point. I agree with locking him into an extension, but you should have paid him as good not the best DT in the league .
October 26th, 2014 at 7:36 am
THETRUTH, er, Hayneswirth, Nicks ring a bell?? They didn’t keep Revis or Bennett, e.g….The Bucs didn’t go after a few free agents that might have helped.They are lucky, fiscally, that they don’t have to pay a QB a fortune, but that may change.Gerald is a nice player but he is not a difference-maker.
October 26th, 2014 at 7:38 am
Yeah I think he’s a tad overpaid, but we got plenty of moneys and no one else to give it to.
October 26th, 2014 at 7:58 am
“Im the leader, Im the leader… hey gerald, what do you think of the defensive backs… i dont know whats going on back there… did i mention im the leader?
October 26th, 2014 at 9:44 am
@Joe(s)
This is one of the best, balanced, pieces you guy(s) have written. Kudos on some excellent journalism. I realize on a blog it’s mostly opinion but your print background shown through on this piece. Very well done.
The comments were also well written for the most part. There may be some disagreement about MG8 and others but it seems to me for the most part that people have figured GMC out. Perhaps the best guy in all of football as a stand up guy and great human being, ONE of the best DT’s in the league. The best? That part is a bit debatable IMHO.
All in all though I support this decision. One thing nobody has addressed is the salary cap. It’s obviously going to go up and up and up as long as league revenues continue to soar. In a few years GMC’s deal may actually look like a bargain. I think that’s what Houston believes and why they felt they could dump so much on Watt.
October 26th, 2014 at 3:23 pm
”. McCoy has the NFL’s second highest 2014 salary cap number at $20.895 million…”
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Inside-Gerald-McCoys-monster-deal.html