“This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen”
January 20th, 2015
The NFL did its best to force parity throughout the league 20 years ago by instituting a salary cap.
But look at the Patriots — and the Bucs — and one could conclude the NFL did not succeed.
The Patriots will play their sixth Super Bowl of the decade. Tampa Bay is 30-70 in its last 100 games. Russell Wilson? He’s 36-12 in regular season games, and 6-1 in the postseason entering his second Super Bowl.
Renowned BSPN NFL insider Chris Mortensen touched on the haves and the have nots this morning on WDAE-AM 620.
“When the salary cap era hit, we all said, ‘There goes the domination. There go the dynasties.’ This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Mortensen said. “This wasn’t supposed to happen because you’re going to have to turn over rosters.”
The radio discussion was about Bill Belicheat and Tom Brady, but Joe couldn’t help but think about the flip side, the dark side, where the Bucs now reside. It sure has been a sad ride since Chucky marched the 9-3 Bucs into Carolina for a December matchup on Monday Night Football in 2008.
What Mortensen said about the Patriots applies to Tampa Bay: “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Hear all of Mortensen’s interview via the 620wdae.com audio player below.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:05 pm
When you re-write all the rules to favor QB’s it negates the parity you gained through the Salary Cap. When it pretty much takes a top 10 QB to have a shot at the Super Bowl, you’re going to get teams that dominate until they lose that top QB. A few teams are lucky as hell and go from Fave to Rodgers, or Manning to Luck. But a team’s window is now more like 8 to 10 years if they have a great QB, and non-existent if they don’t.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:14 pm
how is Russell 6-1 in post season… if he hasn’t lost ?
January 20th, 2015 at 1:16 pm
You dont have to dig too deep into the Bucs past to see why they are where they are. They have always have talent, but this team has been terribly mismanaged for far too long. Too many coaching changes, drafting blunders, and free agent busts. All factors combined put the Bucs in the cellar.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Wilson and the Seahawks lost to Atlanta a couple of years ago.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Dennis:
Wilson lost to the Falcons in the playoffs in 2012.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:25 pm
The Patriots are a dynasty because Bill Belicheck is the greatest coach in NFL history(Please don’t try to argue against this and make yourself look stupid). Tampa’s drought isn’t a result of a lack of parity. Mark Dominik had a chance to turn this roster around and he failed miserably. Compound that with the fact that he had Morris and Schiano as head coaches just puts icing on the cake and is a perfect recipe for any franchise to fail every year.
Now Lovie and Licht have to come in and clean up this mess.. This is very similar to Obama taking over the white house and cleaning up that mess. He didn’t fix everything in a year!! It’s going to take time people!
January 20th, 2015 at 1:31 pm
Salary cap can not compensate for incompetent organizations that make horrible draft choices and free agent signings year in and year out.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:37 pm
Absolutely…Belichick is the best coach in the NFL hands down!! You will see this when he takes apart the dirty birds and Pete “whiner” Carroll in 2 weeks!!
The other thing is his genius in picking the best QB of all time (maybe with Marino) in Tom Brady at the #199 pick…behind six (6) other losers who are no longer in football and never were full time starters. Brady’s year #1 the Patirots kept him as the #4 QB on the roster so no one else could steal him. By year #2 he was pushing Bledsoe and would have been the starter before Bledsoe was injured if he was not a second year player.
I don’t care about the #1 pick because Lovie cannot evaluate talent. Moreover, he can’t keep talent. Look at all the players who are former Bucs that have played on other teams in the last 2 weeks and the Bucs got zero/nothing or very little for each of them.
The Buc’s need to hire a new Head Coach before anything will change! Lovie the Loser must go! The Buc’s should have given Jim Harbaugh the farm to get him, now he is on to “M” “Meechigan” and will knock it out of the park there! Ohio State…get ready to lose big time!!
The Niner’s let him go because he would not extend his contract without 7 million a year…they got Tomusula (WHO???) for 3.5 million a year with NO assistant coaches. Please watch that franchise (dynasty) go from the Championship Game to next to the Buc’s next year!
FIRE LOVIE NOW!!
Greg Schiano
January 20th, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Its all about having the right people in place from coaching to scouting to front office personnel that can manage the cap, draft and develop players and maintain continuity. Not that many teams have been able to do it.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:44 pm
30-70 doesn’t happen if you don’t fire gruden. Its 100% the fault of the glazer sons!
January 20th, 2015 at 1:53 pm
SO$, I agree.
Gonna repost what I typed late last night outta frustration:
Offensive/ defensive-minded, I don’t give a rat’s a$$ Joe.
The coaches in the Super Bowl are excellent at ‘assessing talent’ and (get ready because this is a crazy concept:) COACHING!
Each of our last coaches march one guy after another out just because he either isn’t part of his regime or doesn’t ‘fit his scheme’… which with as much talent that leaves here and succeeds elsewhere, is code for: “I’m pretending and I don’t really know how to get the best out of a player (the definition of coaching)”
Assess, lead, and teach – A successful coach has all 3, none of our past 3 have shown either.
January 20th, 2015 at 1:54 pm
Problem starts with Ownership and trickles down to coaches. Teams that go to the playoffs consistently have great coaches and good ownership. We have neither. Think about this, how many players have we traded or cut because we thought they sucked. Yet, once they went to another team they were great or was good enough to be a starter on that team. We just have bad owners and coaches. {Edited for vulgar language.-Joe}
January 20th, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Mike10 — very accurate take. Im sick of hearing the system works. It
is not about systems its about players making plays not stubnorn philosophies
January 20th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
@ihatemarkdominick
I dont buy that for a minute.
Belicheat got run out of Cleveland. If he is soooooo great he should have made it happen in Cleveland.
It’s all about the QB plain and simple.
Great QB = great coach
No QB=terrible coach
January 20th, 2015 at 2:08 pm
Sorry about that Joe. They are terrible/incompetent owners and coaches.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:16 pm
I blame the GM/HC from the day after the SB win light years ago until now for our record. They are the ones that picked the players, hired the coaches and put in the schemes that were used. All of them including Chucky failed, some worse than others, but none won another playoff game. We now have experienced arguably the worst team in our history because you can’t count the first couple of years because they were stocked with losers.
When we change the HC and the uniforms we will be a power again because no one like to wear a uniform that makes people laugh at them.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:19 pm
“The kevin” Says:
January 20th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
@ihatemarkdominick
I dont buy that for a minute.
Belicheat got run out of Cleveland. If he is soooooo great he should have made it happen in Cleveland.
It’s all about the QB plain and simple.
Great QB = great coach
No QB=terrible coach
________________________________________________
Simply not true. THe Pats won 3 Super Bowls because they had a great defense. Seattle is bordering on a dynasty and it doesn’t have much to do with Russell Wilson. Chip Kelly wins with anyone as his QB, so does Andy Reid.
The math isn’t hard
Great coach = great coach
Mediocre coach + QB = good coach
Mediocre coach – QB = Fired
Lovie is pure mediocrity. So I mean it’s not even about him as a coach, it’s about the QB…meaning we can hire any mediocre coach if we find a QB.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:20 pm
Ugh… that fateful night in Charlotte on MNF. I was at that game. Last time we were 9-3 prior to that was our Super Bowl season. First of painful 4 game slide.
Such a pivotal moment in this franchise’s history. One can only wonder where we’d be now if we could’ve at least won 1 or 2 of those final 4 games. The OT loss to the Falcons the next week and the season finale to the 5-10 Raiders. Should’ve both been wins.
Makes me sick.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:21 pm
Buccaneers Head Coaches:
John McKay 1976–1984 44-88 ~ Win/Lose record
Leeman Bennett 1985–1986 4-28
Ray Perkins 1987–1990 19-41
Richard Williamson 1990–1991 4-15
Sam Wyche 1992–1995 23-41
Tony Dungy 1996–2001 54-42
Jon Gruden 2002–2008 57-55
Raheem Morris 2009 – 2011 17-31
Greg Schiano 2012–2013 11-21
Lovie Smith 2014- 2-14
Buccaneers Qb:
Steve Spurrier
Parnell Dickinson
Terry Hanratty
Randy Hedberg
Gary Huff
Jeb Blount
Mike Boryla
Doug Williams
Mike Rae
Jerry Golsteyn
Jack Thompson
Steve DeBerg
Steve Young
Vinny Testaverde
Joe Ferguson
Chris Chandler
Jeff Carlson
Craig Erickson
Trent Dilfer
Eric Zeier
Shaun King
Brad Johnson
Rob Johnson
Chris Simms
Brian Griese
Bruce Gradkowski
Tim Rattay
Jeff Garcia
Luke McCown
Byron Leftwich
Josh Johnson
Josh Freeman
Mike Glennon
Josh McCown
The organization has been horrible at choosing HC and still is and those HC have been horrible at picking QBs…. History keeps repeating itself in the choosing of HC…. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself in the picking of the next QB… (Though I am expecting it to by the team picking the wrong 1)!
The Bucs being a losing team is more so on the owners and organization rather than the parity issue!
January 20th, 2015 at 2:25 pm
it’s a poker game and we are always the mark
January 20th, 2015 at 2:27 pm
@bucrightoff… bill was pretty good in clevland. He rebuilt a roster, got them to the playoff , but the team lost every game once the move was announced.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Here I thought the Patriots were NOT a dynasty 20 years ago.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:37 pm
i wish someone would list every coach and every qb our franchise has had.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:44 pm
Belicheat was a scrub coach not even mediore before he got to new england and Brady. Dungy was known for defense before he got Manning, If the colts put money into the defense and got Dungy the talent Manning would have more than three rings and still be with the Colts. They finally put money into the D to help Luck and he throws 18 int’s in every big playoff game. Mart system was automatic (the greatest show on turf) and he was considered a genius with Kurt Warner. Cam isn’t one of the greats yet but he has saved Riveras job TWICE and Pete Carroll lucked up on Wilson. I mean who throws 4 int’s and still comes back to win the game? McCarthy is great because of Rodgers take him off and the Packers are average and considered mediocre.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Quaterbacks and coaches go hand in hand there is no other way they are considered great. With the exceptions of coaches who have great all-tme defenses with decent offenses(average qb) but those teams usually only win one ring. It takes a good QB to win multiple rings.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:48 pm
@mike n
It’s on wikipedia.
January 20th, 2015 at 2:49 pm
There are at least 5 former bucs playing in the SB, at least 3 are starters.
“Only a poor craftsman blames his tools”
January 20th, 2015 at 2:50 pm
The Bucs being a losing team is more so on the owners and organization rather than the parity issue!
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I couldn’t agree more. 26 out of 39 seasons – an even 2/3 – this franchise has lost 10+ games. Its very sad.
Only time we were successful was when Malcolm led this organization. It was a dumpster fire under Culverhouse and is a dumpster fire under the Glazer boys.
Not a coincidence.
January 20th, 2015 at 3:15 pm
“Now Lovie and Licht have to come in and clean up this mess.. This is very similar to Obama taking over the white house and cleaning up that mess. He didn’t fix everything in a year!”
If turning a 4 win team into a 2 win team is cleaning things up I can’t wait to see what Lovie has in store for next year.
Great analogy by ihatemarkdomink. Lovie and Obama.
Problem is he thinks it is a compliment.
January 20th, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Talent evaluation is one of Belichick’s many talents. Rag on Schiano all you like, that dude actually helped the Bucs have the two best drafts the team has had in over a decade. With the exception of maybe three guys (all 5th round or later) I believe every player he picked is either still a Buc or playing in the NFL. He wasn’t there yet as a NFL HC, but drafting starters and quality depth is an important part of building a dynasty in the age of salary cap
January 20th, 2015 at 4:08 pm
obama and lovie do have a lot in common. Everything out of their mouth is BS and they both made the businesses they run worse off. Mr. Obama could use a salary cap since he has compiled the most debt in US history in the shortest period of time. More debt then every other president combined. but facts don’t matter.
January 20th, 2015 at 4:22 pm
To win at any game you must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one. – Mikhail Tal
January 20th, 2015 at 4:28 pm
toesontheline you are so right. Schiano even at his best was never a good game day coach. But he could recruit, and he could teach.
The majority of the Patriot secondary is from Rutgers. Bellicheck grabs em cause he knows they were taught well.
January 20th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
It makes it possibly even more likely to happen. Instead of the team with the big bucks winning it all because they can stock up on talent, the teams with the brains are winning because they draft well, don’t overpay for talent, and know that coaching and scouting makes a huge difference.
January 20th, 2015 at 4:34 pm
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
January 20th, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Here I thought the Patriots were NOT a dynasty 20 years ago.
——
They were horrible 20 years ago. It wasn’t until 2001 that they became a dynasty. Yes, Parcells got the team to the playoffs in 96 and 97, but they were terrible in the early 90’s… they even went 1-15 one year and “won” the right to draft Drew Bledsoe… who in hindsight, was a decent QB…better than #2 Rick Mirer, who was athletic but played in a non-NFL system and would have to adapt to the NFL (sound familiar, Mariota fans?).
January 20th, 2015 at 5:08 pm
“When you re-write all the rules to favor QB’s it negates the parity you gained through the Salary Cap. When it pretty much takes a top 10 QB to have a shot at the Super Bowl, you’re going to get teams that dominate until they lose that top QB. A few teams are lucky as hell and go from Fave to Rodgers, or Manning to Luck. But a team’s window is now more like 8 to 10 years if they have a great QB, and non-existent if they don’t.”
Well said. In the AFC, Manning, Brady, and Roethlisberger have made it to 12 of the last 14 Super Bowls (Flacco and Rich Gannon are the other QBs to make it within that time from AFC).
Bucs have to try to get a QB. If they fail, they must continue to do so until they get a franchise QB.
January 20th, 2015 at 6:56 pm
The Patriots are a perfect storm…. Good Coach, Great QB and terrible division. Other than the Jets a couple of years, the Jets, Bills and Dolphins have been terrible. Like the 49ers of the 80’s and 90’s, you need patsies in your division to stack wins and secure home field.
January 20th, 2015 at 7:28 pm
It’s about drafting, which they haven’t been great all the time either. People may forget their first Super Bowl win last decade Belichick started 0-2 and they were ready to can his ass. Had poor attendance and ever since then I think they have won 10 plus games a year.
Bucs have sucked top to bottom basically the last decade or so, sad very sad.
January 20th, 2015 at 9:41 pm
On Schiano, I agree with ToesOnTheLine! and jerseybuc. Schiano is better than Lovie. Why people hated him puzzles me. And Brady lovers make me want to barf.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:15 pm
Schiano, will be on the patriots in some fashion this coming season or next… I think he’s off Bucs p/r this year. Probably will scout for them or asst in some fashion.
January 20th, 2015 at 10:52 pm
All of these problems go back to two main sources. QB play and drafting.
For the past 10 years the drafting and the QB play has been abysmal except foe one year under Josh Freeman.
But poor drafting, more than anything else, is what has crippled this team and all the fans are left to do is point fingers of blame at a wide variety of characters because we don’t know who is responsible for making the final decision and how the process works from start to finish.
Any hope Joe in you writing a story about this and enlightening the fan base.
January 20th, 2015 at 11:18 pm
Joe Says: “It sure has been a sad ride since Chucky marched the 9-3 Bucs into Carolina for a December matchup on Monday Night Football in 2008.”
I can remember that night like it was yesterday. I met my friend and GREAT Buc fan Mike (RIP) at a local sports pub, and we each had our hearts ripped out that night, while the end of that season left us all in shock. Little did we all realize that gameday would largely become a living nightmare for the next 6 seasons. There’s not another team that I will ever cheer for, but these last 100 games have left a mark.
January 21st, 2015 at 2:25 am
The parity just exposes incompetence and reveals real skill. The only way we can hope to take advantage of such a system is if coaching staffs, owners, and front offices are thrown into a hat every few years and picked at random. I don’t see a Kraft or a Belichick anywhere near this organization, except when they’re cherry picking our poorly-utilized players.
January 21st, 2015 at 3:55 am
It amazes me that people praise chucky but that wasn’t chucks teams that won the superbowl. It was dungy’s. The glazer’s have been screwing up for awhile, hopefully everybody can turn this tragedy around. Fire Lovie? Please. Oh how we forget when he to offer that pathetic bear’s team, 3 years later they ended up in the superbowl, against who? Tony Dungy. Who made the Bucs a fire to be reckoned with oh btw Lovie was part of that too. And we fire Morris and hire schiano who seemed to do nothing but get rutger players. And that was comical to me. The things you guys are saying is hilarious. I guess the nfl does mean not for long. Because y’all act as if coach Smith hasn’t paid his dues or doesn’t know Wtf is going on. Let him get his own squad in there.
January 21st, 2015 at 6:11 am
@hysterical
Actually, it took both Dungy AND Gruden to win that Superbowl. And Sam Wyche.
Gruden’s knowledge of the Raiders played a huge role.
But Gruden gets far too much credit for being a good coach. He was actually a horrible head coach and a back stabber. His first year, he did things right, but then it went downhill after that.
January 21st, 2015 at 6:45 am
There are multiple reasons this team has not done well.
Raheem Morris should never have been promoted to head coach. It was a stretch for him to become defensive coordinator. His skills as a secondary coach were good, not great.
Poor drafting has done a lot of damage. It takes a perfect mix of head coach and general manager to draft well. Morris plus Dominick were horrible. Schiano plus Dominick were top notch in that department. And Dom was a master at working trades, except in one very bad case.
The Revis trade was a horrible move. While costing us $16m that year, it also cost us a first round pick. No good QBs came out in 2013, but there were some good players we missed out on.
Instability has been the most damaging thing to the team. The Glazer boys should stop pandering to the fans and media. We’re all idiots. It’s simple, build a winning team and we’ll spend money, regardless of what we claim.
They should have given Schiano another year. I believe Love is a good hire, even with this past seasoen results. Unlike many, I don’t believe in constant change at head coach. Give him time and he’ll build a strong team.
BTW, I think Mike Glennon could be considered a bust at this point.
The
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:52 pm
Ownership is key: simple enough. The Bucs were doormats in Creamsicle because the owner cared very little about winning. He was happy with his share of TV revenue and cut the Bucs budget to the bone while rewriting tax codes that would save his fellow owners serious coin. When Malcolm Glazer held the reigns to the Bucs franchise we saw success! Why? Because the dude wanted a winner! ow Malcolm is gone and his boys are running the franchise; indeed they are running the franchise into the ground. The only thing missing from the Culverhouse era are the gnarly Creamsicle Blazers…..