A 12-4 Turnaround?

May 25th, 2015
Double-digit wins means postseason honors for "America's Quarterback," Jameis Winston.

Double-digit wins means postseason honors for “America’s Quarterback,” Jameis Winston.

Joe is on record claiming six wins this year is solid progress for the Bucs, tripling a win total from the previous season.

Though fans may not want to think this way, the Bucs were the worst lot in the NFL for a reason last year. The. Team. Was. Rotten.

Often, a team has the worst record in the NFL because it has several holes.

In a video with Casey Phillips and Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, Smith notes that in not-so-distant Bucs history, the team had a dramatic turnaround from garbage to very good. Problem is, those quick turnarounds seemed more an accident than anything, as the team could not sustain success.

The discussion stemmed from a question from a fan who thinks the Bucs could be 12-4 this fall. Joe nearly fell out of his chair. Joe will flat out say right now if the Bucs are 12-4, then “America’s Quarterback,” Bucs signal-caller Jameis Winston, will be rookie of the year.

36 Responses to “A 12-4 Turnaround?”

  1. Casual Observer Says:

    Except for the two, unfathomable, incredibly embarrassing, blowout losses, the Bucs seemed to be in about every game. So, I think a winning season is very possible. No major injuries is a huge factor – as it always is. But, with all the changes, good reason for some optimism. Maybe even a very good year, if (also, as always) all the new pieces fit together.

  2. BuccaneerBonzai Says:

    I don’t see it happening. Not with the injury prone free agents brought in.

  3. Buccfan37 Says:

    Maybe not a winning season, but damn close to it.

  4. ed Says:

    12 and 4 is a nice dream. I expect a texans type (at least 7-9) turn around though, and to seriously compete (unlike last seasons “we are still fighting for the divison”/mathmatically alive nonsense) for a playoff spot. Anything less and a new coach will be on the wish list.

  5. lurker Says:

    tom brady is america’s quarterback!

    jameis christ is our savior.

  6. The Other Side of the Coin Says:

    Winston better be ROY. Rookie quarterbacks are uniquely positioned to win it.

  7. C. Alaka Says:

    Even after his 1st concert (Drake) young Jameis is hard at work Joe! https://instagram.com/p/3G08sIhMV_/

  8. drdneast Says:

    I agree. If the Bucs finish 12-4 it will no doubt be because of Winston and the fact Koetter has corrected his propensity to force balls in to make something happen in the early parts of the games.
    Fact of the matter is Joe, you can be Saddam Hussein or Joeseph Goebbels if you like but the people have spoken with their wallets and their hearts.
    Marcus Mariotta had the No. selling jersey in the NFL during the month of May.
    Quit trying to force your nickname down on their throats.

  9. RachelWatson'sthong Says:

    The. Coaching. Was Turrible! Anybody that says the final scores were indicative of the Bucs being close to winning are in fact Casual Observers. Other than beating the hated (my hate, not yours necessarily) Steelers @ home there were very, very few satisfying moments. (Big Mikey Evans is the exception) And even less moments where you ever thought we were ever in the game or would win. God I hope that season was an aberration for Lovie Dovey. I fear it’s not, but at least we have a REAL offensive cord. and a real QB this year. (no disrespect to Glennon. I love having him on our team)
    Overall, our 2015 schedule is a big bowl of weak sauce. I hope for a 50% winning percentage. I don’t think that’s too much to expect.

  10. TouchDownTampaBay Says:

    Unfortunately Joe is the only one on here that isn’t simply being a homer. If I was a betting man I would be all over the 6-10 record. That seems right to me. Honestly, I think 6-10 is a bit charitable as 4-12 or 5-11 seem more likely. However, I think young Jameis will snatch victory from the jaws of defeat once or twice. Talk of playoffs or winning records is just silliness. Fans saying that are not paying attention. They have second stringers that will be starting at key positions come September along with numerous rookies. No OC and potential franchise QB can overcome all the weaknesses on this team.

    My goal is to watch JW improve as the season progresses. If that happens we may indeed be a playoff contender in 2-3 years.

  11. OB Says:

    If Koetter gets the offense in gear, anything is possible, but I have to doubt Mr Brooks selection of personnel after what happened to the Storm last night.

    Hopefully this was just a bleep on the giddyup, and Koetter is a better judge.

    Now Joe I ask, who, in your opinion is going to be Winston’s favorite receiver?

  12. JabooBuc Says:

    Are you clowns seriously talking about who has sold the most jerseys??? Bunch of teenage girls on this site. I guess we should be listening to the Jonas Brothers because all the girls buy their Sh$t.

    Jameis is Americas QB! End of story.

  13. BoltIsle Says:

    I would be thrilled with single digit losses

  14. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Surely….”America’s Quarterback” can lead us to at least 6 wins….

  15. Cannuckbuc Says:

    Agreed !! Jabot Uv!

  16. Cannuckbuc Says:

    Stupid corrector I ment Jaboobuc

  17. bucs4lyfe Says:

    Damn Joe your supposed to be a professional is finding a big buc story pick for you? How can you go on record saying a quick turnaround is more of an accident in the NFL. Atlanta went 13-3, Panthers went 12-4 not to long ago but look at last year those weren’t mistakes. Got to be more careful

  18. America's Bucs Fan Says:

    The Bucs have a very, very soft schedule next year and their record could show them to be a much better team than they really are

  19. Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun. Says:

    “SkullGang,Red banner 1ball2blades”.

  20. Danati74 Says:

    Damn ppl still talking about Mariota on this site. Can you please just go to Titanfanhorneyformariota.com News flash the draft is over and the Bucs picked WINSton. Thats it. If you want to be a Titan fan go buy a stupid jersey and jump ship. All the Winston jokes are out the window. The new season is starting and its time for The Bucs to start winning. Go buy a jersey or if you don’t like the jerseys, go buy the retro ones. Its time to rock!!

  21. The Other Side of the Coin Says:

    Note: There are no soft schedules. Every game is tough from the bottom looking up.

  22. 1sparkybuc Says:

    9 or 10 wins gets my vote. The Bucs could get 6 wins just by the new OC. JW alone is good for 3 or 4 more. The rest of the division has not improved as much and they stunk it up pretty bad last year also. Glennon was 4-4 in the last half of 2013. The only advantage he had was a little better OL. Winston is an upgrade in every area other than experience. He will get more out of the people around him. This team will win 4 or 5 games in the division. Winston is not your typical rookie. The upgrades to this roster are not done yet. We get first crack at the waiver wire. There will be more impact players added between now and September.

  23. bucco brice Says:

    who knows in today’s NFL…The schedule, on paper, is not a difficult one…the AFC south and our division are not the best…the stretch with Dallas, @Phil @Indy is the tough part…rest of the games are very winnable…Winston and the two OL rookies are the key…they play at a “good” level and we could win the division! 🙂

  24. TouchDownTampaBay Says:

    @America’s Buc Fan – “soft schedule” ??? You do realize that all of the Bucs opponents currently have the Bucs game circles as easy wins on their calanders. When your 2-14 there is no such thing as an “easy” schedule.

  25. Babaloo Says:

    Joe is right on this one. Rookie of the year absolutely. And to be honest, I think if Jameis continues to attack the playbook and do the things he is capable of, that there is a he can be the Rookie of the Year.

    The defense needs to show up to make this happen and i think they will. I would Lovey it if they did. Yes, I would Lovey it.

  26. Capt.Tim Says:

    Would love 8-8
    But joe is spot on.
    2 rookies starting on the O-line, rookie QB, first year with new OC, no DEs,
    New MLB( improvement, but he is QB of defense- will take a year to learn teammates), new safeties, need CB depth.

    Another year together- plus great Defensive draft next spring- and we’ll be movin on up in the standings.

    Patience. It took Sapp/Brooks/lynch/Barber a couple years, same here

  27. jb Says:

    If this team finishes 12-4…even if they go one and done in the playoffs, the NFC South, along with the rest of the league better watch the **** out!

  28. Otownbuc Says:

    We had no OC last year yet we were still in most of the games. This is a huge factor that is dismissed by many. This very well could be a breakout year where Joe will give all credit to Jamis but will minimize credit to having a real OC, and defensive players knowing the system not just learning it. OL is my big worry this year. We are asking a lot of some young players but with a real OC and QB (potentially) it’s not far fetched to think a huge turnaround could be done.

  29. Capt.Tim Says:

    All of you anticipating a huge turn around
    – who do you think is going to be pressuring opposing Qbs?
    If you said anyone other than McCoy, it’s just wishful, desperate thinking.
    And if we don’t pressure the other QBs?
    We lose.
    It’s just that simple

  30. DallasBuc Says:

    I expect to win on Sundays. Every Sunday. Win total predictions are useless. There were clarevoyent morons on this site a year ago insisting on at least 11 wins with Trash McSht as our named QB.
    I encourage my fellow Bucs fan to stop predicting wins and start expecting wins. With Crash McBurn behind center last year I still foolishly expected to win because this is professional football. What we all were forced to watch was a collection of talent and coaches that can’t compete.
    The malaise of mediocrity is saddening.
    We have a real QB. Expectations should match reality soon

  31. Capt.Tim Says:

    We did win. Big time. Just exactly what we set on to win.
    The Jameis Winston lottery.
    Quit being so damn short sighted and insulting to players – who did exactly as they were told

  32. DallasBuc Says:

    Capt- Douche Mcshts played his ass off to a single win in like 11 tries. No one could get that firebrand of ineptitude to tank, not even his thrift-sale benefactor Lovie Smith.
    Yes, being the worst team in all of professional football by a mile led us to Jameis but I am not willing to see last year as an intended outcome. Incompetent Lovie Smith and his band of incompetents like IHOP (hat tip Dusthy) and the great lapdog fool of a GM actually tried and easily came in last in just about every category sans Mike Evans. Odds were they would hit in the top 10 so let’s not get defensive.
    Are you certain McCan’t was “forced” to be who he had otherwise always been for the previous 12 years…terrible?.

  33. ChanEpic Says:

    I see a lot of the same wishful, fanciful thinking I saw last year. 12-4? 12-4?!?!? You people are setting yourselves up for a BIG surprise. And when Lovie doesn’t live up to these lofty read:Unattainable expectations, he and his coaching staff will pay the price. 6-10 would be a HUGE accomplishment with THIS team.

  34. pick6 Says:

    i’m just waiting for us to be above .500 around thanksgiving time for a change. i think the last 2 times that occurred were in 2010 and 2008. let’s start there, and then try to match our best record in team history

  35. Capt.Tim Says:

    Dallasbuc- no OC,,, no O-Line, and you blame McCown????
    Don’t know much about football.
    Watch McCown shine this year

  36. Joe Says:

    Dallasbuc- no OC,,, no O-Line, and you blame McCown????

    Yes!

    He was supposed to be such a leader, such a veteran, such a force for bonding. Yet he was complete and total garbage. Tells you all you need to know that the Bucs had already decided to draft a rookie quarterback, and couldn’t wait to wash their hands of the guy. Didn’t even want him for a backup.

    Speaks volumes; the video screamed volumes. A high school quarterback would have been benched for the stunts McCown pulled.