Beware!
August 31st, 2017
Season riding on shoulders?
There’s an NFL suit down on the Bucs offense.
An unnamed NFL exec broke down the Bucs and was not all that pleased with the offense, the shadowy figure told Mike Sando of BSPN.
Oh, whoever this guy is likes the #WeaponsForWinston that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht gave winning Bucs coach Dirk Koetter. But the suit doesn’t seem to be a fan of America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
Unless Doug Martin reverts to the minority of his career (the two of five very good years), he sees doom in the future of the Bucs, the suit told Sando in so many words,
The worry: Doug Martin won’t be enough to keep the running game going.
Exec unfiltered: “They have good weapons on offense and I think they will be good on defense. Maybe for them, it’s just their running game. If it’s not Doug Martin, who is suspended for the first three games, then who is going to step up and carry them on the ground? Is it going to just be on Jameis [Winston] to throw it every down, because if it is, he’s going to turn it over.”
It is a fair point but perhaps misguided?
Last year, when Jameis was launching passes like he was in a run-and-shoot offense, he was awful. The loss to the Broncos springs to mind. When the running game was going, like his rookie season, Jameis shined.
Again, who outside of Mike Evans and Cam Brate was Jameis throwing to? There’s a reason the Bucs added three — three! — weapons in the offseason: DeSean Jackson, O.J. Howard and Chris Godwin.
Joe is of the mind the extra weapons alone will help Jameis cut down on turnovers.
August 31st, 2017 at 9:11 am
Licht should have drafted a running back in the second round to help Jameis and instead, he may have blown another second round pick on Justin Evans.
Evans has not been very impressive in preseason…just say’n.
Licht sucks on second round draft choices…
August 31st, 2017 at 9:17 am
ESPN will always be butt hurt about Winston until he wins a super bowl MVP. This is way more a slam on him than Martin.
August 31st, 2017 at 9:22 am
There’s some truth to it. Dm as a starter (although struggling ) buc’s went 5-2 record So Dm needs to be on the field and they it looks he looks like our starter again. Everybody failed to beat hI’m out of his job. We have to count him
August 31st, 2017 at 9:24 am
Tnew:
Joe has to be fair here. That’s not coming from BSPN but an unnamed GM. BSPN has written very positive stories of late about Jameis including this story just this week.
August 31st, 2017 at 9:28 am
11 days until we can stop speculating. Its no secret we do not have a very impressive stable of running backs. Thats why most of us thought we would draft a quality running back. That might not matter though if our air attack is good enough, that should open up holes for the running game and we can get by with the marginal talent that we have.
August 31st, 2017 at 9:42 am
Jameis hates negativity, and so do I.
All of the posts that complain about who we SHOULD have drafted are useless wastes of time and energy. No matter what you might THINK, no, you could not have done a better job than Jason Licht & Co. To believe otherwise is to be so deluded it’s “tmaxcon”-like.
Stop being negative.
You’re a cancer.
Think about that.
Not for a second, not for a minute.
Think about it for a long, long time:
When you’re negative, you’re a cancer. Period.
There are ways to not be a homer and yet not be a cancer. Seek them out.
August 31st, 2017 at 9:46 am
There have been many years where the Patriots have had very unimpressive running backs but still had winning seasons. I don’t recall NFL execs ever bashing the Patriots?
August 31st, 2017 at 9:46 am
The old adage “Opinions are cheap; everybody has one” was never more true than during the period leading up to the first football game of the season. I’ve now decided that the Bucs could go anywhere from 12-4 to 4-12 depending upon a myriad of factors (like injuries, play-calling, player performances on the field, how their opponents play, etc, etc). Lots of speculation right now (hey, it’s what fans & media do), but that’s all it is right now … speculation. Can’t wait for Sept 10th so we can all get a better idea of how this Bucs season might really unfold.
August 31st, 2017 at 9:56 am
I think this offense will go as far as the OL can carry it. IF the OL works out we’ll be a killer offense…if not…it could get ugly.
I’m still worried about RT but we do have some strong pieces in place.
I’m especially optmistic about the three in the middle…Pamphile…Ali..and Sweezy are mean, large road graders.
I do not believe we have any superstar RB’s but we don’t really need one if our OL plays well. There is a reason RB’s seem to have been devalued in the NFL over the past decade. Obviously the league has really shifted to a passing game but in addition it seems as if a really stout OL can make any RB look pretty good.
None of our backs can create their own space..including Doug…we need the blocks! None of our backs with the possible exception of Sims is really a threat to take it to the house….that’s OK because our passing game more than makes up for it.
#3 threw for 70% in our preseason and practice…he started the first two games very well…should have had a couple of TD’s if not for drops and no calls…he seems to have gotten past that horrible start rep that has been with him since FSU days.
As D.R. pointed out ANYTHING can happen. But at least we have reason to be optimistic.
August 31st, 2017 at 10:08 am
I’m sure this “exec” has no clue who Peyton Barber is, thinks nothing of Quiz and is unaware that Marpet got moved to C and Sweezy is healthy. “Turnovers” is a pretty lazy take on Jameis.
Seahawks, Giants, Redskins, Packers (just to name a few) all have ?’s at their RB position too.
August 31st, 2017 at 10:12 am
Joe..fair enough, but most times “the Unnamed ………” source is code for, the one guy that I could find that didn’t want to be quoted but would somewhat agree to a point that I was trying to make.
August 31st, 2017 at 10:17 am
Insurance like AP would be real nice right now and would have been affordable.
August 31st, 2017 at 10:22 am
Not drafting Cook was a big mistake. I’ve been saying it since April and the media is still talking about, the fans are starting to see it, and the play on the field is reflecting it. It was a bad, bad move.
August 31st, 2017 at 10:31 am
St Pete you are 50% correct and I agree 100% with your assessment of the O-line. I would put half of the responsibility on the defensive line too. If the lines are merely solid, the Bucs will go a long way. Anything above that, this team could go a long, long way.
Joe, BSPN might salt a few positive articles in, but there is still a narrative that Winston is the weakness and was a mistake and that MM was the better choice. There are still those that think one of the two have to fail so that they can make their point. People loved the Ryan Leaf/Peyton Manning draft so much because one soared and one flamed. Doesn’t have to be like that. I think both can be good and both fit in well to their respective franchise. And while that article is quick to point out his winning personality it is equally quick to criticize his on field play and put in a mention regarding his sexual assault allegation. When was the last time an ESPN article “positively reflecting” on Big Ben also referenced his sexual assault allegation. It would be like me saying how great this website is (which I do believe that it is) by saying a great attribute it has then list 3-4 shortcomings.
August 31st, 2017 at 10:32 am
If we were to re pick the 2nd round it should’ve been for a pass rusher. OUr running backs are serviceable, especially given our passing options
August 31st, 2017 at 10:49 am
Thought that happened last year? 🙁
August 31st, 2017 at 10:59 am
There is no reason to make a decision on Martin until after his suspension. If we all want the Bucs to be a playoff team — and if they don’t pick up a top-flight back like L McCoy — then I don’t see why they would cut Martin. Rodgers / Sims / Barber / McNichols is a pretty shaky group.
August 31st, 2017 at 11:20 am
Tnew
Point taken. Yeah both lines must play well for ultimate success.
August 31st, 2017 at 11:47 am
And unnamed GM who wishes he could’ve drafted him. Psss.
August 31st, 2017 at 11:49 am
Patriots effectively use a short quick passing scheme which protects deficiencies in their OL and has the same effect as the running game. Glad to see the Bucs adopt more short passing this preseason. I hope they continue with this approach. Be nice to do it in the redzone too.
August 31st, 2017 at 11:51 am
Even if Noah turns out great we still need more help with the pass rush. GMC is getting older, Robert Ayers is getting older and can’t stay healthy, and the safety we drafted can’t seem to tackle. Running back isn’t what’s keeping this team from being great. This year we actually have some weapons that will keep the defense honest and open up some running lanes. Burning a high draft pick on a running back when we have other needs made no sense then.
Oh, and I drafted Dalvin Cooke as my stating RB in fantasy, so I’m not a hater. Just don’t think running back is our biggest concern
August 31st, 2017 at 11:59 am
@ buctrooper
What media is talking about the bucs should have drafted cook? The media is all in with the bucs drafting of oj howard. You are one of the last 3 people still crying about cook. Stop with the alternative facts.
August 31st, 2017 at 11:59 am
But the Joes, and Ira say that Doug won’t be on the team…
This is the only media outlet I’ve heard continually say Doug won’t make the team. Then over analyze every comment by the head coach to support the outlandish stance.
August 31st, 2017 at 12:02 pm
I don’t know if the unnamed Exec is “down” on Winston just doesn’t trust a turnover prone young qb to run a pass heavy offense without making a crucial mistake like he’s done consistently over his first 2 years.
Winston has weapons, lots of them, no excuses for him this year. I don’t wanna hear about a no running game excuse, if he’s the franchise qb we’ve been waiting for he doesn’t need to be surrounded by 10 all pros to get this team to the playoffs.
No excuses for #3 this year.
August 31st, 2017 at 12:31 pm
If we did anything in round 2 I was hoping we picked WR/RB Curtis Samuels or WR Chris Godwin. Samuels was gone before we picked and somehow Godwin was still there in round 3. I think that was a huge surprise to everybody. The Bucs had met with both players multiple times and HAD to have been really amped up about selecting one of them… they got lucky with Godwin.
Instead of those players in round 2, they chose NOT to draft a RB… that in itself was fine by me but I hated who they chose… Justin Evans. I touted Evans as perhaps the worse tackler in college football and definitely the worst tackler I had ever watched tape on. Considering he has barely played in the preseason, other than in 4th quarter garbage time, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t cleaned up his game at this point and shows no signs of doing so. That being said, I’m always in favor of drafting pass rushers. Nothing helps out defensive backs like a good pass rush. That’s the thing about Mike Smith’s defense. He’s got guys to stop the run, and guys to rush the passer… but not many guys that do both… which leads a lot of teams to exploit that by passing with running personnel in and running with pass personnel in… the big fix is a good all around DE. I wasn’t a big fan of any DEs available in round 2 but then again, I wasn’t a fan of any S in round 2 either, especially the one we chose.
August 31st, 2017 at 1:47 pm
…. the media is carrying on about the lack of a running game. They’re right. The strategy seems to be “wait out the suspension, pray doug returns to form.”
August 31st, 2017 at 2:01 pm
Great point about the patriots. If we can cover our weaknesses in the run game with short quick passes then why don’t we? We all know chuck sims can’t run the ball. But he’s on HE11 offa pass catcher. Short yardage would still be a problem, but I don’t care. Put Stevie t in to run goal line. Lol