McCoy Still Writing His Story
June 1st, 2018
BY IRA KAUFMAN
From time to time, the thought naturally drifts through Gerald McCoy’s mind.
It’s a chilling thought.
He could be the next Joe Thomas.
Tampa Bay’s decorated defensive tackle has a lot of football left in him at the age of 30, but McCoy knows he’s on the back nine of his career. And as he prepares for his ninth season in the NFL trenches, he is still seeking an opportunity to showcase his skills in the postseason.
Thomas, a 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle with the Browns, just retired after 11 seasons without a single playoff game on his resume. Despite his stellar efforts, Thomas hung up his cleats with a 48-128 record.
In the midst of all that losing, Thomas was often asked what kept him going.
“You still have a job to do,” was his perfect reply.
For the past eight years, McCoy has done his job with distinction, even as a noisy segment of Buc Nation questioned his leadership and toughness. This fall, he will be surrounded by five new defensive linemen as the Bucs try to take back this town after a decade of despair.
“It would be incredible,” McCoy says of a potential Buc revival. “I’m just working to make it happen. I won’t stop until it happens. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll work to where people can’t say he didn’t give it his all. All I can do is my part.”
Neighborhood Change
Since being selected with the third overall pick of the 2010 draft, McCoy has heard the adulation of his peers and the taunts of some Buc supporters. The football team he loves is 47-81 since his arrival, with six last-place finishes in the past seven seasons.
“You can’t be the same person and do the same things in the NFL and be successful,” he says. “I can be way better and the better I am, the better the team is. I can’t get lax, can’t let up.”
If McCoy’s focus wavers this fall, all he has to do is look at the lockers of Beau Allen and Vinny Curry, a pair of free agents signed from Philadelphia.
“Vinny and Beau have a Super Bowl game ball at their locker,” McCoy says. “You don’t want people talking about you. It makes you more dangerous to catch people off guard. Then you can be the Philadelphia Eagles, you can be the Jacksonville Jaguars … teams that come out of nowhere.”
Buc fans are familiar with nowhere. It’s been their neighborhood for 10 painful years and it’s time to move on up.
Perhaps McCoy’s career will parallel left tackle Paul Gruber, a member of the Bucs Ring of Honor. For his first nine pro seasons, Gruber was on a losing team every year until 1997, when Tony Dungy led Tampa Bay to the playoffs.
Worthless Paper
McCoy can also draw inspiration from Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams, a five-time Pro Bowl selection who will turn 35 later this month.
Finally, in his 12th season, Williams was just part of a Buffalo team that ended a 17-year playoff drought.
It was Williams who addressed the team before the critical regular-season finale against Miami and it was Williams who was mobbed by teammates when the Bills learned they had clinched that elusive postseason berth.
“I’m grateful,” he said in a jubilant locker room. “There’s been so much work to get here.”
While Thomas has the look of a first-ballot Hall of Famer for the Class of 2023, McCoy’s path to Canton isn’t nearly as assured — especially if the Bucs fail to play meaningful games in January.
“I don’t care what I see out on the field, I don’t care if I feel like we suck, I’m always going to play to win and feel we can win,” says McCoy.
With training camp gearing up in less than two months, McCoy is energized by all the new additions. He also has been around long enough to know potential just means you haven’t done it yet.
“Anything can look good on paper,” he says. “If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen.”
Ira Kaufman is the most revered sports personality and writer in town. He has hung his hat at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters since July 2016. Tampa Bay’s only Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, Ira busts out columns here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and his award winning podcasts fire Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can also hear Ira on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio Wednesdays during football season, and see him now on Mondays at 10:30 p.m. on Spectrum Sports 360 (aka BayNews 9). Ira also is part of the FOX-13 Tailgate Sunday show and enjoys beet salads, Riesling, Chiefs victories and needling Joe.
June 1st, 2018 at 2:20 pm
LOL!!! Great line Ira! TOO funny! “Showcase his talents in the postseason!” What his talent for getting “hurt” if he knows he won’t win and the game is going bad? Or his talent for helping someone off the turf? Or his talent for fooling everyone into thinking he is good when he is hot garbage?
June 1st, 2018 at 2:29 pm
Cue the lunatics who think this team is better off without McCoy on the team than with him….
2018 is GMC’s year to shine!
Just work your heart out and play your ass off this year Gerald – things will fall into place.
June 1st, 2018 at 2:40 pm
Put a sock in it Softie. Same BS every off-season.
June 1st, 2018 at 2:42 pm
Cant wait for the excuses when gmc disappears again but this time jameis succeds without his sorry arse. He is a complete embarrassment to the game of football and to masculine men everywhere. Faster he is gone the faster this team will reach it’s potential. A team is only as tough as its weakest link and gmc has proven to be the softest player in team history thus rendering this entire organization soft and weak.
June 1st, 2018 at 2:46 pm
Should be 80 Ls if he can close out just 1 game in the clutch.
June 1st, 2018 at 2:51 pm
If GMC is sooo good why do we need 5 new lineman for him to play better?
GMC = losing culture
June 1st, 2018 at 2:59 pm
Speaking for Tmaxcon
“I change my mind on GMC….he’s actually a very good player on a very bad team”
June 1st, 2018 at 3:14 pm
Thinking of Paul Gruber….
June 1st, 2018 at 3:16 pm
Did anyone else notice Softie’s technique in the Vita Vea sled video?
Vea and Ulrein looked solid and Softie had a little extra skip in his footwork that just seems silly, kinda like a little dance.
Ah shucks…….
June 1st, 2018 at 3:22 pm
So I think I have found the best statistical summary that isolates how the defense compared to the offense in 2017:
Bucs defense:
30th in points per drive given up
31st in yards per drive given up
32nd in punts forced per game (15 less possessions for the offense per league averages)
7th in turnovers (5 better than the league average for the year)
Bucs offense:
16th in points per drive
7th in yards per drive
7th in least punts per game (65 total vs league average of 75)
26th in give-away’s (5 worse than the league average)
These stats help explain why the offense was rated worse than 16th in PPG on the season; and why the defense was rated better than 31st in PPG on the season.
The defense hurt the offense by a net 10 possessions in terms of average turnovers vs average punts forced compared to the league.
The offense helped the defense by a net 5 possessions in terms of average turnovers vs average punts compared to the league.
This combined with the lack of a run game; also makes sense of why we were losing the TOP battle as well.
The offense should have been better than the defense; and it was; but I don’t think anyone expected just an average offense and a bottom 3 defense in the league. That’s a good formula for a sh1t record.
June 1st, 2018 at 3:26 pm
Joe Thomas NEVER got called out for his leadership or heart like Geraldini does on a consistent basis. Where there is smoke there is FIRE! Haven’t past Buc greats called out Geraldini telling him he needs to step it up and everytime he tends to fall FLAT on his face with no one there to help HIM off the ground.
June 1st, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Where oh where has Tmaxcon gone,
Why did you leave DB55 all alone,
I searched the internet all day long,
You met another and like Josh Freeman you were gone.
June 1st, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Scotty, Joe Thomas never won a meaningful game so he’s essentially worthless. [sarcasm]
June 1st, 2018 at 3:54 pm
Ghost, Trollmax is here several posts above. He now posts as Reality is a B.. Here are some cues: the words “arse, soft and weak” (among others) are usually in every post.
June 1st, 2018 at 4:30 pm
@ Steven007
But he uses extreme restraint by not using Cancer93…….I’m impressed….maybe he’s not completely insane after all…..
June 1st, 2018 at 5:03 pm
I wasn’t sure before but now I am. Reality Beotch is Tmax.
June 1st, 2018 at 5:04 pm
Reality-is-a-Beotch Says:
Cant wait for the excuses when gmc disappears again but this time jameis succeds without his sorry arse. He is a complete embarrassment to the game of football and to masculine men everywhere. Faster he is gone the faster this team will reach it’s potential. A team is only as tough as its weakest link and gmc has proven to be the softest player in team history thus rendering this entire organization soft and weak
——————————————————————————–
Steven007 Says:
Ghost, Trollmax is here several posts above. He now posts as Reality is a B.. Here are some cues: the words “arse, soft and weak” (among others) are usually in every post.
———————————————————————————
A-HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 1st, 2018 at 5:05 pm
I wasn’t sure before but now I am. Reality Beotch is Tmax. You got a serious problem dude. Get a life.
June 1st, 2018 at 5:12 pm
Types the person who uses a second alias on this site as recently as late this afternoon. 🙂
June 1st, 2018 at 5:25 pm
“Did anyone else notice Softie’s technique in the Vita Vea sled video?
Vea and Ulrein looked solid and Softie had a little extra skip in his footwork that just seems silly, kinda like a little dance.”
———-
I noticed that GMC was being praised by Buckner. But that clearly doesn’t fit your stupid narrative, so carry on.
June 1st, 2018 at 5:26 pm
Beotch, Buc believer, Lamarcus, all Donkeys!
June 1st, 2018 at 6:36 pm
If McCoy told me my house was on fire,I would have to get a second opinion!he talks every off season like he is gonna change and become a beast blah blah blah blah blah.just shut the hell up 93 and bring the nasty just 1 year like Sapp did!just 1 year McCoy!go watch film of Sapp or John randle and see what a great player with an attitude looks like.nice guys finish last in the NFL Gerald! Give John randle a call after watching his film and see if he will allow your soft ass to visit him at his home!
June 1st, 2018 at 6:54 pm
John Meeks that’s funny. Hahaa
June 1st, 2018 at 7:16 pm
McCoy said, “If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen.”
____________________________________________
It better happen or there will be a lot of changes next season.
June 1st, 2018 at 9:32 pm
@John Meeks,
Dude, punctuation is your friend – learn how to use it semi-properly! My brain hurts trying to translate whatever it is you are trying to say.
June 1st, 2018 at 11:19 pm
Joe’s- You really are having I.T. problems. I have never used another name EVER. I need to know what you are talking about.
June 2nd, 2018 at 7:31 am
All of you Mcoy haters really suck. All you guys know how to do is spew hate. Get a life that you enjoy.
June 2nd, 2018 at 9:59 am
“He’s a real nowhere man, living in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody.”
June 5th, 2018 at 7:03 pm
“For the past eight years, McCoy has done his job with distinction, even as a noisy segment of Buc Nation questioned his leadership and toughness. This fall, he will be surrounded by five new defensive linemen as the Bucs try to take back this town after a decade of despair. ”
I am sure every team in the NFL has their share of “fans” who always see the glass as half empty.
Gerald McCoy is the target of a certain amount of criticism here in Tampa Bay. He is considered soft by some because he plays a clean game and exhibits sportsmanship. He has character and decency on and off the field. He is a class human being. Nothing wrong with that!
Shawn O’Hara of NFL.com rates Aaron Donald 1st, Gerald McCoy 2nd, and Ndamukong Suh 7th for his Top Ten defensive tackles in the NFL as of May 14th.
Suh and McCoy came into the NFL in the same year and were drafted 2nd and 3rd respectively in the first round of the draft. Both are respected in the league and have each made the pro bowl five times. Here some comparisons based on information available on the Internet.
Gmac has played in 109 games and Suh in 126 games of a possible 128 in the past eight years. Suh has fared better for health and endurance but he has two suspensions.
Suh has 51.5 career sacks with an average of 4.08 per game. Gmac has 48.5 career sacks with an average of 4.44 per game.
Suh has 288 tackles, 131 assists for a combined total of 419. This comes to an average of 3.24 per game. Gmac has 203 tackles, 66 assists for a combined total of 269. This comes to an average of 2.46 per game.
I would say Gerald McCoy is not too shabby as a football player.
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Go Bucs!!!