JPP: “Not Even My Spot Is Guaranteed”

October 15th, 2018

Talks Mike Smith firing

The early MVP of the 2018 Buccaneers defense, which is kind of like being the best tennis player in Siberia, is without question Jason Pierre-Paul.

The beastly defensive end has been as advertised: relentless, consistent and, as a bonus, he’s on pace for 16 sacks through five games.

Growing up in the NFL under the militant Tom Coughlin regime, JPP is a hard man who knows the business and cares deeply about winning and greatness. Heck, the guy came back after blowing chunks of his hand off with explosives.

Interestingly, tonight on the Buccaneers Radio Network, JPP said he thought Mike Smith was “a great coordinator” but that’s the NFL. He explained that he didn’t expect to be traded by the Giants but you put on your big boy pants and move on.

Overall, JPP seemed unfazed by the announcement that Smith was fired today, despite calling the ousting of Smith “unexpected.”

“This is hard. It’s a business. Everybody knows that. Not even my spot is guaranteed,” JPP added. “So in this business, you just got to put on the performance. I’m sorry he was let go but, you know, it’s a business. … I’m definitely not panicking because I believe in myself.”

Joe hopes the rest of the Bucs adopt JPP’s approach: all business. He noted yesterday’s failures in Atlanta were all on the players because you could see the pockets of defensive success in the game that needed to come right out of the gate.

And, wait for it, JPP said there was “bad communication” throughout the defense in the game.

56 Responses to “JPP: “Not Even My Spot Is Guaranteed””

  1. ATrain Says:

    JPP

    Stand up and Demand The Players play

    You have the leadership ability

  2. BucsBandit Says:

    Bucs MUST pull off a trade for a corner or there will be no playoffs for this team.

  3. Jason Says:

    He is the safest by a wide margin.

  4. OneBucPerson Says:

    Oh don’t you worry Jason, the only other place you’ll be going to is the Pro Bowl.

  5. BucsBandit Says:

    I LOVE how “Bucs Fans” are saying that our Pass Rush hasn’t been great and was weak against the Falcons…

    These fans must be new to football. Matt Ryan was taking short drops and getting the ball out quickly since our secondary was playing so far off receivers. There would be no time for the greatest D-Line in NFL history to even get to Ryan. The ball is already out on most plays before they could even get to him if they were unblocked.

  6. Gettinthebucs Says:

    BucsBandit I totally agree with you. How does Mackensie Alexander for Noah Spence sound. 2 second round picks that haven’t lived up to their draft spots. Maybe a change of scenery could help both players.

  7. Mike Johnson Says:

    I think a trade for Peterson in Arizona would help out our back end..a whole lot!!

  8. Doctor Stroud Says:

    Mike Smith’s firing is a step in the right direction, but as JPP suggests, it also sends a message to the players that mediocrity will not be tolerated. I’m just not sure that Smith’s replacement is any better. Let’s see! Go Bucs!

  9. Duthsty Rhothdes Says:

    getinthebucs thats a great trade but not sure zimmer would take spence, think alexander in doghouse w zimmer but zimmer would take GMC for him & pretty sure the vikings down a stud DT shariff floyd

  10. The_Rockstar Says:

    Pfft, JPP you got 5 sacks in five games. You got the job. At this rate you’ll be in the ring of honor. On the other hand, McCoy (who apologizes when he sacks a QB) has 50 sacks in nine seasons, only averaging little more than 5 QB sacks per season. Now there is a guy that is expendable.

  11. bucsfaninchina Says:

    Trade for Patrick Peterson, dudes. I’d give a second for the guy

  12. LakeLand Says:

    The last time the Bucs played a playoff game

    1-6-2008

    Over 10 years, 8 months ago

    It’s time to man up, and quit with the EXCUSES

    NO job should be safe

  13. Mike Johnson Says:

    JPP brings effort every play. You can see it. But its something about Kwon and David…They are not bruisers..or quick..or something…….

  14. DB55 Says:

    Growing up in the NFL under the militant Tom Coughlin regime, JPP is a hard man
    ———–
    Growing up in NY under a militant regime, JPP is a hard man.

    I mean it’s all about perspective but YES you’re right! Do you see a difference between he and mr ice cream? JPP has no excuses, his mentality is one that Zeus himself can not stop him. And that my friends a champion makes.

    Personally I can’t wait to see the new dline. I truly wish we would have kept Swaggy and Ayers. The had the right attitude and could help.

    Curry, Allen and Unrein have a combined 12 total tackles and 10 of those are Curry’s.

    I’d take Swaggy and VV on goal line defense all day! And I’d line up Curry, VV, Swaggy, Ayers and JPP on the same line same play and go maul the QBs I’ll pay the fine. Lol. But then again wtfdik lol

  15. Dooshlarue Says:

    Ryan had too much time on several plays.

  16. BucsBandit Says:

    *PROPOSED TRADE*

    Bucs Trade: Cameron Brate (a weapon for Rosen) + 3rd rounder

    Cardinals Trade: Patrick Peterson

  17. adam from ny Says:

    jpp is one badass mofo…best player we’ve got!…

    i hope he just starts slappin’ dudes around the locker room with those long azz arms!

  18. adam from ny Says:

    can you imagine if he played with sapp…it woulda been cool !

  19. adam from ny Says:

    the most constant word in jpp’s vocabulary is “crazy”…he says it all the time…because he is kinda crazy…good crazy…crazy in a good way…i wish this type of crazy would rub off on his cohorts…because jpp is no joke!

    if you beef to jpp, he will make a ragamuffin out of you…

    #JppIsTheToughestBuc

  20. JimmyJack Says:

    Lol at all these proposed trades I keep reading about.

    The Bucs spent a ton of 💰 to bring in free agents for this coach and you really think they are gonna start signing off another 8 figures for this guy to throw at a Trainwreck of a season…….. I understand you probably burned all day on a Madden fix but we are talking about real football here.

  21. Anonymous Says:

    Okay .. we keep hearing the “ bad communication on defense “ excuse over and over. Can someone please tell me why the “ defensive QB “ Kwon hasn’t been called out and held responsible ? If it was happening on the offensive side of the ball , you can believe that people would be all over Jameis. I like Kwon and his love for the game , however how many times do we have to watch running backs come out of the backfield on pass plays and just run by him for completions and first downs. Stop celebrating every tackle you make that didn’t go the distance. And remember , you can only live off stripping the ball from Julio Jones 3 years ago for so long. Kwon , please lead this defense !

  22. LakeLand Says:

    JimmyJack

    A $50 million D-Line that can’t pressure a “statue” QB

    The Falcons “ancient” O-Line had given up 16 sacks

    The Bucs sacked him once

  23. BucsBandit Says:

    JimmyJack – Trading Brate for Peterson would also make cap room sense. OJ has developed nicely, and we don’t need 2 high paid TEs on the roster once OJ’s rookie deal is over. Brate has a lot of trade value to a team needing weapons for their young QB.

    Anyone who is not willing to swap Brate (and his salary) for Peterson’s is NUTS. Peterson is exactly what this team needs.

  24. BucdUp Says:

    That first sentence tho! Lol!!

    Nice one, Joe

  25. BucsBandit Says:

    Lakeland – the best NFL D-Line in history wasn’t going to put much pressure on Ryan in that game when he was mostly taking short drops and passing within 2 seconds to his receivers that had their defenders playing 10 yards off the ball.

    Our lack of tight secondary coverage (and weak scheme) is what is hurting our pass rush more than our personnel. They don’t have any time to rush. The ball is already out and completed for yardage.

  26. Duthsty Rhothdes Says:

    Adam the bucs had someone way better than JPP playing along sapp a dude w hall of fame #s, jpp needs to be like him and thats simeon rice

  27. Duthsty Rhothdes Says:

    BucsBandit he had all day back there and was throwing to 5th string WRs who our scrub dbs should be able to cover, aside from #11

  28. JimmyJack Says:

    BucsBandit…..Maybe if they could swing a move that wouldn’t cost the owners any money it’s plausible. But there’s no way in hell they are paying anymore money for players for this team…….What exactly would be the impact one guy will make to validate the spending? 6 wins I stead of 4?……..What are they just gonna flat out lie to the owners and say they are one piece away from contending…….I don’t even think the soccer boys would buy that

  29. LakeLand Says:

    BucsBandit

    I agree 100%

    But I still think this $50 million D-Line isn’t earning their pay

  30. LakeLand Says:

    Jason Licht could have signed 3 good veteran CBs, for the money that he’s paying Grimes

  31. Dewey Selmon Says:

    I think we’ll see a difference Sunday. Guys are starting to question themselves. My main concern is the defense will be out schemed, and the young secondary will continue to get shredded.

  32. Kord Says:

    I enjoy all the trade talks and ideas, but…who cares if guys salaries are huge or with multiple people at the same positions, is it that bad to have a stacked tight end group? I’m a Bucs fan through and through but I’ll be damned if I care how much these dudes make, long as we are under the cap, good deal

  33. Darin Says:

    Bucsbandit
    Lmao. Bucs must trade for a corner or no playoffs? Then u say the pass rush couldnt get there because the ball was out so quick because the corners were so far off. Lol. Speaking of new to football. Every corner and player on this defense will play better with a smarter coordinator. Any of the great ones ever make the hof playing a soft ass cover 3 15 yards off the los? This team doesnt need any more players. It needed a different coordinator. Lets hope Duffner is that man, he cant be worse. My guess is all these corners just got alot better.

  34. Trench War Says:

    I really think if it’s true that the crux of the problem was in-game communication issues then I believe had Smitty moved down to the sideline barking instructions during the game, we might not had to fire our DC before midseason.

  35. Not there yet Says:

    If there is a big defensive showing this Sunday the bucs will start feeling like playoffs are possible and go out to get a corner. If the defense looks like crap you can say bye bye to the leaders who’ve been here all this time and done nothing but lose yes I’m talking about Lavonte and Geraldine. I think the only way we should keep Kwon is if he wakes up or moves to the outside in favor of beckwith

  36. Duthsty Rhothdes Says:

    TrenchWar you could be right but then what does that say about Dufner, Buckner, or Hokes ability to communicate when they on the field?

  37. adam from ny Says:

    @dusthsyrhodes:

    duh…tell me something i don’t know please

  38. Anonymous Says:

    Drinking this beer to celebrate we fired Mike Smith

  39. Ndog Says:

    Hey Joe wasnt all of the extra help on the dline supposed to free up McCoy? I mean thats the reason he has been ineffective the past 9 years right? So what’s going on wheres the production?

  40. Duthsty Rhothdes Says:

    If the bucs lose sunday, think the bucs need to be sellers, love djax and his attitude and fight he has brought to team but he wont be a buc in 2019, trade him for a #2 or to the raiders for safety karl joseph and maybe a pick, djax is a flat out stud still and would command good compensation

  41. BigMacAttack Says:

    Yes trade trade trade and trade some more. JPP is great and we need more like him. I’m with you guys on making trades, but they have to get rid of the crappy coaches, starting with the secondary. BTW this O line coach isn’t good either.

  42. Tampa Bay Tailgater Says:

    Mentality tough guys > talent anyday of the week

  43. BucsBandit Says:

    Darin – much of the scheme to play off the line so much by our corners is due to PERSONNEL. We don’t have shutdown corners. The 2nd coming of Monte Kiffin isn’t going to make this secondary better in their coverage.

  44. FairMinded Says:

    “Bad communication throughout the game” – isn’t that what the Defensive QB Kwon is supposed to be responsible for. A couple critical times we were scrambling around before the snap trying to get guys on the same page…call a damn timeout for chrissakes. I think we need to give LVD the defensive leadership role again and see what comes of its. Kwon is currently out of his depth. Let him focus on his fundamentals and he’ll be the better for it long term

  45. Trench War Says:

    ^^^^^^
    Fair point

  46. Buc1987 Says:

    Don’t jump Buc Realist…….Smitty’s not worth it!!!!!!

  47. Anonymous Says:

    Fair Minded

    Very on point…although the D seems to be able to communicate on their dance moves (at least the usual suspects).

    Kwon ain’t no Mike Singletary. GMC should be running a youth ministry. Nothing against youth pastors, but we need a DT for four hours on Sundays.

    JPP seems really broken up about Smitty huh?

  48. Buc1987 Says:

    …………………./´¯/)
    ………………..,/¯../
    ………………./…./
    …………./´¯/’…’/´¯¯`·¸
    ………./’/…/…./……./¨¯\
    ……..(‘(…´…´…. ¯~/’…’)
    ………\……………..’…../
    ……….”…\………. _.·´
    …………\…………..(
    …………..\………….\…

    That’s all I got for ya Joe!

  49. Anonymous Says:

    On the surface, I love the idea of trading for players, picks, whatever and taking a mulligan on this season.

    But that would take a really astute GM. One that was actually gonna be here next year. We don’t have either. If we did we wouldn’t be in this mess.

  50. BushidoEvans Says:

    The problem is Mike Smith’s scheme comes across as skittish and that trickles down to the players psyche and they play skittish as well…the defense always seems afraid to give up plays or make mistakes…which puts them at a mental disadvantage, which leads to giving up plays and make mistakes, we rent playing loose and free.

  51. Jmarkbuc Says:

    Joe,

    Oops..using new device. Please post my last two.

  52. JabooBuc Says:

    Joe, off the subject but any chance you can do a story about the horrid play at RG? If Mike Smith had to go due to bad job performance, then I think we can all agree Caleb needs to go. He has been awful.

  53. Rod Munch Says:

    Wow did the 49ers get completely screwed in this game, they stop the Packers on 3rd down getting a sack, and the refs throw a complete BS flag for illegal contact. Not a 49ers or Packers fan, but what a screw job.

  54. Brad Says:

    Thank you Jaboo!!!! I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on o-line play, but I know a pile of dog crap when I smell it. Nothing outside of Matt Ryan’s near perfect half stood out more than the hole at RG. We might as well line up 4 guys. Gruden is having a fire sale. Maybe we can get someone to play there or at least put in Cappa. It’s kind of like firing Smith, it can’t get worse.

  55. mike10 Says:

    You hope that the Bucs adopt his mindset of “all business?”

    Joe, did you listen to the rest of the podcast. Through all the player speak, speaking on his teammates dancing on the sidelines while losing, he says he believe the issue is with: attitude.
    He then went on to say it was Lavonte David who came up to celebrate after his sack, while he wanted to just get ready for the next play…

  56. Owlykat Says:

    Our Offensive Coordinator needs to step in now and fix our OL, since Warhop has done a lousy job at it since he was hired. Start Liedtke at LT (he did a better job at it than D. Smith when Smith was hurt). Move D. Smith to LG. Leave Jensen at Center and put Marpet at RG and Dotson at RT and line up our best blocking TE, Howard, next to Dotson to chip the DEs before going out for passes. Do that and you won’t have Jameis running for his life and throwing interceptions. That will bring back your 40 plus scoring Offense while resting our Defense so they are fresh and able to put maximum pressure on the QB. Now that McCoy is sidelined our run defense should be better with Vea and Beau Allen inside and JPP and Vinny Curry/Nassib outside. In the fourth quarter bring in Spense to speed rush their tired DTs. This team needs to get its Majic back and this can do it. Go Bucs!