“They’ve Got To Improve Big Time!”

March 19th, 2020

Joe Namath weighs in.

In many respects, the memories were eyesores.

Johnny Unitas wearing a Chargers uniform.

Joe Namath wearing a Rams uniform.

Joe Montana wearing a Chiefs uniform.

And now Tom Brady in a (new) Bucs uniform (though images of the new ones that have leaked are sharp!).

What do they have in common? All four were iconic quarterbacks who stayed with their respective teams for years and when it appeared they were just about shot, Unitas, Namath and Montana chased further glory and a paycheck or two to extend their careers.

Now add Brady and the Bucs to the list.

Only Montana had success, and led the Chiefs to an AFC championship game before his body broke down. For the final time.

Now Brady and his six rings come to Tampa Bay to play probably play his final two seasons before he walks off into a Clearwater Beach sunset with his supermodel wife Gisele.

Hopefully, the beaches will be open by then.

Over at BSPN, Namath was interviewed to get his take on what it is like for a Hall of Famer to leave his team at the end of his career for a brand new team.

Namath sort of dodged the question, saying no matter what happens that Brady will be OK ($30 million in the bank helps).

But then Namath went off on the Bucs offensive line and suggested there is no way Brady survives the punishment absorbed by Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.

“You’ve got to have an offensive line too,” Namath barked at Steve Young. “From what I have seen of that offensive line that [the Bucs] had last year” — Namath said with a tinge of anger as he wagged his index finger at the camera — “they’ve got to improve big time, man!

“Tom can get it out quickly, but I don’t know that he can endure the beating of the former quarterback got there.”

Man! Getting called out by Joe Namath?! Joe can’t remember seeing that before. Usually, Namath is a happy-go-lucky, let’s have a Johnny Walker Red on the rocks and scope for some chicks, good ol’ boy.

Perhaps Joe will have to go back and rewatch games. Joe has never said the Bucs have five Hall of Famers on the front line. Joe just guesses his standard for a decent line is far different than most.

Hey, the Bucs won a Super Bowl with Kenyatta Walker as a starting tackle. Don’t ever forget that.

But man, that’s just brutal to have Joe Namath clown you on national TV.

36 Responses to ““They’ve Got To Improve Big Time!””

  1. MadMax Says:

    With arms wide open…Welcome to the family Mr. Brady! 🙂

  2. SB Says:

    Freakin’ A!
    Joe hit Farah Faucett!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. SB Says:

    You have been watching horrid OL play so long that it has become status quo for you.
    Our right side Blows!

  4. Jonathan Limpchimpi Says:

    “I wanna kiss you”.

  5. Steven007 Says:

    “I want to kiss you Suzy.”. Namath lost all credibility after that moment.

  6. AtlBucs Says:

    I’m sure that Brady told them to draft an olineman in the first or second round and/or sign a free agent lineman

  7. Dano Says:

    He’s not lying. This offensive line is a concern as well as the ground game.

  8. Architek Says:

    This beats the redundant Winston posts daily – a welcomed breath of fresh air!

  9. SB Says:

    Really? completely deleted?

  10. SB Says:

    Evans will be the best wide receiver Brady has had since the peak of Randy Moss in New England, and Godwin is a younger, more talented version of Julian Edelman in some ways. Both will be worth drafting as a WR1 in fantasy, within the first 10 wide receivers off the board by the end of the second round. If I had to pick one, Evans ’ track record gets the nod (however slightly) over Godwin as ADPs become clear when drafts get rolling this summer.

    Per ‘Fansided’
    Good take in the entire article. This is just an excerpt.

  11. SB Says:

    Godwin won me $$ this past yr as I had him in all three leagues. Fans of other teams didn’t see it coming. Too late for that now. I also had Michael Thomas and CMC in one league.
    Yeah you know I won that one.

  12. Dak Robb Says:

    What the hell is Namath so angry and passionate about now? These interviews are weak, ppl act like Brady is going to Cincy. Brady will be fine…

  13. Mister Positive Pete Says:

    Joe’s not just fit, he’s old school fit! You want some cigarettes with that? Of course I want the cigarettes!

  14. Buc_You-2 Says:

    “Hey, the Bucs won a Super Bowl with Kenyatta Walker as a starting tackle. Don’t ever forget that.” <<< Joe don't forget mister false start Jeremy Trueblood yikes he was God awful!

  15. Mort Says:

    You forgot to add Peyton Manning to the list. But he won a super bowl with the broncos, so I guess the most relevant (recent) example didn’t fit the narrative so it was omitted.

  16. Pewter power Says:

    Yes everyone should go back and watch the games again I am sure you’ll be even more glad they moved on from Winston. They do need to improve at running back, they were a problem protecting winston and demar looked his age. Donovan smith is a middle of the pack tackle.

    Fyi nfl game pass is free during until may 31st.

    No one wants to be responsible for getting blown up by an edge rusher who crushes Brady and injured him believe me they will step up because they will never survive the rage of fans

  17. adam from ny Says:

    they will ask one thomas brady directly…

    “do you want peyton barber as one of your running backs?”

    if tom says yes , he will be back…

  18. Rod Munch Says:

    John 3:17

    In the end times; a lecherous man and an antelope shall descend upon the bay of fire sticks at red tide during a time plague and disease.

  19. Rod Munch Says:

    The offensive line was fine last year. The only thing they’re going on is the box score, which shows a lot of sacks…

    Well, here’s how sacks happen.

    1) Throw it more than anyone else.
    2) Throw it deep a lot more than anyone else. Those deep passes mean more more time in the pocket.

    That’s a product of the system. Want less sacks, well get rid of the ball faster by not throwing deep as much.

  20. Jean Lafitte Says:

    Everyone knows this o-line is a middle of the pack line, except Joe.

    They are a little better at pass blocking but suck at run blocking.

    Donovan Smith did have a better season last season but he’s allergic to run blocking and takes plays off it seems. Marpet is the best lineman but even he gets overwhelmed at times trying to help Jensen or Smith and is the only one who shows any consistency. Jensen gets stood up in place or shoved aside to often even with the advantage of the snap count. Cappa did alright later in the season but he’s really playing out of position with his body type. He should be at tackle. Dotson can’t bend his knees anymore and is late to get on the edge to quicker DE’s and OLB’s and struggles mightily with pull blocking and stunts.

    Do ya’ll agree with my assessment?

  21. adam from ny Says:

    wise up rod munch…

    the line needs needs to get better…

    on a scale of 1-10 i give last years line a 7…at best a 7.5, but that’s a stretch…

    this line needs to score a minimum of an 8.5…hopefully they improve to a 9 and tommy is standing nice and tall in that pocket like he did in new england

  22. Buczilla Says:

    Ali was good, not great last year and the rest of the line was average to slightly above average. Sapp (in another article from yesterday) thought that trading for Trent Williams is a good idea and I agree. Smith for Williams straight up, or maybe throw in one of our 4th round picks to sweeten the deal? No way in hell that I’m giving up the Redskin’s supposed asking price of a 2nd round pick.

  23. Rob in Land O Lakes Says:

    DS76 is an average LT at best. Draft one of the three OT’s at 14, move DS76 to RT and you have the makings if a FAR more productive line. Thrown in the fact that Brady gets rid of the ball much quicker and his hits go way down.

  24. Defense Rules Says:

    Rob … Almost every mock draft has the Top-4 Tackles gone by Pick #14. Hopefully one falls to us, but whether we’ll pick a QB if one falls to #14 that we like now that Brady’s onboard becomes a point of debate. Maybe even a DE to replace Nassib if a top one falls to us at #14. Some REALLY tough decisions on the horizon me thinks.

  25. SmoothBayRider Says:

    DS76 has given up less sacks and had less penalties than the highest paid LTs in football . And he never played consecutive seasons next to the same LG until 2018-2019 , when they moved Maroet back to LG . He’s only average though . Smh

  26. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Brady sees the field….reads the defense much better than JW…..gets the ball out quicker…..throws to RBs & TEs……BA will help design an offense that is most suited for him…..add a RT to our Oline and Brady will be fine.

  27. SmoothBayRider Says:

    Oh , and DS76 doesn’t miss games . He’s an iron man .

  28. Barbosa Says:

    Joe don’t forget Favre leading Percy Harvin in singing Pants on the Ground in Minnesota during their deep playoff run. I’d take an NFC championship game appearance under Brady!

  29. geno711 Says:

    We forgot iconic Peyton Manning leaving Indy for Denver.
    Tom Brady and Peyton Manning regular text each other.
    I read an interesting article about how difficult Peyton said that was walking into a different locker room.

    Also read when Manning arrived in Denver, the coaching staff embraced Manning’s offensive ideas and adopted much of them — with one caveat. The Broncos kept their own offensive verbiage to help make it easier for returning players to learn, figuring it would be easier for Manning to learn a new language for old concepts rather than teaching dozens of other players everything new.

    Then adecision was made to bring in players on offense that Peyton was familiar with – Brandon Stokes – Jacob Tamme. The idea was those guys could help others on Denver understand the way Peyton wanted plays to run.

    Maybe the Buc’s get Deion Lewis as 3rd down running back and Chris Hogan as a 3rd receiver. They should both be inexpensive free agents.

  30. Joeypoppems Says:

    Am i missing something with the OL criticism? I mean, RT is really the only hole… right? Marpet and Jensen are very good. Cappa will continue to improve with experience and played well last year, so IOL is set. Smith played better last year than previous years, and Brady will ream him if he takes plays off. Draft a RT at 14 and the OL is looking good imo.

    Plus, Brady will make their job easier by getting the ball out amd not holding it like Jameis did so many times.

  31. Ghost of Darrell Henderson Says:

    The picture I would like to see is Tom coming out of the showered with his new squeeze Mekhi Becton.

  32. jjbucfan Says:

    If you watch the games (and truly watch them) you will see the offensive line breaking down more times than not. JW’s escapability saves those stats for his offensive line. I am not sure at this point if it is the players or the scheme. As we know both Koetter and Arians love the deep ball which requires a 5-7 step drop. That means the line must hold their blocks. We were very predictable the last 3-4 years. We have to establish the run. For 3 drafts I have been screaming for O-line and a RB to take the pressure off JW. The problem is, our defense was the worst in the league and we needed to go D. Our best players on D were FA’s not Draft Picks!! That worries me. I think Davis and Dean could really develop this year, we need a veteran Safety and hopefully the kid from Iowa can make up for Nassib. I loved that guys motor. He collapsed the pocket and made the QB step into sacks. He was highly underrated. I wish him luck in the desert. Again watch the games, our O-Line was terrible more than they were good. Btw, it pisses me off that Arians wouldn’t use the TEs with JW our run screens our swing passes, but Brady loves them so the rumor is that he will give him what he wants. Also would not draft O-Line. I still ask, what ever happened to the guy from Pittsburgh? We gave our 6th for him and got back a 7th and this guy that never stepped on the field. That is with a broken down guy at RT, that basically left it all out there, but couldn’t fight Father Time. Anyone that wants to bring him back even for depth is smoking something, he should retire with dignity as a Buccaneer, he gave us everything he had but for the last 2 years unfortunately it wasn’t that much.

  33. stpetebucsfan Says:

    Geno

    Excellent point as always. Yeah Manning is probably the closest comparison although Montana is not a giant reach.

    When was Joe Namath (I’d like to kwissh you) sober enough to watch a game much less analyze our OL? Bwaahaaa

    Namath is a dinosaur who mistreated his body even by those standards back then. Montana did not abuse his body as much. Peyton must have paid attention of his to come back from a career ending but NONE of them has done what Brady has done to maintain his.

    Brady’s such an exercise nut and pioneer that his workout have become another cottage industry for TB12.

    EVERY player in the NFL is just one hit away from the end or their career so I make no predictions about Brady’s health behind our line…but the pearl clutchers are full of….hyperbole.

  34. Alanbucsfan Says:

    If anyone gets a chance, you tube the 1968 AFL Championship between the Jets and Raiders.
    One of the greatest games of all time…

  35. sincethebeginning Says:

    If we commit to a real running game a lot of the issues in pass pro go away. Our line can do it, but we need a fresh RT to step in soon for Dotson.

  36. Trent Williams Couch Says:

    Nothing Trent Williams couldn’t fix, then swing Demar Dotson to the right side…and suddenly you’ve got a ProBowl caliber line.

    Wonder what the chances are that ol’ QB12 insisted on this signing being contingent on a package deal…?

    League rules regarding announcing FA deals would cover any deal with Williams…and the news about Brady’s impending signing might just be enough to burry this somewhat lesser headline…

    We’ll all know soon. Old Tom is said to have made LOT one of his criteria, and we ALL remember his efforts to get the Pats to trade for him…

    #soon