“I Was In A Rhythm. I Couldn’t Be Stopped.”

May 6th, 2020

It’s good comedy — or a good cry —  to hear a Bucs player says the favorite game of his career was a memorable crushing home Buccaneers defeat at the hands of a miserable football team.

Keep in mind the guy has a Super Bowl ring, and he didn’t buy it on eBay.

In this NFL.com video, you can see Bucs sackmaster Shaq Barrett name his favorite game “of my NFL career,” the Bucs’ 32-31 loss to the Giants in Week 3 last season. Shaq is proud of his four sacks in the game and the video offers Shaq talking through good film looks at them.

“I was in a rhythm. I couldn’t be stopped,” Shaq recalled.

One thing to note about Shaq, he has yet to sign his franchise tag. During the NFL Draft, he was asked about that in a live-stream video on the league website.

Joe is not worried about Shaq holding out, but one would think Shaq would get a pen and sign that thing to lock down the money. It’s not like the Bucs have the salary cap room to give him the long-term contract he’s seeking.

63 Responses to ““I Was In A Rhythm. I Couldn’t Be Stopped.””

  1. Robert Says:

    probably knows he’ll never repeat last year. Still does not mean he can’t be the next, and better (and better person) than MB.

    He’ll sign it,but probably be lucky to get 10 sacks this year with a lot more attention on him.

  2. ItzOK Says:

    Should have paid him. Instead you basically have told him you dont believe hes that good and last year was a fluke. Wouldn’t be mad at him if he held out until week 8 to save his body and minimize his risk.

  3. JAG Says:

    That game was so depressing 😞

  4. Youngbucs Says:

    Oh no the sky is falling 🛑 shaq is going to get his and he’s going to get paid in due time. The franchise tag allowed them to keep the d together that’s what matters!!!!

  5. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Still time to work out a 2 or 3 year deal with Shaq…….save some money this year and give it to Godwin.

    Restructure Gronk also…..2 year deal instead of 1…..give the money to Godwin.

    I’m not worried about Shaq’s production….especially with JPP healthy.

  6. Craig Says:

    In week 3, he was an unknown. Other teams didn’t know what he was, how he taken three great players games and turned them into a hybrid that was previously unseen.

    That new style continued to work for the rest of the season, probably because the rest of the line didn’t allow him to be double and triple teamed.

    That line is back, so Shaq should have at least a ten sack season consistently ahead of him. He should have been offered two years with 15 mil guaranteed and lots of incentives.

    The Bucs are not yet perfect with these things.

  7. Ndog Says:

    Ask him how he played against the Saints last year in either game?

  8. Marine Buc Says:

    Smart move not over paying for Shaq Barrett. He had an awesome season and he is getting rewarded with a $17 million dollar payday. I highly doubt he will rack up another 19 sacks next season.

    With JPP and Shaq both on short deals I bet we will be drafting a pass rusher in round one come next April…

  9. SC Bucs Fan Says:

    NDog please move to the Saints board

  10. ©MadMax Says:

    ShaqSackMaster!

    He’ll blow up again….he knows what he has. Thats why he took less money to originally come here. He knows he can get that big pay day.

    And we got a STEAL with Davis in the 6th round!! Cant believe he lasted that long.

  11. Youngbucs Says:

    Ndog you really are a troll !!!!!

  12. Youngbucs Says:

    This guy the grinch don’t wanna see nobody happy.

  13. Ndog Says:

    The truth matters gentleman, the truth matters.

  14. Youngbucs Says:

    Yes it does and the truth is you’re a loser just like Winston. No matter what the article is about you spew negativity even when Winston is not mentioned in the article or the comments this is a perfect example. Look at everyone’s comments then yours you go out of your way to troll everything.

  15. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Just think of it…..we could have had JW for $1 mil and saved $24 mil on the QB position….and then $10 mil on Gronk…enough to take care of Goswin……and buy 4 or 5 top players…….

    A perfect world…..Keeping JW & saving $34 mil……

    Oh, what could have been!!! (sarcasm)

  16. Marine Buc Says:

    Don’t feed the trolls. They die and wither away without the attention. Unfortunately there are a lot of very sad and bored people around these days… lol.

  17. Chris K Says:

    Ndog, bye! Why are you still here? Kick rocks bro.

  18. Bobby Says:

    Ndog, Brees only got sacked 17 times last year and had 7 games where he wasn’t sacked at all. San Francisco didn’t sack him once. I guess their front line sucks too. Aaron Donald didn’t sack him last year either. If you lead the league in sacks you can play so I would assume Barrett will be solid this year.

  19. pick6 Says:

    a guy should be able to take pride in his greatest afternoon of his career, even if the kicker and the DBs blew the win

  20. Ndog Says:

    Bye Chris K you going somewhere?

  21. Ndog Says:

    Bobby does that also mean you can only tackle two people at all in two games?

  22. 541BucsFan Says:

    Shaq’s numbers may go up. The Bucs had the worst average starting field position. ATM is gone so one would think offenses will have to go farther downfield. More distance equals more plays and more sack opportunities. Let’s get to 20, Shaq!

  23. Ndog Says:

    So now it’s being a troll to point out our highest paid defensive player was a complete no show in our two games vs our biggest division rival?

    Funny you guys have been doing that about a player leading our top until the last 5 years. Weird right?

  24. DavidBigBucsFan99 Says:

    Shaq performed best when he had a compliment on the other parts of the line. Notice during the time JPP was gone it wasn’t so peachy for him because teams adjusted. To nitpick the Saints games is no true measure because they always have great lines and Brees a master of sensing pressure. They stiffness sign him to a long term deal probably of them going all in for the Superbowl. If he’s all about chasing a ring instead of the bling then he’ll sign it if he believes we have a great shot. Hopefully he’s smart enough to play the short game now, get paid well now, get a ring now and then his will be a sellers market.

  25. Bucsfanman Says:

    Ndog- That’s rich, you calling out Shaq for his bad “two games”!
    Please remember when using the “leading the league” comparison that, the former QB led the league in TWO categories!
    Are you even a Buc fan?! Asking for everyone!

  26. Ndog Says:

    Don’t forget Shaq also was #2 in the NFL in offsides penalties.

  27. Ndog Says:

    Or Shaq got so many sack opportunities because his offense was putting up so many points teams had to throw to keep up?

  28. DoooshLaRue Says:

    Obviously one of the NO games was played in the Superdome, so no viable excuse like it was too windy works, so apparently the DL was running the wrong schemes (think WR routes) and that’s why Shaq had bad games ………or maybe Suh or Vea gave up early on the play (think WR again)…….

    it’s definitely not Shaq’s fault if you look at it that way…… right Ndog?

  29. Ndog Says:

    Yeah Doosh like someone being in the wrong place on a route is even close to the same as a DT not getting push. Keep reaching buddy cause like always you have nothing else.

  30. Youngbucs Says:

    Ndog what can winston be blame for inquiring minds want to know??

  31. Ivan The Insider Says:

    Ndog is going down in Internet history as one of the most hated trolls on any sports forum/site.

    His inept, repetitive, homeristic football views are a worthless JOKE.

    The irony is so many of his posts were reasonable, optimistic discussions before Jameis was made to walk the plank. Post-Jameis has been nothing but negative posts EVERY SINGLE TIME.

    I’ve honestly never seen someone so scorned in my entire life over a player leaving a team. It truly is remarkable… and PATHETIC at the same time.

    Congratulations, Ndog, on becoming the most hated “Bucs fan” on this entire site.

  32. Ndog Says:

    Quite a few things actually.

    Holding on to the ball too long at times.
    Staying on his first read too long at times.
    Trusting his wide receiver too much at times.
    Not checking out a bad plays at times.
    Simply making a poor throw at times.
    Not taking with the defense gives them at times.

    The problem I have is this is all you focus on is what he does wrong and not what he does right yet everyone else could be completely inept in their role or make massive mistakes and they seem to be okay it’s a double standard that pisses me off and is ridiculous. Then when people blame him alone, like the head coach, for us losing games it is simply an embarrassment to us all and flat out lies. Football is the ultimate team game and everyone’s responsible when you have a piss-poor past defense, no running game, an average offensive line and a horrible kicker there’s many pieces to blame yet one person was drugged through the mud over and over and over it’s unacceptable and flat wrong and I won’t accept it..

  33. Youngbucs Says:

    Now ndog a got you to list what he does bad in your opinion thank god!!!!! Now tell me this out of the things you listed what do any of them have to do with coaching???? These are his same flaws he’s had with every coach even in college. He’s got to change his mental aspects of the game or he’ll never reach that next level.

  34. Ndog Says:

    Think about it, how many times have you ever any coach ever refer to anything involving a player (outside of a personal tradegy) as terrible?

    “So much good, so much outright terrible”.

    That is what he said about Jameis while he was a free agent trying to get a job elsewhere. Who does that???? What is the point of saying that? The dude has simply railroaded a former player of his to hide the face that HIS TEAM had many many other issues. And guess what it worked and that is easy to see by looking at all the comments daily. You guys forgot all the penalties, all the blow coverages, all the missed blocking assignments, all the times our running backs got blown up in the backfield, all the missed kicks, all the horrible play calls, all of the stupid challenges, all of the ridiculous use or personnel (Barber still starting over Jones in the middle of the year?), etc…

    He is played a magic trick on everyone, look at the shiny object over here and just ignore the train wreck behind the current over there.

  35. SC Bucs Fan Says:

    NDog why are you on a Bucs fan board preaching hate against the Bucs?

  36. JimmyJack Says:

    NDog did you really turn a Shaq Barrett article into another fight about Winston? Guy, you got freaking issues.

    Just freaking let us move on to the 2020 Bucs. Be patient and Joe will give you plenty of articles to vent about Winston.

    We fought for five years about this guy man. Can you let some of us move on…..At least somewhat in articles that have nothing to do with QB. Let us discuss other thing man. I realize QB is such a important position it’s gonna come up at the wrong time sometimes but can you control yourself just a little bit and not make every thread about Winthson?

    In other words stop trolling a fansite.

  37. SC Bucs Fan Says:

    Reminds me of a guy who turned every thread about McCoy

  38. Ndog Says:

    JimmyJack I promise you when people stop bringing him up to bash him i will stop defending him. It really is that simple. I will admit I baited folks into this time but it was just a rollover from the previous article where everyone was bashing away so I responded and will continue to until the lying and bashing stops. It really is simple and as big of or a bigger Bucs than the majority BUT that doesn’t mean I’m going to let people come on here and lie and bash without pushback, it simply is not going to happen.

  39. JimmyJack Says:

    The key to beating the Saints is gonna be Devin White. He’s gotta help control the way they abuse the edges on us.

    He was not prepared the first time we played them. I believe he was out game 2. He is going to be the biggest key to stopped them I say.

    Shaq won’t be too big a factor I think. They have a All Pro Line protecting Bress. It’s just not a good matchup. They will game plan against Shaq so it up to Bowles to find a mismatch elsewhere. I think he’s gotta find a way to get Suh involded in the passrush. Give Sub a chance to lay a big hit on Brees one time and it could make a huge difference…….But again you gotta respect the fact that they have built one of the best lines in football………Stop the run and try to force a big defensive play…….All in all our offensive has got to come ready to match them..,……….Their secondary gets exposed quite often. Look for mismatches when our offense has the ball. Not too many on the other side.

  40. Youngbucs Says:

    Ndog you did not answer the question you fluffed around it.

  41. Ndog Says:

    JimmyJack the key to the Saints is the LOS they owned both sides of the ball last year in both games. Just one telling stat they had 21 total QB hits in the 2 games vs us, we had 5 total.

  42. Youngbucs Says:

    And you’re flat out lying Winston was not a free agent when Bruce said that. And you call other people liars 😂

  43. Youngbucs Says:

    Ndog please go let saints fans know they didn’t care either.

  44. Ndog Says:

    YoungBucs I’m done there is no point as you have your mind made up or have officially been brainwashed either way I’m done it’s a waste of time. Let’s just move on.

  45. JimmyJack Says:

    NDog so now you are baiting me saying people lie and bash?

    Well, here’s the deal. We just fought about this guy for five entire seasons. More fighting now isn’t gonna change nobody’s mind. This will remain a difference of opinion no matter how many times we bring it up.

    I’m not taking the bait dude. Fact is only Winston can resolve this by proving it on the field. He’s a backup in 2020. So he likely won’t answer any questions til 2021 at the soonest.

    So we either wait and exercise a bit of patience til he actually gets another chance(if he even does) or we continue arguing for a sixth entire year…….Quite frankly, I think it’s the best case scenario for us as a fan base that we get a entire year(ideally) with Withstone being a complete non factor in the NFL.

    Don’t see what’s so hard about waiting…….Winners are proven on the field. Not in a chatroom. Nothing’s going to change so it really is becoming very very pointless. Everybody that reads these comment knows exactually where you stand at this point. There’s nothing left to proove.

    And besides it guaranteed Joe will write plenty more artices where we can drum up old emotions about Withstone again.

  46. Ndog Says:

    Youngbucs Says:
    May 6th, 2020 at 2:03 pm
    And you’re flat out lying Winston was not a free agent when Bruce said that. And you call other people liars 😂

    He said that the day after the last game so he was either going to resign here, which clearly they didn’t want, or he was going to sign somewhere else thus being a free agent. So how is that lying, dude get a grip I am correct yet again so move on.

  47. Ndog Says:

    JimmyJack not sure what you’re talking about by baiting you but you can go to most articles and one of the first few comments is always a shot at Jameis.

  48. JimmyJack Says:

    Good point about the LOS……..We can’t get owned on offense again. That’s a recipe for failure. I say you gotta be able to pass protect because as I mentioned their secondary gets exposed often. That’s how to beat them IMO. If I remember right they did run a lot of blitz on us that confused us. I will like to think Tom has seen enough blitz in his day to know it’s coming and know where to go with the ball as soon as he sees it. We shall see.

    On defense don’t expect much. They got a great line. And Brees gets rid of the ball. We probably aren’t getting to him.

  49. JimmyJack Says:

    Oh and BTW Shaq being #2 in offsides pentalties is actually a good thing. You watch every snap he takes and you see that him timing and jumping snaps was much more of a benefit then a deterrent…………Of course you want to see him improve in that area, hone in on that skill and guess properly at a better rate but all in all his skill to jump snaps led to many many game changing and drive killing plays. It’s defientally a great trade off for us because a five yard pentalty taken often is not very impactful………I do remember one that hurt us pretty good but the trade off is still great.

    If if he gets no better at it and still commits a lot of pentalties I’ll still take it if he makes as many game changing plays. It’s fair to mention but really very nitpicky when you consider how impactful he is.

  50. Ivan The Insider Says:

    Ndog,

    So you honestly think because Arians referred to some of Winston’s play as “terrible” that THE ENTIRE FREAKIN LEAGUE decided to pass on Winston?

    BAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Cmon man. You boy barely stayed in the league by signing a tiny little 1-year deal. Arians didn’t “throw Winston under the bus” and affect ANYTHING.

    The entire NFL *passed* on Jameis Winston. The only reason he’s still in the league is because Payton thought it might be worth a wildcard gamble (and super cheap) incase of Brees/Hill injuries.

    Bruce Arians’ comments (of any kind) on Jameis Winston did not seal his fate. HIS TAPE DID. Any team can watch FIVE YEARS of tape on Winston and see for themselves what they’re going to get. AND THEY TOOK A PASS.

    So easy to try and pass the blame onto Arians for why Winston get some huge contract from another team, but the reality is, there was very little market for Winston outside of Tampa and everyone knew it… but YOU.

  51. Ndog Says:

    Ok Ivan you believe what you want and I’ll know what I know.

  52. Joeypoppems Says:

    @Ndog

    “The problem I have is this is all you focus on is what he does wrong and not what he does right yet everyone else could be completely inept in their role or make massive mistakes and they seem to be okay it’s a double standard that pisses me off and is ridiculous.”

    Thats true.

  53. Youngbucs Says:

    It’s lying because you said he was a free agent you know that. Twist any way you want.

  54. Defense Rules Says:

    @ItzOK … “Should have paid him. Instead you basically have told him you dont believe hes that good and last year was a fluke.”

    IF the Bucs had the money, I’m convinced that they WOULD have paid Shaq. Reality? We don’t have the money, and JL knew it. Thus the franchise tag for $15.8 mil (still good money BTW). Remember, teams had to make the franchise tag decision BEFORE free agency began, and the Bucs had only a general idea of how much they’d need to re-sign their own FAs, PLUS sign a QB to replace Winston.

    Right now we’ve got $3.75 mil available. After signing our rookie class we’ll be pretty close to zero. I’m convinced that we can break a little bit free, but not all that much. If 2020 is really the year to go for broke, I’d be looking to sign a veteran backup QB and probably a veteran RB at this point. They’re out there.

  55. Defense Rules Says:

    @Marine Buc … “With JPP and Shaq both on short deals I bet we will be drafting a pass rusher in round one come next April”.

    You just made Joe ecstatic Marine Buc, but the Bucs have other NEEDS even more pressing than replacing JPP or Shaq next year (JPP is on a 2-year deal anyways, and Shaq could always be tagged again).

    Suh is on a 1-year deal, so we’ll very likely need to spend a Rnd 1 or 2 pick on a DT to pair with Vea. Chris Godwin will need a new deal, and it’ll be tough to pay him what he can command on the open market (I wouldn’t be surprised at $18-$20 mil per year … he’s now making $2.3 mil so that’s a pretty hefty raise we’d have to foot). And if we don’t pay him, we’ll need to spend a Rnd 1 or 2 pick on a #2 WR, or pay big in FA. And the biggest NEED of all next year? Drafting a franchise QB to learn from Brady. That alone could cost us a Rnd 1 pick AND a Rnd 2 pick (to move up) … or more.

    Only point being … next year could get ugly real fast UNLESS the salary Cap goes up substantially (always a possibility). And after that it’ll get even uglier (all these older vets NEED to be replaced before they qualify for Medicare). Until then though, I think we’ll have this year AND next year to go for the crown. Let’s just hope we don’t waste the opportunity.

  56. JimmyJack Says:

    Defense Rules……I’m just going to have to challenge you on your plan to sign a RB and QB in free agency.

    I don’t think they are pressing needs. RB is only a need if KeShawn can’t do what they drafted him to do. I say you go into camp with who you got and if the RB room is struggling then you add somebody. Could also go into the season and if they aren’t getting the job done you address it mid season……….My thinking is that traditionally RBs can be found later on much easier then others positions……..Almost every year a few veteran RBs hold out til signing midseason with a team that looks poised to contend……Marshawn Lynch & CJ Anderson come to mind……..If the Bucs are playing good ball and need a RB midseason somebody good will be avialable.

    QB I don’t have much of a comment. We got Gabbert and Griffen & we never really saw either play in a real game for the Bucs. They need to know if these guys are good enough 2 years in to be a vialable backup.

    If you ask me the most glaring need is passrush. That’s a key role on this team. It’s a position we need to take a lot of snaps unlike QB and possibly RB. We need that position more then any. Maybe they feel lucky he they can trust Nelson….who didn’t really look too bad……but the dude couldn’t stay on the field. That worries me more then any other position on the roster. It will see more time the QB for sure and is much more difficult to find then RB.

    We need OLB more then anything…..To me the second biggest need is at Corner. Though that position may be a bit deeper then meets the eye if we got a safety on the roster versatile enough to play some nickle. Still would not mind to see us add a experienced depth player to ease the nerves.

  57. Bucsfanman Says:

    We have to stop feeding into this guys. Put simply:

    Bucs bad, Jameis good.

    I don’t expect Shaq to have the same numbers because I believe the DL will play better overall. I still would expect 10-12 sacks though.

  58. Bucsfan951 Says:

    NPUPPY!!!

    He lead the league in sacks. That means everything! Remember, he can’t do no wrong when you lead the league, right!

    Who was the most penalized qb last season? Don’t dodge the question like YOU ALWAYS DO and give me the answer I’m looking for!

  59. Ivan The Insider Says:

    Ndog,

    You don’t know JACK SQUAT.

    I work with NFL agents. There was no conspiracy theory one way or another about Winston. If indeed Arians talked badly about Winston to other agents/execs/GMs, it happens all the time. If Arians told Winston not to sign with another team or to ‘wait’ on them, etc. that type of stuff happens all the time. Free agency, just like the draft, is a game of CHESS. Teams and players are constantly trying to outmaneuver each other to get the upper hand.

    If Winston’s camp truly believes it hurt his value in the league by something Arians allegedly did (like lied to him or whatever) that doesn’t normally happen, then they’d have all the motivation in the world to GO PUBLIC WITH IT and get PR over it which could only potentially increase his value.

    Winston’s camp didn’t say anything about it, nor Winston himself, because either:

    A) It didn’t actually happen and was just a rumor of some sort you hear.

    B) It was something that happens all the time in the NFL and is a part of how the business side of things works.

    So whatever it is you think you ‘know’ you don’t. Because you obviously don’t understand the BUSINESS side of the NFL how it all works. Trust me, I do, I’m very close to it.

  60. Defense Rules Says:

    JimmyJack … I don’t disagree with you at all about signing another pass rusher. But the cost for a true beast DE/OLB is prohibitive at this point. Right now we’ve got 8 DT/DEs and 8 OLBs on our roster, for 16 total. We’ll probably keep 10 of those. Maybe the answer to improved DEPTH is right in front of us. If not, MAYBE JL can find the next Shaq when cuts occur prior to season start.

    Tom Brady is 43. You & I both know that every team we play KNOWS that backup QB is our Achilles Heel right now. I like Griffin, but I really don’t want to see us turn over the keys to the Lamborghini to him if Brady goes down. And from Day 1 I haven’t been very enamored with Blaine Gabbert. He’s a career 56% passer with a 13-35 career record spanning 9 years with 5 different teams. Depth counts.

    Do agree with you about adding a RB later if need be. Let’s see what we’ve got first.

  61. JimmyJack Says:

    Ivan all you really need to know about this theory of Winston being mistreated is that there is only one person and one person only who reported it. It was a story that was started by Jamies 1of1. That’s is the extent of this rumor. That’s it it’s the only person saying it. If there was ever a reporter(can we call him that?) with less of a clear bias I’d sure love to hear about it.

    I actually think the 1of1 guy is actually entertaining in a stat nerd kind of way. I disagree with much of what he says because all’s he has is stats and does not ever explain how the decision making is a problem………….I mean if you are going to defend Winston you are going have at least try to explain the poor decision making process. Not just ignore it and cover up with more stats……..So he is entertaining to disagree with and that about it. He’s not a news source of NFL backround knowledge……seen in the fact of many failed predictions.

  62. JimmyJack Says:

    Defense Rules…….I’m not advocating for a beast OLB. The need I see if for a rotational player. Shaq and JPP aren’t gonna play every snap. I don’t care how many players we got on the roster right now next in line to rotate with JPP and Shaq is Nelson. I’m not trusting that guy. Not yet at least. And I want a upgrade. It’s a key role on this team and a position that will take a lot of snaps.

    So we got 8 DL and 8 OLB on the roster. But none of those 16 can adequetly fill in as a rotational Edge…….So we need 17.

    And like I said. I don’t have much an opinion on backup. I’ve never seen Gabberett play a regular season snap in my life that I remember. But if you do do sign another backup it won’t even get in the way of signing another Edge player……..You just cut Griffin and Blabbert and I bet their money is same or more then whoever else you sign………..It’s also a position where you can usually find a emergency starter on the streets come out of retirement or whatever. I’ve seen it before.

  63. JimmyJack Says:

    And just one little nugget about Blabbert……..He did play on some of the worst assembled offenses in NFL history. Reading into his numbers might not tell you a whole bunch.