Desperate For Shaq Barrett
October 22nd, 2023
Shaq Barrett
The hustle is there in a huge way. So is the hunger, fire and health. The production is not.
Joe thinks it’s extraoridinary that Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett returned for training camp and Week 1 after surgery for an Achilles tear nearly a year ago. He’s overcome a lot, especially in the face of his daughter dying in an ugly family tragedy in the spring.
However, Shaq cannot be immune to the microscope. He’s being paid elite edge rusher money and the Bucs restructured his contract this offseason in a move that surely will keep Shaq on the roster in 2024. That means general manager Jason Licht just about 100 percent bet on Shaq for this season and next.
Shaq is playing full-time and the Bucs need more from him.
Joe gets that Shaq is a beloved figure; he’s of Joe’s favorite Bucs. But the edge rusher game is a production business. There are plenty of inexpensive NFL edge rushers that can deliver four of five sacks per season. If Shaq turns into one of those guys this season, then Joe will make the leap and say the Bucs have no chance of winning a playoff game.
Shaq has one sack this season, the same Week 2 game in which he had a glorious pick-6 deep in Bears territory.
It’s time for Shaq get back to being an impact player today against the Falcons. The Bucs don’t have anyone else that can bring what Shaq can. YaYa Diaby isn’t there yet.
October 22nd, 2023 at 9:31 am
JTS is our best edge defender at this point regardless of what his haters say about him. Shaq’s production had fallen way down BEFORE his injury. He’s still solid but has been far from elite since he set our sack record.
October 22nd, 2023 at 9:37 am
Between Barrett, Jensen, Brady’s dead money, Godwin’s $20M for 1 TD, and a pair of CBs making almost $30M for playing zone, on paper the Bucs probably have the worst allocation of cap money in the league.
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:04 am
Until we win…
Go Bucs!!!
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:08 am
Shaq’s and JTS’s stats are nearly identical, which bodes ill
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:11 am
Our edge rushers are more useless than the “g” in lasagna
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:36 am
Once Anthony Nelson passes through concussion protocol he should be starting in JTS’s place he’s a much better edge defender
October 22nd, 2023 at 10:36 am
Were it not for the occasional blitzes Bowles dials up from the secondary, Our D would get very little pressure. That is a concern. Shaq and his co-hart Tryon simply are not producing. I suspect many blitzes will be dialed up on Sunday to save the game.
October 22nd, 2023 at 11:06 am
Brandon Says:
October 22nd, 2023 at 9:31 am
” JTS is our best edge defender at this point regardless of what his haters say about him.”
I won’t disagree with Brandon. It just shows how we suck as edge rushers.
October 22nd, 2023 at 11:23 am
So, did the family tragedy happen to Shaq Barrett or Devin White? I ‘ve read both names on that, and yes, am a bit confused.
October 22nd, 2023 at 12:03 pm
‘Joe will make the leap and say the Bucs have no chance of winning a playoff game.’
Oh wow Joe. Five games into the season & you play the ‘No chance of winning a playoff game’ card. Obviously you’re confident that we’re gonna make the playoffs. (Check the line behind you & see how many JBFers are in trail). Today is our make-or-break game.
October 22nd, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Brandon … You nailed it with that first comment.
October 22nd, 2023 at 12:06 pm
Love Shaq but he hasn’t been the same since not playing with JPP. He needs that force on the other side.
October 22nd, 2023 at 12:36 pm
@ TonySoprano
Agreed. With the caveat that as far as blame for that situation, I put Barrett & Jensen on Licht. If you’re gonna celebrate his hits, you’ve got to call out his misses. I never liked us bending to Barrett’s contract demands. Don’t blame the guy wanting to cash in when his stock was at an all time high, but let somebody else make that mistake. Super Bowl winning teams have their players poached every year and we made the mistake of paying for his best season as if it were his average season. Kinda hard to tell how much the Bucs knew about Jensen since they told the rest of the world LITERALLY nothing about the situation, but I find it hard to believe they didn’t at least have a strong inkling this was how it was gonna play out. That’s bad GMing. As much as I like Jensen, he didn’t build enough cache with the team to tank a season to do right by him. Godwin I blame on the coaches. He deserves way more targets and game planning. Between Mike’s dropsies and sourpuss attitude and the slow start for the 3&4, he always seems to be the guy making plays. Wish some of Mike’s targets in the Lions game had gone to Chris. The CBs, that’s just a big mess. Hate the soft zone, never have had many turnovers, why did we break the bank for Dean when we started SMB vs Dallas? So much going on there. Ryan Neal has horribly underperformed when everyone was talking like he was gonna be one of the best safeties in the league. If Belichek is on one end of the loyalty to players spectrum, we’re pretty close to the other. I’d like to see that change.