“Right On The Bubble To Make The Playoffs”
March 3rd, 2010
Joe is a confident guy and believes in the power of a positive attitude. However, overconfidence to the point of ridiculousness is never a good thing.
Joe is growing increasingly concerned that the Bucs’ brass believes the team is better than it really is and that may negatively effect how the Bucs proceed in free agency and the draft.
First, there were Mark Dominik’s comments in January to the Tampa Tribune.
“As you sit here today, you can pick apart the roster but I do believe that the guys that are in our locker room, the guys we added in 2009 and the success we had with our trades – every trade we made over the last 12 months – were all correct. All the decisions we had to make were difficult, but I believe they were correct and I do believe we had a successful draft last year. And I think those are things we can build on.”
So Dominik thinks every personnel move the Bucs made in 2009 was on the money. Hmmm.
Second, there were Raheem The Dream’s comments last week to the St. Pete Times, when he proclaimed the Bucs are “light years” ahead of where they were last year.
“It’s got to translate onto the field. I’m not going to sit here and act like you go 3-13, and just because you’re getting better and competitive every game, that’s acceptable. There ain’t no way.”
Hello. Coach Rah. “Competitive every game?” What were you watching? Even if you were “competitive,” that’s hardly an accomplishment.
Third, Joe heard the comments of Josh Freeman last week on 1040AM and walked away bewildered.
“You know, it was the thing last year, a few plays go right and a few plays don’t go wrong, and we’re right on the bubble to make the playoffs. So it’s just a matter of putting yourself in situations to make more right plays, and not have the interception that might cost you the game, or the fumble or whatever it may be.” —Freeman on 1040 AM
Last Joe checked, the two NFC Wild Card teams last year were 11-5 (Philly and Green Bay), yet our quarterback thinks the 3-13 Bucs were a solid handful of plays away from “on the bubble” to make the playoffs. Huh?
Joe puts all this stuff together and just isn’t seeing a team grounded in reality. And that can’t be a key element to success.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Great picture….Enough said…
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
The relentless propoganda campaign is a all part of “the plan” Joe. If you say it often enough and loud enough, people will believe it to be true.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Is this propaganda better or worse than “I can’t put Galloway and Bryant on the same field at the same time”
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Joe .. I love how you twist words and leave out parts of the interview to make what you say seem justified ..
As far as the comment about being light years ahead .. Morris said himself and Dominik are light years ahead as they now have a full season of their own notes of prospects and a full evaluation of the current team they are running .. Yet you make it sound like he says THE BUCS are light years better and they will be undefeated.
Why dont you include the part of the intvw with Morris where he says Im not going to be the cocky arrogant young coach that says we will win a superbowl .. But believes they can put a team on the field that will compete week in and week out.
I do think Morris has a long ways to go as a coach .. But it seems they have the right mindset to build a winning team and when you pick and choose parts of a story to make something its not .. well its just annoying
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:22 pm
That may be the all-time biggest crock Joe had ever heard.
You could make an argument that was the beginning of the end for Chucky. The Glazers had to be falling out of their chairs when they read/heard that.
Talk about setting the table to get fired.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Joe, above the draft and free agency, this is my biggest fear. I fear that we were more competitive the end of last season for reasons other that we were getting better. For one, some teams thought they would throw their helmets on the feild and win. Saints. Another team we played at half strenght. Falcons. and one team we legitamately beat on Lee Roy’s day. I watched every game last year knowing we were really not good enough to win. I still watched but there was reality behind it. We need to fill the holes in our lineup with good smart talented football players and the bucs have work to do. My greatest fear is the buc brass thinks things were not that bad last year. Believe me they were and anyone who WATCHED the games knew it. We have a few good things started. Now is no time for complacency.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm
We’re going to find out how they think soon. FA and the draft upcoming…
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Joe is a master at making a mountain out of a mole hill
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:36 pm
How did Galloway do the following year, with a Hall of Famer throwing to him?
The Bucs were much closer to 0-16 than they were any playoffs.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 pm
“…when you pick and choose parts of a story to make something its not .. well its just annoying.”
Get used to it because he/they do it all the time. Your best bet is the click on the links and go to the original source when possible. And ignore most of the commentary from this site.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 pm
So Eric, you think Michael Clayton is on the same level as Wes Welker and/or Randy Moss?
Joe understands what you are saying but the Patriots wide receivers were (ahem) light years better than what the Bucs had. So saying Chucky should get a pass on not playing Galloway because Belicheat didn’t play Galloway much isn’t really the same.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Girls, girls, girls,
“…when you pick and choose parts of a story to make something its not .. well its just annoying.”
“Get used to it because he/they do it all the time. Your best bet is the click on the links and go to the original source when possible. And ignore most of the commentary from this site.”
Or you could just go to another site and leave it alone!
BTW You wouldn’t find one with this much Bucs daily info!
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:18 pm
“So Eric, you think Michael Clayton is on the same level as Wes Welker and/or Randy Moss?”
Joe, If I ever say such a thing, please start the Baker Act Procedings.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:22 pm
See, it doesn’t matter that the irate Buc’s fan doesn’t believe or buy into the propaganda. These guys have a young team that they need to constantly give positive input. Like a young hydroponic seedling growing into a beautiful plant. (chuckle).
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Huh, I read Freeman’s quoted comment as a sort of mea culpa, putting the onus on himself to play better.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:43 pm
These dudes must not know how silly they sound. How could you be in a position to run an NFL franchise and make such outlandish comments TO THE MEDIA.
Do these guys NOT want to get re-hired later on in their careers???
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Joe here,
JoeMurgia and JVato24- You guys are coming at this with the attitude that Joe has an agenda. (Nothing new from JoeMurgia).
Why must you make things so complicated? JoeBucsFan chose three recent, public examples of the head coach, GM and starting QB overselling the performance of the team and the front office.
Joe understands that this is often done, and coaches will preach positives. But Joe expressed concern that maybe these three believe just a little too much in the successes of the 3-13 Bucs.
The commentary starts and ends there. You may not like it, but it’s a very simple point.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:45 pm
LOL!!
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I have heard how much confidence and how hard the Glazers believe in Raheem. Now either we as fans don’t know a good thing when we see it or the Glazers are living in a dream world you decide.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:24 pm
There is something to be said for optimism.
Propaganda and optimism are completely different. Notice Dominik was primarily talking about his trades, which worked out very well. He talked about additions, which you must include Freeman, Straughter, and Roy Miller. Those additions help put the Derrick Ward blunder into perspective.
Raheem was talking about improvement, which the Buccaneers have been.
Josh Freeman’s comments were those of a rookie quarterback. Take that for what it’s worth. You can’t expect a rookie QB to be sending the right messages with every comment. He is young and naive. He’ll make naive statements.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Joe, you missed the point (conveniently). You cobbled together three statements — one a GM defending his own recent selections (as opposed to those of the prior regime), the second, a coach stating that this year he has an entire offseason to prepare but the team still has to perfom better, and the third a rookie QB saying that he felt they were not actually that far away (hardly a novel concept for an athlete to take that approach) — and turned them into an article stating, essentially, that the Bucs were delusional? Maybe Joe needs to come back to reality.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Joe here,
Vince, I have no problem if you think I’m an idiot. But I assure you I didn’t miss the point.
Dominik says that he was spot on with all his moves (presumably including cutting veterans, making trades, adding free agents, everything player related). ….Very debatable, in my opinion.
Then Raheem and Freeman, in my opinion, overastated the team’s accomplishments and performance.
I put their words out there and wrote I was concerned that their collective view of the team might be a red flag. That it doesn’t give me confidence.
It’s a legitimate opinion. There’s no right or wrong here….All three of them could have taken a different approach to voicing their takes to the media.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Jake has mentioned a number of times in the past about if you say something long enough you start to believe it, and you got to admit, that sure as hell seems like what is going on! Mark Dumbass and the Bad Dream just aren’t living in the same world the rest of us live in!
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Joe, maybe we just read differently. Seems to me that even if you limit the statements to your snipets, Dominik stated specifically that “they guys [the Bucs] added in 2009” and “every trade” worked out well. Joe, don’t you change that to “all his moves (presumbaly including cutting veterans, making trades, adding free agents, everything player related)?” Isn’t that what you did to make it seem like Dominik and the Bucs were not “grounded in reality?” Did Dominik say that “everything player related” went well? C’mon now Joe . . .
For what it is worth, this is my (legitimate) opinion.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Joe here,
Vince – It’s right there.
Read Dominik’s whole quote again.
“As you sit here today, you can pick apart the roster but I do believe that the guys that are in our locker room, the guys we added in 2009 and the success we had with our trades – every trade we made over the last 12 months – were all correct. All the decisions we had to make were difficult, but I believe they were correct and I do believe we had a successful draft last year. And I think those are things we can build on.”
So yes, I take that to mean that everything player-related, including cutting veterans, making trades and adding free agents, Dominik believes was correct in 2009. (He left out coaching moves, so I did as well)
He can’t be more clear. Am I wrong?
In there he clearly states, “All the decisions we had to make were difficult, but I believe they were correct.” And that comes after he states the roster additions and trades were correct.
Dominik believes he was spot on with personnel in 2009. And I think that might be a red flag for how he approaches the offseason.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:22 pm
vince, Nice to see you left out this.
“All the decisions we had to make were difficult, but I believe they were correct and I do believe we had a successful draft last year.”
That covers all of his decisions to me(the veterans release, QB fiacso, FG fiasco, etc, etc.) So Joe has a valid opinion. It is mine as well.
All trades? How do we know the Luke trade was worth it. Kellan trade was ok, but not with the added largest TE contract ever. The man can’t block and doesn’t give it his all to me, especially when his number isn’t called.
All the players added? Leftwich? Crowell? FG kicker(s)?
As for last years draft, we will see this year if it was a good one or not. You can’t tell me Freeman, Stroughter, Miller, etc. blew any of us away.
Hey like my pappy always said, Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one, just some are bigger than others!
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Joe, Joe Joe . . . since you refer to your snipet as “Dominik’s whole quote,” maybe I should ask why there is no link to the Trib article, like there is a link later to the Times article? Maybe if I give you the intro to the full article, you will see why I ask:
“MOBILE, Ala. – Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik certainly was not satisfied with the team’s 3-13 record in 2009, but sees promise in the future”
Or how about if we go down a little further:
Q: A lot of the things you guys tried last year just didn’t work out. It left the impression you guys didn’t know what you were doing. How do you respond to that?
Dominik: I think every organization has things that didn’t pan out the way they wanted them to. But I will say this for Tampa Bay: What we started a year ago was a youth movement that we believed in and executed, and through that we learned a lot about the guys that were on this roster already and about guys that aren’t on this roster anymore. The main goal last season was to go through the youth movement and move forward and we did that, and we’re looking forward to adding to that nucleus. And I believe that with Josh Freeman we have a big piece of the puzzle intact.
If you go down a litle further, he even responds to the biggest blunder Michael Clayton:
Q: What happened to Michael Clayton this year?
Dominik: He’s under contract and we’ll see what happens there. There’s no hurry on our part. The ball’s really in Michael’s court. It’s on him to see how his offseason goes, how he prepares mentally and physically, so it’s really up to Michael. I have no problem telling Michael, ‘It’s on you and we’ll see how you do.’
Granted, he does not say “I screwed up.” Maybe you can show me another GM that would say that?
But enough of that, how about the part immediately before your quote. You know the part you ommitted that said:
Q: What did you learn this year?
Dominik: I would say (being the GM is) certainly demanding, but it’s also fantastic. And I’m aware that 3-13 is the reality, but I’m still excited about the direction we’re headed. I really am.
I would respectfully submit that his comments are a little different than you portray when taken in full context. He is talking about the future and, in particulalr, about the impact that ten draft picks could have on the team
If you focus only on your snipet, you get a skewed view of things. But hey, that works some time. Just look at the comments from OAR.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Joe, thank you for quieting those who try to bring down every comment you make. Your point was made and backed by facts. One might think you too, moonlight as a lawyer! HAHA!
People who visit sites such as these just to bring them down are like people who watch their dog take a sh*t…they have no life and need something better to do with their time.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Joe here,
Vince – I added the link. They don’t always take from TBO for some reason.
I give up. You win. You’re coming at this believing that I have some agenda. I don’t.
Dominik’s comments that I pulled are not out of context. I could give you a rambling journalism scholar explanation of what out of context really means, but I don’t have the patience. Frankly, I don’t even think Mark Dominik would say what is on this post is out of context.
**Also to note, while other message boards (Pewter Report) allow full articles from other sources to be reprinted on their message boards without permission. Joe stays away from publishing anything more than snippets of other people’s work, as Joe doesn’t have time to call editors and publications and writers to ask for permission to use their copyrighted material in full or in large scale. Joe tries to follow the law, which is one reason why you don’t get massive quotes here.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Vince, Joe doesn’t need to skew my view. Seeing is believeing. I’m a Bucs fan(since 76′) and watch(had season tickets) all the games, including this last years 3-13 season, which it was hard to swallow at times. Having said that, Joe has had no influence on my my decisions, concerns, or conclusions to this last years headcoach and/or GM. I made them all on my own. I’m a big ole grown man believe it or not, just don’t ask my wife.
Joe is for info not infleunce.
BTW a few of my co-workers read his interview “as a whole” and have the same concerns. Are your reading glasses rose clolored?
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Oar:
“Vince, Joe doesn’t need to skew my view.”
Something we agree on completely.
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Joe, I don’t think you have any agenda other than to generate interest and discussion. Consider your misdion accomplished. We just disagree. I think that is how it is supposed to work, Besides, you have OAR on your side. 🙂
(Note: sorry if I inadvertantly broke one of your rules by posting more of the article, not my intent)
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:07 pm
OAR, if my reading glasses are “rose colored,” what color are yours? I have no intention of getting in a tit-for-tat with you, other than to say there is a reason you accept Joe’s message without any further scrutiny. You are the target market. Try to read your own response objectively (tough, I know) and you should be able to see that.
For the record, I am not defending the Bucs or Dominik or Morris. I was just pointing out that the conclusion Joe drew was, perhaps, built on a faulty premise.
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Joe here,
Vince – There is no “target market” beyond an interest in the Bucs.
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Joe: what I meant was that dissatisfaction generally motivates people to respond more so than satisfaction, but you know that.
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Vince, My glasses(contacts actually) are clear! Again I watch them all year(am a fan) and make my own opinion. Maybe it’s the same as Joe? Maybe not? But it has nothing to do with what he puts up or not. Like you said you disagree. I don’t, this time. I still don’t know what else to say?
Target market? Interesting, hmmm, are you not on this site?
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Joe, Vince wouldn’t be all up in your shorts if you’d only put more pics from your secret website on here!!
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Secret STASH I meant, don’t want people googling “joef-cksfan” or something!! 🙂
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Vince:
Your boy said this.
“You know, it was the thing last year, a few plays go right and a few plays don’t go wrong, and we’re right on the bubble to make the playoffs…” Bucs ended up 3-13…
However, when the Bucs lost close ones last year, and finished 9-7 on the bubble of the playoffs, nobody had ANYTHING positive to say about Gruden.
Go Figure.
3-13 > 9-7 ???
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Not sure how Freeman thinks they were on the bubble of the playoffs. They needed a 8 game swing for that. That is just lunacy. And it sure did look like Dominik said that all his moves worked out. He is delusional.
It is funny how right Gruden/Allen were on getting rid of players before they fell off the face of the earth. Shelton Quarles, Brian Kelly, Simeon Rice and Joey Galloway all didn’t do anything after they left TB. And I agree 100% with the other Eric about Galloway. The guy was finished here in TB and it was confirmed when he did jack with NE. Why would Gruden put Galloway in when he was clearly done? So Gruden actually looks like a genius for not playing Galloway. I don’t want to fully back Gruden though. He did deserve his dismissal. But the Glazers made a huge mistake by hiring Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to take over the team.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I actually agree with Dumbinik this time.
If we’ve learned anything about the current state of the NFL , it is that EVERYONE is a bubble team.
There is so much parity…proven by the fact that, as crappy as we were last year, we beat the Superbowl champs in THIER house.
As many holes as we all think this team has , they are still just one or two good moves away from competing again. Every year some garbage team becomes good , and some good team becomes garbage , almost overnight. Why would it surprise us this time if it should happen??
Ya never know.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Eric S, why take everything so literally? It should not be that hard to see Freeman’s comments for what they are. Competitive athletes that lose always see themselves as only a few breaks away from success. Freeman was not being delusional, he was just being an athlete.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:07 pm
I did not call Freeman delusional Vince. I called Dominik delusional. I guess I should have started a new paragraph when I went to Dominik’s comments.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:18 pm
I can’t believe Freeman is convinced he had a good rookie season.. If you hear lies from morris over and over they become the TRUTH…He ain’t all that and Im looking forward to seeing him this years improvement IF any. He still looks confused and throws the ball just to get rid of it. It doesn’t look like he has the toughness he needs for Raheems VIOLENT opposing teams.. Oh yeah run the ball and quit throwing it up 30-40 times a game!!!
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Eric, my bad. Should have read it closer.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
jlynch, weren’t his stats comparable to the higher picks? Didn’t he play on an awful team but still win? Do you realize that he was a Senior this year? H is only 21 or 22? Played on an offense that was made up as it went along. No one is saying he played great, but you seem to deny the obvious potential. Such is your right, but don’t you think you might be being a little hard on the kid?
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Freeman was extremely impressive. Especially considering the fact he came out as a junior . Also, anyone who attended any of training camp knows that our idiot coaching staff didn’t give him a single rep in the off-season. Instead we had a QB battle between two bums….
Then you had AB running half-ass routes and Clayton being his usual pathetic self.
It’s amazing he looked as good as he did.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:58 pm
I thought Freeman showed a lot. It is the “idiot coach” that has me worried.
March 4th, 2010 at 12:02 am
Im really hoping for more from Josh Freeman. He chose to leave school early. Morris probably begged him to come here early. Im looking forward to him having sucsess. He is a winner 3 count em three games. Throw out the Green Bay game special teams and refs gave us that game.
March 4th, 2010 at 6:20 am
Washington, Buffalo, Carolina (Twice), Miami, Atlanta (Twice)
Those were all competitive games. If you’re a huge optimist like me (and Josh Freeman apparently), then we could have been 10-6!!!! We were on the bubble for sure!!!
*sigh* Who am I kidding…
March 4th, 2010 at 10:36 am
jlynch, not to belabor the point but Freeman appears to have one HUGE thing going for him that most don’t and that is his demeanor. To illustrate, I think he threw a 4th qtr touchdown pass (a fade to the corner) in his first game. I think it was a “do or die” play if I recall correctly. Every quarterback in the league could throw that same touchdwon pass many times in practice, but very few, least of all a rookie, could make that pass given the pressure. You cannot coach poise. He’s got it and that should bode very well for his future.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Vince YOU are just as delusional as Freeman. WE KNOW.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Rah, not sure what make you feel the need to take a shot at me, but its your perogative.
March 4th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Vince, based on your posts, I have questioned your awareness of realism. Freeman was no where near as great as you mentioned based solely on his high number of interceptions. Now if he had half the ints, then I would say he had a really good rookie year.
But throwing nearly 20 ints in less than 10 games is a huge red flag.
I really hope it works out considering i don’t want to see Tampa losing year after year like they did with Vinny T… a heisman trophy winner who threw a ton of picks early in his career with Tampa.
When Freeman proves he can cut down on the picks, AND improve his 3rd down conversion percentage, then I will say he has improved. But his performance stands on its own. And there is nothing that you can say that will make him improve next year.
He has to get better. Potential means nothing. He has to get better.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:58 am
I think by freeman saying were right on the bubble meaning as a team going forward that minus those bad plays we are that team …playoff wise …he just didn’t phrase it right