May 21, 2025 • 20 mins
Team Reporter Casey Phillips, Senior Writer & Editor Scott Smith, and Senior Writer & Staff Writer/Reporter Bri Dix talk about all the latest news in this week's edition of Bucs Insider. The team recaps the emotional speech delivered by Legend Simeon Rice during his Ring of Honor ceremony, shares key insights from the offensive coaches’ press conferences, and breaks down the latest NFL rule changes announced at this year’s Spring League Meeting in Minnesota.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into Bucks Insider, coming to you from the Buck Studio,
presented by ticket Master Casey Phillips here with Scott Smith
and Breed Dix, and we have a lot of fun
things to talk about this week. We had a Ring
of Honor press conference, still got off season workouts, and
we had some assistant coach availability on the offensive side
compared to defense last week.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
And we have new rules. I mean, it's like it's
mid season here with all the news we got going on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So first of course, we want to start with the
Simeon Rice Hall or Ring of Honor news that it
was the freighting slipped there almost happening.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Well we could talk about yeah, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So tell me a little bit first of all for
you guys, I know, for me, one of the things
that stood out was just how emotional he was, which
you'd love to see that just seeing how much it
means and for him, he really talked about the fact
that he was so emotional because of the connection to
his family and what he felt like this meant to
the family name that his parents have passed away, and
for him you could tell this was something that he
(00:55):
wanted for them and to make the Rice family name
mean something and for them to be proud of it,
and for them passing away, for him to get this afterward,
and there he is, his son, and it's just so
cool to see you know what this meant to him,
separate even from.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
The football side. And Brion, I know you said that
kind of impacted you as well.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
I loved there were a couple of statements that he made,
but something that stood out to me was he said
football was a game for me that I wanted to
honor my mother and father, who he said, have both
passed away. I wanted to make our name mean something,
and I think I got that accomplished. I represent the
guys that played that will never get their names called,
and I represent so much more than just myself. I
(01:37):
feel like I'm just a vessel, and I am a
vessel for those that I've impacted throughout my whole life.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And I thought that.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Was really powerful and not only just a person that
when they stepped on the field wanted the personal accolades
and the achievements, but also just for him, there was
a much greater purpose and it was always to make
his parents proud. And he said that one of his
his dad's wishes for him was for him to be
in the right of honor, so to have that full
circle moment and to be able to have that I
think was really powerful and cool for everybody to see.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
And as much as it was about, you know, the
idea of a lot of this emotional kind of off
the field stuff, it also was about football and his
accomplishments and what he did on the field and what
he meant to a defense that was very stacked, very loaded,
you know, was the identity of that team, and he
was such a.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Crucial part of it.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
I think everybody knows the story by now, but Brian
Glazers certainly laid it out well when he introduced to
me on you know, this was the beginnings of a
great defense. And in nineteen ninet nine, for instance, the
Buccaneers went to the NFC Championship Game, almost the Super Bowl,
in large part because of the defense had come together
was so good and Warrenstapp that year was NFC Defensive
Player of the Year. So on that defense you had
four future Hall of famers so far, Warren Sap, Dirk Brooks,
(02:46):
China Lincronnie Barber, and some other nice pieces like Brian.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Kelly and Sheldon Qarrals, and they were doing great.
Speaker 5 (02:52):
But Mini Kiffin in particular thought to get this team over,
this defense, over the top into one of the greatest
of the NFL's ever seen. We need somebody on the
edge to supply consistent pressure and to be that inside
outside duo with Warren Sapp and he convinced Simeon Rice
that he was that piece. And by the time Simmy
and decided to come here, he felt the same way.
And he says he was on the phone with Rich McKay,
(03:14):
our general manager at the time. He was in Chicago,
but he was calling him and say, we can get
this done and if I come down there, we're gonna
win a Super Bowl either this year.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Or next year, which they did. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
So, I mean, we're talking about a guy and we've
thrown out Hall of Fame. Yep, we all have believed
that he at least deserves a greater consideration for All Fame.
He's been eligible since twenty thirteen. He has been the
semi finalist a lot of times, but never a finalist.
And this is a guy that from nineteen ninety eight
through two thousand and five, so an eight year period
that's a long period in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
That's more than twice as long as the average career.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, in that time period, he had one hundred and
one point five sacks, which led the NFL. And you
compare him directly to his contemporaries at the time, Michael Strahan,
Jason Taylor, both in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
He had more than they did.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
Every player since the sack became an official statistic in
nineteen eighty two that has it one hundred sacks over
an eight year period and is eligible for the Hall
of Fame is already and he had another one. I
like is he had eight double digit sack seasons. Only
six players had more and they're all in the Hall Fame.
So he's got a Hall of Fame resume, and that's
(04:20):
obviously the next thing we would focus on, but right
now we're focusing on Ring of Oner sixteenth member.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Very very deserving, very deserving.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, And you know, like you talked about he was
kind of that final piece of what they needed on
that defense to win a Super Bowl, but also he
was kind of the final piece from like a personality
standpoint as well, And he talked about that of like
he was like, you know, we had some personalities on
that defense. I don't know if buck Stands are aware
there were a few personalities there, and I love hearing
the way he talked about it.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I think they were all probably a little wondering, like
we all know, we've got some big person. Yeah, And
he really talked about the fact that he felt.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Like they all jelled really well together. They all they
challenged each other, but in a good way. And so
we wanted to hear this quote where he discussed the
dynamics of playing alongside a lot of those other great
players with some big personalities.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
I listened to them talk about what it takes to
win here and how this team was already built, and
the things that I could bring here and do here
with my energy and my excellence, and how I played
the game. When I got here, I felt like it
was okay to be myself. Tampa made it a place
(05:29):
that I could be myself, and I felt like the
men that I played with they allowed me to be
the best version of myself, you know. And they were
just as rowdy as me, just as complex as me,
just as loud as I could be, and we were
all aligned together to crystallize our career and be the
(05:53):
best versions of ourselves. And we were young, we were aspiring,
we were dangerous, unstoppable, all of our mind set.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah. So just a great press conference.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I mean, of course, Simon always a great quote, always entertaining,
and he said so many amazing things.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
During the course of that presser.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
If you haven't seen it, make sure you check it
out on the Buccaneer's website.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
And I don't think it was an immediate perfect fit
with him Awards app.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
That took a little bit for they.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
As he put it, was mutual respect, which was how
it should be because they were both.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Hall of Fame le players.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yep, I completely agree.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So then also this week we got to hear from
several of the offensive coaches and get to hear how
that's progressing this offseason. And first I know offensive coordinator
Josh Bazzard spoke to the media, and then also I
shot a Slice with him, which isn't out yet, but
I wanted to highlight a couple of things that were
mentioned both between the presser and then our.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Time and Slice.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
What stood out to me is we talked, especially in Slice,
about the idea of the run game, right, and why
you know, kind of what even Josh Buzzard thought about
why they brought him in here. And he's like, yeah,
I mean it's it's continuity. Is like so much of
what I I know that I'm going to be able
to bring to this. So we talked about the idea
of okay, but like in this league, you cannot do
the same thing over and over and expect to continue to.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Work that people watch your film, they learn about you.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
And he was like, so I'm trying to make sure
that we're still putting guys in positions to succeed, which
is what worked so well last year of using the
guys to their strength. But he was like, now we
got to just disguise a little more, whether it's emotions,
whether it's it like he's like, we're going to have
to figure out the ways to do what we did
last year to a degree, but in a way that
maybe we have to disguise a little bit more because
people will have learned from us a bit last year
(07:32):
of continuity, but disguised he's the idea. So that was
one of the things that I thought was really interesting,
and just him also working on talking with coach Bowls
and how he's been preparing to be a play caller
and how he's been working. He already was thinking about
that a lot prior to even getting this job, of
what would I call here?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
What would I do?
Speaker 1 (07:49):
But then also now some of these call it plays
during practice and we know that we've heard how Coach
Bowles has done that for William Cohen, did it for
Dave Canalis. Now for him of really working in practice
to get him prepared for that play calling, which is
going to be interesting. Yeah, And then I know also
we got to hear a little bit about the idea
of Caate Otten and his development.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
That a guy who ended up.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Being so important to us last year and now there's
just so many offensive weapons that it'll be interesting to
see how he's used this year.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Well, And I love Justin Peele said that he looks
the best that he's seen him look.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
But also just he has the most confidence right now.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
He's playing fast and I think kind of what helped
build that confidence for Kde this last year was that
sensational three week stretch that he had when Mike Evans
Chris Godwin were out and you really got to see
his route running, precision and It's not necessarily that he
didn't have that capability, you just didn't see him utilized
in that way. So when Chris Godwin wasn't there, you
(08:44):
had Caate Otton running a lot of those option routes,
the corner routes and the things that Chris Godwin traditionally
did kind of became Bicker Mayfield's go to target on
third down. But then also he was running the seam
routes that you traditionally have Mike Evans running. So I think,
but not only that, he's one of the few Titans
in the NFL that are multifaceted and well rounded and
(09:06):
can play all three downs and don't really provide that
tell for the defense of past catching or blocking.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
So I'm excited to see what he's able to do
any year four.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
And obviously, Justin Peel said, like, you obviously hope and
pray that nothing happens with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans
with injury, But you're in a good place knowing that
you have that security blanket in caid for Baker Mayfield
for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
And I always love how Cad and the Titans call
themselves the rusty old truck that we're not necessarily the
flashies group, but we're there and we get.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
The job down when you need it.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And I've always really enjoyed that take on them. And
then Scott, what'stood out to you? Listening to some of
the offensive coaches.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Well, something that a couple of them said, both Josh
Grizzard and Dad Lewis pretty emphatically, was they really want
Baker Mayfield to take fewer hits.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
And I think all Bucks fails would really sleep a
little easier if that was the case.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
And that's on Baker, I mean really, I mean the
sacks or sacks, and yes, quarterbacks sometimes are the reason
they get sack, but sex are gonna happen, and you're
going to take hits that way.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
But it's the hits that you.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Can avoid by either sliding down or throwing the ball away.
And I guess you know, somebody brought up the San
Francisco play with Nick Bosa and that kind of left
that was one of the guy to have it moments. Yeah,
because it was fourth and seven.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yes, that's a little different.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
There was less than two minutes left in the game,
we were losing by three. If he had not made
that play, the game would essentially have been over, and
so he had to do whatever it takes there. I
think back to the Minnesota game, his very first start
with the Buccaneers in two twenty twenty three. I'll remember
that when he scrambled and he had to get your
weight up on.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah, that was a first.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
And that was a first down and he got five yards.
But if he hadn't stiff armed his way through Bierra Murphy,
he probably would have lost the yard.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
It was just a red zone where he kept it.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
You look at that and go, was that a gotta
have it moment? I mean, it was first down and
he didn't get the first down, but that was a
play that helped on a drive that ended up being
the game winning field goal drive.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
So it's probably a little hard.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
There's probably like you might be staying on side as
a coach going that was not a guy.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
To have it moment and Baker, Yeah, I think moment
is what we love about him.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
But I'm not sure nobody.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
Nobody wants to coach his confidence and aggressiveness and competitiveness
out of him. Mayfield would not be as good as
he is if he was an ultra competitive with the
chip on the shore.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Nobody wants to coach.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
Out of them, but they would like for him to
sometimes slide instead of feeling like he's got to run
over the gat's.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
I wish that the microphones and the helmets were still
active so they could just be like, yes, just like
in the middle of the play, this, this is it.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
This is what we're talking about. He said, they do
have those conversations of practice. He's like, even at practice,
this is that.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
And he was saying, I tell him, even at practice,
that was an opportunity to get down. It's like and
Baker comes back and says, oh, you didn't think I
could truck him.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
He's like, yeah, I think you could truck him. But
that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
You're not offensive alignment.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I love it ive that he's still even a practice
when there's like no real tackling appen and he's still
like Ida had him.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Yeah, and then said it was a little bit of
a joking way that he said it, but still you
see that in Baker, and yeah, you're never gonna coach
all that out of them, and you don't want to.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, all right, And then finally some new rules to
be discussed. I know, Back in March, we talked about
the owners meetings. Then there were some rules change proposed
and some table So now we had the next go
around of looking at some of these different rules. One
of them that had been tabled last time was the
proposed ban on the tush push, and so that's one
of the ones now up for debate because it was
sort of table back then. So what are your thoughts
(12:36):
here on this tush push ban potential.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, we've got news coming in, Like as we're starting
the show, we're gonna talk about three things, and there's
some good news this one. I don't know if we
have it here in any of the tweets, but apparently
they just started talking about having the meeting about that
this morning, and Jeffrey Luriy, the Eagles owner, came into
the meeting.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
With Jason Kelcey. Yeah, with Jason Kelsey.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
I was getting Jason Kelsey yes, and the retired center.
I don't know what they didn't have the result of.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yeah, but they were.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Gonna, I guess stump for not banning it, and I
think it's close. I do think that this band is
going to pass. It basically is just banning pushing your teammates,
your ball carriers, which.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Used to be the rules. So I get it. I
don't know.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
I'm torn on this one because it does feel like
like most of the rules that get changed that involved
like how you contact other players safety, it's always based
in safety, right, and this is based more on people
can't stop it, and we don't like that.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
I mean, and if Jason Kelsey is okay with it,
who he probably was the most likely to get play,
then it makes you think, oh, well, he's he's advocating
for it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
You know, even maybe the center that succeeded him isn't.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Maybe I don't know how you did this.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
I mean, you know, you want your coaches to be creative, right,
and if they can create a play that no part
of it is against the rules, and then you ban
it because it works too well, I can see while
people don't like it.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, I understand that.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And then now also we have a playoff reseating proposal.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Tell us what that is?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Well, we just found out, Okay, I'll tell you what
it is. It's most recently Detroit is the one making
the proposal, and it's just basically winning a division does
automatically get you in the playoffs, but it doesn't affect
the seating. So the seating is just based on records.
And so last year that would have made Minnesota I guess,
the number two seed and instead of the number four
(14:30):
five seed, and they had to go on the road,
and probably maybe the Buccaneers would have been the would
I had to go on the road. So I just
always think that this comes up every few years. Always
think it's reactionary that it just it's not you're solving
a problem that doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
In my opinion, it might exist one year where we're like, oh,
that seems a little unfair this particular year, but then
all these other years where it seemed like it did
work out pretty well.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
And I'm I'm old school on this issue thinking that
winning a division should get the advantage of a home game.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
It's what makes divisions matter so much.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
It's like how you help build those rivalries and those games, like.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
It's a big that's what you're wishing for. Yeah, those
games's gonna matter a lot.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
It's gonna not feel as like it matters as much. Yeah,
but we just found out before we can't started to
hear that they have tabled that, so they're not going
to Clearly, they realized there wasn't enough support to pass it,
so they tabled it. The tweet from a couple of
guys that I think you see ian rapport there indicate
that when I'm not gonna say if, because we all
know it's gonna happen when at some point in the
not too distant future we go to an eighteen game schedule,
(15:30):
that they might bring it up again.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I'm not sure why that would change everything.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Yeah, why that would be connected? You never know. Oh,
go ahead, sails.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
And then finally, uh, the Olympic flag football resolution. This
one is very exciting because we know that obviously flag
football is going to be a sport in the LA
Olympics twenty twenty eight. Can NFL players try out? That
was the question, because of course there's safety concerns. There's
also the fact that it seems like it will timing
wise kind of maybe take away with you know, training
(15:59):
camp and all of us.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
So there are definite.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Risks, but the owners have approved a resolution that will
allow the players to participate. I think that's personally, I
think it's a great move.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
It's so good for the game.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Internationally when which clearly has been a priority for the
league for a long time.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
And it's just fun, like I want to watch.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Them try out, but it's I mean, it's not a
guarantee they're going to be the whole team either even make.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It at all.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Yeah, So it's it's it passed thirty two to nothing.
So clearly the owners are all agree and I think
we all know and for good reasons. It's not a
bad thing, but it's because they are trying to grow
the international RUA.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
And also it's at the moment just a resolution that says, okay,
now we have to figure this all out. But the
fact that the NFLP an nflp REP and an Olympics
rep both were there and made very positive quotes about it, Okay,
they're going to work it out. So it's not done yet,
but yes, NFL players will be allowed to try out. Now,
how's that going to look? These teams are going to
be ten person teams. Yep, So that's not a lot
(16:54):
of spots.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
It's not. It might mean that somebody has to do
more than one thing or no.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
How to well that almost every I looked at the
they announced the current USA team rosters, there's I think
twelve people on it. Virtually every player is listed as
two positions will be like wide, wide receiver slash dB. Traditionally,
in flag football that you know all of this Weekend
Warriors played or have played, you do a lot of
(17:19):
play on both sides because you might need to play
seven on seven and you only have nine guys. Most
most players who play flag people who play flag football,
play on both sides. Now, as sports get more and
more specialized in higher level than usually, there tends to
be specialization. And if you have a ten man roster,
you could have five guys that are always on offense
and five defense, but you're probably gonna need more depth
(17:39):
than that. So if you're a wide receiver slash dB,
you're probably going to play some dB too. So when
we're thinking about NFL players who would be good in this,
versatility is big, and so obviously everybody I think rightfully
is saying, Travis Hunter.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
There we go, Yeah, that's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
As far as box players, I'm very intrigued to think
about this. Of a of course it's not for three years,
so of course I'm sure a lot of people are
like Mike Evans, and I feel like Mike would love it. Yes,
he has said he's like, yes, I am down for
this idea, but it's three years from now, and so
that's an interesting thought of you know, where's Mike Evans
and his health and his willingness to play. Then for me,
(18:18):
it's Bucky Irving. Is one of the cool ones of
thinking about running back where because I saw somebody who
was like, oh, Dereck Henry and I'm like, well, yes,
but Dereck Henry trucks people.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yes, that you don't do that.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Not what flag football is.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
And I think about watching the way of all the
video we showed of Bucky being so elusive and making
people miss, and his cutting and all that, of watching
these people just trying for his shirt, trying for anything,
and the way he was able to elude that. I'm like,
that to me feels like a pretty incredible flag football
type of player on the Buccaneers.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
I go a little deeper, and he had first test
to prove he's an NFL player. But our rookie Tes Johnson, Yes,
because NFL flat ok okay, why was the seventh round
pick despite incredible production and you know, a lot of
speed and quickness because of the size not as important
in flag football because the physical the rules of flag
football at most levels are trying to minimize contact as
(19:09):
much as possible. It's the whole kind of idea. Instead
of tackling, you pull a flag. Right, So he he
is a specialist at getting open, right, That's what's a
scouting report on him, just by his size. He just
has a Nate knack for getting open. That's what you
need for a pass catcher in flag football. You know,
it doesn't really matter his size if he's five yards open.
And then also I think you pointed out that he
(19:31):
does have some quarterbacking background, right, Yes, so sometimes people
get tricky and you can you can you know, may
be a pitch to him, you think he's gonna run,
and all of a sudden he throws the ball. So
just I thought, Antoine Winfield, if you want a defensive specialist,
he does have good hands if they need to play
on on on offense. But I think he's kind of
a heady guy. Who you know, isn't he kind of
the aware guy?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (19:52):
I know the best defensive players when I played flag football,
I played with I know it's not the same level.
I'm just saying, the ones who were really, really good
were the ones who really just.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Kind of had awareness of what was going on.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
That's why I thought, I think those are great choices
for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
All Right, that's going to do it for us on
this edition of Bucks Insider. Thank you so much for
joining us. We'll see you next time.
Welcome into Bucks Insider, coming to you from the Buck Studio,
presented by ticket Master Casey Phillips here with Scott Smith
and Breed Dix, and we have a lot of fun
things to talk about this week. We had a Ring
of Honor press conference, still got off season workouts, and
we had some assistant coach availability on the offensive side
compared to defense last week.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
And we have new rules. I mean, it's like it's
mid season here with all the news we got going on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So first of course, we want to start with the
Simeon Rice Hall or Ring of Honor news that it
was the freighting slipped there almost happening.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Well we could talk about yeah, but yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So tell me a little bit first of all for
you guys, I know, for me, one of the things
that stood out was just how emotional he was, which
you'd love to see that just seeing how much it
means and for him, he really talked about the fact
that he was so emotional because of the connection to
his family and what he felt like this meant to
the family name that his parents have passed away, and
for him you could tell this was something that he
(00:55):
wanted for them and to make the Rice family name
mean something and for them to be proud of it,
and for them passing away, for him to get this afterward,
and there he is, his son, and it's just so
cool to see you know what this meant to him,
separate even from.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
The football side. And Brion, I know you said that
kind of impacted you as well.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
I loved there were a couple of statements that he made,
but something that stood out to me was he said
football was a game for me that I wanted to
honor my mother and father, who he said, have both
passed away. I wanted to make our name mean something,
and I think I got that accomplished. I represent the
guys that played that will never get their names called,
and I represent so much more than just myself. I
(01:37):
feel like I'm just a vessel, and I am a
vessel for those that I've impacted throughout my whole life.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And I thought that.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Was really powerful and not only just a person that
when they stepped on the field wanted the personal accolades
and the achievements, but also just for him, there was
a much greater purpose and it was always to make
his parents proud. And he said that one of his
his dad's wishes for him was for him to be
in the right of honor, so to have that full
circle moment and to be able to have that I
think was really powerful and cool for everybody to see.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
And as much as it was about, you know, the
idea of a lot of this emotional kind of off
the field stuff, it also was about football and his
accomplishments and what he did on the field and what
he meant to a defense that was very stacked, very loaded,
you know, was the identity of that team, and he
was such a.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Crucial part of it.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
I think everybody knows the story by now, but Brian
Glazers certainly laid it out well when he introduced to
me on you know, this was the beginnings of a
great defense. And in nineteen ninet nine, for instance, the
Buccaneers went to the NFC Championship Game, almost the Super Bowl,
in large part because of the defense had come together
was so good and Warrenstapp that year was NFC Defensive
Player of the Year. So on that defense you had
four future Hall of famers so far, Warren Sap, Dirk Brooks,
(02:46):
China Lincronnie Barber, and some other nice pieces like Brian.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Kelly and Sheldon Qarrals, and they were doing great.
Speaker 5 (02:52):
But Mini Kiffin in particular thought to get this team over,
this defense, over the top into one of the greatest
of the NFL's ever seen. We need somebody on the
edge to supply consistent pressure and to be that inside
outside duo with Warren Sapp and he convinced Simeon Rice
that he was that piece. And by the time Simmy
and decided to come here, he felt the same way.
And he says he was on the phone with Rich McKay,
(03:14):
our general manager at the time. He was in Chicago,
but he was calling him and say, we can get
this done and if I come down there, we're gonna
win a Super Bowl either this year.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Or next year, which they did. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
So, I mean, we're talking about a guy and we've
thrown out Hall of Fame. Yep, we all have believed
that he at least deserves a greater consideration for All Fame.
He's been eligible since twenty thirteen. He has been the
semi finalist a lot of times, but never a finalist.
And this is a guy that from nineteen ninety eight
through two thousand and five, so an eight year period
that's a long period in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
That's more than twice as long as the average career.
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, in that time period, he had one hundred and
one point five sacks, which led the NFL. And you
compare him directly to his contemporaries at the time, Michael Strahan,
Jason Taylor, both in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
He had more than they did.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
Every player since the sack became an official statistic in
nineteen eighty two that has it one hundred sacks over
an eight year period and is eligible for the Hall
of Fame is already and he had another one. I
like is he had eight double digit sack seasons. Only
six players had more and they're all in the Hall Fame.
So he's got a Hall of Fame resume, and that's
(04:20):
obviously the next thing we would focus on, but right
now we're focusing on Ring of Oner sixteenth member.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Very very deserving, very deserving.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Yeah, And you know, like you talked about he was
kind of that final piece of what they needed on
that defense to win a Super Bowl, but also he
was kind of the final piece from like a personality
standpoint as well, And he talked about that of like
he was like, you know, we had some personalities on
that defense. I don't know if buck Stands are aware
there were a few personalities there, and I love hearing
the way he talked about it.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I think they were all probably a little wondering, like
we all know, we've got some big person. Yeah, And
he really talked about the fact that he felt.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Like they all jelled really well together. They all they
challenged each other, but in a good way. And so
we wanted to hear this quote where he discussed the
dynamics of playing alongside a lot of those other great
players with some big personalities.
Speaker 6 (05:08):
I listened to them talk about what it takes to
win here and how this team was already built, and
the things that I could bring here and do here
with my energy and my excellence, and how I played
the game. When I got here, I felt like it
was okay to be myself. Tampa made it a place
(05:29):
that I could be myself, and I felt like the
men that I played with they allowed me to be
the best version of myself, you know. And they were
just as rowdy as me, just as complex as me,
just as loud as I could be, and we were
all aligned together to crystallize our career and be the
(05:53):
best versions of ourselves. And we were young, we were aspiring,
we were dangerous, unstoppable, all of our mind set.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah. So just a great press conference.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I mean, of course, Simon always a great quote, always entertaining,
and he said so many amazing things.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
During the course of that presser.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
If you haven't seen it, make sure you check it
out on the Buccaneer's website.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
And I don't think it was an immediate perfect fit
with him Awards app.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
That took a little bit for they.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
As he put it, was mutual respect, which was how
it should be because they were both.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Hall of Fame le players.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yep, I completely agree.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So then also this week we got to hear from
several of the offensive coaches and get to hear how
that's progressing this offseason. And first I know offensive coordinator
Josh Bazzard spoke to the media, and then also I
shot a Slice with him, which isn't out yet, but
I wanted to highlight a couple of things that were
mentioned both between the presser and then our.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Time and Slice.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
What stood out to me is we talked, especially in Slice,
about the idea of the run game, right, and why
you know, kind of what even Josh Buzzard thought about
why they brought him in here. And he's like, yeah,
I mean it's it's continuity. Is like so much of
what I I know that I'm going to be able
to bring to this. So we talked about the idea
of okay, but like in this league, you cannot do
the same thing over and over and expect to continue to.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Work that people watch your film, they learn about you.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
And he was like, so I'm trying to make sure
that we're still putting guys in positions to succeed, which
is what worked so well last year of using the
guys to their strength. But he was like, now we
got to just disguise a little more, whether it's emotions,
whether it's it like he's like, we're going to have
to figure out the ways to do what we did
last year to a degree, but in a way that
maybe we have to disguise a little bit more because
people will have learned from us a bit last year
(07:32):
of continuity, but disguised he's the idea. So that was
one of the things that I thought was really interesting,
and just him also working on talking with coach Bowls
and how he's been preparing to be a play caller
and how he's been working. He already was thinking about
that a lot prior to even getting this job, of
what would I call here?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
What would I do?
Speaker 1 (07:49):
But then also now some of these call it plays
during practice and we know that we've heard how Coach
Bowles has done that for William Cohen, did it for
Dave Canalis. Now for him of really working in practice
to get him prepared for that play calling, which is
going to be interesting. Yeah, And then I know also
we got to hear a little bit about the idea
of Caate Otten and his development.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
That a guy who ended up.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Being so important to us last year and now there's
just so many offensive weapons that it'll be interesting to
see how he's used this year.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Well, And I love Justin Peele said that he looks
the best that he's seen him look.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
But also just he has the most confidence right now.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
He's playing fast and I think kind of what helped
build that confidence for Kde this last year was that
sensational three week stretch that he had when Mike Evans
Chris Godwin were out and you really got to see
his route running, precision and It's not necessarily that he
didn't have that capability, you just didn't see him utilized
in that way. So when Chris Godwin wasn't there, you
(08:44):
had Caate Otton running a lot of those option routes,
the corner routes and the things that Chris Godwin traditionally
did kind of became Bicker Mayfield's go to target on
third down. But then also he was running the seam
routes that you traditionally have Mike Evans running. So I think,
but not only that, he's one of the few Titans
in the NFL that are multifaceted and well rounded and
(09:06):
can play all three downs and don't really provide that
tell for the defense of past catching or blocking.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
So I'm excited to see what he's able to do
any year four.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
And obviously, Justin Peel said, like, you obviously hope and
pray that nothing happens with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans
with injury, But you're in a good place knowing that
you have that security blanket in caid for Baker Mayfield
for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
And I always love how Cad and the Titans call
themselves the rusty old truck that we're not necessarily the
flashies group, but we're there and we get.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
The job down when you need it.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
And I've always really enjoyed that take on them. And
then Scott, what'stood out to you? Listening to some of
the offensive coaches.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
Well, something that a couple of them said, both Josh
Grizzard and Dad Lewis pretty emphatically, was they really want
Baker Mayfield to take fewer hits.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
And I think all Bucks fails would really sleep a
little easier if that was the case.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
And that's on Baker, I mean really, I mean the
sacks or sacks, and yes, quarterbacks sometimes are the reason
they get sack, but sex are gonna happen, and you're
going to take hits that way.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
But it's the hits that you.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Can avoid by either sliding down or throwing the ball away.
And I guess you know, somebody brought up the San
Francisco play with Nick Bosa and that kind of left
that was one of the guy to have it moments. Yeah,
because it was fourth and seven.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yes, that's a little different.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
There was less than two minutes left in the game,
we were losing by three. If he had not made
that play, the game would essentially have been over, and
so he had to do whatever it takes there. I
think back to the Minnesota game, his very first start
with the Buccaneers in two twenty twenty three. I'll remember
that when he scrambled and he had to get your
weight up on.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Yeah, that was a first.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
And that was a first down and he got five yards.
But if he hadn't stiff armed his way through Bierra Murphy,
he probably would have lost the yard.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
It was just a red zone where he kept it.
Speaker 5 (10:51):
You look at that and go, was that a gotta
have it moment? I mean, it was first down and
he didn't get the first down, but that was a
play that helped on a drive that ended up being
the game winning field goal drive.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
So it's probably a little hard.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
There's probably like you might be staying on side as
a coach going that was not a guy.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
To have it moment and Baker, Yeah, I think moment
is what we love about him.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
But I'm not sure nobody.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
Nobody wants to coach his confidence and aggressiveness and competitiveness
out of him. Mayfield would not be as good as
he is if he was an ultra competitive with the
chip on the shore.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Nobody wants to coach.
Speaker 5 (11:27):
Out of them, but they would like for him to
sometimes slide instead of feeling like he's got to run
over the gat's.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
I wish that the microphones and the helmets were still
active so they could just be like, yes, just like
in the middle of the play, this, this is it.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
This is what we're talking about. He said, they do
have those conversations of practice. He's like, even at practice,
this is that.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
And he was saying, I tell him, even at practice,
that was an opportunity to get down. It's like and
Baker comes back and says, oh, you didn't think I
could truck him.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
He's like, yeah, I think you could truck him. But
that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
You're not offensive alignment.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I love it ive that he's still even a practice
when there's like no real tackling appen and he's still
like Ida had him.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Yeah, and then said it was a little bit of
a joking way that he said it, but still you
see that in Baker, and yeah, you're never gonna coach
all that out of them, and you don't want to.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, all right, And then finally some new rules to
be discussed. I know, Back in March, we talked about
the owners meetings. Then there were some rules change proposed
and some table So now we had the next go
around of looking at some of these different rules. One
of them that had been tabled last time was the
proposed ban on the tush push, and so that's one
of the ones now up for debate because it was
sort of table back then. So what are your thoughts
(12:36):
here on this tush push ban potential.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, we've got news coming in, Like as we're starting
the show, we're gonna talk about three things, and there's
some good news this one. I don't know if we
have it here in any of the tweets, but apparently
they just started talking about having the meeting about that
this morning, and Jeffrey Luriy, the Eagles owner, came into
the meeting.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
With Jason Kelcey. Yeah, with Jason Kelsey.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
I was getting Jason Kelsey yes, and the retired center.
I don't know what they didn't have the result of.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Yeah, but they were.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Gonna, I guess stump for not banning it, and I
think it's close. I do think that this band is
going to pass. It basically is just banning pushing your teammates,
your ball carriers, which.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Used to be the rules. So I get it. I
don't know.
Speaker 5 (13:19):
I'm torn on this one because it does feel like
like most of the rules that get changed that involved
like how you contact other players safety, it's always based
in safety, right, and this is based more on people
can't stop it, and we don't like that.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
I mean, and if Jason Kelsey is okay with it,
who he probably was the most likely to get play,
then it makes you think, oh, well, he's he's advocating
for it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
You know, even maybe the center that succeeded him isn't.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Maybe I don't know how you did this.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
I mean, you know, you want your coaches to be creative, right,
and if they can create a play that no part
of it is against the rules, and then you ban
it because it works too well, I can see while
people don't like it.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, I understand that.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And then now also we have a playoff reseating proposal.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Tell us what that is?
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Well, we just found out, Okay, I'll tell you what
it is. It's most recently Detroit is the one making
the proposal, and it's just basically winning a division does
automatically get you in the playoffs, but it doesn't affect
the seating. So the seating is just based on records.
And so last year that would have made Minnesota I guess,
the number two seed and instead of the number four
(14:30):
five seed, and they had to go on the road,
and probably maybe the Buccaneers would have been the would
I had to go on the road. So I just
always think that this comes up every few years. Always
think it's reactionary that it just it's not you're solving
a problem that doesn't exist.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
In my opinion, it might exist one year where we're like, oh,
that seems a little unfair this particular year, but then
all these other years where it seemed like it did
work out pretty well.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
And I'm I'm old school on this issue thinking that
winning a division should get the advantage of a home game.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
It's what makes divisions matter so much.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
It's like how you help build those rivalries and those games, like.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
It's a big that's what you're wishing for. Yeah, those
games's gonna matter a lot.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
It's gonna not feel as like it matters as much. Yeah,
but we just found out before we can't started to
hear that they have tabled that, so they're not going
to Clearly, they realized there wasn't enough support to pass it,
so they tabled it. The tweet from a couple of
guys that I think you see ian rapport there indicate
that when I'm not gonna say if, because we all
know it's gonna happen when at some point in the
not too distant future we go to an eighteen game schedule,
(15:30):
that they might bring it up again.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I'm not sure why that would change everything.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Yeah, why that would be connected? You never know. Oh,
go ahead, sails.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
And then finally, uh, the Olympic flag football resolution. This
one is very exciting because we know that obviously flag
football is going to be a sport in the LA
Olympics twenty twenty eight. Can NFL players try out? That
was the question, because of course there's safety concerns. There's
also the fact that it seems like it will timing
wise kind of maybe take away with you know, training
(15:59):
camp and all of us.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
So there are definite.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Risks, but the owners have approved a resolution that will
allow the players to participate. I think that's personally, I
think it's a great move.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
It's so good for the game.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Internationally when which clearly has been a priority for the
league for a long time.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
And it's just fun, like I want to watch.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Them try out, but it's I mean, it's not a
guarantee they're going to be the whole team either even make.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It at all.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Yeah, So it's it's it passed thirty two to nothing.
So clearly the owners are all agree and I think
we all know and for good reasons. It's not a
bad thing, but it's because they are trying to grow
the international RUA.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
And also it's at the moment just a resolution that says, okay,
now we have to figure this all out. But the
fact that the NFLP an nflp REP and an Olympics
rep both were there and made very positive quotes about it, Okay,
they're going to work it out. So it's not done yet,
but yes, NFL players will be allowed to try out. Now,
how's that going to look? These teams are going to
be ten person teams. Yep, So that's not a lot
(16:54):
of spots.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
It's not. It might mean that somebody has to do
more than one thing or no.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
How to well that almost every I looked at the
they announced the current USA team rosters, there's I think
twelve people on it. Virtually every player is listed as
two positions will be like wide, wide receiver slash dB. Traditionally,
in flag football that you know all of this Weekend
Warriors played or have played, you do a lot of
(17:19):
play on both sides because you might need to play
seven on seven and you only have nine guys. Most
most players who play flag people who play flag football,
play on both sides. Now, as sports get more and
more specialized in higher level than usually, there tends to
be specialization. And if you have a ten man roster,
you could have five guys that are always on offense
and five defense, but you're probably gonna need more depth
(17:39):
than that. So if you're a wide receiver slash dB,
you're probably going to play some dB too. So when
we're thinking about NFL players who would be good in this,
versatility is big, and so obviously everybody I think rightfully
is saying, Travis Hunter.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
There we go, Yeah, that's gonna be.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
As far as box players, I'm very intrigued to think
about this. Of a of course it's not for three years,
so of course I'm sure a lot of people are
like Mike Evans, and I feel like Mike would love it. Yes,
he has said he's like, yes, I am down for
this idea, but it's three years from now, and so
that's an interesting thought of you know, where's Mike Evans
and his health and his willingness to play. Then for me,
(18:18):
it's Bucky Irving. Is one of the cool ones of
thinking about running back where because I saw somebody who
was like, oh, Dereck Henry and I'm like, well, yes,
but Dereck Henry trucks people.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yes, that you don't do that.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Not what flag football is.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
And I think about watching the way of all the
video we showed of Bucky being so elusive and making
people miss, and his cutting and all that, of watching
these people just trying for his shirt, trying for anything,
and the way he was able to elude that. I'm like,
that to me feels like a pretty incredible flag football
type of player on the Buccaneers.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
I go a little deeper, and he had first test
to prove he's an NFL player. But our rookie Tes Johnson, Yes,
because NFL flat ok okay, why was the seventh round
pick despite incredible production and you know, a lot of
speed and quickness because of the size not as important
in flag football because the physical the rules of flag
football at most levels are trying to minimize contact as
(19:09):
much as possible. It's the whole kind of idea. Instead
of tackling, you pull a flag. Right, So he he
is a specialist at getting open, right, That's what's a
scouting report on him, just by his size. He just
has a Nate knack for getting open. That's what you
need for a pass catcher in flag football. You know,
it doesn't really matter his size if he's five yards open.
And then also I think you pointed out that he
(19:31):
does have some quarterbacking background, right, Yes, so sometimes people
get tricky and you can you can you know, may
be a pitch to him, you think he's gonna run,
and all of a sudden he throws the ball. So
just I thought, Antoine Winfield, if you want a defensive specialist,
he does have good hands if they need to play
on on on offense. But I think he's kind of
a heady guy. Who you know, isn't he kind of
the aware guy?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (19:52):
I know the best defensive players when I played flag football,
I played with I know it's not the same level.
I'm just saying, the ones who were really, really good
were the ones who really just.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Kind of had awareness of what was going on.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
That's why I thought, I think those are great choices
for sure.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
All Right, that's going to do it for us on
this edition of Bucks Insider. Thank you so much for
joining us. We'll see you next time.
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