The Worm's About To Turn On Revis

It always amuses me the way fans back NFL ownership in contract disputes.  They always talk about the sanctity of contracts even though NFL owners can tear them up or trade them away at any moment.  They talk about character but only when the conversation involves the player.  They talk about loyalty from the player but business decisions from ownership.

Its just amazing to me to hear the abject hypocrisy at times. 

I know most of these same folks want to be paid what they are worth at their jobs.  I also know when they don't, most of them send out resumes to try to get another job where they WILL get paid what they are worth.  But NFL players don't have that luxury.  Free agency isn't really all that free.  See once they sign on to the dotted line we are at the mercy of ownership.  At any given time, even when they are hurt, ownership can decide their services are no longer wanted or needed and cut them.  But when a guy has gone above and beyond a contract ownership doesn't have to do anything except demand that they keep playing for the pay they signed on for.

Just about the only recourse for NFL players is to hold out and show the team how much they need him.  Now holding out doesn't always work out, but what else can a player really do to compel a team to do the right thing?

Not much.

And don't hold your breath waiting on teams to do the right thing without any pressure.  That's not how most rich guys got rich in the first place.

Which brings me to the case of Darrelle Revis, he of "Revis Island".  Last year Revis had one of the most dominating seasons from a defensive back that the NFL has ever seen.  Week after week he was matched up on the opposing team's leading receiver and he just every one of them down.  Many people, including his head coach and GM felt he should have been awarded the Defensive MVP in fact for his performance.

And he's scheduled to make $1 million dollars this year.

Now I understand that for most people $1 million dollars is a lot of money.  But in the world of starting cornerbacks in the NFL, especially the top ones, its relative chump change.

Of course I understand that he also got a signing bonus as a rookie so that $1 million is actually more than that averaged out.  But still, a guy with those kinds of skills should be makinig more than that.  Period.  If you don't agree then you can probably stop reading because this is something that should be universally recognized as the truth.

Up until this point most fans HAVE agreed with that assessment.  In fact I bet if you asked, before yesterday that is, if Revis should get a raise the overwhelming response would be a resounding yes.  But yesterday changed things.  It shouldn't have but it did.  And its all so predictable.

What happenned yesterday?

Well the Jets' owner Woody Johnson along with their GM Mike Tannenbaum, in what looked like a scripted interview, proclaimed that with Revis' contract demands they didn't see him playing for the Jets this year.

And you could hear the collective pearl clutching of fans in the north east. 

So now today I've noticed, particularly on twitter, Jets fans slowly but surely turning on Revis.  He's starting to be described as "selfish" or "dumb" or "crazy".  All because he wants to be paid what he's worth.

But the rationale is the part that gets me the most.  These fans are mad most of all because of how much Revis brings to the team.  I saw one guy state that the Jets will contend with the Superbowl with Revis but might not win 8 games without him.

Well, uhm, isn't that MORE of a reason to pay the man?

I mean if a guy mean's that much of a difference between whether you have a team contending for the chip and a team struggling to get into the playoffs that's a tangible example of just how much the guy is worth. 

But the big bad owner got up and said Revis was asking for too much so fans must now pummel him with disparaging remarks.

The truth is Woody Johnson himself is probably somewhere sweating right now hoping that the fans WILL turn on Revis and pressure him to get back into camp and settle for whatever they offer him.

Why?

Well because this Jets team was built essentially for a one year run at the Lombardi trophy.  Think about it, with next season in limbo do you really see guys like Jason Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson being around in 2012 to vie for a championship? 

I don't.

And keep in mind that several Jets players will be up for new contracts after this season even aside from Revis.  Some will get paid, but some will have to go elsewhere for a new contract.That means by the time football comes back this team will look significantly different than it does today.  And understand this about the Jets' owner, Woody Johnson wants a Superbowl ring in the worst way.  He has spent quite a bit of money on big time free agents over the years whether people paid attention before now or not trying to get it.  And I believe if he is pressured to do so he will spend a lot more money to pay Revis if he is compelled to do so.

But only if he's compelled to do so. Because like I said the Johnson family as well as any other NFL owners didn't get rich by just handing out money on a platter.

So the best tool Mr. Johnson has right now is fan sentiment.  Players make business decisions when it comes to their contract but nobody likes to turn on SportsCenter and hear talking heads and fans ragging on them.  Nobody wants to look like the a hole in a contract dispute.  And most guys realize that your marketing opportunities to help create income outside your contract are slim and none once you get labeled a "bad guy".

But Revis isn't any more of a bad guy than all of you are out there who send out those resumes.  He just wants to be paid the going rate for a guy of his caliber.  So its my hope that the fans aren't swayed this time.  That they look at the big picture and realize that as much baby oil and band aids as they have bought over the years, Mr Johnson can afford to pay Revis what he's worth.  That they understand that the little press conference yesterday was all about manipulating them and that they refuse to fall for it.

Unfortunately I doubt any of that will happen.

Which is probably bad news for Revis.

Anticipating The Argument

One thing about blogging sometimes over at joebucsfan is that you start to get a feel for how some of the regular commenters will come down on certain topics. There is definitely a segment of Buccaneers fans there and elsewhere across the blogosphere that seem to back whatever the brass over at One Buc says without much thought or examination. Right now many of them, with all evidence to the contrary, will try to convince other people and maybe even themselves that Donald Penn doesn't deserve a new contract. Mind you but for the CBA expiring, which wasn't really a sure thing until last year, the Bucs would be in a situation right now where they would HAVE to give him a new contract or risk losing Penn via free ageny. At the least they would have had to franchise him to keep him and while not a long term deal it would have been a helluva lot more than the $3 million and change they are offering him right now.

But those kinds of facts don't appeal to that section of Bucs fans. Nope they will find new excuses for the Glazers not cutting the check every single day. As soon as you shoot down one, here comes another. And don't get me wrong, there's nothing inherently wrong with fans trusting their owners. But at some point that trust crosses over into the land of the delusional.

So this morning I happened to see a post that I KNOW will make that crowd giddy. It seems that the player ratings for the new Madden video game have come out. And whaddya know.

Top Left Tackles
R. Clardy - 98
J. Long - 96
J. Thomas - 95
M. Roos - 95
J. Gross - 95
D. Ferguson - 91
J. Brown - 91
B. McKinnie - 90

Madden has the top 8 left tackles and ZOMG there's no Donald Penn!!!

Now you may think I'm crazy for saying this but I can almost guarantee that there will be a Bucs fan who uses the Madden ratings to justify Penn not getting a new deal.

No bullshit.

I can hear them now..."SEE SEE even Madden agrees with Mark Dominik and you know its the most realistic video game EVAHHH"

Laugh now, but I will accept your apology when it happens.

But here's the thing, remember that these folks ALWAYS back ownership. That being the case there is something about the Madden ratings that is going to give them a lot of heartburn if they try to use them against Penn.

Top MLB
P. Willis - 99
J. Beason - 96
R. Lewis - 94
D. Harris - 91
B. Ruud - 91
L. Fletcher - 91
D. Ryans - 90
J. Vilma - 90

Yep. that's right folks. Madden has Barrett Ruud, you know the OTHER guy the Bucs won't commit too long term, as the 4th or 5th best middle linebacker in all the NFL. Oh I know you've been repeating that "he makes tackles 5 yards down the field" crap all off season, but evidently (like me) Madden and his people disagree.

And I mean if Madden is a fair arbiter of Penn's talent shouldn't he also be a fair arbiter for Ruud's.

Understand this, I think BOTH guys deserve new deals so I'm happy as hell for Barrett that he is getting props on the game AND I think Penn should have been in the mix at his position. But the point to get across is this.

ITS A FRIGGIN VIDEO GAME!!!

Using it as an argument for or even against a guy getting money is ridiculous. But because I know at this point Penn detractors/Glazers supporters are grasping at straws to justify this situation I just know someone will use that weak ass analogy.

Welp, just know if you bring that weak stuff to me I'm slapping it hard against the backboard and giving you the Mutombo finger wave.

You've been warned ;)

Dear Disgruntled Bucs Fans, Please Make Up Your Mind

Evidently Steve "The Big Dawg" Duemig is reporting that Coach Morris will be retained for at least another year. This of course has provoked mixed feelings. But for those Bucs fans who are disappointed and wanted the Bucs to fire Coach Morris, I ask only one thing of you. Please be consistent.

What I mean is that for most of the season when we were losing all I heard was how we didn't have any talent on the team, especially on defense. How the defensive line couldn't start for anybody else. How Barrett Ruud was terrible because he never made any plays in the backfield. And about how horrible Sabby Piscetelli is. (ok I admit I said that also)

On offense our line couldn't block anybody, none of our quarterbacks were worth a damn, Caddy had lost a step and Derrick Ward was overrated, and of course bashing Michael Clayton could never get old (again I confess, yes I was a party to that too).

Now after a little bit of success and the team at least getting a few wins and showing improvement all of a sudden the same folks who previously complained about our lack of talent, NOW complain about our record and because we lost to the Falcons.

So..........we suck as far as our talent level, but......we should be in the playoffs. Uhmm sorry, that doesn't compute.

Now if you think we have a dearth of talent that's fine, and at least in a few cases I will agree with you. But then you have to admit that with the talent we have it wasn't likely that we were going to win a bunch of games this year anyway.

However if you think all of the loses were all because of Coach Morris, then you would have to embrace the notion that we already have enough talent to get us in the playoffs. Now at certain positions I can agree with you, but at others I am going to ask for some of what you are smoking. Still, you are entitled to your own opinion, but what you can't turn around and say is that we need to spend more money on free agents and draft picks. I mean hell, according to you the Bucs are already stacked and just need a better leader.

Now I have made it known that I was hoping Coach Morris would come back and I have said exactly why he should, so more than likely I am not going to see eye to eye with the guys who didn't want him back anyway. But at the very least if you are consistent then we can have a rational discussion about it. If you try to say we don't have much talent and also say we should have won a lot more, I am going to basically have to just get up and walk away.

Well, that's my heads up to y'all out there. Now you can't say I didn't warn you.

How Should We Feel About The Seahawks Win?

I have heard several people on talk radio say and read several articles and posts online profess that Bucs fans shouldn't really be all that excited about them beating the Seahawks on Sunday. The reasoning runs the gamut from people upset that we might not get the first pick in the draft to some folks saying the Seahawks are just a horrible team and so who cares that the Bucs beat them.

Now make no mistake, the Bucs have had a shitty year and the Seahawks aren't anybody's world beaters. However I just don't get the logic of saying it wasn't a good win. In my world having the top pick in the draft is not something to be proud of. Hell look back at the list of teams who have earned that top pick. How many of them are now contending for anything? Anything at all? Besides that while the Seahawks have only won 5 games, 4 of those wins came at home. In point of fact they have had won 4 out of their 6 games at home before this past Sunday and two of those wins were a blowout of the Jacksonville Jaguars and a win over the San Francisco 49ers who were recently seen blowing out NFC West division leader Arizona. Furthermore the 7 pts they scored on Sunday was their second worst point output of the season.

Now its ok to keep things in perspective, a Superbowl win this was not. But for people to try to down play the win like it didn't mean anything is a farce. The Seahawks were better on paper, especially at home, and just about none of the same people who are now saying it wasn't a good win actually picked the Bucs to win on Sunday. So you will just have to excuse me when I call bullshit. We got our running game going again on Sunday, and our defense forced at least 4 turnovers even if you count the Matt Hassleback fumble as a gimmie. And lets not forget the good day that Sammie Stroughter had on returns. Does that mean that we will dominate against the Saints? Of course not. But it for damn sure gives me more hope than if we had went out there and laid an egg like most people thought we would.

Winning is a habit just like losing is a habit. Me personally I would much rather see this team learning good habits headed into the offseason no matter who its against. Somehow I bet most real Bucs fans feel the same way.