It’s time for Gerald McCoy, as one of the team’s Veteran Captains, to get this defense rolling. It’s time to see that fire from him that we were once accustomed to seeing. His vocalness, his inspiration, but in reality, we need the fans to back him like they once had. McCoy has been getting a bad rap these past few years and undeservedly so, regardless of what the armchair GM’s say.
Many attacks have been made towards McCoy and most of those addressing how much money he makes. “Overpaid,” the attackers say. “Soft,” they say. “Unproductive.” The list goes on and on. Those are unfair assessments that borderline the ravings of a drunkard.Gerald McCoy had been nothing but a gentle, smiling face attached to a force on the field that took many to reckon with, but after a few injuries and surgeries, the fans turned their backs on their once beloved lineman, and the wild accusations began to fly. How quickly it seems that fans forget how important GMAC has been to our team. His role as a leader, his role on the line, his role in the community, and the unconditional love he has shown to the fans.
Fans are quick to shut out one of the defensive linemen we have had in close to a decade, despite all of his achievements off of that line. Fans ask, “What achievements? He had a bad attitude in 2015. He’s jealous of Jameis Winston’s leadership. He’s not doing this. He’s not doing that. Etc. etc.”
Some of the things I’ve read in social media, pertaining to McCoy’s “Phantom Faults,” are astronomical in their ridiculousness. How can you say McCoy hasn’t done anything in the last couple of years? How can you say McCoy isn’t earning his paycheck? Where was McCoy last season? He was collecting 8.5 sacks with a hand so tore up that if you had the same ailment you wouldn’t even be able to pick your nose with it. Among other things you likely do. I could spit facts, stats, and throw game film at you, and you still would argue that your facts are the correct ones and GMAC is the trashcan you so eloquently proclaim he is. (Let me stop laughing before I continue.)
I understand the fans frustration and how many feel about the team when we are so hyped up in the offseason, only to be thrown back into the same old disenchantment. So, fingers start getting pointed. Point them in the right direction, please. I have seen many, call into question the inner workings of the organization, and that is a great starting place. The owners of the team, and those who orchestrate the team’s actions could be called into question. However, there is no question in what the owners do for out community, as a whole, and calling for the heads of team’s maestros, so to speak, every year is accomplishing nothing. Former Bucs players who went through the coaching carousel will agree and some have even publicly stated it. Maybe that is where the true problems lie. We have a fresh start, once again this year, and hopefully this time, we maintain the course instead of designing a new heading. It’s getting rather old and has not accomplished much, other than new faces in new places.
Stand by your team and the players, not just McCoy, who I used as one of the main focal points to this article, but all of them. There is way too much hate going on, too many accusations flying in the wrong direction. Why be a fan if all you do is trash talk your team and their players? It makes no damn sense. A little complaining is fine, but the total degradation of your team none stop, is not. Like I said, “why be a fan,” in the first place? It’s not like the Bucs losing games or having a bad season is something new. I am not quite sure if it is because of social media that the onslaught of fair weather fans and haters of our team has emerged.
20 years ago the hate from our fans was nowhere this strong. It makes my stomach turn. Stand by your players. I know Vinny and Dilfer basked in their fair share of boos, but people still came to the games and still supported their team by staying to the final ticking of the clock. Post Super Bowl fans, leave when the Bucs are down by 14 and are quick to call out their best players in an attempt to find some kind of self-gratification, or w/e. That is ridiculous. If Gerald McCoy leaves the team, who would be next on your Finger-Point-List? Lavonte David? Kwon Alexander? Akeem Spence or William Gholston? For any rookie player coming into Tampa, that’s what you have to look forward to. You are supposed to take your share of ridicule, that’s what you get for being an NFL player, but jeesh, there seems to be not much love left to give in Tampa. So, before pointing fingers at the players and hating so much, maybe you should consider pointing the finger where it needs to be pointed and stop thinking perfection can be achieved every other season with new coaches. It is time to demand some excellence, but not just from the team and the staff, but from the fans.
