Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Ronde Barber recently appeared on The Johnny B Show on 102.5 FM and spoke about the draft and his expectations for the Buccaneers this upcoming season.
First of all, Barber said this must be the year for Tampa Bay and that they have added enough talent and valuable pieces to this squad for years now, yet this has not resulted in success. Everyone thought things would change before last season. The Bucs added a dangerous deep threat at Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson and Defensive Tackle Chris Baker. Unfortunately, they did not contribute like they were expected to, especially with Baker turning out to be such a huge disappointment.
Barber feels that this year must be the year the Bucs finally delivers. Especially with all the newly added talent we should finally be able to land a playoff spot for the first time since 2007.
The former Super Bowl Champion Barber also said that even though he is an analyst for FOX Sports, he is still somewhat of a homer and he loves to see the Buccaneers do well. He also calls the Tampa Bay’s front office his friends.
According to Ronde Barber, the 2018 Draft was a complete success for the Bucs, as they “got exactly what they wanted out of their first five picks”.
Furthermore, Barber added that Winston needs to finally take that decisive step forward and start carrying the team.
After two very decent years in the NFL, Winston was not able to improve further and actually took a step back in his development, last season. He threw only 19 Touchdowns and added 11 Interceptions; However, in his defense, he was injured for the most part of the season.
However, for the upcoming season, Barber believes that the excuses are now over for everybody, as the team is finally stacked on both sides of the ball.
Ronde Barber is still clearly bleeding pewter and red. His analysis of the draft and his outlook for the 2018 season was voiced with pure passion. Now, it is on the Bucs to finally win this year and make Barber and Buccaneers’ fans, alike, proud of their team and excited to win, once again.
If the team fails again, it will most likely be the end of Dirk Koetter‘s tenure in Tampa Bay, and that of Mike Smith‘s. Additionally, Jason Licht could find himself ousted as well.
A Brutal schedule or not, now is the time for the Bucs to shine.
