Credibility takes a beating in this camp
In the lingering debates between Simeon Rice and his former employer, it really doesn't matter who you believe. This isn't his team anymore.
By GARY SHELTON
Published August 3, 2007
In the lingering debates between Simeon Rice and his former employer, it really doesn't matter who you believe. This isn't his team anymore.
In the medical mystery concerning Chris Simms and his wayward arm, it really doesn't matter what you believe. This isn't his offense anymore.
In the end, what matters is who you trust.
That, and winning.
After a week of Camp I've Got a Secret, this has become the biggest issue of them all. Do you trust those in charge of the Bucs as much as ever? Do you believe what you are hearing, and do you believe in those saying it?
It is an alarming thing when a franchise's credibility begins to crumble. It is more important than how loud Rice has become or how hurt Simms really is or whether there has been a recent Luke Petitgout sighting. It is more important than if Bunco Bruce Allen dislikes the media or if the media dislike him back.
To those who run the Bucs, and to those who follow along, the real concern is believability.
At a time they need it the most, the real question is how much of it the Bucs have left in the bank.
More and more, the Bucs tell you less and less. The truth has become a moving target. The team gives out information by the spoonful, and only after it has been shaped, spun and sanitized. In the middle of the shadows and the smoke, the team seems less trustworthy.
It's a shame, because if the Bucs ever needed credibility, it is now. They have had three losing seasons in four, and as anyone knows, the more turbulent the flight, the more you need faith in the pilot.
Yet, the questions remain unanswered. Was Rice really hurt less than the team said? Is Simms hurt more? Is there a reason the Bucs are so far under the salary cap? And on and on.
For the Bucs, trust is not a small issue. Any business needs credibility, but none as much as one that sells its uniform shirts to the public and convinces its potential customers that its success is somehow vital to their lives. There are a great many people who want desperately to believe the nearest sports franchise shares their goals, their dreams.
What do you suppose a veteran player for the Bucs is thinking as he approaches the final chapter of his career? How about a potential free agent as he contemplates his options? What about someone who is deciding whether to pay for a season deposit for the season after this one?
Let's face it: It is easy to dismiss the media; after all they are in the business of wanting to find things out. Given the choice, fans prefer to believe in their teams. Of course they do.
Then there is this: All teams, all regimes, hide things. I've been around the NFL for a lot of years, and I've never had a coach fax me a game plan or a general manager tell me whom a team planned to draft. That's not the concern here. It's about players and customers and potential employees all looking to find a reason to believe, a reason to have faith.
Take the Rice situation. Even now, his former teammates aren't quite sure whether he was released because of a bum shoulder or a bloated paycheck. Was it coincidence that it happened hours after No. 1 draft pick Gaines Adams was signed? Given that most pay cuts are negotiated over weeks with a player's agent, wasn't it an odd time to ask a player to take less money?
Then there is this: For all of the noise about Rice's shoulder, why would the Bucs even bring it up? If they wanted to cut the guy, they could have simply cut him. Were they that concerned at a John Lynch level of fallout?
Take the Simms situation. Why would Allen go out of his way to insist that neither Simms' arm nor his health was an issue? Obviously, from the fact that Simms is sitting out practice, something is. So what motivation would the Bucs have to hide it?
Take the Petitgout situation. Is that about to turn into the next round of Jeopardy? Everyone knows Petitgout signed a good deal, but who would have thought he had this much comp time built up already.
For goodness' sake, this is football. It isn't state secrets. None of the Bucs' issues should be on a need-to-know basis. No competitive edge would be sacrificed by a few reasonable explanations. But when a team isn't upfront about small things, it is easy to wonder about bigger ones. About hidden agendas. About ulterior motives.
There is a reason that NFL teams make so much money that it seems they have their own printing press. It's because fans want to know. They want to talk about nickel backs and long snappers and shotgun formations. The basic rule of thumb for most teams is that you tell them whatever you can.
Admittedly, fewer people would care how much the Bucs love their secrets if the team was winning. No matter what a team says, the thing with the most credibility is the scoreboard.
When a losing team won't give up the answers, eventually, you fear the reason.
Perhaps it doesn't know them.
Gary Shelton can be reached at (727) 893-8805.