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Letters to the Editors

Bucs chat

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2000

Tampa Bay missing a big-bucks passer

Don't blame Shaun King. Blame the Bucs management. You get what you pay for. The three quarterbacks on the Bucs make less than $3-million annually. There are teams paying twice that much for one quarterback. Apparently the Bucs feel they can win with a mediocre quarterback. The Bucs will be lucky to finish 8-8.
-- Henry Weese, Safety Harbor

Enough. There is an experienced quarterback on the sideline giving signals to a quarterback who obviously should be the one on the sideline learning the game. It's time to re-evaluate the situation and bring in Eric Zeier. The grace period is over. Sit down, Shaun, and watch how the pros do it.
-- Walt Latham, Lutz

I think the Bears loss, and the others this year, can be blamed on the quarterback. Yes, I believe Shaun will become a good quarterback. But I don't see the confidence and understanding that I see in a Daunte Culpepper or a Steve McNair.

I respect Coach Dungy and his staff, but I do believe now is the time to pull the trigger and start Eric Zeier. There is too much inconsistency with our present situation. We waited five years for Trent Dilfer to become consistent. Do we go through this again?

It's time we look for a proven winner at this position. It's our weak link.
-- Ray Schroeder, Safety Harbor

After all these years of not having an offense, it's time for all Buc fans to accept the fact that the Bucs are destined to never have an offense. If they haven't had an offense in 24 years, what makes them think the next 24 will be any different?
-- Dan Stifflear, Palm Harbor

The Bucs are a good team that, after a few wins, began to think it was a great football team that needed only to show up to win. This loss of intensity was evident against the Jets, and now the Bears. For the next couple of games, I expect the desire and focus will return, and then they'll start strutting around again and blow another easy one.
-- Fred Raymond, Lutz

Now I know what "Thanksgiving" means: the season is almost finished and so are the Bucs and Shaun King. And the lacking offense is the turkey.
-- Dick Shockley, Clearwater

The only way the Bucs are going anywhere is by getting themselves a legitimate impact running back, a 25- to 35-touches-a-game player who can move the offense down the field (like Eddie George, Robert Smith or Fred Taylor). Mike Alstott is a short-yardage back and Warrick Dunn is a third-down back. Shaun King never will be effective until the Bucs find that back who will make his job easier.
-- Gus Goncalves, St. Pete Beach

The Times showed a comparison between Shaun King and Trent Dilfer, and they were almost equal. Just think what it would have been like if Trent had the offensive line, running backs and defense the Bucs now have. You won't get Trent back now. Trent just made a good team a playoff team. One last thing. There were three football games on TV Sunday. Shaun lost. Vinny won. Trent won.
-- Gary Wilkinson, Dunedin

How many times did it take for Les Steckel and Shaun King to realize you can't force passes into a seven-man defensive backfield? You can't have your quarterback stand in the pocket for 10 minutes looking for receivers who are running the poorest routes ever seen? Is it possible that Tony Dungy is afraid to bring an offensive coach with a reputation for winning? If they can't prepare a team for a game better than they did Sunday, you can forget any thoughts of post-season play.
-- George Johnson, Clearwater

Not jumping off the bandwagon. Never was on it. LeRoy Butler of the Packers summed it up best after their game against the Bucs: "They're not a Super Bowl team." Hey, LeRoy. They're not even a playoff team. Until the Bucs get two more athletic offensive linemen who can blast defensive linemen off the ball, and a legitimate NFL prototype running back, forget the playoffs. I see the Bucs finishing 8-8, if they catch a few lucky breaks.
-- Michael Harris, Oldsmar

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