Posted by  BigBucFan, Sarasota on 08/11  at  10:13 AM

Hey Ira, it’s OK man. I do like the optimism & enthusiasm you displayed through the Brett saga. You were wrong in the end, but so what, there’s much worse tragedies in life. One such tragedy is Martin Fennelly with his hate and intolerence. So Ira, lets go for a positive outlook on what could be a great Season of Bucanneer Football. Accentuate the positives & just sweep the negatives under the rug. We know when they occur, we watch the games, so let’s not sensationalize negativity this season. Bring on the Pats! Go Bucs!!!

Posted by  Stephen Weihman, Wesley Chapel on 08/09  at  08:15 PM

Nice job of reporting, Ira.  Way to check those sources and confirm your facts.

Jeez, does this put a dent in the credibility of the Tribune, not that it matters much.  When you’re as bad as the Trib, you don’t have far to follow.

Sheesh, is Ira the same guy who “successfully” had it confirmed and eteched in stone that the next Bucs coach would be Bill Parcells - twice?  And didn’t he break the story that the sale papers were a done deal that the new Bucs owner was going to be DeBartolo.

Ira, hope you like it at the Trib.  Pretty much anywhere else you would have been fired long ago.  Maybe you can find work at the “Weekly World News.”  They love fictional stories like this.  Maybe you can write about Favre’s space-alien baby.

Posted by  maureen, tampa on 08/09  at  10:08 AM

I will never buy the Trib again.  Ira, go get a job at the National Enquirer.  I’m sick and tired of your negative, NON-factual “reporting.”  Shut up and go home.

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/09  at  08:42 AM

Charles, you must also have an NFL Crystal Ball, “he wold end up throwing a couple of key Ints in a game. Favre and gruden would have Butted heads..” Really? Which game(s) was he going to throw key INT’s in? And exactly when was Gruden going to bench him? And which horse is going to win the 7th race at the track this afternoon?
Will Favre throw more INT’s then Garcia this year? Probably. He will also throw more TD’s, more yards, start more games, and win more games.
Ask your crystal ball which game Garcia gets injured in this year.  He only made it through 2 days of training camp before straining his calf, and that’s an injury that lingers. Guess I’ll have to wait and see, but you, you already have all the answers.

Posted by  Charels Fiske, KC, Mo on 08/08  at  01:24 PM

Farve would not have been a good thing for the bucs.  He would have had a limited playbook.  he wold end up throwing a couple of key Ints in a game.  Favre and gruden would have Butted heads.  Gruden would have benched him just like keyshawn.  I am glad we didnt get him.  We are about Ballcontril, running the ball, & Defense.  Faver is a gun slinger.  Our personel fits our style of football.  Good Rbs, Great O-line, and Great Defense.  we are not set up to be slinging the ball downfield all game taking risks. If thats the type of team you want join teh Pats or Colt bangwagon.  Go Bucs

Posted by  Charels Fiske, KC, Mo on 08/08  at  01:23 PM

Farve would not have been a good thing for the bucs.  He would have had a limited playbook.  he wold end up throwing a couple of key Ints in a game.  Favre and gruden would have Butted heads.  Gruden would have benched him just like keyshawn.  I am glad we didnt get him.  We are about Ballcontril, running the ball, & Defense.  Faver is a gun slinger.  Our personel fits our style of football.  Good Rbs, Great O-line, and Great Defense.  we are not set up to be slinging the ball downfield all game taking risks. If thats the type of team you want join teh Pats or Colt bangwagon.  Go Bucs

Posted by  Charels Fiske, KC, Mo on 08/08  at  01:12 PM

mark wkats wrong with you.  You really think our drafting the last few years has been poor.  I think we draft great on defense(TJackson, Sabby, Adams, Rudd, Talib) are all going to be key players for us in the future.  Our O-line because of the draft is top 10 in the league, next year top 5. Had Caddy not got injured he would have had another great year as well.  The only position we dont draft well in is QB &WR.  They only talented player we lost that I wish we didnt was Lynch.  Sapp would not have been worth the money he got(see his stats in oakland).

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/08  at  11:34 AM

And as for draft picks and moves made by Gruden and Allen, I would rank them as poor, and that’s being kind.  We can talk specifics if you like, Knights, but I would say the overall team record, free agent acquasitions that didn’t play a snap, and talented players we have lost, speak for themselves.

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/08  at  11:33 AM

Knights, I’m far from a Favre apologist and now that he isn’t in Tampa, my interest will be casual. If he flops, I’ll leave it to you to pound your chest and declare to the world that your NFL Crystal Ball was right, yet again.  The problem is the national sports media, NFL Analysts, GM’s, coaches, and, of course, yours truly, believe Favre is a better option than Garcia, Pennington, Rodgers, and about 25 other QB’s who currently have starting jobs.

And the Bucs are not a Superbowl contending team with Garcia.  Period.  Take off your Pewter colored glasses and stop being a homer.  A playoff team, possibly, but Superbowl contender?  Seriously?  It’s comments like that, that kill your credibility.

Posted by  Knights86, Tampa, FL on 08/07  at  12:53 PM

I think our team has a decent shot at a SB victory this year, and will continue to stay competitive and have a shot for years to come because the organization has drafted well and added good free agents, as well as managing the salary cap.  I’d rather see big money spent on a rookie or younger QB who will play multiple seasons here.  The talent here is pretty good, it’s a matter of luck, health, and execution from that point.

Mark, I look forward to seeing you post excuses for Favre when he is an unmitigated disaster in New York and leaves that mess of a franchise in a bigger mess when he re-retires during or after this season.

Posted by  Knights86, Tampa, FL on 08/07  at  12:45 PM

No where did I ever state that Garcia was a better QB than Favre, or disparage what Favre accomplished in Green Bay.  But Favre is not a good fit in Tampa’s system, and thankfully he is not here.

As for anyone who somehow thinks Favre would mentor young QBs, go back to screaming for more Mike Alstott in the offense and leave football talk to the grown ups.

The debate for me was NEVER just a Garcia vs Favre debate, but debate of over whether Favre made this a better team, not just this year, but 2 or three years from now.  And his constant retirement waffling along with the price the team would have paid for him in draft picks and salary cap money didn’t make sense.  Ask a Patriot fan, there is no such thing as a guaranteed SB win.

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/07  at  11:08 AM

And finally Wake Up Tampa, it appears you are confusing Favre for Jeff George, “he doesn’t run around like a dog loose on the field and just throw the ball up for grabs.” 

Are you serious???  That’s what Favre has done for 16 years?  No man crush, Wake Up, the debate was Garcia vs. Favre. Not on whether Favre is better than Manning, Montana, Brady, or your Mom (I heard she can really sling it!).

Go and post on your favorite website www.ihatefavresguts.com.  This forum was to debate whether Favre made the Buc’s a better team. And he would have.

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/07  at  11:07 AM

And finally Wake Up Tampa, it appears you are confusing Favre for Jeff George, “he doesn’t run around like a dog loose on the field and just throw the ball up for grabs.” 

Are you serious???  That’s what Favre has done for 16 years?  No man crush, Wake Up, the debate was Garcia vs. Favre. Not on whether Favre is better than Manning, Montana, Brady, or your Mom (I heard he can really sling it!).

Go and post on your favorite website www.ihatefavresguts.com.  This forum was to debate whether Favre made the Buc’s a better team. And he would have.

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/07  at  10:47 AM

Brady, Manning, and Montana are not game managers.  Check Rothlesburger in his rookie year.  Throwing the ball 12-18 times per game with nothing over 10 yards.  Now check Garcia’s stats.  Game Manager = a QB that can’t win the game for you by themselves.

Being efficient doesn’t make you a game manager.  The QB’s you mention are in great systems, with great talent, and are, themselves, great….sure Favre has thrown more INTs than any of them, but he’s thrown more TD’s, too.

Posted by  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/07  at  10:37 AM

To Wake Up Tampa:
Respond to the comment.  How many game managers have won Superbowls other than Dilfer in 2000 and Johnson in 2002?  Are you suggesting that Montana was a game manager???  Really?  Ever heard of the West Coast offense?  He didn’t have gaudy numbers because they ran a short passing game, and ran the ball.  But Montana was not a game manager.  He is arguably the best QB of all time. 

Few QB’s have ever won a single Superbowl, let-alone multiple championships.  Elway threw his share of INT’s as did Bradshaw.  If you throw the ball downfield, you will have INT’s.

Posted by  Ray Buc, st. petersburg on 08/07  at  10:33 AM

Good job Ira. Back to the daily grind of hating Gruden and Allen. Your credibility is shot forever.

Posted by  Holy Crap, St. Pete on 08/07  at  09:50 AM

Just wanted to thank the Tampa Tribune for such stellar coverage of this story.  I mean seriously are you kidding me!?  You guys could not have been further away from the real outcome of this story.  Next time, learn to bite your tongue until you have the real facts or find better sources.  Way to go to let down a community and misinform an entire nation.

Posted by  Sweet Lou, Boston, MA on 08/07  at  09:22 AM

Methinks the Boston Herald’s John Tomase should work at this fine publication.

Posted by  Walter, Soup Town on 08/07  at  08:07 AM

HA HA!

Posted by  Brian Rankin, Oshawa, Ontario on 08/07  at  07:48 AM

With any luck, Brett won’t screw this up & report to NY.  HOPEFULLY, the media in Tampa will let this die and not bother Mr Gruden with a hole lot of stupid “what if” questions and let him get on with preparing our team for the season ahead.  I’m glad Brett didn’t come here & I’m glad nobody on our team got SOLD OUT on a whim for the thought of a possibility to win a quick superbowl.  The thing that seems to be missing from sports these days is something called LOYALTY!  Our team has a enough good QB’s already!  Develope them properly & they will get the job done.

Posted by  Sean Fowler, St. Petersburg on 08/07  at  05:31 AM

Student Journalists take note of the Favre fiasco; it’s the perfect example of how NOT to report a story.  Conjecture, speculation, and unsubstantiated 3rd party reports were rampant throughout the Favre news cycle, and they reached epic proportions when the Trib reported that Favre was going to be a Buccaneer.  What once was a credible newspaper, bowed under the weight of the story and resorted to the sensationalism normally reserved for the Enquirer.  Because of this the Trib has lost a reader and maybe even more importantly, it’s integrity.

Posted by  Wake Up, Tampa on 08/07  at  04:44 AM

Um, Joe Montana anyone? Only once in 15 years did he throw more than 13 INT’s in a season and he never threw more INT’s than TD’s in a year. He never threw for more than 4,000 yards. He threw for more than 3,200 yards 7 times in 15 years. He only threw for more than 20 TD’s in a year 6 times. Wasn’t he a pretty good “manager” of games? Was he a gunslinger like Favre? 

Favre has 5 years of throwing 20+ INT’s. The Bucs don’t need that kind of crap - even Derrick Brooks said indirectly that they don’t need “unnecessary” turnovers this year ... read between the lines on that one and get over your man crush on Favre.

Posted by  Wake Up, Tampa on 08/07  at  04:43 AM

What about Tom Brady? He’s pretty good “manager” of games, isn’t he? He’s not a gunslinger that throws for more INT’s than TD’s ... ever. He’s never thrown more than 14 INT’s in a season - you know how many times Favre has thrown 14 or more INT’s in a season? 13 times.

Some guy named Troy Aikman? How many Super Bowls did he win again? You realize the most yards he ever threw for in a season was 3,445 in 1992 .. and he only threw for more than 3,000 yards 5 times in 12 years? He only had 1 season in which he threw for more than 20 TD’s and 10 seasons in which he threw for less than 19. He was pretty good at “manager” of games, wasn’t he?

Posted by  Wake Up, Tampa on 08/07  at  04:42 AM

Seems to me some guy named Peyton Manning has never thrown more INT’s than TD’s except for his rookie year and he’s won just as many SuperBowls as Brett Favre. When’s the last time you saw Peyton Manning throw into triple coverage or make a completely asinine decision that cost his team in the playoffs as many times as Favre has. Wouldn’t you say that Manning is a “manager” of games? He’s not a gunslinger - he doesn’t run around like a dog loose on the field and just throw the ball up for grabs.

Posted by  Wake Up, Tampa on 08/07  at  04:41 AM

“Check the career stats and get back to me…and not just the INT’s. Safe QBs who manage games don’t win championships unless you have the Ravens defense of 2000 or the Buc’s in 2002.”

-  Mark Rodriguez, Tampa on 08/06 at 07:55 PM

Really? .. huh. Brett Favre hasn’t won championship"S” either - he’s won 1 Super Bowl. Not Super Bowl"S”.