Il punto della situazione, parola a Joel Glazer

I Glazer, come è noto, sono in tanti (Joel, Ed e Bryan, i tre figli del patriarca Malcolm) ma parlano pochissimo, e le loro esternazioni alla stampa costituiscono eventi decisamente rari.

L'annuale meeting tra i proprietari dei vari team NFL è stata l'occasione, da parte di Joel, di fare il punto della situazione in casa Bucs, anche se le dichiarazioni del co-chairman di Tampa Bay sono state molto "equilibrate" e non sono emerse novità di spicco.

Ma vediamo nel dettaglio quali argomenti ha affrontato in maniera specifica Joel Glazer, a cominciare da un commento sulla scorsa stagione (dal Tampa Bay Times).

Come è stato possibile che i Bucs abbiano terminato la stagione 2014 con un deludentissimo record di 2-14? Ecco la risposta di Joel:

"Obviously, last year was disappointing. It's not the type of season you ever want to repeat again. When you look back, you can try to point to a lot of different factors, but the bottom line is we were 2-14. You know, there was a little adversity with the offensive coordinator's position (which) was difficult, no question about it. And when you look back, there were a lot of games that were actually pretty close that didn't go our way. But it's in the past. Our goal is to never be there again and that's what we're focused on. We have great confidence in Lovie and Jason".

Ma dopo un'annata così disastrosa, c'è ancora fiducia da parte della proprietà nei confronti di coach Smith e del GM Licht? Ancora Joel:

"We look at everything as live and learn. So if there was an experience that happened and certain things didn't work out, to us it's more important to look into why it didn't work out and make sure we don't repeat the errors of the past. That's an area where I've spent a lot of time with Lovie and Jason and there is no doubt, they're two people who would, A, admit a mistake if there was a mistake and move on rather than dig a deeper hole. And B, work to find out why this thing happened and correct it going forward".

Capitolo draft. I Glazer hanno incontrato sia Winston che Mariota, in occasione delle recenti visite dei due principali prospetti del prossimo draft a One Buc Place. La domanda è precisa: ci sarebbero problemi con il burrascoso passato di Jameis, qualora il ragazzo da FSU dovesse essere la first pick overall dei Bucs?

"With anybody we're looking to draft, we do an extensive amount of work on their background, history and all that. We spent time with Jameis and Marcus and went into everything into their background. After everything we've done and where we're at right now, we're comfortable where Jameis is at, we're comfortable with Marcus or whoever else it could be".

Ma chi sceglierà il giocatore da chiamare con la pick n.1? Per Joel non ci sono dubbi: la decisione srà ponderata con estrema attenzione, ma una volta presa, tutti quanti saranno uniti nella stessa direzione:

"At the end of the day, whatever decision we make, I see us all being on the same page, agreeing and moving forward".

Infine, quali sono per Tampa Bay i realistici obiettivi per il 2015? Ecco la risposta del co-chariman dei Bucs:

"Ultimately, you want to build a sustainable, winning franchise. So if we don't get as far as we want the first year, but it becomes sustainable and we're competitive every year competing for playoffs, we'll happily be more patient to get to that point".