Gerald McCoy Has Work Ethic Questioned, Fires Back

In more from the “ESPN is bashing the Buccaneers” department, Bucs’ captain Gerald McCoy is called out on his work ethic. McCoy fired back in the best of ways.

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For whatever reason, the firing of coach Lovie Smith is still being talked about nearly five months after it happened. ESPN did a “Q & A session” with the writers of the other three NFC South teams asking them if firing Lovie was the right decision. During his response, Falcons reporter Vaughn McClure took it upon himself to take a shot at Gerald McCoy;

"“I know star defensive tackle Gerald McCoy had some issues with the scheme, but I also heard from reliable sources that McCoy didn’t always work his hardest.”"

Wait…what?

First off, McCoy had nothing to do with the question, yet McClure thought he could just slide this little zinger in there and no one would notice. Well, we got news for you: McCoy noticed.

Both McClure and Panthers reporter David Newton thought Lovie should’ve been given one more season. Mike Triplett, who covers the Saints, understood the decision;

"“Tampa Bay’s No. 1 goal needs to be maximizing the potential of quarterback Jameis Winston. Nothing else is even a close second. A great quarterback is even harder to find than a great head coach — and teams don’t get many cracks at No. 1 overall draft picks with Winston’s talent level. So if the Buccaneers think this move was in Winston’s best interest then it’s hard to argue with.”"

Those of us who follow the Bucs, cover the Bucs, live, eat, breathe Buccaneers’ football knew this was the right decision. The biggest mistake that was made in this “Q & A session” was questioning Gerald McCoy. The man played most of the season with a torn rotator cuff. He should’ve had surgery and missed most of the season.

Instead, he busted his tail to stay on the field and help his team. Now, was this McCoy’s best season? No. That doesn’t mean his work ethic had faltered. It meant he had a down year and was hampered by an injury most didn’t know the extent of until after the season.

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Yes, McCoy struggled some because of Lovie’s scheme and most fans and players have been very vocal about their excitement about the new scheme this year. But McClure…one thing we all know you’re wrong about is McCoy’s work ethic. My recommendation is either do a little more research before making a statement like that, or get a better source.