Buccaneers: George Johnson returns the favor to Greg Schiano
Buccaneers defensive end George Johnson had something to say in response to Greg Schiano’s comments.
College teams cannot be compared to pro teams, even when the Buccaneers were at their worst. The difference in the speed of the game, even between the best college team and the worst NFL team, is stark. In short, any NFL team will mop the floor with any college team, any day of the week. Yes, even the Cleveland Browns. There is just too big of a difference in the level of the game from one to the other.
Most people understand this concept. Former head coach Greg Schiano does not, as evidenced by his comments the other day. Like we said there, Schiano didn’t like how things went in Tampa (neither did we), and he used the opportunity to take a shot at his former team. He could have pumped up his own guys without taking a shot at the Bucs but he chose not to. I’m sure I am not alone in thinking that showed the true character of the ex-coach.
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The Bucs that played for Schiano had varying reactions. Gerald McCoy allowed the comments to slide as Schiano trying to pump his guys up. George Johnson wasn’t so forgiving. He had this to say (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times):
"“I’m guessing it was to make his defensive line more confident, but it surprised me that he said it,” said George Johnson, who was cut midway through Schiano’s first season, rejoining the Bucs in 2015. “But, coming from Coach Schiano, it really didn’t surprise me.” “The fact is, they’re still in college, trying to get to where we are,” Johnson said. “You can’t compare a college team to an NFL team. There’s so many differences in talent. It’s kind of hard to say that when we’ve got one guy in the Pro Bowl every year and another guy (Bennett) in the top 100.”"
Shots fired! Shots fired!
All kidding aside, Johnson has hit it right on the head. You simply cannot make that comparison. Before even knowing who the players are, you just can’t do it. Then, you look at the players that were on the team at the time and the comparison becomes even more ludicrous. There were high quality players on that defensive line that cannot be compared to college players. Motivating your current players is fine, saying something that doesn’t make any sense is not.
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For whatever reason, Greg Schiano still has problems with the Bucs. Well, the team had a problem with him and that is why he was gone so quickly. Get over it and stop making comparisons to your college kids. They make no sense.