QBs should be asking questions By Martin Fennelly | Tribune Staff Published: March 15, 2015 
TAMPA — Marcus Mariota will visit the Bucs on Monday for some Face of the Franchise time. I hope his smile isn’t fake. Take it from Jameis: Bring your real one.The Bucs get to size up Mariota a little more, as they did when Jameis Winston dropped in.But what if Marcus and Jameis were the ones doing the sizing?We just got a taste of this when free agency began. The Bucs haven’t rocked any worlds. I’m sure some of it was part of the plan, as well as a reluctance to go all in after the Lovie spending debacle last season. And I bet there were top-line free agents who would never consider the Bucs.So what about top-line college QBs?The Bucs went surgical in free agency, or at least they have so far. And a couple of their signings, linebacker Bruce Carter and defensive tackle Henry Melton, offer real possibilities. Carter has upside, and Melton was great before injuries. They’re good gambles.The Bucs also signed former Bears safety Chris Conte, who might still have Adrian Peterson’s tread marks on his back. Conte’s arrival simply reminds me of just how sad it is that safety even has to be a thought for the Bucs after how much treasure this franchise has spent in recent years on safeties — that No. 7 pick on Mark Barron, all those millions on Dashon Goldson. This place has become Loserville.If I was a veteran, career clock ticking, and wanted to win, now, the Bucs wouldn’t be my first, seventh or 12th choice.Which brings me back to Jameis and Marcus.What do they think of the Bucs?Not that it matters, since the Bucs are doing the choosing. And quarterbacks drafted No. 1 invariably go to cruddy teams, That’s how they get to pick first, after all. And that’s how the quarterbacks usually get to play right away.True, there have been a few times where No. 1s have powered up. John Elway, the No. 1 pick in 1983, forced Baltimore to trade him to Denver. In 2004, top pick Eli Manning refused to play for San Diego and was traded to the New York Giants on draft day.Jameis and Marcus won’t pull that off. They’re going where they’re going.But what if they were doing the drafting, not the other way around?What if we sat them down and told them all the scary stories, explained just how long Bucs offenses have been lousy, as if it had been written into the team charter, as well as that teetering offensive line, and the historical fact that no quarterback the Bucs have ever drafted has ever made it to a second contract with the club.Or we let them hear us add up the total cost for the Bucs of Goldson, and Josh McCown, and Michael Johnson, and Anthony Collins, and Barron, and Darrelle Revis — and the terribly limited return. It’s staggering.Surely, it would be something to think about. Not that Jameis and Marcus would. I mean, they’re kids. What do they know about the institutional madness and the Bucs’ offense? They go back as far as Josh Freeman, if that. And if their agents fill them in on the Bucs, they’ll also mention that no state income tax thing, again.And don’t forget that these two didn’t win those Heismans by lacking confidence. They’ve spent their athletic lives conquering worlds. The challenge of taking over the Bucs might be in their wheelhouse.The Bucs actually having a highly competent offensive coordinator this season, and Dirk Koetter might make a difference. Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson are here. And can the offensive line possibly be that lousy again? Can’t the Bucs find a running back, somewhere? Hey, maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked last season. That’s what I’d tell my young quarterback.The Bucs have one visiting on Monday. The Bucs will have questions. Maybe Marcus will have some, too.
