Growth is not linear. Neither is performance. And yet in this day and age it seems we forget that when it comes the Bucs. And when I say ‘we’ I mean the media and fans alike.

Think about it. When you think of players on your favorite team, such as Tampa Bay, do you ever consider the factors that impact their performance just as it impacts all of ours?

Scott Reynolds often says both on the Pewter Report Podcast and elsewhere, “Players are just like us, except for three things. One, they get paid a lot more. Two, they are on television, and three, they are much better athletes.”

And Reynolds is right. They are just like us. This means, just like us their performance is affected by so much more than we care to acknowledge. Family troubles, financial hardships. mental health issues. If you can think of it and it affects every day people, you best believe it affects professional athletes as well.

Recent Headlines

So why do I bring this up? Over the course of the last few weeks there have been a few isolated stories that have come up that I personally think should remind us all – fan and media alike – that players are so much more than the production they provide to their teams.

The first was the heart-wrenching tale of Tarik Cohen’s personal journey since high school that he so eloquently described in his article in the Player’s Tribune. Take the time to click that link and read that emotional journey full of triumph and tragedy before continuing this column.

South Carolina DT Javon Kinlaw – Photo by: PewterReport.com

Could you imagine trying to work in your own field under the enormity of the emotional stress and trauma that Cohen has had to endure? Would you be able to perform at your best? I can honestly say I wouldn’t be able to.

The second story was the recent public dispute between Grant Cohn of Sports Illustrated and Javon Kinlaw of the San Francisco 49ers. Both Cohn and Kinlaw made several poor choices throughout their interactions. However, to see so many San Francisco players speak out against Cohn is certainly telling.

The media and players strive to have a balanced relationship because it is a mutually beneficial. Players get exposure from the media reporting on them which helps build their profiles both on and off the field. The media get more readers/viewers/etc. from reporting on teams and players fans want to hear about. That relationship requires some form of mutual respect.

It would seem Cohn has violated that mutual respect. Cohn seemingly had it out for Kinlaw since he was drafted because Cohn disagreed with G.M. John Lynch’s decision to trade back and take Kinlaw. He wanted Lynch to draft eventual Bucs right tackle Tristan Wirfs instead.

Consider More Than The Performance

What does this all have to do with each other? I promise I am getting to it.

In a day and age where the Madden video game is so inextricably linked to the NFL, these two events should remind us all that athletes are people. And people are more than their production.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs have so many amazing examples of this on their roster. Mike Evans and his foundation have done countless things to improve both the Tampa Bay community as well as his hometown of Galveston, Texas. Think about how this affects how the Bucs consider draft prospects. They don’t just look into the performance on the field. They look at the person as a whole. Why? Because they are investing in the person as well as the player.

That’s why NFL scouts ask questions about their current relationship status. Are they single? Do they have a girlfriend? What is that relationship like? Are their parents alive? What is that relationship like? How about siblings – how many? Do they have any kids or one on the way? What was their socioeconomic status growing? Do they come from a wealthy family, middle class or were they poor? Are they workout warriors in the gym, or are they prone to skip leg day? Did they attend classes regularly or really struggle in school? Do they have any learning disabilities?

All of those questions – and more – help the Bucs and other teams figure out who the person is because the player is a person. And what affects the person outside of football is going to affect them as a football player – good or bad.

The Price Wasn’t Right In Tampa Bay

When the Bucs drafted UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price in the second round in 2010 the team failed to do enough homework on him. Price came to the Bucs with hamstring injuries that were so severe that the hamstring tendons had to be surgically attached to his pelvis with screws after five games during his rookie season. What complicated his rehab and recovery was that Price was incredibly homesick.

Price grew up in Crenshaw, California in South Central Los Angeles. He went to nearby UCLA. The only time he wasn’t in L.A. was on Bruins road trips to Washington, Arizona State, Oregon, etc. on the football schedule. Now he was all the way across the country in Tampa, Florida away from all of his friends and family. Him being homesick didn’t help his recovery – mentally or physically.

Price returned to the field overweight, but managed to play in 15 games with 14 starts. He registered three sacks in 2011 and showed some promise. But in the 2012 offseason, Price was admitted to the hospital for exhaustion following the death of his sister in a hit-and-run accident in Inglewood, California. Two of Price’s brothers were killed in gang-related shootings while he was growing up.

When he returned to the Bucs he got into a fistfight with rookie safety Mark Barron. The Bucs traded him to the Bears in July of 2012 and his career fizzled from there.

We should all consider this more as we discuss these people – these football players. Consider the next time you rip into a player for a poor performance, “Am I critiquing the performance, or the person?” Because the person is so much more than their last season, their last game, or their last play. We all are.