Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs appear to take a wiser approach in free agency's opening week

Published Mar. 13, 2015 5:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

TAMPA, Fla. -- First, they swung for the fences. Next, they wisely settled for a more prudent play.

First, they were wooed by trendy names, hot promise and the belief that all signees would play out as planned. Next, they dialed down their spending spree and searched for value buys.

Josh McCown? Anthony Collins? Michael Johnson?

Once, all three were the toast of One Buc Place when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers "won" free agency, which, as we learned, was worth as much as a Grapefruit League title. Now, all three are elsewhere after one year, each worthy of a warning label.

Look, life is about evolving from mistakes. Errors happen in all aspects of the human experience, but what comes next reveals the most about an individual or an organization. Adjustment reveals maturity. Staying stuck in a failed frame of mind suggests ignorance.

Coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht did the right thing this week, after the Failed Three of the 2014 free-agent class burned both men.

First, they were given scars. Next, they smartened up.

Yes, there's no way of knowing if Bruce Carter, Chris Conte and Henry Melton will work out. Frankly, each seems like a marginal upgrade at best over Mason Foster, Dashon Goldson and Da'Quan Bowers.

Until the fall, though, how will anyone know?

The Bucs won't "Wow" many pundits with these signings. But after treating last year's free-agency period like the Gold Rush of 1849, it's best that they were more calculated this week, with an eye toward another route ahead.

Winning franchises, after all, are never built on the limestone of free agency. Healthy organizations draft and develop talent. The Bucs hit the bull's eye by selecting Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David. Mike Evans appears to be another success story in the making. Perhaps Johnthan Banks, too.

But the Bucs need more. They need more sturdy bricks gained in the draft and less reliance on discarded parts from other teams. They need more April/May victories and less March gambles. They need to improve their depth through sound scouting and coaching, rather than enter the NFL's version of a garage sale looking for quick fixes.

That's why the coming draft, with the No. 1 pick and beyond, will be more important than anything that happens in free agency. Free agents must serve as complements to a sound homegrown core, not become duct tape for fissures from past failures.

Look to last year for the reason why. In 2014, the Bucs were a house of cards built mainly on the presence of free agents. Then reality arrived in the form of a cold, hard gust of wind. The whole vision tumbled.

McCown never looked comfortable. Collins never looked competent. Johnson never looked inspired.

Outside of Alterraun Verner and Clinton McDonald, who was worth the hype?

So the Bucs fooled us once. That's why it would be wise to accept the current signings and others ahead with wait-and-see skepticism. Smith and Licht squandered trust last year, when Tampa Bay's momentum appeared to rocket up, up, up, only to see it burst with a bust of a season.

There are reasons to like the week's developments as a parting from the past, though. The Bucs didn't rush into signing headline-grabbing talent. Instead, they left the moving and shaking to Chip Kelly and others. They didn't repeat the greatest mistake of 2014 by rushing into high-priced marriages with shaky partners. Instead, they took Clorox to the stains from that group.

Time will show if the about-face will be enough to make the current free-agent class a positive one. The shadow of the Failed Three lingers, even though each player is gone.

First, the Bucs tried to crack a grand slam. Next, they held back.

The most recent approach should prove to be the most productive.

You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.