Bucs Could Go Offense In First Round
January 13th, 2010
Not long ago Joe brought you the news that, in Raheem the Dream’s world, virtually the entire offseason will be focused on helping develop quarterback Josh Freeman.
Per Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, that may not be just talk from Raheem the Dream. In a question-answer column on TBO.com, Cummings suggests it’s not out of the question that the Bucs go for offense with the No. 3 overall pick.
Q: Why not draft an explosive offensive player that would make a difference on its first year, like WR Dez Bryant? Then in the second round draft a defensive player?
Ivan, Tampa
A: That’s a very strong possibility. The Bucs do have a plan to keep building around their quarterback, so drafting offense first has potential. A lot depends on what happens in free agency – who they can keep, who they can get. That always dictates to a large degree what the team eventually does on draft day.
— Roy Cummings
If the Bucs are going to draft offense (like Dez Bryant) in the first round, Joe believes the Bucs better trade down because the Bucs need to fill massive holes in the defense in a terrible way.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
They could trade down picking up another high 2nd (3 total), then draft Bryant, then move up into the first by trading 2 of their (subsequent) 3 picks and take Price…and still have a high second rounder. Boo-Yah!! (Sorry Joe, had to go there)
January 13th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Yeah .. Having an explosive receiver like an Antonio Bryant really let us Dominate in ’09
Oh wait .. we went 3-13 .. and one of our leading receivers was a 7th round Pick
How many teams that are struggling that take a receiver in the 1st round turn the tide and become contenders
The Lions have one of the best receivers in the League that was a 1st round pick
The Rams took the 1st receiver in the draft 2yrs ago
Nuff said. We can find plenty of talent at WR in rounds 2-4
Maybe the Hamburglar can play DT for us.
January 13th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
The Bucs shouldn’t take Bryant at #3. Like other people have said, if they do that they should try to trade down. I still feel they should attempt to get Suh by trading up. It is critical though to get another receiver or two in here. Whether it be free agency or the draft. The Bucs cannot have too many misses this offseason. If they screw up this offseason, it could kill them for several years. That is how important it is.
January 13th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
The Bucs dont care about the defense and they dont care about running the ball. They want to throw the ball everydown, they want to be the Arizona Cardnials, they want to win by outscoring the other team not by stopping the other team from scoring. The Glazerhouse boys think that high scoring teams that cant stop their opponets are what the fans want to see because that is what is exciting to them. So yeah expect these clowns to draft offense not defense!
January 13th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
It’s simple. We need a three technique DT or our defense will suck again next year. It doesn’t matter what we do at DE, or SS, or any other position. The Tampa Two is not effective without a disruptive three technique DT. With that said, there are three guys that fit that description in this draft. Suh, McCoy, and Brian Price. Suh and McCoy are top 5 picks, while Price is top 15. We have to get one of those three guys in the first round. Period.
There are 4 other top DTs in this draft, but they are nose tackles and we already have plenty of nose tackles.
We will be able to get a WR in the second. Bryant, Benn, Tate, Gilyard, LaFell, and Shipley will not all be gone in the first round. Besides, we should be putting together a package to get Brandon Marshal. He is beeter than any WR in this draft.
If we can trade first round picks with Denver and get Marshal, we could still draft Brian Price in the first and have our reciever too. Of course that only works if Denver’s new head coach wants to replace Orton with his own guy at QB.
January 13th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I wouldn’t mind see a high powered offense here. We have never had one here before. It is mind boggling that the Bucs have only ranked in the top 10 in scoring in the NFL once (2000) in 34 seasons. Once!! That is extremely hard to do. Especially when the weather is great down here. And the Bucs have only been in the top 15 3 times (1984, 2000, 2001). It is interesting to see Dungy in there twice. He was helped out by Def/ST TDs though.
The 2000 season will always be a big what if season for the Bucs. If the spastic kicker would made the game winning FG against GB, I believe the Bucs would have been the #2 seed and got the bye. Instead they dropped to the #5 seed and lost to Philly in Philly the next week. The kick may have literally changed the course of Dungy’s, King’s and Gruden’s career. Dungy may have gone to at least another NFC Championship game. Probably would have bought him a few more seasons. King may have saved his job and not be out of the league by 2005 (I don’t think King worked hard enough, so this probably would have happened anyway). And Gruden could have stayed with Oakland then. It does make you think.
January 13th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
If Cummings said it will happen, we can all stop worrying about it because it won’t.
January 13th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
No way would I want Dez Bryant… but Not because he lacks talent but because of WHO his agent is! His Agent? Eugene Parker. The SAME Eugene Parker who kept Michael Crabtree’s Rookie Season from beginning until nearly Mid-Season because he was trying to get more money because he FELT his Client SHOULD HAVE been Drafted Higher! That guy will cause ANY Front Office Problems. No Thank You.
January 13th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Good point Eric, I had forgotten about that missed kick. Another one is the “tuck game” where Gruden might have got a Super Bowl in Oakland and never came here. Or if the bucs had just one another game down the stretch in 08, who knows if Gruden would still be here. And what if Ricky Prohl hadnt caught that cheap touchdown in the NFC Championship game?
January 13th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
I am not sure how much is hype, and we may have a better idea after the combine, but the one thing that EVERT draft guru I have read (and that would be most of them) agree on is that Suh is the most dominant defensive lineman prospect in recent memory; Scouts, Inc. of ESPN insider states that he is a “once in a generation prospect”. If these guys are right, or close to being right, and the Bucs are within spitting distance (which they are IMO, because the Rams really have to take a QB and they know the Lions and Bucs won’t, and then they can pay Clausen or Bradford or McCoy #3 money instead of #1 money), then the Bucs have to trade up to get him. You can’t fill all the holes on the team in one year, even if they trade down in the first round and get an extra second round pick (Seattle won’t give them two firsts for #3, though Denver is a possiblility), and free agency is going to suck for top flight talent (aren’t we now glad the Skins got Haynesworth and the Bears got Cutler????). I say get Suh, whatever it takes, and if you want some extra picks, trade Sabby and Clayton.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
The tuck game was one of the biggest travesties in NFL playoffs history. The ref did not apply that rule correctly. The Raiders should have won. The Pats wouldn’t have won their first championship. The Rams probably would have won their 2nd SB. That was a big one.
January 13th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
If we are going to get Bryant we better trade down twice
January 14th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Hey joe,
Do you know, or is there anywhere that explains, the ramifications of an uncapped year? How will that affect the bucco’s approach this offseason? If we can stockpile some picks by moving down, I think that’s the best move… no player is a sure thing and there are way too many holes for one marquee player to fill.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:23 am
lenigan:
Ramifications? Basically there is no salary cap nor floor, meaning, teams can spend as much or as little as they want on players.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
leningan:
There are also alot of rule changes for the uncapped year. Free agents need 6 years instead of 4 years in the league or they are restricted free agents. Teams can cut players and not pay a salary cap penalty. Teams can use the franchise tag twice instead of once. Teams that make the playoffs are restricted as to how much they can spend on free agents.
Those are just the ones I know of. I’m sure there are many other rule changes that will effect the uncapped year.