Shakeup With Lambs Could Determine Bucs Draft
February 14th, 2010
- It’s not an imposibilty that Ndamukong Suh could be on the Bucs roster this fall.
This time of the year, Joe is like most Bucs fans: He’s thinking of the NFL draft, if not Rachel Watson.
Former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White, proprietor of the blog “Passing on the Game,” who Joe is humbled to have write a weekly column here, has stated with loads of evidence and logic that the St. Louis Lambs will draft either manbeast Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy, with the Detroit Kittens, who have the second pick, drafting whichever defensive tackle the Lambs don’t.
The logic behind White’s prediction is that former defensive coordinators, which Lambs coach Steve Spagnuolo is, generally draft defensive players, especially if there are better defensive players available than offensive, and Suh and McCoy are rated far ahead of any offensive players.
But an item sprouted up yesterday that might be a fly in the ointment.
Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com reported — via Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who once bought Joe a few shots of tequila when Joe was a broke college student covering his first training camp (as opposed to a broke professional with a bloated mortgage to pay) — that Spagnuolo has an escape clause in his contract if the team is sold.
The Lambs were sold last week, pending NFL approval, to a guy from central Illinois who has issues with the IRS.
This dynamic is major in Joe’s eyes.
First, Spagnuolo may be gone, seeing that the team is such a trainwreck it’s better to get out now than sully your resume. Therefore, White’s theory and prediction may be up in smoke. Also, the new owner/front office, seeing that the Lambs have drafted four defensive lineman in the first round in the past decade, striking out on three and having two strikes against the fourth, may be gunshy about drafting another defensive lineman so early.
Or, as Joe may suspect, the new owner — whether Spagnuolo is around or not — may want to draft Sam Bradford in an effort to drum up ticket sales.
In short, while it makes logical sense to believe Suh or McCoy will be playing along the banks of the Mississippi River this fall, there are a lot of curveballs out there that could change the dynamic of the draft.
And the Bucs may still end up with Suh or McCoy.
February 14th, 2010 at 10:48 am
There was a small news item referenced at “PFT” from a Detroit source saying that two insiders from the Rams had stated that St. Louis likes Bradford, if his hurt arm tests out OK.This of course could be a smokescreen to inveigle Washington to move up to #1, but the Rams would then lose out on both DTs; they might think it worthwhile, though, if they garner a pick in what looks to be a loaded second round.The Skins could call their bluff & sit tight, with a worse-case scenario of taking Clausen if they want a quarterback.
February 14th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Im sorry but I just can’t come up with a scenario in my head where a guy is going to walk away from a guaranteed contract paying him millions of dollars to just be on the street unemployed. Where would Spagnulo go right now if he voided his contract? I could see if this was Bill Parcells we were talking about. But as for right now im pretty sure Spagnulo likes the paycheck he is getting, if nothing else.
Here is the thing, if there was a quarterback that just lit up college football who St Louis Fans were going to love and who could be a decent player, then maybe I could see them drafting him. But if the best guy at quarterback they can come up with is a guy who didn’t even play most of this season, I just can’t see it happening no matter who is coach, GM or owner.
Better to just sign a free agent QB or get a QB in the 2nd round for that matter which is what I would expect the Rams to do. Hell when you think about it Sam Bradford might actually still be available in the 2nd round, because not only is his shoulder a concern, but also the fact that he played in a spread offense at Oklahoma.
But hey, keep hope alive! lol
February 14th, 2010 at 11:39 am
That’s the first thing I thought of too Steve when I read that last night: Where’s he going to work? Only thing I can come up with is if it’s written in the contract he gets a severence pay for walking away if the team is sold.
Maybe Spags realizes what a joke that team is and figures he’s better off walking away and starting fresh somewhere else later? Who knows? It wouldn’t be the first time a coach walked away from cash.
Yeah, it’s all a reach.
February 14th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
After three years straight of passing on potential franchise QB’s I think the fans of that franchise should be furious if they don’t take a chance at one this year. There is no guarantee that they’ll be picking this high again next year.
At some point every team needs to bite the bullet and take a QB in the 1st round and it’s no surprise that the Rams have continued to suck and have no direction after three straight years of avoiding the situation at QB. Yes, they made a huge mistake giving Bulger a big contract a couple years ago, but with no salary cap this year it’s the perfect opportunity for them to get out from under that deal and start over new.
February 14th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Cody:
That franchise has long hoodwinked itself into thinking Marc Bulger was the next Kurt Warner. BUHAHAHA!!!
Bulger was the ultimate fantasy football quarterback: He could put up big numbers with the exception of the numbers that don’t count in fantasy football: wins.
February 14th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
The last time he was even fantasy relevant was three years ago. I don’t think even Marc Bulger himself would be brave enough to draft himself in a deep fantasy football league.
February 14th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
The last time I was over at the Lambs message board snooping, it was a given that they all wanted Suh. Has anything changed?
February 14th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
As buc fans , what we have to hope for is that one of the high-rated QB’s completely dazzles the scouts at the combine. If this happens , he WILL be drafted in one of the 1st 2 spots above us…either by the Rams , or by some QB desperate team trading up into Detroit’s spot.
If not , I’m happy with selecting Berry , or better yet trading back for more picks if possible.
February 14th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Hey SGW94 nice link thanks!
February 14th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Spags is just now realizing the Lambs are a joke? I don’t think so. I can’t see him leaving now. Lambs can take Suh or McCoy and still get a decent QB in a later round.
February 14th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Joe, I went on a couple of dates with a woman like you once–DON’T BE A TEASE MAN!!!