Has A Starter At Safety Already Been Determined?
July 2nd, 2010
Throughout OTAs and minicamp, several Bucs beat writers made the point that free agent safety Sean Jones and incumbent Sabby the Goat each had equal playing time with the first-string defense.
One day Jones started; the next day Sabby the Goat started.
Stephen Holder, of the St. Petersburg Times, seems to believe this may be a front, that the Bucs have already decided behind closed doors who the starter will be.
And it’s not Sabby the Goat.
Here are the facts. Jones was one of just a handful of roster additions this offseason, and he just happens to play the same position as Piscitelli, who had a very long 2009 campaign in his first year as a starter. Jones has the better resume’ and his strength is an area in which Piscitelli struggles (being physical and making tackles). But Jones, a former Eagle and Brown, also has proven himself adept at getting his hands on the ball, with 16 interceptions and 35 pass deflections in the past four seasons.
To be fair, it should be pointed out that Piscitelli has had some good moments during the offseason. But what worries his coaches is his history of slow decision-making and incorrect decisions when in coverage or when providing help to cornerbacks. Many of those instances have resulted in long gains or touchdowns for opponents.
Piscitelli can still close the gap with a strong preseason. And the Bucs have repeatedly said they plan to play a three-safety rotation that includes Jackson, Jones and Piscitelli.
Holder makes a very, very salient point. The Bucs made very few offseason additions to the roster. Jones was one of the very few. Since the Bucs seemed to have all but given up on signing free agents unless to fill a hole, which Mark Dominik has stated several times, it stands to reason Jones wasn’t added just to fill a roster spot.
Given the fact there was no bigger hole on the defense last year than Sabby the Goat, Joe’s math adds up to Jones tentatively being the starter.
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 am
I personally don’t care who wins the jobas long as they know their assignment and more importantly can EXECUTE that assignment.
July 2nd, 2010 at 8:49 am
That was the knock on Sabby coming out of college, slow to read plays, takes bad angles, not a sure tackler. Still have the predraft mag, with his scouting report. Has a lot of good things going for him, to bad he’s not improving in some of those areas. Guess he’s not gonna turn out to be the next John Lynch.
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:42 am
I sure as hell hope Jones shows something, ANYTHING that’s worth unseating Sabby.
July 2nd, 2010 at 10:52 am
I have one question. If Sean Jones was/is “all that” why isn’t he still with Clevland or Philly? Or, more to the point, why only one and out with Philly?
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
Maybe Tampa offered him more money than the Eagles did.
I do not think anyone is saying he is “all that”, they are saying he has played well and is an upgrade from Sabby.
July 2nd, 2010 at 12:35 pm
This may actually be a non-story….. not to play Blog police like JimboBucco… but I am pretty sure that Jones will be starting. Sabby will make a good back-up and it will serve him well to grow into the position from the back seat. That way he might be able to pick up some techniques from Jones in which he learned from the Eagles camp.
July 2nd, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Tampa 2,because they switched him to free safety. He is a natural strong safety
RahDom- absolutely right! Wow. , you feeling alright today?
July 2nd, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I hate the John Lynch comparisons but sometimes you have too…Well, Lynch didn’t become a superstar until his fourth year and this is now Sabatino Piscitelli’s fourth year. This year will define Sabatino, star or bust.
July 4th, 2010 at 9:35 am
The Quarters defense that Jim Bates would run on third downs didn’t help sabby’s cause at the begining of the season either.