Bucs Put In Claim For Shawne Merriman
November 3rd, 2010
This news nearly had Joe fall out of his chair.
Just a few minutes ago, WDAE-AM 620 radio personality Derrick Brooks broke the news that the Bucs put in a claim for free agent linebacker Shawne Merriman, who wound up with the Buffalo Bills.
No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not a misprint and Joe is sober.
Wow. The team that eschewed free agents the past two years was going to go after the biggest defensive free agent fish currently out of water/work. Wow.
So what’s this tell Joe? A few things.
1) If shows that Bucs general manager Mark Dominik has come to the conclusion that the Bucs inside rush defense is a sieve and needs help.
2) Probably the most important thing this tells Joe is that Dominik, like Joe, believes the Bucs are in the midst of a playoff race.
Dominik, amid being crucified by many Bucs fans while he doggedly pursued rebuilding the Bucs through the draft, had long said amid the arrows and stones tossed his way, that when it came time for the Bucs to plug holes with a free agent, he would do so.
No one, and Joe’s going to take a bit of liberty here, including Dominik, expected the Bucs rebuilding to bear fruit so quickly. Seeing that the Bucs have a very real shot at a playoff berth in a weak NFC, and the Bucs woefully inept in recent games at stopping the run, this tells Joe that Dominik has fast-forwarded his philosophy of when the Bucs will go outside the organization to boost the roster.
November 3rd, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Again, good move by Dom. There was nothing to be lost if we got him. If he returned to form and played great, we got him for nothing and he helped the team. If he ended up just being a washed up, injured no-good player, we could still have cut him with nothing lost. That was a pure up-side move and it made sense. Glad Dom made the attempt.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
i was hoping for this, but figured we wouldn’t get him, because our waiver priority is low, because our team is awesome.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Wouldve been psyched to get him
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Nice try Dom! Would have been nice to see if “Lights Out” could get his career back on track with a young, emerging team like the Bucs!
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Sucks that he’s going to Buffalo!!!!!
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I think getting Merriman was mire about boosting the pass rush then stopping the run. Sorry we didn’t get him. Even sorrier that he git claimed by the Bills.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:35 pm
What does the inside pass rush have to do with Merriman? Its not like he is a tackle or MLB, they want him to rush the passer from the outside.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Mark Dominik is ten times the G.M. that Bruce Allen was/is. Hopefully Dom learned Allen’s salary cap magic and can use his own talent evaluation skills to bring this team back to prominence. Look at what Dom has done on offense in two years: Freeman, Blount, M-Williams, Benn, Strouhgter and K2. He has completely revamped our skill positions in just 2 years and brought us the first franchise qb that we’ve ever had. I can’t wait to see what this guy does in the next draft.
Get that CBA done!!! I’ll lose my S**T if we have a lockout next year, in the midst of this exciting rebuilding phase….
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:49 pm
man, can you imagine having him line up at OLB on 1st and second down and then line him up at DE in third downs. he is cable of playing that role. i think he would make a better DE then OLB. Maybe we can get him as a free agent this summer. can’t be worse than Ruud.
November 3rd, 2010 at 6:19 pm
In the last week we have traded for DE Alex Magee, signed DT Al Woods and DE Doug Worthington from the Steelers PS, and tried to claim Shawn Merrimen. You can’t accuse Dom of not trying. They obviously have seen enough of certain players to realize they need help on the D-line, and are trying to get better.
November 3rd, 2010 at 6:20 pm
I think Kyle Moore’s days are numbered.
November 3rd, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Holy Crap, Joe! I think you should pitch in your 2 cents, and kick Tom Jones ass…
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:00 pm
I had a feeling Dom might, but I was wrong because I thought Waiver claim priorities were based on the previous season record of teams. Rams would be highest, followed by Lions and then Bucs. Buffalo having the worst current record must rank them higher than us. It takes two to tango, and if Merriman refuses to play for Buffalo, what happens then? We may still end up with him, and he knows how to rush and can teach the kids a thing or two, I’m sure.
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Man, I would’ve been so pumped if we had gotten Shawne Merriman. I really feel he would’ve provided the spark that this defense needs.
What’s his contract like? Maybe we’ll have another chance at getting him in the future.
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:25 pm
a quick cup of juice is not the solution for the future lights are permantly out he’s toast
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:26 pm
I told you guys the Bucs would try to get him!
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:37 pm
will, hes 26 i think taking a chance on him wouldve been worth it
November 3rd, 2010 at 7:50 pm
The only good Shawn M would have been for us is that Joe would ha e the excuse to post semi nude pics of Tila Tequila… Joe I can’t believe you missed on this opportunity as it is.
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:07 pm
There’s a reason Joe missed this. That woman is nasty. Not in a good way.
November 3rd, 2010 at 8:09 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Agree with you completely joe. how can anyone find her attractive.
November 3rd, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Merriman would have been a terrific tweener at LDE and SLB. He is stout at the point of attack, plays with a mean streak, and has the experience that our young front seven is sorely missing.
November 3rd, 2010 at 11:12 pm
Moss got claimed by the Titans.
Too bad for the Bucs. I know that Dominik wouldn’t want to go out on that limb but watch Randy score more TD passes than Benn from this point forward.
Imagine landing Merriman and Moss! Now THAT would have put fans in the stands!
November 4th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Glad we made the attempt but really confused as to why the Bills would put a claim on him. They are 0-7 clearly out of the playoff picture and you know Shawne isn’t going to return to Buffalo next year. So you bascially rented a player for the second half of a lost season…….mmmkay.
November 4th, 2010 at 10:28 am
espn says miami put in a claim for him as well, so we wouldn’t have gotten him regardless of buffalo.
November 4th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Smart move, as it appears that we are in the playoff hunt! Would not have wanted Moss, neither did Raheem or Dom!