Bucs Need Just One Thing In Draft: Pass Rush
March 3rd, 2011
Stylez White's largely ineffective season in 2010 personified the Bucs frustrations with a pass rush.
The Bucs pass rush was nothing but horrid last season. Opposing quarterbacks not only could have clipped their toenails in most games, but ordered pizza — and had it delivered — without fear of being breathed on by the Bucs much less getting their jerseys soiled.
If there is a goal that Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik must have in next month’s NFL draft, it is to address this hole. But how will that be done?
In this TBO Bucs vlog, the duo of video star Anwar Richardson and Woody Cummings, colleagues at the Tampa Tribune, discuss various ways this can be resolved. Monitor the video and let Joe know what you think.
Also, Richardson lets slip potentially breaking Bucs news, though it’s not much of a shock to Joe, still, it’s the first Joe has heard a Bucs beat writer adamantly confess a specific subject as Richardson did.
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:39 am
Umm…I’ll bite. What is the potentially breaking Bucs news?
That they might choose LB instead of DE?
That they think Kyle Moore is worth something?
That Raheem is doing something different than Monte did?
Maybe I need more coffee.
Teddy
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:40 am
Teddy:
It’s in the video.
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:49 am
Somebody spill the beans. The video won’t load on my IPhone for some reason. Which is unusual.
Oh, we need two thing- Pass rush is biggest one, but we also need a new LB Corp. All three need upgrades. A safety wouldn’t hurt either, to team with Grimm!
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:55 am
I cant watch the video at work, it is blocked. While I am sure it is nothing of real interest or significance, what is the “potentially breaking Bucs news?”
March 3rd, 2011 at 12:15 pm
lol that they won’t bring back Stylez? how is that breaking news
March 3rd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Bucs4Ever, that’s gotta be it. Frankly, I didn’t Stylez not coming back was news.
(nice use of the double-negative, eh?)
March 3rd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Why watch the video? Isn’t that why we come to websites like this, to cut through all the BS?
March 3rd, 2011 at 12:45 pm
“Synchronize Dark Side of the Moon to the Tribune video blog and all 2011 Bucs draft picks will be revealed!!” – Joe
Nice ploy to get viewers to click the video.
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:01 pm
I still think they surprise everyone and draft Pouncey. A long-term answer to snap to Free. It’s all about Free remember.
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:06 pm
I’m guessing not bringing back Stylez is the news… though I’m going to use the term “news” very loosely here
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Is it just me or these vlogs never ever give useful info? They just blab on about stuff with no real insight. We as fans can come up with all the stuff they say.
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Off topic, I see alot of you guys like Justin Houston. I was watching the combine for a few minutes and saw him fall down TWICE on the same drill!
It looked really pathetic. Its the drill where the coach points from side to side while the player backpedals. I swear Houston starts out going straight back and coach points to one side, he falls down, gets back up, keeps going back, coach points to other side and he falls down again! This all happened in the span of 4 seconds.
I guess no one else saw that huh? I know its only 1 drill, but that was pretty sad.
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:01 pm
The breaking news is that the Bucs are willing to look at tweeners for the outside LB/edge rusher since they are using more 3-4 and 3-3-5 alingments on passing downs.
Last year in these formations when we blitzed we didn’t get any pressure so a hybrid/tweener might work.
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:01 pm
How about martez wilson??would love to see him replace rudd. big 6’4 250 with sub 4.5 40 sounds so much better than resigning rudd
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:11 pm
I tried Dark Side of The Moon, no luck. Maybe you have to play it backwards? I need to get an old style record player…
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:13 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised by Pouncey either. Not saying it’ll happen… just won’t be surprised.
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:40 pm
@Eveyone
Bucs clearly arent gonna resign ruud. This NFL drake is so deep with DE the bucs should look somewhere else in the 1st round if a aldon smith or ryan kerrigan are off the board.
On that note we should all have our fingers crossed the bucs make a slight reach and grab Martez Wilson. a 6’4 250 BEAST Middle line backer. Ran a 4.4! at the combine at 6’5 250. This guy crushes people just go on youtube and look. I beleive this is who the bucs should reach for in the 1st round. Or maybe even a jimmey smith the CB from colorado.
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Draft** not drake
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Martez Wilson is both 6’4 AND 6’5?? whoa I didn’t realize that. Maybe we should take a look at this guy, he changes height at will!
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:48 pm
6’5 a typo. Chillout. But yeah go check him out smartass
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:53 pm
I dont like the word reach and draft pick together at all
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:56 pm
My God, Dylan, I am so glad you have no say in what is going on at One Buc! You want them to REACH (by your own admission) and choose between a couple of clearly second round talents with the first round pick? Yeah, that is sound strategy right there. Wilson in Quincy Black with a different name. Jimmy Smith, while a good talent, is not an ELITE corner, which is the only type of corner we should be thinking about if we are taking one at #20. The team likes Biggers and still has plenty of expectations for Lewis. Prince or Peterson, who will both be long gone, are the only corners worth our #1 pick. Lucky for us, we know Dom will not REACH.
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Feel, You see REACH’S all the time in NFL drafts im glad you know nothing. what do you think aqib talib was? he failed his drug test and stock dropped but the bucs and gruden REACHED and got him. just because you see on mel kieperts draft board that jimmy smith is the 3rd corner doesnt mean anything. look at devin mccourtey I bet a tard like you would say he is a second round talent and he did the best out of every corner in that class, including joe haden, kyle wilson, and kareem jackson. REACHING is a hit or miss. Look at the bucs LAST YEAR. REACHED and took mike williams and I bet you love that guy. Bucs were one of 3 teams who had him on there draft board. Are you saying that Dez Bryant, Demeryius Thomas Arrelious Benn, Golden Tate are better? Exactly. Dont even start with Freeman or Blount. Bucs REACHED for FREEMAN. They moved up in the draft to get him.
P.S forgive the typos im writting this on my iPhone
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Going to have to agree with Dlyan on that one, you never know how good someone is until there actually in the NFL. Well said.
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:19 pm
And Feel also Idk if you watched the combine but Martez Wilson could easily go in the first round after his performance. You do realize Barret Ruud if a F/A you do not want some 4th round kid coming in and trying to play one of the most important positions if not the most important position on defence. If your not gonna re sign ruud. In my eyes get a better replacement and Martez could be that. He is the big hitter Ruud is supposably known not to be. And extremely fast which Ruud is also known not to be
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:25 pm
It is common knowledge that we need a Simeon Rice-type RDE that can come off the edge. There are two in this draft – Robert Quinn and Aldon Smith. Justin Houston, maybe. PR says the guy is dense, not a lot between the ears (not my words, theirs). Quinn is falling – had an average combine, and now there is an investigation of NCar, Mel Kiper, and some agent that had a prior relationship with Quinn. Smith didn’t hurt himself, but didn’t blow up either. The Bucs can have their choice of Quinn, Smith, or Kerrigan by moving up to 15 with Miami, who covets Mark Ingram. Ingram did not have a good combine and will be there at 20. The Bucs must get above Jax who is looking for a DE. Whatever, we have good options. I’m going to relax and let Mark ‘The Cat Burglar’ Dominik do his thing!
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Chill out Dylan I was jp.
And I think we need to resign Ruud. IMO he is an above average MLB and the fact is your never gonna have the best player at their position in every position. We have below average guys on defense that need replacing way before Ruud.
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:35 pm
dylan, i’m not quite sure if you understand what reaching means in the draft. talib was top 10 talent and williams was top 40 talent. they fell because of character concerns not because of a lack of talent.
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Talib and Mike Williams were a reach ??? WTF ?? Talib was considered the best talent at CB in the draft and Mike Williams compared to the top WR in the draft
Off the field issues are a bad example of a reach .. They were top talents at their positions ..
Dexter Jackson would have been a 4th-6th round pick most likely and we took him in the 2nd round .. THAT is a reach
March 3rd, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Jvato, are you serioius??? Talib was SUCH a reach. REACH means taking a chance, going out on a limb. REACHING. Talib in my eyes and everyones eyes in the tampa community is the best corner in the draft(In my opinion next year will be the best in the entire league). BUT, before we could see into the future he was the sixth best corner in that draft. Did u forget about Leodis McKelvin,Tracey Porter, Domique Rodgers-Cromatrie, Mike Jenkins,Antoine Cason?? Leodis,Tracey and Domique were all considered better. Please know what your talking about. talib was like the 4th or 5th corner taken in that draft and if it wasent for the herb he would have only been 3. and lets not start on mike williams. clearly he was a reach there is no point in even wasting my time writting. everyone knows the sky was the limit if he played and didnt leave the football team for syracuse but he did and the bucs were the team who did there homework, met with him and REACHED and got him in the 4th. he could have easily went undrafted just like legarrette blount. like wtf are u talking about?
March 3rd, 2011 at 4:30 pm
I am a little apprehensive of drafting a DE in the first round because so many end up as Busts. I would almost prefer to see the Bucs get a good inside LB, moving up if necessary, or say Julio Jones because he would be lights out with Freeman at the wheel. If the Bucs can muster an offense that scores 40 points per game it doesn’t matter what the defense does.
March 3rd, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Yes and Like I said in my first post this class is full of DE’s you could easily get a starting caliber DE in the 2nd and even 3rd
March 3rd, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Dylan,
You have proven my point better that better than I ever have. You failed to name one reach, and successfully named several value players who were still at a spot lower than their talent suggested because of extraneous circumstances. By NOT reaching, the Bucs ended up with some great players who other teams missed out on because they took them off their boards, and REACHED.
The fact that both guys had great combine numbers, and are moving up people’s boards because of it, is a clue that they are going to end up a reach by someone. Their play doesnt warrant any significant move up due to measurables. Both are good players, and decent prospects, but there are far too many other guys who are better than them to use #20 on either.
I can tell you are trying to play the expert here, and act like you know much more than I do about these two specific players. The fact is, when it comes to specific knowledge we are both in the same boat. We have both probably read a great deal on the internet, watched a couple of each guys games, and seen youtube videos of each player. Where we differ, is that you think reaching for a guy (if you even know what reaching is, which I doubt at this point) is an acceptable thing because other teams do it.
Reaching is looking past proven talent, ignoring your draft board, and grabbing a quy who may be a shot in the dark. A guy with great measurables (lets say a fast 40 time) or a guy from a small school (lets say App State) or a guy who fits a need (lets say WR.)
IF Dom ends up selecting either Wilson or Smith, I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he knows more than I do, because I know he won’t reach. He has watched more film and met both of them. I just highly doubt that will be the case with either of those two guys. Like I said, there are too many other guys who have proven to be better PLAYERS, not just great measurable athletes.
March 3rd, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Someone else has to describe a reach. I give up. lol, josh freeman was a reach he was projected round 2. look at him now. mike williams was a reach. he didnt even play full college career and he gets drafted. aqib talib was a reach. idk how else to describe it. But he was a reach taking him over other corners avaliable i beleive only DRC and and mckelvin were the only corners taken before talib.
March 3rd, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Well, if you think Williams or Talib were a reach, then yes, you are right to give up. Talib was obviously better than DRC or McKelvin and Williams was considered possibly only behind Dez Bryant last year in terms of talent. That is not reaching. That is letting proven good players fall to you because other teams are scared off by possible red flags. Others posters have already pointed this out to you so I wont dwell on it.
Freeman was only a reach depending on who you talk to. Many people had him rated very highly, and others had him as a 2nd rounder. That is a debatable “reach” but since he is a QB, that opens a whole new can of worms, and does not really apply when you are talking about reaching for an OLB or CB. I will accept that it is OK to “reach” for a QB if it is your #1 need, and you feel that player can be ‘the guy.’ Clearly the team did, and they were right. But this is only acceptable for QB’s. When it comes to first round picks, you dont take a flier on a prospect who has great measurables and isn’t a 1st round talent. That is how you become the Raiders.
March 3rd, 2011 at 7:46 pm
As a gator fan, I think I have suffered through enough Pouncey bad snaps to know that he is NOT AN NFL CENTER. He will make an outstanding guard imo, but just because his twin brother is a good center, doesn’t mean he is too.
Any team who drafts him to be a center is making a grave mistake.
March 4th, 2011 at 12:30 am
Anyone who thinks Aqib Talib was a reach, has no f***ing clue what they are talking about.
see CB Mike Jenkins
March 4th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Dylan- nope, Feel nailed the definition of a reach. Dominick doesn’t reach- ever. ” gut feelings” and “reaches” are why this team had no real talent under the age of 34 when Raheem took over. No all pro’s, a ton of old guys, a few high draft pick, but unproductive underachievers, Barber, Caddy, and Talib.
Now we draft talent. And we follow talent. And if somebody takes a chance, we scoop in and aquire talent(Blount, Briscoe). We don’t draft players who aren’t talented, or aren’t haven’t shown a history of being productive!
We don’t care how good they are at running track, running around cones, or lifting weights
The Bucs aren’t a track team, or a weight lifting club
We play football, and draft great football players.
That’s how you build a “lasting Contender”
March 4th, 2011 at 8:35 am
And before I get jumped- “high draftpicks- but unproductive and underachieving, Barber,Caddy,Talib. Listed Barber,etc as only talent here. Also shoulda listed Penn. That was about it.
March 4th, 2011 at 10:29 am
Reach????
I’d say a reach-around is more like it.
March 5th, 2011 at 12:04 am
Williams-steal