Ahmad Black Should “Shock Some People”
May 4th, 2011
Raheem Morris was on fire talking about his team and some of his new young men yesterday. The head coach brought his A-game energy to an interview with J.P. Peterson on WQYK-AM 1010 and said he has big plans for fifth-round pick Ahmad Black.
Raheem likened the former Gators safety/cornerback to Cody Grimm and Tanard Jackson (pre-drugs) and said only Black’s pre-draft measurables are what draft him into the fifth round. But the Bucs, Raheem says, don’t care much about those numbers.
Raheem on Ahmad Black: We’re in the room and Ahmad Black’s on the board, and we’re in the fifth round. And I looked right at Mark Dominik and he looked at me, and we looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, if we didn’t have a combine the week before, we would have took Ahmad Black in the second [round].’ Throw all that stuff out the window. He’s a football player. He reminds me of a guy like Cody Grimm that’s going to come in here and shock some people and potentially get on the field. Or another guy that came in here and did really well for us as a rookie, Tanard Jackson going out there being a shocker in the fourth round and transitioning from a corner. Man, this guy Ahmad Black, man, when he gets on the football field, he’s got ball skills, he’s got awareness, he knows what to do when he gets the ball in his hands, and he absolutely loves the game. And that’s the kind of guys we want to have.
Joe finds it interesting and important that Raheem said “potentially get on the field.”
Frankly, Joe’s not sure many Bucs fans are tuned into the reality of the 2011 Bucs. This is not a team where rookies are necessarily going to get playing time. And they’ll have to fight a lot harder than last year to make the roster.
In 2010, the Bucs needed unprecedented numbers of rookies to come in and not just play, but play extremely well. This season, especially considering Mark Dominik’s reputation, late-round picks might be on other teams before opening day.
May 4th, 2011 at 10:10 am
I agree, Joe. There are a lot of positions on the team that are filled…and there is just no place to put some of them. Unless they get rid of some dead weight of course.
May 4th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Anyone know cody’s status? Is he healthy will he be ready?
May 4th, 2011 at 10:21 am
People get too carried away with numbers. Black has a great vertical leap to account for his size (3 inches shorter than Tanard, 2 inch greater vertical leap).
Additionally, .3 seconds over 40 yards straight line can be made up with good angles and anticipation, both of which I’ve heard to describe Blacks play. I really think he’s a future starting free safety for us with Grimm moving over to strong safety.
May 4th, 2011 at 10:31 am
“Additionally, .3 seconds over 40 yards straight line can be made up with good angles and anticipation, both of which I’ve heard to describe Blacks play. I really think he’s a future starting free safety for us with Grimm moving over to strong safety.”
Couldn’t agree more Charlie…people fall in love with numbers, but football is played on the field with pads, not on the the track in shorts. Saftey is ALL ABOUT angles, I mean Sabby always took bad ones and thats one of the reason’s he sucked…one of the reasons…one of the many many reasons….man Sabby sucked.
May 4th, 2011 at 11:04 am
RIBucBall:
Ding… ding… ding… ding…. !
May 4th, 2011 at 11:08 am
CharlieB:
Totally agree and I used to ignore the combine at virtually all costs then I heard Gil Brandt say something over the weekend during the draft that made me raise an eyebrow:
“People ask me all the time why we do this because it has nothing to do with football. Well, these things give us an idea of what to expect. For example, Mallet had trouble with a broad jump. That tells us he may have a little bit of a difficulty in dropping back quick enough for an NFL center and that would be something we would have to work on.”
That was an interesting take by Brandt and an angle Joe never thought of before. But as Dominik always says, “the eye in the sky doesn’t lie.” A dude can either play football or he can’t.
May 4th, 2011 at 11:10 am
i think in the very near future grimm, black, and asante will be our rotation at safety. jones i believe is in a contract year and jackson is a dead man walking. cory lynch will stay on as a backup/ special teams ace.
May 4th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Physical attributes will only get you so far.
For instance, Marino, Montana, Elway and Brady I’m sure don’t have a great broad jump. BUT, you ever see those guys get up after a huge hit? They do it time and time again. To be a QB you not only have to have a great football IQ, and make tough throws but you need to be mentally TUFF. These mentally tuff QBs are like crash test dummies. You can tryin’ knock the stuffing out of them but be certain this type of QB will be there in the 4th quarter when his team needs him the most.
Try testing toughness with stop watches, stats and freshly sharpened #2’s. It aint gunna happen. Thats why Brady is a gem and one of the best QB’s to ever play the game.
May 4th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I disagree. I see the first 5 rookies all starting or at least playing alot.
I see both DEs starting as soon as Bowers’ knee is healthy.
I see Mason Foster taking either Ruud or Black’s spot as starter because I think one them leaves. Of course Watson and MCKenzie will fight for it too.
The TE in round 4 will be the 2nd TE after K2, but will get alot of playing time, especially as a blocker.
Then there is Black. My guess is he is starting by year 2 and Sean Jones is gone. Not sure how much he plays other than special teams, but I think he compliments Grimm great. Grimm was excellent in the box. Black is a ballhawk and smart player back deep. He might not have timed well, but he plays fast because he is smart.
May 4th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
He could be our next Ronde…
THIS young man will be successful – great feeling about him.
Compares favorably to Brent Grimes (ATL) in all areas, especially in the short area stuff.
Nickel Corner?
May 4th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
The anti-Sabby. Everything Sabby did poorly this kid will do well. Only problem is the speed/size issue. Can it be a hinderance? Buster Davis (5′ 8″ MLB) was a stud out of FSU, fell to round 3 in spite of his production and…was never heard from again. It can go both ways, but I’m betting on the former with Black.
May 4th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Black is a football player. Period.