Breakthrough: Gerald McCoy
June 25th, 2011
Recently, ProFootballWeekly.com had a list of breakthrough offensive players for 2011 and Bucs wide receiver Arrelious Benn was among them.
Now it’s time for the defense. These same analysts brainstormed and for the Bucs on defense, the breakout player for 2011 will be second-year defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.
It took a while for McCoy to figure things out as a rookie and understand exactly how his coaches wanted him to play, but he was coming on strong before a biceps tear ended his season in Week 14. He is said to be fully recovered from surgery to repair the tear and seems determined to build off what he started late in ’10. McCoy told PFW in February that he wasn’t satisfied with how his rookie year went from a personal or team standpoint. He has dropped some weight this offseason and has impressed teammates with his intensity in workouts. It’s clear McCoy wants to get better, and some evaluators believed he was the best prospect in the 2010 draft. The Bucs will surround him with better pieces on the defensive line this season — they spent their top two draft picks on DEs Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers — and McCoy figures to become a more disruptive player at the three-technique spot.
Yeah, it took a while for GMC to figure things out because of his dopey coach. When GMC, publicly frustrated, decided to tune out Todd Wash is when GMC started making progress, significantly so.
Now, without the menace of Wash and with Warren Sapp’s own hand-picked defensive line coach Keith Millard, Joe believes the ProFootballWeekly.com gang is correct. Don’t be shocked if GMC blows up this year, which will give commenter Thomas 2.2 a severe, prolonged case of irritable bowel syndrome.
June 25th, 2011 at 9:28 am
Of course he will. McCoy, like Freeman, is a self motivated high character guy. He will be a terror this year. As will Rejus Benn.
That won’t be the ONLY reason for Thomas 2,2″ inches irritable bowel syndrome! But it’s the only one we’ll discuss here
June 25th, 2011 at 9:46 am
Who thought McCoy was the top pick in the 2010 draft? They were daft. The top pick was CLEARLY Suh and Suh lived up to the billing – even with less than stellar DE’s on Detroit.
McCoy SHOULD be disappointed with his 2010 performance. Considering he was a #3 overall pick and got $40 GUARENTEE that was a pretty weak 2010 season.
Yeah all the McCoy apologist’s will rag on me but consider this – how many other DT’s in the NFL posted better numbers/stats than McCoy in 2010 for a lot less than $40 million?
I’m NOT calling McCoy a bust, far from it. I HOPE GMC has a breakout year in 2011 (assuming there IS a 2011 season) but let’s not confuse ACTUAL PERFORMANCE with POTENTIAL.
On a second hand note – Arreleus Benn has a breakout year in 2010? What was that guy smoking? How stupid would he have to be to confuse Benn’s below average season with a TRUE BREAKOUT season that Mike Williams had, especially considering that Benn was a 2nd round pick compared to the 4th round Williams pick.
Why do people confuse POTENTIAL with ACTUAL PERFORMANCE?
June 25th, 2011 at 9:49 am
The return of Price, plus our 2 new Defensive Ends will make McCoy a terror. I am still in shock that Tampa was able to get 2 STUD Defensive ends. Either one of these 2 ends can take over a game, pretty much. This will leave McCoy better able to do what he does best.
I see a big year for GMC this year, IF we have football ?
June 25th, 2011 at 10:07 am
What will irritate Thomas even more are the pass rushing effectiveness stats that ProFootballFocus put out this week. McCoy is one of two rookies in the top 20 interior linemen – and the other one isn’t the man called Suh. How could this be? I’m sure the explanation will be forthcoming.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:08 am
1) I do not wish failure upon McCoy; I just predicted that he was not worthy of the 3rd overall pick and that kind of money – So far, he has proven me right – I agree it is not over yet;
2) Excellent points Mr. Lucky; apparently I am not the only realistic buc fan;
3) How do you reconcile this “coming on strong argument” with the second critical Falcon game at home where he had zero “official” stats despite playing the whole game?;
4) McCoy (see his quote) and everyone with a brain knows that he was a disappointment last year; even your attempts to blame his position coach prove that you are looking for a reason to explain his horrid performance;
4a) Some of the young Buc D Lineman like Magee, Crowder, Okam etc performed fine under Wash’s direction. Why when a player sucks do you sheep always blame the position coaches but never the Coordinator and Head Coach – Steve White disagreed with how Rah was using McCoy yet you NEVER call him out for that;
5) ProFootball Focus stats have been proven worthless repeatedly – this is the greatest example of that amonng many others;
6) fourth and third place division finishes with no playoffs has given me IBS, McCoy looking like he did last year will exacerbate it.
Dont get me wrong – I will be cheering hard for victories but what I expect (unless they add some key free agents and some more legit assistants to cover for rah’s inadequacies) is another third place division finish.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:18 am
FYI – Assuming healthy, I completely agree that Benn is a potential Breakthrough player for 2011. Although I think that Joe and others have overstated the impact of his rookie year – I agree that there were signs of explosiveness and big play ability which should appear more often in 2011.
Benn showed NFL level skill and athleticism.
McCoy has NFL size and athleticism but he plays very weak and he gets shoved around way too often by solid O-Linemen – which also happened too much at OU which is why his productivity was so poor (McCoy’s measurables are good but his OU numbers/stats were very low for his draft position).
Based on productivity, McCoy should have got a Roy Miller type Grade. However, McCoy is taller and a little quicker and the bucs were salivating for a D Tackle and convinced themselves that McCoy was the pick. I thought Price was a better player but he appears fragile as well. If healthy, I predict that Price will be more productive.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Yeah it sure took McCoy awhile for things to start to click, but once it did you could see the promise. Hopefully with some up graded D line coaches, McCoy can live up to Mike Mayock’s number one prospect of the 2010 draft.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:23 am
what gives me ibs is the same old tired bull sh!t spewing from thomas’ finger tips on a daily basis. bitching about rookie seasons is asinine. mike williams could just as easily take a major step back as gmc could breaking out.
June 25th, 2011 at 11:50 am
lol tom tom ill take your predicted 2 win season from last year and rise you8 wins….or when you said freemen would suck…by now u should know u cant predict when u r right only 10%
June 25th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
I never predicted a 2 win season last year and you know that – I also did not predict 10 but I did not realize how weak the schedule would be with bad teams led by horrible second string, third string, rookie and journeyman qbs.
Failing to make the playoffs with that schedule is a testament to how bad they are. This year they may be fortunate enough to face 5 rookie qbs – if they miss the playoffs again – the coach must be changed.
I did predict: that the bucs would finish third in the division, miss the playoffs and that rah rah would have a losing career record and horrible D after two seasons – how is that for predicting? Pretty good I would say. I called Suh FAR superior to McCoy – you sheep tried to resist – wrong again. I say that Ruud is excellent, you sheep say he is bad and soft – almost every expert agrees with me. I am correct again.
I think Freeman is excellent, like just about everyone else I did not expect him to be this good b/c he wasnt that good in College.
As for your criticism i find it a compliment. Why? Because all you have to do is toe the company line, i.e. say nothing but fanatical positives about this org, and you will be called terrific and genius by the sheep. But express an honestly supportable position that deviates from the company line and you will be attacked because you hit a soar spot.
From Joe’s standpoint I get it – it is economic. Access to team information is good for us all and the Glazers won’t accept public criticism so Joe must be careful. All things considered, Joe does a great job of providing articles covering all relevant subjects.
But you sheep are different – your opinions are unoriginal, boilerplate and boring. You should just designate one of you per day to comment bc your opinions are all the same. There are exceptions: Capt Tim has evolved his analysis on issues and is capable of being objective: like on talib or Ruud for example. But the vast remainder of you, in droves, commit the very acts you acccuse me of – uttering the same wrong-headed position repeatedlty. Ruud is not soft – he is excellent. GMC was bad last year for a #3 overall. The D has not improved the way it could and should have. The Glazers have financially limited the roster talent for years. The team improved last year but the schedule was very soft and noone knows what they will do in 2011 because there are a lot of question marks. As ccurrently situated, this team is 3rd best in its division which is not good enough.
Those statements are all undeniably true. Stop accepting mediocrity (or worse) and lack of commitment and b.s. from these owners. There is NO reason why you cant accept the good, like Freeman Williams Blount, and demand more in areas where they must get better.
June 25th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
I think we’re approaching Maximum Blow-Hardiness…
June 25th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Lol BucFan@941! You would think Thomas (aka Miss Cleo) would give these predictions a rest. He has been dead wrong about literally every single prediction he has made. He’s holding firm to his stance about GMC being a bust because that’s what he proclaimed last year. Couple that with McCoy having an average rookie season and there you have it. I’m confident that he’ll be wrong about McCoy just like all his other prophecies. You gotta understand that this is all about the new guys in charge. He can’t dog Rah/Dom for Freeman anymore, so last years first round choice will have to do. You can already tell he will give Clayborn the same treatment. Any way he can discredit Rah/Dom he will. On second thought, keep the predictions coming Thomas! The opposite tends to happen!
June 25th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
Mr. Lucky.. less than stellar DE’s on Detroit? Really? Kyle Vanden Bosch is NOT a below average player. Sorry but that one is not arguable. Cory Williams is also an above average DT so it’s not like he was working with chopped liver. And no I’m not arguing that I think McCoy played as good as the boy named Suh, but that was just a terrible comment.
Oh and btw, I’m pretty sure he was saying Benn WILL have a breakout year in 2011, not 2010. Mike Williams already HAD his breakout year.
June 25th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
You trying to rewrite history now Thomas? You absolutely predicted a 2-3 win season last year. You also thought we would be 4th in the division last year. I agree that every year will be a tough road to make the playoffs because of the the stacked division we are in. Atl and NO are more established and are both top 10 teams in this league. They aren’t 2 years removed from a complete rebuild like we are. You seem to only like stats when they help your cause. The truth is that statistically the defense improved a lot last year. Overall the defense was ranked 17th last year. The offense was ranked 19th. While our run defense was putrid, it improved from 32nd to 28th. Not good enough, but at least it got a little better. We had the 9th best scoring defense. I think the only stat line that took a step back was sack production. Frankly, if we can keep opposing teams from scoring, I couldn’t care less about our sack totals. Oh lastly, nobody recycles more B.S. than you do Thomas. It’s laughable that you would criticize anybody of doing that.
June 25th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Thomas didnt you describe 6th year player Ruud when you said plays weak,get pushed around by o-lineman,but that is great for him and its a kick to a first year.
June 25th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Oh yeah thats the way he is supposed to play.LMAO
June 25th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Thomas 2.2 inches. Wrong! I absolutely disagreed with the way McCoy was moved around all over the line. On that point you and I agree. I also thought it sucked when McCoy was forced to play DE, and take on two blocks- during the horrible failure of trying to make Quincy Black a “Rush LB”. Quincy was easily blocked by anyone- FB, HalfBack, hell, even the sissy QB! McCoy used as a decoy for Black was sad to watch! Steve White( as usual!) was spot on about that.
June 25th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Stats are fir losers. The bucs won. The D was pretty good. ’nuff said.
June 25th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
2.2″ would be a pretty bad handicap for any man to have to live life with. Gerald McCoy is going to be fine, when I was at the stadium watching live there were so many plays where McCoy beat his man and rushed the QB, they just threw it away right before GMC could get the sack. Half second difference on about 6 of those plays and McCoy would’ve had a 9 sack rookie season, and we would all be praising him. McCoy is just about there guys, be patient. Price is the one I’m more concerned with, that injury he suffered sounded serious
June 25th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
i think every body would say suh is better than GMC but does not mean he wont be any good bro…every mock had us picking him so i dont see the beef
June 25th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
To support my argument: please see all comments that followed my last except for Captain Tim.
June 25th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
I’m not even going to read all of Thomas’s comments. I don’t need to, it’s the same garbage every time. I still can’t understand how someone can be so stupid to not realize that getting 3 QB hits means you are causing major disruption with your pass rush. Then again, we are speaking of Thomas, so I guess I should just accept it.
June 25th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Gerald Mccoy Will be amazing this season! Imo thouhg i think Brian Price will be the biggest suprise under the radar guy though dont be suprised if people double up on mccoy and price will be one on one…
June 25th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
I have not been able to confirm the 3 qb hits that you keep referencing but I can confirm the horrible unnecessary roughness call by McCoy that gave the FAlcons a critical first down (probably one of the qb hits you are roping in).
http://www.bucnews.com/2011/06/03/swing-points-week-13-atlanta-falcons-tampa-bay-buccaneers/
Also: Bucnation is even fairly objective about how disappointing McCoy was last year.
http://www.bucsnation.com/2011/6/6/2209135/improvement-needed-gerald-mccoy
It is only you sheep you REFUSE to admit that he sucked for a third overall.
June 25th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
I say again, “the Bucs totally owned Suh” when he came to Tampa. Suh had one good play in the ENTIRE game. He was a total non factor against the Bucs. Suh looked and played like a rookie when he came to Tampa. Our O line is bigger, stronger and pushed Suh around. Sorry guys but I wasn’t all that impressed when I saw Suh play live. How did Mario Williams fair in his first year? And then what did he do after that? I personally pick on Ruud and more than I should, but Ruud played much better in 2010′ than he did in 2009″.
I can’t read more than a few lines of the little twerp’s comments either. It’s just continuous run-on bull$h!t. It’s like a little bird churping constantly for the mom’s attention, and you know she just wants to knock the little POS out of the nest and down on the ground. Splat! Thomas could spend his entire life working and never reach mediocrity. His best hope is to win Powerball so he can afford to pay that $350K Secretarial bill. Just 100% totally ate up with the Dumbass.
June 26th, 2011 at 3:36 am
There’s nothing wrong with a different point of view but when the views are based on false assumptions and mythical “facts,” ignore key facts that don’t support the argument being made, stubbornly refuse to admit wrong when the evidence is right in front of your face, think you know more than the experts and insiders, well, then you are a clown. A 2.2″ clown.
This clown must have thought that Warren Sapp was a bust after his 3-sack rookie year. His hated Head Coach, D-coordinator came in second for Coach of the Year yet he still believes the coach doesn’t belong. The Super Bowl teams proved again that winners are built through the draft – fill holes with FA’s when you’re knocking on that door (which the Bucs will do at the appropriate time as was done in the past). I would think that this joker would applaud the rebuilding method undertaken after the 2008 season – unless he was satisfied with 9-7 teams that went nowhere and were propped up with bandaids, I mean, aging free agents. I could go on and on as to why this clown’s reasoning is flawed but I don’t have the energy and he’s just not worth the time. Besides, it would fall on deaf ears and only us sheep would hear it – the irrational, rose-colored-glasses-wearing lambs that we are.
What is more concerning to me is how sad and unhappy a clown’s life must be. To have the time to go online and repeatedly spew negativity over and over is just so pathetic. What a waste of a life. I picture this old lonely curmudgeon with nothing but time on his hands. He complains about everything in the world every day (It’s highway robbery that they change more than a nickel for a candy bar these days! The Glazers must have something to do with this!) It’s all of us that are wrong with the world, not him. Change is unwelcome to this old, stubborn soul so it infuriates him when things do change and it doesn’t allow him to see that change can be good. The glass is neither half full nor half empty. It is bone dry to the clown.
June 26th, 2011 at 5:35 am
Here you go Thomas, here’s your confirmation: http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=301205027. Not that it is going to matter, because no matter what he does or doesn’t do, you will always hate on this kid.
June 26th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
Thomas 2.2 is just another clown that judges G-Mac by his sack total. Talk about GMC essentially closing out the Browns in his first game as a pro. Talk about the way he played against an extremely talented Ravens offensive line.
He’s a rookie. He’s going to have low points and high points. He improved as the year went on and there’s absolutely no way to debate that. When Freeman struggled as a rookie you probably said he’s garbage.
You still, for some insane reason, have a strong desire to see our coach fail just so you can have a proven point. Anybody with that mentality is not a real fan.
With your blind wish for our owners to spend more money I’m starting to think you should change from fake Bucs fan to fake Redskins or fake Cowboys fan. They spend tons of money and how many wins did that net them last year? Their plan is working, get over it.
June 27th, 2011 at 8:01 am
@Thomas 2.2,
Keep up the good work. You have only stated the obvious, yet you are attacked unmercifully on this site because the sheep that comment 6-8 times an article are simply kool-aid drinking sheep. The undeniable facts are;
1. Raheem Morris is not capable of being a head coach.
2. The last DC that allowed as many TD’s to be scored against our Defense
was fired, by Raheem Morris.
3. Gerald McCoy was, “and will be”, a bust. And Suh was and is everything
we all thought that he would be, contrary to the so called Superstar GM
statement that McCoy was the best player on the board in 2010.
4. The sheep that love to blast anyone that is a realist instead of sheep
such as they live in a dream world of their own making.
keep up the good work Thomas. It is refreshing to read realism over fantasy on this blog. And more agree with you than you know. We just don’t need to comment numerous times every article, like sheep do.
June 27th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Why does EVERYONE automaticaly assume that Brian Price will be playing nose tackle next to McCoy?…….He’s going to have to beat out workahloic Roy Miller who will improve greatly with proper coaching and who will probably be playing at 300-305lbs this season (his original target wieght after the 325lb Jim Bates debacle) instead of 315lbs last season. That should improve his quickness.
Brian Price is coming off of a pretty serious injury that kept him from gaining the experience of a full rookie season…..Miller is going into his 3rd season and is determined to improve…..
I also think Miller is better built for an early down nose tackle, I see Price as a quicker option at the nose on 2nd and long or 3rd down. One of the knocks on Price coming out of College was that his frame was already “maxed out” at his listed weight of 303lbs. We already know that Miller is very durable and can easily carry more weight if need be.
I hope Price is fully recovered and brings the intensity that he had before his initial injury…that would only improve the potential of this D line for years to come……..
I just think that Price has a tall order to fill if everyone thinks he’s just going to show up and beat out Miller/Okam for the Nose Tackle position
Miller seems to be the forgotten man in the fans eyes……..I’m telling you, he’s going to be a VERY solid player sooner than later.
June 27th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
HAH guaranteed that Tampa2 is Thomas 2.2.
June 28th, 2011 at 1:52 am
@Tampa 2,
Since you think it’s okay to just state opinions and call them “undeniable facts”, I have some undeniable facts for you:
1. You are an idiot
2. Thomas is an even bigger idiot
3. People that actually believe anything you two idiots write is, guess what – an idiot.
Keep up the good work Tampa 2. Just when we were all getting bored by the 2.2″ moron, we now have one of his admirers to spice things up. As soon as you guys get back from your date, we would love to hear more of your baseless opinions and ridiculous points of view.