Bucs Really Want To Keep Michael Bennett
March 7th, 2012
"I just hit the lottery!"
If anything, the Giants have proven to develop kryptonite for pass-happy teams, which is pretty much what the NFL is these days.
Stockpile defensive linemen.
So with a former Giants defensive coordinator now on Greg Schiano’s staff, it appears that formula is being copied by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik.
Tampa Bay Times reporter Stephen Holder, by way of Twitter, learned from restricted free agent defensive end Michael Bennett just how much the Bucs covet his services.
@HolderStephen: Bucs DE Michael Bennett says team placed a first rd restricted free agent tender on him.
First round pick? Joe thinks it is safe to assume Bennett will be with the Bucs when OTAs begin this spring.
There is no one in their right mind short of Danny Snyder who will cough up a first round pick for Bennett. Michael Wallace, sure. But Bennett?
March 7th, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Bennet has a lot of upside IMO. He’s got the motor of Roy Miller, only he actually makes plays. Last year was his best year, 4 sacks and a handful of tackles. I bet a lot of that had to do with our now former line coaches…
So, with those coaches gone and a whole new regime in place, we’ll see if he continues to grow. DL is definitely not a weakness on this team (cue 2.2 in 3… 2… 1…)
March 7th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
If we want to stockpile D linemen, let’s bring in Mario Williams.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Certain retard named Timmy from South Park may think Dominik is clueless with this move.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
No more Mario Williams pleas, please. DE is a strong point on our team. Williams rookie year 4.5, Clayborn has him beat and Bowers, pre-injury, was the next phenom at DE. Having Bennett is fantastic to cycle in. Where does Williams fit in.
Also, I am not over impressed with Williams. Why does he deserve a monster contract? Sack totals to date by season: 4.5, 14, 12, 9, 8.5, 5. The 14 and 12 sack years were nice, but he has never been this superstar sack monster people want him to be.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Glad they are keeping him. He could turn out to be a stud in the new defense.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Also Legarette Blount was tendered at 540,000 if that matters.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Blount is not free to negotiate with other teams. He can only be signed by the Bucs.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Bennett’s a damn good football player. I don’t think we’re done adding pieces to that D-Line either, I’d look for them to bring in at least one more good developmental D-End and Probably more depth at D-Tackle too.
March 7th, 2012 at 6:55 pm
I think that you could make an argument that Bennett was the best player on the D Line last year – Schiano sees that.
Bowers and Clay may have more upside, but we have seen what upside means from Games Missed Constantly – nothing.
I completely agree that we need to bring another D Tackle, you could draft one in rounds 3-5 or sign a second tier fa and that player would compete favorably against Games Missed and outplay Roy Miller.
Price is impressive when he is on the field, which is not too often. I am very encouraged by the young d ends.
March 7th, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Not only am I happy that Bennett will be back, I hope we can extend his contract for longer than that. Everyone seems to like Bennett, he had the most sacks of his career last year starting for the first time ever, and he was one of ProFootballFocus’s best DE against the run.
Lets go out and add a Jason Jones from the Titans. He is an undersized tackle that was moved to DE last year and really struggled. I would like to see him push McCoy and Price, to be honest if we got him he would probably start next to McCoy, which I have not problem with. A DT rotation of McCoy, Price, Jones, Miller/new addition, and a DE rotation of Clayborn, Bowers, Bennett, Crowder/new addition, I would be happy with.
March 7th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Wheeeww!! But am seriously getting sick of everybody thinking we should get every high profile FA on these posts. Mario Williams?? like seriously be practical people!!
March 7th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Good, in today’s NFL, you need multiple pass rushers, to keep the line Fresh and rested. Bennett and Crowder are young and talented. Make good backups to Clayborn and Bowers.
And jonny3.3- if you were referring to me- then you are an idiot. I said , if healthy, Bowers will start. Period. Bennett wasn’t very impressive as a starter- no one will sign him
But if you believe, for one minute, that an NFL team will let their second round pick sit on the bench, to start an unsigned FA pickup- then you know nothing about the NFL! If he’s healthy- its always been Bowers job- that’s why they spent a second round pick, and a boat load of money on him.
Draft picks ALWAYS get the preferential treatment
If you really don’t know that, then you should take your 2 main posting fingers, sit on them, and massage your Brain until they post the starters in July. Then it will all be clear to you.
Lmao at the opinionated uninformed! Sad!
March 7th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Capt Tim, we had our differences, but I am getting on board with your train of thought more and more. I might argue with people on these boards, but I respect 90% of the people’s opinions that post on here.
March 7th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Looking at that list. It got me wondering. What are the chances we can peel BJE away from the Patriots?
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, New England RB: The 27-year-old running back doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear, plus he has 24 rushing touchdowns in the last two years as well as 1,675 yards rushing.
his qoute from that list.
March 7th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
oops wrong post that was ment for the other one about Lofton.
March 7th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Wow talk about bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. Like teams are waiting in line to get a piece of the group that produced 23 sacks. and 405 points of course.
They could probably put a first round tender on the entire defense and no one would bite.
March 7th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
To be honest, I hope a team is duumb enough to take Bennett now. I like him lots, butcI would pike that first rounder more.
March 7th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Best player on the D last year(perhaps the team) in his first year as a starter. Signing him is a no-brainer.
March 7th, 2012 at 9:06 pm
Draft picks typically get preferential treatment; however, a change of regimes typically causes the new regime to have A LOT less difficulty taking a UFA or lower draftee than the regime that drafted the player.
We are in a hybrid situation here. Schiano could care less about the dumb draft decisions made by the stooges rah and Dom. Dom obviously feels very vulnerable to being made to look more foolish than he already does – if for example, Schiano demotes highly invested rahdom players and promotes his own guys UFAs, draftees etc.
Bennett was not horrible, he was very good. I think Bowers has greater potential and his play was encouraging so it is Bowers’ job to lose – but Bennett plays the run very well.
There is not a player on our d line who is a good pass rush yet, clay seems to be the closest bc of his motor but he needs to broaden his game. Bowers has plus athleticism if healthy. Price has good strength and push. GMC is a pass rush disaster unless he gets a perfectly clean get-off – which happens about twice per season.
March 7th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Thomas- agree with most of that- other than the ignorant rants about McCoy. I know he ran over yet dog, but ya shoulda had a leash on it!
It isn’t a new regime. Not At. All
It’s a bunch of inexperienced cheap hires, all having their collective strings pulled by the Glazers Puppet master- Mark Dominick!.
Does that mean they are doomed to fail? No. But the deck is stacked against them. And they WILL play the players drafted/signed by Dom!!
You can pretty much bet the farm on that
March 7th, 2012 at 10:13 pm
Eric- true that- we are arguing about who should be starting- outta the least productive line in the league!!
Meybe none of should be starting! If we can get a first round pick for Bennett- they can have him- best deal for us since the Late Gaines Adams(Rip) trade
March 7th, 2012 at 11:27 pm
“Capt.Tim Says:
March 7th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
It isn’t a new regime. Not At. All
It’s a bunch of inexperienced cheap hires…”
_____________________________________________________
That is one of the stupidest things I’ve read in quite a while! Congrats!
March 7th, 2012 at 11:34 pm
You give Capt Tim some props the he drops one of those on you.
March 7th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
*then
March 8th, 2012 at 1:50 am
Awesome, love the hard work this man’s put in for the Bucs and glad he’ll be getting the chance to shine next year.
March 8th, 2012 at 2:57 am
Shiano is the lowest paid head coach in the NFL, and has no NFL experience In years. Last time was two years as Secondary coach for Bears- and he got fired.
The Bucs coaching staff is the lowest paid in the league
That’s as slow as I can go. Still confused?
Then go look up “PJ Fleck, Angelchino, and Lukabu” on Wiklepedia.
Any questions?
March 8th, 2012 at 3:29 am
Sorry- I realize that ignoring reality makes things a lot easier for some of you.
I did say that didn’t mean they were doomed to fail – which is a lot nicer than many analyst are saying!
I want them to succeed!
But if Dominick is still calling the shots- its not a new regime- same guy that drafted/signed these guys- is still calling the shots
But don’t worry. I know everyone wants to believe the new staff is full of messiahs. That will only last til they lose their first game. Especially if it’s a blow out.
I’ll be here saying they deserve a chance, and everyone will be screaming about them being a ” cheap, inexperienced hire”
One thing that stays the same here. The biggest spring zealots, turn into the biggest fall critics- faster than rest!
Probably better to temper your enthusiasm- but go ahead, blindly believe our savior has arrived. You’ll turn on him soon enough
March 8th, 2012 at 8:26 am
In a month tim will be telling us how great schiano is, He will probably take credit for the hiring. If you change your views constantly, your at least right sometimes eh timmy
March 8th, 2012 at 9:30 am
Dan Sileo is such a tool. I was listening to him rant this morning about Bennett getting a tender worth 2+ mil and calling him ‘Tony Bennett’ and saying things like “Who is he??? Did he even start last year??” If he doesn’t think Bennett is worth 8 mil over 4 years at 2 mil a year then he’s clueless. Bennett has a ton of upside and showed great flashes last year. I think with the right coaching he will be outstanding. There will be no let up when Bowers goes out and Bennett goes in.
March 8th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Capt. Tim
I understand you’re criticism, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised next year.
March 8th, 2012 at 10:15 am
I didn’t critize- or say Shiano sucks. I pointed iut that he is the lowest paid HC in the league. And has the lowest paid staff in the league.
The response was to the “new Regime, new start” statement.
It isn’t a new regime, when you still have the same GM.
That ruffled a few feathers among the Schiano Quackers- sadly, because it was true, and that doesn’t fit their illusions of a new messiah .
They don’t want to believe that money was an issue in his hiring.
Obviously , they are new around here- lmao
March 8th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
So..I guess the 6 million they offered to Chip Kelly was just a smoke screen so they could go cheap. They had that all worked out..”Hey Chip…we’re gonna offer you a butt load of money because our fans think we’re cheap. I want you to accept the offer and then bail at the last minute OK? That way we can go out and hire the Rutgers coach for a lot less.”
Sometimes the cheap Glazers comments just seem stupid. I know they haven’t spent a lot of money in the years since the super bowl but to say this coaching hire was made to save money after all the coaches they pursued and were blocked from pursuing is just plain ignorant. Not only that, how do you know this is the cheapest coaching staff in the NFL? Have the salaries been released to compare to other rosters?? I don’t think Sullivan came cheap. I doubt whether Bostad came for chump change. Wait.. I get it. We didn’t land Billick or Cowher so they HAVE to be cheap.
Sorry…I forgot that old tired mantra.
March 8th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Bobby- I’m trying to be nice, and be the Sherperd here.
Remember waaaay back, over the last 4 weeks. Thru out the staff hiring process- it was reported by several national publications that coaches were turned off by the Bucs offers! They mentioned cheap salaries, poor benefits, bad signing Packages.
Remember?
I didn’t see Chip Kelly’s contract. Neither did you. It may have been 6 mil- yet As hard as it is for most people to believe- it could still be a bad contract. There are a lot of perks added to contracts.
It is a bad sign , when an assistant not only turns a team down- but feels the need to leak to the press that the offer was insulting.
Neither of us know what the offers to others were. We know we have the lowest paid head coach – outta 32
Does that make him a bad coach? Absolutely not.
Does it mean he will fail- not at all
But he has no NFL experience, and has inherited the youngest team in the league. Biiiiiig challenge
I want him to succeed. But aren’t you tired of this team being the cheapest for EVERYTHING??
It’s Waaaay to often to be a coincidence
March 8th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
No, I don’t remember any national publication ‘quoting’ anybody. There may have been some ‘anonymous’ source who stated something but all I remember is that every time someone turned us down it was the fans who speculated it was over money. I don’t remember anyone coming out and saying the contract was insulting or anything. Can you post any links??
March 8th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
I personally don’t have a problem with them not paying Schiano a tub of money. I’m sure he didn’t expect it. Now if he proves that he can win in the NFL I”m sure that will change but it’s just smart business to not pour a lot of money into an unproven commodity. Having said that, they are getting more money than we’ll ever see in our lifetime so it’s not like he’s living in a trailer.
How would spending more money have gotten us any different results in the coaching search?? I just don’t see the correlation from the reports I’ve read. People can specualte all they want but unless someone who was offered a contract comes out and says it was insulting…I’d take ‘anonymous’ sources with a grain of salt.
March 8th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
It was actually mentioned here- at JoeBuc, on one post, that coaches were ssinf the Bucs offers we’re cheap- with horrible benefits.
In Sports, entertainment, art. There is one modem truth
Talent is expensive
In the NFL. You don’t win without talent. If they won’t spend money, all off our fan support is in vain. They spend the least possible, yet complain that the stadium doesn’t sell out
It’s a two way street- they try to build a winner- we support their efforts. For 8 years- they have spent the lowest amount on players and Coaches
With no effort on their part- why would the fan base continue to take their half hearted efforts seriously?
They spent no money in Free agents for years. Did you enjoy watching this team lose by 40 points- week after week
It made me sick- and embarrassed!
The Tampa bay area deserves better
March 8th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
@Capt Tim. I wholeheartedly agree that the fans deserve a sports franchise that is actually trying to win. I really believe it’s just a case of the Glazer’s getting caught with their pants down. I don’t blame them for not being big players in FA in 2011 because the team had just come off a 10-6 season that could have very easily been 12-4 if we could have pulled out the Atlanta games. Things seemed to be going in the right direction and they gambled on the draft filling in the blanks on the DE’s. Well, we know how that all worked out.
Now they are faced with the prospect of a total fan revolt if they don’t show they are serious about putting a good product on the field. I don’t see them trying to go cheap so far this year. I don’t think the Schiano hire was who they wanted but I believe they thought it was better than Sherman or Marty and I would have to agree. He seems to have the endorsement of the majority of the pundits and certainly has all the tools to be successful. No, there is no guarantee but I choose to be optimistic about the possibilities instead of pessimistic.
Once FA hits we’ll see how serious they really are. I’m not in the camp who expects them to sign every marquee player that hits the market. That’s unrealistic and they don’t have to do that to show me they are serious. I do expect 2 splash signings and then they can fill the rest of the holes with mid level FA’s and the draft. We need depth worse than anything. We saw what happened when McCoy went down and there was no replacement of any quality. Same with Grimm. We don’t need to go out and sign all starters but a starting CB and MLB would be a good start.
March 8th, 2012 at 5:01 pm
See! You and I aren’t so far apart. We both want them to bring in talent. We both want them to win.
You are right. Free agency will show how committed they are to winning. I hope they sign 3 or 4 guys that can really help this team- and Schiano goes 12-4!
But I’ve been around here a long time. And disappointed far more than not.
I hope you are right. But don’t be surprised if I am!
But honestly- I want to proven wrong this time!! Badly!
March 8th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Guys,
Tim won’t accept Schiano because he feels dumb and exposed about being so dead wrong about Rah.
If you look back earlier this year, you will actually see a comment from tim to me where he said, I paraphrase:
Get used to it (RahRah) you are going to have to deal with him for many years to come.
Oh yea. What he really meant was that I was going to have to deal with him for a “few” more horrible games! Thank goodness.
Tim loves the Bucs, once he is over eating all that crow he will realize how horrible RahRah was and how good Schiano is.
March 8th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
@ Thomas….no one knows how good or bad Schiano is going to be. The odds are stacked against him but there is just something about this guy that makes me believe that he can turn this thing around. Only time will tell.
Rah is not coach anymore so can we move on? You’re gonna have to eat enough crow when GMC tears the league up next year so make sure you have a healthy appetite. :>)