Do Your Job!
August 14th, 2012
Joe has come to the conclusion that Gerald McCoy is the new Barrett Ruud. Bucs fans always have to have a player (or coach) to hate and this year it is Gerald McCoy.
What coaches and front office types have told Joe about GMC is eerily similar to what Joe was told about Ruud: That he is doing exactly what is asked of him.
Like Bucs fans did with Ruud, GMC has turned many Bucs fans into an angry lynch mob where they slam their bottles of beer on the bar and have scared neighborhood cats away for fear of being dropped-kicked because GMC is not racking up sacks like Warren Sapp once did.
But if one talks to coaches and front office types, even the cream like Bill Polian, they state GMC’s disruption in the backfield is sometimes better than a sack because busted plays can turn into turnovers.
Nevermind. Bucs fans seem to have made up their minds on GMC, no matter who speaks logic.
With this in mind, J.P. Peterson, former (and soon to be?) local sports personality, has tried to keep an open mind and while weighing input from both sides of the GMC debate, Peterson has tried to offer a reasoned analysis of GMC after watching the Bucs beat the Dolphins last week in Miami on Peterson’s TampaBaySportsCentral.com site.
If Gerald McCoy could finish plays in the backfield he WOULD BE Ndamukong Suh! He is getting great penetration but fails to finish too many times. As a sidebar, I spoke with McCoy today out of pads and he looks much leaner…almost too small for a DT in this league. He’s built more like an end. He is such a great guy I wish him much success and HEALTH! He deserves it… we ALL want to see what he can produce with a full season. I liked that he said he is not focused on sacks but rather the Schiano mantra “do your job”… as he should be.
If a player performs and completes the tasks asked of him by his coaches, what more can be said? It doesn’t seem to matter to Bucs fans though that Greg Schiano boasts about McCoy, like the way he spoke of him earlier this year.
“He plays defensive tackle the way I like. He comes off the ball with a flat back, he’s a penetrating guy who can change direction. We’ve got to get him back healthy and keep him healthy. I think he can be a dominant force if we can just get some miles underneath him, some plays.”
Despite the accolades McCoy gets from Schiano, Polian and the likes, the torches seem to be lit.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
I don’t get the comparison at all. The only complaint most fans have about McCoy is that he can’t stay healthy and is in danger of becoming a bust because of it. When he is actually on the field his play has been good.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Ruud was always healthy but sucked rocks.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Sapp played the 3T like no one else before or since, GMC actually plays the under-tackle, call it what you want he still plays the under-tackle, penetration and disruption are his primary jobs, the sacks are left for the DE’s.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Apparently Suh can’t finish plays in the backfield either with 4 sacks last year.
Much like McCoy, Suh is always disruptive and it does equate into turnovers or others getting the sack.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
A good and accurate comparison IMO. Not a new thing but glad to see the parallel. I hope that GMC can stay healthy. I did not notice him to be too small at camp.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Anyone who “hates” Gerald McCoy isn’t worth typing about.
Since when do the “opinions” of jack wagons matter in the slightest?
Since NEVER I type rather emphatically.!
Season is shaping up quite well IMO and the excitement continues
to build for Buccaneer fans everywhere.
Buccaneers in 2012?
Can’t WAIT!!!
August 14th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Wish him all the health in the world this season. Consistent disruption is McCoy’s job. Move the QB out of the zone, force errors…. much rather have that consistently than a few sacks (unless they are sack fumbles.. 😉 )
August 14th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
I can hear Thomas’s head exploding all the way out here in Hawaii.
August 14th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
I believe GMC will have a MONSTER year.
Finally, some coaching for the YOUNGEST team in the NFL.
“Youngry”, “Mental Midget”, “Stats are for losers”, “Underwear Olympics”: no more of that BS.
Just Buc W’s!
August 14th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Unfortunately buc fans had there hearts set on us drafting Suh, I was one of them. When it didnt happen, most were disappointed and already didnt like McCoy. Honestly the guy really doesnt stand a chance until he performs well on the field. So far he has been injury prone which has only fueled the hatred. I hope he has a great year and shuts everyone up finally.
August 14th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
The haters will always find a reason to hate, even if a player’s lack of production was caused by injuries. Most of the evidence, and opinion from experts, seems to be that McCoy is a force when he’s on the field. Just look at the Bucs’ record and especially their defensive performance once McCoy was lost for the year.
Haters will hate and whiners will whine. Too many Bucs fans are ignorant douchebags looking for reasons to complain.
August 14th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Off topic but we should sign Jeff Demps. He just won a Silver Medal and now wants to play in the NFL. His speed is too nice and would make a great return man and slot WR. Won’t command a large contract. Get it done Dom.
August 14th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
He disrupts, he gets sacks too. 4 in 523 career passing plays would be fine for his position even if he hadn’t played on defenses with coverage so awful that the QB hits his first read if they rush more than three. The Bucs D had one of the lowest sack totals in the league last season but the pass rush didn’t look bad at all.
August 14th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
2010 draft:
1st round: Ndomakong Suh: 14 sacks, 80 tackles, 1 pro bowl, 1 all pro, finished top 10 NFL defensive player of the year.
4th round: Geno Adkins: 10.5 sacks, 63 tackles, 2 forced fumbles 1 pro bowl.
2011 draft:
Marcel Dareus: 5.5 sacks and 45 tackles.
Karl Klug: 7 sacks 20 tackles.
These are examples of 4 players who don’t need to perform under the lowered “disruptive” but not productive standard. They actually stay healthy and get QBs and ballcarriers on the ground. Only Suh was drafted earlier than Gerald and 2 of those 4 were later round picks.
Henry Melton and others have out-produced the media-darling Gerald.
I hope Gerald performs this year, I trust Schiano as a coach and he likes his get-off. I have always said that Gerald has elite get-off and talent but that his productivity has never, even in College despite his measurables, measured up.
The get-off is unique but in Gerald’s case gets used against him by good coordinators like in NE last preseason. They trap and middle screen Gerald and unknowing fans yell “disruptive” not understanding that the play was designed to trap Gerald and pop a run or pass under him in the vacated area.
That is the fatal flaw with this disruption criteria – Gerald gets credit for falling prey to a clever play call and design.
The players cited above are young, reliable, disruptive and productive.
Contrary to what the media and fanatics want to believe, you need to show up for work AND produce to avoid bust-status as a #3 overall 60 mil contract player. Gerald has not been able to do that.
I will GLADLY admit that Gerald has played up to expectations if he does, but so far except for the Baltimore game in 2010 (he played well vs Indy last year but they had a 3rd or 4th string lineman playing) I haven’t seen it. He will get into the backfield occasionally, usually look lost and stick out an arm and do ZERO to impact the play.
That has defined Gerald so far.
August 14th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Comparing him to Sabby the Goat would be more accurate than Ruud. Ruud actually made a lot of plays albeit 12 yards downfield. Sabby took bad angles and took himself out of the plays repeatedly.
I think Dini will be excellent on Dancing With The Stars. We saw Dolphin RB’s spin away from his arm tackles several times last Friday but he did make one play.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
McCoys first step is as good or better than any DT in the NFL right now. His biggest downfall is his ability to get himself under control once he reaches the back side of the offensive line. He would make a ton of TFL’s if only he would get himself going east and west once he beats his man. Instead he finds himself three yards deep in the backfield and the play is happening behind him. This is something that a fundamentalist like Schiano will break him of pretty soon.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Just reviewed Dini’s Friday performance. One play out of 15 he made a difference. Karlos Pena will be in the Hall of Fame because he’s 3 times more effective than GMC.
Karlos even hits one out of the park once in a while.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Miguel:
I had him 2 for 15 with one offsides. He did show his get off but as usual it made produced one positive play. He did slightly redirect the RB on the other play but it didn’t really affect the outcome.
For some reason Miguel the vast majority of fanatical fans that comment here have some crazy attachment to Gerald that causes them to not be able to say that he has not played well, and certainly hasn’t come close to living up to his draft hype!
I think it has to do with some weird defense of DomDom – fearing that if Gerald turns out be a bust that DomDom is doomed or something.
I am in the “hopeful” but not yet “hype-ful” contingent.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
After this year, let’s ship GMC off similar to Ruud and see how this will resurrect his career like it did for Ruud who got beaten out by a rookie in Tennessee and is fighting for a roster spot in Seattle.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
@gotbucs:
I see that, unlike the fanaticals, you watch the games and D Line, very astute.
A lot of what you are seeing with the “finding himself in the backfield” is Gerald realizing he was trapped or being screened per offensive play design.
Gerald is quick, he tries to use that and guess the snap count (which causes frequent offsides) – every OC in the league knows this so you bate him, then trap him on run downs and screen behind him on 3rd and short to mid.
August 14th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
I like GMC, the way he plays and the effort he shows when on the field. I have no issues with him at all and believe he will have a great season.
August 14th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
By the way, the offsides they called on GMC in the preseason game was bogus. The offsides occured by the DE, not GMC lined up in the neutral zone. They also called an offsides on Mason Foster. The only problem was, Foster was back in the LB spot, and wasn’t even blitzing. These new refs don’t even know what teams they are reffing, nor do they understand that when you down the ball on the four yard line on a punt, it isn’t a touchback. They are a complete joke.
August 14th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Shoot, John Lynch bearly knew the Bucs more than the replacement refs. Thank goodness I remembered after halftime to turn the radio on ,and to silence theb terrible tv comentary.
August 14th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Well well only took 4 days to get the usual haters to show up from hiding under their rocks because they could not find a reason to bicth about Blount. But I knew you would find a way to see if they were still alive or had strokes. Wait till GMC gets a couple sacks and they will go into hiding again.
August 14th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Okay on one hand, you have Steve White, a very well respected analyst and former defensive linemen, giving his take on GMC. On the other hand you have Thomas 2.2″, who sails his couch around his parent’s living room about 16 hours a day, every day finding stats from Dogpatch-Foosball.com . Both have very different views and ideas on when and how to evaluate young players. One uses facts, dissects film while knowing what he is looking at. The other resorts to attack adds, spin, hate and distortion of the truth to support his own agenda.
Now if Thomas and his Lilliputian following would just shut their big yaps and buy season tickets, we might get some games on TV.
August 14th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
@BigMac
Ya once again I get to listen on the radio. At least I can see the rerun.
August 14th, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Amen to everything Big Mac just said!
August 15th, 2012 at 3:40 am
what I love is thomas talking and responding to his other screen name.
miquel pequeno says: “Just reviewed Dini’s Friday performance.”
sounds just like thomas saying “I just graded…” the other day. lmao. this person has serious issues.
August 15th, 2012 at 3:44 am
ps sooo true bma
reminds me of the “psychic” who throws out so much stuff to see what will stick. the one time he gets it right he lets everyone know, ignoring all the wrong guesses. hey, maybe thomas can work for that zcode?
August 15th, 2012 at 8:38 am
Why is it that the most clueless posters are the ones who want to ‘evaluate’ and ‘grade’ talent like they know more than the coaches, players, etc. Thomas and Miguel have to be the absolute worst offenders. They must think that if they post enough they won’t look like idiots. They’re wrong….
August 15th, 2012 at 9:21 am
Listen ladies:
What Schiano, White and most other positive-Gerald analysts say is that Gerald is very talented with elite Get-off. I have said the same.
Schiano talked about turning his talent into being a “difference maker,” White said that it “looked like he had cleaned up” his pass rush. Last year, White and I werent that far off with our analysis – White thought that he was very good in run game and that he needed improvement in his pass rush game, I thought that he was better, albeit still below average in run and poor in pass rush.
Now, Culpepper, Sapp, Beckles, rahrah morris and many others have not limited their criticisms by calling him: soft, doesnt fight hard etc – I would say that those guys understand as well.
You fanatics take a comment about “how talented” a player is and hear “how productive” that player is. Those are two different subjects, talent does not always equal production.
There is no denying that Gerald has been a huge disappointment so far. Maybe he will rebound, but even if he does that would be just one good year out of 3.
August 15th, 2012 at 9:40 am
I’m sorry, but why does everybody have to tell me what this guy can do? Why can’t I see it for myself? He’s #3 overall. Show me. That’s all I’m asking for. Do what you were paid to do.
August 15th, 2012 at 10:29 am
All you guys that are bitching about GMC are you prepared to make a public apology here if GMC has a good to great season?
August 15th, 2012 at 10:32 am
Sapp said “you cannot live soft and play hard” he never called GMC soft. He was telling GMC this as advice, practice hard, work out hard…GMC is doing that at this point. Sapp also said this will be a break out year for GMC. I have not heard Morris say anything negative about GMC, nor have I heard Culpepper (but I do not tend to watch him anymore). Also, I would say Suh was more of a “disruptive” player last year, since he only had 4 sacks. break out the years T 2.2, that way you do not distort the facts.
August 15th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Thomass
Ladies? Like I have said, You better feel again!
Please stop with putting yourself and your opinions in with likes of Shiano, White, and other coaches/ex-players.
BTW Narcissism is so one sided, but then again, I don’t have to tell you that!
August 15th, 2012 at 12:21 pm
morris called his fundamentals “pop warner,”unless you are a JV flyweight – that is negative.
August 15th, 2012 at 12:40 pm
LOL Thomas quoting Raheem Morris of all people to reinforce his premise.