Michael Bennett Could Be Hitting A Big Payday
August 30th, 2012
Bucs defensive end Michael Bennett has thus far in training camp and preseason games looked strong.
Yes, Joe knows, it’s just preseason. But if his play is a precursor to the 2012 season, it’s both good and bad for the Bucs and rock star general manager Mark Dominik.
Bennett’s play has also caught the eye of numbers guy Khaled Elsayed of ProFootballFocus.com.
We keep singing his praises and won’t stop if Michael Bennett keeps showing up like he did against the Patriots. He isn’t the most explosive pass rusher but he keeps finding a way of beating linemen from the DLE spot or as a tackle in nickel. A contract year is always a good time to perform and it appears he knows this.
Uh, oh: the dreaded contract year. That’s good for the Bucs because Bennett will be motivated, but then again it’s not good for the Bucs. As Joe pointed out last night, the Bucs have the fifth-highest payroll in the NFL but little depth to speak of.
If Bennett has a monster year, it will be dicey to keep him as Dominik has to keep cash stashed in the Team Glazer cookie jar to prepare for a new Josh Freeman contract as well. Quality young pass rushers are always paid handsomely in free agency.
August 30th, 2012 at 8:24 am
If mike bennett has a big year, which I believe he will you find a way to keep him. This is going to be a pretty telling year for a couple players this year. You need 3 dl that can get to the passer and Bennett, Clayborn and Bowers can become a pretty awesome trio imo. Bennett is a baller enough said. He isn’t the prettiest of D lineman but he just finds a way to get to the passer. In fact the way he has looked this preseason and last year it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he is our best dlineman this year.
August 30th, 2012 at 8:56 am
I hope they find a way to keep him. Michael has been one of the league’s big bargains thus far, and deserves a payday.
August 30th, 2012 at 9:23 am
When Bowers and Clayborn are both healthy, Bennett becomes a luxury.
August 30th, 2012 at 9:30 am
^I disagree with that statement, Troll. Reason is in order to win games and go far, you just have to have good depth at the DL…So you can rotate guys in and out to keep the fresh, un-tired, and ready to go! Plus, coach agrees and has said that himself when he first arrived in Tampa said he was worried about our depth and has to find guys to rotate and keep them fresh. Still not yet convinced? Watch some NYG games, it only got them 2 super bowls. Most of there depth however is interior linemen, not that they don’t have good depth on the outside because they do….Point is depth is always good especially at DL. This further more goes back to the old saying, “Defense wins championships”.
August 30th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Josh better have a monster year as well if he wants to be extended. I don’t want to hear excuses about the is the X number of offensive coordinators he has had in 4 years, yada yada yada. I would hope Josh knows THIS is a contract year for him as well.
August 30th, 2012 at 9:55 am
The salary cap is not as concerning as one would think. The way that Mark Dominick has been doing contracts really showcases this. Both Davin Joseph and Quincy Black have no guarantees after this year. (I can’t remember Joseph’s contract) But Quincy’s was also front loaded so it goes down quite a bit after this year. Nearly every player signed has been given this type of contract. Taking into account restructuring contracts for players like Davin Joseph and Eric Wright, we are really set-up financially to do the things that we want for the long term.
I believe that we’ll have plenty of room for good contracts for Michael Bennett and Josh Freeman. It also helps that neither of them should be expecting contracts of top 5 players in their position.
August 30th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Better to give the money to a guy who has earned his contract Joe.
McCoy, Freeman, Quincy Black, Bowers, Benn etc. have contributed precious little during their tenure.
Sure, we can spin the “wheel of excuses”, but winning requires the productivity to justify the payroll.
Conversely, Bennett, Blount, Parker and M. Williams have each outplayed their contracts.
August 30th, 2012 at 10:24 am
dead on buxter
August 30th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Hey Joe…. You write as if josh freeman is automatically getting a new deal… I think freeman is a below average qb so far…. He has looked worse this preseason…. If he doesn’t have an above average year I hope Dominik has the balls and common sense to move on… Find a qb who can read a defense…
August 30th, 2012 at 10:41 am
Let Bennett earn it, so far he has the position because of attrition.
I’m not convinced that Josh is the QB of the future. He may not be the QB by the end of the season. He has played terribly and if he wasn’t “the franchise QB”, he might not have made the team.
The best QB, without a starting job, is Ryan Mallett of the Patriots. I would offer Belicheat a #1, #5, #7 and Orlavsky to pry Mallett away from the Pats.
When I watched Gruden’s QB Camps, the best by far was Mallett. He fell in the draft because of some bogus character issues even less substantiated than Warren Sapp’s.
Come on Rockstar, pull the trigger and we save this season. We have one of the best receivers in Buc history and no way to get him the ball except for the dreaded Benn around. Make the trade and Mallett starts by the bye week. Keep Freeman as an understudy.
August 30th, 2012 at 10:50 am
Migue,l you should be banned for making such a stupid comment.
August 30th, 2012 at 11:28 am
I don’t think Parker has outplayed his contract. Isn’t it a brand new one this year? Something like $2.5 million? Maybe I’m mistaken on the figure.
August 30th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Parker hasn’t outplayed squat for a contract.
As for trading for Mallett, I agree he might be available as he’s third on the Pats depth chart behind Brady and Hoyer. However, the Pats tend to drive a hard bargain so I’m not sure Dominik would give them what they’d want.
That being said, I’m definitely not opposed to bringing in some real competition for Freeman (Orlovsky is NOT competition). It will only bring out his very best…or at worst it could expose his inconsistency even further and drop him into a backup role. Interesting proposition.
August 30th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Implausible? Sure, but I’d take Mallett over Freeman in a heartbeat.
August 30th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Agreed that if Freeman is as Vinnie-rific as he’s been for a year now, it’s time to cut bait and retain those players who have performed.
August 30th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
If Mallett is the Pats #3 forget the #1 pick, let’s trade a #5, four #7 picks and Orlavsky for Mallett. Number 3 QB’s are not even active during games and Belicheat would be crazy not to trade.
Unless Belicheat is trying to be butch and toughen up Mallett in some kind weird psychological ploy, I can’t believe Mallett is the worst QB in New England. In my opinion, he’s the best. He’s clearly outplayed Brady.
He didn’t cost NE much and they could turn a quick painless profit.
Come on, Rockstar, bust a move!!
August 30th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
“Implausible? Sure, but I’d take Mallett over Freeman in a heartbeat.”
On what grounds? He can throw hard?
He can’t move. He’s got an ego the size of Jupiter and we haven’t even seen him once throw against a starting defence let alone in a regular season game.
Freeman is a year removed from what a 25td and 8 int season? He did not throw a single pick in the preseason this year and has good yards in the limited action. He even outplayed Tom Brady if you want to go that route.
Now if we had Mark Sanchez then I’d could see the talk because he has thrown several INT and they haven’t scored a single touchdown.
But you take Mallet on anything but a hunch?
August 30th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
In my opinion, Mallett is the best QB in the last two years coming out of the draft. I base my opinion on his body of work at Arkansas and I believe with two years as Brady’s understudy at NE, he ready to play.
If Freeman regains his 2010 form, we’ve got no problem, but if he plays like 2011 and 2012, we’ll have a viable solution. Schiano should be on the phone to his buddy Belicheat this morning softening him up.
August 30th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
If he plays like 2012? 2012 hasn’t even started yet.
August 30th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
We’ve all seen Josh 2012 and if anything, he’s taken all the heat off GMC and Talib for the goat of the year so far.
August 30th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
@Optimus Troll: Bennett becomes a luxury only if Bowers and Clayborn are healthy and play like superstars, that’s a big if. Right now, Bennett is the best D-lineman on the roster, Clayborn included.
August 30th, 2012 at 2:30 pm
I’m going to lay off Freeman for the first half of the season as much as I can, but know this for certain: if he continues his inconsistent ways this year the fans are going to turn on him more than any other player on this team in the latter half of the season. I can already see the tide just barely beginning to turn with a lot of fans. Their patience won’t last the entire season before they start looking at 2013 draft prospects at the QB position, and I can’t say I blame them either.
August 30th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Pay with Davin Joseph’s money. He Has to reduce salary to stay next season. He’s hurt and we can’t afford his salary for an unsure commodity.
With Bennett’s flexibility we can def use him clayborn and d’q like the giants did
August 31st, 2012 at 1:57 am
Trade Black and Benn, that might help a bit.