“If It’s Not Forced”
April 22nd, 2013
“Mark, let’s skip the late-round QB and go with a Big East linebacker.”
Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik has wanted no part of competition for Josh Freeman since Freeman was drafted.
Last year, Greg Schiano wanted nothing to do with competition for Freeman, either. Backup Dan Orlovsky got no work with the first team. And, well, journeyman Orlovsky was the only backup.
But now it seems the Bucs’ philosophy might be moving in the other direction. Greg Schiano said he wanted competition for Freeman in January, then Schiano backpedaled, then he reiterated, then he backpedaled, then he performed some sort of medley of wanting competition but not needing it specifically at QB, only as a core belief. Joe’s really enjoyed all the competition theater (and dancing) — while the Bucs have done nothing at QB other than effectively squeeze Orlovsky into a pay cut.
Today at One Buc Palace, Dominik was asked about drafting a QB and said the Packers have served themselves well drafting several late-round quarterbacks over the years, so perhaps that’s a wise approach.
Specifically, Dominik said he’d be happy to draft a QB this year “if it’s not forced,” meaning as long as the guy fits the Bucs’ draft-board rankings and predraft plans.
Of course, as Dominik knows well, in the modern NFL, teams reach for quarterbacks all the time, and QBs are overvalued.
The Bucs’ decision on whether to draft a QB comes probably down to whether they want one or not. Joe’s not convinced the New Schiano Order has any interest. There’s just no evidence to support it.
April 22nd, 2013 at 7:25 pm
I’d be okay with this only if, we get a Cb and NT in the process, Te is a luxury at this point IMO, Like adding Rims to a Cadillac, however it is intriguing to think about.
April 22nd, 2013 at 7:42 pm
If a QB they have rated highly slips to them, I can see us taking a QB in this years draft.
You never know, a good one can fall between the cracks, like Russell Wilson did last year.
April 22nd, 2013 at 7:48 pm
Please get a QB with an IQ above 100
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:00 pm
There’s no evidence? Schiano flip flopping on his opinion/commitment to freedom isnt enough evidence to think theyll draft a qb they like if hes there?
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:02 pm
Revis threw out the first pitch at the rays game and the rays are putting on a show for him ,3 HR its only the third inning.REVIS IS THERE WITH AN OLD SCHOOL BUC HAT,I SAW IT ON HIM IN AN INTERVIEW AT THE GAME!
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:04 pm
I MUST SAY HE LOOKS GOOD IN THE OLD SCHOOL ORANGE HAT.BUCS SUPER BOWL CHAMPS 2013!
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:07 pm
Khaseem greene
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Why waste a draft pick on a back-up?? Wait until next year, & if needed, draft a starter.
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:21 pm
OK, berate me if you must, but here’s a thought. Watching this site’s favorite 4 letter network this weekend, they had a piece about JaMarcus Russell. Now, I’m not saying bring the guy in to be the starter, but at one point, the guy had a lot of potential. In his 3 years, he missed his rookie training camp due to holdout. His 2nd year there was a coaching change mid-season. His 3rd year he had 2 deaths in the family in the off-season and was horribly out of shape. He’s been out 3 years, but has been working with Jeff Garcia in San Diego, losing weight, working on being a QB again. As a backup, earning veteran minimum, he’d be a QB with a strong arm, ability to run when needed, similar in size and ability to Freeman, potential “competition” for Freeman, and no worse than Orlovsky as a clip-board holder. He lives in Mobile, AL, so Tampa might be appealing as an option. It’s really a no-risk situation. Get a former #1 overall pick as a backup to our 1st round QB purely as insurance. I would never expect him to step on the field, but would feel more comfortable with the pure skill-set he brings over that of Orlovsky.
OK, bring on the hate now…
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:31 pm
JOE,
DID YOU SEE THE REVIS INTERVIEW AT THE RAYS GAME.I KNOW YOUR WATCHING THE RAYS BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THE YANKS.
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:31 pm
@Buc’N’It
Our TE situation is not currently like a Cadillac. Drafting a TE in round 3 or later would be like painting the flames down the side of a powder blue Gremlin to make a replica “Murphmobile.”
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:37 pm
Dominik mentioned he feels pretty good about his starting lineup on both sides of the ball, which couldn’t be said for the last few years. This is the perfect time to grab a QB, being that you don’t have as many holes to fill and can mainly draft for depth at multiple positions. While this group of QB’s isn’t the greatest, they should (and probably will) grab a QB that can spend a year learning the system and either compete to take over for Freeman next year or remain as Freeman’s backup and possibly be a trade asset down the line (ala Washington drafting RGIII and Cousins in the same year).
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:38 pm
That being said joe, I agree w an earlier post of yours. Landry Jones with one of the two fourth round picks would be smart. There are some people who think he’s the best qb in the whole draft. I’m not sure they’re wrong. He’s big with a canon and even Gruden said he was super smart. I think he would put immediate pressure on Freeman. With a…5% chance to beat him out outright.
April 22nd, 2013 at 8:55 pm
wow man, what happened to Bjoern Werner’s stock? he was projected to go in the top 10 a couple of months ago, but now theres talk that he could fall all the way to the 3rd round. I guess thats good news for us because if we want him he could be had with our second round pick.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:03 pm
@ BamBamBuc
you son of a… just kidding. Im not going to berate you. quite the contrary, I will applaud you for thinking outside the box. if Jamarcus Russell is actual serious this time about being a QB in the NFL then I see no problem with bringing him in for a closer look. thats a big if though.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:06 pm
I say grab a QB in the 4th round if theres one there worth taking and looking at NFL.coms Predict The Pick thing, n id take any of those in the 4th, id even take Landry Jones if hes there, hes not even on that list, or that Tyler Brey dude) if ronde comes back then i say we go 2nd- Kawaan Short, 3rd- Tight End, 4th QB n RB (theres quite a few running backs id be okay with taking, more than i originally thought, get one especially if we trade Blount) maybe RB in the 5th n grab another DLine in the 4th. If Ronde doesnt come back then definately grab a CB in the 2nd or trade back into 1st.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:17 pm
Andrew,
Absolutely, only bring him in for a look, talk to Jeff Garcia and see what he’s thinking or seeing. It’s just a possible veteran minimum backup to Freeman with more potential than Orlovsky. If he’s serious, he may actually be competition. If not, it is a no lose situation. Cut him and move on. I’m purely looking from a one year perspective. If the pass D, run D, run O and pass O are in place for this year, we can’t afford to drop off from Freeman to Orlovsky (or a mid round rookie) and still have any chance of doing anything with this season. Russell, if serious, is purely an insurance policy against a Freeman injury or melt-down. We could still draft a guy in the 4th round, nothing wrong with that too.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:33 pm
It’s a decent year for project QB’s, then again it’s a good year to build DT, CB, O-Line, and TE depth. If Dominik feels like our roster is strong enough to use a pick on a developmental QB then go for it.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:39 pm
JaMarcus Russell? It’s never been a question of physical ability with him, I don’t think he’ll ever have the head for the game. Nothing Garcia says would ever change my mind about that. I’ve heard reports that he’s still 300+ pounds. For a guy supposedly working hard to get back into the league he sure must not be working hard enough.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:42 pm
If Free for any reason goes down, is everybody confident Dan O could lead the team to the playoffs, I think not. They need to make some kind of move for a serious backup to Free. It’s a big gamble not doing so with expectations high for this year.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Wow look at that great crowd at the Rays game…… Said no one ever
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:54 pm
If Freeman looses it again by game 5 we had better have a viable backup ready. We can’t afford to have another moon walking wannabe masquerading as a quarterback. If Freeman gets serious about playing football instead of being Mr Hollywood we might be able to get a wild card this year.
April 22nd, 2013 at 9:59 pm
i would love to pick up Bray, Wilson or Dyfert…. other than that not so much
April 22nd, 2013 at 10:11 pm
I don’t see how anyone can suggest we shouldn’t draft a QB. It’s been so long since we’ve had a competent back up QB, I can’t remember. Used to be people thought having a backup capable of winning games was a good idea. What happened?
April 22nd, 2013 at 10:33 pm
Tyler bray had a good line and two very good nfl ready receiver in Patterson and hunter.dont want him.landry jones would be great.if bjorn falls to the second rnd how do we not take him unless we trade into the first.his raw potential is outstanding.guy plays only on speed and strength, imagine learning from schiano and clayborn/bowers.
I sometimes find sports science on espn ridiculous but the piece on EJ Manuel today was outstanding.if the guy is essentially the next roethlicberger or kapernik than damn that’s a hard pass up.ball security is an issue but you can’t teach raw talent and accuracy…
April 22nd, 2013 at 10:41 pm
BamBamBuc,
I would rather bring in Matt Leinhart or Vince Young. I don’t think you should ever sign a player without intending for them to play at some point.
What I really want is to draft Landry Jones in rd 4.
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Ok here is my dream draft, may be a pipe dream at best.
2 – Margus Hunt – DE
3 – Darius Slay or Blidi Wren Wilson – CB
4 – Vance McDonald – TE
4 – Tyler Bray – QB
5 – Nico Johnson – ILB
6 – Denard Robinson – WR/KR
6 – Another CB
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:09 pm
Dominick said something amazing, “if it is not forced”
BPA! BPA! BPA! BPA!
This approach will turn us around and give us the best possible chance to win now, and over the long haul.
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:15 pm
No worries, we will draft a QB.
Josh needs to toughen up mentally and gear up for a 16 game haul.
As easy as Freeman makes the game look sometimes, when he is hot, he makes some boneheaded decisions. I liken his play to my dog’s behavior: Sometimes he does things that make you drop your jaw and think “wow, what a smart animal”, only to follow it up with something unmistakably STUPID. There is just no in-between with his play. He needs to show some resolve and find a way to win consistently, at all costs.
I hope we can trade back if the pieces aren’t aligned. No need to deviate from the BPA and board, we are going to be so much better for this approach.
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:15 pm
@joe or anyone who wants to give feedback.
What does thedeal signed by revis, Vincent Jackson, Carl nicks and the way we treat ronde say to other potential free agents that we might look at. In the revis deal it was only the bucs interested and the player had no say, but I say these things give us a great leg up on other teams if we ever were to be in a potential free agent fight in the future. Any thoughts?
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:25 pm
@ Orlando
my thoughts are… players follow the money and we got plenty of it, or at least we did anyway. our huge cap space that we built up over the years really came in handy. but I dont think you have to worry about wooing anymore high priced free agents for the next couple of years, sans our own so to be free agents. now all we need to do as build our team around those free agent pickups through the draft and from role players.
April 22nd, 2013 at 11:52 pm
jpbuc, why would you draft an ILB? Our need is outside.
April 23rd, 2013 at 12:00 am
Really, Dominick only brought us one big FA this year. Personally I would have liked a better backup QB but it is what it is.
Dominick has only gone for the younger free agents (with Ronde being the exception). Hopefully we’ll get depth along both lines and stay healthier this year. Biggest need? My vote is on DT.
I still think Ellis should be brought in as depth…our line coach might turn things aroung for him.
April 23rd, 2013 at 12:51 am
Hey, I’m not saying “don’t” draft a QB in the 4th round. I just don’t think whoever that is will be competent enough to win a few games if forced to play. That said, I would look at any vet QB that has a better skillset than Orlovsky, even if they’ve had issues in the past. That doesn’t discount Leinart or Young, although Russell would also be more cap friendly. According to reports, he has been losing weight and should be at his goal of 270 by next month when he starts working out for individual teams. Yeah, that’s still huge, but he’s played at that weight before and it’s not a heck of a lot bigger than Free has played at. Wasn’t Free up to about 260 or 265 at one point? I’m also not saying we should sign any of those guys, but to bring a guy in and ask a few question, maybe get a physical at least gets an idea of whether it’s worth the risk or not to have a guy that could possibly win a few games. As for whether Russell has the head for the game, remember, he missed his rookie camps due to holdout, and when Garcia was in Oakland it was the year his head was all messed up losing a couple family members. Three years removed from that may allow him to be more focused on the game and actually do something. If not, what’s the loss? Cut the guy or never sign him…. Just saying it’s better than Dan O….
April 23rd, 2013 at 2:46 am
per espn:
Bucs restructure Cody Grimm’s contract
April, 22, 2013 9:15 PM ET
By Pat Yasinskas | ESPN.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Cody Grimm recently took a cut in pay, presumably to keep his spot on the roster as the Bucs have rebuilt their secondary.
Grimm, who started nine games as a rookie in 2010 but has started only three games since then, took a $500,000 reduction in pay.
Grimm had been scheduled to earn $1.2 million in 2013. But the new deal calls for Grimm to make only $700,000. The Bucs freed up $500,000 in cap room with the restructure.
With Dashon Goldson and Mark Barron set as the starters, Grimm will go to training camp competing for a backup spot and a place on special teams.
April 23rd, 2013 at 10:32 am
Personally I would give Orlovsky more first team reps just in case Freeman were to go down. If Freeman struggles this year, there will be a crop of decent QB’s in next years draft I would target. There just seems to be a weak class of QB’s this year, so I wouldn’t bother. JMO
April 23rd, 2013 at 10:47 am
@Bonzai
We can always use backups and maybe Mason Foster could slide outside if needed. I really was just looking at best LB available.