“Tailor-Made” Vs. “Custom-Built”
April 28th, 2013Joe can’t wait to see the differences, if any, between new Bucs nose tackle Akeem Spence and departed Roy Miller.
Last year, Greg Schiano raved about Miller and called him the “custom-built” nose tackle for the Buccaneers defense. Yesterday, Schiano was extremely fired up about Spence and says he’s “tailor-made” for Tampa Bay.
“We didn’t use that pick for him to watch,” Schiano said of Spence. “You know, we want him in the mix and competing. We think he’s tailor-made for what we do defensively. We really do. Like Mark [Dominik] said, we went to get him.”
On Spence, the guy the Bucs moved up for in the fourth round, rockstar general manager Mark Dominik confirmed he is “a tilt nose tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.” Dominik said the Bucs had Spence directly targeted and didn’t want to “miss or lose him” and called him a consistent force inside.
Will the Bucs be improved at nose tackle in 2013?
That might depend on how Schiano defines “custom-built” and “tailor made.”
April 28th, 2013 at 9:41 am
Spent some time writing up a few nuggets on the recently signed UDFAs. More will likely come as well as tryout players by the end of the week. Judging from the UDFA’s signed, the Bucs are still intent on improving the secondary, first and foremost.
A few are camp bodies, some look like threats to win roster spots. The list isn’t complete yet as the Bucs are one of the few teams to have tryout camps.
Robert Marve, QB, Purdue-6’1 212-transferred from Miami. History of ACL injuries to left knee. Strong arm, good mobility (4.81) still. Solid player that COULD contend for a practice squad spot.
Akrem Shavers, RB, Purdue-5’10 198-another signee from Purdue, has good speed and quickness (4.48-some had as low as 4.35, 39″ VJ, 6.89 3cone). Moderately productive, 871 yards. Ability to return kicks could give him outside chance of making team.
Montel Harris, RB, Temple-5’8 208-former BC starter was kicked off the team for disciplinary reason and resurfaced with Temple. Has seemingly been around forever and his play seems like it. A hard charging, slightly speed deficient (4.57) smaller back, rushed for over 1000 yards this past season (though 356 came against Army). Has talent to stick as a 2nd or 3rd RB but has a history of character and knee issues.
Hubie Graham, TE, Pitt. 6’3 237-Too small to be effective blocking, too slow to be effective running routes (4.93), Graham projects best as a camp body that may or may not make it to see the start of training camp.
Evan Landi, TE, USF, 6’3 240-Local product dosn’t have much size or speed (4.87). Very similar to Graham in his chances to make an impact.
Chris Denton, WR, Mount Union-5’10 193-ran 4.67 but showed good explosion in other drills. Trying to use experience as punt returner to help make roster. Was fairly explosive as a returner…for Div III.
Tim Wright, WR, Rutgers-6’3 219-Good sized but slow (4.65) former Schiano recruit has a little explosiveness (36″ VJ) may have to try to make it as a move TE.
Nick Speller, OT, UMass, 6’5 300-Weighed in lighter than expected at Pro Day (listed at 334), transferred from Syracuse. Known as more of a mauler and tested that way (5.23, 24.5″ VJ) in everything but the bench press (15!). Will probably tried inside at OG because he has problems with speed…. but might not be big enough to hold up inside.
Brice Schawb, OT, ASU, 6’7 303-Huge frame, projects better at RT where his limited athleticism (5.35 26″ VJ) and good upper body strength (29 reps) will do him some good.
Nick Carlson, C Wyoming, 6’3 298-Smallish, limited phone booth athlete was 1st team All-Mountain West. Tested okay (5.28 29″ VJ 28 BP). Has a shot to win backup OC role.
Willie Moseley, LB Buffalo, 6’4 232-Projects as a Mike or Sam for Bucs. Speed (4.77) is a big issue, as is functional strength (16 BP). Best/only hope is as special teamer.
Branden Smith, CB, Georgia, 5’10 172-Small and fast (4.38), troubled with some off field issues (arrested for drug possession in spring. If he can keep clean and work hard, has a shot as a nickel CB. Also returns kicks.
Rashaan Melvin, CB, Northern Illinois, 6’2 192-Yet another long CB. This one can really run though (4.42 38″ VJ). Played at high level during senior season and due to experience and athletic ability, has shot at sticking.
Deveron Carr, CB, ASU, 6’0 187-Yet another good, draftable CB picked up as an UDFA. All three CBs thus far have legitimate chances to stick on the final roster. Has a ton of speed (4.36) and was Pac-10 Honorable Mention. Like many of the other prospects, can also help out as a kick returner. It wouldn’t surprise me if all 3 CBs make the final roster/practice squad.
April 28th, 2013 at 9:42 am
If I’m not mistaken, I believe Joe specifically had predraft articles on Marve and Carr.
April 28th, 2013 at 9:56 am
@Brandon
Nice writeup! Thanks for the info
April 28th, 2013 at 10:02 am
Okay Viking we traded up for u now go and make us former Vikings proud!
April 28th, 2013 at 10:07 am
Spence was a good pick. The 4th round was just a great round for us.
April 28th, 2013 at 10:07 am
I have to apologize for an earlier post I made and pay the Bucs a compliment for a job well done the past 3 days. After selecting Means, who I could not find any decent reviews for, then selecting Gholston, who I pray will not be the second coming of his brother Vernon, and trading away Blount for a day old sandwich, I was not happy with Mark Dominik’s draft work. And I will admit, I know nothing about who these players are. Like almost anyone who reads Joe’s fine work, I rely on articles and player reviews that I read.
Since then, I accidently stumbled onto an interesting SI web page that lists all of the players selected by each team, on a team by team basis.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/draft-2013/tracker/#teams/buccaneers
This listing includes grades for each player that team selected. I wanted to see how the Bucs compared against the teams I think do a great job of player evaluations, namely the Packers, Ravens, Steelers, Giants, 49ers and (new to this club) Seahawks. In rounds 2-4 the Bucs had better player grades (in many cases, much better) then all of those teams except the 49ers.
So, Mark Dominik, thank you for doing a truly fine job these past three days and in free agency. I am excited to see the end product next season and how far (not if) we can go in the playoffs.
April 28th, 2013 at 10:14 am
What ever happened to Peter Duetcher? That guy used to write articles IN the comments section.
Joe, since you have sooo many readers now, making their points, I think you should sponsor 1 article a day or week by your users. So of like a contest. Obviously you get to be the judge and editor, but have your users submit an article by way of a contest. Then the chosen winner gets his post published, with his handle as the author.
That would be fun an quite engaging.
April 28th, 2013 at 10:17 am
Too funny Joe. As soon as I heard Schiano say “tailor-made” I thought of you going on about Roy Miller. Was curious if you caught that in the interview.
April 28th, 2013 at 10:23 am
Yes, we’re SOOOO much better now with this 4th round Tailor-made NT with no experience than we were with our former starter drafted in the 3rd round with a few years experience playing with the big boys. (sarcasm)
April 28th, 2013 at 10:43 am
Can’t afford te keep everyone BamBam, especially after signing BPA in free agency at FS and then traded #1 for BPA at CB… those stars needed to be paid. You pay stars, you fill in other areas with cheap draft picks.
Besides, the Bucs will need to re-sign Freeman and Williams before free agency.
We couldnt afford to keep Miller or Bennett.
All has turned out well.
April 28th, 2013 at 11:01 am
Other than our first pick this is a wait and see draft. Bucs Fan #238, those stars that needed to be paid were paid peanuts by other teams. We could absolutly have afforded to pay to keep them. Wether Freeman needs to be re-sgned or not has not been decided yet.
April 28th, 2013 at 11:01 am
‘Tailor made’ is younger, cheaper, and healthier than ‘custom built’. Likely has more upside as well.
April 28th, 2013 at 11:38 am
400-600k rookie contract is much less than 5,000 k (5 million). Keep in mind, Bennet wanted 10 million and wouldnt even let Tampa match 5 million.
April 28th, 2013 at 11:42 am
There is a reason why ownership loves Mark D… and it is for moves like that.
Great organization.
Next season, we can add the best DE in free agency if required.
Who would we even need to add next year? I don’t even know now… the holes have been filled.
April 28th, 2013 at 11:47 am
I dunno, I think Joe might be be reading too much into the coach’s
‘cliche-speak’. Seems like coach was struggling for something good to say for the pen & mike club, about both players.
April 28th, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Roy Miller was OK as a player, but not much more then that. Even Gary Gibson played pretty mucht at the same level. So no real reason to pay big bucks for that production. Try this rookie and see if he can develop. In the meantime Gary Gibson and Derek Landri can fill in.
April 28th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Bennett also had a nagging shoulder injury. We’ll have a chance to sign him next season, if he gets healthier and keeps producing. Smart move by Dom.
April 28th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
Yep… Let’s take a run down the list shall we?
1) Barrett Ruud – Had a chance to re-sign him in free agency the next season
2) Geno Hayes – Had a chance to resign him
3) Aqib Talib – Had a chance to resign him
4) Michael Bennett – Will have a chance as he signed a one year deal
His track record of reading the tea leaves, letting people walk, only to right is quite impressive.
I have a feeling Blount is gonna barely make the Pats squad.
April 28th, 2013 at 1:48 pm
I understand we can’t keep everyone, but it bothers me seeing people talk like we’ve upgraded, when in actuality we’ve probably taken a small step back at the position. Last year it was Najee Goode is gonna start next to Foster and David… um, not even close. Now it’s Sean Means is gonna be our SLB (even though they say he’s gonna play DE) or Mike James is as good or better for our team than Blount. James has shown nothing in the NFL yet, Blount has. God forbid anything should happen to Martin, we have nobody behind him now. And at $1.75M, it wasn’t like Blount was breaking our bank. No, we wouldn’t have gotten anything for him next year, he’d have left in free agency, but we really didn’t get anything for him this year either. And don’t say Demps…. he’s shown nothing either. Blount has more yards in one season (10 games) than Leonard, Smith, James, and Demps have combined in the NFL (total 8 seasons between them) and almost triples the total over the 2010-11 seasons. And we got a 7th round pick… for an inexpensive insurance policy for Martin.
I understand letting Bennett go, Bowers needs to be the guy. Last year, everyone was screaming we needed better depth at DE when Clayborn went down. We have Teo, and now Gholston, but I won’t say that’s better than Clayborn and Bennett with Teo and Bowers as depth. The Miller for Gibson/Landri/Spence move may be a wash. Cheaper without much drop off, but Bennett used to move inside when GMC needed a break. Who do we have as a 3-tech backup? Bowers? Again, I don’t think we improved depth, and it probably dropped a bit.
Overall, the addition of Goldson and Revis makes an overall positive for the team. We improved more than we declined. No doubt about that, but we can’t keep doing that in FA, or we will exceed the cap next year. The Glennon pick was a luxury we didn’t have this year. If Freeman fails, we will need a QB next year (Bridgewater, Fales, Manziel, etc….). Much better QB class, again a much cheaper option than Freeman if he doesn’t pan out, but better than Glennon. So, why Glennon in the 3rd? Why not “real” depth, improvement on the DL? Because this year is “make or break”, Super Bowl bound or bust for the Bucs? I’d love to see it, but think we’re still several pieces away from being consistent contenders. RT, SLB, TE to name a few. We’re one injury to an OL or RB away from a potentially disastrous offensive year. Didn’t have to be that way.
April 28th, 2013 at 2:47 pm
@ Bam Bam
Bennet was not the backup 3 tech he slid inside occasionally on sure passing downs and so2 did Bowers so that is not any type of consideration that went into decision making . The thing with Miller was he was limited, very limited he could hold at the point of attack and was decent against the run but that was it he provided no push or pass rush at all. They want a more explosive player there this is a 1 gap scheme which means you penetrate through your gap and play in the other teams backfield, Roy just didn’t do that he is more of a 2 gap type of player. Also I keep hearing people complain about the Sam lb spot but the fact is this isn’t a spot where you invest money and it never has been, the only reason black got paid was because Rah envisioned him as a 3rd down rusher (which never panned out) think about our sams of the past only one really was worth anything and theyoved him to mike (quarles) . It just isn’t a big money spot and they will use Watson to fil in or casllias . We can’t have stars everywhere it’s not fiscally possible, so you pick your spots on D in a 4-3 man scheme you need good de’s , a great 3tech , a great Willy, a good but not great Mike, 2 really good cbs and decent safeties. I bet noone can even name the best 4-3 Sam lb in the league because they don’t get any love they just put Willys and mikes on the probowl team Hell the year we won the SB our Sam was Al Singleton ( nothing to write home about) the point is depending on your scheme their are some positions more important than others and in our current scheme the slb and the nt are the least valued spots . Same thing on Offense with the rt and TE spot just not gonna invest a ton there .
April 28th, 2013 at 3:32 pm
I checked out that SI link. Mr. Irrelevant got a far better grade than our 5th and 6th rounders put together.
April 28th, 2013 at 3:53 pm
+1 Oahubuc!
April 28th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
bucsguy: I’m not in disagreement. Rarely is there ever a “complete” team. And there are certain points of emphasis more important in some systems over others. I tend to agree with your analysis. Funny thing is, I even agree with the positions we took players at, just not the rounds. Glennon was a horrible pick. DT or DE was available with much higher potential for success. Damontre Moore may have a knock as not having the highest motor, but as a rotational DE with Bowers and Clayborn? Just gotta turn it on every 3 or 4 downs. Better value, better potential. As for Franklin from UCLA in the 4th, if we’d taken Moore in the 3rd, like we should have, we don’t need Gholston (who’s strength at DE is listed as “ties up Guards well”, really? a DE?). That allows us to get Franklin using one of our 6th rounders to move up, or maybe just swap 6ths with someone to move up, only needed 2 spots. Then we’d have Moore, Spence, Franklin, and (insert QB here) which I think is better than Glennon, Spence, Gholston and James. Time will tell.
April 28th, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Pre-draft grades mean absolutely nothing until these rookies start playing. There have been way too many 3-6 round players turn out to be excellent football players to say that a guy is going to turn out according to his pre-draft grade. This is especially true with QB’s. A guy like Glennon with all the tools and our offensive line could turn out to be a stud. Look what he did against Florida State, Clemson and others and his O-line and receivers sucked. This guy is like Josh Freeman with brains. His football IQ is high and he’s got a 3.8 GPA. Give him a chance to get groomed and I would feel confident with him if Freeman went down.
April 28th, 2013 at 5:18 pm
@ bam bam
I also thought they should have grabbed Moore instead of glennon, I stated on another postthe problem with Free is his consistency and guess what the book on Glennon is. We could have got him in the 5th rnd I believe.
April 28th, 2013 at 6:14 pm
+1 bucsguy
Another fan understands.
April 28th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Let’s get this straight right here…. players that fall down the draft board for poor combines and pro-days may turn out to be good players that had bad days. Players that fall down draft boards because they’re poor character/bad decisions may turn out to be good players (although may end up suspended due to bad decisions/poor character). Players that slide down the draft board because they’re really not that good, tend to be not that good. We got a guy that is not that good. His character is fine, his post-season was fine… he’s just not that good. Oh yeah, he has a big arm…
April 28th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Its a good thing Mark D is much more informed than you internet clowns who dont scout, dont watch the guys at prodays, gamefilm or even have an entire multi-million dollar scouting department who does all of the above and more.
Using Mel Kipers big board or any other macro ranking system that you find on the internet does not enable you to rank 4th, 5th and 6th rounders, much less UDFAs.
But if you had a clue, you would understand this.
April 28th, 2013 at 7:26 pm
you people have way to much free time on your hands, its Florida, get off the computer and get a life
April 29th, 2013 at 12:52 am
Bucsfan 238
U don’t have to be a genius to see that the run on qbs hadn’t started and almost everyone had nasib , Barkley and Wilson ranked higher than glennon so if I think that glennon could have gone round or two later their is evidence to support that. I generally like Dom and his picks but just because he is the gm doesn’t mean he don’t miss how about the 2 players drafted in the 2nd rnd in 2010 Benn and Price they were scouted and watched and interviewed by the guys who took Glennon this year . The fact is you saying acting like people with opinions are idiots is just as stupid as thinking that these scouts and personnel guys don’t screw up , it’s a crap shoot and you can watch film on all these guys with a little thing called YouTube. If you like the Glennon pick great you might be right but there is just as much evidence to say it was a bad pick is their is to say it was a good one.
April 29th, 2013 at 7:32 am
@Bucsguy
“2 players drafted in the 2nd rnd in 2010 Benn and Price”
Really, you’re going to rate Dom’s performance on two guys who got injured even before they saw an NFL snap?
Brian Price was the PAC10 Defensive Player of the Year, the year he was drafted.
Regis Benn was a Big Ten Freshman of the Year and while playing on a crappy Illini team was one of the top receivers in the Big10 his whole college career.
These were two solid picks at the time they were made.
April 29th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
I’m not judging anyone just stating facts, guys miss that’s it. I loved the price pick at the time. All I was saying is that just because GM’s and scouts put in a lot of hrs and are paid doesn’t mean they can’t be wrong. The other post was calling us idiots because we thought glennon was drafted to soon and he may have been and he may be the next Peyton manning the truth is nobody knows. I just used the 2010 picks as an example to prove exactly what we all know it is a crapshoot. Read all the posts before you start arguing.