Johnthan Banks Holds His Own
July 27th, 2013
It was Johnthan Banks’ first time with pads on this season, the first time taking the field on the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway. First time before thousands of Bucs fans on a steamy day turned comfortable evening.
That wasn’t all. Bucs coach Greg Schiano decided to throw Banks, a second-round draft pick rookie, to the wolves right away. With cornerback Darrelle Revis still on the sidelines, Schiano put Banks up against mostly Vincent Jackson and periodically Mike Williams.
The Mississippi State product didn’t embarrass himself. More often than not he made a play and more importantly, kept Jackson from making one.
In a sense, it may have been a morsel of what Bucs fans can expect from Banks, who discussed the evening with Joe while stadium fireworks were poppping in the background.
“It was a good learning experience to get out here in front of the fans and play in a big stadium and scrimmage against those guys. I was going up against VJax and Mike [Williams], some of the best receivers in the league. I was just out there challenging myself to see where I am at,” Banks said. “I think I did well but I still have a lot to learn and to get better. I just need to keep playing my role on this team and hopefully get us a championship.”
“It felt good to get out there and get physical for the first time. Now I feel like a pro football player.
“The [atmosphere] was great, Buc Nation. The stadium wasn’t even filled but it was loud. It was great. I love it here, I love these fans and I think they love me. It’s great. Just need to start playing some football.”
Banks looked smooth before an estimated crowd of 33,000 Bucs fans. Again, he never got lit up. For a rookie going against a Pro Bowler and a guy on the cusp of the Pro Bowl his first time on the turf of the Stadium on Dale Maybe Highway, that’s damned good in Joe’s eyes.
Hopefully when/if he starts Week One against the Jets, Banks can continue to hold his own against the likes of Braylon Edwards.
July 27th, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Sweet
July 27th, 2013 at 10:05 pm
Great to hear. Keep it up.
July 27th, 2013 at 10:06 pm
Sounds great…because we absolutely know that Williams & Jackson are hard to handle.
Banks will be just fine!!!
July 27th, 2013 at 10:07 pm
Really. How many comp. did Jackson get when Banks was on him? Less than half? This sound great!!!!!
July 27th, 2013 at 10:08 pm
Fantastic to hear. I really thought Banks was a 1st round pick, but his 40 time obviously hurt his draft stock. Thank goodness for that, we got one of the best CBs in the draft (in my opinion). Others may have impressed with 40 time or vertical jump or whatever other drills, but Banks has what it takes on the field.
After hearing some criticism of our offense last year in games 1-4, I went back and watched them again. What really killed us those games? Well, the Giants game it was Aqib Talib getting repeatedly burned by Hakeem Nicks to the point of getting called for defensive holding penalties on two consecutive plays in the second half, then getting burned by Victor Cruz… and Brandon McDonald coming in when Wright went out and Manning attacking him 4 consecutive pass plays, 3 in a row for a TD, then the first play of the next drive.
The other loss I watched was the Redskins game and what really went wrong there was horrible tackling in the secondary. If they could get a short pass completed, it became a longer gain. If they opened a hole for the run game to get past the front 7, it resulted in 2 or 3 more broken tackles to extend the gain. Multiple situations in both games where our D should have gotten off the field, but gave up way too much and our O had no chance to produce more. Not to mention both games had late game melt-downs by our D to blow a lead.
I’m hoping Banks isn’t just great in coverage, but really steps up to make tackles or turn the play inside to his help. This could be the added dimension we lacked last year that will improve both pass and run D. No matter what, we’re better off this year not having to see Talib, Wright, McDonald, etc on the field.
July 27th, 2013 at 10:31 pm
I hope they werent taking it easy on him so that his confidence wouldnt get shattered. something tells me in the dog eat dog that is the NFL, they didnt.
July 27th, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Solid words from a solid personality with solid CB skills and mental makeup. Just an all around solid guy…
July 27th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Frankly, it’s stupid that Banks fell as far as he did in the draft. The only CBs who might have been more obvious pro-ready picks were Milliner and Trufant.
The Raiders always reach for speed, as they did with Hayden. And, I think Rhodes and Slay were both overrated and picked too high. Banks should have been the third CB taken, but he was the sixth. In the second round. Good for us.
July 28th, 2013 at 2:40 am
Im very impressed with Banks so far….Keep it up Buc Man!
July 28th, 2013 at 6:09 am
When watching practice I try not to pay too much attention to the numbers on the jersey to allow myself to make observations without bias. I try to see who stands out. Banks stands out. He doesn’t look like a rookie at all. He looks across at Jackson and Williams and you almost see a caption cloud above his head with the words. “No sweat”. I thought all of the DB’s did well at the night practice. Typically the receivers get the better of the one on one drills in practices, but not last night. The DB’s held tight coverage. I know it’s only one session; but barring injury Banks will be opposite Revis on day one. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson as the nickle DB.