Lovie Turns To Speedy Rutgers LB
February 19th, 2014
Joe needed a mop to soak up all the irony on this one: the Bucs have signed former Rutgers linebacker Damaso Munoz out of the Canadian Football League.
The 5-11, 220-pound weak side linebacker played four seasons under Greg Schiano at Rutgers and was part of the University High probe in South Florida before heading to the Canadian Football League. He eventually settled in with the Edmonton Eskimos and built up his playing time over the past few seasons.
Shelton Quarles is the Buccaneers’ director of pro scouting, but Lovie Smith also knows a bit about Munoz after giving him a sniff in Bears camp years ago.
From what Joe’s read in reports out of the Edmonton newspapers, Munoz still has the 4.5, 40-yard-dash speed he had in college. That could make the 27-year-old an intriguing body on special teams and at least in possession of the wheels Lovie wants from his linebackers.
Yes, he’s probably just a training camp body. But it’s worth scrutinizing whoever Lovie releases and signs at this point, in order to get a sense of what the new regime is seeking.
February 19th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Greg Schiano knows talent. The man can’t call/coach and NFL gameplan, but he for sure knows talent.
Rockstar’s last two drafts were by far his best, no coincidence.
February 19th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
I completely agree about schiano. I wish we could’ve kept him as a scout or scouting director. Although he probably would’ve still ruined that somehow too. But so far I am overly optimistic about every signing so far. But I’m like this every off season
February 19th, 2014 at 1:38 pm
I like the signing so far.. Nothing too flashy but they do look like a good depth improvement on paper.. Value people, value!
February 19th, 2014 at 1:53 pm
smokescreen. LB and now QB
maybe we are moving up to get johnny kegstand
February 19th, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Is he related to Anthony? You can never have enough speedy LB’s
February 19th, 2014 at 2:09 pm
Munoz has Florida ties (Miami) as does CB Moore (Lakeland)…..makes sense to me to bring these guys in (until it no longer makes sense).
February 19th, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Speed is a high value metric with Lovie.
Makes me wonder yet again what the plan is for Foster and Heyward.
February 19th, 2014 at 2:23 pm
Scour the earth.
February 19th, 2014 at 2:27 pm
you guys are forgetting that under Dungy, the bucs signed Shelton Quarles from the canadian league due to his measurables/speed. That type of linebacker fits Lovie’s scheme and thats why he had him in Chicago before. The young man just probably needed some more seasoning like Quarles took advantage of while in Canada. Dungy/Lovie can careless about where you come from. All that matters is if there is a fit. With 4.5 speed, he would be a perfect backup to David if he pans out.
February 19th, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Hmm does he fit the S. Quarles mold @ MLB in the Tampa 2 ? Sounds like it. Maybe they move M. Foster to SAM. Couldn’t agree more on the last two drafts with Schiano on board.
February 19th, 2014 at 2:35 pm
The Little General was a great talent evaluator. I remember when he groomed Gomer Pyle. Nobody knew what a great singer he was.
Where’s those helmets?
February 19th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
@stevek
Ya he knows talent like Wallace Gilberry George Selvie couldn’t see the field and ultimately cut because of Daniel Te’o… Oh and Bowers couldn’t see the field because of him as well… Traded Blount because he had no use for a quality back up encase Doug got hurt(whoops)… He sure knows talent though…
Pretty sure our drafts got better when we hired Eric Stokes from Seattle and Dom improving at being a GM in general.. You know the guy who brought in the same Selvie and Gilberry and signed Michael Bennett among others … Not some idiot drill sergeant
February 19th, 2014 at 2:52 pm
The little general? I believe Schiano was a college linebacker. He wasn’t a great coach, but little he was not.
February 19th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
RayRay,
I can’t see a 220Lb guy in the Mike. Curious to see if he gets a shot at SLB. Castillas did a good job there before the ACL but it may affect his ability to run.
What we do know is if you play LB in Lovie’s defense, you better be able to run.
February 19th, 2014 at 3:57 pm
Phillip,
We would still be wasting 2nd round draft choices, the last two years, had it not been for Schiano.
We’d still be using premium picks on the likes of Reejus Benn and Brian Price.
With Schiano, he got us Lavonte David and Jonathan Banks in the 2nd round both years.
Dom just wasn’t good enough.
February 19th, 2014 at 4:21 pm
wow!!! no one calling for Lovie’s head cause he signed a Rutgers player… Radio host and fans here would destroy schiano for each Rutgers signing..
for me trust Lovie and staff, but yes i though schaino and mostly Butch davis helped make beter draft decisions…
February 19th, 2014 at 4:22 pm
What’s with the vitriol Phillip? No one could’ve envisioned what those players did once they left here. Blount was lazy, Selvie obviously didn’t show enough in camp and neither did Gilberry. Yeah Blount would’ve been a nice back-up to Martin. He didn’t want it or else he would have worked harder.
Schiano deserves the credit as well as the blame but he is gone. It’s time to move on.
It’s a new day people. I can’t wait to see the new duds!
February 19th, 2014 at 4:31 pm
“Greg Schiano knows talent. The man can’t call/coach and NFL gameplan, but he for sure knows talent.
Rockstar’s last two drafts were by far his best, no coincidence.”
——–
I tend to agree with you, but I’m not 100% sold. For one, he sure misjudged the talent of Bowers by letting Bennett go. I think he was on the right path in looking for leaders (college captains) that really love football, but I also think he cared too much about their personalities. Anyone with an abrasive personality seemed to be out the door. You need to be able to deal with that. Besides, I would say that perhaps Dominik drafted better with experience. Drafting well is not something you can just come in and be great at. You have to fall on your face a few times and learn from it. I truly don’t believe that Schiano came from the college ranks and all of a sudden was a draft guru. Highly unlikely. I’m sure he had a hand in the last 2 drafts, but to give him all the credit for it is a little over the top IMO.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:14 pm
Forgive me but I’m not excited one bit. But then, I’m not really supposed to be yet.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:15 pm
Really, Hawaiian Buc, considering the level of bad press last year, avoiding abrasive personalities was pretty smart.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:24 pm
Philip +1. SteveK -1. Just my scorecard.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:25 pm
@Buccaneer Bonzai,
So you wouldn’t have wanted Michael Bennett on the team last year? Word is, he wasn’t a “Buccaneer Man”. He apparently didn’t want John Abraham for the same reason. Athletes often have abrasive personalities. Hell, I work with people with abrasive personalities all the time. It’s part of the deal, especially as a NFL coach. Here’s an idea – learn to deal with it. Pete Carroll didn’t seem to have any problem with Bennett. This is why Schiano would never have been successful as a NFL coach.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:28 pm
He’s from Miami. So he should be ready for the heat.
February 19th, 2014 at 7:21 pm
I think Dominik got better as he molded and learned from his mistakes….but I don’t think he would’ve hit on David without Schiano. He would’ve taken Banks because he really needed a corner and he was the guy. Schiano for sure had a hand in the last two draft, which is why I am MORE excited about what Tedford brings to the table coming out of college. This will be a fantastic draft for us this year, beside the fact that we give up the 3 for Revis.
As for Bowers, I’m not sure anyone on that line had a chance of reaching they’re potential under Schiano/Sheridan. I am VERY interested to see how they do with some real coaching, along with some new guys brought in as well.
Can’t wait to see those uniforms tomorrow!
February 19th, 2014 at 7:52 pm
@ Hawaiian
Gotta disagree with you on one point…Schiano absolutely could come from college ranks and all of a sudden become a draft guru because one of his strengths has been recruiting talent. He has a good eye for talent. It’s no coincidence there are a decent amount of Schiano-era former Rutgers players on NFL rosters (not just the Bucs and Patriots). I still feel the Bucs should have given him the third year, but since Lovie is more proven I can understand the timing of the Glazer’s move.
February 19th, 2014 at 8:36 pm
Munoz signing means they will let some of their free agent back up lb’s go. Remember the picture Schiano took in NE with all his former players. There must have been around 20 in the picture. NSO’s players got drafted.
February 19th, 2014 at 8:39 pm
In the T-2, if you can play the Sam, you can play all 3 positions… Jeff Gooch played the Sam for us for two seasons at 220 lbs and was pretty effective. Ryan Nece weighed less than 230. I’m not worried about 220 lbs, particularly when the guy is short at 5’11.
February 19th, 2014 at 9:27 pm
@NY Buc Fan,
Having a good eye for talent and being a draft guru are not one in the same. So much more goes into drafting a player versus recruiting a high school kid. They’re really not even that comparable. That’s not a knock on him, as drafting the right players is nearly an impossible task to be great at. I just personally don’t buy the fact that he used his recruiting skills to become an expert in drafting at the NFL level. I also don’t believe that he walked into One Buc as a rookie coach and was allowed to make all the picks on his own, at least I would hope that wasn’t the case.
February 20th, 2014 at 12:17 am
Toes on dat line bitches!
February 20th, 2014 at 12:31 am
Enough already with the SHEano talk! Gone Baby! New day in Tampabay! Just a thought… Lovie is in the Tony Dungy mold with their calm demeanor and ability to coach without violence. Lovie is, indeed, a player’s coach. Very satisfied with his hiring. Having said that, we need a few thugs or questionable character guys on this team! I don’t really miss any ex-bucs, but maybe Talib and Blount. I thought those two guys had a place on our team despite their stupidity. It’s the NFL. You got to be tough as spit! I’m just saying that the “draft team captains” is well and good, but sometimes you just need a couple of badasses like Sapp, L.T., Suh from Detroit etc. D. Goldson is a badass dude. He will light your asp up! He just needs to do so within the rules of the league. I’m not saying he is a thug, just that we don’t need to discard all who step outside the lines, all of the time. With the Buc’s 7th pick in the draft, we need J Clowney. But I hear there are some character questions… do you make a sizeable investment in a player with questionable character? I say…sometimes! In this case you most definitely pull the trigger. He is a potential S. Rice or or Julius Peppers type talent. He would drastically effect our defense, forcing teams to account for his presence. This is where Coach Lovie comes into play. Potentially troubled, but talented young man like Clowney just might zero in on his job and count his money! This IS the most rational and beneficial play. I’m just saying…
February 20th, 2014 at 1:09 am
Hawaiian and Jon’s scorecard,
Just my theory on Schiano “letting Bennett go in favor of Bowers”:
Schiano proclaimed Bowers could be a a 10 sack guy in this league, but meant “Dominick chose to let let a 10 sack guy walk out of here, he better be right about his former 2nd round pick”. Honestly, we may never know, but Schiano’s preseason”boasts of confidence” for Freeman and Bowers were really smoke signals.
For all we know Schiano wanted Bennett back and to trade for Carson Palmer (as Rick Stroud claims the only reason it didn’t happen was because Palmer wasn’t promised a starting gig).
Again, Schiano knows talent. We picked up a Scarket Knight this week. Schiano may not be personable to media, good at in game coaching/adjustments , but that hard headed sumb!tch knows football.
February 20th, 2014 at 9:00 am
Hawaiian Buc Says
“So you wouldn’t have wanted Michael Bennett on the team last year?”
Of course I would have wanted him. Bennett was never a problem before and I don’t see how he would have become one.
I think you are making assumptions on Schiano not thinking Bennett was a Buccaneer Man. I believe Bennett wanted money. He wanted a long contract and a bigger payoff. And when Dominick did not want to give him what he wanted, Bennett walked away.
It was only later, after he tested the Free Agency waters, that Bennett was forced to settle for less than he wanted. He thought he was worth more than he really was. For all we know, that created a wall between him and the Bucs.
Greg Schiano was a draft Guru. Name ANY coach or GM that hit on so many picks. No one has. He hit on 100% of his picks last year. He hit on more than half his picks the year before.
But he lacked in veteran evaluation. Normally the GM can make up for such a lacking. Dominick could not.
btw, when Bennett walked away all huffy, it was only then that the Bucs said they believed Bowers was ready. I don’t think ANYONE bought it.
As far as Abraham, the Bucs did make an offer. He did want to remain in the same division and play against his former team.