Geeked About Jeff Demps
March 28th, 2014
Part-time football player Jeff Demps.
Yes, Joe loves his fellow Bucs fans but one thing perplexing Joe is people’s constant fixation on running back/wide receiver Jeff Demps. Joe doesn’t get it.
Perhaps it is Gators fans pushing the narrative? Or, do fans believe Demps is some secret weapon who will ride in on a white horse and save the franchise?
It’s understandable how one would like to have Demps’ speed on the roster, and if he is a Buccaneer, head coach Lovie Smith is excited to tinker with him.
“I’ve never had the chance to coach the fastest guy in the NFL,” Lovie said. “We talked about his commitment to football. He loves track, but he considers himself a football player. And he’s anxious to get started with whatever position we ask him to player, whether it’s running back, wide receiver, returning kicks.
“We want to see what he does best.”
He’s not a “former” track star, yet. Demps still has his primary goal of competing in the 2016 Olympics Games. This is why Joe gives little to no expectation of anything from Demps.
Look, his goal is to compete if not win a medal in the Olympics. That’s a noble goal for anyone and Joe’s not going to knock him for trying to reach that goal. But until he reaches that goal, football is little more than a hobby.
For an NFL player to be productive, he can’t treat football as little more than a hobby, a sideshow, a distraction. Joe can only think of a handful of guys that can/could pull that off and, sorry, Demps is not Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson or even Jameis Winston.
If Demps ever gives up on chasing his dream — Joe hopes he doesn’t — and decides to concentrate on football 365 days a year, then he might be valuable addition to the Bucs in Jeff Tedford’s offense.
Until that time when Demps gives up on track, Joe’s not going to lose a wink of sleep worrying about what he could do.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:04 pm
Demos is a scrub
March 28th, 2014 at 3:08 pm
Good thing his name is Demps.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:09 pm
Love the insight, pablo.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Schiano forced him on the field too early last year.
So he tore his groin.
But man did he look fast!
March 28th, 2014 at 3:12 pm
The guy got hit once and ripped his groin, he is a track star he isn’t a football player. He is a below average kick returner check his stats last season. I don’t expect more from him than just being a training camp body..
March 28th, 2014 at 3:18 pm
The guy is fast. Speed is good. It’s not that crazy to think he could add a nice dimension to a spread offense. Very few football players concentrate on football 365 days a year. There are a lot of players that are scratch golfers and you don’t get good at golf without constant practice. A guy training to be as as fast as he can be (even in the context of track speed) is a good thing. If he focuses on football during the actual season then he could potentially make some plays. Catching a dump pass and running is not rocket science. We haven’t seen speed on the Bucs in years, that’s why he’s a bit exciting.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:19 pm
He may have potential for some big plays, yet Belicheat let him go. His ability to remain healthy playing football is questionable.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:22 pm
Ya he actually played in the sec for four years. He isn’t just a “track guy” trying out football.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
Now that DB can’t hit anymore, he needs to switch to WR. He’s too fragile to play in the backfield
March 28th, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Shut down track and focus on football Mr. Demps. Anything can happen between now and 2016, live for today not tomorrow.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Demps didn’t really cost us much….was a throw-in…..but in order to realize the benefit, he has to be used properly.
Use him in 2 back sets & in the slot….hell just as a decoy, he presents problems for a defense.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:29 pm
“Schiano forced him on the field too early last year.
So he tore his groin.”
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I can’t stand Schiano, but even for me this is absolutely ridiculous. He had 1 carry and like 2 catches!!! How much slower do you want to bring him along? He runs for a freaking living!!! It’s not like his injury was a contact injury. There’s plenty to blame on Schiano, but Demps tearing his groin is not one of them.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
Trade him to the Raiders with their philosophy of “Speed is the only thing that matters in the NFL” we could probably get at least a 3rd round pick out of them
March 28th, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Gator fan here. It’s nice to have him on the roster to see if he can help, but if we move on I won’t lose any sleep over it.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Buccanole
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Al Davis died years ago .
March 28th, 2014 at 3:41 pm
he showed some flash when he was out there. im excited to see what he’s got. he’s played a lot more football than johnny womanziel
March 28th, 2014 at 3:42 pm
Yes, d-money loves JoeBucsFan but one thing perplexing d-money is Joe’s constant fixation on running back/QB Johnny Football. d-money doesn’t get it…
Perhaps it is Joe is an Aggies fan pushing the narrative? Or, does Joe believe Johnny will ride in on a white horse and save the franchise?
March 28th, 2014 at 3:42 pm
If he were dedicated to Football, Tampa could assign a personal coach to him.
But, he isn’t.
March 28th, 2014 at 3:53 pm
My concern isn’t what Demps can do for us. I can only imagine in my head seeing Demps taking it to the house. My concern is what Joe touched upon. Is his heart in football? Unfortunately, you don’t get paid to train for the olympics so unless Demps has a huge bank account already, playing pro football would be considered his only paying job. There is a difference between other two sport players like Neon, and BoJax, they got paid from their second sport. So that gives the incentives to give great effort in both sports.
It’s admirable that Demps is training for the olympics, but he don’t get paid for it. Football is second fiddle but he has collected a paycheck.
This ain’t WELFARE
He hasn’t shown his willingness to sacrifice himself 100% to the NFL so far, and already he has us worrying about him getting hurt. I can see this an on-going drama, unless Lovie makes it clear to Demps that this is his livelyhood, Demps needs to sacrifice body and soul to his paying job or train for the olympics on his own time.
March 28th, 2014 at 4:15 pm
More like he is using the NFL and the Bucs for a paycheck to fund his track career. Football is not his primary focus and the Bucs should cut him.
March 28th, 2014 at 4:18 pm
I’m a crazy Seminole fan. Like, punches babies when we lose type, so don’t count me in with th Gators fans pushing Demps. But that kind of speed doesn’t come along every day. And when he has the ball in his hands he chews up yardage like noone else. I say you keep him and see what he gives you. He’s going to be more valuable than any other WR who is the last guy on the roster.
March 28th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
His best (non wind-assisted) time for the 100m is not even 10 seconds flat. He is insanely fast by human standards, but will be looking at a top 8 finish in the. Olympics, even running to his full potential.
He would be wise to use his head, and focus on the sport (football) where his ceiling is higher.
March 28th, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Rrriiiggghhhttt…
March 28th, 2014 at 5:17 pm
Based on Lovie’s conversation with Demps, it appears he’s going to be dedicated to being the best football player he can be this year, which is exciting to think about. Next year might be more of an issue with the olympics in 2016. But I predict Demps will be a beast this year. (percy harvin type role) Watch, Joe. You’ll be as excited as Lovie and myself.
March 28th, 2014 at 5:19 pm
Demps has to earn props from me. He wasn’t in football shape and I doubt his commitment to football, regardless of what he says.
March 28th, 2014 at 5:42 pm
Demps is my favorite player to return kicks with in Madden 25. I usually trade for him when I don’t play for the Bucs, but when I play as the Bucs he’s a pro bowler every year. I really would love to have him here, and I think unless he blows off football in a major way, having him on the roster could be a huge benefit.
March 28th, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Demps is not fragile, he ran a lot at UF! Groin pulls happen. Villi cheek didn’t “get rid of him”…. He traded him (plus a 7th) for Blount! Remember him? Patriots actually used him at the end of the year, so you see what they were thinking, win now. We’ll see what happens, hopefully he focuses time on NFL, BUT a quote from whenever about him wanting to be an Olympian in 2016 doesn’t exactly say everything in his head. If he shows up to everything, practices with us, what more can Lovie ask for?
March 28th, 2014 at 6:42 pm
He’s arguably the fastest man in the league today. I really hope to see a lot of him on the field for the Bucs this season.
March 28th, 2014 at 7:19 pm
Temps is a better name. The guy trips over a blade of grass and gets hurt. He is not a football player, he is a sprinter.
March 28th, 2014 at 8:17 pm
work him at slot receiver/returner and if he can’t cut it then cut him
March 28th, 2014 at 9:01 pm
6.7 yards per carry through 4 years of college. I think the key to success is to mimic how Meyer used Demps at UF.
March 28th, 2014 at 9:25 pm
At Florida Demps was even used running between the tackles and he is a tough physical runner too. In the backfield as a RB he can play a role like Sproles and can also catch passes out of the backfield for speed in space, and will be dynamite on ends around. He can play the slot and is a good receiver, and he can help the running game by preventing the defense from loading up the box. He also can return kicks or punts on STs. He is a keeper.
March 28th, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Lovie will use him like Hester
March 28th, 2014 at 10:42 pm
Joe:
I guess you need to watch the highlight video. I remember every game where Demps played and I remember the first time I saw him. His speed was in a different league. By the way, Deon Sanders was a two sport guy and I think Bo Jackson was also. Remember the Seahawks who played Devin Hester almost none all year but he made a BIG DIFFERENCE in the Super Bowl? With someone like Demps, it only takes once a game or at the crucial time to break the back of the other team. Especially after they score and the Bucs return a kick in 10 seconds or whatever. Even if he does not break one, just having him in the lineup means the other team needs to game plan for him. That helps us. We Gator fans have seen him and know what he can do, destroy the other defense.
March 29th, 2014 at 8:02 am
I saw the same stuff David Williams. I really liked his highlights. His speed is different. Long runs and kick off returns for TD”s. Devin Hester was a little bit older than probably the new regime liked. Everyone they signed was still in there prime. Lovie probably thinks that Demps will be his new Hester, but better. We will have to wait and see what he does. The good thing is we really have nothing to lose with him, except time. He went undrafted. The trade for L. Blount is a different story, but I wouldn’t have done it. We do need some speed on this team, and we will probably see another small fast guy coming in the draft at RB,WR, or CB. I got to admit I’m really excited for this year.
March 29th, 2014 at 8:20 am
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
Demps has to earn props from me. He wasn’t in football shape and I doubt his commitment to football, regardless of what he says.
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There is no way he could have been in football shape because the only way to do this is to be in training camp. He was in peak shape to win a medal in track that’s all.
For a world class athlete with his skill you can make concessions. He’s not missing meetings, banging with a posse, spinning records in Vegas or posing for pictures with tigers.
His teammates most likely admire the guy because he is dedicated to being the best at something.
I doubt he loses sleep trying to earn props from you! LO freeking L!
March 29th, 2014 at 8:43 pm
Having Depth at the Running back position is never a bad thing, unless both are over paid. Demps making the commitment to football is a good start, since Martin is only a one year star due to injury hopefully, it is a good idea to engage in keeping him in mind for touches, who knows what Coach TEdford’s screen game looks like. Having that much speed to go along with the boom style of 22 is nothing to be mad about.