Best Move
May 23rd, 2014
A lot is expected from free agent pick-up DE Michael Johnson.
It is almost hard to believe Memorial Day Weekend is finally here. Finally, one can sit outside on the porch in shorts at midnight and not get cold. Finally, Joe’s friends up north don’t have to worry about scraping their windshields each morning as one of the most hellish winters in recent memory has faded.
And once Memorial Day has gone, football season is near, at least the start of training camp.
When the Fourth of July hits, you can smell the sweat of training camp.
It’s been a crazy 2014 for the Bucs. New general manager. New coaching staff. Whole bunch of new players. It is as if the Bucs are a completely different team. Looking back at all the player moves, Pat Yasinskas believes the most important transaction for the new-look Bucs was nabbing Cincinnati defensive end Michael Johnson in free agency.
Best move: Signing defensive end Michael Johnson as a free agent from Cincinnati. Johnson has posted double-digit sacks before and he should be a pass-rushing force on the outside. That’s something the Bucs lacked last season. With defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on the inside and Johnson on the outside, the pass rush should be much better. That’s going to help the entire defense, particularly the secondary.
Well, just on coaching alone, the Bucs should get a better pass rush from the edges. They better! Bucs coach Lovie Smith talked up Steven Means’ speed this week. Will Gholston shows a lot of promise. Adrian Clayborn should be better some two years removed from knee surgery.
It sure would help the Bucs if Johnson returns to his 2012 numbers. Two years ago, Johnson racked up 11.5 sacks (Bucs fans may be dancing in the streets if a defensive end had double-digit sacks). Those numbers nosedived last year to 3.5 sacks. Now, many will tell you part of that was due to injuries to the Bengals’ defensive front and Johnson was asked to do many things last season, other than soiling the opposing quarterback’s uniform.
Of course, time will tell.
Oh, and about time, that 24 clock should be ticking in the head of Da’Quan Bowers. There may not be a nicer guy, but damnit, he is not being paid to be nice.
Now on his third coaching staff and second general manager, it is now or never for Bowers to live up to his previous billing. If Lovie and his coaches can’t turn Bowers around, then Joe dares suggest no one will.
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:12 am
Johnny Football, sexual assault, lawsuit? Look it up on Deadspin Joe
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:18 am
Hopefully this will be a much improved group. I think it will. Having that pressure will definitely take some heat off of our secondary.
Yeah, I’d like to see Bowers and some other under-achievers rise up. If we can get production out of our back-ups, we’re doing something right. Bottom line is that this is it, there is no next year for some of these guys.
Lets go hunt!
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:22 am
Imagine if we wouldn’t have traded for Revis and drafted Sheldon Richardson at the pick we had. We would have had all 3 of these monsters on the line.
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:25 am
Much like our own lineman were asked to do different things last season. I think our focus and intensity will be different.
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:27 am
Damned if the Bucs don’t have one on the more talented D-lines on paper. There’s even a small amount of rotational depth on the D-line, so hopefully we won’t see team wear the line down with the run game
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:35 am
@destinjohnny- the other way to look at it is we may not have had the cap room to sign Johnson
this year. Let’s take it for what it is. I believe that between Lovie,Joe Cullen and Hardy N. we will have a great front 7. It may take a year…but things look really optimistic.
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:36 am
Why are you guys expecting a lot from Michael Sam? Pablo doesnt get it This guy is a scrub and only managed 3 sacks last year
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:42 am
@Pablo- Not Michael Sam, Michael Johnson. True, there are lofty expectations for a guy who only recorded double-digit sacks once. He is a solid player though. Maybe the hope is that, like many of our new signees, his game will be elevated in Lovie’s system.
We’ll see!
May 23rd, 2014 at 10:53 am
If Johnson goes down in the preseason, the whole outlook changes.
If Johnson fails to live up to the hype, the whole outlook changes.
If Johnson lives up to the hype, and Clayborn rules the other side, it is going to be epic.
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:03 am
I think Michael Johnson playing with McCoy will live up to his high expectations and William Gholston is going to be much improved. I’m concerned (though not unnecessarily) about Clayborn’s projected move to the left side and Bower’s even making the team – can’t seem to stay healthy and haven’t seen a lot of desire to get better.
The Bucs gave UDFAs DE Chaz Sutton and DT Euclid Cummings signing bonuses of 15K and !0K respectively. They may see these guys as potential prospects to make the roster and there are only so many spots to go around.
Bottom line, I expect the defense to be better – front and back!
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:06 am
corection: not necessarily. Serves me right for using unnecessarily big words! lol
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:34 am
Funniest thing Joe has read in a long, long time.
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:42 am
She must have not gotten the memo that johnny football has pull.
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:43 am
Good luck to Johnny. Pretty convincing case against him. Don’t forget “Jurduron Clowney” might have to testify
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:50 am
I hope his nickname will be “Long John Silver’s” for the rest od his life. God thats hilarious.
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:55 am
He’s a sexual assualting revenge seeking little man syndrome
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:01 pm
GlenninGrad Says:
May 23rd, 2014 at 11:43 am
Good luck to Johnny. Pretty convincing case against him. Don’t forget “Jurduron Clowney” might have to testify
——————————————————————————-
Mr. Clowney, we need for you to pull it out so we need to examine the evidence. LOL!!
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Her Lawyer call Micheal Sams as a expert witness.
NO? TOO SOON FOR A JOKE LIKE THAT? SORRY.
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:09 pm
On the Manziel “incident” and life in general: Does anyone have common sense anymore?! Being young is one thing, being stupid is another. AND, for the love of god, can we stop taking pictures of cranks!!!
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:30 pm
Bowers should be on the trading block for a 6th or 7th round pick, unless they see something to indicate he’s ready to turn the corner in Lovie’s D.
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Orca, what’s the point in trading Bowers for a 6th or a 7th now? Let’s see what Cullen can get out of him first.
May 23rd, 2014 at 12:39 pm
Bucsfanman:
That “lawsuit” is as fake as it gets. Total parody.
May 23rd, 2014 at 3:06 pm
Where the hell do you live where you can’t sit in shorts after midnight almost year round without getting cold?
May 23rd, 2014 at 3:13 pm
I guess it would be funny, the Angel can do no wrong right? lol
May 23rd, 2014 at 3:16 pm
“Johnson has posted double-digit sacks before”
One Season and the rest are below avg sack numbers! I hope and think he will flourish in the Tampa-2 but I think our best move thus far was bringing in McCown. Even if he doesnt have a great season for us, he will help Glennon become much better and I feel with our weapons McCown will have a great season. Kurt Warner has praised McCown many times and even admitted that when he went to Arizona, he learned how to be an NFL QB because of McCown.
May 23rd, 2014 at 3:51 pm
Central America springs to mind. The Philippines perhaps?
May 23rd, 2014 at 5:15 pm
Ha
May 23rd, 2014 at 5:23 pm
Best moves (IMO): signing both defensive end Michael Johnson & cornerback Alterraun Verner.
May 23rd, 2014 at 7:05 pm
The worst part about the Revis trade was that he only had one more year left for the Jets!
He wouldve been a free agent this season!
Why trade a first rounder for a guy you could just wait one year for?
But Dom actually thought he was one CB away from a playoff team.
With Josh the rockstar Freeman. Dom gave Josh a huge leash, and he ran wild!!
May 24th, 2014 at 9:59 am
Orca Says
“Bowers should be on the trading block for a 6th or 7th round pick…”
I’ve been pretty critical of Jason Licht, but if he manages to get a pick for a guy that will not even make the team, he’ll score points with me.
Bowers is NOT GMC. He won’t suddenly prove he is good because he gets healthy. Bowers, even when healthy, did not play well. He is a bust.
If he gets cut, another team may not even want to sign him.
May 24th, 2014 at 3:37 pm
pablo is an idiot.