“Plan B”

May 1st, 2014
Joe would not be shocked at all if Jake Matthews is selected by the Bucs next week.

Joe would not be shocked at all if OL Jake Matthews is selected by the Bucs next week.

There is no doubt the Bucs need a wide receiver (perhaps two) in next week’s draft. Good timing, as the draft is lousy with wide receivers.

Now we all know Joe has an infatuation with everything Johnny Football, from his hyper Labrador-puppy-like running to his pocket accuracy, to his rabbit-out-of-the-hat playmaking ability and his harem of hot women.

Joe only hopes Bucs coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht are equally enamored.

Still, drafting Johnny Football is a crapshoot. There is no guarantee Johnny Football will still be standing on the sidewalk with a “Hire Me” sign when the Bucs pick at No. 7. And if what seems to be the fans’ choice, receiver Mike Evans, is also gone, what do the Bucs do then? ESPN Bucs beat writer Pat Yasinskas has an idea.

The job at right guard is wide open, and it’s unclear if guard Carl Nicks can fully recover from a toe injury. Nicks has said there is nerve damage and he might have to play in pain for the rest of his career.

That is why I’m thinking there is a real chance the Bucs select an offensive lineman at No. 7. There aren’t any true guards worthy of that pick. But there are three tackles that could be available, and none of them would be a bad choice.

Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews and Taylor Lewan all could be available when Tampa Bay picks. The consensus is that Robinson is slightly ahead of Matthews and Lewan, but some mocks have all three going in the top 10 picks.

I can see the Bucs taking any one of the three. They could plug that player in at guard for the short term and eventually move him to tackle. That would give Tampa Bay’s offensive line a big boost and firm up one of the few glaring weaknesses.

Joe has stated this before but this is just downright smart. Drafting a stud offensive lineman may not be sexy, but when you have a guy who could anchor a line for a decade, that’s just intelligent drafting.

This is what makes this draft both exciting and frustrating. It is wide open. Joe could make an argument for a dozen players being picked by the Bucs in the first round.

Of course, Joe’s heart is with Johnny Football.

74 Responses to ““Plan B””

  1. Juan Says:

    so it is ESPN again? I thought it was BSPN

  2. robert6 Says:

    “it’s unclear if guard Carl Nicks can fully recover from a toe injury.”

    LOL…….it’s pretty clear we can’t depend on nicks. worst signing in buccaneers history. wish they would cut him and eat the hit just to make a statement. or settle, either way.

    “Nicks has said there is nerve damage and he might have to play in pain for the rest of his career.”

    awwww, does his widdle piggy hurt. bet if this was a contract year he would play through it just fine. probably like he did with the saints before the laughingly sold us their dead weight.

    this wittle piggy went to market, this wittle piggy stayed home, this little piggy had none, Nicks little piggy went weee, weee, weee all the way to the BANK!

  3. Pierce Says:

    Joe I salute you for continuing to figure out different things to talk about concerning the draft. I think it’s ridiculous that the NFL has moved back the dates for the draft. I’m so tired of hearing about it as I’m sure many of you sportscasters are too. Can’t wait to finally be done with this!

  4. Bucfan#37 Says:

    Drafting a top offensive lineman with the 7th pick will be a wise move and I’m all for it.

  5. Joe Says:

    Pierce:

    Thanks for the kind words.

    I think it’s ridiculous that the NFL has moved back the dates for the draft.

    Oh, Joe totally understands. It is frustrating but Joe has learned to cope.

  6. gatrbuc17 Says:

    Joe you could call it something other than the same thing Pat Yasinskas called it earlier this morning when he wrote about it

  7. Espo Says:

    The suspense is killing me

  8. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Joe,

    If Manziel & Evans are gone when we pick at 7. Four of he following players will be available.
    Mack, Clowney, Watkins, Bortles, Bridgewater, Barr, Matthews, Robinson & 2 of them will not be Olinemen.
    I hope this happens because it will give us a shot at Sammy @ 7.

  9. Buc1987 Says:

    Doug Flutie on Manziel: “Sometimes he just trusts his athleticism too much. You can’t just run around and make plays in the NFL. It doesn’t happen. The field is too small, given the speed and size of the players. I found that out. But in the NFL, are you going to get away from those D-linemen? Are you going to get away from those linebackers who are faster than you? In the NFL you can’t always rely on athleticism.”

    This is the stuff I wonder about. The same stuff that never crosses the mind of JF lovers.

    I’ve compared Mazniel to Flutie a few times. So I respect his opinion on him.

    Like I said about him yesterday. Manziel is a dead man walking….eventually limping off the field.

  10. gatrbuc17 Says:

    And the last sentence was completely unnecessary.

  11. robert6 Says:

    wouldn’t make much sense IMO to pick a guy in the top 10 to not use him at that position. that pick needs to be MONEY and used to their strengths, whether that’s QB, WR, DE or LB.

  12. Buc1987 Says:

    That’s what I see in Johnny Ball. A QB lying on the field writhing in pain curled up in the fetal position.

  13. duthty rhothdes Says:

    Joe, Im with you on JF but in the above scenario that would be great to get a Paul Grubereque guy to plug in for 10 years….whats the chance of resigning Davin Joseph or is he gone? Also is Santonio Holmes too much of a nightmare fo rthe bucs to pick up?

  14. Bucsfanamongstthebirds Says:

    You know what would be funny?

    If this was a real live room where everyone was spouting off their opinions and Robert6 did his childish three little pigs rant…then suddenly, Carl Nicks appeared just as he was finishing verbally bashing Nicks for being a baby. Now Robert, your probably 140 lbs soaking wet, and a sad excuse for a man, so Nicks probably wouldn’t waste his time pummeling you. Too Bad, Id really love to see that.

    Your a bad ass Robert6….tough, tough typing

  15. Oil Derrick Brooks Says:

    @87

    Wait, so, maybe people don’t give a crap about his ability to pull???????????????????????????????

    I have the same concerns, and also what Holmgren said about him.

    But, we’re idiots to the people who say he’s the “best prospect to come out in 20 years”. Man, that line will never get old to me. I will use that for at least 5 years if he busts.

  16. Joe Says:

    But, we’re idiots to the people who say he’s the “best prospect to come out in 20 years”.

    Joe never wrote that; doesn’t believe that.

  17. robert6 Says:

    6’1″, 250 and chiseled, but keep thinking about my ass

  18. lightningbuc Says:

    6’1″, 250 and chiseled,

    _________

    Yeah, and women confuse me for B.rad Pitt all the time.

  19. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    BPA all day. Every other draft strategy is like balls to the face.

  20. Patrick Says:

    If Manziel is gone trade down

  21. BoJim Says:

    robert6

    “awwww, does his widdle piggy hurt.”

    If it was yours, you’d crying like a little girl.

  22. Oil Derrick Brooks Says:

    “Joe never wrote that; doesn’t believe that.”

    I wasn’t referencing you.

    However, you Joe’s do like to accuse people like myself of being jealous. You do know, that I know, that you know that accusation is simply inane, right?

    You wonder aloud about all the hate for Manziel, after you bait people who have legitimate concerns about his ability to play in the league, by calling them jealous of his ability to get college tail.

    Inaccurate. Joe is fine with those who question Johnny Football based on football skill, experience, mechanics, etc. Joe has made that clear. It’s the people who dislike Johnny Football seemingly for no reason; those are the one’s Joe speculates dislike Johnny because he pulled so well in college. Joe’s made these points clear many times. –Joe

  23. Rick Says:

    Does anyone remember Paul Gruber? Would love to have any of these Tackles come close to what Gruber did

  24. 1Gr8Buc Says:

    Go home robert6 your drunk.

  25. Espo Says:

    *you’re drunk

  26. Oil Derrick Brooks Says:

    “It’s the people who dislike Johnny Football seemingly for no reason”

    Surely Joe jests. So, what, about 1%, then? I am here often, and I NEVER see someone say, “Oh, I just don’t like the guy.”

    I’d love to see these phantom posters that you allude to. Feel free to point absolutely any of them out next time they post. I’ll certainly take note.

  27. Espo Says:

    This game is won and loss with the line and right now we don’t have one. I think OL should be our first pick unless L&L fall in love with a DL.

  28. Buc1987 Says:

    ODB and Joe in another duel. Loving it!

  29. Eric Says:

    I’m not calling anyone idiots, but I think he is the best Q prospect in 20 years. I cant think of another QB who took his team on his shoulders and carried them as far as JF did, in spectacular fashion. Had me tuning into Texas A&M football which I have never done before.

    The skill set is through the roof, IMO.

    We shall see. I think Lovie likes him too, but id be real surprised if he makes it to 7.

  30. Sweets Willie Says:

    At the draft day party you have the MGM v. Freemanites v. The Johnny’s!! This is looking like West Side Story!!

  31. phil Says:

    We ain’t going to get any better by doing that.

  32. Chris Says:

    Where do you put him? Collins just got paid as a LT. Dotson has graded out as a top 5 RT. It’s interior you need help.

  33. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    We can get that guard from UCLA, the one with the Samoan name, if we really want one. We could also likely nab Yankey in the third round if need be. No need to get crazy and try to grab one in the first.

  34. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    *meant to say “that guard from UCLA in the second round”

  35. bucrightoff Says:

    Drafting OLine in the top 15 is what every one of the elite teams in the NFL has done in the last 5-7 years. The Bucs have not. OL or WR are the choice at 7, Evans if he’s there and a Lineman if he’s not. Matthews would be ideal, Robinson is right there. Lewan I’m not as high on but he’s not crap either.

  36. Mort Says:

    I’d love one of the top two tackles in this draft at 7. Provided Watkins and clowney are gone that is. I do not think Taylor Lewan is going to be very good but if we do trade down how about that Zach Martin kid from notre same. I think he would be a great fit at guard. He doesn’t quite have the arm length to keep defensive ends from man handling him IMO. But I think he could be an excellent guard. Again, if we can trade down only.

    But either of the top two tackles can compete with Dotson at RT and RG and see what group gives us the best results. O line is far and away he biggest concern I have on this team. WR being second and honestly you can hide that to a point with some good TE options in the passing game with Timmy wright and now Brandon Myers.

  37. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @robert6,

    Wow, so you expect a 300+ guy to be able to play through a devastating toe injury? Do you have any idea how important footwork is to an offensive lineman? Do you realize that toes are a part of the foot? Even an injury like turf toe can keep players out of games, but some jackwagon posting annonymously is calling him for being weak! And oh yeah, he also had 2 cases of a potentially deadly staph infection. But I’m sure that’s something he should play through also. I’m truly embarassed for you.

  38. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @1987,

    I think it’s worth nothing that Johnny Football never missed a game in college, and that’s while literally carrying his team on offense. He’s said so himself that he’s not going to be as reckless in the NFL, because no one can survive. I know you’ve never seen him play (I hadn’t either until last year), but the guy is the real deal. When Nick Saban, whose #1 philosophy is to rush the QB, decides to stop rushing his lineman just to keep JF in the pocket, you know he’s legit. Go back and watch the 4th quarter of the Alabama game if you think I’m lying. Saban literally told his rushers to stop rushing! FYI, it didn’t work.

  39. Bucamania Says:

    JFF or OT is what makes the most sense in this draft. There will be some excellent WRs available at the top of Round 2. Maybe event Teddy.

  40. robert6 Says:

    it’s amazing to me people are still defending nicks after YEARS…… yes YEARS to heal!!!

    read that again for those who are challenged.

    seriously, this is not about healing. it’s about MILKING!

    ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE who believes he has any intention of ever playing again, please meet me in Montana. I have an ocean to sell you.

    talk about clueless.

  41. robert6 Says:

    bye the way. Before last season I predicted he would not play two games. I also predicted jfro six pack Jackson was milking it.

    check and check

    reading people is what I do for a living, and I am damn good at it. I have also been mistaken for brad pitt and matt damon in years past, but thats another story.

    sorry i get more pull and have more brains than the herd.

  42. Lucky Buccers Says:

    I’ll be happy with Clowney, Watkins, Manziel, Mack, Robinson, Mathews, Evans, or Lewan. Pick one.

  43. Mathius Says:

    I like drafting a stud LT tackle at 7 move the guy from Cinncy to LG (he has NFL experience at gaurd).

    The Bucs second round pick should bet Johnny Football.

    If he isn’t picked in the top 9 Johnny Boy is falling. Don’t worry he is OIL rich so no tears for Johnny Boy.

    If Johnny was black is he a 3rd rounder? ie Russel Wilson

    Draft WRs the rest of the draft.

  44. GO BUCS Says:

    Question? Who’s our SLB?

  45. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @robert6,

    Congratulations, you read that he had a major, career threatening injury to his toe, and you concluded that he may never play again. Aren’t you amazing? I’ve got news for you genius, teams have doctors that evaluate injuries. These doctors can tell if a player is “milking it”. Teams are notorious for forcing players to play through injuries, yet you somehow believe that Nicks is faking it? Do you know him personally? You must be so great at your job of reading people. Joe himself has written that his toe was disgusting. Reports are all consistent that he has been rehabbing very hard. However, the great Robert6 says he’s milking it, so it must be true.

  46. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @Mathius,

    If Johnny were black he’d be in the exact same position as he is now. Russell Wilson didn’t have half the career of Johnny Manziel. Russell Wilson was picked in the third mainly because of his size. If he was 6’5″, he would have been a top 5 pick easily. Johnny can thank Wilson for bucking the belief that you have to be tall and a pocket passer to be successful, but race has absolutely nothing to do with it. As for him falling to the second round, fat chance of that happening. Not even worth discussing.

  47. Joe Says:

    Question? Who’s our SLB?

    Same as last year, Jonathan Casillas.

  48. Joe Says:

    seriously, this is not about healing. it’s about MILKING!

    If you ever saw that toe of Nicks, you’d think different.

    Yes, Joe saw that toe. It was gross!

    Not sure if you are aware, but Deion Sanders had his career ended by turf toe. Still walks with a limp to this day. He has about 150 pounds less weight to put on that toe than Carl Nicks has.

  49. lions Says:

    okay how about this? Manziel falls to the 7th pick Bucs get him then trade him to the cowboys flip spot from 7 to 11. Get from them another 2 and a 3rd. In the 11th we pick offensive line, two 2nd rounds we get QB and Wide receiver, then with the two 3s go defense. Trade Glennon and get another 4th etc. Lot of good receivers down the line maybe not creme of the crop but not bad if developed ei: Allen Hurns miami.

  50. Mathius Says:

    Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Russel Wilson
    College
    Wisconsin year
    225 309 72.8 3175 10.3 11.8 33 4 191.8
    Total
    Cmp Att ▾ Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
    907 1489 60.9 11720 7.9 8.4 109 30 147.2

    Manziel
    Total
    595 863 68.9 7820 9.1 9.4 63 22 164.1

    Considering Wilson had no other top ten talent around him and Johnny Boy has Evans and Matthews. Johny threw as many Ints in 2 seasons as Wilson in 4. I would argue Wilson was better in QB in college especially his senior year. Wilson has a stronger arm (probably from baseball pitching) but doen’t run around out of control to make amazing highlight type plays.

    They are virtually the same height Manzil is 5-foot-11 3/4 and 207 pounds while Wilson is 5-foot-11 and 206 pounds.

    Manziel is a lotta of hype. I don’t know were he will be drafted, but I know it’s smoke screen season. Every team that has hinted they like him, you can cross off the list of teams drafting him. That would include the Bucs.

  51. Name Required Says:

    It’s certainly not the sexy pick, but it makes the most sense out of all the choices.

    You build from the lines out, not the other way around. They dumped almost the entire starting O-line. Now is the time to grab your anchor and get the QB in the 2nd or maybe the 3rd round. Plenty of WRs, too.

    If Jake Matthews is the pick I’ll be satisfied. Bored, but nothing to be angry about.

  52. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    If Wilson was a better college QB (laughable), then where is his Heisman? Are you going to say Wilson didn’t get any Heisman votes because he’s black? Nobody, including you, had Wilson as an NFL stud. Go ahead and try to revise history all you want, we all know the truth. That’s a ridiculous argument, almost as ridiculous as blaming Johnny’s success on having great talent around him.

    Hype doesn’t put up 500 yards against Alabama – TWICE! Hype doesn’t make a team with absolutely zero defense into a top SEC team. Ask Bill Polian if Manziel is all hype. I’m going to go ahead and take Polian’s opinion over yours. You may end up being right (as the NFL draft is in large part a crap shoot), but my money says you won’t. I will, however, agree that he won’t be on the Bucs. He’ll never make it to 7.

  53. bucrightoff Says:

    The Heisman for a QB is the kiss of death. Lets examine the list the last 20 years shall we?

    Danny Wuerful – Bust
    Chris Weinke – Bust
    Eric Crouch – Bust
    Carson Palmer – Meh
    Jason White – Bust
    Matt Leinart – Bust
    Troy Smith – Bust
    Tim Tebow – Bust
    Sam Bradford – ???
    Cam Newton – ???
    RGIII – ???

    So its a bunch of busts and guys too early to judge as busts or not. But two guys who finished second (Manning and Luck) are easily the two best QB prospects of the last 20 years. So moral of the story: Don’t win the Heisman, finish second.

  54. bucrightoff Says:

    Also how come Alabama is the only team Manziel played in college? Why no references to his games against LSU and Florida and Missouri, other top 10 teams? Oh yeah…

  55. Eric Says:

    As to Mathews, I remember Lovie saying that to lure a free agent you have to promise a starting role.

    I’m betting he told Collins he’s starting LT.

    Having Mathews play guard doesn’t sound like a value pick to me.

  56. Buc1987 Says:

    Hawaiian Buc …so I guess that means that you’re throwing away what Jaworski said about how Manziel should not be selected in first 3 rounds.

  57. Cobraboy Says:

    I would agree with Mathius: draft a stud LT @ #7, and move the new Cincy guy inside.

  58. Eric Says:

    Uh Manziel and the aggies put up 59 on Missouri in 2012.

    600 passing yards and four touchdowns vs. 2ints in two games against them.

    And as for top ten teams how about the 454 yards and four td’s vs. Auburn this year? They finished number two.

    450 yards and five td’s vs. miss state grab ya?

    Are you seeing a pattern here?

    The 464 yards and five td’s vs. Bama wasn’t the only brilliant game by JF.

    He torched many good teams.

  59. Buc1987 Says:

    Mathius…last I checked RGIII is black. He went 2nd in the draft overall. Where do you people get these ridiculous notions to immediately think racism? Oh wait I know. Hollywood. Hollywood puts out 5-6 movies a year about how badly blacks were treated in the past. It’s been going on since Roots. You know…. just to keep it fresh in Americans minds. I thought they were all progressives in Hollywood. You know progress, move forward and all that bs.

  60. Buc1987 Says:

    Hawaiian Buc…yes I know all this and that was all college ball. I personally don’t think he will have a long NFL career. Ya never know though, Vick’s still around. We’ll see.

  61. bucrightoff Says:

    Of course you conveniently leave out 2013 Eric. For the “best QB prospect of the last 20 years” you should be able to use every game as proof and not say ignore his bad performances.

    Also A&M was ranked 7 when they lost to #24 Auburn. Oh those pesky facts things…

  62. Eric Says:

    Oh yeah JF cost the aggies that Auburn game……..

  63. bucrightoff Says:

    Who said he cost them the game? The point is he struggled against Les Miles and Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. And that apparently when analyzing him those games don’t count

  64. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    Every single QB has bad games. To argue that Johnny football didn’t have a sensational college career is beyond stupid, and really not even worth arguing. You can argue it may not transfer to the NFL, but no way can you say he wasn’t great in college. In doing so, it shows a clear bias and/or ignorance, and makes any further point you make pretty much moot. The reason we bring up Alabama is because they are the gold standard in college football, and they are coached by the premier defensive coach in college football. If you can’t understand that, then you’re completely helpless. However, as Eric said, there’s plenty of examples of his dominance and only a couple examples of him playing even remotely close to poorly.

  65. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @1987,

    Answer me this question, is Jaws a GM? Has he ever been a GM? If you know anything about Jaws you would know he doesn’t like unconventional QB’s. He may very well end up being right, but for every Jaws there’s 10 other guys just as qualified (if not more) that believe Manziel will be fantastic. So while I don’t throw what he says out the window, I don’t treat it as gospel, and neither should you. Fact is, absolutely no one knows how good he’s going to be. There are so many variables when it comes to the draft (team he’s drafted by, scheme, work ethic, injuries, mindset, etc.) that it’s damn near impossible to predict with any certainty how good a player will be. Even for me being a huge JF fan, I wouldn’t put money on him, nor would I put money on any player in the draft. That being said, he’s got MAJOR boom potential, which always excites me.

  66. bucrightoff Says:

    Hawaiian, the trump card of course is Tebow. Wonderful college career…so what? Manziel had a spectacular college career. But it has little to nothing to do with his NFL career. As evidence from the list I provided above, lots of guys have great college careers who amounted to nothing as a Pro. As always only time will tell

  67. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @bucrightoff,

    True, but you can’t compare the games of Manziel and Tebow. Everyone knew Tebow couldn’t throw the ball. Accuracy was his issue from day 1. No one questions the accuracy of Manziel. In fact, that’s probably just as big of a strength as his legs.

    As for the Heisman curse, I don’t buy into that. Most of those guys were known to not be good pros, even while they were in college. Their games just didn’t translate to the pro game, which used to be very very different from the college game. However, if you haven’t noticed, the NFL game is actually becoming a copycat of the college game. From what it looks like, we are definitely going to have a lot of these same “college philosophies” in our offense. I think the transition to the pros is much easier now than ever, but you better be accurate.

  68. Mathius Says:

    Picking up the next Paul Gruber in this draft would be a nice corner stone to the rebuilding of the Bucs. However if the bucs can pull a rabbit out of the hat and trade down and pick up the top OG and to pull an extra pick for a WR.

    JF would be nice second round value. His greatest attribute is his escape-ability and improvisational skills. Unless you are the size of Cam or the speed of Vick that stuff just doesn’t work. His mobility will be limited in the NFL, I think he ran a 4.68 40 time (Glennon ran a 4.9 to put it in perspective). I believe at the combine at least one DT and several DEs ran faster than that. He will have to live in the pocket which is were Jaws sees JF struggling.

    Hawaiian Buc
    Wilson set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency (191.8)
    Note he was playing dual sports baseball and college football.

    http://thebiglead.com/2014/05/01/johnny-manziel-vs-russell-wilson-how-similar-are-the-short-mobile-quarterbacks/

  69. Buc1987 Says:

    ” I think the transition to the pros is much easier now than ever, but you better be accurate.”

    I concur.

    Jaws is not a GM or ever been one, but all he does is study QB’s. That’s his job.

  70. Buc1987 Says:

    Manziel = enigma

  71. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    There’s a lot of people out there that study QB’s as their job. Just because they work at ESPN doesn’t make them the best, nor does it make them right all the time. I know some other people that study Qb’s for their job. You know what they are called? They are called scouts. Wanna make a bet that one of those scouts doesn’t agree with Jaws?

  72. Chris Says:

    When are some delusional people going to realize great college qb doesn’t mean great nfl qb? Peyton manning and Tom Brady , future HOF. Never won a heisman.

  73. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    @Mathius,

    You are venturing far away from the point. Nobody is saying Russell Wilson wasn’t an efficient QB, but he wasn’t on the same level as Johnny Football. Of course they ran a much more conservative type offense and he didn’t have a Mike Evans, but you can’t compare people on a curve like that. You certainly can’t use the fact that he played baseball as an excuse. JF played in a much tougher conference, put up much bigger numbers, and was just an overall better QB. Wilson may end up being a much better pro, but again, you didn’t have Wilson pegged as a franchise QB when he came out, did you? Of course you didn’t. And why is that – because he wasn’t as good of a college player. So no matter what you say, it doesn’t change those simple facts.

  74. Manzielski Says:

    “Wow, so you expect a 300+ guy to be able to play through a devastating toe injury?”

    When the press guide lists you at 380, reality is more like 425. How many 400 pound sprinters do you see?

    The Little General got a new gig at Churchill Downs, they’re going to run the Derby sixteen consecutive times. Homeland Security is being called in because they are the only ones who have enough ammo to put down that many horses.

    Schiano will be handing out Adderal, as usual.