Clayborn Likes New Responsibility
July 25th, 2014
Bucs LDE Adrian Clayborn believes his new responsibility will result in solid play and bruised quarterbacks.
One interesting thing about this year’s training camp will be how guys perform under the new regime, guys who may not have hit their ceilings yet.
Enter Adrian Clayborn. Formerly the starting right defensive end, he has had an up and down career in his first three seasons with Tampa Bay. The former first round pick blew out a knee two years ago and that may have hindered his production last year.
Clayborn, in a manner of speaking, is in his contract year after the Bucs declined to pick up his fifth-year option. Also, he has been moved from right end to left end after the Bucs signed defensive end Michael Johnson.
Clayborn did not log any plays at left defensive end while playing four years at Iowa and the braintrust of the Bucs defensive coaches last year tinkered with Clayborn on the left side.
“Right now my goal is to get comfortable at left defensive end and win a starting spot and get ready for a great season,” Clayborn said. “It is just repetition and to get more comfortable on the left side.
“I have to rotate my hips the other way, that’s just about it. It’s different in that I will not be coming from the quarterback’s blindside any more. The rush is a little different.”
One of the lasting, nauseous memories of last season was once, Clayborn was asked to cover speedy Saints running back Darren Sproles in pass coverage. Just what kind of twisted mind would hatch such a coverage to have a defensive end attempt to cover one of the fastest players in the NFL downfield in pass defense?
That nonsense won’t be repeated this fall. Clayborn admitted he has one main goal, and it isn’t to chase running backs downfield on pass coverage. Rather, it is to plant opposing quarterbacks like a pallet of St. Augustine grass.
“I’m more comfortable [with a singular focus of attacking quarterbacks] and I think that will show on the field,” Clayborn said. “I am not that smart so [concentrating] on one thing is good,” Clayborn joked.
July 25th, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Jeez Joe, you must have been pretty seriously traumatized by Clayborn covering Sproles, with as much as you bring it up. 😛
July 25th, 2014 at 9:56 pm
If we had real competition then you would see Clayborn battling Johnson at RDE. That is Clayborn’s natural position and he would beat out Johnson for the spot. Now he is forced to rush out of position. They should have just traded him or cut him. Wasting the teams time and his.
July 25th, 2014 at 9:58 pm
I hope they’re still going to give AC some reps on the right side… If he can’t win the gig on the left he could spell Johnson.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:03 pm
If it were a real competition, Mike Glennon would be fighting for the #2 role instead of having it handed to him.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Dallas Buc, with that mentality, Tim Wright would most likely been cut as a WR and maybe out of football. Players can and do switch positions, particularly on the OL.
I’m not a big fan of moving him either but it’s worth a look. My guess/hope is that Gholston steps up at LDE and Clayborn rotates with Johnson.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:51 pm
It is not a mentality, it is a shame. Another talented football player who is wasted in a buc uniform. New regime is not going to rotate their star FA out of the game and we already know Clayborn has been told that he is now an LDE. Everyone says trust. Sorry, if it were Raheem making some of the moves we’ve seen he would be crucified. I don’t like it
July 25th, 2014 at 11:03 pm
@DallasBuc: #94>#90!?! That’s categorically stupid. Seriously. Stick to politics. That type divisive nonsense seems to be what you’re good at.
July 25th, 2014 at 11:04 pm
I like that he declined the option and has put it all on his shoulders.
Here’s to hoping AC is back!
July 25th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
FanofBucs – he didn’t decline the option – the Bucs declined to give it to him.
July 26th, 2014 at 12:11 am
Piratic- by exactly what measure is that categorically stupid? If Johnson had to play on the horrendous Morris and Schiano defenses and AC had a chance to rush on that Bengals team over the same 3 years my take would be obvious. And where do you get that I am in the agreed upon divisive nonsense that is politics? My politics don’t make it to the pages of this site or any other.
July 26th, 2014 at 12:32 am
Am I remembering correctly that AC has one arm shorter than the other, thus making it much more difficult for him to succeed in the other side of the line?
July 26th, 2014 at 12:35 am
@DallasBuc
Obviously the Bucs didn’t feel Clayborn would beat out Johnson, and a solid majority outside the team agree. Why waste the resources on putting them in competition if you already know the outcome? Additionally, as there is no significant rush presence at LDE, why not give Clayborn a shot? He has nothing to lose, and the Bucs have relatively little to lose on what amounts to essentially a one year contract if he fails – and an aggressive effort at extension if he succeeds. So for those reasons alone, I think that’s where the insults come from. I don’t think you’re categorically stupid, but your assertion that Clayborn would be out Johnson might make you a minority of one.
July 26th, 2014 at 12:35 am
^beat out Johnson
July 26th, 2014 at 12:39 am
Bucsnutt- yep, he has Erbs Palsy and is literally made to be a RDE as opposed to a LDE. Setup for failure when forced to rush from the left. Sucks
July 26th, 2014 at 12:43 am
@bucsnutt – I keep reading about his Erb’s Palsy as well, but who knows how much it actually affects him? I sort of think if it were a tremendous issue he’d be out of the league by now. Most DE’s need both arms with good strength to even make it on the field.
Here’s the back story about it, with Clayborn’s mom, of all people, telling how it affects his appearance (at least to her):
http://thegazette.com/2009/11/06/late-bloomer-clayton-becoming-dominant-leader/
July 26th, 2014 at 12:54 am
Louis- it is not obvious that the regime thinks Johnson would beat out AC. Quite the opposite. They just paid their #1 FA and aren’t about to give him any real competition. Therefore we will never know if AC would beat out Johnson. Licht would never take the chance of that happening. I presume that’s why Zuttah, Penn and Joseph had to go too. New regime is afraid of real competition.
July 26th, 2014 at 12:58 am
If it were a real competition, Josh McCown would be fighting for the starting role instead of having it handed to him.
The coaching staff seems happy with Josh being named *the* starter and Glennon named *the* #2/”future” . Apparently, some people do not believe in the new coaching staff.
I, myself, am on the fence.
July 26th, 2014 at 2:38 am
@DallasBuc: OMFG!! You are a piece of work!
Your take is categorically stupid because of the following:
A) “If we had real competition then you would see Clayborn battling Johnson at RDE. That is Clayborn’s natural position and he would beat out Johnson for the spot. Now he is forced to rush out of position. They should have just traded him or cut him. Wasting the teams time and his.”
First of all, if you don’t believe that Coach Smith is ALL ABOUT competition, you’re deluded, plain and simple.
Second, if the front office truly felt that #94 were the better player, they would not have paid #90 all that money to come over here and start at RDE, all the while refusing to pick up a year’s option on #94.
Third-CUT HIM!?! Again, that is categorically stupid. Why would we cut a semi-productive player (when healthy) whose rights we own? Especially when he’s in a “prove it” year!? smh
B) “it is not obvious that the regime thinks Johnson would beat out AC. Quite the opposite. They just paid their #1 FA and aren’t about to give him any real competition. Therefore we will never know if AC would beat out Johnson. Licht would never take the chance of that happening. I presume that’s why Zuttah, Penn and Joseph had to go too. New regime is afraid of real competition”
Again, your premise that the Bucs don’t believe that #90 is the better player is off-the-charts stupid. By signing #90 in the first place, the Bucs have made it QUITE obvious that he’s ALREADY beat out #94. Why would they bring in a high-priced new guy if they felt the old guy was so great? That doesn’t compute, does it?
Finally, for you to maintain that the Bucs aren’t allowing competition is so far off the mark, it’s absurd. You clearly cannot be taken seriously. Are you simply trolling? If so, you certainly hooked me.
As for your politics, I definitely recall reading some name-calling on your part.
July 26th, 2014 at 3:44 am
I disagree, sure he played at RDE before but it will not be a waste and he and AND MJ will both be solid ends for us.
AC as the LDE and MJ at the RDE
July 26th, 2014 at 3:47 am
Josh McCown has already beat him out 😉
July 26th, 2014 at 3:48 am
Typical negative nancies lol
July 26th, 2014 at 5:00 am
That picture of Adrian Clayborn with the Shirley Temple pose is not very flattering. If the trainers and coaching staff didn’t think # 94 could play on the left side he wouldn’t be competing there. DE’s often switch sides during the game.
July 26th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Piratic- call me delusional and stupid all you want but either you have problems comprehending English, aren’t very intelligent or a sum of the two. Here goes:
“…if you don’t believe that Coach Smith is ALL ABOUT competition, you’re deluded, plain and simple.” That’s not a counterpoint, it’s just unsubstantiated opinion and name-calling. Classy.
“Second, if the front office truly felt that #94 were the better player, they would not have paid #90 all that money to come over here and start at RDE, all the while refusing to pick up a year’s option on #94.” I am not arguing that they don’t think Johnson is a better player. They just are not willing and possibly afraid to let Johnson prove it on the football field. That goes for EVERY starting position they signed in FA!
“Third-CUT HIM!?! Again, that is categorically stupid. Why would we cut a semi-productive player (when healthy) whose rights we own? Especially when he’s in a “prove it” year!? smh” First of all I argued for a trade OR release with reasons already explained earlier. Basically he is forced to rush out of position and you are setting him up to fail in a “prove it” year. Makes no sense to me and is a waste of our time since no one believes we will re-sign him next year at this point. Given that, you are also wasting his time because that is yet another year he could be getting better at RDE for someone else. For the same reason Johnson is ONLY rushing from RDE, AC should not be expected to drop everything and prove it at LDE.
“Again, your premise that the Bucs don’t believe that #90 is the better player is off-the-charts stupid. By signing #90 in the first place, the Bucs have made it QUITE obvious that he’s ALREADY beat out #94. Why would they bring in a high-priced new guy if they felt the old guy was so great? That doesn’t compute, does it?” Okay, my premise is not that AC is better (reading comprehension?) but rather that he is not afforded the ability to prove that he is better. Just because you signed a guy at a position to start doesn’t mean the other guy was beat out, it means you think (or hope) he is better without having to, you know, “prove it” through real competition. It is not like we had some scrub manning RDE. AC is a former first rounder that proved when healthy and allowed to rush the QB he could produce.
“Finally, for you to maintain that the Bucs aren’t allowing competition is so far off the mark, it’s absurd. You clearly cannot be taken seriously. Are you simply trolling? If so, you certainly hooked me.” You may disagree with my opinion and think it absurd but I don’t think you either read it properly or understood it. After all, it is my opinion and could care less if you disagree.
“As for your politics, I definitely recall reading some name-calling on your part.” Now here you are exhibiting poor recall or just plain making sh!t up since as a rule I do not engage in politics online. Either way it says way more about you than me.
So to wrap up, my premise is that the new regime does not want competition at the starting FA positions as clearly supported by the fact there is no open competition at those positions! My opinion however is that if there were real competition at RDE Clayborn would win out.
July 26th, 2014 at 9:38 am
@ Bonzai
“If it were a real competition, Mike Glennon would be fighting for the #2 role instead of having it handed to him.”
No competition needed for it, history says McCown is more likely to play his way right into that role like he has most everywhere else 🙂
July 26th, 2014 at 2:51 pm
Part of Luring M Johnson coming here is he said he wanted to play RDE.He probably would have picked another team where he would be playing RDE. Plus he’s a better player at this time with a bigger contract.AC lost the right to play RDE last year, that’s why they brought in Johnson.
July 27th, 2014 at 11:16 am
DallasBuc Says:
July 25th, 2014 at 10:51 pm
It is not a mentality, it is a shame. Another talented football player who is wasted in a buc uniform. New regime is not going to rotate their star FA out of the game and we already know Clayborn has been told that he is now an LDE. Everyone says trust. Sorry, if it were Raheem making some of the moves we’ve seen he would be crucified. I don’t like it
————————–
Exactly what in his seasons in the NFL convinced you this guy is a flipping star? He was WAY overdrafted. A slow RDE that has physical limitations from allowing him to be a great LDE… with Cam Jordan still on the board.