Slump Chance: Tim Wright
July 16th, 2014
How will Bucs TE Tim Wright fare now that he is no longer an unknown in the NFL?
Regular readers around these here parts of the Interwebs know Joe is a fan of tight end Tim Wright. One of the few bright spots under the administration of Bucs commander Greg Schiano was the discovery (if that is the appropriate word) of the rookie tight end.
Last year Schiano signed the former Rutgers (of course) wide receiver and transformed him. Now think about the difficulty in that. You are a wide receiver and you are busting your tail like you never have before hoping to make an NFL team and all of a sudden you are asked to learn tight end as well? Man.
So Wright, virtually unheard of and barely 230 pounds, arguably had the best season of anyone on a putrid Tampa Bay offense. Wright finished 12th in the NFL in catches among tight ends.
So this brings us to a term called sophomore slumps. It’s not just a cliche. And the folks over at BucsNation.com take a look at what Bucs may go through a sophomore slump this season and Wright is studied.
Tim Wright: The curious case of Timothy Wright. Another one of Schiano’s unknown Rutgers players, Wright is possibly the best player Schiano grabbed from his former job. Tim Wright was unknown and undrafted, he was looked at to be a backup in case Tampa needed him. With Luke Stocker and Tom Crabtree in front of Wright no one expected much. Tim Wright went out to turn some heads last season though. Not playing much for the first three weeks Wright finally got an opportunity to play against Arizona. After his first start there was no looking back as Wright went on to play in every game and seemed to be a major target of Mike Glennons. Wright ended up leading all rookie tight ends in three major stats; receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Now all of this means nothing if he cannot perform this season. So how will Tim Wright perform? Tim Wright has a lot more competition at his position. It is even unclear on whether Tim Wright will play let alone start. Recently Lovie Smith stated that Wright will be a major part of the new looked Bucs offense. Looking at Tight-end his time may be limited but Wright is versatile and Tampa Bay does not have a deep receiver core so look for Wright to line up in many different spots this season. Wrights stats may not be as great as last years, but look for him to have as big, if not bigger role on offense. Chance of a slump: 15%.
Joe’s not arguing this at all; it would not be surprising if Wright slips a bit this year. Wright was a virtual unknown last year. So defensive coordinators were so focused and intent on stopping Vincent Jackson and running backs coming out of the backfield, that Wright wasn’t exactly on their radar every game. But Defensive coaches just don’t hang on the beach in Nassau and sip fruity drinks with little umbrellas all offseason. These guys pore through video trying to find ways to stop opponents.
This season, Wright will most certainly be on defensive coordinators’ radar. Just like baseball where virtually every pitch is an adjustment by both batter and pitcher, the NFL is about constant adjustments. How will Wright play now that every defensive coach in the NFL (if not every head coach) knows about him?
To be fair, last winter, Wright told Joe that he was often double-teamed. In fact, it was the soon-to-be Super Bowl champion Seahawks who proved to be the first team to double-team him. Wright guessed he was double-teamed “75 percent” of the time from that point forward.
Again, Joe likes Wright, both as a player and a person. Joe talked to him in OTAs and he was still humbled by how his life has changed the past year, and spoke about how fortunate he is but that he still needs to work on his craft. Great attitude.
Joe knows, because he has been told in conversations with both Bucs coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht, the Bucs have very high hopes for Wright.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:01 am
We only converted him to TE so we could rip him off when we franchise tag him in a few years.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:13 am
Wright will slump at the beginning of the year, But will pick up after the bye-week. This will be due to Glennon taking over as starter though.
The MGM Lives!!!!!!
July 16th, 2014 at 9:34 am
Off topic, but huge congrats to Gerald McCoy on the births of his twins! Very cool.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:35 am
Joe
It will be interesting to see what additional dangerous receivers and a new offensive scheme does not only to Tim but to VJ for opportunities to excel.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:37 am
@Realist,
Thats a great thing to wish for. If The Cannon is starting mid-season, it means Lovie’s plan went in the toilet and we are loosing. That would suck. As long as The Cannon remains “The QB of the Future” and NEVER in the present, the Bucs are in good shape.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:40 am
@harry
that is a negative outlook you have, I see it as a hard start of the schedule Old man McCown played until the O-line starts to gel, Then The FUTURE takes over and earns a wildcard spot for the 1st time for the Bucs in Many years!
July 16th, 2014 at 9:44 am
L&L were so impressed that they drafted ASJ in the 2nd.
“the NFL is about constant adjustments”
Blasphemy!
“The NFL is about snacking, hydrating and urination. Plus if you haven’t practiced it that week and game planned it, then you can’t use it,” said the Little General.
Brilliant stuff. Miguel. –Joe
July 16th, 2014 at 9:46 am
Well, if we ended up in the playoffs I would be very happy with that. I don’t care who is at QB as long as they get the job done.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:48 am
Look, there are only so many rocks in the pile to go around. Wright is almost guaranteed to slump in production numbers based on the fact there are so many new receivers. Wright will likely be a better player in 2014 than he was last season, and his production will still dip. And it’s a great problem to have, even though Wright can’t be too happy about a diminished role. The Bucs will be better if Wright doesn’t need to be a major target, and I’m hoping for it.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:55 am
I think Wright will contribute plenty for the Bucs this season. I’m thankful he is on our team.
July 16th, 2014 at 9:57 am
@ Louis Friend
You are exactly correct on all points….it will look like Wright has slumped because he has to share duties with a host of better tight ends….I expect the position of tight end to really produce for the Bucs this year…especially in the red zone!!!
What a great problem to have….a slumping Wright for that reason!!!
July 16th, 2014 at 9:58 am
It depends a lot on what Wright believes. If he buys into the sophomore slump count on it. If he thinks it’s a bunch of manure he’ll play even better than last year because of his added experience and Evans and Sefarian-Jenkins as additional targets not to mention Sims or whomever comes out of the backfield.
I’m not one who believes that if SJ beats Wright out at TE that Wright will be riding the pine. I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see both Wright and SJ on the field at the same time. A two tight end set with talented running backs and two dunkaneers out wide.
Given the increased number of playmakers this year I’m excited. It must be a lot of fun to be Ted at this time. Just imagine all the possibilities.
My only concern is all the blazing speed is in the backfield. Perhaps we’ll see Demps or Sims out wide in some formations.
Oops forgot about the WR from Wyoming.
July 16th, 2014 at 10:11 am
what he said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
July 16th, 2014 at 10:23 am
Meh Says:
We only converted him to TE so we could rip him off when we franchise tag him in a few years.
—————————————–
Deep thoughts from a shallow pond?
That means we get productive seasons on a paltry contract for a converted UDFA. Fact is, Wright didn’t have the speed at WR to get separation from the top flight corners. LB’s and safeties are a matchup nightmare though.
We make chicken salad from chicken spit but we are trying to rip him off?
July 16th, 2014 at 10:31 am
Wright’s production by numbers alone is certain to drop given his targets will be shared amongst a much more talented pool of receivers.
A great thing IMO. You can’t double the Towers, ASJ and Wright too. Individual stats will drop but that sure beats being the worst team in the NFL on offense.
Ghosts of Rah, “stats are for losers”
July 16th, 2014 at 10:51 am
Wright is valuable not only at TE but he can also play as our number 2 receiver if our rookie goes down and has the same measureables (which is why we should have used our first choice on a Franchise QB of the future when we had the chance–yes we may be able to trade up this year for one but that is chancy!). I expect big things from Wright this year!
July 16th, 2014 at 11:42 am
If Evans plays to his potential, you have a really good point.
July 16th, 2014 at 4:36 pm
I think Wright can be very effective this season. Even though he played TE last year, he played WR in college, so there is some flexibility there. Plus, the Bucs added more weapons this offseason. Think about a 2 TE set with 2 WR’s and Martin in the backfield…. you can’t double team Wright, and Evans, and Jackson, and Jenkins, and Doug Martin…someone is going to get open as long as our O-line can provide McCown/Glennon with a little throwing time! I think Wright will see a fair amount of success this season!
July 16th, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Let’s all close our eyes and picture the O-line breaking down. Instead of having to ‘dump’ to a RB behind the LOS, McCown/Glennon can ‘dump’ to a 6′-5″ Evans, a 6′-5″ Jackson, or a 6′-5″ Streeter. Oh, wait, the rush is too quick to wait for them to turn around. Now it has to be a shorter ‘dump’. Oh, yea, there they are. A 6′-3″ Myers, a 6′-5″ ASJ, a 6′-5″ Stocker (no snickering while your daydreaming!), or a 6′-4″ Wright. And when your QB is either 6′-4″ or 6′-6″, the tall bodies across the LOS are easier to spot.
OK, you can open your eyes now. The dream is ‘open source’. Feel free to tweak and share with your fellow fans. :^)
Reality is just a week away.