“It’s A Convict Position”
January 25th, 2016
Many solid NFL defensive ends are, at worst, borderline societal crazies.
One thing Joe enjoys about East-West Shrine Game practices held in St. Petersburg is the easy opportunity to talk football with the best talent evaluators, from Packers yoda Ted Thompson to grunt work college scouts.
Joe always learns something from these casual chats.
Take one conversation Joe had with an NFL scout about defensive ends (which the Bucs sorely need). Joe asked about crazy Joey Bosa and a guy who has a checkered past, ecstasy-dropping, public-p!ssing Noah Spence.
The scout looked at Joe, shrugged his shoulders about sketchy backgrounds of some defensive ends, and then said of defensive ends, “It’s a convict position.”
The scout went on to tell Joe just about every decent defensive end is either nuts, borderline criminal or just, well, off kilter a little. The scout likened defensive ends to diva receivers. They are just a different breed.
The scout is absolutely correct. Just about every decent defensive end has personality, or is a maniac. Shoot, Jared Allen is, well, out there. Reggie White used to bless quarterbacks after he sacked them, not to mention his views on folks who live on the other side of the globe.
Simeon Rice is as intelligent of a man and as good of a guy as they come, but even he is, well, unique. Pro Bowler Michael Bennett, the guy the Bucs let walk for no good reason, is a notorious nut.
So in other words, good luck finding a defensive end who is well-adjusted. The last one was likely Lee Roy Selmon, and he last played 30 years ago.
And that may be why the Bucs have totally urinated in the wind for the past decade. The Bucs, in recent years, seemed equally concerned with if a guy went to Mass each week as they were his playing ability. Gaines Adams and Da’Quan Bowers were/are fine human beings. As NFL defensive ends? Joe only wishes they were forgettable.
Now Joe is not suggesting Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht start scrounging through penitentiaries for a defensive end. But trying to find a stud who is a model citizen is like trying to find the next Selmon.
Good luck with that.
January 25th, 2016 at 8:15 am
I will be less radical than you Joe but DE especially pass rusher are perhaps not killer but, at least, hunter !
And they need this crazyness to do their job properly, after all what they are ask to do is to run into a wall at every snap to try to catch a chicken (think of the Rocky/Creed scene) behind it !
You have to be borderly sane/insane to do that !
January 25th, 2016 at 8:28 am
I get the point, we need a lot more toughness out of defense. Not a fan of the convict players. Those guys will help win more games which right now we would welcome, but seems to me those are the guys that cost you when the games get a little chippy. They lose their heads, go to war and start trying to maim people, causing game killing personal fouls. We need tough as nails mentally and physically with an intense desire not to lose. Michael Strahan was a defensive end and he seems to be a relitively decent human.
January 25th, 2016 at 8:31 am
Charles Haley – nuts
There are some normal ones – Dwight freeney comes to mind, but his point is valid.
January 25th, 2016 at 8:31 am
and don’t forget high motors. andre ware and Vonn miller put on a clinic yesterday.
There was no quit in those guys. That’s what we need.
January 25th, 2016 at 8:32 am
Robert Nkemdechie fits the bill then.
January 25th, 2016 at 9:03 am
They got to be a bit Crazy
but not so crazy that they end up in Jail
January 25th, 2016 at 9:23 am
Would be nice to root for a team that can rush the passer.
January 25th, 2016 at 9:57 am
I want guys on the line that had two choices in life — profession QB killer or strip club bouncer
January 25th, 2016 at 10:42 am
I’m not on board with Joey Bosa. Has nothing to do with crazy or not. He’s a very good DE…but he’s not a premier pass rusher…he’s a good rusher and a good run stopper…we need a GREAT pass rusher!
My son lives in Columbus and is a huge OSU fan. Consequently I watched 3 OSU games this year just to keep up. Bosa simply does not dominate games.
Not saying he’s a bad player..not saying he won’t have a solid career…just that he’s not a disruptive force and I think there are better ways to spend our #1 pick…can you say Ramsey? I’d rather have Hargreaves or Apple.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:07 am
def don’t want Hardy there’s a difference between being a mad man (r. Incognito) and being a true POS like Greg Hardy.
D. Ware had a career day yesterday and he seems like a professional individual.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:11 am
@StPete….man, I don’t know which games you watched dude but Bosa is a beast. He may not turn out to be JJ Watt but he’s the best prospect I’ve seen in a long time. He will be the #1 draft pick so we don’t have a shot at him but your analysis of him is just way off base.
January 25th, 2016 at 12:13 pm
We need a defensive end that chases cars and howls at the moon.
January 25th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
Thanks for bringing up the Shrine game Joes. As far as DE, Victor Ochi was a huge standout. On the offensive side, C/G (he played RG more than C) Jake Brendel was looking good too. CB Brian Poole (Gators) was playing hard, as was WR Geronimo Allison.
Ochi will probably be a very late pick if he’s lucky, but I’d spend a late round on him, or at least test him as an UDFA.
January 25th, 2016 at 12:43 pm
With you on Ramsey StPete….and some mocks have him going 7th or even 8th. If he drops that much I hope Licht finds a way to move up for him before he’s snatched right out from under us. Id rather trade down if we dont and go after Andrew Billings. DT I know, but man, kids got a lot of size, power and a motor.
But then again I also wouldnt mind if we beefed up the protection around JW. So many options and needs I dont think I’ll be disappointed with our choice. But Ramsey just might do to our D backfield what Jameis did for our offense.
January 25th, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Noah Spence is a great DE prospect who could be there in the second round for us. DE Carl Nassib Penn State He just won the Lombardi Award for the nation’s’ top lineman and led the NCAA with 15.5 sacks is another quality second rounder. If we are looking for a new identity which needs an infusion of nastiness on defense then we should draft Shawn Oakman Baylor in the second round. Robert Nkemdiche Old Miss He has become a question mark after throwing someone out of a window…himself. At 6’3, 296, Nkemdiche is an imposing presence with Top-5 talent. He has great footwork and a powerful lower body. DE Kevin Dodd is another late first early second round pick. Everyone knows my top pick at number one, DT Andrew Billings Baylor is the best NT in the draft and the strongest player in the draft. If you want a beast with nasty on top, he is your man.