Robert Ayers Has Travel Plans
March 10th, 2016
Leaving Tampa?
Various reports claim booted Giants defensive end Robert Ayers headed to Tampa last night to meet with the Bucs.
Joe missed the dancing on the streets of Dale Mabry Highway.
Perhaps all the dancing was reserved for the sordid establishments on Dale Mabry Highway. Joe’s not sure.
Anyway, it seems as if Ayers plans to take his 30-year-old bones to South Florida after leaving the Bucs, if Tampa Bay lets him walk about the door. That’s this morning’s word from CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora.
Ayers was banged up last year with ankle, neck and hamstring injuries but managed 9 1/2 sacks in 12 games. That’s impressive, but it’s still a massive red flag that the Giants, who were yearning for a pass rush, let him stroll out of the building.
Please don’t tell Joe it’s because they signed Olivier Vernon. The Giants didn’t know they’d win that bidding war, and the guy opposite Vernon is missing a digits.
Regardless, Ayers with the Bucs would represent good rotational depth. The Bucs just have to make sure he has a pulse and is not secretly named “Johnson.”
March 10th, 2016 at 10:28 am
i still remember wanting us to draft ayers when we took freeman.
March 10th, 2016 at 10:33 am
I”m pretty sure he’s still better than every pass rusher we have not named Jacqueis Smith. And even that’s up for debate.
March 10th, 2016 at 10:34 am
I’ve scratched my head enough over the past 3 days..
Unless there is some secret trade deals going on in the back of the house..then I am truly not understanding what they are doing..
March 10th, 2016 at 10:35 am
Great, let’s over pay for a guy who’s on the wrong side of 30 and has never had double digit sacks in his career!
March 10th, 2016 at 10:40 am
Why don’t we just forget signing a DE at this point and take 2 in the first two rounds of the Draft? The true IMPACT free agent DE’s are gone now. Anyone left is there for a reason, or just a backup quality guy.
Jason Licht needs to get off his rear end and find us a RT, a #3 WR, an OLB, and help at Safety and Corner….NOW! Then we can add two good young pass rushers in April.
Come on, Jason….the clock is ticking and the list of good free agents gets smaller every hour!
March 10th, 2016 at 10:41 am
Young and hungry is how I like’em.. And I ain’t talkin chics.
March 10th, 2016 at 10:55 am
If his asking price is reasonable, Ayers could be a very good pickup for the Bucs. But that’s a big IF … seems like all the FAs these last couple of days having been getting ridiculous contracts.
March 10th, 2016 at 11:10 am
I wouldnt mind ayers as a rotational guy. Word is olb tahir whitehead is headed to tampa.
March 10th, 2016 at 11:11 am
*tahir whitehead planning to visit tampa bay.
March 10th, 2016 at 11:13 am
He’s good for depth. Not as a starter. Can’t stay healthy.
I said the same thing about Bruce Carter last year.
As far as the Bucs making a splash in free agency…how much of a splash did the Pats, Packers and such make? Not much.
March 10th, 2016 at 11:22 am
@VOICE: we made the right (drafting Freeman) just picked the wrong coach (Shiano) another BACK/STABBER!!
March 10th, 2016 at 11:27 am
Seems like we are reacting instead of acting. We screwed up with Hamster. Sweezy is ok. But to have so many holes and not fill them, makes no sense to me. Teams knew prices would be crazy. Starting to get frustrated. We have to get a DE. Ayers isn’t that guy. I’m telling you. I think Hardy will be a Buc. We were the only team besides Dallas last season to go after him. We can get him even cheaper this time around. We are backing ourselves into a corner.
And relying on the draft and hoping you smash it again is risky business. Trade Glennon. I would check on the Jets and see if they would offer Wilkerson for MG8. Or trade him to Denver or one of the other half dozen teams that really need a QB.
March 10th, 2016 at 11:29 am
JOE SAYS: “The Bucs just have to make sure he has a pulse and is not secretly named ‘Johnson.’”
OR
…is a Clemsen grad!
March 10th, 2016 at 11:43 am
Tiny pebbles make little waves even in a puddle.
March 10th, 2016 at 12:35 pm
Maybe giants let him walk cuz they would rather overspend on youth at DE than pay decent for an older guy ? the Giants GM has not been too great the last few years…
March 10th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
@bighoghayes
Your right it’s schianos fault Freeman can’t make a football team as a 3rd string QB. You truly write s dumb stuff on here
March 10th, 2016 at 12:47 pm
*some*
March 10th, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Anyone wondering what were doing look at what the pats, pack, broncos etc are doing. They’re building through the draft. We need some free agents but not the first day guys getting overpaid. Breathe deep free agency has just begun and then there’s this thing called the draft coming up
March 10th, 2016 at 1:21 pm
Stop.
Just stop.
The Buccaneers are 58-102 over the past ten years. You should stop comparing the Buccaneers in free agency vs. the Pats and Packers. The Bucs have far more in common with the Raiders and Browns than the Pats or Packers. I’m not arguing the Bucs should have spent half of their cap space on free agents. The situations are not comparable.
March 10th, 2016 at 1:49 pm
Tahir Whitehead (6-2 242) would be a great addition, especially considering who he will be replacing? This guy can hit. He had 50 tackles and an INT last year. Boneheaded move to not sign Robert Ayers. He and Greg Hardy are the only two decent DE left other than Dwight Freeney? At this point I would kick the tires on DET Jason D. Jones? Give me Hardy right now all day long. It is really reaching a point where you have to question this teams willingness to want to be competitive. I understand with the salary cap you have to spend 89% of your cap money over a four year period, but at what point does this team get fined for not spending that 89% because when that time comes you would think we would be the most fined team in the league? Does anyone else feel as disappointed and frustrated as I do? If we are building through the draft trade Mike Glennon and get another pick.
March 10th, 2016 at 2:15 pm
What if, instead of having one guaranteed 10+ sack guy involved in the pass rush, we had two (maybe even three) guys who can be counted on for 7+ sacks a season? I expect that would give opposing OCs some serious heartburn.
We have to remember, games aren’t won by having the most sacks recorded by a particular player; they’re won because your team does a better job of scoring points and preventing the other team from scoring than the other team does. It’s easy to get caught up in statistics when looking at an individual player because our brains crave that kind of information when we try to make comparisons, but statistics can be misleading. McCoy is a great example of this. He’s not necessarily a high sack count guy, but he gives opposing OCs nightmares because his ability to get penetration blows up their plays so often.
What I’m sure Hayes, Smith, and Licht are looking for is someone who can wreak havoc with opposing offenses once the ball is snapped. Sacks are awesome; they’re a great momentum stealer and a psychological gut punch to the offense. But tactically-speaking, QB hurries and blown-up plays are just as effective and a little easier to come by.
(And it’s cheaper to pay for the players that cause them.)
March 10th, 2016 at 2:39 pm
Glad he’s leaving, 31 years old, after his first above average season performance.. No thanks, bet he was asking a lot too
March 10th, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Mayock was huge on Ayers and I never could understand it…years later, I still don’t understand it. Decent sized guy with limited explosion and pass rush ability. Did he suddenly figure out how to rush the passer last season or did he get lucky…9 1/2 times? I’d rather go with the previous 5 seasons where he was a middling underachiever that didn’t impress anybody.
March 10th, 2016 at 4:58 pm
D ROME
I wasn’t comparing them with those teams I was saying they NEED to start being like those teams. If u prefer the bucs overpay for free agents feel free to spit it out. It’d be much better than not understanding what you’re reading and trying to comment on your comprehension of it. Nobody’s gona stop, just stop anything because you’re behind you’re Lil keyboard saying it.
March 10th, 2016 at 6:26 pm
@ Mr Canadian: it is my hope that we all love Buc Football, but I know for sure we all have different views on all things concerning the BUCS.
March 10th, 2016 at 7:05 pm
@bighoghanyes
Of course we are all here cause we are buc fans. I want to see them be successful as much as anyone I just think it is silly to place the demise of Freeman on schiano. Freeman must be held accountable for his actions.
GO BUCS!
March 10th, 2016 at 7:46 pm
This is off subject: In my opinion Schiano came to the Bucs #1 Not knowing how to deal with (Grown Men) #2 Had no faith in Freeman from day one of training camp, I just think he wanted his own man, most head coaches do, but to me he set out to undermine this kid because he just didn’t know how to deal with a guy who was A BLACK QUATERBACK whom he couldn’t punk with his Highschool antics! On that SUBJECT that’s the way I saw it.