No Coach’s Pet Among Picks
May 1st, 2016
Mike Smith has his orders. Dirk Koetter explains.
Joe had a question for Dirk Koetter yesterday as the exhausting three-day draft closed.
Joe wanted to know whether Koetter had a special think for any of the third-day picks. Were any one of them guys he particularly wanted or spent extra time on.
Koetter paused to think, and explained not one fourth- through seventh-rounder was a player off his personal radar.
“A special thing for? Well, I can honestly say I put in my time on every one of these guys,” Koetter said. “I put in a lot of it – it’s just funny how it works out. A couple of these guys we actually had in the big room for the formal interviews going clear back to the combine. Every guy here was on our list, so every guy has been through the list of Jason’s order of guys that watched the tape, through the coaching staff, through the coordinators and through me. There’s nobody that just all of a sudden popped up today and [we] said, ‘We need to get on that guy.’ We spent our time on these guys and obviously, time will tell if we were right and some of it’s on them and we’ve got to coach them up.”
Ahh, yes, a typical dose of reality there in Koetter’s last sentence: “Some of it’s on them and we’ve got to coach them up.
Already, Koetter has proven he can have offensive rookies ready to contribute. Just look at all the youngsters that contributed on offense last year.
Can the Bucs deliver the same results on defense? Show us what you’re made up, Mike Smith.
May 1st, 2016 at 8:21 am
Third day picks come with low expectations. Won’t be shocked if none of the make the team or practice squad. The one guy I’m most excited about is Vitale. Hope Koetter finds a way to get the best out of him and he pans out.
May 1st, 2016 at 8:35 am
Hope all these guys work hard and impress.
May 1st, 2016 at 8:36 am
You heard it here first, Caleb Benedoch will be our opening day RT, he’s gonna pull a Kwon and clearly beat out the veteran player, he’s the most athletic lineman we have, at least on par with Ali, who is extremely gifted physically, 35 straight starts at a big time college, he’s probably a 1st rounder if he stayed in college
May 1st, 2016 at 8:39 am
Only joe would ask if there is a coach’s pet among the 150 players a coach would study during the draft process. Only you joe lol. Sometimes I don’t if you are serious or if yu are trying to be funny or if you are just that clueless. Only you joe!!!! Keep’em coming lol
May 1st, 2016 at 8:40 am
I love everything the bucs did in this draft. We are going in the right direction and going fast.
May 1st, 2016 at 8:41 am
^^^^^^
Sometimes i don’t know if…..
May 1st, 2016 at 8:49 am
Yeah all of these guys will be lucky to make the opening day roster. Hopefully we get lucky with a few of them. Reading through comments on the open thread I am amazed at how many people think we needed to draft a DT and acted like it was a pressing need. We have two solid starters and decent depth with Spence and Gholston rotating in. Think they did the right thing by staying away from that position, but would have liked to see another safety drafted. The one they did pick up looks pretty thin to be a thumper back there. I assume no safeties in the late second early third blew them away. There were several drafted between the Bucs originally were picking in the 3rd round and the spot they moved up to in the second. If one of them turns out to be a stud this Aguayo pick will look really bad.
May 1st, 2016 at 8:56 am
I agree that the Nigerian Nightmare Caleb Benedoch was one hell of a find. I think he will be a starter for us very soon, if not opening day.
May 1st, 2016 at 9:00 am
If one of them turns out to be a stud this Aguayo pick will look really bad.
Man are you guys nattering nabobs of negativity!!! h/t Spiro
I don’t care if Bell makes all pro for the rest of his career it will not reflect at all on the Aguayo pick.
What counts is AGUAYO!!! He of course could be a choking bust. We’ll find out.
But do you suppose the people who selected Mike Nugent…still in the league and doing well for the Bengals ever give a passing thought about who they might have picked in that 2nd round.
Do the Raiders think back on who they could have selected in the 1st round instead of Janikowski.
That’s not how the draft works!!! It’s not who you “could” have selected, there are always more players available than you can possibly pick. It’s the performance of the players you DO select that count.
Stop looking at everything from the negative and it will clear your heads.
May 1st, 2016 at 9:43 am
@SPBF
There are numerous intelligent fans who comment on here but to those who are negative about everything and are self proclaimed GM geniuses who would have drafted so much better than the professionals who work more hours analyzing potential draft picks in one day than some people work in 3 days; those folks are too stupid to insult and I just have learned to try to skip past their posts. They will continue to post stupid comments because they can and their is no laws against being stupid. For the rest of us, we just have to endure it or ignore it.
May 1st, 2016 at 9:49 am
St Pete – Perfectly said!
As for Caleb being a starter soon, history would not back that up. The bucs only have one starter (out of our draft picks since 2011) on the team that was selected after the 2nd round and that is Kwon Alexander. Kevin Pamphile was seleced in the 5th and he might crack the starting lineup soon but he hasn’t yet. In fact since Licht has been the GM Pamphile and Kenny Bell are the only players still on the team selected after the 4th round. That should make expectations for Devonted Bond and Dan Vitale be pretty low. Lightning could strike and one of these guys could be a surprise like Kwon was but most likely if they stick, it will be that that are big special teams contributers.
May 1st, 2016 at 10:09 am
@SPBF&RayJay1122: it’s not we were a failed field goal away from the play-offs, I didn’t like the place kicker pick, too many other needs is my thought, but like you I’m no (GM), I’m a Buc fan who will never IN LICTH WE TRUST!
May 1st, 2016 at 10:30 am
Im going to assume Hayes will be heavily involved with the influence on the defense. The guy is going to be our next DC I’d expect to see a very similar system to the Bengals
May 1st, 2016 at 10:31 am
With all the high pick busts from the Dominick years, how can anyone complain about our last three drafts (including the potential from Aguayo) and perhaps even Kenny Bell.
As for the late round picks…..I think we did well…..especially pleased with Vitale….I have been calling for months for us to utilize the FB position more in our offense……I think Lane only carried or caught like 2 passes all year.
The versatility from that position when we have either Martin or Sims int he backfield is a matchup nightmare for defenses…..
May 1st, 2016 at 10:40 am
It’s painful for me to go to the past to illustrate my point….
Eight years Buc Draft selections 2nd & 3 rounds.
2007 Sears, Piscitelli, Black
2008 Jackson
2009 Miller
2010 Price, Benn, Lewis
2011 Bowers
Many of these were 2nd round picks……now, how do you compare the Aguayo pick which essentially was a 3rd round pick?
May 1st, 2016 at 10:48 am
My belief is everyone single one of these guys were selected to make this team. I’d be surprised if a single one of them didn’t.
May 1st, 2016 at 10:52 am
All of these pics were well-calculated.
May 1st, 2016 at 10:52 am
Hey RayJay maybe you missed the part where I said I guess there wasn’t anyone who blew them away. I trust in Licht as he has done a hell of a job so far and waiting it out to get Spence was a thing of beauty. Many third round picks are gambles so I am guessing they didn’t feel any players better than Aguayo were out there.
SPBF, a big part of looking back on a draft and determining whether or not it was a success is based on players taken vs players passed on. If down the road it is determined we skipped on a Ronnie Lott type of player to get a good kicker I think that move would be judged harshly. That was my only point. Ultimately I think our GM is a good one and I trust that he didn’t think a future pro bowl safety or wide receiver was out there.
May 1st, 2016 at 10:58 am
Research the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the seventies.They were the first to begin to place emphasis on selecting athletes from smaller schools. I see what Jason Licht is doing.
May 1st, 2016 at 10:59 am
Much like undrafted free agents, those guys come into the league with a chip on their shoulder.
May 1st, 2016 at 11:03 am
Nole is right. everyone of these picks will make the roster, we are in the process of phasing bad picks out and retooling the roster. I still think we are a year away from being a every year contender.
May 1st, 2016 at 12:27 pm
SPBF.. nattering nabobs of negativity lol. I worked close to downtown Tampa when Spiro Agnew made an appearance at Curtis Hixon. We were given permission to walk there a few blocks away, I passed. Who wanted to see that crook who was eventually ousted as VP.
May 1st, 2016 at 12:42 pm
RayJay
I get your post all the time on the political blog in which I participate. And it’s a very valid point.
I try to respect everybody here unless they go obviously racist or are clearly trolls like the guy who said this draft makes him want to be a Jags fan.
I’ve always been a glass half full guy…I do not care about the empty half…all the cliches..you know them well..crying over spilt milk and all of that.
BTW for those who would enjoy an actual intellectual draft evaluation…not this years…nobody can make an “intellectual” evaluation yet…read Joey Knight’s excellent piece in today’s Times.
Knight looked at the 2011 draft and scored how the teams fared. That’s actually an objective exercise and not the stuff we and all the pundits are doing today.
NOBODY knows how this draft will turn out. In fact we don’t really know how last year’s draft will turn out. Looks awesome right now but we are only two injuries away from a wasted draft. If #3 got mangled..or Kwon blows out a knee…last years draft looks great right now…let’s judge it five years from now.
If I had the certainty of draft predictions some of you feel I’d head to Vegas and start playing the craps tables.
May 1st, 2016 at 12:48 pm
Love your last sentence there Joe..Show us what you’re made of DC Mike Smith!! I’ve been sayin this since his selection! I know many here are singing his praises. But his last 2 or 3 Defenses in ATL got eaten alive. Maybe this new job rejuvenates him. Just like we fired Lovie, he to was fired from the Falcons. Sooo, Show us what you got MR. Smith!! Its great to see we will have good competition on Defense in this Bucs camp.
May 1st, 2016 at 12:58 pm
Love the “armchair GMs” who fall in love with players based on college tape and measurable and assume they know better than the guys in charge! They have access to SO much more information. Besides, no one outside OBP even knows what the team’s defense is going to look like this year, much less what its needs are. And, NO ONE – even the guys inside OBP – knows how a particular player will respond to becoming a professional – flush with time and money with no one to make their decisions for them. Any of these picks could be in the HOF one day. ANY of them could be out of the league in 2 years (ask Jamarcus Russel or the Bucs’ own Dexter Jackson (the “alleged” WR). Either way, their success or failure will just as likely be due to the “unknown” than the “known.”
May 1st, 2016 at 3:02 pm
No way to know whether all, any or none of the drafted players will start or even make the team. It’s the NFL after all and nothing is in the bag.
As for Caleb Benenoch, my money says he’ll sit, watch, workout, practice and go to meetings this year. He’ll be lucky to see the field unless it works out that he’s the reincarnation of Anthony Munoz or Forrest Gregg at tackle. Unlike Ali Marpat and Donovan Smith he doesn’t HAVE TO start his rookie year, so there’s no reason not to let him grow into the NFL, because as it stands the O-line led the way for the NFL’s #2 rusher last season, Doug Martin. So there’s no reason to rush things with Benenoch, unless the Bucs get bit by the injury bug.
Same deal with Noah Spence. We’ve got Jacquies Smith and Robert Ayers to do most of the heavy lifting rushing the passer from the edge. So, my money is on Spence playing more than Benenoch, but in a relief role, unless of course he’s the reincarnation of Deacon Jones. There are two scenarios where I see Spence playing more than Benenoch and that’s the injury bug biting the D-line or the “experiment” that is Ayers doesn’t work out and we need to put more pressure on the passer.
In my opinion, we’re seeing the beginnings of a Patriots-like strategy for free agency and the draft. Use free agency to fill today’s holes for the short term, then, use the draft to hire up the future, let them sit on the bench, workout, practice and develop before throwing them into the fire, unless the injury bug bites.
So, all you wannabe GMs and HCs need to start thinking beyond today’s drafts and trying to predict what a player can be after, in the words of Dirk Koetter, “we coach them up.”
May 1st, 2016 at 3:11 pm
@Bculaw:
I get that posters and other fans are uninformed goo era.
I also see that uninformed goo ears have regularly questioned the emperor’s clothes. See, 2014 offensive line. Examples abound.
Years ago my mother would quiz me over every girl I dated. My father said nothing, just watched. Weeks or months later he would say or let slip some opinion that was almost always spot on. When I asked how he could do that, he said he listened to nothing I said but just watched.
Most of the 1Buc talk is to evade the fans and avoid the point. But when you watch what they do, you can hear a lot.
Just say’n.
May 1st, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Ryan Smith will start for this team a t safety before long, think Tanard Jackson (minus the weed)