Hargreaves Blowing Up
August 29th, 2016
The nerds love him.
Lotta love being thrown out Vernon Hargreaves’ way this morning. And it appears the numberscrunchers agree: Hargreaves is one helluva player.
It seems the spreadsheeters haven’t been this excited since the Battlestar Galactica 2004 was re-released on DVD, digitally remastered, of course.
By way of steerage-flying, Yogi Berra-worshiping, urinal picture-taking, video game-playing, Taylor Swift-listening, pickpocket-thwarting, Bucs-uniform-frowning, Allie-LaForce-smitten, Big-Ten-Network-hating, pedestrian-bumping, olive oil-lapping, popcorn-munching, coffee-slurping, fried-chicken-eating, oatmeal-loving, circle-jerking, beer-chugging, cricket-watching, scone-loathing, college football-naïve, baseball-box-score-reading, NPR-honk, filthy-hotel-staying, fight-instigating, barista-training Peter King, of Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports fame, the chief spreadsheeter, Neil Hornsby, ranked Hargreaves among the top five rookies in all of the NFL based on play in preseason games this summer.
Vernon Hargreaves III, cornerback, Tampa Bay. The Bucs traded down in the first round to get Hargreaves at No. 11, and he has more than justified his spot so far. It’s rare for stat lines to tell an adequate story but maybe this is one of those times. Playing right corner and in the slot, Hargreaves has been in coverage for 54 opposition dropbacks. He’s been targeted eight times, allowed one reception for two yards, intercepted two balls and knocked down another. The passer rating against him: 0.0.
It doesn’t stop there. One of Hornsby’s underlings, Nathan Jahnke, took to Twitter this morning to echo the sentiments of his boss.
Vernon Hargreaves has been thrown at 8 times in preseason, allowed 1 catch for 2 yards. Has 2 INT+1 PD. NFL QB Rating allowed of 0.0.
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) August 29, 2016
Joe will say this about Hargreaves, without the use of a calculator or any electronic device: Dude is a ballhawk. His athletic ability really reminds Joe of a young Brent Grimes. To see Grimes and Hargreaves on the field together, it’s almost like watching a pair of brothers. They are so similar.
Now initially, Hargreaves struggled learning the nickel position but he gradually got better. But when this cat plays under the lights, he blows up. That’s big.
Joe knows one thing Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht looks for — he uses this very term — is how a player plays “under the lights.”
Thus far in his very short NFL career, Hargreaves is made for the lights.
August 29th, 2016 at 11:48 am
A Battlestar Galactica reference Joe?! Brutal!
Hargreaves definitely looks like the real deal. I agree, he does remind me of Grimes. Man he’s got some crazy ball-hawking skills. I’m excited about watching this kid on Sundays.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:06 pm
I’ve known this about VH3 since the days of Wharton when my boys went to the games and kept telling me this kid can catch staples and spit balls thrown through the air from unknown locations..
His eyes have a built in radar..Ball hawk at it’s finest..Hope he gets Rookie of the Year..
August 29th, 2016 at 12:15 pm
They should love’em he about to be a Phantom Menace.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:17 pm
knew the kid was special when I saw his foot speed in mini camp.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:33 pm
And yet in still people get on this site and down play a dominating win by saying cleveland is garbage. Like that ain’t the way we’ve been viewed for over ten years now. Unfortunately for the league the tide has changed,and no one league wide sees it coming. Players were asking Phill Simms why ain’t nobody talking about us. No need,we about to force they hand into doing so here shortly.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:39 pm
Gonna be a great player.
I’m glad Tracy Morgan and Gary Coleman had a baby.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:40 pm
and some people didn’t want him….calling him too small, too slow and overrated….some even said he wasn’t a top 15 prospect….where yall at now?(Seminole fans)….GO BUCS!!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 12:41 pm
Love the confidence nosbos and the nicknames are fire.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:43 pm
Nice to have a corner with “ball skills”. It’s one thing to provide decent coverage and tackling ability…it’s a whole other to be able to snare the ball on par with the receivers. The trade was a tad risky…glad Giants went with Apple.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:44 pm
813bucboi haha, same with all the gator fans and Jameis. Eating crow now.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:47 pm
Save that 813 I place my Seminole bias on the back burner soon as we took this kid,check the archives bro. Make no mistake I love my Noles but I place nothing above my Buccaneers. DB I can just see it in my mind dawg.
August 29th, 2016 at 12:51 pm
I don’t understand the FSU ,UF ..crap..who cares where the flock he went to college?..Shouldn’t that end when you finally leave college??..
August 29th, 2016 at 12:56 pm
I am a gators fan and wanted us to pick mariota… for about 30 secs.
after hearing abt more about jameis it was easy to set aside bias. Bucs are my team. I wanted the best players
August 29th, 2016 at 12:57 pm
oh and GOT Damn 0.0??? thats insane
August 29th, 2016 at 12:57 pm
@dick butkiss….wrong…most gators fans wanted jameis because we needed a qb….we(gator fans) along with the rest of buc nation were just concerned about his character….when it came down to VHG people(mostly nole fans) where saying how they wanted nothing to do with him and wanted players like rankins and Lawson….
@nole…stop lying…you talked trash about VHG throughout the entire draft process….it was you who said he wouldn’t go first round….it was you who pounded your fist for e.ogbah…you even wanted to bet me ogbah would go before VHG…remember that….GO BUCS!!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 1:14 pm
Once I see VHG3 shut down K. Benjamin then I’ll eat crow. The kid is good I’ll give him that lets see if he can hang with the big boys. I hope so but I want to see it.
August 29th, 2016 at 1:15 pm
Btw did I mention that gmc didn’t pick up one brown off the ground? #progress
August 29th, 2016 at 1:29 pm
@DB55…you like hot sauce or bbq sauce with you crow?…..GO BUCS!!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Sweet n sour Por favor
August 29th, 2016 at 1:40 pm
I love Battlestar Galactica! C’mon who doesn’t think Starbuck is hot?? Or the alien chick? :/
August 29th, 2016 at 1:48 pm
I have bet for you 813 pull up one single critical post from me after we drafted the kid. I’ll be waiting dude.
August 29th, 2016 at 1:55 pm
0.0 passer rating vs the rookie Hargreaves in preseason? WOW. That is a meaningless stat worth reporting. I’m excited for this kid’s future as a Buccaneer.
Its a beautiful thing when your highest draft picks display instant talent and a burning desire to improve from the 1st day they walk into your facility. Licht is 3 for 3 so far in that regard with Evans, Winston and Hargreaves.
On average, there’s a 46% chance that any 1st round draft pick you select will not perform well enough to get a 2nd contract in the NFL. Anyone worried that will happen to one of these guys? LOL
August 29th, 2016 at 2:07 pm
@nole says,”pull up one single critical post from me after we drafted the kid”….no need….as I stated earlier you and others bashed the kid throughout the entire draft process….did you not prefer e.ogbah?….did you not say e.ogbah would be a first rounder and VHG drop to the 2nd?…..be man enough to admit you were wrong about the kid…..GO BUCS!!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 2:21 pm
Excited about this kid, but he’s got a big test coming on Sept. 11th. If he can hold his own against Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, then I’ll start to buy the hype.
August 29th, 2016 at 2:23 pm
@nole…stop lying…you talked trash about VHG throughout the entire draft process….it was you who said he wouldn’t go first round….it was you who pounded your fist for e.ogbah…you even wanted to bet me ogbah would go before VHG…remember that….GO BUCS!!!!
………………………………..
I call BS to this. Nole and I had a few beers one night back in April while I was on vacation. He asked my my honest opinion of VH3 and i told him I had never seen ball skills like this kid had. I said the kid was gonna be a star WherEver he went.. Nole supported him from that moment on.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:02 pm
Thanks big homie SB.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:32 pm
Doosh….that was hilarious!
Go Vernon. Go Bucs!
August 29th, 2016 at 3:36 pm
Love what we’ve seen and heard from VH3 so far!
August 29th, 2016 at 5:30 pm
@nole….I see your booty partner came to your rescue…lol…so you never said e.ogbah would go before VHG?….
@sb….you just proved my point….he bashed him up until that point which was during the draft process….he did say someone talked some sense into him about VGH…basically the same thing I tried to tell him about VHG…..GO BUCS!!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 6:03 pm
Under the lights theme –
VH3
Noah Spence
JW
Kwon
Marpet
D Smith
Evans
All new players in the last couple years that “blow up under the lights”
They all consistently had big games against big time opponents in college and so far look that way in the NFL as well.
August 29th, 2016 at 6:42 pm
DB55
I’m a big Hargreaves fan but I do not believe he’s going to shut down either K Benjamin or Julio Jones. No crow on the menu.
But NOBODY is going to shut these guys down. The best we can hope for is that second game against Julio when we held him to way below his average.
I think that contest will be a team effort. Do we get enough pressure on Cam and Matty Ice to force the issue a bit…do our DB’s play as well we hope they will…and finally can #3 hook up for enough TD’s to offset the times when nobody stops Jones or Benjamin.
August 29th, 2016 at 7:07 pm
Kid is the real deal. I’ve said it since before the draft and will continue to say it. He will be our #1 guy for the next decade. I love all the posters on here eating crow for hating on VHIII.
August 29th, 2016 at 7:47 pm
Not sure I would put KB in that category St.Pete especially coming back from the injury. And the way cam balls were sailing not sure he has the QB needed to be in that category if wanted to.
August 29th, 2016 at 10:52 pm
Hold on, Eazy-E is on the Bucs?
August 30th, 2016 at 12:51 am
VH3 has show terriffic skills so far! Might be our best CB already, although he’ll still need to learn the NFL
Only have the same concern I had at draft
He lacks elite speed. This could make him a target on deep throws
And VH3 and Grimes are both short- at a time where the league values tall Recievers
And we have already seen Grimes in perfect coverage, give up a TD to a tall/big reciever