Saints “Grilled” Cameron Brate Daily
August 8th, 2016
Rob “Bad Santa” Ryan was relentless
Tampa Bay’s go-to tight end, Harvard man Cameron Brate, was released by the Bucs in September of last year and landed on the New Orleans roster before the Bucs-Saints game in Week 2.
Today, Joe finally got to ask Brate if — and how — the Saints grilled him when he arrived.
It’s common for a player cut by one team to be signed by a future opponent of the squad that dumped him. The idea is to pump the jilted player for enemy intelligence.
Brate described a scenario, given the interrogators, that seemed fit for extreme lighting, waterboarding and sharp objects.
“Not so much Coach [Sean] Payton, but the defensive coaches, Rob Ryan, Joe Vitt, those guys kind of grilled me,” Brate said. “I didn’t want to give them too much information. You know, I didn’t want to be a traitor to the Bucs. I gave them a little bit but not too much.”
Brate said he felt he was signed by New Orleans, in part, for his Bucs knowledge.
“I’m sure that went into it, definitely,” Brate said. “It was just kind of a whirlwind of a week. I was cut Tuesday. I was there Tuesday night, had practice Wednesday. Yeah, they were asking me questions, meeting with them 1-on-1 after practice every day for 45 minutes.”
The Bucs beat the Saints by a touchdown, behind three sacks and two forced fumbles by defensive end Jacquies Smith, who messed up Drew Brees’ shoulder on one of the sacks. So Brate spilling some beans ultimately didn’t work.
Bucs icon Ronde Barber is no fan of the practice of signing players for information on an opponent. Barber has said that information is typically counterproductive because it leads defenders to think too much and not react instinctively.
Kudos to Brate for feeling a shred of loyalty to the Bucs after they cut him. Or perhaps he was guarded because Bad Santa Rob Ryan was abrasive and overbearing. Joe would bet on the latter.
August 8th, 2016 at 4:04 pm
And ask why they did not sign someone for some insider defensive information……. the reply was…..
” We already know the 4 plays from that passive, antiquated, fiasco of a defense that the Incompetent one is running”!!!!!
August 8th, 2016 at 4:20 pm
When is Bad Santa II coming out. First one was one of the all time greats.
August 8th, 2016 at 4:29 pm
I wonder how our third team quarterback feels about this practice???
August 8th, 2016 at 5:13 pm
I suspect they asked him…..”Are the Bucs really as bad as they were against us in the last game of 2014, or did they throw that game?”
August 8th, 2016 at 5:30 pm
Every team in the NFL does this, including the Bucs. In the end it is all about the W/L record. I would even guess that, as a coaching staff, if you didn’t sign upcoming opponents’ discarded players to learn as much as you could about them then that would be dereliction of duty. Slim chances of keeping your job, or picking up a new one, if you don’t do your job.
August 8th, 2016 at 5:41 pm
If he had attended Tierra del Fuego Tech, might not be much help. The Man went to Harvard. I would bet he retained much more than your average ‘Joe’. lol
August 8th, 2016 at 5:44 pm
Speaking for Pablo
“Pablo respects Brate…..a Harvard man……Pablo did the best he could with Pablo’s education…Pablo went to Our Lady of St. Miserables….Pablo has what they call….street sense…..but nobody is as smart as Haboo”
August 8th, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Wow….last comment awaiting moderation…just Wow. Now I know not to put ‘Joe’ in my comments.
August 8th, 2016 at 5:54 pm
I swear if we lose either games against the saints or falcons something’s wrong.
August 8th, 2016 at 6:16 pm
What side of Otown you in N on Sat-B on Sun? I commute to Otown. Tuesday thru Saturday for work. Would love to get together for lunch some day, including any JBF posters, that would like to kick back and have a good talk about OUR Bucs.
August 8th, 2016 at 6:43 pm
(407)600-1796 ask for Mike CocoaBch.
August 8th, 2016 at 7:18 pm
All teams do this with players who have played in an opponents system.
August 8th, 2016 at 7:44 pm
Status quo son nothing bad about it. Kind of what Bellicheat says about his JoesBucFan.com nickname, if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying to win.
Man Nole Realist might hit you with a John Walls crank call leaving your # out there like that!😆
August 8th, 2016 at 8:15 pm
Off subject but you’ve gotta see the Robert Ayres presser…. wow….it’s like this guy has been a part of the team for 5 years…..I’m very impressed with his attitude….
Hopefully, Joe will have some quotes from him…
August 8th, 2016 at 9:25 pm
Cutting Brate was another dumb move by Lovie. Thankfully, they were able to get him back.
August 8th, 2016 at 11:24 pm
@ Joe
I hope you give a shoutout to George Yarno, former player and coach for the Bucs who passed away from Cancer earlier today
August 9th, 2016 at 7:45 am
I would pump the brakes on all the Brate hype until he can proves he can do it on a consistent basis and wasn’t apart of just a lucky season for him. I have faith he will but Im not jumping on board until then. I’ve seen to many players like this come to the bucs out of no where and have a decent season only to disappear the next. And look for the bucs to utilize more of the 2 TE formation this year. I like the idea of having ASJ and Brate on the field together.
August 9th, 2016 at 10:56 am
REALIST wins the Internet for the day. Well done.