Joel Glazer, Andy Reid & Marvin Lewis Break Down The DeSean Jackson Signing
March 29th, 2017
BY IRA KAUFMAN
PHOENIX — With one stroke of the pen earlier this month, the Bucs may have transformed the power structure of the NFC South.
Strolling along the lush grounds of the Arizona Biltmore resort this week, I’ve been struck by the impact DeSean Jackson has already made in a Tampa Bay uniform, weeks before the first OTA session at One Buc Place.
Whether I was talking to rival coaches or Bucs co-owner Joel Glazer, there is a palpable feeling here that signing Jackson represents a game-changing shift, a critical addition as Tampa Bay tries to chase down Atlanta and hold off Carolina and New Orleans in a division the Bucs haven’t ruled since Derrick Brooks was still roaming the field in 2007.
“DeSean Jackson was a big need of ours,” Glazer said during his annual state-of-the-Bucs conversation with JoeBucsFan.com. “It was important to get a guy with that track record as another weapon for Jameis. You see week in and week out in the NFL that you have to have guys who make big plays … it’s one thing we’ve been lacking.”
Andy Reid was Jackson’s coach in Philadelphia for five seasons as he established himself as one of the league’s premier deep threats. From his current vantage point in Kansas City, Reid is convinced the Bucs made a wise investment in free agency.
“I think DeSean can still play,” Reid said at the AFC coaches breakfast. “He looked pretty good last year, I know that. In Tampa, he’s coming into a pretty good core of guys and a quarterback I have a lot of respect for. Jameis can sling it, so Winston’s probably the happiest guy in Tampa right now.”
Unshackled
It’s no secret that first-year coach Dirk Koetter didn’t dial up many long-distance throws in 2016. Winston’s longest completion of the season (45 yards) came in that Week 1 thriller at the Georgia Dome.
Koetter didn’t feel he had a competitive advantage throwing downfield — and who can blame him? If speed kills, lack of speed kills innovative play-calling.
Enter Mr. Jackson, who is expected to resemble a pewter blur as he exploits opposing defenses on a weekly basis.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis suggests Jackson’s presence alone could put the Bucs over the top in their quest to end a nine-year playoff drought.
“Fans in Tampa have to be excited about how that team is being built,” Lewis said. “They’re in good hands with Dirk and Jameis Winston. One thing I know about DeSean Jackson is that he can stretch the field. The guy has great vertical speed.”
And as Reid noted, Jackson has the ability to maintain that elite speed throughout the route.
“A lot of guys turn their body when the ball’s in the air, cutting their speed in half,” Reid said. “The difference with DeSean is he is just as fast when he’s looking over his shoulder. Adding a guy like him means you can occupy people down the field, making your intermediate game even better than what it would normally be.
“The other thing is if teams want to go 1-on-1 with DeSean or put a safety on him, they’ve got problems.”
Bigger Is Better
Jackson didn’t make his bones in this league as a high-volume target, He has caught more than 62 passes only once during his first nine NFL seasons and his number of targets this fall will pale in comparison to Mike Evans.
So what? His catches count double.
“Very rarely do you see 12-play, 80-yard drives in our league,” Glazer said. “You see them, but not often. It’s the big plays you see week in and week out. The big strike can change a game like THAT. To add DeSean’s firepower alongside Mike Evans makes you very excited.”
Ira Kaufman pens columns for JoeBucsFan.com every Monday, Wednesday and Friday whether he wants to or not. Ira’s award-winning podcasts fire Tuesdays & Thursdays. All his work can be found here.
March 29th, 2017 at 3:32 am
Its all about Winston’s accuracy. I believe the main reason we failed converting big plays is because of Winston’s lack of accuracy. Its easy to put it on the no name receivers but I don’t think that’s the case. I hope I’m wrong
March 29th, 2017 at 3:47 am
Good Early morning Joe, and fellow Bucs fans!
Winston threw lots of long passes at FSU.
We has some great talent, but until now- Noone who could flat run past Defensive backs.
Vincent Jackson always had great “yards per catch” average. He has led the league in YPC. His loss killed us last year, and time is stealing steps from him.
DeSean brings in a whole new level of speed. They screw up coverage on him- he scores! Teams will want to put a safety behind him
But how can you do that every play- when you have Evans,Brate, and Humphries on the field.
Plus whatever new weapons still to be added.
Its an exciting time to be a Bucs fan!
March 29th, 2017 at 5:18 am
Another great read Ira.
“Enter Mr. Jackson, who is expected to resemble a pewter blur as he exploits opposing defenses on a weekly basis.”
= Journalistic gold
I’m excited about the possibilities DJax opens up for our entire offense. Yet apprehensive that so much seemingly rides on the health and availability of the 30 year old speedster. Jackson missed 9 games in the last 3 years with Washington and has played in all 16 games only twice in his 9 year career.
As much as I dislike the idea of even potentially paying top dollar for known “damaged goods” – perhaps the possibility of drafting John Ross at 19 (should he be available) needs to be more seriously considered. Unless Cook or Howard or Davis were to fall to 19 -in which case I’d forget the Ross idea in a split second and run to the podium with that players name written on a card…
March 29th, 2017 at 6:01 am
Jameis still needs a couple more weapons, which is why I think we go pass catcher and RB in the first 2 rounds of the Draft….not necessarily in that order. If Cook or McCaffrey is there at 19, I could see the Bucs pulling the trigger, then maybe going for a guy like WR Curtis Samuel in round 2. But I could just as easily see them going after a guy like TE OJ Howard (if he was to slide a bit) in round 1, then picking up a RB (Kamara, Foreman, Mixon, Hunt, etc.) in the second. I’m sure they have a couple of different scenarios ready to go, based on who’s available when they select.
March 29th, 2017 at 6:48 am
Mike had bracketed coverage on him and we asked Mike to play so much you could see he was getting exhausted at times
We need to have five receivers that are actually NFL caliber players.
Jamies will all of sudden look very acurate throwing to DJax while our fans can not understand why he’s not accurate throwing the deep ball to Dontae Dye and Freddie Martino.
March 29th, 2017 at 8:27 am
Ocala, word!
March 29th, 2017 at 8:55 am
We’re all fans here so don’t jump down my throat. We need to stop glossing over Winston’s accuracy issues last year. You can say what you want about Martino, Shep, Hump, etc….but there were shots that were missed and were WIDE open. Like any 3rd year QB there are still plenty of things to work on.
Having a speedy guy will definitely help, but Jameis needs to continue to work on his accuracy as well. If we get everybody on the same page, this could be fun to watch!
Good signing and good read Ira!
March 29th, 2017 at 9:28 am
Your right fanman, I love having Jameis in Tampa and think he’ll succeed, but if this team is going to take that next step then Jameis has to fix his accuracy issues. Too many times Jameis missed a (sometimes) wide open target and the offense fell flat. He just needs to hit his guy a little more consistently. Add that and an actual running game and this ocfense could be dangerous.
March 29th, 2017 at 9:39 am
Can we please stop pleading for Perine, every day posted beg for this guy, he’s big with little athletic traits ran a 4.66 at 233 pounds, in case you missed it, D Foreman ran a 4.45 at 234 yesterday, that’s something to get excited about
March 29th, 2017 at 10:20 am
@Guzzie- I like both but Foreman appears to be the better athlete IMO. I love me some “bruisers”!!!
March 29th, 2017 at 10:52 am
Exciting times for Bucs Fans.
As many has pointed out, Djax just being on the field changes how teams will defend this offense. I can’t wait to see what offensive weapons we add in the upcoming draft.
As previously stated, I want Dalvin Cook and believe its only a matter of time before he is a Buc. But I tell you what man, any of these top offensive weapons in the 1st round of the draft would be huge in its own way. You could argue for the difference either of these guys could make on this team as the roster currently stand.
Dalvin Cook (or McCaffrey), Corey Davis (or Mike Williams now that Davis tops some draft boards), OJ Howard, and John Ross all represent the ability to take this offense to an elite status (at least on paper) come next season. This is crazy, I need to order my B4 for this draft.
March 29th, 2017 at 11:51 am
I think that Flash Jackson is a much needed addition and I also get that he has had some durability issues and some tread loss on the tires. Even so, he still has that vertical speed threat and good enough hands to keep defenses honest. Since defenses now have to account for two viable threats in Evans and Jackson, not to mention the emergence of Brate and a solid if not spectacular slot receiver in Humphries.
With the receiving weapons it will make it hard for defenses to get away with a lot of 8 men in the box to stop a running game. So if we get a dynamic RB going against 7 men in the box, then we could see a significant improvement in our running game which will force teams to gamble some to stop the run giving some better looks for our air attack. Pick your poison.
So I could see drafting the best available RB in round 1 or another speedster with good hands to take the reigns from Flash if he gets injured or when he calls it a career. It is a dilemma but I think either way, we will be OK. I honestly believe Rodgers is a capable back and even Barber with defenses playing less aggressive run defense due to the need to respect the air threat, that could make average backs look pretty good.
So I think rounds 1 and 2 will be RB and WR in either order but probably WR first since there is more value there for a first round investment. Then we need to focus on some defensive help both on the DL and safety positions.
It will be interesting to see how they choose to pick next month.
March 29th, 2017 at 11:53 am
Add in Njoku in round 1 and perhaps do everything speedster slot/RB Curtis Samuels in round 2 and this offense is nearly unstoppable…if our running game is decent.
March 31st, 2017 at 6:44 am
Let’s not forget who was the best quarterback in the league last year throwing crossing routes. It wasn’t Rodgers or Brady it was Winston. With Desean taking the top off the defense they should be able to slay defenses across the middle the way Evans attacks the ball and should open up more seams routes up the field with Brate especially if we add Njoku saying Howard is way gone.