“I Don’t Have To Think As Much”
June 3rd, 2017
Freed
Two blunders of the Buccaneers’ 2016 season revolved around their fourth-round pick, Ryan Smith.
First, after poring over his college film, the regime thought Smith was a safety prospect and committed to transforming him to the position after he finished as a cornerback at North Carolina Central.
That didn’t work. Smith couldn’t adjust and didn’t contribute defensively.
Second, the regime pegged Smith as a kick returner — and the Bucs finished as the worst kick return unit in NFL history (based on yards per return. Smith had 10 of Tampa Bay’s 21 returns and averaged just 16.9 yards per effort.
Now Smith is moving to cornerback and he was smiling ear to ear talking about it on Thursday after practice at One Buc Palace.
“It does. It does [feel more natural to player cornerback]. I don’t have to think as much, and I still know what i’m doing,” Smith said of returning to corner. “It’s just a natural position.”
Asked about playing any nickel corner, Smith sort of shrugged it off saying if he’s asked, then he’ll answer the bell.
Smith is a minor X-factor for this Bucs season. Can he be the backup outside cornerback, if Brent Grimes or Vernon Hargreaves goes down? That’s the hope at One Buc Palace after Smith showed up well in late-season practices covering Mike Evans and others.
June 3rd, 2017 at 10:46 am
I really hope he isn’t a Myron Lewis 2.0
June 3rd, 2017 at 12:26 pm
ol kooky licht with another miss
June 3rd, 2017 at 12:53 pm
If he ever see’s the field we are in trouble.
They pegged him a safety because he doesn’t have the physical ability to play corner. Licht spends a lot of time trying to salvage misses.
June 3rd, 2017 at 1:09 pm
That’s just your opinion Blighe – and likely wrong. Time will tell – but the Bucs had Ryan Smith rated much higher than the 4th round where he was drafted and have talked about Smith’s speed and ball skills a # of times. Just because we haven’t seen it in a game yet doesn’t mean that Ryan Smith is some kind of liability as you are obviously assuming.
I imagine we will all get to see for ourselves how the Ryan Smith project is progressing in preseason.
June 3rd, 2017 at 1:23 pm
Joe keeps asserting that he’s a failed safety. Has Joe considered maybe last year it was just a numbers game and they needed more bodies at safety, and Smith happened to have experience there in college? Did they know he wouldn’t play much because he was a raw prospect from a small college? Quite possibly. I think it’s just as likely that they always had him pegged as a CB eventually, given his speed and ball skills. I remember watching his highlight reel after the draft last year, and it was impressive. I really have no reason to be skeptical about him.
Capt. Blighe is wrong. GO look at the highlights of him playing CB in college. He’s got the athletic ability. Don’t just blow nonsense out of your ass. Also, to say that “Licht spends a lot of time trying to salvage misses” is about the most uninformed thing I’ve heard. It’s contradicted by facts.
June 3rd, 2017 at 1:45 pm
We have no depth at CB, our division rivals will pick us apart this season.
June 3rd, 2017 at 2:34 pm
I swear you guys think we should have all pros as backs ups. You do realize there are others teams trying to sign players as well don’t you? Jezz
June 3rd, 2017 at 2:39 pm
if he was any good he would have been at the least on special teams
June 3rd, 2017 at 3:33 pm
@pigskin… bucs also had Roberto rated higher than the 2nd round they took him
June 3rd, 2017 at 4:03 pm
Trade 4 (CB) Richard Sherman
(2018) – 2nd Round Pick
(2019) – 3rd Round Pick (*Possible Conditional 2nd Round Pick)
Might get’er done.
RCB – Richard Sherman | Ryan Smith
LCB – Brent Grimes | Josh Robinson
NCB – Vernon Hargreaves III | Jude Adjei-Barimah
(S) – Chris Conte | Keith Tandy
(SS) – J.J. Wilcox | Justin Evans
That kind of backfield; combined with our D-Line & Linebackers.
Could put us in line for a Championship.
June 3rd, 2017 at 4:05 pm
^^That’s a Top-5 Unit^^
June 3rd, 2017 at 4:21 pm
LUV – Sherman is causing all kinds of problems in Seattle right now. Doubt Licht would trade valuable draft picks for a known locker room divider – even if he is a good CB – + his cap # is over $13M for the next 2 years – PASS
June 3rd, 2017 at 5:28 pm
HE was on special teams
June 3rd, 2017 at 9:48 pm
I like Sherman and he’d fit right in with this team. He’s very intelligent and knows how to work the refs. If the cap room is there, I’d go for it.
June 3rd, 2017 at 9:51 pm
Could probably renegotiate and do a 5 yr contract with Sherman and reduce that cap hit.
June 4th, 2017 at 12:16 am
Ryan Smith had one of the highlight special teams plays in the entire league last season, for those who like to blow hot air without a clue…
June 4th, 2017 at 4:26 am
I cant believe how clueless and uninformed some of you guys are. Its a total embarrasment as a buc fan. I mean any player not a starter usually plays special teams. Thats how 80% of rookies make the team. Unbelievable.
June 4th, 2017 at 8:46 am
I hope if the kid does have to play cornerback this year, the fans give him a chance. VHIII had his growing pains last year while Smith was ill cast as a safety through no fault of his own. Yet we already hear some posters here have written him off as a failure. I guess these posters weren’t around during Barber and Lynch’s first years…
June 6th, 2017 at 3:40 pm
Crazy how people who won’t use google and just assume Smith isn’t athletic enough to play CB. He was a combine top performer in 40, Bench, Vert, 20 yrd shuttle, 60 yard shuttle. His 40 was faster than Hargreaves.