The Derwin James Debate
May 1st, 2018
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Man, some Bucs (Florida State?) fans won’t let it go.
The Bucs did not draft Florida State safety Derwin James. It caused some to lose their damn minds. Either that, or ConteHate should be studied by the Center for Disease Control.
It has gotten to the point that Jenna Laine of ESPN is trying to sort out the why and how of the Bucs drafting the best defensive tackle on the board and passing on James.
After passing on Derwin James with the 12th overall pick and taking defensive tackle Vita Vea, the Bucs waited until Day 3 of the draft to select a safety, picking Jordan Whitehead in the fourth round. The Bucs have to shore up a pass defense that allowed 255.7 yards per game over the past two seasons, the most in the NFL. Tampa also gave up 2.6 yards per rush after contact, which ranked 26th in the league.
To answer Laine’s overall question about repairing the pass defense, the Bucs could have started months ago by getting competent secondary coaches much like the team did by ousting Jay Hayes and bringing in Brenston Buckner to help fix the defensive line. But that’s another subject for another day.
Why did the Bucs pass on James?
It’s very simple, said former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms. Co-hosting “PFT Live” with the creator, curator and overall guru of “Pro Football Talk,” the great Mike Florio, seen weekday mornings by intelligent football fans on NBC Sports Network. Simms on Monday addressed the Bucs draft and explained why they passed on James, even though Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht produced one helluva smokescreen to make folks think he was hot-in-the-pants for James.
The Bucs’ “defense is not set up like a Seattle or San Diego defense,” Simms explained. Seattle and San Diego “plays a strong safety down in the box all the time. Derwin James, you almost have to look at him like a linebacker. That’s what he is basically going to be playing like a Kam Chancellor or a Telvin Smith.
“[The Bucs] already have athletic guys [at linebacker] with Lavonte David and Kwon Alexander. They don’t need that position. They were right in picking Vita Vea.”
Maybe Joe didn’t watch enough Florida State games? When FSU started going into the tank last year and lost its starting quarterback, there frankly was no compelling reason to watch many (when it comes to college football Saturdays, Joe is all about entertainment and watching half-baked ACC teams, which is what FSU turned into, is not what Joe calls “entertainment.”).
When Joe has watched Florida State games, Joe simply did not see the same player in James that folks were blowing smoke about in the weeks leading up to the draft. If Joe was to believe some, James is DeMarcus Ware, Lawrence Taylor, Darrelle Revis and Troy Polamalu all rolled into one.
Is James a good player? Absolutely. Is he a once-in-a-lifetime, sideline-to-sideline, play at all three levels of the defense good? Joe has not seen that, but hopes for James that he is.
If James is the next Polamalu, who was a once-in-a-generation safety and truly had to be accounted for within every square inch of the field, then James will have lived up to the hype. But as this video suggests and Simms stated, the Bucs had to have Vea a whole lot more than James, unless one thinks James is so superhuman, he can play defensive tackle too.
The Bucs needed Vea more, unless, of course, one is overcome by ConteHate.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:03 am
Safety is the least important position on defense. If 2 players are fairly close in talent you go DT.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:09 am
That’s nothing!!!!!! Some of the sheep and so-called fans are still b!tching about the injury prone running back that fell to the second round and only played 3 games!!!!!!!!! That is who they still wanted at the 19th pick 2 years ago!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 1st, 2018 at 11:11 am
Agree with Waterboy n Joe. James is more Mark Barron than Jalen Ramsey IMO
And I’d go DE/OT over S next year probably in terms of positional importance.
But all comes down to what a bunch of players can show this year
May 1st, 2018 at 11:11 am
We selected the best player available. If it wasn’t for the run on QBs many had Vea going in the top 5 picks. We got him at #12 plus two more second round picks. Derwin James would have been a fine pick and would have addressed a major need. However, I didn’t see any other teams scrambling to pick him after we passed at #12. San Diego picked him 5 picks later. I think we got one hell of a good deal. As always time will tell.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:15 am
Going with Joe on this one…
May 1st, 2018 at 11:16 am
Fitzy to take us to the promised land!!! GO BUCS!
May 1st, 2018 at 11:16 am
spilt milk syndrome ….move on….
May 1st, 2018 at 11:16 am
I agree with the pick. I am an avid FSU fan, and I believe that James would have helped, but not as much as Vita does. With this defense it has always been about the DL. The rest of the D will improve with a better tougher DL. I like the way that Vita has the versitility to play 3 tech and 1 tech. He allows for Mike Smith to blitz occansionally rather than all the time like last year. James would allow for sometimes blitzes but mostly covering the big TE. He could’t cover 10 secs like he would need with last years DL. The QB had time to get a cup of coffee, some hot dogs and soda, read the paper and still have time to throw when he wanted. Even the worst QB in the league had a chance to beat us and look like an all-pro. QB pressure was the number 1 need!!!!
May 1st, 2018 at 11:17 am
Joe, I agree. I’m a FSU fan but I didn’t see where James was a better pick than Vea. We needed that infusion on our d-line to protect our secondary, and V. Vea is a man among boys IMHO.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:21 am
Safety is not as important if the QB has no time to throw and is running for his life.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:25 am
the only folks complaining are fsu homers…..these same folks wanted us to draft McFadden and their other CB who both went undrafted…..lol….
get over it!!!!!…..I like whithead because he’s more pure safety than a hybrid like james….and if it weren’t for his off field issues whitehead would’ve went in the second round…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
May 1st, 2018 at 11:26 am
Have to say that we the right pick at that time period. No crit on James but VV was the the best pick.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:26 am
DL interior rotation will be AWESOME….McCoy~~Vita~~~Allen~~~Stevie T~~~this combo of fronts will allow blitzing package from DB’s and LB’s….so many options now !
May 1st, 2018 at 11:27 am
For us, after Bradley Chubb was off the board Vita Vea was our best pick.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:27 am
Joe:
I’m very happy with what the Bucs did in the draft.
I watched everyone of Derwin James games played at Florida State and I would be shocked if he is not an outstanding pro player. On a field with multiple NFL players he stands out as a freak athletically and despite what some have said on here is makes game saving and or changing plays(Ole Miss, Wake Forest). He is someone every offense has to account for….however, I am completely on board with the Vea pick.
The Bucs had the worst defense and the worst defensive line in the NFL. The Bucs DLine had games last year that were not just bad but were embarrassing(Green Bay, Minnesota and Arizona to name a few). Jason Licht has been on a mission to turn the worst defensive line in the NFL into a strength and it certainly looks like he has done it with the addition of Vea and the free agents/trades he has made.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:32 am
SS is becoming devalued in today’s NFL. Knew James wasn’t going to be the pick at seven, let alone at 12.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:35 am
BOO-HOO! Move on, it’s over. Vea is a Buc James isn’t, and I agree with Joe that I just don’t see what others are seeing in James. I have nothing but well wishes for the young man, EXCEPT when playing my Bucs!
May 1st, 2018 at 11:37 am
Licht did just fine.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:41 am
I just hope the D-line can play at the level it did during that 2016 win streak. That streak occurred during the only period of time that the entire front 7 was healthy and Ayers was playing well (Ayers/McDonald/McCoy/our LBs were all healthy).
I really don’t think it’s a coincidence… Think of all the sacks in that Seahawks game. Even against KC’s quick short passing scheme (shout out to Kobe Bryant) we shut it down because we were able to be nasty in the trenches.
The secondary was basically the same during that stretch; with a rookie VHIII vs now having Justin Evans +stewart/davis/whitehead.
The D-line is much deeper than that D-line was at both DT/DE.
Somethings gotta give.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:42 am
FSU alumnus here. If it was the James before injury that was an enigma and flashed even more upside, then I might be upset. But it wasn’t. This was the James after injury that looked very good, but wasn’t the same once in a generation player. You don’t build your defense from the back side. Schiano and Rock Star tried that with Revis, Baron, and Golston, which failed miserably. Plus, as Joe always points out, “why would we trust these DB coaches to develope a high draft choice at safety?” At least Vea will have an outstanding DL coach to develope his talents!
May 1st, 2018 at 11:43 am
Forgot Spence was healthy too during that stretch – probably most important one.
Really hoping Spawn can stay healthy man.
Spence/Curry/McCoy/JPP on obvious passing downs sounds f*cking great.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:47 am
A big athletic safety from FSU….everybody sees Jalen Rose all over again.
Sorry but I’m a little skeptical. Jalen Rose is a true difference maker in a defensive backfield. Not many of those around.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:50 am
Joe must’ve had some whisky or the Bucs must’ve threatened his credentials… This is a bad pick. James is a flyer in the field. He only played up because he was asked to because FSU was so bad last year. This is a losing pick by There is no light at the end of tunnel Jason Licht.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:52 am
The meat of the draft for RB, CB and S was in the 2nd – 4th round…not the top of the 1st round.
We needed DE, OG, RB, SS and multiple CBs. To get those positions filled you needed to trade back twice in the top of the draft. Licht did exactly that.
If you can’t get a DE, then help a position that helps a DE. We traded back and got help for the DL and picked up 2 additional picks in the meat of the RB and DB section of the draft. It was a beautiful move by Licht.
We then traded back again (still a 2nd) picked up the extra CB we needed and then traded up to pick up an additional 3rd round for the OG need.
I see nothing but happiness for this draft.
Licht did exactly what his scouting showed. He was going to trade back twice and get extra picks and draft multiple DBs.
Not to toot my horn, but I explained this several times this was his plan.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:53 am
If
And I mean IF….Derwin James turns into an NFL highlight reel this season
……no bucs fan or media outlet will let the GM off the hook
And that’s truly sad
May 1st, 2018 at 11:55 am
Simms makes several good points here…including fit for the defense/team. James may have struggled in Tampa and become sour. He’ll look good with The Chargers. Barron didn’t work in Tampa, Goldson flamed out in Tampa ( given he was targeted/limited by the league for “head-hunting”) and I’m not sure James would have flourished like he might in L.A./Carson CA. Hopefully VV shows well on the NFL level.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:57 am
Ten other teams passed on James. Character issues and not a geberational talent. Will be a good player but not one that is a game-changer. Se Pete Prisco’s comments. Says the Buccaneers will be a team to be reckoned with THIS YEAR.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:57 am
^Only a few of you left on that island my man.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:58 am
Derwin James is terribly overrated. I didnt just see a drop off in play from one year to the next, i saw a good player when the defense was full of talent, and a bad player this year. He was bad. As was the rest of the FSU defense
May 1st, 2018 at 11:58 am
Sign Eric Reid.
You get him on a one year cheap deal at this point.
He is a huge upgrade over anyone next To J. Evans.
Done and done.
Don’t let politics prevent the Bucs from a big upgrade on the cheap.
May 1st, 2018 at 11:59 am
That was directed @ “Fire Lichtt”
May 1st, 2018 at 12:01 pm
I am a huge FSU fan and i have to say that VEA was the right pick, would i have been mad at the derwin pick, no not at all, i would have understood the logic, but the point being in this discussion is that you win in the trenches, I take VEA just as i would have taken the nelson pick, Control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and watch how well your team performs, pressure on the QB fixes the secondary, FSU fans calm down and trust the process. Derwin will be a star for the chargers, just enjoy another FSU talent being successful.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:02 pm
A dominant Defensive End is the only position with more worth to a defense than a dominant Defensive Tackle. Licht made the right call.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:04 pm
Totally cool with the Vea pick. Actually it happened just how I had hoped, considering that none of the “big 3” slipped to us.
Off topic, but Joe, have you done an article yet on the UDFA’s we picked up?
May 1st, 2018 at 12:07 pm
Vea has the potential to help (positively impact) all three levels of the defense- DL, LB and DBs.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:10 pm
@Tony from LA
Even he came for free, it would not be worth the distraction!!!!!! The theme this year is about no distractions, and a united locker room!!!!!!!!!
Go Bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 1st, 2018 at 12:10 pm
The post draft gushing is right on time.
Only problem is the teams we compete against in NFC South are gushing and believe they improved also.
Which, if true, would mean they are still much better than us. We can talk improvement all we want, which the draft is designed to do. the real question is did we close the gap or overtake anyone in our division.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:16 pm
He dropped for a reason. Mark Barron 2.0
May 1st, 2018 at 12:17 pm
Why are fans complaining? Well, they complain we beat the Saints and went from 5 to 7. They complain we drafted Aguayo. They complain we chose Winston over Mariota. They complain we drafted Howard over Cook. In short, they complain. It’s what they do.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:19 pm
BushidoEvans there are more of us then you realize, dont get too excited about this draft yet, let it play out before you start handing out awards to Mr. theres no light in the house on. Remember i guess now only two remain from the 2014 draft, and sims is only back because he couldn’t get a job anywhere else. Licht still sucks. You could have made this years draft picks, Buffalo was dying to find a partner, and licht won the lottery.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:20 pm
Put the two V’s together and you get a W
Vita Vea
May 1st, 2018 at 12:21 pm
Everyone will soon see…Mike Smith knows football….he finally has some tools to work with….
May 1st, 2018 at 12:24 pm
and we complain when we have second worst record in league over last ten years.
Silly us. We should be ecstatic.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:24 pm
99 you must be high saying that go ask pass 5 or 6 teams.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:24 pm
He was coming off knee surgery. That may very well have been a factor.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:25 pm
Ngata-Wilfork-Gilbert-Perry … All over-sized, freaks of nature, DTs. All have Super Bowl rings. A great DT will make everyone better. A great Safety cleans everyone’s shortfalls. It’s a no brainer unless you’re an FSU fan.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:27 pm
Two punters drafted back to back in round 5…….we could have traded all of our picks on DBs and gotten punters late in the draft…..
I prefer taking a gamble that Joe is wrong and “development” of young DBs is not the problem.
As far as James…..he would have had Conte there to mentor him if the coaches failed.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:33 pm
I wanted us to pick James – personally thought he was the BPA (at 7 or 12) once the “big 3” were off the board.
I pretty quickly reached acceptance level regarding Vea being the pick.
Jason Licht was targeting Vea the whole time apparently so I trust his judgement as he is privy to a LOT more info than me on all manner of things regarding these prospects.
Logic dictates that it all starts up front and Vita Vea was the biggest, strongest and most dominating DL player in this draft.
Hard to go wrong there as long as the player has the right attitude and is a hard worker who loves football. Vea seems to embody all those traits – so its all good from my perspective.
DL was a obviously a major weakness last year (and the previous 9 years) – you just can’t have that and expect to win many football games
DE was a major weakness of this draft – So Licht got us the best DT from a pretty good crop of interior D-linemen. Need to get a couple good DEs from next year’s much better crop of ends and this DL will be pretty well set for the future.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:38 pm
Eric Reid and the Tampa/LSU connection…would be huge insurance …at the expense of the young DB draft class…as long as the deal would be friendly to both sides with escape /trade after 2 years….nail it !
May 1st, 2018 at 12:41 pm
Jalen Rose played basketball. Would probably have been a good safety too though.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:44 pm
James should have been our pick to secure the backfield and even the linbacker core for the next decade….he is a leader
with bechwith injuy, james in the box would have been a godsend and smitty would have used him all over (there would be no need to ever play 3 linebackers in any down)
james would have more sacks than Vea coming in from the corner
James overall game is made for the NFL than the college game
without injury, James will make it into the HOF
May 1st, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Not to say the FSU alums have tunnel vision, but they have tunnel vision.
They still think JW is the next coming of Tom Brady.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:46 pm
I am FSU and glad we did not draft James or Tarvarus McFadden. Anyway James is an injury waiting to happen, kid likes to hit hard and likely to draw penalty flags too. Never even thought his highlights were good. The person with good you tube highlights is Vita Vea–that dude is energetic and 340 plus pounds–fun to watch!
May 1st, 2018 at 12:47 pm
The “Tongan Thunder” will prove his worth. As others have said, fix the trenches, fix the Bucs.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:48 pm
@Jenna Laine … “After passing on Derwin James with the 12th overall pick and taking defensive tackle Vita Vea, the Bucs waited until Day 3 of the draft to select a safety.” Still think there’s more to it than that. Have a hunch Bucs might be looking at M.J. Stewart as a potential Safety, as well as Jordan Whitehead. Plus still convinced Godwin Igwebulke is gonna surprise a LOT of people. Add in that we’ve already got Evans, Conte, Tandy & Isaiah Johnson as Safeties from last year, and I think we’ve got a lot to work with. Now up to the coaching staff to develop some of these younger guys. Vita Vea was the right pick, more-so because we needed DLine youth as much as anything.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:48 pm
I believe it was Bill Parcells who roughly said there is a very small number of guys big and athletic enough to excel in the trenches, smaller guys are available in higher numbers. He believed in valuing the big guy over the small guy.
May 1st, 2018 at 12:49 pm
the 2018 Tampa bay Draft will be remembered for …
passing on our homegrown HOF Derwin James
Kobe the Parrot
May 1st, 2018 at 12:50 pm
1990 was the last time a rookie safety won roy.safty is not that important odf a position especially with the new hitting rules.lynch probably couldn’t even play in this day in age.tampaaaa
May 1st, 2018 at 12:52 pm
well, there will be no HK this year……first game will be played indoors…..we have tools for smitty and weapons for dirk…..we have depth….we have talent…..what else are we missing?
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
May 1st, 2018 at 12:57 pm
McCoy is going to be traded to a contender. If you think of Vea as McCoy’s replacement it all makes sense.
McCoy is going to be trade bait… he’s got 24 games or less in pewter.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:00 pm
Kobe Faker Says:
May 1st, 2018 at 12:44 pm
James should have been our pick to secure the backfield and even the linbacker core
———————-
No, and the word is CORPS…
May 1st, 2018 at 1:01 pm
Huge FSU homer here, alumni, season ticket holder for decades, etc. Derwin James was overrated big time by draft “experts”, was not an impact player for FSU very often. Always go stud DT over safety, especially one who whiffs on key tackles or drops interceptions to lose football games. Elite athleticism does not make you a great football player.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:01 pm
Think james 2 -3 years ago was a monster then blew out the knee and was not the same guy, hope he has a productive career for himself, but glad bucs got VV, do think licht needs to go sign one of the available Safeties in FA like vaccaro…..i think licht would ply a safety in the box if he had one he relied on because he did try TJ ward last year in that role but he sucked or played to “high” in the box for smittys liking
May 1st, 2018 at 1:02 pm
Almost every single mock draft that I saw had James going to the Bucs. Yet, Lady Gaga-lovin’ GM Jason Licht had not one but two opportunities to take the player and passed. No we can’t read his poker face!
May 1st, 2018 at 1:03 pm
This team is loaded with weapons on both sides of the ball….with more pieces coming….folks need to go to optiworld
May 1st, 2018 at 1:06 pm
Actually…I think the Bucs would have drafted Fitz if the Dolphins had not taken him….
May 1st, 2018 at 1:08 pm
I’m a huge FSU fan. I lived in Tallahassee for 8 years and would go to games regularly. I watch all their games despite how bad they are just like the Bucs. And I was not at all mad that we passed on James. He’s a great player, but I don’t think he was the best one on the board by any stretch.
If you want to say that we needed a Safety over a DL in terms of need, I’m not sure I agree with that either. Yes, our secondary was dead last and we need guys bad. But we already burned a first round pick (bust) on Hargreaves for secondary and we saw how that can turn out. Adding depth and strong guys to our defensive line will help the secondary and that’s what I think a lot of Bucs fans fail to see. If the line is crushing the run and bringing constant pressure on the QB, that makes it a whole lot harder to pass too.
As for Conte, I admit I was on that train during Lovie and shortly after. But he has comeback and has been playing well. Bucs fans ousted that guy so hard that he made his social media profiles private and deleted tons of followers.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Joe whatever fans you’re talking about don’t exist on this site. Just read every comment and everybody is cool with Vae over James. All except Kobe. Nobody takes Kobe seriously though so all good.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Jalen Rose? lol
May 1st, 2018 at 1:24 pm
So what you’re saying is James is not the next Ramsey that every FSU fan was telling me he is….they are also the same group of people that were pounding the table for McFadden in the 4th round….
sometimes you just need to take off your college shades and look at it as an outsider.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:29 pm
Im on the “Licht did an amazing job this draft” bandwagon. As he did with the previous draft were good, this one was a million times better. James is a great player but I dont think he is a game changer, and this is coming from a die hard FSU fan. I think he will be great eventually but teams wont gameplan around him as much as they will with Vea.
@Joe If you were to hire someone to “fix” the coaching in the secondary for us, who would you choose? Buckner hasnt coached our guys yet and we still dont know how/what will happen with our DLine.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:29 pm
why are we/is anyone talking about player we didn’t take ?….SYH
May 1st, 2018 at 1:51 pm
Derwin was definitely not the next Axl Rose….
May 1st, 2018 at 1:56 pm
So James wasn’t going to be the next basketballer from Michigan’s Fab 5? “Every rose 🌹…has it’s thorn”.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:57 pm
James only great play- was going to FSU, where recent drafts have earned the University the nickname” DB U”
Some great DBs have played there.
Derwin James isnt one of them. Hes just above average.
Drafting an excellent safety at 7, is getting undervalued.
Drafting James at 7 would have been stupid.
Thats why he wasnt picked until 17
17
Which is still too high
May 1st, 2018 at 1:58 pm
Derwin James DB is going to be a great player and obviously we all hope Vea will be too.
As for the Florida State players:
Tarvarus McFadden CB UFA is awful. He was not good in man coverage and is slow as molasses.
Derrick Nnadi DT 3rd Round is a solid player and very good against the run, but he offers zero as far as pass rush.
Auden Tate WR 7th round is talented but even slower than McFadden. Has a decent shot to make the roster because he is very good in the red zone.
Ryan Izzo TE 7th round. Highly doubt he makes the roster.
Josh Sweat DE/OLB 4th round. Great athleticism. If he stays healthy he will be one of the biggest steals in the draft. I would’ve loved it if the Bucs drafted him.
Rick Leonard OT 4th round. One of the worst picks in the draft. I am not sure what the Saints were thinking. I would not have wanted the Bucs to sign him as an UFA.
Mathew Thomas OLB UFA. Excellent athlete, but not a smart football player(see almost TD against UF). He is a much better prospect in my opinion than Rick Leonard.
Ermon Lane WR UFA. Doubt he makes it.
Ryan Green RB UFA. Bucs were interested but I doubt he makes it.
Nate Andrews S UFA. Doubt he makes it.
Jacob Pugh DE/OLB UFA. Doubt he makes it.
Trey Marshall S UFA. Doubt he makes it.
Jalen Wilkerson DE/ OLB UFA. Did not start and had almost no production in college. No way does he make it.
May 1st, 2018 at 1:59 pm
Always build your football team from front to back and make it strong up the middle. Unless I’ve got four Pro Bowl caliber DTs (so we can set up a rotation, these are big men after all), on my roster, when faced with a choice of two players who grade out about equally, I always go for the DT prospect who might be capable of evolving into a Pro Bowl player. Think how effective JPP and GMC can be if Vita Vea can consistently collapse the pocket and/or eat up two or three blockers every play?
May 1st, 2018 at 2:08 pm
Where did James get picked???
Vea is the MAN
May 1st, 2018 at 2:13 pm
There really is no debate if you go back and watch the film in The (Once) Horrid Defensive Line article of gmc running completely out of the play or getting blown off the ball leaving a gaping hole which happened all year long. The guy who thinks he doesn’t deserve criticism. We needed d line help and I absolutely looked at this pick as a life after McCoy pick. I wanted James badly and I was upset they passed on him too but which position is easier to replace? Strong safety is easier to find
May 1st, 2018 at 2:15 pm
As a Nole fan, I don’t have any issue with the Vea pick because they targeted all of their major needs throughout the draft. Plus, I think they’ll still pick up a player for the defensive backfield during the offseason.
However Joe, please spare me the “this is all just upset nole fans” BS.
If you believe that then I would suggest you talk less and read more–start by checking out all of the draft round-ups because writers everywhere from nfl.com to sbnation keep asking the same question–why did the Noles ignore a bigger position of need at safety and draft a spot that they solidified already in the offseason. Most even call out Derwin by name.
So, it’s not like the Gator anti-Jameis Bucs fans who are just hating to hate–people everywhere have asked why the Bucs ignored James for Vea. Only time will tell if it was the right way to go, but i have a feeling Vea’s gonna be a beast!
May 1st, 2018 at 2:38 pm
Joe just trying to stir the pot. With evident of most of the posts on this thread by “FSU fanboys” the take-home message by majority of FSU fans throughout the draft process was in fact they did not want James at 7.
May 1st, 2018 at 2:54 pm
PAC 12 …..turrible (Charles Barkley)
May 1st, 2018 at 3:09 pm
If we were the Texas bay buccaneers this wouldn’t even be a conversation. It is only a conversation b cause all the day fans wanted him. If he was from Purdue there wouldn’t be one article about him on joebucsfan. But if we would have drafted Derwin James from Purdue every Florida State fan would be bashing Licht and saying how he was Barron 2.0
May 1st, 2018 at 3:31 pm
As a FSU fan and alum, DJ3 is every bit the player that he was touted leading up to and after the draft. What people are failing to realize is that he was hamstrung by Kelly and his inability to coach the defense. If Ramsey was under Kelly, people would be saying the same exact thing about him.
May 1st, 2018 at 5:04 pm
Jeffbuc:
If that were true then sportswriters who live all over the country wouldn’t be asking the same question.
Feel free to check out nfl.com, sbnation, and espn.com who all mention Derwin by name.
Personally, I am ok with the Vea pick, but can we stop pretending that this is only being brought up by “rabid FSU fans?” That’s complete garbage.
May 1st, 2018 at 5:23 pm
The Bucs have to shore up a pass defense that allowed 255.7 yards per game over the past two seasons, the most in the NFL. Tampa also gave up 2.6 yards per rush after contact, which ranked 26th in the league.
I blame the D-line for this. Give a QB all day and he will make you pay.
May 1st, 2018 at 5:54 pm
Joe- Chris Conte is not hated
He plays hard
His pass defense is decent
BUT he is below average in run defense and this is the primary focus of fixing the defense
If you stop the run, you improve the percentage of getting the defense off the field- especially if you get a decent pass rush -and Licht has drafted some physical secondary players …. gotta prove it game day, but I like the plan
May 1st, 2018 at 8:55 pm
If your safety is making all the stops, then your defensive line sucks. We needed to shore up the defensive line so that we aren’t allowing RB’s to make it to the next line of defense and Qb’s aren’t having time to get set to throw the ball. If our defense hurries the QB this season, we will get more turnovers.
May 2nd, 2018 at 8:12 pm
Find me a difference between Sean Taylor and Derwin James? Never seen one myself