Personnel Chief Talks Rookies
June 11th, 2018
A tough-guy review for Ronald Jones. (Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers_
It’s rare for an NFL team’s director of player personnel to do an interview on national television.
That was the case recently with John Spytek, who holds that position at One Buc Palace.
He was on NFL Network promoting awareness of Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a cause he’s very passionate about. (Click the link for more info.)
Joining Good Morning Football, Spytek was hit with Bucs football questions, too.
He said he likes the “lunchpail guys” added on the defensive line and he gave a hearty nod to Vita Vea, as well as rookie cornerbacks M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis. “They’ve both done well for rookies and are learning and getting in there and competing against, you know, some really good receivers,” Spytek said.
Very lovely co-host Kay Adams wouldn’t let Spytek get away without spelling out what he’s seen from Ronald Jones, the rookie running back from the University of Southern California.
Spytek said Jones’ trademark speed and explosiveness is easy to see on the practice field but there’s more to the second-round pick.
“We looked at a really competitive and tough runner. I mean, he’s not the biggest guy in the world but he’s not afraid to put his head down. He’ll run through you,” Spytek said of Jones. “His effort on contact to keep his feet going is always there. And we spent a lot of time with Ronald leading up to the draft. He’s a younger kid; he’s only 20 years old. But, you know, he’s a Texan at heart, so he’s not a west coast guy. So he’s not moving as far as everybody thinks. Just excited about the dimension he adds to our offense. I don’t think it’s something that we’ve had here since I’ve been down here in Tampa.”
Joe’s not worried about Jones. If he can block and hold on to the football, he’ll get his share of carries and good things likely will happen.
Joe, however, is especially encouraged to hear any positive, insider chatter about the rookie cornerbacks, Stewart and Davis. Man, if just one of those two can pan out and be a productive rookie, the Bucs should be greatly improved in the secondary.
June 11th, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Agree
If one corner can step up…look out
And if one safety can step up out of whitehead and iquebeke…look out
With all the moves on the front end of the defense made during free agency , the backend secondary still makes me nervous. Good to know that there are still some pretty solid safeties on the free agent market.
I would have those guys on speed dial should these young guys not look like they belong.
June 11th, 2018 at 4:04 pm
All I know is 2-13-1 should be plastered all over that building, on every tablet, in every game plan, typed on every football, carved into their sandwich bread and of course running on a loop on the TV’s in the locker room. Oh yeah they also might want to mention that this team did not have one player in the top 100 in case they think the disrespect is only coming from the media.
June 11th, 2018 at 4:39 pm
Ndog
They’re not worried about what one idiot predicted. Not everyone is caught up in the national media. I doubt that mess will even be mentioned by any players. They dont and shouldnt care what anyone predicts
And yes it would be great if one of those db’s starts. But when you think about it they both should have big roles. 2nd round picks Should contribute. We all know the percentages tho. Man if both play like they can and the pass rush gets home the defense could be the better unit.
June 11th, 2018 at 4:43 pm
But under these new NFL rules, won’t Rojo be penalized and even possibility ejected for “putting his head down” on running plays?
June 11th, 2018 at 5:10 pm
Really excited about Rojo.
The guy ran a 10.3 100 meters in high school and was on the USC 4×100 team in college. He has great speed. If he wasn’t injured this offseason he probably been one of the five fastest guys at the combine.
June 11th, 2018 at 5:23 pm
I agree with you Ndog. I had to save that article Joe linked us too that predicted 2-13 and 1. What a flipping idiot. How can Anyone predict a team to do worse than the previous yr when they Clearly upgraded every area of need? Destin Johnny and I have a jersey bet on our season this yr. He has us at 7 and 9 tops, I have us at 9 and 7. I think I am gonna win but one thing is for sure 2 Flipping wins is a Joke!
June 11th, 2018 at 5:46 pm
Going to draft him in fantasy for sure.
June 11th, 2018 at 5:55 pm
I was thinking the same thing Hodad. I am a RB whore in FF. I always draft more RBs than anything else. With the receiving corps we have ROJO should be a Great weapon!
June 11th, 2018 at 6:36 pm
If ROJO is the real deal the Buc’s make the playoffs!!! It’s as simple as that.
A great running game makes play action passes (a Jameis speciality) just that much more effective and with our group of talented targets….whew.
Instant help for our TD scoring with our red zone offense.
A really good running game can eat up lots of clock and keep our hopefully improved defense off the field. The DL with it’s depth would certainly be well rested.
And perhaps we could run out a clock and win a game at the end instead of the D losing it.
If ROJO is the man…then we are the team!
June 11th, 2018 at 7:03 pm
“If ROJO is the man…then we are the team!”
______________
Let’s hope he is because I believe this statement is true.
June 11th, 2018 at 7:36 pm
@John5
Good question. Does the new helmet rule apply to RB’s?
June 11th, 2018 at 11:05 pm
@Trench from the video I saw, it applies to RBs too. Gonna be a lot of knee injuries or hugs this season.