Getting Physical
April 4th, 2019
Safety talk.
There has been scuttlebutt within NFL circles and NFL draft media that the Bucs may just draft a safety high, as early as the second-round.
Already the Bucs had a private sitdown at One Buc Palace with Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram.
It seems Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians is a man who heaps a lot of responsibility on his safeties. Arians was asked at the coaches breakfast at the NFL owners meetings last week about his current stock of safeties and what they bring to the table. He then rattled off some of the key responsibilities safeties have in Todd Bowles’ defense.
“Each one brings something special,” Arians said of the safeties currently on the Bucs’ roster. “One thing I like is they are all physical.
“Can they play man-to-man? That’s the big question. Can they match up on backs and tight ends? Can they get in a box? I think [Kentrell] Brice has that flexibility. I want to see those young guys on the grass. How much volume can you learn? We have a big playbook.”
Justin Evans seems like the type of safety Arians likes but through his first two NFL seasons Evans has flashed strong play with a lot of mediocre play. It sure would help the Bucs if stud Evans would show more than the JAG Evans.
Joe isn’t sure if Jordan Whitehead is that well-rounded. He can sure hit but Joe isn’t sure if his coverage skills are at the level Arians seeks.
Big decisions have to be made at safety in a few short weeks. The draft, boys and girls, is right around the corner.
April 4th, 2019 at 12:33 am
If the Bucs have to draft another safety that high its a major fail by licht. He has drafted way too many safeties and who can forget his failed free agents over the last couple years like jj Wilcox and tj ward. Too many young safeties in this roster and we will see how big a fail by who stats and who makes the 53 man roster
April 4th, 2019 at 12:34 am
Safety wouldn’t break my heart if that’s the groceries BA needs to be cooking with gas.
I know the Joes (or at least one of them) doesn’t care for.the trade down, but if the Big 3 are gone it seems like a reasonable thing to do. I am not yet seeing a can’t miss guy at 5. if you follow Joes logic and don’t consider ILB.
Sweat – issues, heart condition, power/strength, lack of elite bend
Oliver – injuries, discipline concern (though minor imo), tweener size, sticks on blocks
Gary – Joe laid out that case
Burns – too light
Clemson Guys – who truly stands out and earned the 5 pick in the draft?
In the trade down scenario, perhaps go after BA’s Safety of choice and use the other to snag a guy like LJ collier Edge TCU to satisfy Joes appropriate appetite for QB Pressure and grooming behind JPP.
April 4th, 2019 at 12:45 am
So if Stewart is a safety, we have spent two second rounders (Evans and Stewart) and one fourth rounder (Whitehead) on safeties. I would really hope the Abram visit is a smokescreen to ask about teammates Sweat and Simmons, who are more likely Bucs targets.
April 4th, 2019 at 1:10 am
Just seen a mock draft that I really liked except 1 pick maybe.
It had us trading back with the Cin and getting their 2nd and 3rd pick this year.
So our mocked looked like this.
RD 1. Pick 11# Ed Oliver DE
RD 2. Chris Lindstorm OG
RD 2. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson DB
RD 3. Jachai Polite DE/OLB
RD 4. Damien Harris RB
Round 4 pick is the one I don’t like would much rather go RT, or Safety
And draft Rodney Anderson in round 5 or 6
Also I would swap Chauncey for Amani Oruwaryie
April 4th, 2019 at 1:29 am
We’ve got 5 safeties on the roster right now if Licht was right about MJ Stewart. Drafting a rookie safety that will probably be a backup this season at #2 when there is more pressing need at other positions like Mic LB, RB or OT-G would be foolish. I’d rather bring back veteran Conte than to spend capital on a part time safety. We can’t keep throwing these guys to the wolves without a season to develop. The revisionist Joe already slammed last years crop of 2nd rounders after their rookie season.
April 4th, 2019 at 5:09 am
I read somewhere that the Bucs are also interested in Darnell Savage who is supposed to be a 2nd round pick.
If all these reports are true, which they probably are not true, then we would be going LB, S, RB with our first 3 picks. I dont like that.
April 4th, 2019 at 5:16 am
OK Joe, I’m starting to lose hope. Looking at our CURRENT ROSTER, if we fielded a team TODAY, it’d be lucky to go 0-16 on the season. Bucs have several GAPING HOLES in our potential starting lineups, and that’s BEFORE they release GMC (which many now seem to be convinced is on the horizon).
o RG: choices are Watford, Benenoch, Cappa, Boozer, Liedtke, Holcomb or Evan Smith.
o RB: after Barber, choices are Ellington, RoJo, Wilson or Ogunbowale.
o ILB: after LVD, choices are Minter, Beckwith, Bond, Bucannon, Bullough, Cichy, Nelson or Emmanuel Smith.
o CB: after Davis, choices are VHIII, Ryan Smith, Harris or Rivers.
o DT: after Vea (assuming GMC’s gone), choices are Allen, Nunez-Roches, Ledbetter or Stevie T.
We’re actually better set at DE & Safety than at the other defensive positions in terms of POTENTIAL starters. So what are the media focusing on in the draft? Of course, DE AND Safety. Makes perfect sense.
o Drafting a DT high IF we release GMC would be a no-brainer IMO because … we can’t afford to buy one and we’d then NEED to find a bonafide starter for that position (mama used to call it ‘Cutting off your nose to spite your face’).
o Drafting a RG high is a non-brainer IMO because … we can’t afford to buy one and we NEED to find a bonafide starter for that position.
o Drafting a MLB high is a no-brainer IMO because … we can’t afford to buy one and we NEED to find a bonafide starter for that position.
o Signing a starting-caliber outside CB to pair with Davis is a no-brainer because … starting a rookie and Davis would give us 2 CBs with a TOTAL of 1-year experience; that wouldn’t be pretty.
o Signing a starting-caliber RB to complement Barber is a no-brainer because … Bucs NEED a quality running game to put points on the board & there are too many other draft NEEDS to draft a potential starter high enough to count on them.
And Joe, you & many others seem very willing to go into the season with Kevin Minter as your starting MLB for some reason (few seem ready to count on Beckwith to return). Adequate backup IMO, but not a quality starter. In 2018 with us he played in 5 games for a TOTAL of 22 defensive snaps (2%) … before ending up on IR (calf) for the last 3 games. In 2017 with the Bengals he played in 9 games for a TOTAL of 198 defensive snaps (15%) … but was Out for 5 games on the season (elbow & hamstring) before ending up on IR (hamstring) for the last 2 games. And that’s before we even talk about meh performance on the field in his 6-year career. Is that REALLY the guy who you want at the center of your defense? DRAFT DEVIN WHITE.
April 4th, 2019 at 6:11 am
A-Men D rules A-Men!
April 4th, 2019 at 6:38 am
I like an edge guy in the 1st round and would fine with either Abram or Mack Wilson in the 2nd.
April 4th, 2019 at 6:39 am
“5 years of total disaster and destruction of a NFL team by Jason Licht and all I got is a lousy Forrest Gump Tshirt”
Kobe Faker
April 4th, 2019 at 6:52 am
“Plan A- Devin White
Plan B- trade back and draft Devin Bush and extra 2nd round pick
What will happen?
NO TEAM WILL TRADE UP TO THE 5TH PICK
ALL THE QBs IN THIS YEARS DRAFT IS HYPE…PROPAGANDA!
ALL THE GMs know these QBs are not cant miss Franchise QBs..
ALL THE QBs WILL DROP”
Kobe Faker
April 4th, 2019 at 7:03 am
Could we not trade back with Cinn and still get White
Many Mock Drafts show him going lower in the draft except for when they show the Bucs picking him
I say trade back grab a couple more picks I think White I say White is there at 11 Get rightside help for OLine
April 4th, 2019 at 7:08 am
Could just open up some cap space by cutting/trading McCoy and make a play for Eric Berry, not like he’s in a position to ask for a lot considering he’s played all of 3-4 games the past 2 years.
April 4th, 2019 at 7:10 am
Could just open up some cap space after we trade/release McCoy to make a play for Eric Berry. Not like the dude is in a position to demand a lot of money considering he’s played all of 3 games the past 2 years.
April 4th, 2019 at 7:10 am
Kobe- I agree. I don’t get the love affair with Murray or Haskins, I really don’t. To me, it’s “the flavor of the month” after what Mahomes did. If they do decide to move back, there is plenty of later 1st round talent that can be had.
Up top, SPORT mentioned the Clemson d-linemen. I have no idea how Oliver and Sweat can get so much pub with a guy like Christian Wilkins floating around out there. Tape don’t lie. Clemson’s d-line DOMINATED and against better competition.
Here’s what I KNOW: The Bucs better not screw up this pick! Whoever it is needs to be a ten-year all-pro starter. Get it done!
April 4th, 2019 at 7:12 am
Defense Rules
0-16 with “America’s QB”?
April 4th, 2019 at 7:46 am
“BFM,
Its all ESPN mock draft drama TV ratings
GMs going to draft all defensive players in the 1st round”
Kobe Faker
April 4th, 2019 at 7:49 am
IMO The first three picks should be DL, LB & OL. Not necessarily in that order. I think Drew Lock will be a better QB than Haskins or Murray. And my sleeper is Daniel Jones.
April 4th, 2019 at 7:52 am
If Whitehead ultimately cant play safety then perhaps let him try RB again. He was a good change of pace or 3rd back at Pitt
April 4th, 2019 at 8:17 am
Nah! Defense simply cannot be worse.
April 4th, 2019 at 8:20 am
Defense Rules:
Great post, I agree with you on all points including Devin White, Although if one of the big 3 fell to five I would have to do some serious thinking. 3 elements you failed to mention however is Coaching and Scheme and player utilization. BA’s Coaches and Staff were for the most part in place before he took the job. One day Koetter was gone and within a week we had 20+ new faces heading for Tampa. That kind of organization tells me that we are in for a major change. You may disagree but I think there is a lot of untapped talent on this team who sat the pines last year or struggled when required to play out of position. When a coach tells me one of his favorite players is Barber and our best FA aquisition was a kicker what he saying is he’s paying attention to detail. There are several players on our roster that if healthy are going to contribute. I believe that 75% of the improvement we see from the Buc’s this year comes from player motivation, improved talent utilization, and scheme. In other words coaching.
April 4th, 2019 at 8:41 am
Good morning Macabee,I saw the other day you mention the Bucs have a scheduled meeting with Mississippi state safety Johnathan Abram. I watched a 13 minute film session of the young man and it’s easy to tell why BA and Bowles would be interested. He look like Honeybadger 2.0 with the same temperament. They lost but the cat was going at Alabama players like he hated them. Won’t detail the film here but that young man looks official for real.
April 4th, 2019 at 8:50 am
What y’all need to understand is the number at a certain position has no bearing on what a new regime (especially one that has already had success in the league) will do in the next draft,coaches want what they feel will be perfect fits for what they plan to do schematically. Example the cards are running a new offense this year one that suits Kyler Murray better than Josh Rosen. Doesn’t matter they just drafted a QB last year Murray a QB the new HC recruited when he was in school is the perfect fit for the new system. So it doesn’t matter if we have drafted 10 safeties over the last few drafts if they are not what BA and Bowles envision for they’re system guess what we’ll draft another one.
April 4th, 2019 at 8:56 am
The key here is safeties are switching from playing 95% zone. To being in a scheme that requires them to play man more than half the time. Hard to know what our current safeties can do when they have never been asked to do it. Same reason MJ Stewart got moved to safety in this new scheme
April 4th, 2019 at 8:58 am
Watch Johnathan Abrams film,he can cover,has range,thump the life out yo @$$,natural in the box and as mean as a rattlesnakes. Trust me they want their Buccaneer version of Turin Mathiue. Abrams checks that box.
April 4th, 2019 at 9:23 am
@TBBF … “0-16 with “America’s QB”? Unless Jameis subdivides and learns how to play 3 or 4 defensive positions simultaneously, I’ll stick with 0-16. (Hopefully I’m just being melodramatic of course).
@Martinii … “3 elements you failed to mention however is Coaching and Scheme and player utilization.” I’ve ‘assumed’ from Day 1 that this coaching staff will make a huge difference in many ways (player development & utilization included of course). But they have to have the adequate PLAYER TALENT to work with, and with so many STARTING HOLES & so little done in FA, the draft is CRITICAL to fill those NEEDS. I just happen to be one of those JBFers who believe that the MIDDLE of our defense is critical. Without high quality DTs & inside LBs we won’t be able to stop the run or the short passes over the middle or put consistent pressure on the QBs. That’ll allow our opponents to score a bunch of points AND eat up the clock. Not hard to tell what’ll follow that.
@Joe … “Nah! Defense simply cannot be worse.” OK Joe, if you say so (Realist keeps track of old quotes like that BTW). Wish that some day y’all would do a piece on Bucs injuries & the effect of injuries on W-L records. Reason I say that is because everyone says ‘Injuries are no excuse’ but guess what … to teams with marginal depth (aka, Bucs?), injuries make or break the season IMO.
For instance, last season the Bucs’ players were on IR for 231 games, were OUT for 27 more games, missed 6 more games when listed as DOUBTFUL, and missed 6 more games when listed as QUESTIONABLE. That’s a TOTAL of 270 games LOST TO INJURIES. No other Bucs team that I could find had sustained that many lost games to injuries. The closest other team I found from 2018 was the Chiefs with 253 games LOST TO INJURIES (and their defense stunk it up too).
April 4th, 2019 at 9:45 am
aint no way in hell BA going 0-16 with this roster….lol….dirk won 5games with this roster and he cant hold BA’s jockstrap…..
obviously you value talent and big names far more than coaching…..
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
April 4th, 2019 at 9:48 am
martinii says:
3 elements you failed to mention however is Coaching and Scheme and player utilization. BA’s Coaches and Staff were for the most part in place before he took the job. One day Koetter was gone and within a week we had 20+ new faces heading for Tampa. That kind of organization tells me that we are in for a major change. You may disagree but I think there is a lot of untapped talent on this team who sat the pines last year or struggled when required to play out of position. When a coach tells me one of his favorite players is Barber and our best FA aquisition was a kicker what he saying is he’s paying attention to detail. There are several players on our roster that if healthy are going to contribute. I believe that 75% of the improvement we see from the Buc’s this year comes from player motivation, improved talent utilization, and scheme. In other words coaching.
**************************************************************
BINGO!!!!!!
DUDE YOU F’ING NAILED IT!!!!!!!
like you said, its coaching….
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
April 4th, 2019 at 9:57 am
Not one Buc DB who played under Mike Smith should be judged by his performance.
That scheme was so bad I’m not sure what could make it work other than 4 All-Pro DL up front.
It was like the D Coaches were begging to be picked apart.
IMO, the single biggest area of improvement in the 2019 Bics will be the DBack play…and not from better talent.
April 4th, 2019 at 9:57 am
@813bucboi … “aint no way in hell BA going 0-16 with this roster.” Look up the meaning of ‘melodramatic’ and MAYBE you’ll get it bucboi.
April 4th, 2019 at 11:10 am
“BAs coaches????
LOL
All but Bowles would have been unemployed
What in the world did Leftwich and Goodwin ever do but get fired?
This year is going to be a gumpster fire and everyone us going to blame Jameis”man without a city” Winston”
Kobe Faker
April 4th, 2019 at 11:38 am
DR
look up the word “coaching” and….nawl never mind, you still wont get it…..
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
April 4th, 2019 at 12:22 pm
Defense Rules……..You are over analysing the roster. Bruce is going to bring in a ton of campmeat that you have never heard of and I guarantee guys will make this team that are not on any lists you are looking at………Great Coach’s & their staff know how to identify players that can play solid NFL football.
Meanwhile poor coaching will have a guy like Benechot on their roster for three years and they won’t even know that his football sucks.
Another thing that may help you sleep a bit better at night is that some positions are easy to fill & if you enter the season then realize you need help you can easily find a player on the streets that can help you(if you know what you are doing)……..RB is a good example of this. Remember CJ Anderson last year? Alfred Morris is another guy brought in midseason…….Their are good RBs avialable every year.
April 4th, 2019 at 12:24 pm
The Bucs found good players last year midseason. Adams, Harris & Minter……….3 solid NFL players. Glad we retained 2 of em.