Under Pressure
April 28th, 2019
Up to task?
Yes, Devin White will be under pressure with the Bucs beginning with training camp. That’s expected of a No. 5 overall pick.
But in Joe’s eyes, the man with the most eyeballs on him will be second-round pick Sean Bunting.
A look at all the players the Bucs could have been had with that No. 39 overall pick throws a lot of weight on Bunting’s shoulders to validate his draft selection. Fans will be demanding that Bunting ball out.
Joe has heard a lot of “I never heard of this guy before” lines. That’s understandable. How many locals, unless they went to school at Central Michigan, paid any attention to the Chippewas or monitored MAC football?
Sure it’s fun football to watch on a Tuesday or Wednesday night in November, but when is the MAC ever on TV other than late-season weeknights or in a pre-Christmas bowl game?
(The selection of Bunting didn’t puzzle or frustrate Joe all that much. But after the Bucs traded back in the third round, that is when Joe threw up in arms in surrender trying to figure out the Bucs’ reasoning in the draft.)
Well, few fans knew of Bunting for obvious reasons. But it seems he was on #DraftMedia radar months ago (though Mel Kiper wasn’t on board).
Take Ben Fennell, for example. He works the NFL draft for a variety of outlets including The Athletic, NFL Network, BSPN and the Philadelphia Eagles. He was tipped off to Bunting in the early weeks of the 2018 college season.
Sean Bunting ended up being the 4th CB off the board. He was my CB sleeper in the draft preview but props to @fduffy3 who had me watching him in September… Expecting him to earn a starting role with TBhttps://t.co/u09QmIdt0x pic.twitter.com/holDjF7oUF
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) April 28, 2019
The man Fennell mentioned, Fran Duffy, has been a Philadelphia presence covering the draft and football X’s and O’s for years and is well-respected within the industry.
Joe hopes Bunting doesn’t get buried by Bucs fans if he initially struggles. He has a target on his back.
Look, Bucs fans are angry and upset and they should be. This team, once one of the NFL’s jewels, has been a toilet franchise for too long.
And when an unpopular team executive — yes, it is fair to call AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, a longtime face of the franchise, unpopular given the Bucs struggles this decade — oversees an unconventional draft, the pitchforks will be out.
Whether fans use those pitchforks depends on whether those unconventional picks pan out.
Bunting, in particular, and Licht, very much will be under the microscope this fall.
April 28th, 2019 at 1:01 pm
Devin White is the player’s name Joe.
April 28th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
Who’s Devin Smith?
April 28th, 2019 at 1:04 pm
Who’s Devin Smith? I thought we got Devin White at #5
April 28th, 2019 at 1:06 pm
I thought he retired?. I thought he retired?
April 28th, 2019 at 1:09 pm
Wake up Joe.
That Community Coffee ain’t working!
April 28th, 2019 at 1:12 pm
It ain’t Sean Bunting with the bullseye on the back–it remains on on Hargreaves who has yet to justify even being picked for the NFL besides @ #11 overall and he has had his 5th year option pikked up for no apparent good reason. He remains the #1 target of the fans watchful eyes. Don’t forget about that. Cut Sean Bunting a little goddam slack already!
April 28th, 2019 at 1:13 pm
Not fair on Bunting. This type of stupid thinking happens because someone really believes a player should be drafted at X number because this player Williams is entitled to go there. Gtfoh draft craze is unreal.
Bunting didn’t put a gun to Licht head and told him him to draft him. So not fair
April 28th, 2019 at 1:14 pm
I’ve come to the conclusion that the Joes have become nothing more than “Rabble Rousers”. Sad!
April 28th, 2019 at 1:20 pm
Patience to struggling early?? My whole problem with this draft is the blatant lack of patience for the same 3 positions in the secondary we drafted last year in high rounds! Where’s the patience for Davis, Stewart and Whitehead?
April 28th, 2019 at 1:30 pm
This draft is a makeup draft for Jason Licht past failures
These are Licht secondary picks the past 4 drafts
ROUND 1: CB VERNON HARGREAVES
ROUND 4: DB RYAN SMITH
ROUND 2: S JUSTIN EVANS
ROUND 2: CB M.J STEWART
ROUND 2: CB CARLTON DAVIS
ROUND 2: S JORDAN WHITEHEAD
ROUND 2: CB SEAN BUNTING
ROUND 3: CB JAMEL DEAN
ROUND 3: S MIKE EDWARDS
April 28th, 2019 at 1:32 pm
It all started when MJ Stewert was exposed as too slow to cover a crossing route.
In the NFL offensive coordinators are very smart. They have assistants that are very smart. They talk to other teams. They study video tools extensively. They will probe your defense, make adjustments, probe it again and take notes. They will have meetings where they study film and use group think . They are very sophisticated.
.
Gump is out of his league. Mike Smith tells him Stewart is too slow, Gump puts a post it note on his draft board, next spring draft more speedy CB’s.
In a historical reference, during the late 1930’s, Gump was France secure behind the Maginot Line and the rest of the NFL was Germany.
Actually the term blitz came from that exact situation, blitzkrieg.
April 28th, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Bucs need about $9M to sign draft picks. Bucs sign VH3 to a $9M 1 year extension that is not guaranteed. Umm, Joe, is my math wrong here? If we go to camp and VH3 proves to be replaceable by one of these new cats so we now have money under the cap?
April 28th, 2019 at 1:35 pm
Back in the day it could have been heard “Jerry who?”… they picked Jerry Rice from where ??? … he is here now… it is the DB out of Auburn with 3 knee issues that I would have passed on
April 28th, 2019 at 1:37 pm
Miguel… U a funny guy!
April 28th, 2019 at 1:38 pm
Bunting was a favorite of Dane Brugler and Brian Broddas as well. They called him a ‘cover and clobber’ Corner back.
April 28th, 2019 at 1:39 pm
JabooBuc, That 5th year extension is for the 2020 season, not this one.
Would be 9 million approx salary but they can cut him before 3/1/20 and not be on the hook for any of it. Remember it’s an OPTION TO EXTEND.
April 28th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
My bad and good call.
April 28th, 2019 at 1:59 pm
I think the guy with the most pressure is Gay.
April 28th, 2019 at 2:07 pm
@Joe … “Fans will be demanding that Bunting ball out”. Followed by “Joe hopes Bunting doesn’t get buried by Bucs fans if he initially struggles. He has a target on his back.”
Sounds like you’re playing ‘good cop – bad cop’ Joe. All of our rookies need time to be coached-up & to grow. Hopefully media & fans don’t pounce on any of them every time they screw up. It’s all about learning experiences IMO. Scapegoating doesn’t help any of them grow, it just erodes their confidence.
April 28th, 2019 at 2:11 pm
This week will be 7 articles bashing our 7 picks
April 28th, 2019 at 2:13 pm
This kid has a chip on his shoulder. Hoping he balls out.
I still can’t believe Jason Licht drafted a kicker in the 5th round when no one else would have drafted him.
Lost a ton of respect for our GM
Think anyone buys his jersey other then family members?
April 28th, 2019 at 2:22 pm
Bird I disagree. Kicker has been a position of need for years and this kid seems to be a possible solution. Not like a 5th round picks has much of a chance to make the roster and drafting this kid and showing a vote of confidence might be the boost he needs.
April 28th, 2019 at 2:25 pm
When does the thread start about drafting a 5’10” 170lbs WR…. dollars to donuts, have a IR “injury “ and be stashed for a year of weight and dietary training
April 28th, 2019 at 2:26 pm
I guess the 1st 2 ppl to comment can’t read in the 1st line in the article it says devin white NOT devin Smith lol
April 28th, 2019 at 2:27 pm
Or it was corrected #1
April 28th, 2019 at 2:33 pm
Lol don’t know why people are so upset by the draft, baffled yes but upset no because it’s not like what they’ve done up to this point has worked all that well. I for one are tired of looking at our tiny corners and happy we have the big long defenders now as long as they pan out
April 28th, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Fans are realizing what I’ve been saying all along. Mike Smith was the scapegoat last season. The talent wasn’t there in the secondary. It took Todd Bowles and this draft for the fans to finally see it!!
April 28th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
Sc Bucs
I have no problem with a kicker. But he would have gone undrafted. Hunter renfrow goes right behind him to titans so we will see how good or bad it really was.
The draft is about getting the guys at the right spot. They could have drafted him in 7th round if they wanted to lock him down.
April 28th, 2019 at 2:39 pm
Not sure how many Matt Gay jerseys will sell…….on the back “GAY”
But I hope he does well…..and yes, he has pressure on him and should….every kicker needs to perform under pressure…..
If this works he will be a solution to a big problem and a 5th round pick is not much……5th rounders are used to move up a few spots…..and most don’t make the roster.
Do we have any other 5th rounders on our roster other than Justin Watson from last year?
April 28th, 2019 at 2:48 pm
Rather than saying Bunting will have a target on his back…..how about expectations for him to perform at a 2nd round level will be high.
At this point with all of the whining & complaining about the pick….how could he have anything but low expectations.
My initial reaction was “who is that”?…..but I did some due diligence and have become extremely comfortable with the pick….
I am convinced that he won the day with his character & leadership skills coupled with his athleticism.
April 28th, 2019 at 2:50 pm
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on Bunting and the CB’s drafted after him over the next 3 yrs or so. We’ll see how it ends up. If it’s close I’ll consider this a solid pick if not it’s another strike on Licht’s resume. Although I suspect he’ll be long gone by that point. But we’ll see.
April 28th, 2019 at 3:07 pm
Saying we could have drafted the kicker in the 7th round is an unmerited assumption. Considering less than 20% of 5th round picks pan out I think choosing a kicker increases the odds of getting a starter. It was a position of need which probably made him BPA at that moment. The draft is a crap shoot, you should know that by now. Only 56% of first round picks pan out. That number drops into the 40’s in round 2 and drops significantly with each ensuing round. Griping about a 5th round pick is just silly.
April 28th, 2019 at 3:12 pm
Lots of Bucs fans are rightfully angry because of losing but it also makes some say incredibly dumb things
April 28th, 2019 at 3:15 pm
I guess Bird is a fortune teller who can see the future lol
April 28th, 2019 at 3:23 pm
This staff ain’t holding anybody’s hand from the previous roster. Mike Edwards patterned his game after Honeybadger that’s why he was drafted. Jamel Dean 6’2 220lbs 4.3 40. Patrick Peterson 6’1 219 lbs 4.3 40. Picture clearing any??? Sean Bunting 6’0 195 lbs 4.4 40. Both can be seen blitzing from the corner their highlights. They want physicality at the los and closing speed on deep balls thrown downfield.
April 28th, 2019 at 3:25 pm
Not to mention both have 40+ verticals.
April 28th, 2019 at 3:30 pm
NOSBOS,
This exactly what I said they needed last year in the secondary
Yet they re-signed a 34 year old, slow undersized CB
Drafted 2 slow Corners
Drafted another slow Safety
And they put all the blame on the DC
Fired him and brought back the GM
April 28th, 2019 at 3:31 pm
Years and Years of the same draft reaches when outstanding players are still on the board. The Bucs staff is poor and that is why they own last place in the division year after year. There was no reason to reach for a player, but this is what happens every year. Bucs just suck!!
April 28th, 2019 at 3:33 pm
Rookie corners rarely are any good – and even if they’re “good” by rookie standards, it’s means they’re a below average starter.
Anywho, a below average starter is a superstar compared to the garbage that has been the Bucs corner depth chart over the last couple of years. Davis had an OK rookie year, meaning going into the draft he was the superstar of the defensive backfield. That’s why they took so many guys. The downside is it’s unlikely that any of these rookies, other than White, will do much their rookie year – and that is to be expected. The good news is that it can not possibly get worse than what we’ve seen.
April 28th, 2019 at 3:36 pm
Alstott up the gut – Davis is starting and Whitehead will compete against a fellow 4th rounder for the starting job. Stewart is a bust, you can see that already, he’s like a slow Ryan Smith, which is about as big of an insult as I can say. If he improves, great, the Bucs actually have depth for once, but it’s very very unlikely. But when the only two corners on your roster are Davis and VH3, the only two that should be on an NFL team, how are you giving up on them by drafting two more corners? If you’ve watched an NFL game in the last 40 years you’d know you use 3 corners about half the time.
April 28th, 2019 at 3:37 pm
We see where “winning the draft” has gotten us. Now that its over with the draft pick scrutiny needs to move onto production. Wins and losses. I see this staff putting together a winning season. The talent was already here. They got press corners because the blitzs are coming early and often. Im not too worried about pressure even tho i really wanted Josh Allen. Go Bucs
April 28th, 2019 at 3:58 pm
Good Lawd, with all of these damn defensive backs – I’m expecting us to be in dime coverage at least 50+% of the time. Lol
(Based on the current personnel)
*3-2-6 || Dime Front – w/Nose Tackle
Defensive Line
• DE Jason Pierre Paul
• NT Vita Vea
• DE Carl Nassib
Linebackers
• MLB Devin White
• WLB Lavonte David
Defensive Backs
• CB Carlton Davis
• CB Sean Bunting
• CB Vernon Hargreaves
• CB James Dean
• S Justin Evans
• S Mike Edwards
____________
*2-3-6 || Dime Front – Without Nose Tackle
Defensive Line
• DE Jason Pierre Paul
• DE Carl Nassib
Linebackers
• MLB Devin White
• WLB Lavonte David
• $$B Deone Buccanon
Defensive Backs
• CB Carlton Davis
• CB Sean Bunting
• CB Vernon Hargreaves
• CB James Dean
• S Justin Evans
• S Mike Edwards
Honestly, if guys can stay healthy it’s not a bad look. Especially when you consider it will help neutralize vertical offenses. Plus the way Todd Bowles likes to game up different exotic blitz packages. Guys will enjoy playing in this defense.
April 28th, 2019 at 4:15 pm
Moderation?
April 28th, 2019 at 4:16 pm
I bet all of you when our New Defensive coaches actually reviewed this seasons tape and saw how slow we were..They just stared and glared. We went DB’s for reason. Bowles wants quick, hard hittin reactive players who are ball-hawks and play-makers. Now watch our Defense get quicker and create more turnovers. Ask yourselves..you forgetful buc fans..how many times you just knew could not hold a lead. And if a minute was left on the clock, the other team was guaranteed to score. Happened so many times, You can’t even count’em..huh?
April 28th, 2019 at 4:21 pm
Bucs are going to be playing 6 dbs on the field at any given time depending on situations. It was COACHING!!!!!!
April 28th, 2019 at 4:29 pm
I predict 6-10 at best
I’m not impressed with free agency, draft or the new staff
April 28th, 2019 at 4:45 pm
Dewey, any man with the last name “Gay” can handle any pressure put on him. That’s what I would think, anyway.
April 28th, 2019 at 4:46 pm
Still astonished that TB traded the 70th pick when jaylen Ferguson was still available.
April 28th, 2019 at 4:59 pm
@LJS4th … “There was no reason to reach for a player, but this is what happens every year”. Disagree somewhat on this one LJS. Great teams win the luxury of solely drafting BPA … they’re already solid in all position groups. Bad teams don’t have that luxury; they’re always trying to fill holes in the starting lineup & key rotational players.
Bad teams also play ‘musical coaches’. New coaching staffs have different player needs, depending on what they’re trying to accomplish. And if a particular position group doesn’t meet that coaching staffs’ player needs, guess what … that position group gets an infusion of new talent, either through FA or the draft. Bucs didn’t reach for White … his size, speed & leadership was exactly what Todd Bowles needs to focus his defense around. We didn’t reach for Bunting either … he sounds like exactly the type of CB Todd Bowles needs in his Secondary to make it work. Same with the other 2 DBs we picked.
The interesting part this year will be how PREVIOUS YEAR’s DBs fit into Todd Bowles system. VHIII will be ‘functional’ I think, but I seriously doubt he’ll be here next year at $9 mil. Carlton Davis will do fine I think. No idea about the rest, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ryan Smith stick this year (contrary to what Rod says, I think he made progress last year & could well turn into a suitable backup).
April 28th, 2019 at 5:02 pm
Worst draft class ever.
Time for Licht to go. Pathetic.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:03 pm
With the 4th pick in the 2019 NFL draft, the LA Raiders select Clelin Ferrell Defensive End, Clemson.
Now, mind you, this is the Draft Guru genius, Mike Mayock….JBF fans…
Ask yourself this, armchair GMs, “Was that your pick at 4?”
So…..the draft isn’t predictable and GMs don’t always pick the favorite at the time.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:06 pm
There is a lot of pressure with this pick but most of it will be felt by Licht……..I doubt Bunting really cares which draft slot he went in except for the fact he has to be elated he went so high and will make more $$$ because of it.
The only pressure Bunting will be feeling should be fighting off all the other CBs we have for a job.
Just before the Draft opened I made a final plea to Jason Licht and demanded he get us players who will work their asses off for this team. I hope that is a reason why he made some unpopular picks……And he didn’t like Greedy Williams for a reason. I will remain confident it was a good call til proven otherwise.
GO BUCS
April 28th, 2019 at 5:10 pm
JimmyJack,
My greatest concern with this team is the coaching staff
I have zero faith in them
April 28th, 2019 at 5:13 pm
Byron Leftwich was the OC for the worst offense in the NFL
3-13 Arizona cardinals
Todd Bowles was the HC for the 4-12 NY Jets
Their defense gave up 27.6 PPG
Bruce Arians is 66
Been out of coaching for a few years
April 28th, 2019 at 5:13 pm
@NOSBOS … “Not to mention both have 40+ verticals”. Superb point NOSBOS. Folks forget that Ronde Barber and Brent Grimes both had great leaping ability & that’s what allowed them to recover from a lot of bad situations to either intercept or knock down a pass. Combine that with excellent height, speed & good cover skills and voila … we MIGHT just have us a new-look Secondary.
Dean (6’1″, 206 lbs, 4.3 time, 41 vertical) and Bunting (6’0″, 195 lbs, 4.42 time, 41.5 vertical) BOTH have great CB measurables. Davis isn’t as fast as those 2 (clocks at 4.53 in the 40), but he does have good size (6’1″ & 206 lbs). Bucs definitely got bigger & a whole lot faster. And that’s a very good thing … if they can play some football. Time will tell.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:15 pm
You all penciling inn Davis as a starter I’m not so sure. Not saying he’s not deserving but when you go right back to his school and find yet another corner who measures out to Pat Pete seems like to me that’s his camp competition.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:18 pm
^^^what NOSBOS and Mike Johnson said. Go Bucs!
April 28th, 2019 at 5:19 pm
The question I ask myself is if the Bucs are a better team after the draft. I have to answer yes, even though there are intangibles beyond the fact that the Bucs have a record of crappy selection in drafts.
Can the defense be worse than it has been? I guess that’s always a possibility but at least a good effort was made to address glaring deficiencies. Anything else now belongs to the realm of Nostradamus.
That being said, I’m partial to UFDAs. I believe that the Bucs may have found two or three jewels-in-the-rough there. A Guard, a DE and a WR.
We should know by the first four games…
April 28th, 2019 at 5:22 pm
Lakeland I’ll give Bruce the credit he has earned.
His resume is quite impressive.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:22 pm
I am wondering how much Devin White (if at all) factored in on us not drafting Greedy Williams…..you know we would have liked to draft his teammate.
Also….How much did Carlton Davis figure in on our drafting Jamel Dean…..there had to be some discussions about him.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:25 pm
JimmyJack,
What about the OC and DC?
April 28th, 2019 at 5:32 pm
Well Leftwitch has little experience so we will see what he can do running Arians offense……If he’s bad Bruce is the kind of guy who I’m sure will make a quick change and get it righted.
As for Bowels he was good enough as a DC to get himself a HC job in NY so I’m not worried about his coaching.
It’s a bit of wait and see made for me but I am optimistic with Bruce calling the shots. Moreso then I have been in a long time with a Bucs coach.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:34 pm
Rod Munch- I understand the Bucs felt their secondary depth was weak last year from injuries and that was a high priority in this draft. By all means, bring people in to compete. My problem, based on what you’re saying, is 3 picks in the top 3 rounds because we are already determining that a 2nd round pick last year, and a 1st and 4th round pick from three years ago are already busts/need upgrades. That is a lot of draft capital over the years and some of these better hit. We have other needs on this team that had quality players available at those draft spots.
April 28th, 2019 at 5:35 pm
JimmyJack,
I’m sick of these retreads
They get fired somewhere else, then come here
April 28th, 2019 at 5:40 pm
Bowles was like Koetter……good coordinator….not so good HC……..What I like about this coaching staff is that they have all coached together……they are all on the same page and they will work very well together……good communication.
As for retreads……we are all retreads at some point in time or other…..
April 28th, 2019 at 5:41 pm
At least we are starting to get some articles that aren’t about Dee Ford or Michael Bennett….I’m holding my breath on the “malcontent”……
April 28th, 2019 at 5:56 pm
Lakeland the last coach we just fired wasn’t a retread and it went horribly.
April 28th, 2019 at 6:00 pm
Also Bill Bellicheck and Andy Ried are retreads. Not that that says much……I’m sure you could find Manny success and failure stories with any type of hire.
I just want solid football. Is that too much to ask?
I predict we get it and go 10-6.
April 28th, 2019 at 6:05 pm
Tampaybucsfan: Yes and yes. I am sure they asked Devin about Greedy and I would assume Carlton was asked about Dean.
April 28th, 2019 at 6:30 pm
I found some YouTube video of Scotty Miller returning kicks. Looks like a natural at to me. Goofy @$$ joe won’t let me link it inn.
April 28th, 2019 at 6:35 pm
Now that I think about Joe weren’t you on some only someone idiotic would think of drafting an LB at 5??? Guess me BA,Todd Bowles and Jason Licht are plum stupid.
April 28th, 2019 at 6:37 pm
Coachable trainable is the order for him. Athletics is not an issue. Todd Bowles will get the most out of these guys.
April 28th, 2019 at 6:46 pm
NOSBOS
Add me and about 60% of JBF posers in Joe’s poll liked the Devin White pick…
U R NOT ALONE!!!
April 28th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
So many think this was a sucky draft because they don’t like the positions that were selected – especially with high picks.
I’ll admit I was like – wtf?? at the end of day 2 having just seen the Bucs select 2 CBs and a safety in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
I knew at the time we had gotten screwed out of our preferred selections in both rds 2 and 3.
Cody Ford was “our guy” – trust me on that. The Bills obviously knew that and swooped in front of us to scoop him up. Taylor, Little and Ford all went immediately before the Bucs selected in rd 2 – so instead of reaching outside their set group of players in that spot for a certain position -they went with the highest rated defensive player on their board which apparently was Bunting – a CB. I can’t fault them for that if they truly believe the guy has legit high 2nd rd talent. We shall see. No one including myself liked the Justin Evans pick either at the time and he has shown me at least that he has the intangibles on the field (when healthy) to have been worthy of that mid 2nd rd pick.
Then the same thing happened in the 3rd round. Zach Allen and Polite were both taken just before our #70 pick. So instead of spending that draft capital on a RB (Henderson – who a # of Bucs fans wanted) or reaching for another position – they traded down instead and got 2 more defenders in the late 3rd to help shore up depth, Special teams and to further increase the talent level of the secondary – with players who the Bucs felt were a good value where they were drafted.
We added a LOT of speed on defense in this draft – which was very much needed.
Everyone is focusing on the Positions that were drafted – and are mostly not happy about what we got.
The Bucs were much more concerned with the quality of PLAYERS they selected and surely feel that our Defense and Special Teams got substantially better over the last 3 days – regardless of the outcries over not drafting OL or DL soon enough – and of all things drafting a kicker (gasp)…..
April 28th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
The competition in the secondary alone is a plus from a production standpoint…
Bowles can easily scheme pressure on the QB with his guys up front; this draft was about getting a few dogs in the secondary to sure up the back end of his defense…Between JPP, Nasib, David, White, and a plethora of DB to work with in Nickle and Dime packages, I expect Bowles is a happy man right now…
April 28th, 2019 at 7:01 pm
OneBuc55…….Your post is encouraging. Those 4 guys you mentioned is a nice start for our Front7…….And you didn’t even mention VitaV.
Add that to a formidable secondary(which is a demand with all the high draft picks) and we might just have to horses to get this defense humming.
Maybe now we won’t have to be embarrassed when guys like Mutch Trubisky & Case Keenum have career games against us……and we should expect to get more then the one turnover we had in the first 8 games last year.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:03 pm
PFF gave the Bucs an above average draft. I am coming around to this draft, initially I was only good with D. White who I definitely wanted, if I knew how to archive, I would pull up how I was probably the first to post this was our guy due to the RBs in our division.
Secondly, as I see what the staff was looking for was speed, character and production. Last year I think our DBs totaled 2-3 interceptions between them in college (it showed during the season), not the case with this group, they are around the ball, I like that the defensive backfield will have competition and have depth. Wasn’t sure about the defensive linemen we drafted, but a deeper look, they could definitely be better than Gholston, Allen and Uerin. I am also expecting Spence, Cappa, ROJO and even Benenoch being moved back to
tackle will be better. The kicker, we shall see if he can break the curse.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:08 pm
I heard that TampaBucfan. A yo Defense add 6’0 199lbs 41.5 vertical 4.5 Justin Evans to that equation. This secondary is going to be physically imposing.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:11 pm
Boy…all these articles (most recent) have been up for about 10 hours…no?? (Meaning yes)…
Hmm…
April 28th, 2019 at 7:11 pm
I have nothing to back this up, but my gut tells me the Bucs got jumped by Jags, Panthers and Bills and lost out on their O-Lineman. Ppl assume the picks a team walks away with were the targets. In years past I feel Licht made moves to get guys he wanted ahead of teams that were likely to steal them. This year seems like we might have played the wait and hope game and lost. Hence the reaching. Good thing is we have a new wave of young talent to jump start the total rebuild of this defense. Not my favourite draft but I have more faith in this coaching staff to make due with it.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:19 pm
I think we have a much faster defense….the draft coupled with Shaq Barrsett 4.42 & Kentrell Brice 4.38, Deone Bucannon 4.49…….makes us a much, much faster team.
And we are younger……..Grimes, Curry, Fitz, Anger and others over 30 are gone…
Still GMC is a question mark…..we will try to trade him up until the last minute…..if we can’t, we may keep him.
We can restructure him along with Evans & JPP and perhaps Brate to pick up enough
April 28th, 2019 at 7:21 pm
I think we have a much faster defense….the draft coupled with Shaq Barrsett 4.42 & Kentrell Brice 4.38, Deone Bucannon 4.49…….makes us a much, much faster team.
And we are younger……..Grimes, Curry, Fitz, Anger and others over 30 are gone…
Still GMC is a question mark…..we will try to trade him up until the last minute…..if we can’t, we may keep him.
We can restructure him along with Evans & JPP and perhaps Brate to pick up enough space to sign the draft picks.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:29 pm
Although I was against picking Devin White at #5, I voted positively in the poll. If they traded back a few spots, Pittsburgh was poised to make a major move for the best LB.
If White was their guy, then maybe it was the right pick.
The rest of the draft was an unmitigated disaster. I think Kobe and others noted that other teams moved ahead of Gump and grabbed some OL gems that a good GM would have acquired. Those guys, Taylor and Ford, I believe were early 1st round talent. If you’re building a team for the future those are guys you need.
Not to blame Bunting but you could have picked him in the 4th round.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:32 pm
De’Vante Harris, Issiah Johnson, David Rivers, are likely gone.
CBs Davis, VH3, Bunting, Dean & Ryan Smith (5)
Safety Evans, Brice, Whitehead, Stewart & Edwards (5)
Think we will go with 5 & 5 because some are interchangeable
April 28th, 2019 at 7:54 pm
Greedy was the pick here damnit bucs.
April 28th, 2019 at 7:55 pm
Licht got caught with his pants down, sucking glazer.
April 28th, 2019 at 8:03 pm
Hey Joe,
Check out Nate Trewyn, that’s the diamond in the rough. The packers were looking at him hard and we took him right from under their nose.
April 28th, 2019 at 8:21 pm
@TBBF … “We can restructure him (GMC) along with Evans & JPP and perhaps Brate to pick up enough space to sign the draft picks”. Certainly would give us sufficient $$$ to work with. IF we keep GMC though, wouldn’t be surprised to see us trade or cut at least 1 Buc making $3-4 mil or more to pay for our rookies.
Also think there’s a very good possibility TBBF that we make enough space (eventually) to sign 2 FAs … a RG & RB. Those are 2 ‘holes’ that remain unfilled after the draft. No rush in filling them yet though until BA & his coaching staff see what we’ve REALLY got in OLine & running Back talent.
April 28th, 2019 at 10:09 pm
I just want to point out that Dean ran 4.3 with a 41″ vert. That is after 2 ACLs on 1 leg and 1 on the other. What kind of f-ing freak is this guy?? I have 1 torn ACL and it ended my intramural and beer leagues, LOL. This cat could be dynamic if he stays healthy. I was railing against all these picks this weekend, but whats done is done and now it is time to hope that Licht and BA and staff have hit a HR. BTW anyone that thinks that the last 3 years wasn’t coaching, is either blind as bat or has blind loyalty. I prefer opening my own eyes and watching every game live. then watching them again during the week to form my opinion, kinda the 48-72 hour cooling off period. And yes that is for wins and losses. The last regime did some good things obviously, can’t be wrong 100% of the time, LOL
April 28th, 2019 at 10:20 pm
I think rrsrq hit the nail on the head. This draft was about ability and CHARACTER. Enough with the D-bags in the locker that are all about themselves. Football is a team sport, this isn’t golf or tennis. The demons have been exercised from our locker room, now it is time to move forward together.
April 28th, 2019 at 10:23 pm
Does anyone think that the pressure that was put on Roberto Aguayo helped him? Do you think it’ll help this kid or the kicker we took this year? It’s almost if some of you want our draft to fail, for our players to be failures so it’ll give you something to complain about. Mellow out, give these kids a chance to be successful.
April 28th, 2019 at 10:27 pm
Totally agree on the character posts. We need positive team players, and team leaders.
April 28th, 2019 at 10:33 pm
@ Defense Rules & TBBF: Once you start restructuring contracts a team can get into dead cap space.
I suspect a couple of marginal vets will get cut. Won’t surprise me if Gholston is one of them.
There are many, many more player moves and cap carvings to be done before the opening game.
April 28th, 2019 at 10:37 pm
i think character is what kept Greedy from being a Buc…..and why many passed on him…..with good coaching there isn’t a great deal of separation between many of these players…..what 1 10th of a second?
Coaching and character make the difference…….the players we picked were picked primarily because the coaches, scouts and yes Licht wanted them.
No chart with rankings means much at that point.
We might very well make the same decisions if we had the identical info.
April 28th, 2019 at 10:45 pm
GMC may still get cut (hopefully traded)……..You could piece together $8-10 mil with some marginal player cuts…..Gholston, Evan Smith etc…..but that is cutting into our depth and they would need to be replaced…..so, you don’t save all of their cuts….
I suspect that there will be some surprises. There is plenty of time to work things out.
April 28th, 2019 at 11:11 pm
If they got one thing right in this draft, its the pick of Mr. White!!!!!
Ya’ll naysayers just dont get it….but the ones who know, they know!
April 28th, 2019 at 11:18 pm
Heh Joe how bout something on Anthony Nelson-dude was a steal!
April 28th, 2019 at 11:33 pm
This was a personnel decision to not lose two games to Atlanta..if you think Dirk wont expose old faces think again people.
April 28th, 2019 at 11:36 pm
^^Agree 100%- Motor guys like Nassib, Kerrigan, JPP, etc make everyone around them better. Nelson is long and will probably still grow, but seriously you cannot teach want to.
April 28th, 2019 at 11:58 pm
Just read some articles on Scott Miller, he’s a steal too, no reason why he can’t pan out to better than Djax was for us. He has awesome acceleration and motivation–he likely has chip on the shoulder syndrome as no team has taken him seriously as he is and was small. Look forward to seeing this all play out. So many players with potential to watch this next year.
One of the UDFA is a guard and sounds like he will make the team/Practice squad at least for depth.
Maybe Joes will recover from their hangovers and get optimistic
April 29th, 2019 at 12:01 am
Heh Joe ready for an Ira podcast–make it happen buddy!
April 29th, 2019 at 12:12 am
Been watching all kinds of stuff and the draftee I’m most interested in is Beckner. I’m falling in love with this pick. Here’s one video I recommend everyone watches. He may not be a hall of Famer (yet), but he has something this team has been lacking since Sapp left. I’ll just leave it here. https://www.patriots.com/video/2019-draft-prospects-terry-beckner-jr-dt-missouri
April 29th, 2019 at 12:36 am
@Tampabaybucfan Mike Evans sort of restructured his deal already. Turned a portion of his guaranteed money into a signing bonus to add a little more cap space. JPP is an option, though unlikely. Brate, his deal can be restructured, but nothing can help with his number for this year. Cam’s full salary became a lock as of Mar17, I believe was the date. Anything done with his deal would only help in the future. Also, forget about McCoy taking a pay cut here. It may happen, but only if he is cut, so that would be for another team. Probably a legit contender
April 29th, 2019 at 12:39 am
@LakeLand Arians wasn’t fired. He retired due to health issues. If you’re going to make a negative comment, be right
April 29th, 2019 at 7:57 am
CB – Kyle Fuller NFL Draft: 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14 (Chicago)
Vs.
CB – Vernon Hargreaves NFL Draft: 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11 (Chicago)
Hmm, I wonder which one was more effective
April 29th, 2019 at 7:57 am
Tampa
April 29th, 2019 at 11:58 am
Too late to walk away,I already bought the hat !!
April 29th, 2019 at 1:14 pm
This draft was a joke probably should have taken a CB out of Armwood Jeesh CMU great talent for nbtte MAC I wish I could get my money ney back fir my season tickets