“He Did Not Get Beat Twice On The Same Move”
May 14th, 2020
Tristan Wirfs breakdown.
Last year, rookie outside linebacker Anthony Nelson had minimal impact, largely because he was basically a third-stringer who backed up Carl Nassib.
Throw on top of that,Nelson battled injuries most of the season, and it tells the story of an eye-opening first year for the Iowa product.
Nelson is likely to replace Nassib, now with the Raiders, on the depth chart. His lone big play last year in nine games was a forced fumble.
However, Nelson has first-hand knowledge that a new teammate should have a major impact on the Bucs. That would be Bucs first-round draft pick and his former Iowa teammate Tristan Wirfs.
Last year leading up to the draft, Nelson was often asked who was the best linemen he faced. Nelson always replied, his teammate, right tackle Wirfs. So last night when he appeared on “Late Hits” co-hosted by Alex Marvez and Bill Polian, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Marvez asked Nelson to give him a scouting report on Wirfs.
Alex Marvez: We are going to go back in time. It is 2019 and during the pre-draft scouting process, people keep asking you, “Who is the best guy you went against? Who is the best offensive lineman you faced?” And you kept telling them it was your Hawkeyes teammate, Tristan Wirfs. Well, guess what? You guys are back together again for some more battles in practice. Because the Buccaneers moved up to draft Tristan in Round 1. Two-part question: What were the things that made you say back then just how good Tristan was; and what are the Bucs getting in him overall in what I believe will be their new starting right tackle?
Anthony Nelson: That is funny that everybody was asking. I’ve gone against a lot of good guys in the Big Ten but he was definitely the best. I had to go against him every day. And he got me a lot better. The reason I said that is his athleticism. … He’s just a really, really, really good athlete. He’s a wrestler that really knows how to use leverage. Great feet and a lot of power. On top of that, he got better. He did not get beat twice on the same move. He got a lot better. He would adapt quickly to what I was doing. The Bucs are getting a really, really, really good one. … He’s a really, really, really good athlete and he’s going to get a lot better in the next couple of years.
For context on the interview, Nelson seemed bored to pieces. It was like he would have much rather been wolfing down a plate of Maid-Rites and then sucking down a six-pack of Busch Light in his driveway.
(No, Joe doesn’t drink Busch Light, but that’s an under-the-radar popular beer in the Midwest. Hey, at least it is not Stag — and you haven’t had bad beer if you haven’t had Stag, which is truly disgusting.)
But Nelson really lit up when talking about Wirfs.
That’s cool to hear that when Wirfs was a freshman and a sophomore, Nelson couldn’t try the same move on him twice. All it took was for Wirfs to get burned once and he didn’t forget.
To Joe, that shows Wirfs isn’t just a hulk, but a smart guy too.
May 14th, 2020 at 8:15 am
Really?…;)
May 14th, 2020 at 8:16 am
Glad some of these guys have teammates……Winfield & Johnson…..Nelson & Wirfs…..Brady & Gronk and we can’t forget Evans & Evans…
May 14th, 2020 at 8:17 am
Maid-rites… my dads favorite. A mid-west delicacy. Not so much for me, but whatever. For the uninitiated, basically spicy ground hamburger.
Man..hope Wirfs is all that. We haven’t had a guy with that kind of talent at a tackle position since Paul Gruber.
May 14th, 2020 at 8:24 am
Really, really.
May 14th, 2020 at 8:48 am
I didn’t know Wirfs was a wrestler. I LOVE that in an OL man.
May 14th, 2020 at 8:49 am
Check this out, would be inter-team practice galore in the State of Florida:
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/05/13/florida-governor-teams-that-cant-play-in-their-states-are-welcome-here/
May 14th, 2020 at 9:08 am
Let’s see … “minimal impact” … “third-stringer” … “battled injuries” … ” lone big play last year in nine games was a forced fumble”. Overwhelming praise Joe.
So barely-used DE Nelson gets a shot a national media on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Bill Polian & Alex Marvez and he “seemed bored to pieces”? Got it. Antony is definitely going places. Where is anybody’s guess.
May 14th, 2020 at 9:08 am
ChanEpic, yes he was a state champion in high school
May 14th, 2020 at 9:21 am
@Chanepic he didn’t just wrestle either. He was quality. Wirfs was state champion his senior year.
May 14th, 2020 at 9:34 am
So we really don’t know what we have in Nelson. I’m assuming our coaches do. I am hoping for the best as he has potential.
As for beers Falstaff and Black Label are right up there with Stag in my book. :'(
May 14th, 2020 at 9:47 am
Believe he was a state high school wrestling champion.
May 14th, 2020 at 9:48 am
It’s been a real, real, real long time since Joe had Falstaff. Joe remembers he didn’t want to throw up drinking it.
Not sure ever had Black Label. Here’s one for you: Anyone remember Cooks? In college, you could get a case of tallboys for $4.99!
May 14th, 2020 at 10:03 am
Ug…Stag! But I did have a beer last year that was the absolute worst Ive ever had….Sour Monkey. I was already about 8 beers in and ran out of my usual bud light. I like to try a new craft beer now and then. So I bought a 6 pack of that. First swig was horrible. But it was $10, so I forced myself. I made it through 3 and a half, poured the rest of that 4th out. The other 2 are still in the fridge for prank beers. The hangover lasted all day and I cant even look at it w/o gagging.
May 14th, 2020 at 10:13 am
That’s why Joe doesn’t buy craft beer at the liquor store unless he has first sampled it at the bar. Too often like you Max, bought a six-pack and it turned out to be awful. Then you are stuck with five beers you paid nearly $2 a piece for.
So Joe sticks with Big Storm Beer. Can’t go wrong with any of their wonderful brands. 🙂
May 14th, 2020 at 10:30 am
LOL Joe —
“It was like he would have much rather been wolfing down a plate of Maid-Rites and then sucking down a six-pack of Busch Light in his driveway.”
I Can’t say I blame him!
May 14th, 2020 at 10:36 am
Apparently all you Midwest beer connoisseurs have never heard of Old Style.
May 14th, 2020 at 10:39 am
Joe Says:
May 14th, 2020 at 9:47 am
I didn’t know Wirfs was a wrestler. I LOVE that in an OL man.
Believe he was a state high school wrestling champion.
………….
He was. And Iowa is the wrestling capitol of the Nation
May 14th, 2020 at 10:43 am
As a former grappler I too understand how well the skillset translates into all sports. Leverage and balance is no more important than in trenches. Sapp was a state wrestling champ, same as Wirfs, which had a lot to do with his success. Wrestlers understand how to use their opponent’s strengths to their advantage. If Wirfs can hit the ground running @ RT it’ll pay big dividends immediately.
May 14th, 2020 at 10:54 am
Sounds to me like he hasn’t even come close to his ceiling yet.
May 14th, 2020 at 11:04 am
Bad. Very bad. Not as bad as Stag, which is undrinkable.
Old Style is more a Chicago thing. Get outside of Cook County the popularity (?) of that swill evaporates.
Used to know a way hot chick whose dad had an Old Style distributorship in southern Illinois. About the only time Joe drank that was when she was around.
May 14th, 2020 at 11:05 am
TBBF
“Glad some of these guys have teammates……Winfield & Johnson…..Nelson & Wirfs…..Brady & Gronk and we can’t forget Evans & Evans”
Always good to have good college team mates. Divinity from LSU with White as well. Divimty could be competing for that OLB starting spot at some point.
May 14th, 2020 at 1:13 pm
Pabst Blue Ribbon…formally Peoria’s finest.
May 14th, 2020 at 1:14 pm
PBR…ah yes….I could smell the hops from the factory as a youth…a childhood memory, like the sound of a freight train in the middle of the night, a mile or two away.
May 14th, 2020 at 2:33 pm
Mad max I made that same mistake with sour monkey. I didn’t think they were that bad I like sour beers. Drank six and the next day I was hungover and felt like crap. I got home and looked at the box wondering how I could be hungover off of 6 beers. They are 10% not the usual yuengling lite 3.1% I usually drink.
May 14th, 2020 at 5:57 pm
Lets throw in some old school crap beer from the north east. Schaefer, Schlitz and Schmidt’s. Although Gennesee Cream Ale wasn’t bad at least back when I was a teenager anyway. My father was the king of cheap beer we’d have over 50 cases in our cellar most of the time. If you’re into IPA’s Big Storm Arcus is excellent and one of our best sellers. Need to really support local small businesses for the next couple years they are going to need our help.
May 14th, 2020 at 6:16 pm
Bucnjim…Ah Schlitz… Schlitz Malt and MD 2020…the libation choice of the college youngsters headed for disaster. The only time in my life when I actually don’t remember anything…ahh….college days. Couldn’t stand the smell of wine for about three years…if you want to call MD202 wine. But I luckily survived them. And then after completing about 7 years of post HS matriculation and three degrees, really got smart and became a Bucs fan. And I’m hoping for a great year, with the help of some Midwestern University young men.
May 14th, 2020 at 7:02 pm
I grew up in the midwest, and no one I know ever drank Busch Light.
It wasn’t until I moved down here that I saw people drinking Busch and Busch Light.
Most in our crowd either drank Miller, or Miller Light.
May 15th, 2020 at 12:15 am
too funny about the busch! my moms family is from iowa and all her cousins swear its is god gift to earth, “mothers milk” their favorite description for their favorite beer. we took him to the outback bowl a few years ago when the hawkeyes came to town and we had to go to three different places to find him busch in tampa! (he should of listened to me when i told him to go to the ghetto gas station)
May 15th, 2020 at 12:39 pm
For me, Hamm’s beer was a shot from hell. I waited for the western beers to be bootlegged in such as Oly, or Moosehead. Coors was better back then as well.
May 15th, 2020 at 8:36 pm
ir8… From the land of sky blue waters…. hamms, the beer refreshing…hamms the beer refreshing…hamms.
Loved that Bear. And those moving signs…always loved those things even today…very pricey… the beer was yawn… but the best beer advertising ever.