Mike Edwards: Underappreciated
June 3rd, 2021
Underappreciated chatter.
So when it comes to attention, who on the Bucs is getting shafted?
Oh, the Bucs have a loaded roster like they’ve never had before. Joe can think of five guys that sober minds will one day debate enshrining them into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And that’s not including the young studs who, if they keep up their excellent play, may join in the conversation.
So, what about the guys who played well last year but aren’t getting any run? Cynthia Frelund has one such player.
Frelund, a spreadsheeter who works for NFL.com, has a list of most underappreciated players on each team in the NFL. Being a stat geek, Frelund heavily bases her findings on — you guessed it — stats.
For the Bucs, Frelund has selected safety Mike Edwards as the most underappreciated Bucs player.
Edwards made quite a splash at just the right time. Before the NFC Championship Game against Green Bay, the safety had played a grand total of 202 defensive snaps. But he performed when it mattered most — logging 69 snaps against Green Bay and 32 against Kansas City in the Super Bowl — so he’s the pick here. In the final two games of Tampa’s season, Edwards’ off-ball metric (how he covered his assignments when they weren’t targeted) was at a level that’d typically rank among the top five percent of defensive backs. And according to Pro Football Focus, Edwards allowed just 56 total yards on 256 coverage snaps in 2020, including the playoffs — tied for the second-fewest among players with at least 200 snaps. I also like this pick because Edwards forecasts to continue improving in Year 3.
Joe thinks this is an excellent choice. A flashback to 2020 training camp:
Edwards struggled a lot in his rookie year, but last year was practicing mostly with the first team defense. And he was practicing well, picking off a lot of passes — from a guy who at the time had six rings to his name.
And Frelund is right. With Antoine Winfield out with an injury, Edwards played fantastic in the NFC title game and in the Super Bowl.
If Edwards improves only a little bit, Joe can understand if the Bucs let expected free agent Jordan Whitehead walk. Now please understand Joe is not advocating Whitehead to leave. Joe loves his John Lynch-like nose for violence.
Whitehead very likely will be due a handsome raise. Edwards will still be under a rookie contract. If the Bucs can save a couple of million in order to keep one of the big-named offensive skill position players by keeping Edwards’ inexpensive salary over Whitehead, Joe would understand the dollars and cents angle.
June 3rd, 2021 at 12:05 am
Sign Whitehead, Not good to weaken the secondary, that’s the group that needs to step up most, to where they become a consistent force that they can be. The Bucs can afford the loss of an offensive player more than weakening the secondary. GO BUCS!!!!!
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:08 am
dude balled out. love that guy. tough as nails.
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:10 am
I need to take her for a spin. She’s underrated
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:13 am
Never let an offensive player walk over a defensive player. This isn’t 1985. It’s an offensive league, and the more offensive weapons you got, the better your team is. A better offense also helps your defense.
I like Whitehead, but I also like Edwards also. I don’t either are stars, and while Whitehead will get a raise, I don’t think his salary will be significant.
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:13 am
I like this kids knack for making plays on the football!
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:15 am
medicated Pete Says:
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:10 am
I need to take her for a spin. She’s underrated
————————————
Sad that we live in a world where a woman can’t respected for her work without being subjected to grown sexist pigs making comments that my teenage son would be ashamed to make…
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:28 am
I, for one, have great appreciation for Mike Edwards.
The dude is tougher than woodpecker lips.
Glad he’s a Buc.
Bucs have an outstanding safety room.
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:29 am
@Redblud: if she wanted to be appreciated for her work, she should not wear tight cleavage-enhancing clothing in her PR photos.
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:31 am
Super Bowl LV is “exhibit A” why you need a Defense in 2021 or 1985.
All that offensive Talent and the KC Chiefs got dominated and throttled by a surging defense.
The Bucs needed “10 points” to win the Super Bowl against one of the best offenses in the history of the NFL.
At the same time, it is a team game and you have to score,
But any talk about 1985 versus 2021 being a different game, the Super Bowl LV is “exhibit A” that football is still football, it is still about controlling the line of scrimmage, and blocking and tackling.
The Bucs D line dominated the KC offensive line, and chased Mahome running for 497 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
GO WORLD CHAMPION BUCS!!!
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:36 am
Check the highlights……Mike Edwards always seems to deflect a pass allowing someone else to get an interception….
He’s always around the ball…..love him.
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:36 am
Dam! There are Karens everywhere nowadays
Joe the salary cap has gone Way up for next yr. We need to keep this young core together. No losing Whitehead!
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:36 am
I want to hump her
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:36 am
Also: What TBBF said!
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:40 am
Stop it! 🙂 She lives in Los Angeles and works for a popular nationally broadcast network. She doesn’t live in Joplin working for a public access channel.
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:47 am
You said 5guys to debate HOF…with TB and Gronk being non-debatable, does that mean we have 7 future HOF’rs on this team? I can see it…
Brady
Gronk
AB
Evans
LVD
Devin White
Wirfs
With a cursory nod to AWJr
WOW!!!
June 3rd, 2021 at 10:55 am
Here is this Joe’s list (“other Joe” has different opinions). Mind you this is how Joe ***thinks*** the Hall of Fame voters will go. Joe knows how they think and it is different than what fans think. So please don’t throw rocks at Joe.
Already in
Tom Brady
Rob Gronkowski
Possible
Mike Evans
Antonio Brown
Maybe
Lavonte David
Ndamukong Suh
(The two Joes have very different views on both David and Suh’s chances at the Hall.)
Way too early to tell
Tristan Wirfs
Devin White
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:01 am
Defense wins championships. I’m sure the magic Licht show can free up the bucks to keep both Edwards and Whitehead on the Buc’s roster. When you throw in Winfield, it makes for an impressive position group. Keep it together!
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:22 am
Edwards is a free safety; Whitehead is a great tackler, a strong safety not great in coverage–I think Bowles wants to use both in rotation, with Winfield moving to strong safety when Edwards comes in on passing downs. Raven Greene is another box safety. Could replace Whitehead.
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:28 am
Joe
JPP???
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:33 am
Edwards could start for a lot of teams. The Bucs are lucky to have him. I wonder if Stuard could be a strong safety?
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:38 am
Whitehead = better tackler
Edwards = better against the pass
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:45 am
Sure she’s attractive, but there’s serious brainpower under the hood. She did her undergrad at BC and received an MBA from Kellogg, which is one of the most selective programs in the nation. Give her her due, she’s not some smug talking head who took a few snaps as a backup QB.
She’s right about Mike Edwards, both Edwards and Whitehead made respectable second year jumps in that Buc secondary, with Edwards’ jump coming at the right time. It’ll be a challenge to find Edwards more snaps but at the very least he’s a great depth piece.
I’d like to see Frelund attack the value of certain positions in the era of salary cap, sort of a pay versus performance study. I think she’s the one analyst with the gravitas to pull that off.
June 3rd, 2021 at 11:58 am
I’ve been saying this since the Super Bowl… Edwards is our best FS, Whitehead our best SS… Winfield is our best safety… the competition will be between which one starts at FS and SS with the winner taking his own spot and Winfield playing the other. I’m thinking Winfield will be more at home at SS this season.
June 3rd, 2021 at 12:35 pm
It’s a great problem to have with 3 really good safeties. Edwards definitely has a nose for the ball and just makes plays in pass coverage.
June 3rd, 2021 at 12:39 pm
@Joe … “If the Bucs can save a couple of million in order to keep one of the big-named offensive skill position players by keeping Edwards’ inexpensive salary over Whitehead, Joe would understand the dollars and cents angle.”
@Redblud … “Never let an offensive player walk over a defensive player.”
@PSL Bob … “Defense wins championships.”
Thanks PSL Bob. To paraphrase something Cobraboy once said … “Offense sells tickets; defense wins championships.”
The reality to me is that the 2020’s will be about BALANCE. And in a world like that, BOTH sides of the ball have equal importance.
Our Secondary got pretty well beaten up last year but toughed it out. Guys played very very well even while hurt (like Whitehead & Davis?). And largely because of that, Edwards didn’t get a huge number of snaps. We were blessed IOW, but there’s never any guarantee that’ll be the case this year or next year or following years. We NEED good depth, and that’s what Edwards is providing for the safeties. So did Cockrell for the CBs BTW. Players like that are worth their weight in gold.
June 3rd, 2021 at 12:49 pm
Joe Says:
I’m totally fine with her. 🙂
But do you think she’d have that job on knowledge alone if she looked like Rosie O’Donnell?
Hell, would she have that job if she looked like ME???
June 3rd, 2021 at 1:02 pm
That was a good recognition of a sexy natty of how strong our depth is. The idiots don’t know. People talk like the Bucs are due for injuries because we were so healthy last year, and not be able to go back to back because of it.
June 3rd, 2021 at 4:00 pm
What about him?
June 3rd, 2021 at 4:41 pm
Edwards best days are still ahead of him…
Plays Smart & Plays Fast…And works his tail off.
There’s a ton to like in his game.
June 4th, 2021 at 12:34 am
Whitehead could be a casualty if we are able to draft a top end Safety that can play coverage & make a tough hit. Until then he good & possibly will return he won’t command much as of now but this season could change a lot especially if he can remain healthy.
June 4th, 2021 at 4:47 am
what if:
cynthia fraudlund wants to secretly date mike edwards?
🙂