AFC Suit On Shaq Barrett
July 16th, 2021
Shaq Barrett
Not everyone is in love with Bucs outside linebacker Shaq Barrett.
Jeremy Fowler over at BSPN is doing his best Mike Sando. For years Sando, now at The Athletic, specialized in writing stories on players and coaches based on off-the-record intel from NFL suits. So Fowler is trying his hand at this and released his top-10 edge rushers.
And Shaq, the Bucs’ sack king, did not make the top-10.
Here is what Fowler quoted an AFC suit saying about Shaq:
“He’s a pure pass-rusher and very talented but not sure he’s as complete a player as others on this list. The Bucs needed to wait and see on him with the franchise tag. But he was [great] in the playoffs and [is] a helluva player. But if we’re talking top 10, that’s a tough sell for me.”
Joe isn’t sure what this means. Is the unnamed suit claiming Shaq can’t cover in pass defense? Perhaps. Shaq has only one pick and two passes defended with the Bucs, all coming in 2019.
Is Shaq bad against the run? Well, how bad could he be? He’s started for the league’s top rush defense the last two seasons.
Joe is quite confident if Shaq really stunk defending the run, teams would be running at him all the time. Joe hasn’t seen that.
Shaq may not be Aaron Donald but he sure as hell isn’t Da’Quan Bowers.
July 16th, 2021 at 5:07 am
Lets see, 31.5 sacks, leading the league the last 2 years. Came up huge in the postseason.
He is part of why the Bucs have arguably the best front 7 in the NFL.
Great fit for the Bucs.
Whether he fits with other teams or not means nothing because he plays for the Bucs.
He is a big reason the Bucs will again have a dominant pass rush again this year.
GO BUCS!!!!!
July 16th, 2021 at 5:16 am
What are the odds this source works for the Broncos and doesn’t want fans to remember this absolute miss on their part
July 16th, 2021 at 5:49 am
The unnamed suit probably works for the Lions or Jets. Shaq is top 10 all day long.
July 16th, 2021 at 6:19 am
Hes one of the best vs the run and Bowles loves his pass coverage he always raves about it. Some of these writers need a new job.
July 16th, 2021 at 6:20 am
Fowler needs his eyes checked.
July 16th, 2021 at 6:33 am
99% of these hacks B.S. their way thru their jobs or just repeat whatever someone else said.
July 16th, 2021 at 6:36 am
The Buc’s system REALLY doesn’t ask him to do much outside of rushing the qb
July 16th, 2021 at 7:37 am
If you watch film breakdown videos on YouTube of Bucs games, one will know that both Shaq and JPP are complete players who play the run as good as any edge rusher in the NFL. Their awareness is elite level.
July 16th, 2021 at 7:46 am
I wonder what Mahomes thinks of this list.
July 16th, 2021 at 7:48 am
You can’t fix stupid…
July 16th, 2021 at 8:12 am
There are some sports writers who write with a bias just like the political reporters who write with an agenda in mind. So writers like Jeremy Fowler don’t let the facts get in their way to report their assigned agenda.
July 16th, 2021 at 8:23 am
The unnamed source, probably works for the Denver Broncos. They keep telling themselves that anyway for letting him walk for no good reason.
July 16th, 2021 at 8:28 am
Most of these desk sports “experts” never excelled in any sport themselves. I refuse to watch/listen to any sports talk shows. Real fans who have played competitive sports themselves can analize players performances as well as or better than most of the talking heads who are parasites making a living off of those who give everything they have playing the game. With the slow motion replay technology today every big play is viewed from multiple angles in real time. I do like to watch the sports news programs that feature the big plays from all the games played that week. Without the bs hype or nit picking.
July 16th, 2021 at 8:41 am
Nothing more than another layer added to that chip.
July 16th, 2021 at 8:58 am
Obviously, the man doesn’t watch tape. He’s a killer edge rusher. He can stop the run as good as anyone. He doesn’t have a lot of passes defensed because he doesn’t often drop into coverage. I don’t know about the 10 players on the list, but Shaq’s stats look pretty good to me. In his two regular seasons with the Bucs he’s had: 27.5 sacks, 115 tackles (88 solo), 8 forced fumbles, a safety, and an interception. That doesn’t even take into consideration the havoc he wrought during last season’s playoffs.
July 16th, 2021 at 9:15 am
(“well beSIDES that’)
July 16th, 2021 at 9:15 am
It’s Shaq’s look.
Watt, Donald, Mack, Garrett LOOK physically dominant.
Shaq just doesn’t “look” like a top 10 defensive end. He’s not a big guy. He’s not physically imposing. He’s got a pot belly. Put him shirtless next to any of those guys and you wouldn’t think he was even a NFL player.
Look at his stats. Look at his tape. You’ll see Shaq is a beast.
Some people get fooled by their eyes.
July 16th, 2021 at 9:35 am
Sly- You don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s only one inch shorter than Ryan Succop and 28 Lbs heavier.
July 16th, 2021 at 10:07 am
Come on people. Shaq is average without JPP
July 16th, 2021 at 10:23 am
Shaq is good in spurts but his second year proved how inconsistent he was. I feel like with the Bucs history of losing and ineptitude a sector of fans over hype good performers like Mike Evans, Shaq, and others who league wide are viewed as really good but not elite like our fans think they are.
July 16th, 2021 at 11:02 am
I don’t know where some of you come up with this stuff, or if you’re even fans of this football team. Shaq ranked in the top 5 in pressuring QBs for 2020. So, despite not having the sack numbers he was still making an impact.
July 16th, 2021 at 11:22 am
What this guy is saying is that Shaq wasn’t drafted high enough to enjoy the same pedigree as the other guys on his list. That coaches and scouts didn’t see him as a top ten talent. And if all those coaches and scouts didn’t value him as high as others on his list then his success is a fluke. So he is skeptical Shaq can continue to succeed at a high level.
This joker is just making stuff up. Pure trash journalism.
July 16th, 2021 at 11:32 am
He’s not top 10. He’s top 1.
July 16th, 2021 at 2:20 pm
Yawn. Wake me in late August.
July 16th, 2021 at 5:43 pm
I didn’t see jeremy fowlers name on the Super Bowl winning team but I did see ShaqB’s 🍻
July 16th, 2021 at 9:33 pm
@Lamarcus
Shaq had 9 sacks in the first 6 games without JPP on the field, so who feeds off of who when the two are both out there?
Get back to watching highlights of Jameis Winston interceptions.