“I Would Pick Him Up Tomorrow”
August 20th, 2022
Scotty Miller
The suggestion that receiver Scotty Miller is on the 2022 roster bubble always has baffled Joe.
And now Joe has a kindred spirit in the national media, a guy at Bucs practice this week and at tonight’s Bucs-Titans game.
Former defensive back turned FOX game analyst Charles Davis not only works for FOX and CBS, he calls Titans preseason games.
During his call tonight (Joe was monitoring via NFL+), Davis noted how he doesn’t understand chatter in Tampa that Miller may not make the team this year.
Davis, who is not a hot-take guy, firmly proclaimed, “I would pick him up tomorrow” if he were a general manager and Miller was cut.
Miller, 25, is one of the fastest players in the NFL and had a very productive regular season and postseason in 2020. He’s a good football player who has thrived in the playoffs, and he can play special teams.
So why exactly would the Bucs dump Miller when they’ve been focused this offseason on receiver depth? That’s like setting out to build a dessert buffet and throwing out the chocolate mousse because you already have cupcakes.
Miller can rip the top off a defense and got open tonight but couldn’t haul in a Kyle Trask bomb, a very tough catch that might have been out of bounds. Miller also caught a laser from Trask over the middle on third down for 15 yards and a first down.
Yes, the Bucs’ receivers room is super deep. But not deep enough to dump Miller.
Sorry, but Joe has no desire to see Jameis Winston launching bombs to Miller in Week 2. Or Aaron Rodgers doing the same thing a few weeks later.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:03 pm
Kind of criminal that we had 2 joint practices with the Fins and nobody egged on Miller and Hill to finally have thee race.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:12 pm
Nightmare worse than craven!! Miller being picked up by the slimy stupid Saints!!
August 20th, 2022 at 9:12 pm
Scotty is solid; Darden should be on the bubble, but coaches seem to favor him. Thompkins may have helped himself tonite–great catch.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:16 pm
Miller is going to be traded, it makes to much football sense. He won’t be cut, because at minimum he can fetch a 7th rounder.
What’s crazy is the team has had Scotty for 3 years. No one inside the org feels the same way about Scotty that the fans and people outside the org feels. He’s a serviceable receiver, but that’s about it, and that’s only because his speed, because route running he’s literally the worse I have ever seen make it to the NFL. I wish him success though wherever he may land.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:19 pm
That pass hit him in a bad place. Both hands!!!. Fast yes but too short and so so hands. Not saying he is terrible, but nothing to brag about. And I thought he was well inbounds before bumbling the ball. Also how about mixing it up on first down? Why so conservative every time? Opposing coach says, hmm~ I think they might??? run on first down! Oh big surprise, they did. After two straight games like this I want to puke.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:19 pm
That comment was just preseason positive talk about EVERY player.
I can see more in rookies Stern and Thompkins
August 20th, 2022 at 9:26 pm
The Darden love is the real head scratcher. Guy is as below average as they come.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:27 pm
Yeah can’t see Scottie going anywhere. He was too important to our Superbowl run and he has a great connection with Brady.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:33 pm
He’s gotten carp routes while TJ has gotten the slants and in cuts. No slight on TJ, cause he is ballin….but Scotty has had some rushed throws and bad routes.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:36 pm
They may have to trade Scottie for a Guard
August 20th, 2022 at 9:50 pm
The “connection with Brady” thing has always been hilarious to me. Brady has done nothing but recruit guys to push Scotty further down the depth chart since he has arrived.
There isn’t a team in the league where Scotty would be better than a #4 receiver, and that would be a bad team. On a good team, he’s a 5-10 snap at best guy in an offense, if that. He would be picked up as a depth piece, not a starring role. If you like Scotty, you would prefer he was traded anyway, because he would not see the field at all hardly on this team, barring multiple regular season injuries, something none of us want to happen.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:56 pm
Joe, that pass was not out of bounds. You should rewatch the tape before you jump the reporting gun. Anything to throw shade toward Trask.
August 20th, 2022 at 9:59 pm
He used to be fast, he bulked up and lost that , along with his shallow ability to juke.
He’s gone.
Tompkins and the little guy, Sterns , are faster, can juke, and one of them might replace Darden as the kick returner.
The special teams are going to suck with or without Miller.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:09 pm
Keeping Darden and moving on from Miller is just dumb.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:12 pm
It’s no even close Scotty beats Darden in every category.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:13 pm
I don’t think Miller is going anywhere, never have, mainly because of the connection he has with Brady. If anyone, I think he’s Tyler that could be on the bubble, but I assume they just keep them both, then maybe a 7th WR, Thompkins, as a dedicated returner, although Scotty can also do some punt returning, he’s not special but is OK at it.
Darden, meanwhile, he’s shown me nothing. His combine numbers weren’t impressive, they’re not bad or anything, but nothing stood out either, and he wasn’t in college a returner, which is why the Bucs taking him as a returner made no sense. But based on his play, I don’t think the Bucs will have an issue getting him on the practice squad if they even want to bother keeping him around.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:14 pm
Yeah Joe you are right. Miller has torched the defense in both preseason game. He even made a catch over the middle tonight.
The drop bugged me but Miller has always had good hands. I can let that one slide.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:18 pm
Agree about Darden. I think his job is in serious jeopardy from either Gieger or Thompkins.
I did notice that BA mentioned 7 WRs during his interview. Sounds like we are keeping 7.
Joe if you didnt watch the Bucs broadcast Ronde and that other guy had Bruce in the booth with them for a fluff interview.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:24 pm
JimmyJack – They’re literally the broadcast team for the team, so they always do a fluff interview, normally with Licht, which I assume will happen next week. Reminds me of when I was a kid and you’d go to the magazine rack and all they’d have is Buccaneer Magazine, and I’d puke in my mouth, it was nothing but worthless fluff pieces, even as a kid I knew it was just pure propaganda.
As for keeping 7, the 7th guy has to be your returner – and even then you’re shorting a guy somewhere else on the team. Keeping 3 QBs on the active roster really hurts in that scenario, but you might only keep 3 RBs to help recover a spot. If they don’t think anyone would sign Gino, then you can practice squad him (I think) and keep Vaughn, White and Fournette.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:24 pm
Doesn’t look like the coach cares alot about Tom Brady not getting him any protection!!!!
August 20th, 2022 at 10:49 pm
It doesn’t matter at all who are the receivers for the Bucs if Brady or whomever is playing QB is on his ass every time he tries to throw. Our offensive line is a serious problem and now with Stinnie going down we are out another guy who started in the Super Bowl. Why in the hell was he playing in the second half of a meaningless game when there are all of these other lineman that need playing time. There is no way that Goedeke or Leveritt are better than Stinnie at guard and now it looks like he’s gone. It may be time to sound the alarm.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:51 pm
Craig Says:
August 20th, 2022 at 9:59 pm
He used to be fast, he bulked up and lost that , along with his shallow ability to juke.
———
Supposedly he was basically hurt all of last season, so I’m just going to have to take the Bucs word on that one.
I will say tonight that Scotty blasted right by that Titans DB, but I also have no idea who that is, so it might have been Ryan Smith for all I know, and I could blast right past him.
But, with that said, Scotty did look fast, and I’ve seen numerous clips from camp where he also looked fast, which just makes me think the injury thing wasn’t just an excuse, they might have been telling the truth.
August 20th, 2022 at 10:54 pm
Maniac is obviously better plugged in to the Bucs than Joes are. All that inside info.
C’mon, man, we know you love your North Texas program and people, and the kid made the team so he’s going to have some fans. But objectively, he didn’t make one play tonight. White has already shown to be a better returner, which is why Darden was drafted in the first place.
Maybe it turns out that your inside info on the Darden love is accurate. One, I’ll be shocked, and two, I’ll disagree. The time is approaching. The one who keeps impressing me is Thompkins. He catches everything, makes the hard catches. And TJ is a stone cold lock for any of you imagining otherwise.
August 20th, 2022 at 11:46 pm
yeah he might get scooped up fast off the waiver wire…
but you couldn’t trade him for more than a 6th round pick if you tried
August 21st, 2022 at 12:08 am
@Goatfarmer, I have said all along that TJ and Darden are locks for this roster. Neither are going anywhere. Scotty won’t make the roster either way. It has nothing to deal with being a fan. There is a slight chance Darden won’t make it, but Scotty won’t be the reason. Darden won’t be the reason Scotty is cut either.
Could I know Darden personally? I won’t answer that. But I will say I’m very plugged in to any and everything North Texas. I also call numerous NFL players and coaches, both current and former, friends. That’s being said, I’m a Bucs fan first. I can cheer for JD on any team. And he certainly would find a job very quickly if released.
August 21st, 2022 at 12:17 am
The saints would snag him up so fast! Licht would be stupid to let him go!
August 21st, 2022 at 12:22 am
@Bucfaninmi, Saints are loaded at receiver. He wouldn’t play there either. Plus, they just drafted the bigger, stronger, better route running Scotty who also happens to be faster.
August 21st, 2022 at 1:23 am
I’m genuinely confused about where this Scottie love comes from. He’s made a few great plays because Brady gave him a perfect ball with the right read, but he’s not special at all. Bruce said it best, the guy can’t play in the middle of the field. His ceiling is a number 4, rotational receiver for go routes and gadget plays. When he gets cut, somebody will definitely pick him up because there are a lot of teams with terrible WR depth, but nobody is using a high priority waiver claim on him.
August 21st, 2022 at 5:05 am
Miller is living on the catch in the GB game. He hasn’t done much else. Trade him for anything you can get to put together a package for a G. Same with most any other WR that played tonight — except Johnson.
August 21st, 2022 at 5:36 am
This is really sad….he is a good player! He had a toe injury last season that slowed him down- we need to keep him as injuries do plague the Bucs and Godwin still isn’t 100% Todd Bowles figures we have too many recievers- need to keep Scotty Miller & utilized him somehow! If anyone needs to go it should be Todd Bowles!!! We haven’t won a game yet and l’m sure we’ll lose to the Colts next weekend! He’s all smiles at the end of each game LOSS!!! This man did nothing when he was with the Jets!!! Need to bring back Bruce Arians.
August 21st, 2022 at 6:52 am
I can pinpoint the exact game BA freeze him out. It was against the Colts. Brady threw him a sideline pass and Miller was in wrong spot and it resulted in a pick. BA was upset after the game. As another poster has mentioned, the love for Miller is based on nostalgia.
August 21st, 2022 at 9:30 am
Locks—-
Evans
Godwin
Gage
Jones
Johnson
Fighting for 1 spot——
Perriman
Miller
Darden
Thompkins
etc….
August 21st, 2022 at 9:49 am
He is going to Dallas for y’all another QB another one bites the dust
August 21st, 2022 at 10:39 am
Speed means nothing when you can’t catch a ball that hits you right in the hands.
August 21st, 2022 at 10:44 am
Way to many drops from our WR room…
August 21st, 2022 at 1:15 pm
Miller’s #1 strength, he’ll play special teams and be a gunner.
The IQ challenged fans don’t see a problem with our first four WRs on the roster not being core special teams guys. Sorry, brain dead Madden geeks. Receivers 4-7 HAVE TO PLAY SPECIAL TEAMS. And our fourth receiver is Jones or Gage… and they aren’t special teams guys. So Miller CAN be a gunner and due to that and his competency on offense, he makes the team and the starting 53.
August 21st, 2022 at 2:30 pm
It’s not that Miller is bad.It’s where is he on the depth chart? GOBUCS!
August 25th, 2022 at 3:04 pm
U kno what happens more than miller dropping a deep pass? Him being underthrown-& sometimes even over thrown.. nobody seems to remember the previous week-when miller was behind the defense,but trask under threw the ball & miller had to slow down so much-the coverage caught back up…had that been Brady -thats a touch down..& u also gotta consider his capabilities as a gunner on special teams..when someone muffs a punt-u need someone there to add pressure and capitalize on any mistakes..I keep miller as long as he can stay healthy
August 27th, 2022 at 3:16 pm
Scotty Miller is a keeper!! Agree with Joe and others on this post. For all the mis-guided Scotty haters, 3 Points: First, pull up a video entitled “Tom Brady Full Season Highlights | NFL 2020”. There’s about 8 or 9, or more contested catches that Scotty made in tight coverage, all kinds of different routes (yes, including The Green Bay game w. 1 sec before the half). 2nd, Last season after he recovered from turf toe injury, which is no joke, in the Rams Div. Game, when they FINALLY put Scotty in, he was a huge part of that comeback, catching all kinds of different routes with defenders all over him..So much so that the Rams began doubling him, & left Evans open for TD! 3rd Point: Not only is he great on special teams, But even stronger this year, and still fast!! How bout using him on end-arounds & fake end-arounds, stretch the field..get creative w. All that speed!
August 27th, 2022 at 3:37 pm
Ps, That ball from Trask that Scotty “dropped” was an almost great throw, but tailing away out of bounds. Maybe Randy Moss, or Evans catches it & stays in bounds..maybe. Don’t get the love affair with Darden. He runs scared, and like he’s on skates. I would try and find a way to keep Devon Tompkins, and Sterns, practice squad? TJ can do everything that Perriman can do, and he’s younger and really got in good shape. Final point about Miller: People keep saying, “Brady trusts him”.. I would hope so, the body of work is there! He would have had a much bigger 2020, but deferred when AB was brought in. Thankfully Brady kept AB sane for 7 or 8 games, but that directly cut Into Scotty’s numbers or they would have been huge for that year!