Chris Braswell Gets A Gift
December 28th, 2024
Sadly, Buccaneers rookie edge rusher Chris Braswell played just 8 defensive snaps — total — in the past two games.
Way too early for the “B” word, but that’s a bad sign.
Braswell has proven durable in his 300-plus snaps, but the second-round pick has generated little excitement. And it’s a little disturbing that he hasn’t eclipsed Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on the Bucs’ depth chart at outside linebacker.
If you haven’t realized, the Bucs’ edge pass rush is inept.
Still, Braswell is a rookie and rookie edge rushers usually are overwhelmed.
That’s one reason Joe is so happy Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett was just re-signed. Barrett was a great mentor to YaYa Diaby last season (is that a reason Diaby has fallen off?), and if nothing else, perhaps Barrett can impart lessons to the rookie before the season wraps up.
Joe’s not peeing on the leadership of Anthony Nelson, who is known as a super smart player eager to help teammates, but Shaq represents a different breed of mentor.
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December 28th, 2024 at 8:22 am
Im just here looking for a leotard
December 28th, 2024 at 8:29 am
According to stat muse Chris Braswell doesnt make the top 20 in any statistical category for de rookies that in my book is the definition of a 2nd round bust
December 28th, 2024 at 8:30 am
It is so frustrating how this coaching staff cannot develop an edge rusher. I put this completely on Bowles. You cannot blame Licht when he can pick great players deep into the draft: O-line, RB, DB, etc. And to give Todd his due, Bowles is great in developing DBs.
But 0 for 4 in 1st and 2nd Rd high end draft capital is not acceptable – that is a glaring sign of ineptitude. That is on the coaching staff for not developing even ONE friggin edge rusher.
December 28th, 2024 at 8:33 am
Buster Braswell is another in the line of great pass rushers picked by Licht.
December 28th, 2024 at 8:36 am
Give Todd his due he’s developing the hybrid defensive end/safety its going to take the nfl by storm
December 28th, 2024 at 8:36 am
Greg Auman clarified that Shaq is going straight to the active roster. Even if he isn’t ready to take the field tomorrow, just having him on the sideline next to the others will be a boost. The “gift” arrives early, like when Amazon says your package will be here 5 days from now and then unexpectedly it says it’s arriving today.
December 28th, 2024 at 8:43 am
If we had the same luck as we’ve had with offensive lineman then we’d be in great shape. Problem is DE is a different kind of animal. You have to be physically unstoppable and mentally insane to play the position. Isn’t always the best when looking for high character players. Sometimes you might have to lower your good guy expectations when looking for this type of player.
December 28th, 2024 at 8:45 am
Here is a sad truth. Can you imagine the Bucs with Calais Campbell and Shaq? Neither is anywhere close to being in their prime. But the Campbell and Shaq would immediately become the Bucs top two edge players. That is the sad state of the poor job this coaching staff has done with 4 premium draft picks
December 28th, 2024 at 9:04 am
There’s a lot that isn’t fair about any of this when it comes to Braswell. Hasn’t eclipsed JTS on the depth chart? Really?
Yes, really. JTS is a backup-caliber player on any team. So after 15 games, Braswell hasn’t found his way to the same plane. –Joe JTS is a 1st Round Pick, 4th year starter in Bowles defense? That’s somehow disturbing? Hmmm, not fair to Braswell or the Bucs brass for drafting him. And the obsession that one of the Joes has for Bowles and his inabilities to develop a pass rusher, is taken out of context. Even IRA in my opinion had a mic drop moment when he stated that we have yet to lose ANY of our drafted and/or undrafted OLB/DE to another team where said player became a “serviceable” edge rusher. let an alone an absolute stud.
Look, Bucs are in a damned if you do damned if you don’t scenario. It’s hard to find edge rushers late. Regardless of coach speak, they know they needed a pass rush, and they were hoping for that between JTS, Nelson and Braswell, that they could at least hold down one side of the line, as we were hoping Yaya would make the leap into a consistent disruptor on the other side. NONE of which happened…yet. It wasn’t a bad calculated move given that it appeared over the offseason, we were all about re-signing our vet free agents and reloading on the offense. Let me remind everyone that Braswell was the 3rd best DE in Alabama coming out of the draft. Bucs brass new they needed to go edge earlier, so they took a flyer on him, though he’s probably closer to a 4th rounder. Only reason he graded higher is the school/coaching he came from and his physical attributes. Let’s hope during the offseason Braswell can improve.
December 28th, 2024 at 9:35 am
Maybe if Bowles let edge rushers RUSH THE QB instead of dropping back into coverage.
But hey, what do i know. I am not a defensive GURU.
December 28th, 2024 at 9:43 am
Yep because you definitely can’t rely on Bowles coaches to actually reach them how to what they were hired to do. They should even be called coaches because they are more like bystanders
December 28th, 2024 at 9:48 am
Too many busted defensive players. Maybe its the super complicated defense that is the problem.
December 28th, 2024 at 9:53 am
JTS has made 1 play all season. Surely Braswell can be better than that if given an opportunity??
December 28th, 2024 at 9:55 am
Maybe if the edge guys were asked to rush the passer rather than being Ed Reed 2.0, these guys would be able to develop.
The fact Diaby regressed in his second year in Bowles system is everything you need to know about this coaching staff. FIRE TODD BOWLES!
December 28th, 2024 at 10:07 am
Yes this season hasn’t been good for those guys, it sucks pretty bad. I thought Diaby would get a few more than last season, I hoped for some kind of legitimate reason for Braswell not firing off and getting a few. But yeah kids don’t always want to hear a lot from so so guys at their position I guess lol. Shaq will have to try to help them out in both ways right now!!
December 28th, 2024 at 10:09 am
How can you call a first year player a bust
December 28th, 2024 at 10:12 am
You have to allow players to develop.
December 28th, 2024 at 10:12 am
Two firsts and a second for Micah Parsons if Bowles stays, same for Myles Garrett if Bowles is shown the door!
December 28th, 2024 at 10:17 am
Myles Garrett
December 28th, 2024 at 10:24 am
Shaq Barrett would make an excellent addition to the coaching staff. He needs to wrap his head around being a coach/mentor, rather than a player. Leave the physical stuff to the younger bodies. They need your experience and guidance. Bring us another Lombardi. Welcome back to the sunshine state Shaq.
December 28th, 2024 at 10:55 am
When you see flashes of ability in the first year of a player’s career, you generally need good coaching to help them get over the hump to be a consistent disrupter from the edge. JTS started out getting into the backfield a lot and just barely missing sacks. Saw the same thing with YaYa. Neither has turned into the capable edge rusher we need. That is almost always a sign of coaching. It’s pretty clear to me that the coach responsible for DE’s isn’t getting the job done. And, as mentioned, it doesn’t help that Bowles likes to drop the edge guys back into coverage way too often.
December 28th, 2024 at 10:56 am
As a rookie, 2nd rounder he is fine and JTS looks good this year. Some of you may want to explore the number of sacks the entire defense has as a unit. The sacks are coming in bunches once the offense plays from the front.
The three and outs are exposing the defense as a whole. Much of the money went to the offense in the off season, so it is time for Evan, Winfield, Wirf, and Mayfield to play their positions and inspire their teammates.
With Shaq back, the pass rush will be enough. It has gotten better little by little every game. A larger problem is the dropped interceptions. No other team drops as many as our defense which is game changing.
December 28th, 2024 at 11:05 am
Yeah let’s relax on the bust word. Pretty early and as far as not ranking in top 20… how many snaps has he gotten vs the other guys and how often is he dropping in coverage compared to the other guys?
Let’s get some coverage LBs in here and let the pass rushers develop as pass rushers. Might help.
December 28th, 2024 at 11:15 am
Barrett was a great mentor to YaYa Diaby last season (is that a reason Diaby has fallen off?), and if nothing else, perhaps Barrett can impart lessons to the rookie before the season wraps up
^^^^^^
What’s the point in having coaches ? Apparently George Edwards, with his long resume, isn’t getting it done or the players simply aren’t talented enough to be coached up. Which is it ? If Bowles doesn’t like Zyon’s technique then he is not being coached the proper technique. Or does Bowles not know the proper technique.
Have there been no instances where good coaching made a less talented player better ?
Or have the defensive players tuned Bowles out ?
December 28th, 2024 at 11:16 am
That picture says it all. Braswell is getting owned by NFL linemen. Hard for me to call him a bust but I was never really excited by the pick to begin with. JL is going to have to make a big move to get a DE.
December 28th, 2024 at 11:17 am
Our defense is confusing to everyone but the opposing qb, especially 2nd teir qb’s. SMH. We used to have Tampa 2 defense. Now we have bowels star maker defense and calling time outs to make it easier for the other team. We have such a nice coach.Well at least we are still mathematicaly playing for something. Still this year could turn magical, or really disappointing. 2 games to go? Go BUCS?
December 28th, 2024 at 11:20 am
Let Braswell have an entire off season to train before we call him a bust. Don’t forget that at this time last year he was plying college ball, and waiting Jan-April to figure out where he was going to be drafted to. Sure he could have been weight training during that time – but if it were me I’d take some time off to be with my family before jumping into the NFL.
After having a season to see how he stacks up, I’m sure his personal trainer and Bucs trainers are going to have a great offseason plan for him to get up to NFL level.
December 28th, 2024 at 11:24 am
Jason Licht just needs to pass on all edge rushers in the 2nd round
December 28th, 2024 at 11:30 am
This is extremely damning for SOMEBODY in the chain of command. Is it Light for drafting dreck as edge rushers or Bowles for failing to develop or place in a bad system. SOMEBODY is at fault. Glazers need to hire an expert (nobody on current staff qualifies) to determine why and replace that person. If Braswell was the third best at Alabama he should not be a 2nd rounder.
I can remember last summer when these pages were all over Braswell as our coming star at the edge. Hope we remember this next summer.
My amateur guess is that the “system” demands a different talent than is drafted to work. Even I knows how to fix that. Everybody knows. You know, too!
December 28th, 2024 at 11:36 am
Thus far, Brasswell has been a BUST. Keep him one more year. And no improvement? Out the door. We do not need another lingering JTS. Guys like this hurt our Defense tremendously.
December 28th, 2024 at 11:37 am
Who is Chris Braswell again?
December 28th, 2024 at 12:03 pm
As I watch other games where teams get great pressures and make life miserable for passers it comes down to basics that I don’t see any of the Buc edge rushers have:
Moves.
Hunger.
Physical aggression.
Technique.
Bend and leverage.
Nasty bad ass me mentality.
Licht has placed too much emphasis on speed and athleticism which are of course important but if they do t have the other traits than damn it, it’s up to the coaches to get them to learn them.
Braswell has a long way to go. JTS and Nelson will never be nasty and aggressive, it’s not who they are. Did y could be such a guy, I don’t see him developing however, he isn’t improving as a pass rusher.
December 28th, 2024 at 12:41 pm
Chris Braswell did nothing at Bama but filled a spot left by Will Anderson. He was mediocre at Bama. Couldn’t understand reason we spent high draft pick on him. Before selecting Braswell, I was hoping we select Utah’s Jonah Ellis, a relentless motor n son of 4 time NFL Pro Bowl player, Luther Ellis. Jonah was consistent in college n has not slowed down in the pros. He has 5 sacks, 7 tfl, n 6 qb hits. As for Braswell, who shot JR.
JTS n Braswell…”Another one bites the bust”.
December 28th, 2024 at 2:46 pm
the problemo with braswell is……..he’s had nearly zero flashes this entire year…
and that’s a really bad sign…
our interior is stout…vita and kancey are good…and logan hall is basically the 2nd coming of gholsten…yes he is kinda actually working out and becoming a solid player over time…
the edge remains more skeptical than ever…
yaya is at best a #2 guy if you pair him with a beastly stud #1…the rest – meaning joe sho and braswell are no good rn…
and baby face nelly is a very solid rotational piece for sure…
shaq to the rescue – prolly not – but he does have fresh legs – so you never know situationally if he could be that extra spark
December 28th, 2024 at 3:09 pm
Braswell has a overall pff of just under 60, 2 sacks, 10 solo tackles, 5 assists on 310 snaps. He’s not horrible, he’s a rookie. We were all ready to send Luke packing midway thru HIS rookie season, now he’s one of the better RT’s in the league
December 28th, 2024 at 3:40 pm
JTS starting any games this year, getting playing time when we all know what he is, is a coaching failure for Todd Bowles. Any snaps JTS got could’ve been given to Braswell or any other player that might have a future in the NFL after this year.
December 28th, 2024 at 4:11 pm
I would not judge any player playing in a Todd Bowles defense. It is not fair. This clown has the whole defense confused on their assignments on about 50% of the snaps. There is no defensive cohesion
December 28th, 2024 at 4:20 pm
Edge rusher is notoriously one of the toughest transitions from college to pros. Sometimes it takes time and sometimes it just never works. Hopefully a full offseason will help.
December 28th, 2024 at 4:21 pm
Why not give Ramirez a real shot?
December 28th, 2024 at 5:10 pm
How about seriously considering all the injuries in both the Secondary and Linebacking? Sure hope Barrett can help player-coach. Coen has been around long enough to fully understand the Offense. So, call a complete game. Go Bucs!
December 28th, 2024 at 5:23 pm
If, in training camp, Braswell would have been used as a pass rusher instead of a cover 2 CB, maybe by now he’s a pass rusher. The defensive scheme needs an overhaul, yesterday.
December 28th, 2024 at 5:29 pm
@SenorHarryInCostaRica
I said they should’ve gone out & signed Calais this offseason. Especially since they were gonna be letting Barrett go because I think that’s part of the problem with Yaya. When he had Barrett with him things were much different & Tryon isn’t gonna help Yaya. I wasn’t a big fan of Braswell from the beginning either but what do I know. I’m just another random person walking the streets. That’s why I think it’s good they brought Barrett back & then bring him back next year, too! That’s what Yaya needs is somebody with him. Dude has the talent to be good.
December 28th, 2024 at 5:31 pm
@Jethro Tull
Yep I said that’s probably why the D is struggling also is because of the way he’s probably running the D.
December 28th, 2024 at 5:34 pm
@Jethro Tull
With all the talent they’ve got on that D between Lavonte, Winfield, Whitehead, Vita, Kancey, Yaya, Barrett again & some others there’s no way that D should be struggling like it is. Sure there’s some injuries but if he’s “so good” then it wouldn’t be struggling this much.
December 28th, 2024 at 9:05 pm
There are only so many Crosby, watt, Garrett- level guys. That’s why their names are so well known. Bowles wants pressure and containment from his guys. They’ve had their moments. Started strong containing Lamar before the game got away. Ditto Mahomes . Sacks are like strike outs. Nice to have, but not critical for victory.
December 28th, 2024 at 11:31 pm
2ND ROUND BUST BUT I GUESS JASON LIT WAS AGAINST TRADING A 2ND ROUNDER FOR A TRUE DIFFERENCE MAKER ON THE EDGE…..
December 29th, 2024 at 3:34 am
He looks like a small child in that pick Joe! Can we find a non “fun size” edge guy please? No he aint 255 folks. May be 225. Looks more like a big safety.
Go Bucs!
December 29th, 2024 at 10:56 am
I listen week in week out to the game announcers 90 % say that team is missing a edge rusher sounds like this is an elite position with very little quality candidates to many hit & miss or is it really good offensive lines stopping most X cept the very best.so if u get 3saks a game i don’t c that as a game changer anyway