Bucs Fans “Should Not Panic”
February 27th, 2014In a new Pewter Panel show that Joe surely will never be invited to participate in, the Buccaneers have convened an esteemed roundtable of local analysts to talk about all things Tampa Bay at Buccaneers.com.
Tampa Tribune scribes eye-RAH! Kaufman and Roy Cummings joined Buccaneers Radio Network voice T.J. Rives and team reporter Scott Smith to dive into free agency speculation in a recent edition.
The group focused on the Bucs’ soon-to-be free agents and Kaufman gently made the point that Bucs fans “should not panic” because the Bucs don’t have key cogs that are up for free agency, such as the Seahawks do with Michael Bennett and the Patriots with Aqib Talib. The Bucs “component players” and “role players” don’t represent big decisions for the Bucs, Kaufman said.
Cummings was adamant that special teams aces Adam Hayward and Dekoda Watson, as well as Erik Lorig, are very important players to re-sign, and not only for their work on fourth down. Rives chimed in that Watson and Lorig will command strong interest on the open market.
Joe wouldn’t lose sleep if the Bucs waved goodbye and replaced all of their free-agent role players. However, Watson is a guy Joe would move to keep. He’s an extraordinary athlete and a talented young special teams player — he turns 26 next week — and is good enough to make any roster in the NFL. Why not keep him here?
Joe likes Lorig, but unless Jeff Tedford plans to run one of the small handful of offenses in the NFL that features a part-time fullback, there’s not much point to Lorig returning. Joe would rather see versatile Brian Leonard get another shot. He’s at least as good a special teams player as Lorig, and he can do more out of the backfield.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
Except Leonard is not truly a FB and has never really played there in the pros. He dropped 15 lbs after playing FB in college and is now more of a HB. A HB with very little quickness, not much speed, and not a ton of power…he’s absolutely nothing special…at anything. At least Lorig is a helluva blocker.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:24 pm
why would you never be invited? MG bashing, stalking Rachel?
just curious..
February 27th, 2014 at 12:24 pm
Since we are so bad off at TE, why not try E. Lorig at TE.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:31 pm
What he’s saying is we don’t need a full time fb, we will be in alot of single back and spread formations so leonard will have more value when you are looking at getting the most out of 53 men
February 27th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
I’d like to see Leonard back as well because he is so versatile. Heyward can thump but lacks the foot speed in a pursuit defense. I’m not excited about Watson but he does have the athleticism to play in the new defense.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Buc Fans Panic?…..I think we are beyond panic at this stage….we have been numbed into a peaceful, patient cautiously optimistic mode. It will be like Christmas or a “box of chocolates”….either way, it will be better.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Hayward is a leader in that locker room and on special teams, and Watson has the athleticism to pursue and make plays. Both seem like value guys that we can and should keep.
Lorig will only be there if Tedford decides he wants to utilize a blocking fullback. Lorig is great at that when he’s healthy, but we’ll have to see what this regime wants…
February 27th, 2014 at 12:42 pm
Joe is always saying how nobody has a clue as to what this offense will look like. Now You are trying to tell me there isnt enough room for an “elite” blocker (which was what he was called yesterday in an article) on this team?
Joe addresses your silliness below. –Joe
February 27th, 2014 at 12:44 pm
Leonard seemed to make the most out of every opportunity that I saw. I don’t see the Bucs keeping all their running backs, someone may be out.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:45 pm
So Tedford’s offense is more of a spread look? If it is then I agree we dont need to put much priority in the FB. BUT, given the questions marks we have in the passing game (such as the QB, WRs, etc) and our lack of reliability in the passing game, I think it would behoove the bucs to rely on the run as much as the pass. That’s where the FB position comes in. If its a spread offense, then they got a lot of work to do in the passing game.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
Also curious as to why you would never be invited to the pewter panel.
Joe just has a hunch his brand of analysis is not suited to an official team website. –Joe
February 27th, 2014 at 12:58 pm
My personal opinion is that it would be a mistake to let Hayward walk. He is the Special Teams Captain, a locker room leader, low cost, and he can play any LB position is a starter goes down.
Hayward is a salt of the earth player who needs to be resigned.
February 27th, 2014 at 12:58 pm
i think martin is a better runner when there is a fb to block for him or is this just in my head
February 27th, 2014 at 1:03 pm
There are a couple guys I think are important. Our long snapper, for example. We saw how much a good one means when he got injured.
btw, Steve Smith will likely be a free agent. He’s old but healthy. He would be great if he switched to slot for a couple years.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Andrew Economos I meant.
Te’o-Nesheim would be good to resign for depth. I’d like to see what Lovie does to him.
Page and Rainey are listed as “exclusive rights” free agents. Can someone explain exactly what that means?
February 27th, 2014 at 1:11 pm
Also, given the injury bug, Underwood should be brought back on a one year deal.
Not exactly block-buster must-haves, but useful.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:12 pm
Lue0615, I agree.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Couch Fan, you make a pretty good point too.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
You guys don’t read, do you! It’s already been reported RotoWorld and others that the Bucs are actively trying to sign Lorig and Casillas. Google it!
“Actively” could mean nothing more than asking his agent what he’s interested in. –Joe
February 27th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
I just saw that the Bucs have looked extensively at LSU LB Lamin Barrow in the combine.
And that the Browns are interested in Carr in the second.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:22 pm
Yeah all 100 of us fans are panicking! lol …Joe, having maybe 50 different individuals commenting on a single thread hardly represents the fan base in a whole. Everyday it’s the same usual suspects (including myself) commenting on everything Bucs. We represent a small minority of freak fans who live, sleep, and breathe Buc football, but it’s guaranteed the casual fan is not even remotely tuned in on what’s happening this off season much less panicking over it.
But I also understand the chicken little headlines draw readership, and to make things very clear, I must admit, I’m in panic mode. Just because it worked for the Chiefs does not mean it can happen automatically for us. We need to admit, even though we have a foundation to build from, if we’re flipping half the roster, we are in rebuild mode.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:29 pm
Jason Licht told Joe last week the Bucs are not bad off at tight end. Think Tim Wright.
February 27th, 2014 at 1:44 pm
How about we get more receivers and offensive weapons primarily… Mike Williams doesn’t have that “it” factor like a Julio jones, Megatron, Dez Bryant, desean Jackson and so forth.. We need more speed and explosiveness and of course that’s something out franchise has never seen before at that position…
February 27th, 2014 at 2:03 pm
@Couch Fan – You are reading way to far between the lines and seeing things that aren’t here. NFL Teams that use the fullback “a lot” still only use him in a part-time role. Of course, Lorig has shown he can be a good blocking fullback, but there’s no point in keeping him if the Bucs aren’t going to use those kinds of offensive sets.
And yes, nobody knows what Tedford’s offense will look like outside of One Buc.
February 27th, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Exactly so if nobody knows what the offense is going to look like, you can’t come up with the assumption that Leonard is more valueable than Lorig.
You can use an elite blocker in a variety of different ways. Leonard does nothing at an elite level. If you are only keeping 1, it should be Lorig.
Thats just my opinion though. We’ll see what happens but I would think a run first team could certainly use an elite blocker more so than just an average 3rd or 4th back.
February 27th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
BuccaneerBonzai,
Exclusive rights free agent means that the Bucs have exclusive rights to his contract. When the Bucs make him an offer he must accept that offer or not. No other team can make a counter offer nor can he accept one. He is free only in the sense that he can refuse the offer and not play football. Of course there are minimums dictated by the CBA that the Bucs must adhere to.
February 27th, 2014 at 3:32 pm
We’ll be adding another TE to go with Wright. I’m thinking we resign Crabtree too.
February 27th, 2014 at 3:37 pm
Couch, the point is Leonard can do many things well and thus is scheme friendly. Good ST player too.
February 27th, 2014 at 5:30 pm
thats what happens when you choose sides…personally I don’t have a problem with that…you’re a successful blogger for a reason. me thinks “insider info” is going to be slim pickens for you and the pooch now that the pop star has been sacked…..
February 27th, 2014 at 5:56 pm
Kaufman, Cummings, rives, and Smith.
Hope they didn’t have to screw in a light bulb.
February 27th, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Lorig can BLOCK out of the backfield, a main component of Martin’s success.
I’d like to keep him.
February 27th, 2014 at 9:50 pm
Loris is not al fullback, Lorenzo Neil is a fullback, Michael James trumps Brian Leonard and Doug Martin will be a shadow of a very unimpressive shadow. Our makeshift offensive line did a very good job of making adequate backs look good. Kudos to the line drop the backs and improve the line where we can.
March 1st, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Cobraboy Said:
“Lorig can BLOCK out of the backfield, a main component of Martin’s success.”
Agree there.
March 2nd, 2014 at 11:09 am
PANIC?? I thought being in PANIC mode was a requirement for entry into this site??