Verner Getting “Stretched” To Press
June 16th, 2014
The Bucs aren’t satisfied with the old Alterraun Verner
Joe chatted with Pro Bowl Bucs cornerback Alterraun Verner about some elements of this excellent scouting breakdown of his game, and Verner agreed with the take that he’s no press-coverage cornerback.
Simply stated, Verner is learning how to get it done now because his coaches in Tennessee allowed him to play way off receivers.
Verner, entering his fifth NFL season, is being transformed into a more versatile cornerback by a former Pro Bowler himself, Bucs cornerbacks coach Gil Byrd.
“There’s actually a lot of [Xs and Os] and technique I’ve learned. [Byrd] has brought a lot of different perspective to me,” Verner said. “I just think some of the finer details in certain things; I basically would say he challenged us to do quite a bit. Playing man we might be way, way close to the receiver, which I’m not comfortable, I haven’t been comfortable with. I’m usually about eight, nine yards off. We might have been at three. We might have been at four. So he just stretched our imagination, stretched our capacity to see how things might feel. So those are the things I learned. You know what, I can probably play like that. You know, beforehand I’m like, ‘Man, I wouldn’t even try it.’
“So he taught us to try things outside our comfort zone. And that’s what expanded me as a football player. Now I can probably switch up my looks and things like that to try and confuse the offense now.”
Joe’s eager to see how Verner adjusts to Lovie’s old school Tampa-2 defense, and he evolves as a cornerback under Byrd and Leslie Frazier, who also was an excellent corner in his day before an injury in Super Bowl XX ended his career. On top of that, Lovie Smith was a defensive backs coach and often takes a hands approach.
It would be something if the coaching staff to take Verner’s stellar game to new heights.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:12 am
His name is too difficult to pronounce….someone, please come up with a good nickname for him.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:14 am
speech therapy.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:20 am
@bawlmerbucfan
How is his name hard? Just think Alter-Ron.
It’s not like we have D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:28 am
I can’t wait to see this D in action. We may not go too far this year while everyone is adjusting and learning, but we are going to be back on track and its going to be fun to see the progress.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:29 am
He plays in space, adjusting to the receiver’s release and the route combination, and using a mixture of quickness, awareness and excellent reaction time to keep receivers from getting open and make quarterbacks leery to throw to his side of the field.”
-Mike Tanier-
Sounds like the perfect zone corner. Would luv to see the organization pair him w/ LCB Brandon Flowres.
RCB-Verner
S-Goldson
SS-Barron
LCB-Flowers
w/Jenkins moving to the slot. Or Banks Locking up w/TE’s. Depth alone- would make that unit insanely good.+Any receiver – lining up against that unit in practice will-battle tested. Flowers like any good zone corner-asked to play man/press coverage looked out of sorts last year. But you pair him up w/ the above unit-Lights out. Surprised more of you aren’t talking about it.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-am/0ap2000000217040/Flowers-Chiefs-can-be-best-secondary-in-NFL
June 16th, 2014 at 9:34 am
No old school Tampa 2, new age Tampa 2.5 or they wouldn’t be teaching press/man coverage techniques!
Sorry, Macabee, Joe’s going to stick with McCoy’s assessment. https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=111200 –Joe
June 16th, 2014 at 9:36 am
@Macabee
Still majority of the snaps will be in zone coverage.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:44 am
Unfortunately after reading Verner is not really comfortable playing close to the line I’m having a minor Debbie Downer moment thinking about him getting burnt like toast by some of the NFC South WR’s. Have to trust the coaches that they can put all the players in the best position to succeed
June 16th, 2014 at 9:48 am
Previous Great Unit
RCB-Barber
S- Jackson
SS-Lynch
SCB-Smith
LCB-Kelly
?????
RCB-Verner
S-Goldson
SS-Barron
SCB-Jenkins
LCB-Flowers
June 16th, 2014 at 9:50 am
So I guess we do miss Revis after all.
June 16th, 2014 at 9:58 am
C’mon Lovie & Licht do us a solid and-Sign LCB Brandon Flowers-Perfect fit!
June 16th, 2014 at 10:02 am
U ask Verner & Flowers to play a little bump & run/ roll right under 5 and bail you solid. But you ask them to consistently play man..smh.. no bueno
June 16th, 2014 at 10:05 am
Well said on Revis. There’s a reason the Bucs were willing to pay him $12 million but not $16 million this season.
June 16th, 2014 at 10:15 am
Verner is a star. If he was on a big market team and not the Titans, more Bucs fans would be ecstatic about this signing. He’s going to be a big factor on our D and in our secondary.
On another note, anyone see Mike Williams may not make the final 53 in Buffalo? Ahhhhhhhahahahahahaha!!!!
Please, that same story that included Williams also said Sammy Watkins and E.J. Manuel were unimpressive in OTAs. –Joe
June 16th, 2014 at 10:16 am
Joe/LUV,
This is not a point I want to defend. Bottom line, I think we’re going to have a really good defense by any name that it’s called. But both you guys know there are opinions and there are opinions. you know to-may-to, to-mot-to!lol
I have links that say Lovie changed his defense before he even left Chicago to video of Lovie during the Revis debate saying that it has changed. Too much respect for both of you guys, well LUV anyway, lol, to debate this.
So I concede, we’re going to run the old school cover 2 and we’re going to win with it. Now how about that?
http://www.bucsnation.com/2014/1/1/526518/on-lovie-smith-leslie-frazier-darrelle-revis-and-cover-2
Of course things evolve and are debatable. –Joe
June 16th, 2014 at 10:33 am
“Please, that same story that included Williams also said Sammy Watkins and E.J. Manuel were unimpressive in OTAs. –Joe”
Except those 2 guys are 1st round picks.
PFT seems to think he’s fighting for a roster spot. Pretty sad for a guy who was our #2 receiver this spring.
Exactly Joe’s point. PFT is sharing that the ESPN Buffalo beat writer, while adding up his likely 53-man roster, isn’t sure Williams is a stone cold lock. It’s June, and Williams hasn’t missed an underwear football practice. Get back to Joe on this when hitting begins in training camp and preseason games start. Joe’s been keeping track of Williams in Buffalo. They like him. They’ve trusted him to mentor Watkins. He even had a “play of the day” in one of the OTAs. –Joe
June 16th, 2014 at 11:04 am
@Joe
We all shared in the nightmare of the 2012 pass defense. The Diehard defensive minded personality you guys have. I’m surprised you guys haven’t wrote an article about the BUCS going after Brandon Flowers.
June 16th, 2014 at 11:09 am
@Macabee/Joe’s
Got LUV & Respect for U2 my brothas( Joe’s included). We’ve got a lot to be optimistic about this year gentlemen. LETS GO!
June 16th, 2014 at 11:12 am
Correction: WHY THEY BUCS SHOULD GO AFTER BRANDON FLOWERS!!
June 16th, 2014 at 11:20 am
After reading the article, I am happy the Bucs added Verner to the roster. He sounds like he will be a very good addition to the position. Reading the comments on the earlier piece about Verner, the trade of Williams to Buffalo hijacked the conversation. Here a bit also.
June 16th, 2014 at 11:49 am
You dominate the saints w/ good pass rush and one mean defensive backfield unit (See Seattle). Verner & Flowers would make good one 2 punch.
June 16th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
Forget Flowers. It’s probably not happening, and I think they’re pretty happy with the corners they’ve got right now.
June 16th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
No to Flowers. Yes to Banks.
June 16th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Lol, you would say no to a Pro Bowl LCB-That excels in zone coverage?
June 16th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
I’ll make this easy the BUCS ARE BACK. Good defense and probable the best offense the BUCS ever had. I see this as a win, win team. Maybe even division winners and playoffs. In 2014…
A TRUE BUCS FAN… THINK POSITIVE.
June 16th, 2014 at 3:09 pm
Josh McCown is the BUCCANEERS starting Q.B. and Mike Glennon is his back up
it is that simple. And there is nothing wrong with that. If anything this will be good for Mike. Josh has played for Lovie before and there is a reason that Lovie Smith wants Josh here now. I believe that Josh will be good for us. He is a better Q.B. then most think. I think that Josh being the starter is the way it should be. Fans will be happy once the season starts and see what McCown can do. Not only will he win games for us but he is smart and really teach Glennon alot.
June 16th, 2014 at 4:24 pm
He has a nickname. It’s ATV. You’ll know it well by season’s end. Dude can ball.
June 16th, 2014 at 5:11 pm
Licht still has one draft pick to sign and McCoy’s extension to worry about. I doubt signing another corner is on his radar right now. Besides, I could have sworn I read somebody else acquired Flowers. Not sure of that though. Google him and see.
June 16th, 2014 at 5:43 pm
Byrd is a great coach and no team in the NFL can sit in any kind of zone all day and have a top ten defense. The Tampa Two was so bad last year with our former DC during our glory years that the Cowboys fired him and he is out of the NFL. Coach Frazier had one of the worst defenses in the NFL running the Tampa Two, and he was fired too. The only Coach to make it work recently was Lovie after investing a lot of his first round picks there and he had a big tall and fast all pro MLB to make it work named Urlacher. Dallas and Minnesota didn’t have as many top picks on defense and light MLBs. I am sure glad Lovie got a 245 lb. MLB who has great speed, because Foster can’t stop the run at 230 pounds, and Charlotte will pound him to the bench. Right now Lovie is deferring to Hardy who played at 230 pounds, but he should have taken Mad Max in the draft, the Urlacher clone. Lovie will play some press cover and Byrd will make it work!
June 16th, 2014 at 6:06 pm
since when is Brandon flowers a free agent? Am I missing something here. Why is everyone commenting that he would be great with verner. Trust me I like flowers am at VT alumni but I can’t see him being let go by the chiefs.
June 16th, 2014 at 6:15 pm
Nevermind I just saw that flowers was released. While he is a great talent that I have seen with my own two eyes I don’t see him becoming a buc. But what does worry me is the verner article that says he is a rcb when we need a lcb. Can you address that joe? Because banks is a rcb so are we asking too much of verner? Time will tell I guess
June 16th, 2014 at 6:25 pm
“Ten NFL teams, including Ravens, Vikings, Falcons, Lions, reached out to Brandon Flowers so far. In preliminary stage, according to a source”
Hopefully we’re one of those teams.
June 16th, 2014 at 6:36 pm
Tons of Patriots, Browns, Jets, and Vikings Fans are begging their front offices to sign LCB Brandon Flowers. Buc fans- are like its cool we don’t need another Pro Bowl corner..smh..lol
June 17th, 2014 at 9:33 am
Verners’ skill set will only get better when he starts scrimmaging against VJax, Evans, Heron, ect. In pads.