Norman Should Not Change Draft
April 21st, 2016
Should not change draft plans.
With a week to go before the draft — only a week! — Joe is damned sure the draft board of Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht is set. At least, the first round or two.
And now that the Stinking Panthers pulled the football away from All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman just as he was about to kick it, we learned the Bucs were one of the first teams to kick the tires on Norman last night.
Whether Norman plays for the Bucs or not, Joe believes Norman should not force a change in draft plans.
Yes, Joe has been on the bandwagon for an edge rusher worse than a cornerback, though the latter is a need and maybe still an immediate need. Even if the Bucs do draft a corner at No. 9 overall, it should not deter Licht from signing Norman.
So the Bucs would have too many corners? There is no such thing. More and more every year NFL teams use five- or six-defensive back sets. It’s a passing league.
Norman will be 29 before the end of the season. Brent Grimes will be 33 and only the first year of his two-year contract is guaranteed. Johnthan Banks will be a free agent after this season. We have no idea if Alterraun Verner and his $6 million annual salary can be rehabilitated from the PTSD he suffered under Coach My Scheme.
It’s not a stretch to envision a Bucs world without Banks, Grimes and Verner in 2017.
Norman is a quick fix. That doesn’t mean pending holes at cornerback should be ignored in the draft.
April 21st, 2016 at 6:21 am
Please!!!! Jason litch for the love of god get Norman here in Tampa
April 21st, 2016 at 6:29 am
Verner and Banks shoulb improve but it is still a should. Safer road is signing Norman but I doubt Licht will enter into a bidding war
April 21st, 2016 at 7:37 am
If he was the last piece for deep playoff contention fine. But 16 million and we probably won’t use his services deep in the playoffs for a couple years…don’t do it
April 21st, 2016 at 7:49 am
It would be great if we could get Norman and Hargreaves or Ramsey. Ahh…one can dream….
April 21st, 2016 at 7:50 am
Aqib Talib has made the Pro-bowl every year since leaving the Bucs,,,Maybe its not the corners like everyone likes to point at,,Maybe its the Weak Azz Dline!!!!!!DT and De with high draft picks pls!!!!
April 21st, 2016 at 7:52 am
I would love to see Norman reppin the pewter & red but is he really worth Darelle Revis money? Carolina certainlly doesn’t think soo. They think he is more of a by productive of the pass rush than he is a all pro corner.
Personally I think you have to do it longer than one year before u demand to be paid as one of highest corners in the league. There’s been too many one hit wonders out there. Because he’s been in the league for a few years now and this is his first productive year so u gotta wonder. I think he is a little over rated but none the less a very solid corner. Not on Revis and Patrick Peterson level tho.
He would be a terrific addition to our roster but I don’t know if Licht is gonna pay him 16-17 mill a year. They told the last corner that demanded that type of money to take a hike. And he was a proven commodity. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up his all pro level if he goes to a team without a dominanting defense and terrific pass rush.
April 21st, 2016 at 7:57 am
Not worth the $$. He is 29 so where was he previous to this past season? Not even Carolina fans knew who this guy was and he was ON THEIR TEAM!
April 21st, 2016 at 7:57 am
Sign him to a year to year deal like we did Revis.. If he lives up to it keep him if not let him go.. Incentives to keep him motivated and not get big money and take a vacation like most FA do when they come to Tampa. Simple as that
April 21st, 2016 at 8:08 am
Precisely what Realist!!! just said. More so than signing him I just wanna see him out of Carolina for real.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:10 am
I can’t blame Carolina for letting him go. Yes, he is good, but so is the Carolina defense and pass rush.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:12 am
I agree Realist. The two positions are interwoven, no pass-rush and the corners are going to get burnt. Conversely, good DBs can help with allowing more time for the DL to get the QB.
I’d love to see Norman in pewter, who wouldn’t! It has to be in conjunction with a DL upgrade though.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:16 am
Im REALLY lost on this player. Normally I have a opinion on a player rather it be good or bad for the BUCS. But on J NO (josh norman) I have the slightest idea. So I guess the way I will digest this is by the money. This “CAT” wants 16mil a yr and I ask myself Is he BETTER than…
Revis?
Pat P ?
Sherm?
Quib?
Joe?
Just a few names …
My second question is
Is he that much better than VH3 ?
April 21st, 2016 at 8:23 am
DO NOT SIGN HIM!!!!!
People seem to think that because he played for the Panthers and had a couple good games that he is worth big money. He’s not.
Would you pay $16 million per year for Johnthan Banks? No?
Well that is pretty close to who Josh Norman is. Don’t believe me?
Before Lovie took Banks out of the starting role, he had his 2nd AND best season. 50 combined tackles, 10 passes defended, 4 Picks, 1 TD. The year before that, he had even more tackles and 3 picks in his rookie year.
Josh Norman, in his best yea, which was last year, had only 6 more tackles, 1 more pass def, 4 Picks, and 1 more TD.
The big difference between the two? It took Josh Norman 4 years to accomplish what Banks has done in two as a starter.
Banks is younger. Has more promise.
JOSH NORMAN IS A BAD INVESTMENT.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:23 am
And his Revis-salary demands? I’ll pass
April 21st, 2016 at 8:26 am
This is one of those “If it look’s too good to be true…” moments.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:27 am
1ne- That’s the thing. I don’t think he’s worth the price. IMO he’s not better than most/all of the players you mention. However, he’s an upgrade on virtually anyone else’s roster.
Personally, I think VH3 gets more pub because he’s a Gator. I’m not 100% on the guy.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:40 am
Words well spoken Bonzai and to think people round here feel it best we take a CB at 9. Still scratching my head.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:47 am
@Nole
My head is shaking too.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:49 am
Nole/bonsai – I said that last night on the initial post from joe and some people thought I was high because it was 4/20, lol. I said I rather have banks over norman any day! – besides we already have enough small corners as it is. we need bigger talented corners. 16mil? nah – Verner was a pro-bowler when we signed him, he will likely be again, why? because the pressure up from will help them. This the same reason I think we should draft Rankins and then bullard from Florida. We don’t need anymore CBs, maybe a Safety or two but we are comfortable at CB for now.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:57 am
Norman signing IS NOT the same as Revis.
Revis was coming off of a knee injury and we never got to see him as an elite corner. We just got to see his recovery for $16 million/year.
Josh Norman is a beast. Even more than his play is his attitude. I feel the Bucs biggest weakness is our attitude. Gerald McCoy helps opposing players off the ground, LaVonte is a quiet leader. Kwon was a rookie and the biggest voice on our defense. Josh Normon gets into fist fights on national TV, talks mad sh*t, and has that edge.
He is exactly what we need… ATTITUDE!!!
April 21st, 2016 at 9:02 am
Wow 1 good season and expecting to be paid like a top CB.
April 21st, 2016 at 9:05 am
They’re not paying Norman for a reason, something sounds fishy. Oh and Joe since your’e a big AC/DC fan how about there new lead vocalist? haha.
April 21st, 2016 at 9:08 am
Norman might be worth $9 mil or $10 mil a year at best. If he’s demanding more than that Licht should tell him not to let the screen door hit him in the ass on the way out of Licht’s office, and never look back. End of story.
April 21st, 2016 at 9:12 am
Bonzai and Realist
Thank for bringing some sense back to this discussion. Desperation generally leads to bad decisions and sadly Tampa Bay fans are desperate!!!!!!!!!
And so as Realist points out schemes, coaching and systems have a LOT to do with any players success. Remember Alvin Harper who clearly benefitted from Michael Irvin’s double teams came to the Bucs to be our #1 WR it was a bust.
Bonzai makes a lot of other great points.
Two I would like to add…first not only is Norman not Revis on the field…perhaps just as importantly he is NO Revis off the field. Revis never did anything but help our chemistry. He may be a mercenary but he has class…something Norman can only imagine. Revis believed in himself so strongly that he put his earnings on the line by accepting huge ONE year deals with limited guaranteed money except for that year.
Norman and his agent do not have the luxury of Revis talent and confidence. He’s not going to settle for a ONE year deal in the belief he can prove he’s worth money…because he knows he’s not!
And again…the past is best predictor of the future…so you like what you see in his on field performance for the past two years and feel that makes him a decent bet. On the field I might take that gamble. But off the field he
freaking tried to injure his teams #1 star and got into a fight with him! Again are we sure #3 can kick his arse? I’d bet on JW but do we really want that kind of tension in our locker room?
The chemistry in the Buc’s locker room right now is the best I’ve seen in a long..long time…maybe since our glory years. I do not want to risk that very valuable commodity on a bad seed like Norman.
No I don’t expect a bunch of choirboys..but I do want people with winning character as well as winning talent. There are enough of them out there…like Revis…Sherman..Pederson and others…we don’t have to import sleaze.
April 21st, 2016 at 9:22 am
Cut Verner and sign him. We need Norman and his mind-effery on this team, badly.
April 21st, 2016 at 9:26 am
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I agree with bonzai. Let’s roll with what they got and either draft a CB at 9 or in rounds 2-3 and go from there.
April 21st, 2016 at 9:55 am
I would love to have Norman, but I am very nervous about it. First of all, is this a guy that is more interested in money than his love of football. I’m all for players getting paid, but there’s something about this guy that makes me question his commitment to football. It’s probably because he played for Carolina and I hate all things Panthers. Second, is he a lock down corner? They played so much man in Carolina, not to mention the fact that he has like 5 Pro Bowlers around him. I just think there is a lot of risk involved, because I’m not sure he’s as good as what he showed last season.
That being said, I’ll be happy if we get him, but I think it definitely affects our first round, and maybe our second. If we pay him $15M per year, we obviously think he is a premier, lock down corner. You do not need two premier, lock down corners. Anyone you draft at #9 should be that. We can maybe go get a corner in the second or third, but certainly not the first. If we did, that would mean we would have 3 new major additions to our secondary, without really doing anything for our pass rush. I can’t see that happening.
April 21st, 2016 at 10:15 am
when I first saw this last night I said we have to sign him….but after thinking about it, I would only sign him for the right price which is well below what he would’ve made if he signed the tag….there’s no doubt we need a quality cb in this draft that can come in and make an impact…if we do sign him then trade back grab a dlineman in round 1st kendall fuller or m. alexander in the second and carl nassib in the 3rd….if not grab vhg at #9, nkemdechi/billings/bullard in the second round and carl nassib in the 3rd…GO BUCS!!!
April 21st, 2016 at 10:20 am
A schoolgirl could of picked off that duck pass thrown by Winston that Norman did.
April 21st, 2016 at 11:03 am
@StPete- You’ve mentioned this fight a couple of times now. Didn’t we see the same from Sherman and a WR? Is it just some alphas getting after it? I don’t really care about that. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see JW hurt. But, this is only one incidence, hardly a pattern.
You guys have valid points for not signing him but would you feel the same way if his asking price was like 6-7 million? There’s a lot of knockin’ going on but I think most would rather have him than not. I’ll give you “we’re desperate”, the guy’s a good football player and you can NEVER have enough good players.
@813- My wife’s Hokie alum so we watch quite a bit of VT football. Kendall Fuller is going to be a really good NFL player some day. Definitely worth looking at for rounds 2-4ish.
April 21st, 2016 at 11:20 am
DON’T DO IT LICHT!!! Don’t waste money on Norman. Banks WILL be equal to if not better than Norman at the end of the season now that he will finally be given a real shot at playing every game in a defense designed to optimize the player’s talent.
April 21st, 2016 at 12:37 pm
even with solid play, you could see grimes and verner out the door after this season, and it’s still unclear if banks deserves a second contract. so, if you sign Norman, your only truly desirable starter you can pencil in 2 seasons from now is Josh Norman. CB will still be a need and if the cupboard is too full you trade a veteran for draft picks
April 21st, 2016 at 7:40 pm
Bucfan951 Says
“I can’t believe I’m saying this but I agree with bonzai.”
Even a broken clock is right twice a day…unless it’s digital…
😉
April 21st, 2016 at 7:41 pm
There are always options in the draft and free agency every year for CBs. It’s not a big deal.