Safety Isn’t A Need (Yet)
February 19th, 2017
Blind hatred?
Sometimes, Joe wonders if drinking during Bucs games would help understand what some people see when they watch the team.
During the past week or so, Joe is starting to see so-called NFL experts push the notion that the Bucs need a safety more than Joe needs a bubble bath with a Bucs cheerleader.
What’s going on here?
Add the WalterFootball.com crowd to the mix. The website listed each team’s needs and at the top of the list for the Bucs is safety.
1. Safety: Tampa had trouble in coverage this past season, thanks to some poor safety play. Things will only get worse with Bradley McDouglad heading for free agency. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, they almost certainly won’t have a shot at the top two safeties in the 2017 NFL Draft.
When the Bucs defense turned the corner after the Thursday night debacle against the Dixie Chicks, safety was hardly a concern. Did people not see Chris Conte with a pick-six against the Bears and a game-saving pick in the end zone against the Chiefs?
Did folks not see how Keith Tandy blew up in December and played on a Pro Bowl level? Dude was like the Tazmanian Devil. He was everywhere.
Bradley McDougald is an underrated player, and so long as some general manager doesn’t go drunken sailor, Joe expects he will return to the Bucs this fall.
Joe watched every Bucs game last year, almost all with his own sober eyes at the stadium, both on the road and at the Den of Depression. Defense, in particular safety, was not the reason why the Bucs missed the playoffs.
The inability to move the ball late in games because somebody/someone thought the wide receiver depth was just fine last summer and their stud running back went both AWOL and tapped into banned PEDs is why the Bucs missed the playoffs.
What the hell is Joe missing here?
February 19th, 2017 at 1:32 am
Our safeties are fine..they HAVE won games for us..let’s move to a real need..
February 19th, 2017 at 2:11 am
This team is screaming for a wide receiver and is in dire need of a No. 1 running back. And some fans, instead of filling those huge needs, want to try and replace or neuter a guy who led the NFL in scores at his position? That is beyond Joe’s comprehension.
The top 2 wrs will most likely be gone by pick 19 and so will cook n fournette. Even if fournette or cook are there I would still pass n grab howard. You fsu diehards would probably have a heart attack but howard is what’s best for us on the OFFENSIVE SIDE IN THE FIRST ROUND. The oline prospects are crappy and not worthy of our first round pick. U say wr and rb are our biggest needs but neither position will hold value at 19. Te will affect the running game and the receiving game. Brat is not even close to the athlete that howard is. Just imagine what jameis could do with a faster te. 2nd round will have better wr prospects of value like dede Westbrook zay Jones juju smith just to name a few. Later on there is jalen Robinette Josh Reynolds Ryan Switzer this draft is deep at wr. You guys are worried bout rb like cook is the only rb in the draft. Not true at all perine and hunt will be there in the 3rd and they are so underrated it’s not even funny. That’s 1st 2nd 3rd round picks with value. Hell we could get Mixon in the 3rd or 4th. In my mind we shouldn’t reach for a wr rb oline or dline. Safety is no concern. Cbs are fine Hargreaves grimes Robinson and Ryan smith. The dline and db draft class is stacked so high our chances of grabbing the top te in the draft is very plausible. Everybody’s fan base wants oj howard but reality is their teams are in position to get other premier players at their needed positions.
This for the “Why the Cam Brate hate” article open for dialogue and/or discussion. The best part about this time of year is watching the GAME TAPES (not highlights) of the draft prospects. I say game tapes because it’s important to get the full spectrum of a player based on his every play traits. Even Josh freeman has highlights..
February 19th, 2017 at 2:35 am
Dede Westbrook isn’t a 2nd round prospect. Perine is dodo and hunt is a 4th rounded. And u want to talk about value, Mixon in the 4th or 5th round is VALUE
February 19th, 2017 at 2:40 am
What makes Perine a Dodo? We already have a pretty decent 3rd down/receiving back in Sims ( when healthy ), Sameje looks like a solid prospect to me. And would also be pretty good value in the 3rd or 4th round.
February 19th, 2017 at 2:50 am
Our top priority should be explosive offensive players…but it does not mean safety is not a need. Tandy played well at the end of the season but we need a serious upgrade back there.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:09 am
Best player available draft resign quizz and restructure Martin. No need to draft a rb. sign a receiver in free agency and draft one in the later rounds
February 19th, 2017 at 3:10 am
Def not a #1 priority, but guys like evans , Baker, melinfolu, jackson, maye are all good prospects worth considering. And if hooker or Adams drop we should jump on it. No matter what, don’t fall in love with a guy in the first and trade up, too many good players to do that.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:15 am
If Martin doesn’t want to restructure I say cut his Azz. I wasn’t for paying him in the first place but that’s what the Bucs do. Overpay. Same reason Peterson wants to come here is because he knows we overpay. Just say no. I would be for drafting a nasty DT to go with ice cream man.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:24 am
Also guys, Eddie Lacy is out there for the taking if we want to go the free agency route. He was averaging 5.1 a carry for GB until he got dinged up. I always liked lacy, bring him in on an incentives laden contract, would truly free us up to draft the Best players available in rounds 1-3. And we wouldn’t even need to go running back until the 4th-7th rounds. Where guys like Hunt, Jamaal Williams, Jahaad Thomas, Donnel Pumphrey, and Tarik Cohen will be there for the taking.
We can also add needed depth at safety. Because for all we know, Tandy man’s 5 game stretch of excellence, is a flash in the pan. If that was a sign of things to come, then Tandy could be a dominant force for us. But thats a big if Joe.
Thats where a guy like Tony Jefferson comes in. Legitimate cover safety that can drop deep consistently. But also be used as a blitzer and is solid in run support.
In all honesty, we could completely transform our Roster for at least the next 2-3 years with all the right moves in the offseason.
In my perfect world, I’d sign Calais Campbell or Kawann Short for whatever sum of cash would get them here.
Same thing goes for Melvin Ingram, who I know could come in and play Leo Linebacker ( 2 point stance pass rusher in Smitty’s 4-3 scheme that sometimes drops into coverage. Same position played by Vic Beasly ), or Jpp to add another legit Pass rusher into the stew.
Like I said, go out and Get Tony Jefferson to add some depth to our safety group. I would bring back McDougald if he’s willing to stay on at a reasonable rate. And let Conte hit the road. Just going by the Eyeball test Jefferson represents a significant upgrade over Conte.
And Finally, Get me Either Kenny Stills, or preferably Desean Jackson to add some Game changing speed. Eddie Lacy can come to if he wants to be a Buc on a prove it deal.
Then get me O.J. Howard the man-beast Complete package TE at 19 overall.
For Round 2, there are a ton of options. But my top 4 in this scenario would be Hassan Reddick, TJ Watt, Curtis Samuel, and Dan Feeney, maybe even Jabrill Peppers depending on how far he falls due to positional confusion.
Then From any Time in Round 3 and onward, pick up any one of the talented RB’s in that will be there for the taking. Take an athletic Corner to develop, and stockpile Offensive & Defensive line talent/ depth.
Jason Licht would have to dive deep into Team Glazers Treasure chest to make it all happen, but I feel very confidently that if my dream became a reality, we could make a deep playoff run this year.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:51 am
Even if Westbrook isn’t a 2nd round prospect he is still a number 2 wr. Dede has burner djax speed and a willingness to fight and win most contested passes. Jalen Robinette and Josh Reynolds have 4.5 speed and are pretty tall. Robinette’s play suffered bc of qb but dude is 6’4 and has good hands. Zay Jones is not as fast but his route running is incredible possibly the best in the draft. Pass on John ross. I kept an open mind with him but his shady past and inj history are red flags. Juju is Corey Davis jr. Ryan Switzer will be an upgrade in the slot. Faster and better route running than Humphries with just as good if not better hands. I didn’t even mention kupp but yeah number 2s litter this draft.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:57 am
St Pete’s comment at 7:33 is telling only half a story. The other half about who touches the ball would be affected by the guys who block for that guy. So that’s 5-6 touches and the rb touches where howard would affect the outcome. Am I right? Plus if we have nobody to threaten the passing game what happens to our running game? Go ahead re watch last year. All that Brate did and our run game was still s#!t, call it a lack of talent but fans were calling it all season. No weapons with speed. Brate needs weapons around him for him to be good. If there were no Evans there would be no brate.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:58 am
Eddie lacy is a failed project the Packers kicked the tires on him n are calling it.
February 19th, 2017 at 5:02 am
St Pete I’d also like to respond to your evaluation on d’onta foreman about him being a great pass blocker. He has zero affect on the passing game game. I respect your opinion like others do here but I disagree with the things you’ve said regarding the Cam Brate article. He’s a bruising rb guys shied away from him but he can’t block for anything. Watch him in this game tape below he looks so lost on passing downs it’s hard to watch. He just kinda floats around gives a little shove here n there but it’s so lack luster especially when pressure is in his qbs face.
https://youtu.be/Llt9NtSGTnw
February 19th, 2017 at 5:11 am
We’d be comfortable with another season of Conte, McDougald and Tandy? They played well down the stretch, but they were part of the problem in the first half of the season.
It doesn’t have to be in the draft, but we need to add a safety somehow.
February 19th, 2017 at 5:24 am
Honestly i like our Safeties…I think that the better we get in the trenches the better our secondary will be in general…I would like to see us make a run a Dontari Poe come Free Agency…Putting someone like Poe next to McCoy is bad news for every QB on the schedule…
February 19th, 2017 at 5:49 am
Im telling you. People are only calling it the biggest need because Tandy is the only Safety under contract.
February 19th, 2017 at 6:21 am
Blake_bucsfan, GREAT post. I’ve always liked Eddie Lacy, although have reservations about bringing in ‘dinged up RBs’. Safety needs an upgrade; would love to see us sign Tony Jefferson plus draft a Safety in the 3-5 Rnd. Kawann Short expected to be too expensive, but Calais Campbell & Brandon Williams together would really beef up our DLine (plus RE-SIGN GHOLSTON). All on-board with Desean Jackson or Kenny Stillsplus draft another WR (cupboard’s just about bare). Would love to draft OJ Howard in Rnd 1, but that depends on what we accomplish in free agency. Getting a lead-dog RB & a speedy #2 WR are higher priorities to me.
I agree totally with an earlier post from LakelandBuc (last night) that our defense is what will get us to the playoffs. Look at last season’s games and read his analysis & it’s pretty clear that we went 9-7 more because of our defense than because of our offense. With Smitty back for 2 yrs that defense can be something special IF we add several impact players and improve our depth on defense. We can do that through free agency AND the draft this year, so that we can make a push for the playoffs this year, despite a tougher schedule.
February 19th, 2017 at 8:58 am
“NFL experts push the notion that the Bucs need a safety”.
Really!!!?? Wonder why? Could it be that they have been clearly below average at pass coverage….and terrible at covering opposing tight ends!!! Or that Conte AND McDougald made very few impact plays over the past 2 years. Conte had a 2-3 stretch where he made a few plays. What about the other 30 games where he was terrible? McDougald is a good tackler, but can’t cover. Period.
Why is it OK to keep 2 mediocre to below average safeties as your starters? These 2 would make quality backups on most teams. Starters? No effing way!!!
The idea is to improve at EVERY position. There’s lots of room for improvement at the safety position.
I can easily make the case that we are stronger at wr than safety. Evans is now top 5 in the league at his position….neither of our safeties are top 30.
” Joe wonders if drinking during Bucs games would help understand what some people see when they watch the team.”
The Joes ridicule all of our #2-5 receivers as cfl players and future lounge singers. It’s curious to me why they are fine with not 1, but 2 lounge singers starting at safety.
So I say keep drinking during the games Joes, because it obviously does not hurt your already horrific talent evaluation.
February 19th, 2017 at 9:00 am
@Joe
What’s going on here indeed?? You made a reference to taking a bath with a Bucs cheerleader, but no mention (or link I might add) to Rachel Watson! Lol
February 19th, 2017 at 10:17 am
Yeah, I think Bradley McDouglad is developing into a good safety.
February 19th, 2017 at 10:18 am
@ Defense Rules are you using Campbell as a DE in your plan? Also would you want to try and sign Gholston too?
I like the idea of a Brandon Williams/Gerald McCoy tandem at DT and then just run with our current DE and hope they stay healthy.
February 19th, 2017 at 10:18 am
I think people just want us to have a John Lynch type of safety again…but all that would do these days is get us penalties.
February 19th, 2017 at 10:28 am
BUC55
“Why is it OK to keep 2 mediocre to below average safeties as your starters? “
I understand your point, but you discount the concept of development. Fans tend to have an immediate need for exceptional play, and although that would be great, not team can provide that out of the gates. If every player on a team was exceptional, the salaries would be too high. You would have 22 highly paid players.
When you are developing players, sometimes they have to be put in a starting role before they earn it. That way they play up to the competition. Yes, there are growing pains, but a team sometimes has to suffer through them to get the best out of a player later.
A perfect example of this is Ronde Barber. He didn’t get really good until his 5th year. From then on, he was supernatural. But he started long before that.
Imagine if the fans had gotten what they wanted and the team had moved away from him after his third year. Imagine what we would have missed out on.
The trick is knowing if a player is going to turn out good, because you don’t want to hold on too long to a player that will never be good. To do that, you have to look for the proper signs. Fans often miss those signs, but coaches don’t.
February 19th, 2017 at 11:10 am
Just looking over the current depth chart and based on the depth chart the positions of DT and S are the two positions that need to be addressed immediately. We have two DTs on contract and three S.
February 19th, 2017 at 12:15 pm
Tony Jefferson, the other valuable Carndinal most likely to hit the open market due to lack of funds would DEF be an upgrade over who we had in-house last year.
February 19th, 2017 at 12:35 pm
Re-sign Bradley McDougald, he played good at Free Safety.
February 19th, 2017 at 1:40 pm
Plain and simple Joe. These guys dont watch all the bucs games.
February 19th, 2017 at 1:50 pm
If mcdougald walks then we have 1 decent S in tandy. In limited action has proven valuable, but we still need someone to play opposite of him. Unless you think ryan smith is ready to start. We may not draft a safety in the first round but it is a desperate need as we have a huge hole at that position.
February 19th, 2017 at 2:08 pm
USFBUC … Calais Campbell is a DE, although he can (and does) play inside at times. And yes, I love Will Gholston and have pushed for a long time for the Bucs to re-sign him. I tend to believe in having a mixture of DEs (preferably 5 all together) … 2 like Noah Spence & Jack Smith who are usually smaller but who are great at rushing the QB (not necessarily great at stopping the run outside however). Then 3 more like Calais Campbell, Robert Ayers & Will Gholston who are big enough to play inside if need be, but who are great run-stoppers and who can also put some pressure on the QB and keep him honest. Add in 4 DTs (2 true impact DTs like GMC and Poe or Williams or Fairley plus 2 others like McDonald and a rookie DT to develop) and Bucs would have a truly elite DLine. To me that’s where defense starts … in the trenches.
February 19th, 2017 at 2:28 pm
Joe is wrong. Safety is absolutely a need. Under contract we have only one player with ANY starting experience. Even if we sign McDougald and/or Conte, this isn’t exactly a stellar unit. Why does Joe have such low standards for the safety position? Shouldn’t we be looking for a serious playmaker back there? I’m a Tandy fan, but the other guys have never done anything to give me much confidence… I use the Seattle defense as an example. When Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas are on the field, you have to reckon with them. In different ways, those guys can take over games. Why wouldn’t we want a real impact player at safety?
Need. Behind WR and RB, but still a need.
February 19th, 2017 at 2:42 pm
Lol, we don’t need safety help — but we gave 498 yards in the air against Oakland.
Lol, good one Joe.
February 19th, 2017 at 3:04 pm
Defense Rules so a front four of Calais Campbell, Brandon Williams, Gerald McCoy, Robert Ayers with Jacquies Smith and Noah Spence coming in on passing downs. I think in that situation the Bucs would pass on Gholston so it might be better to re-sign Gholston instead of Campbell.
February 19th, 2017 at 6:40 pm
Safety is not the biggest need but it is a need. The safety position was atrocious for half a season, and while Conte made a few big plays he is still a liability overall. Keith Tandy playing well for a total of a month is not something I would want to bet my house on repeating over the course of a year.
If a stud safety is available in the draft or free agency (Berry) then you strongly consider it. Maybe not to the level of a 2nd WR or starting RB but it’s up there.
February 19th, 2017 at 6:59 pm
We are in disparate need of a Safety. Conte made a few good plays after he cost the team a few games. The guy sucks and the rest are off the scrap heap. Tandy did well towards the end. Invest in a good Safety or two. Seriously this will become a problem if you sit on your hands.
February 19th, 2017 at 9:44 pm
Joe’s right, we need to focus on offense but not trade up for anyone, even consider trading down, if only john ross available, kid has too many health issues for first round.
February 20th, 2017 at 7:58 am
We clearly need safety help. Tandy had one good month out of how many seasons in the league. Not reliable enough yet. Conte almost always ranks near the bottom of the rankings when it comes to coverage. I like McDougle but he is a FA so no guarantees there.
Conte is ok in the box but is one of the worst covering DBs I’ve ever seen. Got to get someone. We also need another good CB. Grimes won’t last to much longer