Ryan Smith Up And Down
August 13th, 2017
Dirk Koetter reviews play.
Last year, Bucs corner Ryan Smith got zero snaps on defense. None.
As a rookie, he was assigned to play safety and before December came around, that experiment was deemed a failure.
Smith was moved back to corner, and despite not playing corner for over a year, Joe heard from those who would know that Smith played rather well.
Of course, it was in practice.
So Friday night, Smith got the start at Cincinnati in place of Brent Grimes, who likely will miss all of preseason after getting a nasty gash in his shin that required stitches. Koetter’s take on Smith’s first play at corner in any sort of NFL contest? Mixed reviews.
“Ryan actually did play the most,” Koetter said. “He played 51 snaps and he needs every one of those. It was great work for him. He made some really nice plays and some not so nice plays, which is exactly what you would expect of a young guy playing corner out there in live football in the NFL for the first time.”
Joe isn’t worried.
Look, what is one to expect from a guy playing before live bullets for the first time? Joe is adamant corner may be the deepest position on the Bucs. Unless there is suddenly a rash of more injuries (Hey Jude is scheduled to have knee surgery and Koetter said he will have more info later this week), Joe isn’t going to lose any sleep due to depth at corner.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:04 am
The secondary is a really thin area for the bucs hopefully not alot of injuries and conte and tandy play at same level at end of year
August 13th, 2017 at 10:11 am
Dusthy
Could you list the depth chart at Cornerback for us? Just curious. You can point out which 2’s and 3’s are unacceptable depth.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:15 am
Pickgrin Says:
August 12th, 2017 at 9:42 pm
How come no one’s mentioning the play where the run to the right was getting strung out and Evans came flying out to the edge at about 100 mph to make the tackle. He looked FAST on that play.
Odds are this kid will be a solid addition to our defense once he gets some good coaching over time and some live reps under his belt.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:16 am
Missing some pics here boys
There were some db’s and lineman that were picked after our wasted kicker pic that are solid pros right now.
You can’t get to the next level by missing the easy ones
August 13th, 2017 at 10:17 am
oops – wrong player – LOL
August 13th, 2017 at 10:18 am
Depth? Yes.
Quality depth? No way.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:32 am
I beg to differ, Mr. Joe. This team is one injury away from being exposed at corner. Behind Hargreaves and Grimes (who is already injured by the way), the cupboard is bare. Ryan Smith is basically a rookie at corner, Javion Ellliot is an untested nickel back, and Bobby McClain is a marginal player at this point. The rest of the corners on this roster are either undrafted free agents or special teams players. If one of the starters goes down, this defense will be in trouble. Licht set the franchise back a year with the wasted Aguayo trade and pick.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:34 am
Ryan Smith has a lot of growing to do. But coaches seem to like what they see at this point in his development.
Its a long ways from North Carolina Central U. to the NFL. Anyone making that jump would be looking at some developmental time.
For Smith to be the #1 backup at outside corner having never played the position in an NFL game says that:
1. Ryan Smith is doing a # of things well and the Bucs believe he can be a solid CB in this league given time and experience.
2. Joe is delusional in doubling down on being “adamant (that) corner may be the deepest position on the Bucs”
August 13th, 2017 at 10:39 am
“For Smith to be the #1 backup at outside corner having never played the position in an NFL game says that:
1. Ryan Smith is doing a # of things well and the Bucs believe he can be a solid CB in this league given time and experience.”
No, what it says is that the quality of depth at this position is so lousy that Ryan Smith is your go to starter if VH3 or Grimes go down.
Yikes.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:45 am
I feel like Rhealist reposting – double yikes
Pickgrin Says:
August 9th, 2017 at 2:19 pm
“Joe believes corner may be the deepest position on the team”
As Ronny R. often said – “Well…, there you go again”
“Good Depth” at a position implies that if a starter goes down – the back-up can step in to the starting role at a moments notice and be expected to play well in a game that counts with little drop off in capability.
Example – We have good depth at Guard and Center. If Marpet goes down, Evan Smith or Joe Hawley steps in and we have confidence they can do at least an adequate job. Same with guard among Pamphile, Sweezy, Evan Smith and Caleb Benenoch. Pamphile can actually play any spot on the line if necessary.
Can this really be said of our CB group Joe? If either Hargreaves or 34 year old Grimes goes down – are you honestly confident that any of the CBs on the roster behind them can step in on the outside and play close to the level the starters are playing at?
Unless the answer is a confident YES (which it couldn’t possibly be) – CB is pretty obviously NOT “the deepest position on the team”. Far from it in fact.
Bucs will be drafting a CB in either the 1st or 2nd round in 2018. Bank on it.
August 13th, 2017 at 10:55 am
Ryan Smith is here until he can be replaced….same with Chris Simms and many others. To build a roster efficiently and effectively, you have to commit to grooming draft picks within your system and either hope they reach your vision of their potential or dont see the field until you can groom their replacement. Right now Smith is just a guy that contributes on special teams and knows the system…..at the minimum compensation level allowed. He’s arguably somewhat versatile as a corner/safety which might create some value for creating additional roster spots but I’m confident the coaching staff doesn’t want him seeing significant time in the regular season.
August 13th, 2017 at 11:18 am
Joe has lost his mind, the first man up if a corner goes down is smith.
If you have the physical skills to be a corner, they don’t move you to safety.
If you need Ryan Smith to start we are screwed.
August 13th, 2017 at 12:50 pm
Can anyone give me an example of a team with “quality depth” at CB? Serious question. I just want to know what that looks like from all the couch GMs.
August 13th, 2017 at 1:57 pm
There is absolutely no harm in him playing every Pre-Season snap. That is why we have it, so players can get experience, be evaluated and then coached. He is essentially a Rookie as far as playing corner in the NFL. Let’s be patient and let the coaches do their job.
August 13th, 2017 at 3:45 pm
I wish Darrell Revis actually liked playing football.
He is thick, strong CB. Physically speaking, he is well suited to play nickle back.
But Revis has NO HEART.
So, he’s useless.
McCourty is not.
We need TWO more corners! Not just one!
August 13th, 2017 at 5:04 pm
Cannonfodder, great point. There are very few, and even then it’s probably subjective. Most reasonable folks would agree the reality is there will be a drop off between your starters and #2s and that coaching can and should make the difference in how a #2 performs initially when thrust into a starting role. That is real time coaching on technique, scheme and attitude to mitigate the risk and even put the back-up in a position to make plays. That is the reality of every team in the NFL in at least one position.
August 13th, 2017 at 6:15 pm
Where are the cautious couch GMs? QUick to judge and quick to hide
August 13th, 2017 at 6:29 pm
thanks Reach, it cracks me up when all the experts chime in and know all. It’s a shame they are wasting their lives on a fan site. Flip side, this would be a boring site if we didn’t have the morons that keep us laughing 🙂
August 13th, 2017 at 8:12 pm
I am surprised McClain or Elliott didn’t start over Smith. However, I think the depth charts will look different in two weeks. I think starting was a move to get him some time.
August 13th, 2017 at 11:54 pm
This team is extremely thin at corner and if I was trying to win, I would be very deeply concerned. If Grimes goes down you may have the worst corner group in the league !!! Check that , as a unit it will definitely be the worst !!! Not a chance stopping Bree’s and Ryan
August 14th, 2017 at 3:26 am
Can’t understand you guys. Do you really think, some pro bowl corners will line up outside 1, Buc Place to sign backup contracts? Name one backup corner on any team in the league, you’ll want to trade for.
Ever heard about a guy named Ronde Barber? He was a third round pick and was barely seeing the field his rookie season. IMHO he developed quite well…
August 14th, 2017 at 5:12 am
Joe for some reason continues to say the Bucs have a strong corner group – beyond the starters…. There is no evidence of that and Ryan Smith out there was terrible the other night. He made ONE good play, and it was a good play, he came flying in at full speed to make a great tackle. I then saw him make a ton of bad plays, over and over again, missing tackles, getting juked out of shoes by a QB, blowing coverages – he was terrible. At this rate I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get cut – and based on the film there isn’t anyone that is going to sign him. With all that said I hope for the best, I hope he proves me wrong and plays fantastic next game. The Bucs badly need any depth at corner and I hope he goes on to have a Ronde type career, you know after Ronde didn’t barely play at all his rookie season and rumors of the “b” word started to be heard…
August 14th, 2017 at 11:50 pm
Ryan Smith should have stayed at CB last year. That is his position he played in college. He will flounder some this year like Hargraves did last year learning the NFL, but with experience he will be fine starting next year if needed. He is a great special team player now and he is very fast and knows how to wrap up in tackling. Something this year’s 2d round pick has no clue to do. Another 2d round flop by Licht!!!