“He’s Not Going To Be An Aaron Donald-type”
November 27th, 2018
Talks Vita Vea.
Almost as huge as the win itself Sunday was the play of rookie defensive tackle Vita Vea.
The University of Washington product was starting to come under harsh criticism for his invisible play, including from Warren Sapp and Ian Beckles, the latter tagging Vea with the nickname “Velcro,” which Sapp picked up and ran with.
Vea had four solo tackles, three of which were tackles for a loss, and a sack. Impressive stuff for a defensive tackle. However, Joe spoke with defensive line coach Brentson Buckner after the game and Buckner cautioned not to get too geeked over Vea’s numbers.
“Yeah, it was just a matter of time,” Buckner said of Vea breaking out. “Kid came out of school early. He missed a lot of football [with an injury]. So it was just a matter of getting him getting his feet wet. He’s been working hard. Things just showed up for him.”
So when Joe asked Buckner if Sunday’s game should be the norm for Vea, Buckner all but said, tap the brakes.
“You never know, this game is crazy,” Buckner said. “He’s not going to be an Aaron Donald-type of player. He’s going to be a big run stopper who is capable of pressing the pocket when he gets his chance.
“All I expect from him is to play physical football and make everyone around him better and to make plays. When you get a chance to make plays, make plays.”
Joe absolutely agrees Vea was behind the 8-ball. He had missed virtually all of training camp and did miss all of preseason with an injured calf muscle. For that reason alone, Joe gave Vea a mulligan.
But if Vea could make an impact like he did Sunday a few times a year, that’s fine with Joe.
November 27th, 2018 at 5:11 am
Vita Vea gets a thumbs up from me
November 27th, 2018 at 5:18 am
He played well. Definitely deserves the kudos. It’d feel a lot better if this all happened against a quality opponent.
November 27th, 2018 at 5:33 am
Vea is interesting to say the least. I just really feel the Bucs shouldn’t put him on the field at the same time as McCoy and JPP if he’s to get numbers unless they run a 5-2 front imho otherwise just use him in 3-4 formations with Gholston and another quick big dlineman to play opposite of Gholston. I don’t feel Nassib can go beyond the 4-3 maybe he can do a 5-2 not really sure though but I like his revamp since leaving the Browns and their traditional 3-4 alignment. I’m liking how Vea is coming along I just feel it would’ve been smoother for his transition if we incorporate Vea as 3-4 DT and letting McCoy and JPP rest at periods in the game. It would be creative while they sit and heal and rest until the second half of games. Duffner has gotta to use this tactic if this defense is to survive the season.
November 27th, 2018 at 5:39 am
“2019 new Tampa Bay Bucs Defensive Line Coach, Jason Gump”
“End of the year, Beggers cant be choosers”
Kobe Faker
November 27th, 2018 at 6:10 am
Not what 1st round picks are for 🙁
November 27th, 2018 at 6:35 am
I think its time for him to step up and I think he did. I think Vea will be a house hold name.
November 27th, 2018 at 6:35 am
Let’s see it happen against a good qb. Any bets on he few times the bucs try and blitz can Newton Sunday?
November 27th, 2018 at 7:05 am
Vea will be just fine……give him a chance…..he was certainly dominant Sunday…..
November 27th, 2018 at 7:13 am
Bust!
Says………….stupid Buc fans all season long during a rookie season.
Can’t you idiots wait until at least 3 years? I know the answer, don’t bother.
Sapp was a virtual BUST until year 3…just a small example.
I didn’t like the pick. Not because of the Vea’s lack of skills, but for what they needed. Just didn’t see DT as a top priority. Not 1st rounder anyway.
I hardly know a damn thing about the kid’s play in college. I watch a lot of college ball, just not much Washington ball. His highlights were what you’d expect to see from any top DT coming out of college….so that didn’t help me either.
Didn’t like the Hargreaves pick either…but I HAVE to root for him….
I don’t think I like Jason Licht as the Bucs GM very much….I’ve never put down my opinion on the guy. Better than Dom? Hell to the yeah, but man I never like ANY of his picks outside of Jameis, and OJ….. which to me were no-brainers.
I’m big FSU too and I HATED the Roberto pick when it came in. That pick actually made me start questioning Licht and that was BEFORE all the missed kicks. I (most Noles fans too) KNEW Roberto was going to bomb in the NFL. How come Jason didn’t? Throw in it was a 2nd rounder and oh man….smdh, Jason.
Back to Vea. I don’t expect much to begin with. Why? Cause he was drafted by Jason Licht.
November 27th, 2018 at 7:29 am
Dear Warren Sapp,
You are obviously tech-savvy. You text Ian Beckles all the time disparaging the play of “Velcro-Vea”. If you TRULY love the Bucs (perhaps you don’t), how about the notion of befriending Vea and becoming an All-Pro Mentor to him? I’m sure Vita would be open to your feedback and sage counsel.
Or is there something more here? Does your ego not allow you to be constructive? Are you perhaps afraid that Vita may one day eclipse you of being the best Bucs defensive lineman ever? I don’t fear that…at all. You own that. You were greater than great. But now you have the grand opportunity to put your stamp on Vita. How awesome would that be for him, is Bucs fans and yes, even for you.
We all have “structive” tendencies. It’s either “de” or “con”…sometimes even “in”. Might I suggest you adopt the latter two when it comes to this first round rookie?
Todd
November 27th, 2018 at 7:32 am
Keep him lined up at NT over the Center. He was constantly double teamed.
November 27th, 2018 at 7:44 am
Maui…Maui…Maui! One good game and he had more production than Blobby (swaggy) Baker did all of last year. Is Unrein ever coming back or nah?
November 27th, 2018 at 7:49 am
Stay patient with the young kid. I’ve said this the whole time. He still needs to get his body right. He still needs an offseason to mature physically and work on technique. He will be a good player. Give. Him. Time.
November 27th, 2018 at 7:59 am
Finally got credit for line play this deep in the season, Buckner is not the savior most people thought he would be. Last thing I want to hear is what Vea can’t be. That wasn’t a smart thing to say because he hasn’t played much d line and they truly don’t know his ceiling yet. He can’t be Aaron Donald because of the gap in speed. I for one can’t wait to see him next year after he drops all that unnecessary weight
November 27th, 2018 at 8:34 am
Should any player classified as a run stuffer that can collapse the pocket be drafted that high in the first round?
Licht doesn’t know how to build a team and it will cost him his job.
November 27th, 2018 at 8:49 am
Donald was selected in the same vicinity as Vea- Buckner is as wrong as he is right. We SHOULD expect Vea to positively impact a game and do more than simply stuff the run and luck into a couple of sacks a year. While he’s not Donald and never will be, why not compare and/or hold him to a standard of a player like a young Haloti Njata? If that’s the kind of player we were aiming for with the Vea pick, the selection makes sense. If not, then why not simply develop Stevie T or a similar big body and go in another direction?
November 27th, 2018 at 8:50 am
Aaron Donald? He just needs to develop his own identity and make a name for himself. Just make plays your own way, Mr. Vea, and the “Velcro” moniker won’t stick.
November 27th, 2018 at 9:13 am
If you take a DT in the first 15 picks of draft then he better be an A. Donald type..wtf is wrong with our team man and the way they evaluate players
November 27th, 2018 at 9:15 am
he plays hard….still trying to figure it out….he’ll be fine…
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!….#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
November 27th, 2018 at 9:16 am
Aaron Donald? No. Haloti Ngata? Maybe. I expect to see him improve between first and second year like most young players do. That’s what will matter the last 5 games this year. Can the young guys improve? Hopefully.
November 27th, 2018 at 9:30 am
The Rookie played better than the million dollar man
Bucs fans call out the ROOKIE and not the veteran
November 27th, 2018 at 9:32 am
Im gonna be nice here. For all of you that keep saying silly things like, “Every DT in the 1st round better be a Aaron Donald type”. Think about how stupid that sounds. How many Aaron Donalds are there? Just 1. Now stop saying stupid things.
1st round picks dont need to be super stars. They just need to be valueable members of the team. Hopefully sooner than later. Vea will be that.
November 27th, 2018 at 9:35 am
Was great to see Vea having an impact on the field.
Hoping this is the new norm. We need this young man to be productive to a reasonable degree while he develops.
To me – the big take-away from Buckner’s statement about Vea was one sentence. – “He’s been working hard.” That’s really all you can ask of any player on your team. Work hard. Do your best. Try to get better at something every day…
DLine played their best game as a unit vs the 49ers and Vea definitely played his part in that success.
Hard to get too excited because San Fran is a bad team fielding a 3rd string QB and starting their 3rd and 4th receivers.
If the DLine can be as effective getting to sCam – It will serve notice that the Buccaneer DLine has finally “arrived”. For now its just one good game though.
Maybe they should come out of the tunnel as a unit every week….
November 27th, 2018 at 9:41 am
VITA VEA
Can’t begin to tell ya how much I enjoyed seeing that kid out there on Sunday, just throwing bodies around,,, playing relentless football, and doing so with a passion and with fun.
It was definitely contagious amongst his DL-mates, and it was great to see.
Keep it going, #50
November 27th, 2018 at 9:41 am
Give Jamies four years as the. NUMBER ONE PICK
Vea gets one game HAHAHA
what’s wrong with the Bucs is not evaluating
It’s development
Vea will be a STUD DT
November 27th, 2018 at 9:51 am
Aaron Donald..Isn’t that the guy who’s raisin sheer terror in the NFl. But my bad..we passed on him Didn’t we?
November 27th, 2018 at 9:53 am
lol @todd asking for sapp to mentor Vea. Worked real well for Mccoy.
November 27th, 2018 at 9:54 am
Sorry to tell you ZAMMY but Sapp will never be more than second best Dlineman that has played for our Bucs For those of us that are old enough to have watched the great Leroy Selmon, Our very first hall of famer, he by far was the best EVER IMO.
November 27th, 2018 at 9:54 am
Vea has certainly out played Beau Allen in this last game and needs to start against the remaining teams on our schedule this year and backed up by Beau Allen (who was only a backup DT with Philly and has not played like a starter with us). Our lineup should be Nassib, McCoy, Vea, and PFF. Vea will be double teamed which then let’s the rest get more sacks; yet Vea is strong enough to beat double teams and push back the middle so the opposing QB cannot avoid sacks by stepping up. That fact makes QBs nervous and creates pressure on them. If they hold the ball Vea will get sacks and Vea will be in position to take down runners behind the line of scrimmage. The 49’ers have only won two games but they have a good OL and had previously been able to run the ball with their fast RB. So Vea won’t fade against our remaining teams. With McCoy’s stats declining with age we needed a first round DT to eventually replace him, especially because most rookie DTs don’t blossom fully til their third year. Licht was correct in seeing those facts when most of our bloggers did not.
November 27th, 2018 at 10:05 am
Vita Vea is the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft
He’s not some 4rd round draft pick
A player pick this high is expected to play right away
You can’t afford to wait on a player drafted this high
Bucs fans has been waiting over 11 years for a playoff team
Every year, it’s wait, wait, wait
Everyone don’t have the patience and that’s understandable
The bottom line:
You wait for a late round draft pick to develop
Not the 12th overall draft pick
November 27th, 2018 at 10:25 am
Agreed Lakeland, especially since so many players drafted around Vea are performing like pro bowlers
November 27th, 2018 at 10:35 am
DL development and QB development are totally the same.
I don’t get the snide remark that he won’t be Aaron Donald. Even if true why run a statement like that through the media.
Sometimes I just don’t get our coaching staff.
November 27th, 2018 at 10:38 am
ATrain- I’ve been watching the “million dollar man” closely. Color me unimpressed!
Vea had a nice game…finally!
November 27th, 2018 at 10:49 am
Eric
Vita Vea was the 12th overall draft pick in the 2018 NFL draft
Aaron Donald was the 13th overall draft pick in the 2014 NFL draft
I don’t understand the logic of drafting Vita Vea
Over players like Derwin James
A player that fills a need and can step right in and produce
Aaron Donald was drafted lower than Vita Vea
He stepped right in and played like a vet
Why Vita Vea can’t do the same?
There’s DTs drafted a lot lower than Vea playing good
The Bucs brass don’t have a clue about building an NFL football team
November 27th, 2018 at 10:57 am
First, 15 other NFL teams passed on James. Let’s not act like everybody and their brother expected this guy to be Ronnie Lott coming out of the gate.
Second, do you really believe these clowns who coach the Bucs’ secondary would develop James? Joe’s been writing for over a year how this coaching staff simply cannot develop defensive backs. Yet all of us should suspend common sense, reason and video evidence to think James would be a decent player with the Bucs?
Joe really, really wants what you are drinking.
Just stop with this Derwin James nonsense. Stop!
November 27th, 2018 at 10:57 am
LakeLand- DaRon Payne comes to mind, the Alabama DT.
I completely agree with your premise though, I do believe that certain positions take longer to mature at the NFL level. DT really shouldn’t be one of them.
While I hear the Sapp references, statistically it doesn’t look impressive because he only started in 8 games, but as a game-changer, he was a force from day 1. Another #12 pick BTW!
November 27th, 2018 at 11:00 am
smh
Tom Brady 199th pick. So every quarterback picked in the sixth round should be a Hall of Famer.
Fool!
The NFL draft is not a GD spreadsheet.
November 27th, 2018 at 11:09 am
He’s a run stopper like Roy Miller was. He’s there to plug up the middle and will occasionally get a sack.
November 27th, 2018 at 11:24 am
Joe,
I didn’t compare the two
The Bucs D-Line Coach COMPARED the two players
November 27th, 2018 at 11:29 am
Joe Says:
November 27th, 2018 at 10:57 am
Over players like Derwin James
First, 15 other NFL teams passed on James. Let’s not act like everybody and their brother expected this guy to be Ronnie Lott coming out of the gate.
Second, do you really believe these clowns who coach the Bucs’ secondary would develop James? Joe’s been writing for over a year how this coaching staff simply cannot develop defensive backs. Yet all of us should suspend common sense, reason and video evidence to think James would be a decent player with the Bucs?
Joe really, really wants what you are drinking.
Just stop with this Derwin James nonsense. Stop!
I agree Joe. In hindsight could have been a good pick but I question these secondary coaches so who would know for sure.
Plus I think the move by most NFL teams in the last couple of years is to get two free safety types more than a strong safety and a free safety.
This is probably why most teams passed on James. He played up closer to the line and not out covering space as much. So in the NFL, he was always more a projection for anyone assessing him for this pass happy NFL.
November 27th, 2018 at 11:29 am
The Bucs D-Line Coach opened the door for me to compare Vita Vea to Aaron Donald. Vita Vea was the HIGHER draft pick of the two. Why shouldn’t I bring this up?
“You never know, this game is crazy,” Buckner said. “He’s not going to be an Aaron Donald-type of player. He’s going to be a big run stopper who is capable of pressing the pocket when he gets his chance.
My question is:
Why spend the 12th OVERALL draft pick on this guy?
Now who’s the FOOL
I didn’t spend the 12th overall draft pick on this guy
Call your good buddy Jason Licht a FOOL
For drafting this guy so high
November 27th, 2018 at 12:07 pm
Vita Vea had a very safe floor as a #12 pick. Thats what I liked about this pick. There are a lot of picks by Jason Licht and company that I haven’t liked but I think this one will end up being a good one if Vita can stay on the field.
November 27th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
Lakeland doesn’t like being called Fool.
November 27th, 2018 at 12:48 pm
Batman Wood
Drafting a run-stuffing 3-4 NT with the 12th overall pick
Especially when you’re a 4-3 team
I’m not the fool
The idiot that drafted him is the fool
November 27th, 2018 at 1:09 pm
Lakeland
I don’t think you’re a fool for having that opinion. You may be right. We won’t know for awhile. I wanted D. James and I don’t like FSU. But I also think there’s a good chance Vea becomes more than just a run stuffer. If he turns into the next Ngata then he was worthy of the pick. I took Buckner to mean he’s not the same style DL as Donald, which is obvious, not that he can’t be as good, though that’s unlikely, about as likely as finding the next Donald in any draft.
November 27th, 2018 at 1:33 pm
“The NFL draft is not a GD spreadsheet.”
AMEN!!! It is the most overhyped event in all of sports. It benefits a LOT of people to make the draft such an overrated deal. What the helll else could Mel Kiper do for a living. How much do the nets earn off of the event…how important do NFL GM’s get to make themselves. Again if you google you’ll find that the VAST Majority of NFL GM’s score draft picks pretty similarly. Even the so called great ones eventually have a bad run. It’s not a spreadsheet!!!
Comparing ONE draft pick to another and drawing some conclusion as to which team did better is just absurd. It’s the ultimate in hindsight….you SHOULD be 20-20 after the fact.
November 27th, 2018 at 2:55 pm
For how bad the secondary is we needed Derwin James its that simple! and last year we didnt need oj howard we needed dalvin cook our team would look alot better with these two on our team…
November 27th, 2018 at 3:13 pm
stpete- Not JUST Mel Kiper, but Mel Kiper’s hair! I swear he should be the poster-boy for AquaNet!
AND, I do hate the draft so. The yammering before it, the need to stick a mic in a guy’s face before he can wave to his parents, the 3 wasted days of it!!!
November 27th, 2018 at 3:53 pm
I would say it’s impossible to stop C-Mac running it straight up our a$$ all day, but if VV racked up some tackles again and got a sack on Cam Newton, I would for sure say he’s a work in progress and the progress is looking good.
November 27th, 2018 at 3:56 pm
I think he’s hungry for more,also. Maybe he was scared before from the injury to use all his power and abilities and now he’s gonna push it.