Horse Trading
April 26th, 2019
Devin White, equestrian.
If you haven’t heard this before you will likely hear and read a lot of it in the future.
No, Joe is not going to rake Devin White over the coals because the Bucs drafted him. That’s not fair to the kid and to the Bucs. No, Joe doesn’t like the selection but it has nothing to do with White. It has everything to do with passing on pass rushers and drafting an inside linebacker in 2019 (in 1971 this may have made sense).
The Catholic church has a saying Joe is going to borrow that applies here: Hate the sin and love the sinner. Or in NFL terms, hate the pick but love the player.
(Longtime JoeBucsFan.com readers know how vociferously he hated the pick of leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman but Joe put aside his loathing of the pick once the Bucs started training camp as it was neither fair to the player nor the team. Of course, history proved Joe was dead-on about Freeman. Unlike Freeman, Joe doesn’t have a shred of evidence that White won’t be a good player.)
So since White is a horseman — how the hell does a college football player have enough scratch to own multiple horses? — Tampa may be a good fit as the area does have horses and a racetrack.
In fact, Friend of Joe, the great Mike Tanier of Bleacher Report, thinks it makes some horse sense to draft White.
The big variable for White’s stable was whether it would be joining him in the NFL or staying with his human family. “Most teams ask, if we draft you, will you bring the horses?” he said. “I ask, ‘How is the weather?’”
Well, Tampa is pretty humid. But my father did OK down there, and he turned the heat on when it was 68 degrees and the air conditioner when it was 72 degrees. Daisy Mae and friends will probably be fine. And so will White.
Grade: B+
For those still clinging to the belief the Bucs needed White because of Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey and Devonta Freeman, feel free to count how many times against the Bucs Kamara, McCaffrey and Freeman ran or caught the ball in-between the hashmarks or tackles where an inside linebacker prowls compared to how many pass attempts Drew Brees, pouty Cam Newton and Matty Ice had and then try to tell Joe a guy whose main task is to put pressure on the quarterback has less of an impact than a guy who defends the field on about 33 percent of the number of passes attempted.
April 26th, 2019 at 5:14 am
Wwwwaaaaaaa. Wwwaaaaaaa
Baby joe just woke up and is still crying . Can someone change his poopy diaper and get him a lollipop or something
We are gonna hear about this for how long ?
Can’t wait for white to win defensive rookie of the year ;the sky is the limit for this kid. He will be the leader of the defense as a rookie. Only been playing linebacker for three years and is already special. Bowles can’t wait to coach this kid. He’ll get after the QB right up the middle.
And Can’t wait for Devin white to make joe uncomfortable cause joe types a mean game.
Funny how joe credits that he called the freeman pick but still would want John football on This team. Freeman went to crap but he was still a better pro then John “trainwreck “ football . I mean good morning kettle . Good morning baby joe .
April 26th, 2019 at 5:16 am
Well at least we still have a shot at Jaylon Ferguson, or Jachai Polite
April 26th, 2019 at 5:17 am
Licht is a buffoon, but I like this kids personality so far, he seems tough, like a real linebackerde, and quite frankly I’d like to see these league trends somehow reversed as I love smashmouth defensive driven football, after all we are the Bucs and that is our only proud legacy. Total dominance on D. Hopefully this kid will get the mentality headed in the right direction. Excited to se him and Lavonte together!!
April 26th, 2019 at 5:18 am
Typo- linebacker
April 26th, 2019 at 5:20 am
We needed a pass rusher. We drafted a tackler. Cool.
April 26th, 2019 at 5:23 am
Get Cody ford – guard with next pick
Trade up into end of second and get jaylon Ferguson -edge rusher
And Bucs are looking solid. Three huge needs taken care of.
So many good players still there: 2 dbs including greedy and maxwell. Plus great oline man too. – Risner and Juuwan taylor.
———-
Hope other teams make run on some receivers with first few picks. Qb Lock should go early too I hope.
April 26th, 2019 at 5:26 am
Sorry. Db Murphy not maxwell ^^
April 26th, 2019 at 5:48 am
EVERYONE is missing the very important fact that food for the soul for White is ALSO playing like a wild assassin on SPECIAL TEAMS! That’s one-third of the game, all.
During one of his interviews prior to the draft he specifically noted his zeal for special teams play.
Damn, I’m excited!
Bucs got this RIGHT!!!
April 26th, 2019 at 6:06 am
Would not surprise me if thy go with Cappa as starter at guard. Licht has already stated publicly he thinks Cappa is ready. Getting a LT to replace Dotson in the
near future might be a consideration. A RT that can block downfield could help our running game. Dotson’s wheels affect his ability to get downfield and block for the
running game. If you run to the left side mostly ,it makes the running game more predictable. We also will be missing the go to wide receiver screen to Hump. It is time to improve the blocking on the left side and develope screen game out of the backfield.
April 26th, 2019 at 6:13 am
A lot of OL and CB left as best available. Hoping for DE Z.Allen or Temple CB Ya-Sin….
April 26th, 2019 at 6:20 am
Inside linebackers are allowed to go outside the hash marks too joe. He has unbelievable sideline to sideline speed which is going to help us a lot with those pass catching backs. Dude is going to be a stud.
April 26th, 2019 at 6:23 am
Get some rest, Joe! There are at least two sentences/themes in this post that you would have edited out if you weren’t so frustrated already! Take a breath; it’s a long weekend!
Following this franchise for as long as you have—this pick isn’t in the same stratosphere as a pick you shouldn’t like. It could be worse—Gruden could be calling the shots!
But wow, that last sentence is the perfect metaphor for your incessant hand-wringing about the Bucs not following your philosophy: it just doesn’t seem to end!
April 26th, 2019 at 6:36 am
Hate the White pick but you wanted Manziel so bad. Classic. The Manziel take/rehash by so many is funny. Look, Joe doesn’t run from liking Johnny in that draft, when the Bucs were in desperate need for a quarterback. In fact, you and Joe have no idea how Johnny would have fared here under a less volatile situation and a different head coach. Whatever, it’s ancient history. No GM, no fan, no media guy nails a giant majority of draft picks. If they did, the draft wouldn’t be so compelling.–Joe … White was the best player available. Would you pass on Kuechly at #5 today?
April 26th, 2019 at 6:43 am
Why the long face?
April 26th, 2019 at 6:55 am
Love that first post Bird almost spit my coffee all over!
April 26th, 2019 at 6:59 am
Your attitude stinks, Joe. Honestly, the complaining makes me want to read more Pewter Report than JBF. C’mon, this place is supposed to be for supporting the team. Hell, the name of the site has FAN in it.
White will be a long term starter and probowler. I’ll take it. He’s a stud.
April 26th, 2019 at 7:02 am
Read some interesting musings by Louis Riddick about “drafting an ILB in 2019” which dispute some of the thoughts tossed about here:
“Part of it has to do with the position of middle linebacker, and how crucial it is to today’s NFL. Offenses are modernizing, so if you want to have a defense that gives you even a slight chance to contend, well, then you’d better have a fast, instinctive, hard-hitting presence in the middle that can effectively cut out those tight ends and tailbacks getting the ball in the middle of the field.”
“The game has changed,” Riddick said. “The game, as far as how people are attacking you on offense, it has become critical to have great athletes, smart athletes in the middle of the field at middle linebacker. “You’d better be able to defend teams that can attack you with running backs and tight ends in the middle of the field where you’re not allowed to hit anybody, who are some great athletes, where teams will just carve you up, in the middle of the numbers, right down the field – first down, first down. It’s how New England has kinda made the rest of the league look silly. Bill (Belichick) has always been ahead of the curve. You better start catching up by getting athletes in the middle of the field. Middle linebacker and safety – they’re not throwaway positions anymore. They’re just not. If you don’t have them, you won’t stop anybody in the NFL.”
Words of wisdom.
April 26th, 2019 at 7:07 am
It was a middle MLB ( Minter ) that put a crushing sack on Newton that helped us win against Carolina. Why not a MLB? One of the more effective ways I have seen to stop Breeze was to rush up the middle ,filling the passing lanes and making it more difficult to see his receivers.
April 26th, 2019 at 7:14 am
Joe
What’s even funnier is you make it sound like the Bucs desperately needed a qb when Manziel was available. Even funnier that you still think he would be better under different situation/direction.
Pretty sure the drinking and girl beating helped that out.
And The Bucs weren’t desperate for QB when they drafted freeman. Dude – are you outta your mind. Are you outta your skull
April 26th, 2019 at 7:23 am
Poor Joe, just can’t stop crying. Gain some football knowledge and maybe those years will dry up.
April 26th, 2019 at 7:46 am
Another thing to consider here, and i think it’s huge. i remember when this defense was rudderless and along came Hardy Nickerson, who I consider the Bucs’ all-time greatest MLB. But aside from the playing skills he brought here from the Steelers was the attitude he had. He instantly became the leader of that defense. And he taught the young guys how to be professionals and how to be winners. Lynch, and then Sapp and Brooks, and then Barber all learned from his tutelage. Then when he left, the others picked up the torch with the leadership qualities he had instilled into them and carried it on.
And when the last of them were finally gone, that fire died out. Of course, Gerald McCoy liked to talk about how he was going to be the new leader… and how did that turn out?
I really think large part of this, notwithstanding White being one of the top four overall talents in this draft, was Bowles seeing him as the new face (and leader) of this defense. In fact, many of the top evaluators leading up to the draft constantly waxed poetic about how, aside from his natural talent, that his leadership skills were off the charts, and what an asset that would be to the team that drafted him.
Don’t discount for a moment how integral that was to the decision to take him.
April 26th, 2019 at 8:01 am
I will continue to remind posters, and Joe, that Devin White is faster than our CBs and Safeties……and he will be on the field for nearly 100% of the pass attempts and even from the middle he will sack and he will track down Kamara & Mccaffery.
Devin White is the fastest Buc defender.
April 26th, 2019 at 8:14 am
Everybody that has been around this kid says he’s an absolute stud LB but Joe knows better? We play a 3-4 now Joe so we need LB’s. We just got the best one. Quit crying, it looks bad.
April 26th, 2019 at 8:17 am
Good stuff, Ludicrous Speed.
Let’s go to plaid!
April 26th, 2019 at 8:24 am
This guy wasn’t my first choice, but that being said, White has the physical skills to be an elite player at his position (I.e. top 5 in the league) for the Bucs….where we have had damn few elite players of late! By my count, we have only 2 elite playmakers currently….Mike Evans and OJ Howard. We all know that this team has lacked elite talent for a while, so let’s hope this pick helps!
April 26th, 2019 at 8:24 am
Well done White fans.
Josh Allen will bust
April 26th, 2019 at 8:35 am
Don’t like the pick I hate screaming my ass off on 3rd down to see cam,Brees, Matt Ryan sir in the pocket so long they can pick apart defense I hate cam running the ball up the middle and I long over everyone to score on goal line we NEEDEd trench help elite blue chip players there yet you pass gtfo we better win a bunch of games …sigh*
April 26th, 2019 at 8:41 am
Do not underestimate this Joe’s proclivity for stubbornness. He’s in a class on his own.
I find this quote by Ayn Rand is appropriate for this Joe, many others and even myself at times, unfortunately…
“Rationalization is a process of not perceiving reality, but of attempting to make reality fit one’s emotions.”
April 26th, 2019 at 8:45 am
Damn joe is still at it. Really when it’s your job to report news your still sulking like a child who had his favorite toy taken away and it’s really pathetic. Hurry up day 2 and get a pass rusher so this guy can just stop or give him sick time because he’s got a fever thinking he knows more than football people.
Apparently you miss Mike Smith so much that you forgot linebackers do blitz. How can you write articles about lavonte finally being able to blitz but keep crying about this pick. Read the comments no one thinks you have a clue what your talking about. Do a podcast so we can keep laughing at you then prove how petty you are and start blocking people who mock you
April 26th, 2019 at 8:57 am
Go to plaid!!! Lmao!!! Nice one Mord! THE NFL DRAFT it was crazy as usual… Smh.. I wanted Allen or Oliver, I would’ve gone crazy, but what are you gonna do… Welllll I’ll tell you… I started watching more DW tape and woke up embracing the pick. He’s fast, tough, sideline to sideline, could be an instant upgrade from Kwon, and guess what… He’s ours!!! Let’s get behind him! Go BUCS!!!!!!!
April 26th, 2019 at 9:00 am
TBBF
“Devin White is the fastest Buc defender.”
Great point. In his highlights I’m continually seeing a player who covers the entire field…sideline to sideline. He was rated as 2nd in the nation for LB’s coverage.
A minor point…Allen does not have to bust or fail for White to be a good pick. There are always multiple great players in every draft.
April 26th, 2019 at 9:46 am
First of ALL, all these people talking about Josh Allen, you didn’t know who he was a year ago. All this Pre and Post draft hype, it’s ALL BULLSpit! Don’t forget they had us taken Sweat in every MOCK Draft! SHUT UP and Learn Football, NOBODY is a LOCK! ARGH_M8E thank you for watching tape on this kid! If everybody else did the same, they would agree. Josh Allen will be a good player, he WILL NOT BE the next Reggie White. Watch full games of him. STOP BEING DUMB FANS, EVERYBODY PLAYS WAY TOO MUCH MADDEN. YOUR NOT GM’s. You can’t just trade down because you want to, THINK ABOUT THOSE GREAT DEFENSES WITH THE STEELERS. They ran a 3 4, who were the most important part of that defense? The attacking LB’s. Loyd, Greene, Kirkland, Harrison. LEARN FOOTBALL PEOPLE!!!!!!!!
April 26th, 2019 at 9:46 am
Looks at Bucs history of drafting pass rushers. Ouch. Pretty gruesome.
Looks at Bucs history of drafting linebackers. Pretty damn solid.
Just saying.
April 26th, 2019 at 9:54 am
we are going to hear about it for as long as bucs coaches say anything less than,
“we have been getting great hits on the quarterback, I dont even have to blitz anymore”
Or until those players we passed on bust.
April 26th, 2019 at 9:54 am
OH YEAH almost forgot about JOE. People we need a place to go and get BUC talk without the so called humor or having to hear the most PUTRID voice in the air, that spikes up and down, like a hot knife in your eye, OVER analyze EVERYTHING, OMG Winston going to gain 5 pounds, OMG Bruce is in a golf cart, OMG Cappa is getting an individual coaching session or these EX Players that sucked telling everybody how to be a winner!
April 26th, 2019 at 10:09 am
No one drafts a LB in the first round right Joe? Joe never wrote such a thing. –Joe
Oh wait…… we did and Pittsburgh did.They even traded up.
Steeler scouting department is usually very good.
Why do you think this happened Joe?
My guess is because they are both really good players at a REALLY IMPORTANT POSITION.
April 26th, 2019 at 10:14 am
Not Licht’s pick. This had TB fingerprints all over the choice.
April 26th, 2019 at 10:15 am
Maybe somebody can sit down with Joe and do an “x” and “o” session. He needs to see that in many nickel packages, it is the MLB’s responsibility to take the RB on pass routes. So, yes, Kamara and McCaffrey would be covered by the MLB.
That was a fault of the Red Rooster, and how he hurt the Bucs defense: he couldn’t cover worth spit, and RB’s ran wild catching passes against the Bucs.
It’s kinda funny how whenever the Bucs play the Kitties a big dealio is made about the impact of Kuechly in the Middle, and how the O needs to neutralize him.
I’m not so sure the Bucs pass rush was in the toilet last season. I’ll bet if you put a clock on it you’d find the average release time of opposing QB’s was way below league average. Why? Because many sacks come from the QB needing more time for a receiver to get open. And the Bucs D last year allowed receivers to be open AT THE SNAP OF THE BALL.
So tighter coverage—and we’re told that aggressive, tighter coverage is finally coming to RayJay—means the QB will be holding the ball longer. Hold Longer=More Sacks.
But I don’t play fantasy or Madden, so I’m not that impressed with player stats, like “he’s 10 sack guy.”
A HUGE weakness in the Bucs was at MLB. I know, I know, there was a big Red Rooster Fan Club, but Alexander’s passion and chest-thumping did not match his play…and it hurt the Bucs. There is a reason the team did not make an attractive offer to the guy, and chose instead to spend big $$$ on White.
I’m just hoping the Bucs draft an “edge”, so the casual fans can suck on their binky again and just chill.
……..
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the Glory Years of the Dungy and Gruden SB years. Contrary to popular opinion, the Bucs “Tampa 2” was not soft coverage. It was “layered” coverage. The CB’s played close to the LoS to tale away the quick passes, LBs dropped into coverage to take away slants and curls, and then receivers were transferred to safeties as longer plays developed. And the team got pressures and sacks.
It was NOT individual heroics by Sapp, Rice and others that caused those sacks necessarily, although their talent was certainly important. It was also tighter coverage in the d-backfield, not jammed coverage, but tighter windows, forcing a QB to hold the ball longer…and allowing DL to get him.
We have not seen tight coverage on a Bucs team in a decade, and certainly not since the Lovie Smith/Mike Smith stinky, butter-soft coverage. I’m on the bandwagon of defensive change. And IMO that change is schematic, culture and personnel.
I don’t think the casual Bucs fan understand enough about what coming to Tampa to make a knowledgeable judgement on who and why the Bucs should draft. I do know this: as a loooong-time Bucs fan, from the day the franchise was awarded to Tom McCloskey, after the Doug Williams debacle and all those horrible years that followed, one guy came in and almost single-handedly changed the culture. That guy was Hardy Nickerson. The dude could play and was THE intense leader, an Ultimate Alpha who took no s#!t from anyone, foe of laggard teammate. All the swagger we associate with the Dungy D started with Nickerson before Dungy ever got to Tampa Bay. Nickerson was infectious.
I think Devin White will be the new Hardy Nickerson. And it is long overdue.
April 26th, 2019 at 10:18 am
Sport Says:
Brilliant.
I tip my hat to you, sir.
April 26th, 2019 at 10:43 am
So after the first four games Josh Allen will have 6 sacks and look like an All-Pro but White will have some tackles. The Bucs can’t do anything right. The best person we have had to draft players was Sam Wyche!! Sapp, Brooks, Alstott, Barber and Lynch you know the players Dungy and Gruden won with!!! Far from those days!!!
April 26th, 2019 at 10:48 am
Wow CobraBoy that was winded!! And we won all of those games with a first round pick at middle linebacker or was it a special teams player that Monte coached up? Should have taken Josh Allen!!
April 26th, 2019 at 10:50 am
Like the pick just fine. Think this guy will be a monster. But the key (biggest factor) to us winning consistently is coaching. Not one player. Coaching the scheme now, coaching the game plan when the season starts, and coaching the adjustments during the game. 11 players on Offense, 11 players on Defense, 11 Players on special teams…not even a super draft is going to allow us to have the best 11 (as compared to our opponents) all of the time. White (and the other guys we draft) can help, but I would be careful of presuming this guy is THE answer. IMO he is an upgrade in all phases of the game and in attitude (I think he will prove to be a no nonsense, straight business thumper, but time will tell. BUT again, the answer to consistently winning will come from the TEAM (better players in total, better coaching starting now). We can do it. Go Bucs!
April 26th, 2019 at 11:07 am
LJS4th Says:
Football was different 17 years ago.
My comments vis-a-vis the Dungy years were about the scheme and not players.
No there was not a 1st round pick in the middle, but that is irrevalent. Those teams were too good to garner high picks.
I agree about coaching up, and within the Dungy/Kiffin defense the role of MLB changed from the traditional thumper the Joes like to think about.
This Bucs defense has been leaderless for years with no one, until JPP came on the scene, as the heart and soul. I don’t want to hear about the mouthy Red Rooster. He was no real leader.
From a rational perspective, I’d rather have the #1 talent, supposedly a “generational” talent at #5 than the 3rd best DL at #5.
I was not an Allen fan. Yeah, he was a good college player but looked more like a one-trick pony than a top “edge” rusher.
Fact is the biggest high draft pick busts are QB and rushing DE.
White is an excellent pick, a superior player with Alpha Male leadership skills at a position of need. I’d have been reluctantly OK if Allen or Oliver had been the pick, too.
But I’m a guy who thinks the draft is just a crapshoot anyway. But in a crapshoot, White also looks like the safe play.
He’s a Buc. Embrace him.
April 26th, 2019 at 12:15 pm
Hey we all have our opinions, including my own which is that a MLB at 5 is a bad move, I hope it works out but history has shown that the majority of MLB high draft picks have not provided any impact
April 26th, 2019 at 2:35 pm
HORRIBLE PICK. Total reach. This pick assures that you’ll picking in this spot or higher again next year.
April 26th, 2019 at 4:39 pm
Everyone chill on joe. It’s his opinion just like everyone has theirs. We need DE an DT bad like real bad we also need a lot of other players