New Level, New Opportunity
November 8th, 2020
How good is Carlton Davis?
A couple of big names weighed in last week and raised the bar for the Bucs’ third-year cornerback.
During one of his many media chats, Bucco Bruce Arians stopped referring to Davis as a top-10 corner and said he’s now playing at an All-Pro level. And former Bucs QB Chris Simms was adamant, barking at his NBC podcast audience that Davis is one of the very best few cornerbacks in the NFL and they need to take notice.
Well, Joe’s not quite sure how/where to rank Davis. His strong play is a newer phenomenon and many tests lie ahead for the 23-year-old. One high-pressure exam comes tonight as Saints stud receiver Michael Thomas returns after missing the last six games.
What an opportunity for Davis to show the nation on Sunday Night Football that he is elite at his craft. And imagine if the Bucs have a lead and the Saints are forced to throw, a situation Joe certainly is hoping transpires.
Joe’s pulling for Davis to keep building on his resume and his stunning four-interception total this season. It would be a fun to have a true, established lockdown corner on the roster again.
November 8th, 2020 at 10:05 am
Pro bowl this year!!! Lets get out and vote and get him in there!!
November 8th, 2020 at 10:23 am
I hope to watch him get INT for a score off Brees tonight.
November 8th, 2020 at 10:28 am
Bruce Arians says whatever he says for a reason. Usually to motivate his players. All good coaches do. If he says he’s great, it’s because Arians thinks Davis responds positively to that. Love Bruce, but I don’t and can’t believe much he says.
Sims has no horse in this race. Only to get clicks.
I believe what I see, and that’s a young corner playing at a pretty high level, against the best receiver the other team has, week in and week out.
How the hell did Jason Licht take MJ Stewart ahead of this guy? Is he even still in the league, at 24 years old?
November 8th, 2020 at 10:38 am
In a nod to Keyshawn when he called Tony Williams of the Bengals a “fake @ss John Randle”, I guess Davis shutting down fake @ss Chris Carter (DeAndre Hopkins) was no fluke. It’s so nice to have more than a couple of actually good players on defense again.
November 8th, 2020 at 10:44 am
What’s sad is that your recent comments are malicious in nature against joe. Why? If you don’t like what’s here and don’t understand that Nfl and team realities change weekly, then why would you continue to come here? Everyone has different evaluations. Some people even thought Murphy-Bunting was the Bucs’ best corner last season. It’s what makes being a fan great, yet you’ve spent about a month straight ripping Joe. It’s enough.–joe
November 8th, 2020 at 10:47 am
Shutting down Thomas under the bright lights would be huge for Davis’ national exposure…and future piggy bank.
November 8th, 2020 at 10:53 am
I think Davis is a big part of the identity of this defense, and hope the team retains him long term
November 8th, 2020 at 11:02 am
Ok joe I have to disagree just a little bit. MT is a beast but he’s coming back from injury hasn’t played in how many games or practices so he’s got to have maybe a tiny bit of rust on him so i think Davis has the upper hand in this match up which will still be a good one. Even a rusty MT will be better than most other WR lol let’s go Bucs should be a good game tonight
November 8th, 2020 at 11:04 am
Bucszilla my cousin and I always say that to each other. You a fake a$$ John Randal hahaha sorry brad ima get you killed. Sooo good
November 8th, 2020 at 11:17 am
@AwshBucs
LOL
@#1bucfan
Keyshawn was a good player for us and definitely made me laugh with his antics. I miss all of those big personalities that we used to have, but at least we are playing well again. 😜
November 8th, 2020 at 11:35 am
I could make a case that Carlton Davis is our MVP. Tom Brady gets the honor of course but Davis is the next most important Buc IMO. Yall talking Pro Bowl?…..You better let me know who beats him out for All-Pro.
GO BUCS!!
November 8th, 2020 at 11:36 am
First Bucs shutdown corner??
November 8th, 2020 at 11:49 am
Wasn’t one of the reasons Thomas hasn’t played lately is he po’ed Payton? Didn’t he wack another player during practice? He’s going to be rusty if he’s missed 6 games. Hope Bucs secondary has their yuge coming-out game tonight. Weather may be iffy.
November 8th, 2020 at 12:03 pm
Davis doesn’t spend his time looking into the backfield when he should be watching his receiver. That’s Dean’s problem. It’s obvious he has worked on his craft and learning thru game time experience. I don’t think the other guys work as hard or learn as much that’s why they get burned so regularly. He and Winfield are our two best .
November 8th, 2020 at 12:05 pm
Davis is playing fairly well..but let’s not get carried away. Winfield is a bright spot, nut the secondary as a whole has quite a way to go before they’re scaring anybody. Brees tonight and Mahomes in the near future…let’s not crown anybody just yet.
The Giants weren’t a cupcake either if you know what I mean.
November 8th, 2020 at 12:08 pm
Awshbucs, go start your own blog, nerd.
November 8th, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Let’s just hope we are ready for THIS Prime Time game.
November 8th, 2020 at 12:47 pm
Really thought Dean would be the guy to turn it up the season but presently surprised that Davis is improving his game. Definitely a top 10 CB, if not top 5.
As for Jimmy Dean and SMall Buncakes (SMB), they need to make an improvement over the last game. Both were an embarrassment and took a big downturn.
Saints are going to run short slant routes on us, just like the Giants. Hopefully Bowles has a game plan to stop the Saints.
November 8th, 2020 at 1:03 pm
David,
Not so fast on your Dean analysis!
Dean is supposed to look into the backfield in zone coverage. That’s one of main advantages of zone coverage, playing the ball not the man. Dean has been beat when he looked at the reciever when he shouldn’t.
November 8th, 2020 at 1:05 pm
Bowles needs to take a page from how the Dolphins did it last week and basically the best way to do it and that’s too have the lbs to step out into those obvious lanes after the snap.
November 8th, 2020 at 1:11 pm
D1 I understand that but he looks too much trying to jump the route and then the guy runs right by him. That’s the problem I’m talking about. It was brought up in the last game and had been going on all year.
November 8th, 2020 at 1:33 pm
Alabama,
Part of why the secondary looked bad was missed assignments. There were a few , way too many in fact.
Another is the scheme often placed defenders in a position where they had to cover a lot of space to get to the reciever. Looked like they are chasing the receiver .Which gave the receivers too much space, particularly underneath.
This isn’t something you’d ever consider with a team that has 1 win but it’s true. The Giants have a excellent passing scheme. Talking schematically, not necessarily execution wise.
The other team we played that scheme wise created havoc for our secondary was the Bears. Similar game planning between the two opponents. Sitting on the couch watching the Bears and Giants it looked like all the issues were with the Bucs . (Getting beat, not playing fast, whatever reason was the flavor of the day Now neither team was killing the defense ) The reality is that Todd Bowles got out coached on some plays. Many more if you overlook the play result and strictly look at the offensive play call vs play call
November 8th, 2020 at 1:48 pm
Folks keep saying Davis is improved this year, but he actually did a just tad better last year in a couple aspects. He’s been VERY GOOD since he came into the league; well, except for the occasional penalty here or there. But nobody’s perfect …
If you look at his 2018 ‘Advanced Defense’ stats, Carlton started 12 of the 13 games he played in, was targeted 62 times but only allowed 39 completions (62.9%) for 492 yds (averaging only about 38 YPG allowed).
In 2019 he played in 14 games (started all of them), was targeted 117 times but only allowed 58 completions (49.6%) for 648 yds (average came down to 46 YPG allowed despite being targeted a LOT more).
And now in 2020, through half a season, he’s started all 8 games, has been targeted 58 times and allowed 31 completions (53.4%) and 295 yds (average is now down to 37 YPG allowed).
Looks like he’s been very consistent from Day 1 in terms of completions allowed, and has been bringing down his yardage per game allowed steadily. Interestingly his DADOT (Average Depth of Target) has stayed remarkably consistent at 10.7-11.6 although his average YAC Allowed is up somewhat this year over 2018 & 2019. Plus his INTs (4) are WAY UP. He’s definitely playing at an All-Pro level IMO.
November 8th, 2020 at 1:53 pm
David,
You’re right about that for sure. My apologies, I read your post to mean His focus was supposed to be on the receiver.
I will give him a little and I mean little break on jumping those couple of routes. The Giants ran that post , actually it’s an over or bend route, over and over again then they fake the inside step and go upfield. Good play design and successfully executed. Dean wasn’t disciplined , tried to make a play and got beat.
Worse part in my view was Jones didn’t pump fake when the reciever hit his break. Meaning, Dean was supposed to be watching Jones , he wasnt, and still made a break on the ball. Just sh**ti technique and lack of discipline.
Btw, He’s damn lucky that he wasn’t burnt on several other plays. Same thing with bad technique and he tends to wait too long to commit his hips upfield.
Guys blow past him which considering the cushion he has been lined up in is extraordinary. Extraordinarily awful!
November 8th, 2020 at 1:54 pm
David,
You’re right about that for sure. My apologies, I read your post to mean His focus was supposed to be on the receiver.
I will give him a little and I mean little break on jumping those couple of routes. The Giants ran that post , actually it’s an over or bend route, over and over again then they fake the inside step and go upfield. Good play design and successfully executed. Dean wasn’t disciplined , tried to make a play and got beat.
November 8th, 2020 at 1:58 pm
DR,
You’re right about Davis, He was playing at this level a year ago! I think it was missed in the quagmire of ineptitude that has hung around the team like a middle eastern New York city cab driver’s BO!
November 8th, 2020 at 2:04 pm
Defense,
Fighter pilot question.
Would you agree that in a combat theater, the pilot who fires first is usually the winner in a fight?
November 8th, 2020 at 2:35 pm
D1 … I never really thought about that to be honest. I would assume that the one who fires first does so because he has some positional advantage over his adversary, whether he be firing the gun or missiles. The Gatling gun I used to have on my aircraft fired 6000 rounds/minute, and sprayed a pretty nice pattern (not a pea-shooter IOW). So assuming that you shot while in a solid tracking position, no reason you shouldn’t hit something. Today’s missiles of course are a whole nuther story. You may never even see your adversary visually but still get a kill … or be killed.
As an aside, never been in a New York city cab. After your comment, I don’t think that’ll make my bucket list.
November 8th, 2020 at 2:58 pm
We’d have a bunch of Pro Bowlers this year if not for the Sickness killing the Pro Bowl for this season.
November 8th, 2020 at 3:01 pm
Davis has been solid. Dean and SMB look like they’re still on the “curve” for becoming solid. Mind you, intermittently, they look sharp, just not as consistent.
November 8th, 2020 at 3:04 pm
For the old-time Buc fans, a question…The comment “First Bucs shutdown corner” got me to thinking…Was Mike Washington considered a “shutdown corner” in the early days of Bucs football? He was always my favorite, because usually he had about 4 or 5 interceptions a year. I know he was big for CB standards, 6’ 2”, about 200. Was he fast, also?
November 8th, 2020 at 3:16 pm
Defense,
Lol….no need for that on anyone’s bucket list!
600 rounds in a gatling gun , I assume that goes quickly. I am sure you’ve mentioned in a previous post, but if you don’t mind, what planes did you fly?
To your response, as an instructor, would “fire first” ever be a part of the mission’s strategy?
Today the electronics and weapons systems have, I assume, only prioritized that idea into an integrated function or process of an engagement. But prior to today, pilots weren’t thinking about firing first to win. Is that close enough
November 8th, 2020 at 3:22 pm
He is awesome.
Murphy-Bunting has been picked on a little but he is developing very well also.
Dean Has been great too.
Then you have Winfield and whitehead and Edwards !
Fantastic drafting putting together the secondary over the last three years
November 8th, 2020 at 4:01 pm
D1 … Flew several, but most of my time (about 3000 hrs) was in the Phantom (Lordy that makes me feel old now). The M61 Gatling gun on that held either close to 1000 rnds (the external gun) or 500 rnds (the internal one). And yes it went fast, but it wasn’t like you held the trigger down to purposely empty it. Can’t reload in mid-air.
To your other question, WWI’s greatest ace, Baron Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron) had the best quote I ever learned: “Fighter pilots have to rove in the area allotted to them in any way they like, and when they spot an enemy they attack and shoot him down; anything else is rubbish.”
November 8th, 2020 at 4:09 pm
Joe:
Been there, done that. Week one, “can’tguardmike” got 3 receptions for 17 yards. He got hurt late in the game so thats no excuse
November 8th, 2020 at 5:06 pm
Jaybucboi
The nfl will still name pro bowl players this year. They are just not playing the game
November 8th, 2020 at 6:13 pm
i like that he has a soft spoken soothing voice 🙂
seems like he studies his craft a lot…
much improved in year three…
going to be interesting to see if he becomes one of the leagues elite corners in years 4 and 5…
could be on his way to a pro bowl this year…year 3
November 8th, 2020 at 7:11 pm
The problem with Dean is zone coverage. Hes not built for it. Even if you play zone play it more aggressively and dont play 10 to 12 yards deep.Thought that problem was fixed byt guess not