Truth Or Hype?
August 20th, 2021
Antonio Brown
When the big-name national media types come to One Buc Palace, they’re typically offered a little face time with an important Bucs figure or two, kind of a thank you for making the trip.
Albert Breer is in that category. The SI.com columnist with half a million Twitter followers was at One Buc this week and shared insight he picked at camp via Twitter earlier today.
Joe’s pasted them all below.
Is someone blowing smoke up Breer’s butt? Or is it all or some of it true?
Joe will let readers make up their own minds.
Joe was a little intrigued by Breer’s nugget No. 5. No mention of returner or the bottom of the wide receivers depth chart. Also, No. 4 was a little weak; Breer phrased that like Ross Cockrell wasn’t here playing a lot of important snaps last season.
For the record, Bucco Bruce Arians told WDAE Radio yesterday that about a dozen jobs are still up for grabs.
š§µ 5 from @Buccaneers š§µ
1) Joe Tryon's gonna have a role. His first 2 steps are as explosive as anyone's on the team, he can drop, and has adapted FAST after not playing in '20. Star potential.
2) WR Antonio Brown has been rollingāfaster, more explosive than last year.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 20, 2021
3) One area where staff expects improvementāthe young secondary taking another step. Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Antoine Winfield ALL ascending.
4) Camp surprise/darkhorse: Veteran CB Ross Cockrell. Has had 7 or 8 picks in practice, should give Bucs depth.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 20, 2021
5) At every camp, I ask around on what positions need to be sorted out/clarified. With Bucs, it's 4th OT, 6th DL, 5th CB … So … yeah, š¾ problems. And Brady ain't lying when he says they were just hitting their stride at the end of '20. This group may have another gear in it.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 20, 2021
August 20th, 2021 at 11:29 am
Bucs never do good when they got big heads. Hopefully Brady can change that.
August 20th, 2021 at 11:31 am
Hell yeah it’s true. I’m surprised he even knows who Ross Cockrell is let alone he knows he’s been shining in camp. Thank God someone doesn’t just watch highlights and actually digs deep.
August 20th, 2021 at 11:37 am
And Brady ain’t lying when he says they were just hitting their stride at the end of ’20. This group may have another gear in it.
I believe it. The pieces are all there, consistent “Championship” coaching, some highly motivated and inspirational Veteran leaders on this team.
Truly believe they can repeat.
August 20th, 2021 at 11:44 am
Is there anyone who can name a better #3 WR than AB?
And, Ross Cockrell showed some stuff last year….glad to have him.
I think we may have gotten a gem of a steal with Joe Tryon…
& Tyler Johnson (Mr. Cheeseburger & Fries with Key Lime Pie) will shine this year.
August 20th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Well regardless if his butt is smoking or not, I like what he’s peddling. He’s just saying what everyone on this site has been preaching since Licht did his magic and kept the band together. By just about every metric, this team should be better than it was last year when it won the SB.
August 20th, 2021 at 1:08 pm
Still not buying the SECONDARY HYPE outside of Winfield.
Davis/SMB/Dean still have a lot of improvement to show on the field over last season to prove they’ve gotten better. I’ll believe it when I see it as they were the reason we lost many of the games we lost last season.
We won the Super Bowl and went on one helluva run at the right time to win it all, but anyone that takes a deep, honest look at that playoff will find plenty of reason for concern…
1. WFT torched our secondary for 300+ yards with the XFL QB.
2. The Saints game was a lot closer than people like to realize. It was a one score game for almost the entire game. If we get one less turnover (like one of the strip fumbles or hit fumbles) we very well may lose that game.
3. The Packers O-Line wasn’t fully healthy. Most teams deal with injuries of some sort throughout the season, but you can’t discount the fact they their O-Line was banged up and not the same as they were during the season when they were the #1 Offense. Yet that game still got pretty close, and if the Bucs don’t perfectly execute that Scotty play the outcome might have been different, especially after Davis gets burned on a 50-yard TD and the secondary had some other struggles in that game.
4. The Chiefs were without both starting tackles. Regardless of what anyone says, that would greatly affect any team. We certainly got no where near the same pass rush pressure in our regular season game with them, and that extra time for Mahomes had him carving up our weak secondary for most of the game until we tried staging a comeback.
We got hot at the right time, had some things go our way, and fully earned the Super Bowl title. BUT with that being said, any ‘honest’ football fan that looks DEEP into our team’s performances and how certain games went, knows that our secondary has to improve. Our pass rush has to be more consistent as well. There was a multi-game stretch where JPP & Shaq didn’t do much at all. We lost many of those games.
August 20th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
Brady upright is the only thing that can stop us from reaching the playoffs. I think Bortlas can step in for a few games. Heck with our talent him could get us a wildcard as the starter. That said Brady is the key to another SB. Bortles could not take us thru the whole playoffs and the SB.
August 20th, 2021 at 1:24 pm
Brady, you can only play the teams in front of you. We did. And we won. Listen, no one is arguing with the secondary is the strength of this defense. Out of all three levels it’s clearly number three. But I’m not sure why you’re riding this hobby horse so hard. I mean we’ll know soon enough won’t we? Enjoy being Super bowl champs and we’ll see what happens.
August 20th, 2021 at 1:26 pm
..and to remember all the moaning and groaning when we first released Winston and brought in Brady.
The best move of Jason Licht career!
August 20th, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Cockrell looked smart but slow to me last year. He has a sharp mind and he reads the game very well but he’s a lower tier athlete.
I would have upgraded over him this off season.
Carlton Davis Jamel Dean and Murphy Bunting need a very strong 4th CB to push them.
August 20th, 2021 at 1:45 pm
Bradybucs-
Your analysis needs some tweaking-
True, Heinicke had the game of his career, but White and Vea were both out and Vaughn had a critical fumble in 3rd quarter that resulted in WFT td. In addition, Evans and Davis had injuries yet both played- Davis was one of leading tacklers that game.
Brady had 3 interceptions that let Packers back in a game that couldāve easily been a blowout without the turnovers.
Improvement needed? Sure, but the secondary is damn good and Davis gets paid next yearā¦
August 20th, 2021 at 2:06 pm
Breer disrespected mike edwards and jordan whitehead
those two both made critical plays in the NFC championship
we all know what whitehead did but edwards pass defensed Rodgers on that 3rd down play that led to the field goal
Bucs never forget
August 20th, 2021 at 2:12 pm
Alanbucsfan,
There’s no major evidence that “the secondary is damn good.” NONE. That’s my point. They hype doesn’t match their on-field performance.
Steven007, I keep riding this secondary issue hard because I have major concerns about them and get tired of reading about the “Gravediggers” hype and how many think they’re suddenly one of the top secondaries in the NFL. They’re not. They’re probably lower, bottom half.
I still strongly believe that none of Dean, SMB, or Davis are “elite” cover guys. Brent Grimes was elite, even in the late stage of his career when he played for us. You could just tell he was an amazing cover guy. The three guys we have don’t have ANY consistency and have been often burned out of position, taking bad angles, and making other mistakes.
I just don’t get all the hype for our secondary outside of Winfield and ‘some’ of the potential that Edwards & Whitehead have shown.
OH and believe me… I’ve definitely ENJOYED (and am still enjoying) that we’re Super Bowl Champions. I was at the game in San Diego in 2003 when we won our first Lombardi and cried liked a baby the moment Brooks made that late interception to ice the game. This 2nd title felt different (the first will always be unique) but it has been AWESOME.
With that being said, I want to see this team DOMINATE and go back-to-back. I just have this fear that SMB/Dean/Davis are going to keep us from dominating; I hope I’m wrong and they’ve truly made the leap to become better. But I’ll believe it when I see it. But who knows.. maybe our Offense will be so ridiculous that we’ll score so many points our Defense won’t matter as much.
August 20th, 2021 at 2:26 pm
I know you Joe’s like this Breer guy and I do enjoy his columns from time to time, but he comes way out of left field sometimes. He’s recently written about the top free agents for 2022 and has receiver Courtland freaking Sutton ranked number 5 ahead of folks like Godwin and Stephen Gilmore. I gotta question his decision making when he has a one year wonder ranked ahead of obviously better, established players.
August 20th, 2021 at 2:31 pm
Repeating a SB is as hard as anything to do in sports – but yeah, this is as good a returning team as youāll ever see. They need to forget crap about records and undefeated and āchampions in augustā though – lots of football to be played first.
August 20th, 2021 at 2:50 pm
BradyBucs-
Hereās the evidence-
Last 8 games last year:
Defense gave up 18 points/ game, 264 yards passing/game, 6 secondary interceptions, 5 secondary forced fumbles
IMO thatās damn good!
August 20th, 2021 at 3:48 pm
All these media cooters ragging on AB for punching up that sucker need to back off.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:05 pm
Talk about strange headlines in the world of National Sports Media? As I understood it, AB went to the locker room for a while, and came back in for 7 on 7’s some time later, I think I heard. Now if that is the truth, it is hardly being “kicked out” or “ejected” from a practice.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:10 pm
Brady…I’ll take the evaluation of Bowles when it comes to this secondary.
Do you really think we would have set idly by during the offseason, if he didn’t see what he thought he needed to have, and believed that these D backs were for real? We drafted how many in early rounds? We chased how many FA’s?
They are young. And growing. But if we can play with the energy we showed during the playoffs last year, I see no reason why we can’t jump off from there and continue improving.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:11 pm
All of these good points on here. Has the Bucs secondary arrived? Are they as good as the last 8 games or will they revert to playing like the first 8 games last year? Schrƶdingerās cat anyone?
August 20th, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Mod… if my post ever comes out of moderation. I heard AB returned to before the end of practice, after the incident. That would mean he wasn’t ejected or kicked out. That is what the national headlines say. But I guess everything he does makes good headlines, regardless of how exact the story is.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:34 pm
BradyBucs
SMB, Mike Edwards, Cockrell have definitely stepped up their game through the playoffs and OTAs. I do think Carlton Davis is a good CB but is also overrated. Jamel has to prove himself a solid number two CB. I wanted to draft a CB in the second round.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:39 pm
HYPE, so far……
August 20th, 2021 at 4:41 pm
Brady, I appreciate your enthusiasm. And to be honest I’m not fond of the gravediggers moniker either. Way way too early for that kind of nickname. That said, I am quite optimistic about the secondary based on the latter half of the season and of course the playoffs and Super bowl. We shall see soon enough.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:47 pm
Joe has been pretty clear about this in both his stories and on Twitter.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:48 pm
Was watching some mic’ed up with Tryon. Nice hustle on plays where they were going away from him on handoffs and such. Can’t wait to see what happens when they come his direction because Suh is over on the other side, and Vea up the middle shutting down plays.
August 20th, 2021 at 4:51 pm
Didn’t say you didn’t say it Joe…but saw it on CBS sports and some other places. And thought… Please guys…stop grinding the ax.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:02 pm
After all Joe…just because I usually go here first, doesn’t mean I don’t look elsewhere to pick up on whatever scraps you leave lying around. LOL.
Even you Joe, may still take a look from time to time to see what the Daily Eastern News is up to, don’t you?
August 20th, 2021 at 5:02 pm
I need to see our cornerbacks actually lock guys down for more than 3 seconds. I don’t believe that Carlton Davis or Jamel Dean are the kind of ball hawking corners that teams are scared to throw at. SMB has the traits to be that kind of player, just need to see the consistency.
So long as the pass rush continues to get home our corners will be fine, but at some point they’re going to have to turn some of these INT’s into TD’s for me to be really impressed.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:03 pm
….and AB should have a good season and subsequently Brady should have a monster year.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:04 pm
Alanbucsfan, no doubt we played better in the last 8 games. But even in those last 8 games the corners still had some terrible plays. It only seemed like they played much different when Bowles had them pressing more.
Steven007, 100%. I’m hoping the improved play during the playoff run is more of what we see this season then the terrible inconsistency the corners and nickels showed during most of the season. We’ll soon find out.
mark2001 – you raise an EXCELLENT point and it’s one I’ve thought about which actually keeps me from full-blown panic over our secondary at this point… surely Bowles/Arians/Licht know what they have in the secondary and to not use a high draft pick on a corner or go get one in FA seems to imply they believe we don’t need to. Although and argument could also be made we didn’t really have the spare cash for a great FA corner AND we’ve also spent so many high picks on Dean/SMB/Davis that they’re hoping they continue their development rather than for us to keep drafting corners with high picks. We’ll find out soon enough!
August 20th, 2021 at 5:16 pm
Honestly, it’s been a long, long time. Do get football scores texts.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:17 pm
Yeah, it’s all over including TMZ.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:17 pm
@Gotbucs. No cornerback locks a receiver down for more than 3 seconds
August 20th, 2021 at 5:26 pm
I think I preferred the underdog/unknown role of 2020.:) Ya gotta love it when the going in good I suppose. More than perhaps anyone, itās hard to imagine what Jason Licht must be thinking/feeling these days. From firing The Dirk and wondering if he had hit the end of the line until present day.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:34 pm
For National reporting this is a great summary. Not very granular but hits the high points well without a bunch of nonsense opinion added.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:44 pm
Honestly, itās been a long, long time. Do get football scores texts.
Maybe when you get as old as Ira and it is your college graduation 50th anniversary, and time to revisit your old haunts, you will check it out again.
August 20th, 2021 at 5:46 pm
Lets face it…..after the fight, AB went to do an ASJ……changed uniforms and came back to practice….
The media doesn’t like to talk about ASJs…….
August 20th, 2021 at 6:39 pm
The DB’s will be as successful as the pass rush lets them.
August 20th, 2021 at 6:49 pm
To knit pick about the secondary, is not a bad problem to have.
August 20th, 2021 at 7:00 pm
BradyBucs what you are missing here is the ability the secondary has to flip a game with big turnovers. Its basically how we are set up to stop the run, make the offense one dimensional and then take advangtage with game changing turnovers……..And yeah, that means we attack aggressively and can give up some big plays in turn.
Youre beating your drum too early hera because Sean Bunting(my fav. player) was one of our MVPs in the playoffs……..And you said you dont see potential in Davis(or just forgot to metion him)? You shoulda seen that 2 years ago when he was shutting down #1 recievers……And did the same all last year.
Then you look at the age of these players and none have hit their peak yet. Theres no reason for concern. These guys still gonna be changing games like they done for the past 2 seasons, and like they did on our SB run.
GO BUCS!!!!
August 20th, 2021 at 7:12 pm
I’m enthusiastic, with these caveats.
1brady will drop off one day. .i don’t know any more than anyone else when that is.
2 injuries are a risk. For every team.
3. Other teams upgraded too. Not the saints, but kc, Buffalo, maybe even green bay.
Point is you have to play the games. I like our chances though. Just not betting the house yet, waiting till December early
August 20th, 2021 at 9:39 pm
I have a feeling Antonio Brown is going to be ridiculously good this year.
August 21st, 2021 at 1:38 pm
In the past, the SB champ usually sucked the next season. So, I donāt get all the bellyaching on here. The Bucs won the first SB played in their home stadium. When will that feat get repeated? I just want them to play good hard football. Be nice to win the NFC South, too. I am sick and tired of the Aints.