Jaelon Darden Time
November 13th, 2021
Rookie receiver/returner Jaelon Darden
Repeatedly, Bucco Bruce Arians has talked about how the future of rookie Jaelon Darden at wide receiver is extraordinarily bright because of his great hands and explosiveness.
He’s definitely not just a returner, Arians says. Bucs fans have seen little evidence, as Darden has four catches for 11 yards on five total targets. However, it’s unclear what’s happening in practice. Media can only view the first 30 minutes, which is usually stretching and a few basic drills.
If Darden is going to shine as a rookie, Sunday surely smells like a great time to flash.
Chris Godwin may not play, or at the very least the Bucs will limit snaps on his bad foot/ankle. Antonio Brown (foot/ankle) remains out along with Rob Gronkowski (back), and Scotty Miller (toe) is still on injured reserve. The Washington pass defense is soft and Darden isn’t going to draw a lot of attention.
Is this the week for Darden? It feels like whatever packages/plays the Bucs have been working on with him are ripe to be revealed. As of late September, Arians was still talking about Darden getting daily lessons from Brady.
Joe has a gut feeling Darden will get a shot at something over the middle in this game, a play he potentially could break with his quickness.
November 13th, 2021 at 12:53 pm
He’s “Miles” from Moesha. U cannot deny it
November 13th, 2021 at 12:59 pm
…and Robert Woods out for year with torn ACL, so all you dorks saying OBJ signing was a bad thing because he won’t get the ball, like always, you’re wrong.
The Panthers traded for Gilmore just to hurt the Bucs, because they knew we’d get him if he was released. That’s part of what you do in all football. I’m not at all saying the Bucs should have got him, I’m just saying the people who just dismiss stuff out of hand (like signing the ‘cancer’ AB last year) are people who are comfortable with losing, who would rather say ‘good game’ than win games.
November 13th, 2021 at 1:19 pm
Munch, when was the last time OBJ was relevant? He made an unbelievable one handed catch years ago that was replayed over and over. He was a good player for the Giants for what, two years? He has essentially stunk with the Browns. He is often injured. He has been a problem in the locker room.
OBJs best days are behind him. I agree that the Von Miller signing was better for the Rams than OBJ.
November 13th, 2021 at 1:21 pm
Munch, are you concerned about the Cam Newton signing? Cam was Superman several years ago. For about the last 3 years, he has been unable to throw a football correctly. Watch his throwing motion. His best days are far behind him.
November 13th, 2021 at 1:27 pm
@”….Is this the week for Darden?…”
————————
I like the kid, unfortunate he is no NFL material. He is too small, and too scared.
Sorry kid.
November 13th, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Rod munch the nerve of you of all people calling someone dorks about being wrong lol. You do know there are archives full of your nonsense and of course wrong wrong wrong. Quick question have you eaten your crow yet???
November 13th, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Always thought his jersey looked a bit small in that pic
November 13th, 2021 at 1:41 pm
Yes detractors. BA is lying about Darden on purpose. Talking him up publicly while secretly cursing the wasted premium 4th rd pick because the kid is showing absolutely nothing in practice….. (eye roll)
November 13th, 2021 at 1:47 pm
Lol @Pete that’s awesome
November 13th, 2021 at 1:57 pm
About Darden, it would be nice to know we got another dependable receiver, with Godwin likely gone after this year. If he’s a good returner as well, then that’s a bonus. Early returns on that look good.
November 13th, 2021 at 2:04 pm
If one more receiver goes down, we might need to call Edelman. Brady has probably already moved him into his house, stashed him in the secret bedroom where time flows backwards, and hooked him up to an IV of TB12 and virgin’s blood.
November 13th, 2021 at 2:14 pm
I completely agree with Ron mun post 100%
November 13th, 2021 at 2:16 pm
We can’t afford Gilmore, we can’t afford OBJ, pointless to pontificate on them. Hope Darden can actually do something, thus far I’ve not seen that he’s more useful than Mickens
November 13th, 2021 at 2:20 pm
Might be a good day for another Cyril Grayson moment. He should have been credited with a game winning touchdown at the Saints.
Maybe tomorrow will a new dawn of receivers for the Bucs.
November 13th, 2021 at 2:22 pm
@Irishmist: funny stuff
November 13th, 2021 at 2:30 pm
Rod Munch you clueless doofus, the Panthers traded for Gilmore because it helped their playoff aspirations which were quite alive at the time of the trade. It was somewhere between unclear to unlikely that Gilmore would have ever signed with the Bucs had he cleared waivers. Gilmore is looking for that next (and last) big contract, making the Bucs a long-shot signing. the Bucs have a backlog of young, quality vets they need to re-sign at the end of the season.
November 13th, 2021 at 3:02 pm
I doubt it.
November 13th, 2021 at 3:16 pm
Joe has a gut feeling Darden will get a shot at something over the middle in this game, a play he potentially could break with his quickness.
Exactly my prediction for this game. Darden for a 40+ yard touchdown, on a short pass over the middle, or maybe a screen.
November 13th, 2021 at 3:37 pm
Hope he has a great game. He seems like a great kid.
November 13th, 2021 at 3:50 pm
Woods tore his ACL. Will the rams go after Perriman?
November 13th, 2021 at 3:52 pm
Sit Godwin.
November 13th, 2021 at 4:18 pm
gonna get a td on punt return this game
November 13th, 2021 at 4:20 pm
^^^
Can we win without CG!!?? 🤔
November 13th, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Alvin Scissors – No, I’m not worried about Cam at all, he’s washed up and can’t throw the ball.
OBJ is not washed up. Instead of looking at box scores, so watch tape, the guy isn’t washed up and is now going to play a huge role in the Rams playoff run. Again, if the Bucs made an effort and failed, that’s fine. If Brady didn’t want him, and they eliminated him from a list of potential signings, that’s fine too.
What I can’t stand however are the dullards who last year literally said all these exact same things about AB… we don’t need him, he’s a cancer, he’s washed up. All the dopes were wrong, and just watching the tape showed you that. Brady wanted him and yet the idiots in here were saying he’d destroy the team.
The Rams could have been seriously hurt by a major injury, and now they’re not going to be. The NFL is about your opponents, as well as yourself, and that annoying loser mentality of ‘we don’t need OBJ, we got Cecil Grayson… it’s idiotic. Also, watch some film instead of looking at box scores, Mayfield is not a good QB, missed OBJ all the time, wouldn’t throw to when he was open, the issue in Cleveland wasn’t OBJ, and that’s about to be proved to the entire NFL, and the Bucs could have at least made an attempt to block that.
November 13th, 2021 at 5:45 pm
PassingThru Says:
November 13th, 2021 at 2:30 pm
Rod Munch you clueless doofus, the Panthers traded for Gilmore because it helped their playoff aspirations which were quite alive at the time of the trade.
———
Hey dummy, the Panthers were 3-1 at the time, they traded for Gilmore to help their playoff chances — by hurting the Bucs. Are you so dumb you don’t get how you help yourself AND hurt someone else at the same time? Wow, what a dope. At the time I also said those delusional idiots, who had beat what, Houston and the Jets, and a Saints team missing half of their defense to COVID, would soon be 3-6… they’re 4-5, so I was off by a game.
Anywho kiddo, if you don’t think the Panthers looked at the Bucs, with ZERO NFL starting caliber corners at the time, and you don’t think that had any decision in them giving up a draft pick instead of letting him hit FA and taking their chances, then you really are clueless.
November 13th, 2021 at 5:55 pm
Rod Munch i think the woods injury is a big deal even Beckham signed.
November 13th, 2021 at 6:02 pm
Munch, you’re an idiot. The Panthers are in the same division as the Bucs and knew that, save for an injury to Tom Brady, they weren’t likely to win the division. But with a 3-1 record, they were in an excellent position after Week 4 to fight for a wild card spot. That’s why they grabbed Gilmore.
Furthermore, you stupid idiot, the Bucs were in a bad position to grab Gilmore. If you followed Gilmore (you obviously haven’t) he’s always been a money-first player who has placed his team on notice that he wants a rich extension during his final two years under contract. He did this in Buffalo, and he did it again in New England. He wants to play for a team that will be in a position to extend him a rich, multi-year contract. The Bucs are not in that position, they have a cadre of younger players who are in line to be extended during this offseason. Thus if Gilmore was released, the Bucs were probably nowhere near the top of the list of his desired destinations.
November 13th, 2021 at 6:09 pm
Rod Munch: The premise of your post is you’re mad at the people who know about football for disagreeing with you that the Bucs should sign OBJ just to keep him from signing with another team. Sorry, I don’t see any logic in this.
Carolina traded for Gilmore in part because their rookie CB Horn broke his foot. They also knew they needed another CB to match up with the Bucs. So keeping him off the Bucs was a bonus for them, but not the main reason, IMHO.
November 13th, 2021 at 6:09 pm
@Francisco
Yes, Robert Woods is at this point a quality WR2, OBJ is more of an unknown. By default the OBJ signing becomes more important though due to the injury. The problem is that OBJ will not be on the same page as Stafford, and of course this doesn’t take into account how much he has left in the tank. It was a good signing by the Rams as they’re going “all in” at the poker table this season. He certainly won’t be a yard-for-yard, catch-for-catch equivalent for Woods as a replacement. The Woods injury ex-post just makes the OBJ signing look that much better.
November 13th, 2021 at 6:16 pm
Part of the reason Mayfield wasn’t throwing to OBJ, from what I’ve read anyway (I’m not going to watch film of the Cleveland Browns, ever), is that OBJ had the dropsies (34 passes, 17 caught, 50% might back this up) and sometimes ran the wrong routes (or routes Mayfield wasn’t expecting him to run, who knows who is to blame).
November 13th, 2021 at 6:28 pm
FYI: Cyril “Cecil” Grayson has more TD catches than OBJ this year, so far.
November 13th, 2021 at 7:17 pm
FYI: There wasn’t one Buc fan that said “We don’t need OBJ, we have Cecil Grayson”. It’s all of those other guys in front of Cyril “Cecil” Grayson. I’m on record as saying Tyler Johnson is better than OBJ at this stage of their careers.
November 13th, 2021 at 8:18 pm
Munch! Odell will get balls thrown to him but he will drop half of them
November 13th, 2021 at 9:11 pm
Overrated Buffoon Jackwagon has only caught like 40 passes since 2019, and he’s a locker room headache. He’s a has-been. The fascination with him comes from people who think big names equal wins. We will be fine without taking on that loser.
November 14th, 2021 at 8:23 am
More flaming loads of turds from the ROD MUNCHER.
November 14th, 2021 at 8:31 am
Forget about Darden, what about Grayson? He’s been with the team longer, former track star, speed check, and we saw him take the top off of the Saints D for a touchdown. I think he has a better chance of stepping up than Darden. Joe, you seem to be sleeping on the kid, wake up.
November 14th, 2021 at 12:19 pm
If anyone thinks obj going to rams is a good thing for us is very slow and likes to defend bad decisions….
It only takes a half a brain to know rams are the biggest threat to the bucs repeating…