Sapp Down On McCoy’s First Day
April 30th, 2010
Standing on the set of the NFL Network studios this evening, Warren Sapp shook his head in disgust and looked to the floor of the set after five seconds of watching Gerald McCoy run through a pass-rush dummy drill at rookie minicamp today.
Shown to NFL Network viewers, the drill work was followed by a clip of McCoy telling reporters “Coach [Todd] Wash said ‘I had a good first day.’ By the time the vets get here I should be rolling.”
Sapp’s immediate reponse was one of disgust and eagerness to get hands-on with his new student. “I gotta get to Tampa. He’s stepping behind himself,” Sapp said.
At the end of the broadcast, Sapp’s cohorts on the NFL Network replayed the tape of McCoy’s drill work and playfully asked Sapp ,”What don’t you like?” Sapp responded by praising McCoy’s feet in one drill but just shook his head and didn’t comment again on the pass rush dummy drill.
Former Bucs defensive end Steve White, a JoeBucsFan.com analyst, explained what likely was eating up Sapp.
“When you clear a dummy you want to step through with your inside leg so that it’s past the dummy and you can continue on smoothly. To do this at some point you have to take a crossover step, though. When a guy leaves his foot behind that means he never does the crossover step, and so he never gets that foot past the bag, which means that he isn’t likely to get past whomever is blocking him,” White said.
Joe sincerely hopes Sapp keeps his word and parks himself in Tampa for a few days.
Sapp told the Associated Press today that his work with McCoy and Price would be in the film room, not on the field.
“I can’t get out on the field with them. I can’t do it any more, I’m too old,” the 37-year-old Sapp said by telephone from Los Angeles, where he works for NFL Network.
“But I think I have somebody who might want to sit down and watch a little tape with me. I can show you and talk to you about it. … I’m not telling you how to do it. I’m just showing you something that worked.”
Joe super sincerely hopes Todd Wash is prepared to develop McCoy, the latest next Warren Sapp.
April 30th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Any bets on how long it takes until Todd Wash is relieved of HIS duties? That is the one thing that scares me. We might have two GREAT new players…but if we don’t have a good/GREAT coach…we are back to square one.
April 30th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Hopefully Sapp was on the phone with McCoy tonight and McCoy was taking notes. If a little footwork on a certain drill is all that he saw wrong I’m happy though…..not bad for the first day of practice!
April 30th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
An individual is only as good as his/her supporting cast. It’s true of life. And it’s true of football as well. I realize that the objective today was to get through today without injury, get guys acclaimated, and get some film on tape, but one has to wonder if Wash will catch all the of the hand placements. The leverage issues. Will he teach McCoy a signature move? How to counter based on a guards initial move? Will he motivate? Tear a player down and rebuild him with the knowledge to succeed?
In fairness to Wash, he’s finally got some talent in the cupboard, which was lacking for a very long time. We have to give him that. But make no mistake, if he’s unknowledgable as a coach, it going to show up at some point in his students. The cream always rises.
Thank God Warren has shown interest in these kids. There’s no one more qualified short of Rod himself.
April 30th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Scott, I’m with you and Formerbuc.
Where is Steve White??? What the Buc is going on at 1 Buc Place?
Todd Wash Bucs Bio:
http://www.buccaneers.com/team/staffdetail.aspx?coachid=234
This guy was never on the line and has no clue how to play on the line. Raheem needs to get with it quickly and get a real D line coach ASAP. Rah/Dom, just offer it to Steve White already and let’s get this train a rolling. Todd Wash appears to be in way over his head based on past performance alone.
Steve, when they hire you, don’t forget about all us boys from the neighborhood. LOL
April 30th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Joe, your site rocks and no one else comes close anymore, and that’s the truth.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:53 am
Warren Sapp did not start his rookie year. Apparently he needed to be “coached-up”…I would love to see Sapp “coaching-up” our latest round of rookies!!
May 1st, 2010 at 6:26 am
I’ll second that BigMac.
May 1st, 2010 at 8:12 am
This could be a problem… First day out and this guy already has critics… You got Warren in the national media and Steve in the local starting in on this rookie… They mean well… But it is very appearent that the older Buc vets have a so-called ‘legacy’ to protect.
I really hope that these young guys don’t become overshadowed via the media by has been critics looking for a platform to be heard. The last thing Tampa needs are former veterans, a la the Miami Dolphin’s undefeated team, giving unsolicited criticism to the media, picking these guys apart in an attempt to protect their so-called ‘legacy’.
Why does it have to be done through the media???
May 1st, 2010 at 8:18 am
Hey Warren chill dude.
McCoy was practicing for the D-line yesterday.
When you’re talking about footwork think FOOTBALL and not dancing with the Stars!!!!
May 1st, 2010 at 8:22 am
IM GLAD THAT WARREN IS THEIR HELPING THESE 2 YOUNG GUYS. THEM LEARNIING FROM ONE THE GREAT DT THAT PLAYED IN THAT SYSTEM WILL GO A LONG WAY FOR THEM . HOPEFULLY THAT WILL TRANSLATE INTO STOPPING OTHER TEAMS AND GETTING SOME WINS
May 1st, 2010 at 8:30 am
Warren IS NOT there… He’s in the national media protecting his legacy.
May 1st, 2010 at 9:49 am
Warren is jackass….
May 1st, 2010 at 10:17 am
Warren also says each and every year how the next DT to be drafted is nothing like him. He gets offended when people compare him to rookie DTs. Ok, but why in the media? Why does he have to call these guys out in the media and clown them, an attempt to separate himself from them, not in a professinal way but in a condescending way… “there will never be anyone as great as I was!”
GTFO!
Warren needs to realize that Tampa’s defense, as good as it was, probably wasn’t as good as the Ravens for so many years… The Steelers… And the Super Bowl team’s defense wasn’t as good as the Bears or Ravens or Parcell’s Giants defenses.
Warren is trying fabricate a legacy that most NFL analysts don’t even reconize because…. they weren’t a legacy.
May 1st, 2010 at 10:52 am
Warren Sapp is probably my favorite Buc of all time. He was a driven, aggressive, PROFESSIONAL player…Anyone who would NOT spend time learning from him probably should not be in a Bucs uniform.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Sapp is who he is, but he was a master at his craft. He was also incredibly quick and light on his feet. Even at Dancing with the Stars it was impressive how nimble he still is. I think Sapp just calls it how he sees it, doesn’t sugar coat anything, and probably why he has that great job at NFL & Showtime.
I would further argue that the 02′ Defense was as good as the Ravens in their hay day. Beating the Eagles at home the way they did was remarkable. Ronde with that final dagger in Phili to begin the demolition of Veterans Stadium. All the defensive players seemed to peak together. A lot has to be said for Tomlin, Marinelli, and the rest of that staff too. Gruden was the luckiest Coach ever to inherit Monte & that defense. Rather than say Gruden won with Dungy’s team, I believe he won with Monte’s defense, but Jon was the spark that ignited the flame, and having the Raider’s playbook well if that wasn’t a gimme, what is?
May 1st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
By the way, for those commenting on Sapp’s comments, read this from the Winnipeg Free Press article:
“The thing is he’s not by himself. This kid Price can play, too,” Sapp said. The former Bucs star said he flourished, in part, because of the relationship he developed with tackles he played beside — including Brad Culpepper, Anthony McFarland and Chartric Darby.
“It wasn’t just me. They wanted to make it out to be me,” Sapp said. “I was a pretty good player, but I had some people in there who were willing to do grunt work, too. And now, (McCoy) has somebody in there who’s more than a grunt and can do some great work for him.”
Just sayin’…Warren is NOT a glory hog, he knows he had help, and says so.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
@RahDomDaBest: “And the Super Bowl team’s defense wasn’t as good as the Bears or Ravens or Parcell’s Giants defenses.” You have no freakin clue what you are talking about.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Id feel better with Rod Marinelli working with the kid.
May 1st, 2010 at 1:10 pm
ME too Eric! Me too!
May 1st, 2010 at 1:12 pm
RahDomBest is a pot stirrer with the comparsion of the Bucs D to the other Ds.
All the Ds are different , but the Bucs D was one of the best in the league for nearly ten years, so good that it changed the way D was played in the NFL. Hard for other Ds to compare on that issue. Anyone playing the “Raven 2” out there in the NFL?
May 1st, 2010 at 1:15 pm
On the coaching issue — most great players make awful coaches because the details come to easy for them or — like Sapp — that have some physical attribute that makes everything easier for the so thay have a tough time relating to another player. There are plenty of great coaches that have never played a meaningful down of football.
As difficult as Sapp can be, he is right that none of the DTs coming out are like him, in at least one respect. Sapp was much faster than the current DTs. That’s not to say they are not better in other ways, but give Sapp his due. One of the fastest to play the position.
May 1st, 2010 at 2:34 pm
It was one friggin practice! I wasnt expecting Mccoy to tear anything up initially b/c his numbers and disruptions werent that impressive in the big 12,
You have to give him at least this entirer year just to get acclimated 0 as someone pointed out we all had our doubts about Sapp until about 1/2 way into his second season where he bagan to splash,