Smart Move Retaining Carlton Davis
March 21st, 2022
Bucs CB Carlton Davis
Over at Sharp Football Analysis, run by handicapper turned NFL stat guru Warren Sharp, they are going through every free agency move with a fine-tooth comb.
And what is interesting to Joe is while Dan Pizzuta points out Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis may have had an inconsistent season last year, he was way too young and way too talented to let walk unless the Bucs planned to hit the reset button.
… it makes more sense for the Buccaneers to keep pushing to bring players back and keep the core as intact as possible. It also helps Tampa Bay that the top of the cornerback back market never really exploded.
While J.C. Jackson basically got the Byron Jones deal, Davis barely edged out the contract given to Trae Waynes in 2020. Davis had some ups and downs in coverage this season — he ranked 59th among cornerbacks in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap — but he’s had some high quality play and he won’t turn 26 years old until December. There’s not a lot of downside in Tampa Bay guaranteeing most of the three-year deal.
An outside corner duo of Davis and Jamel Dean (13th in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap) is a great place to build while the Buccaneers can now look for upgrades at slot corner and safety.
Grade: B+
When Joe was at the combine three weeks ago, Joe asked NFL types, including former NFL suits, about their take on Davis. Pretty much every guy Joe spoke with thought Davis was very close to being a top-five corner. Certainly top-10, maybe No. 6-7.
Good cornerbacks are hard to find so you don’t want to let a guy walk out the door, especially when he’s 25, unless someone offered him truly sick money.
So Joe got to thinking: Is Chris Godwin a top-five receiver? Maybe not but he’s damn close. But to use the same logic some Bucs fans used with Davis, did you know of anyone who said Godwin should be turned loose?
Another thing that jumped out in Pizzuta’s breakdown is that he seems very high on Jamel Dean.
March 21st, 2022 at 12:22 am
“ the Buccaneers can now look for upgrades at slot corner and safety”
This must have been written before the Bucs signed S Logan Ryan. They can’t be talking about Winfield jr. .
March 21st, 2022 at 1:16 am
Okay. He’s here. He wanted to be here. He’s got long arms, and he has ability. Can he deliver on the contract? He needs to start following TB12’s fitness and nutrition plan. He needs to stay healthy.
March 21st, 2022 at 1:20 am
he’s a monotone dude that does monotone things…hehe 🙂
#LowKeyCarlton
#ButHeIsAyeNumberOneCorner
March 21st, 2022 at 1:31 am
I thought Dean took a big step forward last year. Ran routes better with recievers and came up and made some nice tackles in the running game and short passing game.
I’m happy the CB market never really developed because I wouldn’t have been overly happy had they been forced to give Davis closer to $18-20 million.
As far as the Godwin question goes, I would have been alright with trading him if they weren’t going to be able to get a long term deal ironed out.
March 21st, 2022 at 1:53 am
Bryce Callahan, Chris Harris, Kyle Fuller still available.
March 21st, 2022 at 3:30 am
Kyle Fuller was a standout corner until last year? Great addition if he’s up to snuff.
March 21st, 2022 at 3:37 am
People can say whatever they want, any fan can go and watch the games themselves CD has played in. His issues are #1 health, injured so much, and #2 he is up and down, inconsistent play game in and game out, over the length of his time with the Bucs.
He is a decent player, but CD and the rest of the secondary scare no one.
Lol no Offensive Coordinator is losing any sleep game planning against the Bucs Defensive backfield.
The bottom line with C Davis and the Bucs is, they were between a rock and a hard place. It is ALL IN TIME with TB12 still on the active roster. They had to do something with C Davis, you cannot go and draft a rookie and put him at starter as a CB this season. So their best option was to sign him. Again, it was a “Between a rock and a hard place” situation. I hope C Davis is able to stay on the field, and improves, because good secondary play is needed if they plan on winning another Lombardi.
GO BUCS!!!!!
March 21st, 2022 at 5:58 am
Pizzuta … ‘An outside corner duo of Davis and Jamel Dean (13th in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap) is a great place to build while the Buccaneers can now look for upgrades at slot corner and safety.’
Keep in mind that Dean, SMB AND Edwards are ALL up for new contracts next year. All 3 will see a lot of time on the field this year I’m confident. Davis set the tone for their future contracts by hauling in $15 mil a year for 3 yrs. Good luck retaining even 2 of the 3 of them. Better start drafting their replacements now.
March 21st, 2022 at 6:03 am
August 1976 Buc … Good analysis (particularly liked the ‘between a rock and a hard place’). Carlton’s historical availability (80% over his 4 yrs) still concerns me, but signing Logan Ryan made me feel a lot better (I know we signed him to be a Safety, but his background is really as a CB so he’s GRRREAT insurance there).
March 21st, 2022 at 6:10 am
Get some healthy pass rush. Has JPP’s post surgery recovery gone well? Anyone know?
March 21st, 2022 at 7:03 am
We still need to draft another CB…high this year……we will probably lose one of the three next year….Dean, SMB, Edwards….& we will probably want to keep Nelson.
March 21st, 2022 at 7:25 am
Chronic hamstring injuries are the sign of lazy, undisciplined skill players and an equally lax and unprofessional conditioning/coaching staff. The Buccaneers top the NFL for skill players unavailable due to “soft tissue” and 100% PREVENTABLE hamstring issues over the last 3 – 4 years. Until the entire coaching and conditioning staff begin to pride themselves on keeping these guys ON the field (instead of their end of the day “Booze Culture”) and until players are held accountable for keeping their bodies ready to go full speed at practice and before games, Tampa Bay will continue seeing their best players sidelined instead of on the field when they are needed most.
I have no way to prove this but I believe that the GOAT made a contract demand that the Bucs organization make substantial changes in their conditioning and training program by hiring additional seasoned staff and by ENFORCING the necessary daily pre and post game/practice conditioning program. Use the fine or incentives club if necessary but it is clear that the Bucs cannot rely on the players themselves (sad, as this is a ‘Patriots Way’ thing) to take the proper time and energy to keep from sidelining themselves. Accordinly, coaches and training staff should be held accountable as well. I really had to “bite my tongue” from pointing this out each season but I am sick and tired of seeing our skill players limping off and being pampered for these clearly preventable injuries. In fact, I’m sure that opposing teams routinely COUNT on the Bucs not having their full complement of skill players on both sides of the ball on the field due to hamstring injuries.
We all know that Tom Brady was able to lift this talented team out of the League basement two years ago. Unfortunately, proper conditioning is one aspect he cannot control. This is a professionalism thing and the next player who pulls up with a hamstring injury had better assume ALL the responsiblity for hurting himself, as well as the rest of the team, and had better be ready to accept the consequences.
March 21st, 2022 at 8:30 am
Dean for me has all the tools he just needs to put it together stay focused.
March 21st, 2022 at 8:46 am
BelleClown, did you read that 59th? Advantage
BradyBuc. I’ll be a believer once this secondary makes two back to back 3rd down stops. I was trying to figure out why Bucs aren’t the Hardknocks team this season. It didn’t take long to figure out. Taping walk through practices is boring, the camera crew would be constantly moving, after 3pm move to local pubs for happy hour to find coaches, Friday’s they would have to set up at Brady’s house and how exciting would it be to watch hung over BA sleeping in his golf cart while BL & Toilet Bowles work on their resumes so they’re better prepared to interview during the playoffs this season. I guess it makes sense why no Hard Knocks.
March 21st, 2022 at 9:17 am
Listnfrmafar Says:
March 21st, 2022 at 8:46 am
BelleClown, did you read that 59th? Advantage
BradyBuc. I’ll be a believer once this secondary makes two back to back 3rd down stops.
^^^^^^^^
This meat whistle Listnfrmatard already forgot the Bucs won a Super Bowl with these guys.
March 21st, 2022 at 12:15 pm
Anonymous
All hot air, you know nothing, and have proven nothing. Save yourself some time and keep the novels for your Facebook friends. Davis is excellent and has played excellent.
March 21st, 2022 at 1:51 pm
@Sh!tlist = @FraidyBucs
They are the same poster, different names.
Very sad.
Both bash on BA, Bowles and the Buc’s defense.
The only support they ever get is from each other. It’s really sad.
One of them calls me a homer, even though I have criticized TB12’s play before in games. Weird.
The way they talk, you’d think that they won the Super Bowl and not the Bucs.
March 21st, 2022 at 4:23 pm
BelleClownBuc,
LOL. We’re not the same poster. Your comments are so childish.
I don’t bash on BA & Bowles (aside from that horrific Kupp coverage call/blitz scheme that lost us that comeback). So what are you babbling about?
As for your ‘lovefest’ for Davis, and me pointing out many times over the past two years on this site that he is overrated along with the rest of our terrible secondary, hat tip to poster Defense Rules for putting together these stats (that he previously posted) about Davis getting burned for TDs almost as much as SMB which is pathetic for our “best shutdown corner”…
o Davis has given up 20 TDs in 3194 def snaps (1 TD every 160 def snaps over his 4 years).
o Dean has given up 6 TDs in 1763 def snaps (1 TD every 294 def snaps over his 3 years).
o SMB has given up 13 TDs in 2029 def snaps (1 TD every 156 def snaps over his 3 years).
As I’ve also previously stated, Davis has definitely had some good games giving up low yardage to some top WRs, BUT he does gets TORCHED badly in too many games and gets beat for a lot of yardage against some WRs and as the stats show above, burned for TDs a lot overall. He is definitely NOT some sort of consistent shutdown guy. Many top corners that are risk takers and end up giving up quite a few TDs at least also have high takeaways – which Davis has very, very few. Another bad sign. If you’re going to get burned on a gamble going for an INT every so often, that’s one thing, but you better have a bunch of INTs to show for it. Davis doesn’t.
Points given up is arguably a lot more important than simply yards for a “shutdown corner” (or any defender) when it comes down to it. It also depends on what down & situation is occurs in. I’ve seen Davis get burned on many 3rd & longs.
And, yes, I’m willing to admit I was in error stating Davis had given up more total yards than the other two liabilities in the secondary. I stand corrected. I had DR’s stats confused… it was his points allowed by his man which was pathetic and almost the same as SMB’s who has been ABSOLUTELY TORCHED in most games.
Either way, when you look at ALL THE DATA and games from Davis’ play, he’s nowhere near a Top 10 corner in the NFL. As I’ve now said many, many, many times he’s more like 25th to 30th ranked in my opinion.
Oh and one more thing. As per your comments in that other thread… no one called you a liar by inferring your debate position through the usage of quotation marks. It is truly baffling to me that you somehow don’t realize that’s a common usage. It’s often used to infer one’s “train of thought” in its usage. Such as — Licht’s attitude is clearly “win now and kick the salary cap down the road.”
That doesn’t state that it’s an exact quote of Licht’s, it’s inferring his supposed point of view by using quotation marks to highlight the focus of the contexual thought. I honestly can’t believe you think that’s improper English grammar, and even worse, that it someone states someone is a liar, etc. if they didn’t actually speak/write the words stated within quotes within that context.
C’mon, man, that’s like 5th grade taught accepted writing style structure. You can continue to try and argue that point a million times (which you continue to do about stuff) but I can GUARANTEE that you are 100% wrong on that one so just let it go.
BOTTOM LINE: I’ve been saying it for over 2 years and stand by my own analysis… Davis is highly overrated and Dean & SMB are coverage (and tackling) liabilities on this team and need to be replaced.
March 21st, 2022 at 6:01 pm
@FraidySucs
Grandma taught English at Glades Central for many years and she says you’re wrong.
Grandma says when you use quotation marks after you write:
@FraidySucks said, “I love to cheat on my partner with @Listntoatard,” that you’re telling the reader that @FraidySucks stated exactly that @FraidyBucs loves to cheat on his/her partner with @Listntoatard.
She said your inference is a bunch of hog wash.
Because of that, you a lie.
And yes, I know that is not proper English.
Proper English, your word is worthless and you are a coward to the truth.
I never, nor did Ronde Barber, ever say what you stated we said.
Honor means something to people like me where I come from. To always privileged people like you @FraidySucs, it doesn’t.
@FraidySucs, I bet you that you wouldn’t say anything that you say on this site about CD to Carlton Davis’s face.
March 21st, 2022 at 6:33 pm
BelleCLOWNBuc,
Dude, I’m sorry but you’re truly an idiot. Context, structure, and mood in writing matter. The sentence wasn’t structured as “He said…” as some sort of definitive, exact quote of someone’s words.
This is exactly what I wrote:
————————-
I particularly love how he says “but…but…but… Ronde said he’s great so he has to be.”
————————-
If you, or anyone else, honestly don’t interpret the usage of a quote that starts with “but… but…but…” as some sort of sarcasm or belittled inference of someone else’s point of view and NOT someone’s exact words, then you truly are DUMB and UNEDUCATED.
And what’s with you calling me “privileged” you don’t know anything about me or my family.
I’ll have you know, we were a lower middle class family because my father was a truck driver for a rubber duck manufacturer in Tampa.
I’ll also have you know, I have serious PTSD from what happened in June 1997. My father was on his way to make a delivery down Dale Mabry Highway one summer afternoon and some guy in a large SUV ran a red light and t-boned his truck. It was a massive collision and thousands of rubber ducks went all over the road, the sides of the road, in the median, and scattered EVERYWHERE.
I showed up at the scene, my father was perfectly fine, but just seeing all those yellow rubber ducks everywhere really bothered me because I know my father was responsible for transporting them, and now here they were scattered all over the place, cars running over them and popping them, people taking photos of all the rubber ducks all over the highway thinking it was funny.
It wasn’t funny, it was tragic. It represented a hard-working man’s job that was being made a mockery of. To this day I can’t even look at a yellow rubber duck without getting upset and needing to walk away to ‘reset’ myself to try and calm down and lower my anxiety.
And to be perfectly honest… my PTSD also relates to the squeaky sound that rubber ducks make when you squeeze them. It’s a very similar sound to what a clown’s nose makes when squeezed.
That’s probably the very reason why YOU give me anxiety too.
March 21st, 2022 at 8:40 pm
@BradyBucs
I love clowns. Got an awesome black and grey of Pennywise on my back.
Bruce Arians = Super Bowl Champion Head Coach
Todd Bowles = Super Bowl Champion Defensive Coordinator
Jason Licht = Super Bowl Champion GM
Carlton Davis = Super Bowl Champion CB1
Some anonymous nobody such as you @BradyBucs on the awesome Joe Bucs Fans site thinks he knows more about football than all of those Super Bowl Champions, and disagrees with another anonymous nobody such as me who thinks those guys know what they are doing.
You won’t change my mind.
I won’t change yours.
That’s it in a nutshell.
Have a blessed day.
March 21st, 2022 at 9:58 pm
If you hadn’t figured it out, my “story” was a joke.
Can you post links to where Arians, Bowles, or Licht said they strongly believe Carlton Davis is one of the Top 5 or Top 10 corners in the league?
Because that’s MY entire argument. I said he was overrated as to what many Bucs fans think of him being “elite.” Jason Licht certainly didn’t offer him a contract making him one of the Top 5 corners in the league or anything. He only currently has a Top 10 highest contract because the salary cap and all salaries keep moving higher. When many other corners that are better than Davis sign new deals they will surpass what he was paid.
So Licht doesn’t think he’s one of the rare few top corners in the league. They signed him to a reasonable deal because there were not a lot of options out there and Davis IS a half-decent corner (like I’ve said 25th-30th ranked) so losing him completely would make our poor secondary even worse. So it made sense to bring him back under that contract due to the market and everything considered.
You act like I said Davis shouldn’t be in the NFL or something. Never said that. I’ve just been saying for two years that he’s not ELITE and as good as the very top group of corners in the league. He’s a notch or two below it and his play proves it.
March 21st, 2022 at 10:21 pm
This is from the Buc’s official website:
BUCCANEERS RE-SIGN CARLTON DAVIS III
Mar 16, 2022 at 01:03 PM
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers today re-signed cornerback Carlton Davis III.
“Since we drafted Carlton in 2018, he has developed into one of the premier cover corners in the NFL,” said General Manager Jason Licht. “As an organization, it is always a point of emphasis to keep and reward our core, homegrown players. Carlton is the most experienced player in our secondary and we believe he is entering the prime of his career so we are very happy to be able to agree on this extension.”
March 21st, 2022 at 10:22 pm
This is from the same article on the Buc’s official website.
“Carlton is a fantastic player. I’ve said for a few years that I thought he was one of the top cornerbacks in this league and he has continued to grow,” said Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians. “He’s a great tackler, excellent in man-to-man defense, a very physical corner, and has the length you want. He has everything you are looking for to be a shut-down corner. He’s also developed off the field so much leading our social justice program and all the things he’s doing for our organization. He’s a huge, huge asset to our football team.”
March 21st, 2022 at 10:29 pm
@BradyBucs
BA said that Carlton Davis was one of the top cornerbacks in the league.
Jason Licht said that Carlton Davis is a premier cover corner.
Ronde Barber stated similar things to BA’s and Licht’s assessment of Davis.
I agree with them.
You don’t.
You won’t change this anonymous nobody’s mind, and I, BA, Licht and Barber won’t change your anonymous nobody mind either. It’s all good.
March 22nd, 2022 at 5:05 am
“Has everything you are looking for to be a shut-down corner.”
*TO BE*
Arians wasn’t saying he IS a true shut-down corner yet. “Has continued to grow.” He wouldn’t need to continue to grow if he was already at an elite level. Arians is saying he has a lot of potential.
“Of the top cornerbacks” (if they truly believed that) don’t get offered only $15M/year for his post-rookie deal extension.
Licht’s comments are “PR.” What’s he going to say, “We resigned him but he really has a lot of improvement to make to be truly great.” It’s PR spin.
He ranked like 57th last season or something. Hardly a “premier cornerback.”
March 22nd, 2022 at 5:35 am
The stat you reference is just one.
All players in every sport have some statistical category that they are not good at.