Raheem’s Not “Nervous”
July 30th, 2010
Man, Joe is fired up for training camp.
And Joe is fired up to have Raheem The Dream back in front of the microphone. What a treasure he is, so darn entertaining. (Joe will have more gems from Raheem The Dream’s afternoon news conference later.)
First off, Raheem The Dream took a question from a reporter who asked about the prospect of Demar Dotson or James Lee as his starting left tackle, “Are you nervous at all?”
Here’s Raheem The Dream’s unedited response:
“Nervous is not a word that I would normally use to describe anything that I do. But, you know, you look at that side, no matter what, no matter who’s over there, that’s the hot corner, that’s third base, that’s a great place to look if you’re a defensive coach looking at your offense. Your quarterback’s blind side. How well he’s protected. You know, how great those cutoff blocks are. How big that man is out there. He’s probably the premier rusher on that football team. That’s always a nice place to start to see the initial get off. That’s always a nice place to start when you’re reporting a story. That’s always a nice place to start usually when you’re trying to figure out how well the offense is going to do that day. So I’ll be watching that side. Just like normal. I’ll have my eye over there. We have got a brand new player there that played there for the whole OTA days. The beauty of it is he got all the reps. The beauty of it it won’t be a lack of knowledge. It won’t be a lack of experience in practice. And we look forward to watching him grow and do all that stuff.”
For those who need a translation (or a bottle of aspirin), the head coach said left tackle is extraordinarily critical and he’s extremely well aware that Dotson and Lee have no experience.
July 30th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
I’m glad that you interpreted that statement Joe. But did he ever answer the question?
July 30th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
JOE!!!
via twitter jason la canfora comments than gerald mccoy is traveling to tampa, contract would be near, and a long term deal with donald penn
July 30th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Joe thanks for that translation.
Hey maybe someone should come up with a Raheem translation app for their i-phones
July 30th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
NFL.com Penn is signing in the morning.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
@tampa2
i’m gonna go check nfl.com. hopefully you’re not kidding!!
July 30th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
What did he say?
July 30th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d819681a7/article/buccaneers-agree-to-terms-of-extension-with-veteran-ot-penn?module=HP_headlines
HELL YEAH!!!!
NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora reports that that the Bucs and Penn have agreed on the parameters of a long term contract extension.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Bucs signed LT Donald Penn to a multi-year contract.
Financials and length haven’t been disclosed. The Bucs really caved here, but it’s not like they had an alternative with only converted basketball player Demar Dotson behind Penn on the depth chart. Though Penn didn’t grade out as one of the NFL’s better tackles last year, the athletic 27-year-old allowed just five sacks and has big upside. He’ll need to cut down on the penalties after committing 11 last season to rank eighth in the league.
Source: Jason La Canfora on Twitter
July 30th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
So Does that mean Donald will be going off his diet now?
July 30th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Yeah but Joe’s expert said he sucks!
🙂
July 30th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Dom blinked?!?! Wow! Lmao! Here’s his life for the next few months…
Dom’s Secretary: Mr. Dominik? Barrett Ruud’s agent on the phone for you…
Dom: Again? Tell him I’m not in.
DS: Line 2, Mr. Talib’s agent wants to speak with you about an extension. Said something about “Revis-type money.”
Dom: Send him to voicemail!
DS: Mr. Jackson’s agent. Apparently he wants you to show him the money?
July 30th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Having no experience at left tackle is like having wide receivers with no experience or a head coach with no experience, or a GM with no experience.
Uh-oh Buc fans, we are in trouble
July 30th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
So, this would mean that Penn is probably going to get a “signing bonus” (guaranteed money) which will probably be prorated over several years. It also means that his salary this year will be….. wait for it….. wait for it…. yup, about 3.068 million dollars. That’s right, the tender amount. It’s an extension, much like Ferguson’s deal. He’ll play for his tender amount this year (with a nice bonus in his pocket as well), there are surely clauses stating things like “the start of the next NFL season” to avoid lockout payment, and incentives for keeping withing specified weight.
Now the O-line has NO excuses. They know what their playing weight should be for the season (no changing after week 1). They are playing a system they performed well in before. All 5 starters are returning from last year, and the weakest point (Zuttah) is going to get competition for his spot. If these guys can’t come together and do better than last year, it will be a huge disappointment.
With the group together for training camp and preseason, this should translate to better rushing from our “average at best” running backs, and fewer turnovers from our “young, franchise” QB.
If the D can continue to improve upon the last 6 games last year, and limit opponents to fewer than 17 points (preferably fewer than 14), then we have a real shot at 8-8 or better.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
The entire paragraph can be summarized to say:
“The Left tackle position is important and I will be paying attention to it no matter who is playing”
I love this guy!
July 30th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
At least the Franchise won’t get his head handed to him on every play now!
July 30th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
By the way, did anyone ever figure out if Raheem ever answered the reporters question or not? Seems as though he just rambled until he forgot the question. Dominick must have agreed to sign Penn right then!
July 30th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
@what Lucky said : “Joe thanks for that translation.
Hey maybe someone should come up with a Raheem translation app for their i-phones”
That is some FUNNY sh1l man!
I really enjoyed that one 🙂
July 30th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Raheem said this? “It won’t be a lack of experience in practice. And we look forward to watching him grow and do all that stuff.”
The guy doesn’t have a lack of experience in practice??? LMAO, how comforting that statement was.
Then he said blah blah and topped it off, ACTUALLY topped it off with “and all that stuff”!
When are they gonna fire this guy already?
Now does everyone understand why I have ZeroExpectations from this staff?
July 31st, 2010 at 3:02 am
Capt Tim pretty much called this the other day. Props for sure. GMC is the one I want to see in camp. Penn must have done a good job in conditioning this off season. Now let’s stay healthy. Cowgirls just loss Dez for 6 weeks. I think BamBam most likely nailed the Contract, just like D’Brick’s. It keeps Penn happy with bonus bump, but protects the Bucs until the new agreement is in place. I think Dominick had planned this the whole time, and was forcing Penn to get in top shape. Penn most likely knew it and the rest us looked like fools trying to predict it one way or the other. So the team is pretty much whole. Hope Price’s hammy is better, and Myron Lewis is who I want to see as well as EJ Biggers, whom I think will push Mack down or out. Top 10 defense
I have HIGH EXPECTATIONS for this team. Oh yea, lots of talent.