Unlikely Pair Leading Bucs In Picks
October 5th, 2023
Cornerback/safety Dee Delaney.
Boy, if you laid cash on this with a prop bet, you’d be swilling top-shelf liquor on your boat surrounded by Hooters Calendar girls.
First, raise a hand if you predicted the Bucs to have two defensive backs among the league leaders in picks. Further, on a team with two high-priced veterans with rings, Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean, and a Pro Bowl safety in Antoine Winfield, raise your other hand if you had Dee Delaney and Christian Izien as the two Bucs leaders in picks.
Hell, three months ago hardly anyone ever heard of Izien unless they went to Rutgers.
But that’s where we are. Delaney and Izien not only lead the team with two picks, both are one interception shy of leading the league with three picks. Currently, Jessie Bates, DaRon Bland and Jordan Whitehead top the NFL in interceptions with three.
This is extraordinary that a nickel corner and a backup corner/safety have so many picks. If you have good depth, that means your talent at a position is strong.
Joe felt through the spring and summer months that the strength of the Bucs defense would be interior linebacker and the secondary. So far, Delaney and Izien are proving Joe correct.
October 5th, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Too bad we let Whitehead get away. That dude is a fierce tackler and has a nose for the ball. I wathched him play in a couple of nationally televised games this year and he was all over the field.
October 5th, 2023 at 3:45 pm
McCollum is starting to look like the real deal. Amazing these guys have 3 picks. Izien has been stellar…..just behind AW in being all over the field!
October 5th, 2023 at 3:46 pm
Hoping Dean and Davis can get healthy and start making more impact plays.
Glad that we have some lesser known dudes getting the job done.
Go Bucs!
October 5th, 2023 at 3:52 pm
They are both very good players so makes some sense but Davis and Dean as the starting corner duo got to pick it up and get a few themselves!
October 5th, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Bob I wish whitehead didn’t get away either. Forget the ints dude thumps people like the old days of football.
October 5th, 2023 at 4:06 pm
Yeah Whitehead is a beast.
Would have been nice to keep him and not because of how he’s flashed in NY.
He was always a dawg here.
October 5th, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Christian Izien has been outstanding hes been all over the place. Amazing to watch.
October 5th, 2023 at 4:25 pm
Joe—I did lay the cash down on several prop bets on the Bucs secondary. I now have an 80 ft yacht and a centerfold in every port. On Sundays, these scantly clad beauties come aboard to watch Bucs games, undressed to the nines.
Ah, the joy of prop bets!
Note: There might be smidge of hyperbole within the above statement. In all honesty, the yacht is only 68 feet long.
Hey … It’s a slow week …
October 5th, 2023 at 4:31 pm
McCollum should start along side Davis and Dee has earned some playing time at safety with his two picks.
October 5th, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Jordan Whitehead, eh….we let him walk
October 5th, 2023 at 4:54 pm
This will mean nothing to anyone but myself but I have to say it just close the door and move on. When I lived in Maine I was a fan of the Boston Patriots followed the dirty birds because I felt compelled to do so, and adopted this new Florida team called the Buccaneers. I’ve since moved to Florida near Tampa and moved on from Boston and Atlanta. I can’t explain my fascination with the Bucs nor do I understand it. After almost half a century watching the circus here, it feels so rewarding to see the Bucs in their present state. GO BUCS ! GO Jason Licht !
October 5th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Would love to see Delaney get more time at safety. He seems to cover a lot of ground and has some serious ups.
October 5th, 2023 at 5:05 pm
How cab you not get fired up and root for these guys……undrafted…..stepping up and performing at a high level.
October 5th, 2023 at 5:08 pm
The fumble Whitehead caused on Aaron Jones in that playoff game will always be one of my favorite hits. Reminded me of the John Lynch days. Boy that guy would crush people.
Now, guys get injured trying to hit like that. Even Whitehead injured his shoulder.
Winfield was the clear better safety though and thats NFL football.
It does suck that the window is so short in the NFL.
Keep drafting elite Jason Licht.
This team could finally be good every year if he does.
October 5th, 2023 at 5:19 pm
ADD 2 MORE
The Bucs rank #2 in takeaways. Wow! Besides the aforementioned INTS, Winfield has 2 force fumbles. That’s 6 takeaways by our DBs … which ranks 8th in the NFL for total takeaways.
BUCS HAVE THE DEADLIEST DBs in the LEAGUE!
October 5th, 2023 at 5:48 pm
If you have good depth, that means your talent at a position is strong.
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It could also mean that they were improperly evaluated too, but I’m happy it’s going well for us in the defensive backfield.
October 5th, 2023 at 6:14 pm
Hey, Joe.
Here’s a fun article idea …
Q1 Awards
Offensive Player
Defensive Player
Rookie
Most Improved
MVP
Mine: Wirfs (no Baker w/o him), Winfield (easy to answer), Izien (medium), Zyon (super hard), Evans (we all know who you’ll say but I won’t spoil it)
October 5th, 2023 at 6:44 pm
Andrew Fish Says:
October 5th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Would love to see Delaney get more time at safety. He seems to cover a lot of ground and has some serious ups.
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He does look much better at safety vs. corner, I agree.
October 5th, 2023 at 6:45 pm
I’m amazed at the backups. When they’re in I am not too concerned.
October 5th, 2023 at 6:50 pm
The switch to primarily playing zone is big for Dee Delaney. He’s super smart, seems to be in almost the right place, but in man to man, he’s just too slow. Zone helps in that situation.
October 5th, 2023 at 8:03 pm
Keep up the heavy play action and our new QB will have a field day!
October 5th, 2023 at 8:45 pm
JUST WONDERFUL!
October 5th, 2023 at 9:03 pm
🙂 Joe is mighty jealous.
October 5th, 2023 at 9:18 pm
Back in April, the day after the draft, I posted here (and other places), that Izien would make the team and play (as well as Tucker, Rakim Jarrett, and Merriwether) but I said specifically that Tucker and Izien would carve out roles this season.
October 6th, 2023 at 4:52 am
You nailed it Joe!
I had high hopes for Izien during camp but that was largely due to your reports.
Depth all over the team was a huge concern for me this year. Still is really. He has stepped up big time.
Delaney had underwhelmed and apparently he has finally benifited from some good coaching here in Tampa. He looks improved from what I saw of him last season.
Go Bucs!
October 6th, 2023 at 8:59 am
Dee “Do it all” Delaney dude even has a pick each at corner and safety