A Place For Kerrigan, Locke?
January 30th, 2011
Joe really tried not to get all worked up watching the Senior Bowl yesterday, but the dreamer in Joe wouldn’t take a day off from envisioning another Lombardi Trophy for the Bucs.
Joe got fired up watching defensive end Ryan Kerrigan and running back Derrick Locke, and imaging them wearing pewter red. Those guys looked like potential impact players where the Bucs could use some juice.
During the broadcast, NFL Network draft guru and color analyst Mike Mayock said Kerrigan has an “unreal motor” and is “a starting left defensive end.” In the postgame, Matt Millen gushed about him: “The Kerrigan kid from Purdue, that’s a good football player. This kid can come off the ball. He’s got a good spin move. He plays with good leverage. He can burst.”
Joe suspects that Kerrigan would get many more sacks than the zero Kyle Moore recorded in his first 16 games played.
Locke, the little back/returner out of Kentucky, probably isn’t anything extraordinary, but just the sight of a change-of-pace back impacting a game — likely what the Bucs hoped Kareem Huggins would be — was enough to get Joe excited.
January 30th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Honestly, I don’t really mind who we pick up at DE in the first, as long as it is not Adrian Clayborn; he has trouble tackling, which is not what we need. I agree with Derrick Locke who is very fast; he runs like a 4.38 in the 40. Like I said before, an upgrade over Cadillac right now…
January 30th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Too much still riding on the Combine and Pro Day workouts to know when Kerrigan will be drafted. If he’s still there anywhere near 20 though, I’d love to see the team move up to get him.
January 30th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Joe here,
@Hunter – Could still have Cadillac and Locke as the No. 3 back, especially if they think he can be a backup returner.
January 30th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Joe- exactly right. No reason to ride the Caddy off in the Sunset yet. Kerrigan has that relentless motor. Reminds you of Jared Allen. Think he would be another high character, hard working Buc! Hope we can land him!
January 30th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
@Joe: I see what you are saying. I’m just saying it wouldn’t matter as much if Cadillac leaves and we get Locke. Surprisingly, this draft is very very deep in quality running backs. We could get a very good backup in round 5 or later.
January 30th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Kerrigan would be awesome. He is the kid of DE I am desperate for the Bucs to acquire. One who is also small and fast enough to stay on the field as a linebacker when the Bucs go 3-4 or 3-3-5. It will be like killing two birds with one stone. If Kerrigan is gone when the Bucs pick there is a good chance Justin Houston will be there instead and he is the same type of player as Kerrigan only bigger but still fast enough to play OLB. Either one of those guys would be sweet for the Bucs to draft.
January 30th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Kerrigan does look really good and I wouldn’t mind seeing the Bucs get him. But who do think the Bucs would want more, him or Adrian Clayborne? He’s a great player as well and a lot people have the Bucs picking him.
Personally I’d be happy with the Bucs picking either one of them.
January 30th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Matt Millen gushed about him: “The Kerrigan kid from Purdue, that’s a good football player. This kid can come off the ball. He’s got a good spin move. He plays with good leverage. He can burst.”
And everybody knows what a keen eye Matt Millen has for football talent. Uh, I think I’ll take a pass from anyone he likes. (Joey Harrington, Charles Rogers, Roy Williams, Mike Williams & Errnie Sims a few of his finer 1st rounders!)
January 30th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
I bet you his comparison will always be Jared Allen, for reasons other than a similar high motor.
January 30th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
CharlieB Says:
January 30th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
I bet you his comparison will always be Jared Allen, for reasons other than a similar high motor.
????
January 30th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
You and that damn 3-4 or 3-3-5, gitarlvr.
January 30th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Those Kyle Moore and Roy Miller picks were excellent (tongue-in-cheek). I can say the same for the McCoy and Price picks but I will give them another year.
I am not sold on Rah Rah and Dom’s ability to draft defensive players. I admit that Dom has done well with Olson’s input on the offensive side, but what do we have to show for these drafts on the defensive side.
I remember everyone saying that the reason the defense stunk was Bates, well he has been gone now for a season and 1/2 and they still stink, probably worse in some areas.
January 30th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
I was fantasizing the other day at work… and thought about how great it would be if we ended up with a draft class like this:
1. Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue
2. DeMarcus Love, T, Arkansas
3. DeAndre McDaniel, S, Clemson
4. Colin McCarthy, OLB, Miami (FL)
5. Derrick Locke, HB, Kentucky
6. Charles Clay, FB, Tulsa
7. Lee Smith, TE, Marshall
thoughts?
January 30th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
adrian clayborn will have a better pol career than kerrigan hands down…..
January 30th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
The only 3-3-5 this team will be running is when GMC gets drive blocked into the secondary and flails around like Sabby Piscitelli in open field tackling drills.
They almost always line up with 4 down lineman, and usually the rush at least 4. You rookies get confused by them dropping a d lineman into pass coverage to cover a zone hole when they blitz a secondary player.
They do not run a 3-4 or 3-3-5 virtually ever. Eveen when Quincy was playing that pass rucch position it was with eitther 3 or 4 other lineman. The front is always 4-3, they just run stunts and games off of it to free up pass rushers since they cant get pressure playing straight up.
Stop with this ridiculuous 3-3-5 stuff. They have never drafted a BJ Raji, Heloti Ngata type that can neutralize g-c-g gap to force plays toward the middle backers.
Maybe they will draft Kerrigan and turn him into a fullback, or a strong safety or punter or something. Like they seem to do with all of their other questionable draft picks.
I think that they should try GMC at holder.
January 30th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Thomas…You are a clueless jack arse.
January 30th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Thomas- Wow dude. Raheem Morris runs the 3-3-5 defense A LOT and the 3-4 occasionally. Why would Raheem talk about running those defenses if he never actually runs them? Come back to reality. And they didn’t draft a NT but they signed Frank Okam who is 350 lbs. This season they used Roy Miller as the NT in the 3 man fronts. Your a total idiot. There were MANY times where Quincy Black was standing up as a linebacker in the 3-3-5. MANY TIMES. Your arguing with me like its my opinion that they run that stuff. Its not my opinion. Its fact.
Here’s just a random quote from one of Steve White’s blog posts-
“Now I know I have beaten this dead horse all year but it literally made my head hurt to see the Bucs use the 3-3-5 so much yesterday.”
So is a former defensive lineman not capable of correctly identifying what front the Bucs are playing in?
Raheem has been talking about how he will utilize 3-4 and 3-3-5 defenses since this past offseason and he utilized them ALL YEAR LONG. The Bucs were in some variation of a 3 man front almost as much as they were in a 4 man front in many games this past season.
You don’t have to like 3 man fronts but don’t flame me like its something I am imagining. The fact is that the Bucs didnt get much pass rush out of ANY of their defensive formations last year. Drafting a hybrid OLB\DE, which is what Kerrigan is projected as, will help their pass rush in ALL of the fronts they use.
gotbbucs- I know I talk about the Bucs improving their 3 man fronts a lot but its not like Im the defensive coordinator choosing to use them. Im just saying if the Bucs are going to use them they need to acquire the right personnel to do so. Relying on Quincy Black to be their quote “redskin” linebacker didn’t work out at all because he just isnt a good rusher or blitzer and that was a big part of the Bucs philosophy on pressuring the QB. It would be real nice if whatever DE they drafted could also fill that role. Thats all im saying.
January 30th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
In reference to the Bucs drafting players from college 3-4 defenses or players that are hybrid 3-4/4-3 personnel-
“No doubt,” Morris said. “No question. We talk about that all the time. We talked about it last year going into the draft. Don’t close the door on all the hybrid players that you get in the draft like we did before.
January 30th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
I really think we are leaning more towards a 3-4 than a 4-3. Which I’m good with. While our 2002 defense was our Best defense ever, our mOst physically intimidating defense was 1979. They were brutal, like the packers defense in the early 90s. Our 3-4 defense was big and fast, and would just take the will out of teams. I think the FAs and draft picks will give us a real clue on which direction we are going.
January 30th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Thomas is just as adept at recognizing defensive fronts as he is at recognizing cornerbacks stiff hips so maybe I shouldn’t argue with him 🙂
January 30th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
well gitarlvr, at least you chose the perfect quote from steve white on the subject. it sums up exactly how i feel and it should be how every bucs fan feels based on the results of that 3-4 abortion that rah was running.
January 30th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
But it wouldn’t be an abortion anymore if they actually had a decent pass rushing linebacker or two. Kerrigan could be that guy for them when they go to that front. The only reason it sucked so bad was because of how bad Quincy Black sucked at being that rush linebacker. They didn’t light it up rushing the passer when the played 4-3 cover 2 defense either. Why should Bucs fans feel bad about the increased use of 3 man fronts? Being able to disguise where your pressure is coming from with a 3man front makes pressuring the QB so much easier these days. IF the Bucs acquire the right personnel then we should see a lot more pressure out those fronts. If the Bucs draft a 280+ lb. lineman like Clayborn and don’t get a good rush linebacker at some point in the draft then obviously they should move away from the 3 man fronts. Its all going to come down to what type personnel they draft and I think they will go with best player available and then tweak the scheme based on who they do acquire.
January 30th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Steve white is talking about when they dropped a d lineman into coverage from a 4 man front, please post the complete quote not just what serves your position. Gaming into a 3-3-5 in obvious passing downs is way different than running a 3 man front base because you dont need the big personnel to run stuff.
Stop speaking about things that u dont know about
January 30th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
McBuc Says:
January 30th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Thomas…You are a clueless jack arse.
Couldn’t agree more.
January 30th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
For the record, i prefer a 3-4 . We just dont have the personnel or coaching to implement it.
The worst thing u can do is not commit to a fundamental base that u have mastered.
That is 1 reason why the d stinks
January 30th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
It’s kinda funny to me. I just got in and had to get my fix. So I’m reading along and it all sounds good because I missed the Senior Bowl. I’m trying to get up to speed on the draft news and so I get down to the comments, you know to get clued in. Everybody has good info, nice discussion, and then out of nowhere Thomas sticks a wrench in the fan. It’s like “how can I just phuc this whole thing up” and pull some BS out left field? LOL, the guy is literally like tits on a boar hog. He is the leader of that 10% of our society that don’t get it, never have got it, and never will. I’m just in complete awe that this kid keeps wanting to stay up late and join the adult’s conversation. I wish his parents would have got a babysitter or else just sent him to bed. He probably gnawed his way out of the crib.
Blah, blah, blah, I forgot my point. I’m not even drunk.
My Question for the panel:
Will the Bucs have to move up in the Draft from 10 if they want Kerrigan???
Stamkos & St Louis each got a goal tonight. Go Lightning!!! I had to say that.
January 30th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
First of all BigMac:
It might serve you to know basic concepts about the team before extending criticism: primarily, THE BUCS PICK 20TH NOT 10TH.
SO,if you think that they may have to move up from 10, what would that suggest the answer would be from 20 brainiac?
Way to initiate some high caliber blogging. Why do you name yourself after your favorite sandwich? I bet it is your affinity for the special sauce!
January 30th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Who’s watching Donald Penn in the pro bowl right now?
January 30th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
I am. Did you guys see him playing right tackle on his 3rd series in? Lol
January 30th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
No one said a word about the 3-3-5 being the Bucs base defense you troglodyte. Every other poster on here except maybe Eric thinks that you are the one who has no clue what they are talking about. But go ahead and keep curing the rest of us of our ignorance. Go get some therapy dude. Antipyschotics should help curb the worst of your antisocial impulses.
January 30th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
For the record Thomas, no one cares what you prefer or what you think about ANYTHING EVER. Are you really completely oblivious to that fact? You probably are. People with your particular type of mental disorders will completely twist reality in any way necessary to protect their fragile egos. Im sure in your mind your opinions here are very highly valued.
January 30th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Gitarlvr- lmao. I thought I was sick of that woosie! Guess I’m not alone!
January 30th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Look you little pissant, the one is right next to the two. If you are not smart enough to figure that’s a typo on your own, you should probably go back to playing with your Lego Blocks. I have been trying to be nice to you. Why? I have no freakin clue. Can’t you take a hint, boy? I mean everybody hates you. No really, hates you. You bring nothing to the table but a big mouth from a little punk behind a keyboard. Know this peanut, the BigMac moniker didn’t come from the burger. It came from the happy meal I fed to your mom last night when you were sweeping in your wittle cwib.
January 30th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Thomas, son, you’d be wise to shut up before I really get started on you. Just keep on regurgitating your feces and acting like a spoiled little peckerwood, but I’m sure we would all appreciate if you just grew up. Like they say, “don’t go away mad, just go away”.
January 30th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
I see all you draft experts were invited too…
January 31st, 2011 at 12:04 am
“The worst thing u can do is not commit to a fundamental base that u have mastered.”
“That is 1 reason why the d stinks”
As much as it pains me to say this coming from Thomas 2.whatever, that statement is 100% correct.
Will everybody clammoring for the switch to a 3-4 defense please stop using the signing of Frank Okam in midseason as a reason why they can make the switch. He has never proven to be a full time starting D-Tackle in this league, let alone the anchoring Nose Tackle in a 3-4.
All Morris said in that stupid PR interview was that he and Dominik were going to keep an open mind when it comes to evaluating prospects, nowhere did he say that they were seeking out players that fit into a 3-4.
If they draft a Rush LB in the 1st then so be it, but they aren’t going to switch defensive philosophy for one guy. Ryan Kerrigan may have the skill set to possibly be able to stand up on the edge but that doesn’t automatically mean that he can. Examples: Vernon Gholston, Aaron Maybin. Kerrigan primarily rushed form the left side at Purdue. Clayborn almost exclusively rushed from the right. Pick your poisen. I think either guy would help this team alot.
January 31st, 2011 at 6:01 am
GotBucs- no one is promoting a change to a 3-4 defense. We are discussing the defense we PLAYED THE MAJORITY OF LAST YEAR- as noted by Steve White AND RAHEEM MORRIS! We played a strange 3-3-5 defense frequently last year. Everyone on the team, with the team, and expert who watched the team has already acknowledged that. It isn’t some hypothetical discussion. ITS what we did!!! I think we did item protect the young line. Since we won 10 games- IT WAS VERY SUCESSFUL! Now, those of us who break down the defense are wondering if we are going to CONTINUE to play mostly a 3 man front, or go back to our typical 3-4. Raheem hasn’t said. Agreeing with Thomas, about something neither one of you have a handle on, is a bad idea. Once we have drafted, we should have a better idea. But Alex Magee( acquired by midseason trade), Carlton Powell,Doug Worthington, AND Frank Okam are all 3-4 defensive players. Most projected Tyrone McKensie as A 3-4 linebacker. He was drafted in the 3rd round by The Patriots. NOW are you starting to see a pattern? The draft will tell.
January 31st, 2011 at 9:12 am
the 3-3-5 defense wasnt successful at all and our 10 wins came from our offense. thats not a hypothetical either, its a fact.
January 31st, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Whaaaatt? I seem to remember that 3-3-5 defense absolutely confusing Carson Palmer, Matt Hasselbeck, and Drew Brees. The Defense won several games last year! Never heard of a team winning without a decent defense! What’s up with your 3-4 phobia?
January 31st, 2011 at 3:30 pm
gotbbucs- The 3-3-5 was about as succesful as their 4 down lineman nickel and dime defenses were at getting a pass rush, which is to say neither were succesful. At least the 3-3-5 allows them to disguise where their pressure is going to come from a little better. (or rather disguise where they are TRYING to bring pressure from:) ) As far as commiting to a fundamental base defense- The best defenses in the NFL today use multiple fronts and disguise their coverages well. Its all about being able to adapt to what an offense is trying to do to you. No one is talking about the Bucs 4-3 front disappearing. The Ravens can wreck shop with their 3-4 front but they are a hybrid defense also and can sometimes stay in a 4 man front for entire games if thats what is going to stop that particular offense. I want the Bucs to get better at executing ALL the fronts they play. I know Steve White hates the mutliple fronts but he doesn’t coach the team and they aren’t going back to being a strict 4-3 defense. Its not happening so why not just embrace it? IF the Bucs draft the right guys this year they can IMPROVE BOTH the 3 man and 4 man fronts with the same players. Really all they need is a decent pass rush linebacker or two and as I have said ad naseum already, any of the tweener DE’s(Kerrigan, Houston, Quinn) could fill that role and still play defensive end in the 4 man fronts.
January 31st, 2011 at 4:15 pm
I actually am leaning towards Justin Houston over Ryan Kerrigan both because right now(of course this could change), its looking like Houston is more likely to be available at #20 than Kerrigan and because Houston already has experience doing everything the Bucs would ask him to do.
Overall Stock: Justin Houston finished the season second in sacks in the SEC. With his change from defensive end to outside linebacker in the 3-4, he saw he production go way up. Houston is the definition of a hybrid player. He can either play the rush outside linebacker position in the 3-4 or defensive end in the 4-3. There aren’t many dynamic pass rushers in the 2011 draft, and with half of the league needing to upgrade their pass rush, don’t expect Houston to be on the board in the second round. With his speed and explosion, he can make an immediate impact.
NFL Comparison: Terrell Suggs
This right here is what the Bucs need. Instant upgrade to the pass rush in ALL defensive fronts.