Don’t Discount The Depth Chart
August 7th, 2012
At some point Greg Schiano sat down with his brain trust and crafted the Bucs’ first depth chart for Friday’s opening preseason game.
But the leader of the New Schiano Order, a man proudly obsessed with details, then stepped to the media podium today and suggested that nobody should take the depth chart too seriously. Rick Stroud, of the Tampa Bay Times, took notes.
“We released a depth chart, strictly because it’s league mandated, I guess, so we did it,” Schiano said. “I wouldn’t read too much into it right now. We haven’t played anybody, we haven’t been able to play one live snap, other than the young kids (Saturday). But just for us, we’ll be spending a lot of time together these next couple months I think. The way that I’ve handled, and the way that I will handle the depth chart is, every move that we make is whatever gives us the best chance to win. Whatever is best for the Bucs. I can’t say that about this depth chart for sure because I don’t know yet.
“But moving forward, if there are up and down moves, that’s why we do them. There’s not any other message or any other reason we’re doing it.’
Jimminy Christmas! Joe’s not about to believe for a second that every last name on Schiano’s depth chart wasn’t calculated and that each name placement isn’t revealing. That surely would be out of Schiano’s character and not jibe with Schiano’s core beliefs.
Sorry, Coach. Joe’s “going to read too much into it” right now until Friday’s kickoff. If “up and down moves” are important, then where guys sit right now is meaningful.
There’s a reason Arrelious Benn is listed as the first reserve to Vincent Jackson. There’s a reason Cody Grimm is third string behind Larry Asante. It’s worth noting that Preston Parker is listed as the lead punt and kickoff returner, or that E.J. Biggers is ahead of Myron Lewis. And, of course, as Joe wrote about earlier, LeGarrette Blount sits ahead of Doug Martin.
Joe looks forward to the next depth chart in seven days. Joe plans to happily read to much into that, too.
August 7th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Good coaches give the vet the edge in close competitions to start. Some coaches, like Mangini, in basically equal competitions would do it alphabetically – of course explaining that to the players.
I have said all along: I suspect it to take a few games before Martin is the feature starting back – but make no mistake he will be and relatively soon.
The rest of the chart is obvious.
August 7th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
This week’s chart has little meaning. It’s next weeks chart (and moving forward) that will reveal the details of the NSO.
August 7th, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Think he’s referring more to the fact that rating guys based off the limited practices is much less definitive than actual game day results going forward.
August 7th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
If P.P. fumbles a return…..
August 7th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Martin is very good, but waaaay too many Martin lovers for a guy that has never taken an NFL snap. Blount will be scary with decent playcalling! imagine him hitting an actual HOLE, running downhill on a team that was expecting a pass.
don’t think it ever happened! can you say TOUCHDOWN! imagine ronde trying to take blount down in open field. it would not be a juke, he would plow through him. yeah, it’s gonna be fricken awesome!
August 7th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
@Thomas
It’s obvious you were wrong Okoye would be ahead of Gerald on the depth chart.
Wasn’t that in your precognition?
August 7th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
There seems to be a lot of hidden meaning in some selections. Kind of Grudenesque.
August 7th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
Okoye hasn’t shown much in camp.
August 7th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
No BKNY that isn’t what I said.
Before Price was traded, I said that to improve his play and durability that Gerals should be on a limited snap rotation.McCoy should get obvious run down snaps and put on a rotation with then Price, Okoye, Gibson and Gerald rotating in and out in passing situations.
Removing Price and inserting Miller, a sluggish and limited nose, makes the 4 tackle rotation more difficult.
Gerald has sucked during years 1 and 2. Schiano thinks he can develop him, he is having another hyped camp (as usual) so I will wait to see if he is improved or the same Gerald. Maybe Schiano has taught him skills beyond gap jumping by trying to time the snap.
August 7th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
I think the most heated roster battle on our offense will be between Mossis Madu and Sammie Stroughter. If we want to keep 6 WRs then Madu would be released, but if we want 4 RBs then Sammie will likely be out over Benn or Underwood. Sammie has value as a return man but Preston Parker can handle that just as well. I think Madu should get the nod over Stroughter because he is more explosive and has more upside, and we have way better receiving depth this year.
August 7th, 2012 at 8:29 pm
I cant believe there is football on Friday. Still, im hazy about the whole two Thomas thing. I hope GMC pans out but the quote from today JBF bears relevance:
“You can’t make a man be nasty. You either have it or you don’t..”
Before posters start crying butt hurt about how Reggie White wasn’t nasty, chiltlin please, he was reciting bible versus lining up like a crusader outside the walls of Jerusalem. .
August 7th, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Nonsense. I recall otherwise, Thomas.
August 7th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I know I may be alone on this, but I could give 2 sh!ts at this point about the depth chart. A depth chart in early August is kind of like a preseason poll in college. Fun to look at, but nowhere near how it’s going to finish. I just want us to get through the preseason without any injuries to key players, and go into week 1 healthy. Unfortunately, a lot of times injuries shape the depth chart. 2.2 is so obsessed with who starts at RB, just so he can pat his chest and say he was right. They are both going to play a ton (barring injury), so it really doesn’t matter to me who starts.
August 7th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
“Before Price was traded, I said that to improve his play and durability that Gerals should be on a limited snap rotation.McCoy should get obvious run down snaps and put on a rotation with then Price, Okoye, Gibson and Gerald rotating in and out in passing situations.”
——
I must have missed that post too. Then again, with all the BS he spouts off about GMC, I guess he could have slipped that one by me. You can also see how Thomas is getting set to do a backtrack if GMC stands out. He will give 100% of the credit to Schiano, and none to McCoy. It’s going to be really funny to watch it happen.
August 7th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Just Win Baby!
Who care who is in there, I am just looking for the Bucs to play together, and play hard.
Can’t wait to see a D out there with 11 willing tacklers.
August 7th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
Yeah. The spin will begin the minute GMC starts to dominate. “Wow! Just goes to show you how much a good coach can do with someone who obviously had limited talent. I was pulling for him all along.”
It’s gonna be sickening reading the pukes on this site who post their negative BS backpedaling and trying to act like they were pulling for him all along. It will be fun though.
August 7th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
Bobby,
What Buc fan is not pulling for GMC to stay healthy and “dominate”?
No “fan” would want the team’s Top 5 draft pick to fail, that is just ridonkulous.
Personally, I hope GMC can stay healthy and become an elite talent. After all, we all know he is paid BIG $.
August 7th, 2012 at 11:10 pm
SteveK Says:
August 7th, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Just Win Baby!
—————————————
That’s what I’m talking about, right there. Nothing else really matters, including Thomas’s bad breath.
August 7th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
“What Buc fan is not pulling for GMC to stay healthy and “dominate”?”
———
Perhaps you’ve never met Thomas 2.2. If you think for one second Thomas wants GMC to be successful, you are out of your skull (in my best Jon Gruden voice). Even if he really is a fan, there is no way someone like him could deal with all the sh!t that will be thrown back at him from now until he leaves the site (which probably will be the end result if his backpedaling isn’t successful). I know people like you (meaning Steve K) wants GMC to be great, as does 99.9% of the rest of Bucs fans, but in no way shape or form does Thomas. He will now attempt to say otherwise, but we all know the truth. I think he would rather Raheem win a few Super Bowls as the head coach of the Redskins than to see GMC have a good season. That is a fact.
I get all the scrutiny that GMC gets. That’s what comes along with being the third overall pick, and playing a position after a legend in Warren Sapp. I personally could care less how much he is making, but I totally get those of you who feel differently (it’s not like his salary is keeping us from bringing in other free agents). If his career ended today, it would be an unsuccessful one. I think we can all agree on that. However, his career isn’t ending today. He’s hopefully got a long way to go. There are tons and tons of football players that weren’t great in their first two years (yes even some that had injuries early in their career) that ended up being fantastic players. In fact, more often that not, that is the case. To me, the most important thing is that neither of his injuries were to the legs. Once the leg injuries start happening, that’s a terrible sign. A torn bicep is an injury that you recover from at 100%, and has absolutely no effect on the rest of his career. If he tears an ACL or Achilles (knock on wood), then I will be in panic mode.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:15 am
“You can’t make a man be nasty. You either have it or you don’t..”
That’s 100% untrue. Most people are made nasty by environment, circumstances or experiences. Besides, there have been many successful sack specialists that were not nasty.
But nasty CAN be taught. It may start out as artificial but it gradually becomes real.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:17 am
Here’s what I read into the depth chart…the startersxwill only play axseries or two…that means the guys listed as secong strings are the guys Shiano wants to see.
August 8th, 2012 at 1:30 am
I think Underwood as backup to Parker has significance. Hopefully that ends these daydreams about what Underwood brings to the team.
August 8th, 2012 at 6:16 am
Good stuff Hawaiian Buc. Having only just recently started reading the comments, I’m still learning the viewpoints and hidden personalities of the posters. But I can agree that it’s so comical to have these cyber GM’s choose a negative “never good enough for me” approach in an attempt to look more intelligent. Regarding some fan’s criticism of GMC simply because he wasn’t on the field is hysterical. Isn’t there a difference between being on the sideline because you aren’t a good player and being injured? Apparently they have forgotten that the great #99 couldn’t beat out Santana Dotson his first year. If and when GMC is healthy enough to play an entire season we can all evaluate his impact. Used to be a poster on Pewter Report a while back with the same sort of comments as Tommy 2.2 and his sidekick Dino’s Biceps. It didn’t take long before everyone realized that his bold predictions were no better than a magic 8 ball.
August 8th, 2012 at 7:05 am
JBF…..”Jimminy Christmas! Joe’s not about to believe for a second that every last name on Schiano’s depth chart wasn’t calculated and that each name placement isn’t revealing. That surely would be out of Schiano’s character and not jibe with Schiano’s core beliefs.”
Hey, the Hoodie submitted his depth chart in alphabetical order a few years back after being threatened by the league for not complying with the rules.
But seriously Joe. I don’t believe there is any secret code buried in Schiano’s comments. The players need to know where they stand as of now and this is the staff’s criical assessment. I think it is an honest one too, consistent with how this organization wants to communicate with the players.
Conversly, is he supposed to steal hope from players on the bubble without seeing a single snap in a game?
With Raheem, we were all WTF is this due saying?, 180 degrees later it’s WTF is this dude meaning? We all should just lighten up a bit.
Buckin A, we’re getting real close to redemption time.
August 8th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Pre-season depth charts are as useless as posts from Sir Thomass the Duke of Spin!
August 8th, 2012 at 9:51 am
“You can’t make a man be nasty. You either have it or you don’t..”
Obviously, he is not married!
August 8th, 2012 at 11:01 am
Bucfan47 ,I mean 2.2 does not want Blount Blount to be successful either. But, I Martin begins to screw up he will say he never backed him and Dom was stupid and should be fired. We all know how 2.2 faced he is.
August 8th, 2012 at 11:25 am
^ want Blount to
, If
August 8th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Pete says:
“That’s 100% untrue. Most people are made nasty by environment, circumstances or experiences. Besides, there have been many successful sack specialists that were not nasty.
But nasty CAN be taught. It may start out as artificial but it gradually becomes real.”
If you would approach Warren Sapp for an autograph with your 5 year old son alongside, he would slap that pen out of your hand and cuss out your momma. That’s nasty!
Before games Warren would skip between the opposing team’s warm ups and start a fight. That’s nasty! The NFL had to make a rule specifically aimed at Sapp.
If Sapp nailed a QB he would do a belly flop on them and at 300+ LBS, that had to hurt. Again the NFL had to make a rule specifically aimed at Warren. That’s nasty!
When Warren picked a name for his website and then twitter, it was “QB Killa!” That’s nasty!
If you approach Geraldini for an autograph, he would probably discuss the Little Mermaid or the Wiggles with your five year old. That’s weak!
He has never struck fear into anyone so the NFL rules committee has never heard of him. Weak!
When Gerald chose a twitter tag it was “Dini”, again very weak!
I’ll bet Gerald in his spare time, dances around in an “I Dream of Jeanie” costume with the curled up toes on his ballet slippers while Sapp is slapping around one of his Baby Mommas.
You can’t teach nasty, its inbred.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Jockstrap Grnade
Wow, I cant believe you just said Sapp was inbred! I hope your just slow and really dont know what “inbred” means? But, from some of your other accusation filled posts, I DOUBT IT!
BTW I think Sapp would slap that inbred $h!+ out of you!
August 8th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Oar=Douchebag
August 8th, 2012 at 11:03 pm
grande,
being a duckhead doesn’t make you “nasty”…just ask thomas.
and oar has made more sense in his posts than your drivel. thanks for being an internet toughguy.
August 9th, 2012 at 8:44 am
Jockstrp Grande
Nothing wrong with that! You know, girls have to keep that special area clean and I’m up to the task!
August 9th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
I didn’t realize the magnitude of my presence. I am becoming the subject of comments on totally unrelated stories. Wow! I am truly humbled.
I dont want Gerald to stink, just don’t want people propagandize his play.
He has been bad or worse in about 16 of the 19 (balt. 2010 and indy 2011 vs a 3rd string UFA rookie) games that he has played in. Many ex-players have called him soft and say he has no fight.
Rah said that he had “pop Warner fundamentals. Gerald said that he just learned how to tackle.
In less than twice the games (19 to 30) Suh has more than 3 times the sacks (14 to 4) and well over twice the tackles (31 to 78) – and some say Suh has underperformed especially in 2011.
Martin is a much better and more complete player than Blount is.
If the stars align and the seas get parted through magical Schiano coaching and Gerald becomes decent, I will give Schiano and Gerald the credit.
The problem is you sheep will scream pro bowl if he puts his jock on correctly! He must do more than show up for work, he must sack, stuff, cause fumbles, botched plays etc or he is not a difference maker!