Tim Ryan Has Harsh Words For Bucs’ Corners
February 11th, 2013
Late on a non-football Sunday evening after watching a glut of the “America’s Game” marathon on the NFL Network, — in order for Joe to get his football fix (man, what a long six months we have ahead of us) — Joe tried to think of a more intelligent football show than “Movin’ the Chains,” co-hosted by Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. If you like X’s and O’s chatter, there is no better show. Joe had a chance to talk to Ryan at Super Bowl Media Day and, always gracious to Joe, Ryan completely went off on the Bucs’ corners. Notice how Bucs fans said if the Bucs could only pressure quarterbacks it would have helped the secondary? Hogwash, Ryan told Joe. He said the Bucs’ corners were so awful, the Bucs ‘defensive line never had a chance to rack up many sacks. Ryan, also an NFL game analyst for FOX, discussed other Bucs goodies.
JoeBucsFan: Gerald McCoy. He was finally healthy [in 2012]. Obviously he made the Pro Bowl. Is he finally starting to show what he is capable of?
Tim Ryan: Gerald has shown what he is capable of throughout his career. Problem was, he was unable to stay healthy with the biceps tears. Look, you have to link up the rush with the pass coverage behind it, with the linebacker coverage, with the corner coverage. It hasn’t been good. Look at who was covering [receivers]. Put it this way, if [GMC] had top-flight corners or Ronde [Barber] in his prime and Aqib Talib or Brian Kelly when he was playing great, Gerald McCoy would be a double-digit sack guy. Dominant, dominant player and he makes it work up front for Tampa.
Joe: Well, a lot of fans have said about the Bucs corners, if the team got any kind of a pass rush …
Ryan: No, that’s garbage.
Joe: It is?
Ryan: That’s garbage. Look, if Gerald – the ball is coming out [of the quarterback’s hands] in two and a half, three seconds with most teams and Gerald is close a lot. Watch him defend the run. Watch him do the things he does. Watch his pad level. Watch his ability to get to the edge. He plays football like a traditional defensive lineman. I have said it all year. I have studied Tampa a lot and I have studied the Lions a lot. Ndamukong Suh is a great player. He’s a different kind of player. But Gerald McCoy is playing better football than Ndamukong Suh.
Joe: Better rookie: Lavonte David or Doug Martin?
Ryan: Ooohhh, that’s a hard one. Hard to compare and contrast a run-and-hit linebacker to a running back. I would say that running back is so instinctual and innate and those guys are born with it, not taking anything away from Dougie Martin who is fantastic, but I would go with Lavonte David.
Joe: I think I may be the only guy in America who has written this, but the unsung hero on Greg Schiano’s staff is front seven coach Bryan Cox. The Bucs were horrid at stopping the run in 2011 and this year they were the best. It seems Cox had a major hand in that transformation. Your thoughts?
Ryan: He has a great hand in it. Look at how dominant they were in defending the run, understanding gap control and where the linebackers fit. Bryan Cox didn’t cover a lot of people in his time. He defended the run and rushed the passer. He needs to help those linebackers figure out coverage because they were lacking, no question about it, especially right down the middle.
Joe: Anything to add about Josh Freeman? Is he going to turn the corner or is he going to be who he was this past year, when you didn’t know if the good Josh or the bad Josh would show up?
Ryan: Yeah, I don’t know; that remains to be seen. I’m a big fan of Josh Freeman. I think if he can completely get himself right off the field – I know he is a hard worker – but in terms of – I know he works on his body and all that – but really make football his life. I’m not saying it isn’t, but if he does what the Tom Bradys of the world do and the Peyton Mannings, some of these guys, he certainly has the talent to be right up there.
February 11th, 2013 at 8:17 am
Hmmmm, I wonder when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning dressed up for ESPN? That was 199…..?
February 11th, 2013 at 8:34 am
Thank GOD i have SiriusXM b/c Tim Ryan & Pat Kirwan teach Bucs Fans MORE about our team than ALL the local radio “personalities” COMBINED (However Joe #1 does a good job on 98.7 The Fan on Weekends). We need CB’s and Inside Pass Rush help and the Rock Star has the resources to do it
February 11th, 2013 at 8:38 am
Ryan & Kirwan are great in the afternoons, (I really hate it when Jim Miller subs, I switch as soon as I hear his whinny ass voice) Anyway Ryan is correct, if our DBs could make a QB hold the ball for more than 3 seconds our D line would be racking up the sacks…I look forward to seeing some of that this coming season.
February 11th, 2013 at 8:42 am
@flmike. …..i used to love Jim Miller…but the more you listen, the more his personality quirks show. He gushes over Luke Kuechly all day long and NEVER mentions Lavonte David
February 11th, 2013 at 8:50 am
I agree with him on the corner’s. I went back and watched all of the bucs games highlights and the opposing Qb’s would literally say hut and threw it as soon as they touched the ball and it’s what I was saying the whole time. NEW CORNER’S NEEDED!!
February 11th, 2013 at 9:04 am
i keep hearing that freeman needs to make football his life, and i also hear that all he does is film film film etc etc etc…..which one is it? and how do these guys know this about freeman? im a big freeman fan and hope this is the year it all comes together, i want him to lead the team, show us its yours, and hit the throws you are supposed to make, and take off and run when its there…. im rooting for ya Free.
February 11th, 2013 at 9:05 am
@Justin P’s Dwindling Radio “career”
Not only that, have you ever heard him go off on callers who dare to criticize the Bears, you would think he was still playing for them. I wanna call in and say “whoa Jim, slow ya’roll, it’s just a game”
February 11th, 2013 at 9:21 am
Hypothetical: Knowing what you know now, If you had one pick in the draft and Doug Martin and Lavonte David are there, who do you pick? I think you get a different answer!
February 11th, 2013 at 9:35 am
I wish PFF had a signature stat of the average time a QBs held the ball against the defense, and the average time it took the defense to get a sack and/or pressure. That would aid a bit in giving more insight if it was the pass rush or the coverage.
February 11th, 2013 at 10:02 am
I’ve been saying that all season about our corners. When you end up with only 27 sacks with 154 QB hurries, that tells me the pass rush was close but the secondary could not cover long enough. It’s hard for any pass rusher to get to the QB in three seconds or less. If we get better secondary play this year you will see more sacks.
February 11th, 2013 at 10:52 am
Ron Cooper we hardly knew thee…. you were the wrong guy.
Let’s get some new personnel and Tony Oden come on down.
February 11th, 2013 at 6:36 pm
Why do we never see love for RB Coach, Ernest Byner. Last four RB under him was Chris Johnson 2-1000 yard seasons, MJD 1-1000 yard season and now Doug Martin. What has Chris Johnson done since he left, MJD was hurt so we don’t know, but that guy should get some kudos
February 11th, 2013 at 10:40 pm
@Rrsrq – I just posted something about that a few days ago and another a few weeks before that.
February 12th, 2013 at 2:10 am
I agree about McCoy and our entire D-Line for that matter. If the CB/DB could hold their targets for a 1/2 second longer we would have double the amount we did last year. Especially when Clayborn was on the field. Both him and McCoy made a LOT of Qb hits and were inches from making it a Sack.
Once we get a bit more talent back there and at least put up a challenge in the pass game ( on the back end). Our sack total and over all D will be much more dominant!
February 12th, 2013 at 2:23 am
When it comes to Freeman, It’s not his effort or work ethic that’s in question. It’s his lack of “mastering his craft” is what media heads are talking about. He knows he has the talent and tries to ride it versus doing what is necessary to master his trade.
Let’s use Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as an example. Jerry Rice had talent but not the RAW talent Moss had coming into the league. Jerry worked hard EVERY day doing everything possible to master his Craft. He worked endless hours running routes to perfect them.
As Randy relied on the one thing that made him special and he never really had to work hard to master it, He was just born with it. That is the reason
Rice went down in history as the best to ever play the game and Randy Will go down as the best 1 trick pony in history. In short it is what separates the Greats from the really goods.
This is where Freeman is caught and that is why this is a make or break season for him. He needs to show he is going to dedicate his life to being the very best or we will never really seem him at his very best.