Schiano Says Bowers Should Have 10 Sacks
March 20th, 2013
Sans the addition of Osi Umenyiora or John Abraham, the Bucs are counting heavily on DaQuan Bowers at left defensive end.
They’re banking on Bowers so much that the leader of the New Schiano Order, Greg Schiano, didn’t hesitate to set the bar high for Bowers when speaking to Tampa Tribune scribe eye-RAH! Kaufman this morning at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona.
One might say Bowers is on a Race to 10.
“He’s a tremendous athlete for a man his size,” Schiano said. “He’s explosive and he’s done it. It’s our job to make him do it consistently. When he hurt his Achilles, it changed his body. Rather than being negative, he got in with our strength staff and changed his body. I think he’s prepared to take the next step.”
Does that include becoming a double-digit sacker in 2013?
“He needs to be,” Schiano said. “He should be. That’s why we drafted him.”
The “drafted him” line intrigues Joe. The reality is rockstar general manager Mark Dominik snagged Bowers and Adrian Clayborn in the 2011 draft so they would be Bucs bookend beasts for years. In the world of NFL team politics, it was almost inevitable that Bowers would get his shot
Joe still would have liked to see Michael Bennett and Bowers compete with each other. Schiano always talks about the importance of competition. So Joe’s wondering from where that will come.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:06 pm
And again Mark will rely on unproven players up front. Its simple if they dont play well we can get behind in games real quick. Secondary doesnt win games it starts up front and Abraham is an obvious need of ours right now. Cmon Mark get with it man we deserve betrer than your giving us.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:16 pm
I just can’t get too freaked out over Bennett and Biggers leaving. They were both average. The thing that worries me is neither one seemed too enticed to stay and offer a hometown discount. Why?
March 20th, 2013 at 2:16 pm
How the heck is he going to beat an airport gun charge in liberal-New York?
March 20th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Abraham (or any other top tier free agents at DE that are left) will not be in Tampa. No one is coming here to be a backup when they could start somewhere else. Yes, they could “compete” for the starting job but Bowers will win out unless he is either injured or is somehow absolutely terrible just because he is a young, high round draft pick. (That HAS to be why Myron Lewis still has a job).
Bennett wanted to start, that is why he is gone. I assure you, the Bucs have a plan in place.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:24 pm
Bowers would have been the starter last year had he not gotten injured. Pure and simple, bowers has more upside than bennett and the only way he gets to that point is by getting all the reps in practice and all the game time. Sucks for bennett, but thats how this thing works.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:27 pm
“Bennett wanted to start, that is why he is gone.”
If he wanted to start, then I don’t see Seattle as a good place for him to have signed.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Chris Clemons , beast, but ACL same as Clayborn. Cliff Avril, proven, healthy. Bruce Irvin, beast, healthy.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:34 pm
@Paul
He signed with Seattle because he got the cold shoulder from the Bucs and Seattle most likely offered more than anyone else. If he wasn’t chasing money he wouldn’t have hit free agency as the Bucs made him an offer. He just felt like he was worth more. I think Bennett got a raw deal because his agent probably told him he could get a huge contract in free agency. All the free agents (and their agents) were absolutely blown away by the teams refusing to overpay this year. Its been a very odd year for free agents in general.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:35 pm
yah, but he didn’t leave because he wanted to start in Seattle…
March 20th, 2013 at 2:38 pm
Bowers is WAy better than Bennett, so much talent there.. This is bowers 3rd year…Bennett is starting his 5th year…
Bowers might just explode this year.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:41 pm
@westcoastbucsfan. I dont think Abraham would be behind Bowers unless the coaches are so poor at evaluating talent. I mean really think about it its would your rather have a proovesack guy or a draft choice who occasionally plays. Hmm
March 20th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
He’s looked like a real stud so far!
Just kidding…No he hasn’t.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Bowers has way more explosion and upside than Bennett. I am a huge fan of Bennett but the bottom line was he wanted to be paid like a starter, and get starter reps. The Bucs see Bowers becoming more of a stud than Bennett ever was, so we let him walk. It would be great to keep the threesome of Clayborn, Bowers and Bennett but its not happening anymore. Hope for a young speed rusher in the draft. And stop bagging on Bowers because of the gun charges, he is a great kid that made a mistake lets move forward and SUPPORT the players on our team.
March 20th, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Time for Bowers to do what we drafted him for.
March 20th, 2013 at 3:04 pm
Bennet is a guy that left the team and didn’t want to help us any more. Let it go. He isn’t a Buc.
March 20th, 2013 at 3:06 pm
“And stop bagging on Bowers because of the gun charges”
Who’s bagging on him for that? I’m just saying, that he’s not going to walk away from that scott free in Bloomberg’s New York.
March 20th, 2013 at 3:17 pm
@LB. Sorry can’t do that. I tried that saying he made a mistake and Use Wright , play him too as he made a mistake. Wright paid the price, did his time and blew his contract. BUT other fans have DOUBLE STANDARDS. So sorry fans will not get off the gun charge.
March 20th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Bucfan20- uh, you do realize he’s facing felony gun charges in New York? For a gun in an Airport, right? No one is”picking on him”. There is a very real possibility he could be in prison next season. You get it?
Wow!
I really like Bowers. But the excuse for not signing Bennett was an insult to our intelligence.the Buc response stated that Bowers would start- and play so many downs, that Bennett wouldn’t’t get enough meaningful snaps.
WHAT?? We play in Florida. Home of 110 degree field temperatures. Starters rotate in an out so often, that starting linemen only play about 70 percent of the snaps- often much less!! If Bennett rotated in for Bowers and Layborn- he’d get 60 percent of the snaps.
And if one of them gets hurt? Both of them?
They are really insulting our intelligence here- almost on a daily basis!
March 20th, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Bowers might be Schiano’s guy but Bennett would have been decent insurance at least. He was cheap enough to be a rotational DE.
March 20th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Why does everyone forget about the immortal Daniel T’eo Nesheim on the D-line rotation/
March 20th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Hopefully Bowers dropped a few and has the explosiveness we all saw in college. With the way McCoy is playing, if Bowers and Clayborn are healthy and this coaching staff gets what they can out of them… they could BOTH be double digit sack guys.
Tall order though and I would love to see another DE in the rotation. I have a feeling they are going with them and only drafting another.
Starting to think drafting a DE in round one is the plan and a CB in rds 2-3
As for CB, SIGN GRIMES and FAST. I do not trust the NY Jets, heck, their own players don’t know what their doing and that is from one play to the next.
Would love Revis, and the Bucs desparately need him, but glad to see DOM sticking to his guns and not giving up waaay too much (whatever they have deemed that to be)
March 20th, 2013 at 7:10 pm
Best offseason talkers in the biz……
Till the ball is put on the tee.
March 20th, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Dumervil?
March 20th, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Good call. @fridgebob. Why arent we courting Elvis. Oh yea I forgot Mark has a Plan ….right
March 20th, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Some of you just don’t get it ! Bennett left us …we did not leave Bennett….He never gave the Bucs a chance to pay him MORe than what he got….he is a fool and will not duplicate 9 sacks again….he got “dewayne white” written all over him…
Let it go already ….
March 20th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
I will l,lmao when the jets watch him walk next year and get nothing in return…
March 20th, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Dumervil is too expensive to be a backup
March 20th, 2013 at 10:55 pm
I love that Schiano is already putting pressure on this team for next year and especially our d line. This is needed for this group to get to the next level.