Why McCoy Is Better Than Suh

February 24th, 2010

Seems as though just about every NFL fan, if not Bucs fan, has an opinion on the top two defensive tackles in April’s draft, manbeast Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy.

Joe thought he’d pass along the thoughts of a former offensive lineman.

Ross Tucker is best known as a columnist for SI.com, and a radio host for Sirius NFL Radio. In another life, Tucker was a guard in the NFL for five years, playing for Washington, Dallass, Buffalo and New England.

Tucker, Twittering Tuesday night, broke down why he likes McCoy better than Suh.

I think Suh will be a very good player but rookie DT’s usually have no counter-move, no idea what to do when you jump/short set them, etc. Not to mention the fact that my biggest concern with Suh and the reason why some have McCoy ahead of him is McCoy has a better first step. In the NFL the difference between a lightning quick & explosive first step vs. an average one is HUGE. Can be THE difference at times.

What does Joe make of this? He only prays the Bucs have a choice between Suh and McCoy.

14 Responses to “Why McCoy Is Better Than Suh”

  1. Jonny Says:

    And this is why I hate the idea of trading up to get Suh or McCoy. So many fans have deemed Suh as a messiah of our defense, there is a fair chance that one of these two will be available at #3 and whoever we get should not matter. Suh looks like a legit run stuffer and McCoy a legit pass rusher, both would address the needs of our team. If we don’t get either, we have the versatile Berry.

  2. Radio Mushmouth Says:

    Suh is still better, because you can easily TEACH a guy pass rush moves .

    What you can’t teach is being naturally stronger than most people , and that is what Suh is.

    …and to the McCoy backers that claim McCoy is just as strong : Not a chance. He isn’t even as close to being as strong. I’ve seen McCoy get overpowered in the trenches on running downs , never seen Suh get over-powered. I also don’t buy the idea that McCoy has a frame to put on 40 more pounds. We are talking about 22 year olds here , not 17 year old High School recruits. What your playing weight is at the end of your college career at a major collegiate program is usually your ideal playing weight. Period. McCoy at 30 extra pounds would be sloppy and slow.( not to mention his great 1st step would be gone)

  3. Radio Mushmouth Says:

    I think we learned from Gaines Adams that expecting a D-lineman to just pack on 30 pounds so they can be stronger , all the while keeping thier quickness , is not really realistic.

    What you are getting is what you are getting.

    Suh can learn pass rush moves. When he does he will be literally unstoppable.

  4. sunrisejeff Says:

    Well by that same regards we learned from Adams that “teaching a guy pass rush moves” isn’t as easy as you seem to think either.

  5. Eric Says:

    A few of the draft experts have McCoy over Suh, so I guess it is 1 and 1(a).

    Im with Joe, and would be delighted with either one. Although one caveat, I also read the last DT to make a big splash from the top five was Cortez Kennedy, and the busts in the top five have been numerous. It may be a difficult postion to evaluate, which accounts for all the different opinions.

    Even Mr. Sapp had a rough first year. Berry might actually be of more immediate help.

  6. Joe Says:

    Radio Mushmouth:

    Suh is still better, because you can easily TEACH a guy pass rush moves.

    That’s a dangerous premise. Gaines Adams never learned another move.

  7. JDouble Says:

    Hahaha….I love it. I pray that this nonsense continues and by draft day McCoy is higher on everyone’s board than Suh. All it would mean is we have a better chance of getting the best player in the draft at #3.

    Unfortunetly Suh will probably remind everyone at the combine what a freaking man beast he is and he will silence the nonsense.

  8. Jonny Says:

    Some guys here seem to get offended by the thought that McCoy is better than Suh, I thought it was a Buccaneers fan blog, since when did it become a Suh blog?

    Radio Mushmouth, the difference in strengths (power/force) for Suh and McCoy could be equated to the difference in quickness of McCoy and Suh, they will even out making both pretty much the same kind of prospects. How many times have you seen a DT bull rush and sack a QB, Shaun Rogers is the best example, he does it may be 2-3 times a season, ofcourse he is slow like a snail but power can only do so much in pass rush.

    If it is just run stuffing I would rather get manbeast Mount Cody, Suh has not shown those finesse moves and has not even shown that elite quickness. He is just a talented prospect with great work ethic, a little better than Glenn Dorsey. Same with McCoy, dude will be a liability against the run in NFL IMO, either of these has their pros and cons.

  9. JDouble Says:

    Suh had 214 tackles while in college, 125 of those were solo. 57 of those were in the bacfield for a loss. He had 24 sacks and 41 QB hurries. He blocked 6 field goals. 15 passes batted down. 4 interceptions. 3 forced fumbles. Oh, and 3 touchdowns.

    I think his stats shows why the idea that he can’t get pressure is a joke. 24 sacks, 41 pressures, and 6 blocked kicks? Sounds like pressure to me.

    You look at the rest of his stats and you see that neither McCoy or Dorsey or anyone I can remeber has come close to his production. That is why I think the talk of McCoy being better is nonsense. Guess we’ll see in the coming years.

  10. jvato24 Says:

    How many hurries did McCoy have ??? Hurries is what its about

  11. JDouble Says:

    McCoy had 10 hurries last year…..6 sacks.

  12. Radio Mushmouth Says:

    10 hurries and 6 sacks is pathetic for a guy who is supposedly a pass rush specialist.

    Suh , who supposedly has no moves, had 5 sacks in a single game. They played all the same teams in the big 12 , and Suh had much better numbers .

    Get serious,people, McCoy can’t hold Suh’s jock…

  13. Radio Mushmouth Says:

    …and obviously most players do learn moves…unless you think players like Dwight Freeney came out of the womb with a spin move(doubtful)…

    You usually just don’t learn or use them until you need them. When you are strong enough to toss other people around like rag dolls, why use a swim move? It would be like expecting superman to take the sub-way when he could just fly across town.

    One thing is for sure: More players have improved thier technique in this league , than have gained 40 pounds of muscle , and/or suddenly gained natural abilities they never had in the past.

  14. KLL Says:

    Uhhhh….. someone is on drugs here. I find it very amusing, yet slightly aggravating, that ANYONE can possibly rate Gerald McCoy above Ndamukong Suh. A quicker first step is about the most retarded answer I have ever heard. Suh had double– I repeat, DOUBLE– the amout of sacks McCoy had in 2009. McCoy had 14.5 sacks in his 3 years as a starter, and Suh had 24 in 3 years (the first of those 3 years is hardly applicable as he didn’t bud until he got some adequate coaching), 19.5 in his last 2 years. Not to mention over 150 tackles in his last 2 years. What did McCoy have, maybe 70 in 08-09? And don’t anybody toss out wild claims that OU’s overall defensive talent is better than Nebraska’s and therefore took stats away from McCoy. Nebraska’s defense consistently played better than OU’s defense all year, especially in the second half of the year. The only unit OU is better at is linebacker, and the Huskers’ Phillip Dillard could have matched up with most of OU’s LBs. Nebraska’s secondary and remainder of the D-line is loads better than OU’s secondary and D-line. Suh had little pressure put on him in 2009, yet piled up stats like nothing McCoy could imagine. Sorry, but Suh is unprecedented. I’d like to see someone try and prove me wrong.