A 10-Minute Love Affair
June 23rd, 2016
Rookie Dan Vitale draws love from a Bucs legend
No snickering at Joe because of the headline.
Get your head out of the sewer.
Buccaneers rookie sixth-round pick Dan Vitale, the tight end/fullback/superback who has captured the intrigue of legions of Bucs fans (and NFL experts), has a new endorsement.
Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com caught up with Bucs icon Mike Alstott recently after the A-Train headed to One Buc Palace to meet with Vitale. Both are from the Chicago area and Alstott wanted to meet the young man who revered him.
Alstott was impressed — in a hurry.
After just one meeting, Alstott thinks Vitale can be an NFL success.
“What a great kid,” said the former Buc great. “He has a lot of similar traits to me when I was growing up, his work ethic and his passion. You can just tell in the first 10 minutes of talking to him what kind of guy he is, how blessed he feels to be here and what he’s going to do to make the team. He knows he needs to do everything he can on special teams, and he knows he needs to pick the brains of the veterans.”
There’s more in Smith’s story linked above.
Alstott trends overly positive about all things Bucs, but this is especially high praise for Vitale.
Now he just has to prove he belongs on an NFL field and is worthy of blocking for Doug Martin and Charles Sims.
June 23rd, 2016 at 1:57 pm
I love it ! A throwback player. Hopefully, the league is going back to them. Smashmouth football. Everyone is worried sick about getting hurt. Soon, they’ll be playing tag football and everyone gets a trophy !
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:05 pm
Ala Alstott’s rookie year (65 catches) – Vitale’s strength in College on offense was as a pass catcher. Whether lined up in the back field or on the line – he is capable of creating serious match up problems for opposing LBers and Safeties.
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:21 pm
Hoping he’s gonna be good, but right now, it feels like the 2016 version of Kenny Bell.
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:23 pm
My crystal ball is never wrong! Now if I could only get it to show me the winning lottery numbers.
DB55 Says:
June 22nd, 2016 at 12:03 pm
Ill slap myself for making this comparison but are Sims and Vitale supposed to be Dunn and Alstott 2.0? They look the part. Slapping will begin in 3…2..1
June 23rd, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Speaking of Alstott, Joe…I saw this article and got a kick out of it… thought you’d enjoy – http://www.hammerandrails.com/2016/6/15/11943950/conspiracy-theory-mike-alstott-our-next-athletic-director
June 23rd, 2016 at 5:16 pm
Vitale is a bit different since he is a TE/Fullback hybrid and there is not a lot of market for fullbacks so the stats could be misleading here, but he is a 6th round draft pick. Based on statistics, he only has a 30% chance of making it. That means 70% chance that in the next year or two, he won’t be on the team. Hey magic could strike, but I’ll wait until he beats those long odds before I go get all excited or go out and buy a jersey.
June 23rd, 2016 at 5:25 pm
You know how many 6th round picks drafted by the Bucs are still on the roster?
1 – Keith Tandy
June 23rd, 2016 at 5:30 pm
You know how many 5th round picks drafted by the Bucs are still on the roster?
2 – Kenny Bell, Kevin Pamphile
The rest are long gone. So out of the last 10 years, the Bucs have not drafted a single starter out of the 5th or 6th rounds. That would be a big fat zero. So again, I’ll hold my excitment for the addition of Vitale to the roster.
June 23rd, 2016 at 5:31 pm
Vitale hasn’t been a ballcarrier historically, so the Alstott comparisons are sort of overwrought even if they have some similiarities in background and build. I know it happens in all fanbases, but let’s just let some of these guys make their own name instead of trying to shoehorn every player we draft into some comparison with a player from our Golden Age. Lazy comparisons to and an unabated obsession with the 10 year span where we were relevant have made it impossible for fans to fully appreciate the production of GMC, they’ve stolen Lavonte David’s thunder, and they made it harder for some fans to realize that cutting Darelle Revis was the pinnacle of stupidity. If Vitale becomes a versatile and impactful football player, let’s enjoy that player and not keep docking him points because he’s not a 10x pro bowler who breaks a million tackles carrying the football
June 23rd, 2016 at 5:37 pm
to clarify, i’m not saying let’s not pine for a winning team again. I’m saying that was a unique collection of talent in history, and recreating that exact formula of players that talented in those specific roles is a fool’s errand. Just collect the most talented and coachable players you can and leverage whatever they happen to do well.
June 23rd, 2016 at 5:39 pm
So true pick6…all of it
June 23rd, 2016 at 6:11 pm
This is one of my favorite draft picks in years, and there have been some good ones.
June 23rd, 2016 at 7:25 pm
Dreambig, your analysis of Vitale is unwise.
To knowledgeable football people around the country, Vitale is widely viewed as a lock to make the roster. He is also projected to have instant impact and success at the NFL level.
Get smarter, please and thank you.
June 23rd, 2016 at 10:17 pm
I never comment on here, but Pick 6 has it nailed. Nice work!
June 24th, 2016 at 7:56 am
Vitale is not your average 6th rnd pick dreambig, because of the type of player he is and the need for that talent on this team. If you haven’t noticed the bucs don’t have a starting FB. And with all the run schemes we have were def gonna need one. And when you start think about the different mismatches you can create with this guy it’s hard to believe that there gonna cut him. You could line him up in the backfield and then split him out wide to create a mismatch with a LB all day. And he’s certainly shown he has the receiving skills to do so. The guys a walking Swiss army knife. He can play 3 different positions if need be. No reason to get rid of a guy that provides depth like that.
June 24th, 2016 at 8:05 am
special teams player with the versatility to run “gadget/mismatch” plays on Sundays with the offence IF he makes the team (pads on will obviously weed out the wheat from the chaff).
June 24th, 2016 at 8:12 am
All his intangibles at the scout combine were lrgit too. His 40, shuffle, and bench press were all tops. One NFL type said he was the best receiver in the draft. Kid def has a chance.