Derrick Brooks Not In Love With Suh, McCoy
February 16th, 2010
Former Bucs great Derrick Brooks doesn't believe Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy are "franchise-changers" and doesnt believe the Bucs will draft Eric Berry at No. 3.
Future Hall of Famer and former Bucs great Derrick Brooks co-hosted “The Red Zone” with FoxSports.com’s Alex Marvez, heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, when the two discussed the Bucs upcoming draft on Tuesday afternoon.
In short, Brooks is not slobbering in love with defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and manbeast Nfamukong Suh, and Brooks doesn’t believe the Bucs will draft safety Eric Berry.
A caller asked if the Bucs might just stay at No. 3 and, swallowing their medicine about not (potentially) having a chance at Suh or McCoy, instead select Berry to fill a glaring hole at safety. The caller admitted taking a safety at No. 3 is a risk, which got Brooks talking about value picking at No. 3.
Brooks noted his idea of a defensive tackle in the top three are “franchise-changers like Warren Sapp, Russell Maryland or Cortez Kennedy. Suh and McCoy are good but are they Warren Sapp? I don’t think so. Just based from the level of competition they played, I just don’t think so. Maybe I am biased toward Warren? …Yes, they are premiere defensive tackles but are they franchise-changers? No, I don’t think so.”
At safety, the Bucs “have Tanard Jackson who was a steal. I think he can be a superstar. But they spent a lot of money on Sabby in the second round. If you draft Eric Berry, you are basically giving up on one of those guys.
“Now is one year [shining] at Tennessee, is that enough to be a top-five pick?”
Marvez noted he would be very surprised if the Bucs “who are pinching pennies at every turn” would trade up due to the costs of signing Suh or McCoy. Instead they’d more likely trade down to stock up on draft picks who won’t cost as much.
February 16th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
He’s still bitter about being cut. Is he biased towards Sapp, of course. Was Sapp a top 3 pick before the pot smoking, no, and looked how he turned out. McCoy or Suh IS worth the pick.
I would agree with him on Berry. WAY too much hype on him. Rather than draft Berry, why not just trade for Kerry Rhodes with a second round pick and see if Sabby improves?
February 16th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Thank you Derrick. I still want the Bucs to draft Tim Tebow. I watched Freeman loose games last season. With Bradford and McCoy having shoulder injuries, and Claussen playing in the Big 10, there’s no better QB. Or, trade the #1 pick and send Freeman to Philly for McNabb. Not a great draft class to begin with.
WARREN SAPP IS ONE OF THE GREATEST D-LINE OF ALL-TIME!!!
DEFENSE ALWAYS WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
February 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I’m not sure any of the old guard Buc players will ever think there is a better player than ____________________ (fill in the blank with any Pro Bowl Buc player under Dungy). Bottom line is, the Bucs will make their picks, and some will think they were dumb moves, while others will think they are genius. I just hope Dominik knows what he is doing. Time will tell.
February 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Derrick Brooks is my all time favorite Buc but I have to disagree with him on this one. He must not be watching the same players that every other football fan and analyst in the free world has.
Suh and McCoy both look like the type of players who can change a franchise. I remember watching Warren Sapp in college and praying that the Bucs could somehow draft him. I got that same feeling last year watching Suh.
I will however agree about Berry. #3 is too early for a safety. Sabby has definately been made out to be the goat of the defense. But D-line is the biggest need we have right now by far.
February 16th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
The rule of thumb is don’t draft need, draft best available. With McCoy in the 3 spot, you kill 2 birds with one stone.
February 16th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
If I was the bucs ownership if mccoy or suh are still there at 3 I would see about a trade with washington or seattle and pick up more pick and if suh or mccoy r still there. Then u can take him and have more picks to work with!
February 16th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Although I agree with Derrick, who has been the BEST player in Tampa’s history, he offered no alternative solution. So, draft nobody? It isn’t that easy to trade backwards and get extra value picks.
February 16th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I believe we should do what we have done for decades from the Wyche era on. Draft ” Best Available ” almost without regard to position. This team has way too many holes on both sides of the ball to draft by position of need. Stay away from the obvious early round QB’s and positions you have solidly developing picks from the last couple of drafts. I do think #3 is too high for Berry or most Safeties/Corners. There is usually just too much value down the draft board to pay a safety that much money. Ronde Barber and John Lynch were steals and became High paid very productive players. Seems that the only team dumb enough to pull off a bonehead move like Berry at # 3 would be the Bucs.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Just a quick note, Eric Berry started for 3 years, was freshman of the year in the SEC, a two time Unanimous All American, SEC defensive player of the year as a sophomore and won the Thorpe Award this year. He didn’t just shine in one year.
That is all
February 16th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Steve:
Guess it shows Brooks had time to watch college football this past year.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
YOU GUYS NEED TO PLEASE UNDERSTAND SOMETHING…IF THE BUCS DO GO WITH BERRY AT #3 PER SAY…..THAT MEANS MORRIS WHO IS PRIMARILY A DEFENSIVE BACKS GUY..THAT IS HIS TRUE SPECIALTY THROUGHOUT HIS ENTIRE FOOTBALL CAREER….WILL HAVE MADE A SERIOUS DECISION FOR THE TEAM…HE WILL HAVE GONE INTO THE FILM ROOM FOR MANY MANY HOURS AND COME OUT WITH THE PHILOSOPHY THAT THE BUCS HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS WITH PISCATELLI THAT ARE UNCORRECTABLE AND HE IS NOT THE PLAYER THEY THOUGHT HE COULD BE AND WILL NEVER BLOSSOM INTO THAT PLAYER EITHER…THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE THE ONLY CONCLUSION IF THEY GO WITH BERRY……THE PICK WOULD THUS CONFIRM THAT PISCATELLI CANT BE COACHED UP, CORRECTED, OR DEVELOPED ON ANY LEVEL AND THEY ARE TOTALLY GOING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION DUE TO HIM BEING A TOTAL BUST AS AN NFL PLAYER….I DONT THINK THE BUCS BELIEVE THAT AT ALL, SO I SAY THEY WILL DEFINITELY NOT DRAFT BERRY….I SAY THEY GO LINEBACKER IF THE 2 BIG DT’S ARE NO LONGER ON THE BOARD…….ADAM FROM NY
February 16th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
REGARDIN BROOKS:
INCREDIBLE LINEBACKER HEADING TO THE HALL OF FAME…..
HOWEVER HE NEEDS TO RE-THINK WHAT HE IS DOING AS HE IS NOT REALLY CUT OUT FOR THIS TELEVISION ANALYSIS….NO QUESTION HE KNOWS HIS FOOTBALL AND HAS A HIGH FOOTBALL IQ……..
THE THING IS IM NOT SO SURE HE HAS A HIGH LIFE IQ AS HE SPEAKS SO POORLY USING WRONG LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH ALL THE TIME….IN LIKE EVERY OTHER SENTENCE. HE SPEAKS….HE SOUNDS SOMEWHAT UNEDUCATED….THATS A MAJOR PROBLEM IF YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO DELVE INTO A MEDIA CAREER…..YOU NEED A HIGH LIFE IQ TO DO TELEVISION AND MEDIA ASS YOU ARE CONSTANTLY TALKING TO THE PUBLIC AND NEED TO COME ACROSS CORRECTLY….AS HE MIGHT KNOW MORE ABOUT FOOTBALL THAN SOME OF THE BEST…HOWEVER THE LITTLE VOICE IN THEIR EARS COACHES THEM ALL UP WITH INFO AND STATS WHEN THEY ARE ON THE AIR….SO DERRICK NEEDS TO TAKE A LANGUAGE COURSE OR ITS TIME TO BECOME A LINEBACKERS COACH…..I LOVE THE GUY, ONE OF MY FAVORITE BUCS OF ALL TIME…BUT HE NEEDS COACHING UP ON THE USE OF THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE AS YOU CANT GIVE EDUCATED ADVICE IF IT COMES OUT ALL WRONG EVERY TIME YOU SPEAK….ADAM FROM NY
February 16th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Hey ADAM from NY, you are the same guy that said we should trade Freeman for some pick, didn’t you? Keep coming with those words of wisdom dude.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
If you want to really help Josh Freeman, draft Russell Okung as a franchise OT. These big guys are worthy of top 5 picks and money. You can’t go wrong with the best LT in the Class. If Penn gets hurt, who will take his place???? How long can they survive Trueblood????
February 16th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I have read some Draft Experts who consider Berry the second best player in the draft, and almost as good a prospect as Suh. Berry would be very beneficial in our division, especially against the Saints. As for Sabby, wasn’t he a human highlight reel for the other team? It seems like he was either missing a critical tackle on a running back, or chasing a wide receiver into the endzone. Perpetually out of position and taking the wrong angle seemed to be his specialty.
Of course without a pass rush no secondary can hold up………..this team has a ton of needs.
February 16th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
@BigMacAttack, you might be right. I think the Buc could surprise everyone and go offense with that first pick in order to help #5. I just hope they don’t reach with their pick.
February 16th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
You read my mind BigMac. The three recipes for success in the NFL are get a franchise QB, protect him, then go get the opposing QB. Everything in the NFL revolves around whether or not the QB can stay on his feet.
February 16th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
You guys have to understand when Raheem stated he wanted to “help number five” He likely said, “what you would love to do is help number five”. You have to understand he speaks in the third person, literally, almost all the time. There is “regular Rah”, then “Best Self Rah” (unless the Friday practice was blown), and then “you” which is sort of a general acceptance consensus of the universe and a quasi-third person. (“what you want to see is…………………….etc.)
So, depending which person he was at the time, “Rah” could have meant getting Offensive line help for “five”, or defensive help so “five” didn’t have so much pressure to score, or maybe a receiver to “help five” .
We really need an official Raheem Morris translator…………………..
February 16th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
LMFAO @ Eric!!! Nice breakdown.
February 16th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Fear not, once the extra post draft OTA’s ordered by the General Manager are conducted at “camp dream”, the newly selected “selfs” will be fully indoctrinated into the Rah system, and we may able to lose a bunch more games by seven points or less.
February 16th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I say Glazerhouse goes with the cheapest player available period!!!
February 16th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
I take it Brooks did not watch the Big 12 championship game ??
By the way , instead of just being a naysayer , and claiming everyone sucks , why doesn’t the genius Brooks tell us who HE would pick…
February 16th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
It’s fair to say that Brooks knows far more about player skills than any of us armchair, fantasy goofs. It might be excitig to draft an immediate impact player, and lord knows the Bucs need impact players. But Brooks may have a point.
But Derrick is just one out of many voices. In fact, all teh voices are from people who are not in the war room preparing to make some of the most critical decisions our franchise will have in the next decade.
I like Joe’s insight and look forward to the coverage. In fact, I’m probably going to sign up for the $10 draft insight. Maybe if Joe makes enough money, he can buy himself an hour with that cheerleader he keeps flashing. Then maybe he’ll blog about the encounter and give us all something spectacular to read about.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
JD:
LOL!!!
That would take a helluva lot of draft subscriptions for Joe to be able to coerce Rachel Watson into his lair! 🙂
February 17th, 2010 at 12:12 am
No need to purchase an hour for a 90 second encounter!
February 17th, 2010 at 12:56 am
ROTFLMAO!!!
February 17th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Using the #3 overall pick means that whatever player the Bucs select will be counted on to have an IMMEDIATE impact.
Taking Eric Berry means that Sabby “the goat” Piscitelli gets benched. Now lets really look at Sabby shall we?
He’s really only had 2 complete seasons in 2008 and 2009.
In 08 he had 48 tackles and in 09 he had 80 tackles so he improved right?
Since Rah-Rah is a defensive guru isn’t it resonable to believe that he can get more production from Sabby?
Beside since everyone agrees to give Rah-Rah a pass because 2009 was just his rookie year I think that we should extend that thinking to Sabby as well since last year was really his sophomore year.
February 17th, 2010 at 3:42 am
i never said that johnson……….you keep putting words in my mouth…and for what reason?…i have no idea…what i did say is what IF we trade freeman for a draft pick or something to that nature….i just wanted to here people take on it…of course we invested in the guy and i like the potential so we should ride it out with the guy at least 2 more years, maybe 3….but i certainly wanted to here peoples stance on freebird at this point…you somehow have misconstrued it to mean i want to get rid of free-chize for a draft pick….whats wrong with you jonny get it together and comment on what people say not what you want it to say….adam from ny
February 17th, 2010 at 8:27 am
You have 3 sure starters in Suh, McCoy, & Berry. Defense wins Championships. Don’t trade the 3rd pick. Use it! Draft defense, even in the 2nd & 3rd rounds. Brooks is wrong in his assessment. And while Berry may not be that big nasty d-lineman that we want. He is versatile. He can be more than a safety. Suh or McCoy will be there at #3.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:59 am
According to her webpage at HitThatCheerleader.com, she has a 1 hour minimum. He better flush the pipes before arrival.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Seems like Brooks just hates the hype surrounding the players. Obviously they’re not going to come in and be a Warren Sapp, but you draft guys based on potential. I don’t know what competition he wants them to play against, but they played against the highest college competition there is, there’s no knock against them. The fact that he didn’t name any players shows that he just has a bias in the rookie versus veteran argument. Having money invested in Piscitelli isn’t an excuse to not draft a replacement for him either.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Angelo:
Very interesting point. You may be spot on. Notice that Steve White pointed out that Brooks was incorrect, factually, in his assessment of Eric Berry may flush out that Brooks doesn’t spend that much time studying college football, outside of possibly Florida State.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Mr Brooks is known to watch college film on alot of players coming into the league as rookies. Adrian Peterson is just one example of how he said he studied his college film to get a sense of his tendencies, for when they played against him and the Vikings.
From a sprots illustrated article(2008) BROOKS’S PREPARATION for Minnesota did not begin five days before the game, with his weekly Tuesday-night phone call from linebackers coach Gus Bradley, who told him, “Peterson’s mind-set is not to turn a four-yard play into a 10-yard play. It’s to turn four yards into 95.” No, the preparation began 49 months earlier, in the den of his north Tampa house, when for the first time he watched Peterson run. For years Brooks has mentally catalogued the moves and tendencies of college players he might have to tackle one day. On that October afternoon in 2004, Peterson, then a 19-year-old Oklahoma freshman, burned Texas for 225 yards. On his third carry of the game he broke off a 44-yard misdirection play.