Maybe Geno Hayes Needs To Be Hypnotized?
February 19th, 2011
Joe loves Geno Hayes. Dude is athletic and when he gets a chance can really splash players despite not being the largest of linebackers. And as Joe loves to quote Whitey Herzog, “Speed kills.”
Geno has speed.
Sad thing about Geno is, despite being a lightning-quick outside linebacker, it seems as though hecannot get a quarterback sack unless the calendar has turned to December.
This fact was recently documented by eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune as he took to Twitter, posting on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed.
In 2009, Bucs LB Geno Hayes had 0 sacks through 12 gms and 3 in his final 3. Last year, he had 0 sacks through 12 and 4 in his final 4.
To this Joe can only say, “What the hell?”
Look, once is an accident, twice is a pattern. Maybe Geno needs to see a shrink to have him convinced each month of the season is December? Or could it be that Geno gets so giddy to see Santa Claus each year he wants to share his spirit of giving with opposing quarterbacks?
February 19th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
I think the truth is much easier to figure. I watched our LBs closely this year, and Hayes and Black play very soft. Hayes avoided contact, presumabaly to avoid injury. He actually plays hard the last few games, confident hes made it thru the majority of the season. I bet there are some similar statistics for Quincy Black. They are both fast, and soft. Hopefully we can remedy that this draft. It s too bad, because they are both talented. But a LB that doesn’t wanna Hit??? You can’t fix that
February 19th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
All Geno Hayes needs to do is play hard on special teams….like all the other back ups.
February 19th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
That means he should have 5 sacks in his final 5 games THIS year.
Awesome.
February 19th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
I really think when we get some defensive ends that can do their jobs we will see Geno Hayes with more tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
February 19th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Does Ira ever have anything positive to write about?
February 19th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Gitarlvr- every draft site Notes that Lb is a huge need. It is because of the bad play of Hayes and Black. They are both soft, and need to be replaced, if our Run defense is to improve.
February 19th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
I think it’s his work ethic, (time in the film room). Just speculation but that’s my opinion.
February 19th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
@mpmally Dude, is gonna be a beast in 2019.
February 19th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Who cares what Ira writes.
February 19th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Capt. Tim -Well I’ll agree that Hayes is smallish and gets swallowed up by blockers on the second level but so did Derrick Brooks at times(and most Tampa2 style linebackers for that matter) when his d-line failed to be stout against power running games. But Hayes flashes pro-bowl ability to shoot through gaps into the backfield to make plays and I think your giving up a little early on a young guy who has yet to show if he can turn those flashes into more consistent play behind a better defensive line. There is no doubt that Hayes lays the hardest wood of the current Bucs backers when he is able to use his speed to make plays. I sometimes rag on Quincy Black for his total lack of splash plays but even he is not a liability- he’s just not a star. I think the Bucs need to try to find a superstar linebacker but I’m not sure Geno would be the first guy to be replaced and quite frankly there is doubt in my mind that they can find a guy that is that much of an upgrade in this draft. Geno has certainly far outplayed his 6th round draft status- thats for damned sure.
February 19th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Incidentally Pro Football Focus rated Quincy Black slightly better than Geno Hayes as one of their All-NFC South outside linebackers. Some people might not trust their evaluation methodology but I do and apparently so do some NFL professionals. They say basically the same thing I have been saying about Black, which is he doesn’t make splash plays like a star. But they also say he is basically rock solid in all facets of the game.
http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/01/24/pff-all-nfc-south-team/
Also incidentally, they have Gerald McCoy listed as one of their all NFC-South defensive tackles and Ronde Barber as one of their all NFC-South cornerbacks. They also have Blount as their all NFC-South halfback saying he led ALL NFL running backs with 50 broken tackles. Should be encouraging news for Bucs fans.
February 19th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
I think Geno needs to be tried out at MLB. I heard him state himself that he believes he would be better suited for it.
February 19th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Is it possible that a feared pass rushing DE would do wonders for him?
February 19th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Geno Hayes at MLB….perhaps the worst idea I’ve heard all month.
February 20th, 2011 at 2:50 am
I think I remain in agreement with the majority of the pro football world. Our two OLB played very sift, and are a major weakness in our Defense. I think the biggest failure , on an otherwise excellent campaign, was The failed attempt to use Quincy Black as a rush LB. We tried that REPEATEDLY thru the first 12 games , only to have it fail. Why? Because Blackwont find thru a blocker!!! Not only would every tackle stop him cold, so did every single FB and RB! A Sam LB HAS to be able to apply pressure if blocked by RBs! Je has to!! But Black was stopped by every blocker he ran into into the backfield. Your sam LB can’t be just big and fast. Heist bring a strong physical prescence to the TE side of the offensive formation- Black didn’t,despite repeated attempts to make him a featured Rusher!
Hayes had a similar problem. Most teams run to the TE, or right side, of the formation. Hayes’s job is to Perdue from the backside, weaving thru traffic and shedding Blockers. No one has ever done it better than Derrick Brooks. Hayes was stopped by any blocker he met. Like Black, it often looked like he was looking for a blocker to lean on, taking him out of the play.
That’s why the NFL experts list OlB as a major need, and why we need two OLbs. Both these guys are young, but honestly, this is a rare NFL problem, and no one really tries to fix it. Avoiding contact for a LB is like a carpenter being allergic to nails, or a lawyer being unable to focus on legal text( for you, friend Eric)! It’s something you really can’t work around!
February 20th, 2011 at 2:55 am
I think I remain in agreement with the majority of the pro football world. Our two OLB played very soft,, and are a major weakness in our Defense. I think the biggest failure , on an otherwise excellent campaign, was The failed attempt to use Quincy Black as a rush LB. We tried that REPEATEDLY thru the first 12 games , only to have it fail. Why? Because Black won’t fight thru a blocker!!! Not only would every tackle stop him cold, so did every single FB and RB! A Sam LB HAS to be able to apply pressure if blocked by RBs! He has to!! But Black was stopped by every blocker he ran into into the backfield. Your sam LB can’t be just big and fast. Heist bring a strong physical prescence to the TE side of the offensive formation- Black didn’t,despite repeated attempts to make him a featured Rusher!
Hayes had a similar problem. Most teams run to the TE, or right side, of the formation. Hayes’s job is to Perdue from the backside, weaving thru traffic and shedding Blockers. No one has ever done it better than Derrick Brooks. Hayes was stopped by any blocker he met. Like Black, it often looked like he was looking for a blocker to lean on, taking him out of the play.
That’s why the NFL experts list OlB as a major need, and why we need two OLbs. Both these guys are young, but honestly, this is a rare NFL problem, and no one really tries to fix it. Avoiding contact for a LB is like a carpenter being allergic to nails, or a lawyer being unable to focus on legal text( for you, friend Eric)! It’s something you really can’t work around!
February 20th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
I don’t know why you think Geno Hayes avoids contact. That simply isn’t true. He is small and will sometimes lose individual battles but never because of playing scared. Geno can lay some hits on people for a guy his size.
February 20th, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Gino will hit someone on an open shot. He will not fight thru a block to get there. That’s the problem.