“He’s Not Just Going To Stay Blocked”

August 31st, 2011

It’s a persistent theme when former Buccaneer defensive end Steve White (1996-2001) watches Adrian Clayborn play football; White is always impressed by the rookie’s high-speed, relentless motor.

White’s not one to sugarcoat stuff, so it’s worth noting when White can’t say enough about Clayborn’s intensity.

“He’s not just going to stay blocked,” White said on the Primetime show on 1040 AM yesterday.

White said Clayborn’s technique needs a lot of work but he will keep working moves if one doesn’t work. After film study of the Bucs-Dolphins game, White said Clayborn played very well and caused a lot of disruption. “He has incredible effort rushes,” White said.

On the other side of the ball, White said, “you’d be crazy to just disregard it” when asked about the Bucs’ struggles running the ball in preseason. To White, it’s concerning. He stopped just short of naming names and saying Jeremy Zuttah should replace Ted Larsen at left guard, but that was the thinly-veiled implication.

Joe’s not sure what has happened to Larsen, one of Mark Dominik’s successful “second draft” finds last year. But he needs to overhaul his game in a hurry if he wants to stay on the field.

18 Responses to ““He’s Not Just Going To Stay Blocked””

  1. Dew Says:

    Zuttah over Larsen and Dotson over Trueblood IMO. And Dom needs to be watching the waiver wire closely for offensive lineman.

  2. Buc N' A Says:

    Trueblood was signed to a two year extension. That’s significant. He plays for us this year. Next draft we go bang, bang on O-line picks 1 and 2. Trueblood is a stop gap measure nothing more. MAYBE we go RB in round 2, but I have a feeling LG AND RT are the next on MD’s agenda.

  3. SteveK Says:

    Next Years Draft:

    1. O-Line
    2. DB
    3. O-Line
    5. DB
    6. O-Line
    7. DB

    (I wish)

  4. Garv Says:

    Love Clayborn’s motor and enthusiastic love of the game.
    He’s going to be a good player, a very good player IMO.

    The DL is coming along nicely!

  5. thegregwitul Says:

    O-Line, DB and backup RB are the top three areas of concern, imo. I would target two o-line players and a DB in the first three rounds of the draft, look for a RB in round four and go from there, although it’s really too early to even speculate on next years draft.

    j.

  6. BucsnBeer Says:

    I would put LB over DB.

  7. Capt.Tim Says:

    If Steve White says it- it’s gospel to me! The O-line has been a big concern for me. I’m really bummed. Out about Larsen. I never thought his future was at guard, but I thought he’d put Faine on the bench this year, as Larsen is a center. Dew and Buc’n A are spot On.

    I want to hear what steve thinks about the LBer Corp. Hayes looks better. Foster will be really good in time. Quincy is still invisible

    Clayborn will be a beast! And a great personality. Glad he’s a Buc!

  8. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    I’m confused. Thomas said Clayborn was invisible against Miami. Who should I believe, Steve White or the always-knowledgeable Thomas?

  9. Jrock Says:

    Dew, Dotson over Trueblood? Really? Tblood is probably the only guy who has been consistent over the preseason, Dotson has struggled vs 2nd stringers.

    I’ll agree with Zuttah over Larsen though. I wish Zuttah would be given 1st team rights, sigh.

    I would also rather see Watson playing more. I think he’s going to take someone’s job by mid-season, be it Black or Hayes – they both need to play A LOT better

  10. Dave Says:

    I see the draft stuff already. I would agree an O-Lineman and a DB will be on the top priority list, but a LB might be up there as well depending on how Hayes, Watson, and Black play.

  11. jvato24 Says:

    Something completely overlooked IMO is that we had backups in last year playing at a high level.

    Now we get all of our starters back, And they pat the DL on the back on the way to get Freeman.

    Only difference, Pete Mangurian is Gone. Pat Morris is here.

    One needs to look only as far as the D-Line to see what difference a coach makes.

    Pat Morris is a BIG Name though .. He had some good numbers .. Right ?? Who was his running Back ?? Oh yeah .. Adrian Peterson.

  12. MikeBucFan Says:

    Are you guys kidding me? You’re seriously talking about what we need to draft next year? The season hasn’t even started yet!!! You have no idea what we need to draft next season! My god, reading some of this stuff blows my mind.

  13. FLBoyInDallas Says:

    Mike, totally agree. Buc fans are some of the least knowledgeable in the country. Sadly.

  14. MOBucs Says:

    Mike and FLboy beat me to it. Seriously! Talking about next years draft before 1 meaningful game is played. The O-line has been inconsistent in the preseason, but everyone needs to relax. Freeman hasn’t been blowing me away either but should we think about drafting a QB next draft because of a couple mediocre preseason performances? I’m not saying depth at O-line isn’t a good thing, but it seems like some are writing off the season already because of 2 shaky preseason games. One thing I saw that made me feel a lot better about the offense was the 2-minute drill at the end of the 1st half in the last game. The entire offense was very impressive and moved the ball without a hitch. I think Olsen and the other coordinators are playing very vanilla football right now as a strategy to keep teams from seeing a lot of the intricacies of the offense.

  15. MOBucs Says:

    As far a Clayborn goes, the dude is a monster. He absolutely does not quit and holds his ground well against the run. Some people look solely at a player’s stat line to decide whether or not they made an impact. This shows an overall lack of football knowledge by those folks. Steve White has played the game and knows exactly what he’s talking about. So I’d take his word for it Hawaiian Buc. 😉

  16. BecklesHeartsRuud Says:

    Clayborn= best bull rushing defensive end i’ve ever seen in a bucs uniform.

  17. BecklesHeartsRuud Says:

    Seriously, Clayborn’s bull rush is so powerful that he doesn’t need to be a Simeon rice type around the edge to be an elite pass rusher. I love that spin move he throws in and his superb handfighting ability is obvious. As he gains experience, learns opposing LT’s tendencies and masters when to use what pass rush move, I can envision him becoming a double digit sack guy easily.

  18. Brian "Blubber" Price Says:

    Does Steve White still think Barrett Ruud is a beast ? LOL