Hit The Brakes On The Tanard Jackson Chatter
September 26th, 2011
It was almost too predictable for Joe.
When Roddy White proved more than a handful for E.J. Biggers, when a rookie racked up over 100 yards receiving on Aqib Talib, when safety Cody Grimm went down with a knee injury, Bucs fans on this very site were jumping up and down about the imminent return of suspended Bucs safety Tanard Jackson.
Hold up!
As Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times documented last week, Jackson’s return to the Bucs is hardly imminent.
For starters, do not assume Jackson will automatically be back on the Bucs’ roster on Thursday, for several reasons. The biggest of these is that the Bucs don’t have any control over this situation. Jackson must apply for reinstatement and that request will be granted only when Goodell deems it appropriate. There are conditions associated with players’ suspensions, and unless those conditions are met, he is not reinstated. And the substance-abuse policy does not specify when Goodell must make a decision. Because details are confidential, there’s no way to know whether Jackson has been in compliance.
Jackson’s sentence expired last week but that does not mean he is automatically eligible to return to the Bucs. It all lies in the hands of NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell.
Now don’t go fingering Goodell as some Bucs fans have tried. Jackson put himself in this position and no one but Jackson himself is responsible for his predicament. Goodell didn’t fire up the bong and pass it to Jackson (allegedly).
So let Joe play Devil’s Advocate: Let’s say Jackson is indeed reinstated this morning. The dude is hardly in football playing shape. Shoot, after the first week of training camp, Raheem Morris wouldn’t even let his players participate in an Oklahoma drill at the open practice at the stadium because the players hadn’t practiced at all since the previous season (sans a few workouts with Josh Freeman).
So how on earth could anyone expect Jackson to be in NFL playing shape after five practices, after a year away from the game? That’s crazy talk.
No, Jackson will not be starting for the Bucs when they host the Colts on Monday Night Football. Anyone thinking that, Joe will just quote the great Mike North.
“Slow down!”
September 26th, 2011 at 8:17 am
Lmao! They might as well cry to bring John Lynch or Jermaine Phillips back!! At least they were good players! And dependable!
Tanard was an OK player( at best) , who can not be counted on
September 26th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Just a thought…How is that “dream team” of free agents working for the Eagles? Joe, Cory Lynch seemed to play well yesterday. I figure he is the next guy up.
Do you plan on writing anything about the Bucs being fined 100K for contact during the lockout? I know you hate talking about the lockout.
September 26th, 2011 at 8:47 am
OK at best? Lets be real Tanard Jackson was more than an OK player people get to caught up in what ppl do outside of the field. Lets not forget that these guys have lives too. I dont care if this guy smokes or not whatever the case may be thats his life his decision but when it comes to the football field TJack is a difference maker. And who’s to say TJack isnt working out and doing football drills? some guys have to be made an example of before they get on the right track to better themselves
September 26th, 2011 at 9:09 am
TJax was a stud when he was on the field, saying he is average at best is ridiculous…. Even with Talib on the field TJax was the best player in the secondary
September 26th, 2011 at 9:12 am
I want Tanard back ASAP. I understand it is outside the Buc’s hands, but they should be pressuring for his return privately as hard as they can. I absolutely agree he’s going to need some time to prepare, physically and mentally, when he returns. So what? All that means is we need him back sooner rather than later to get that prep time over with.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:31 am
I’m not arguing that TJax is in football shape, but I don’t think it’s ludicrous to believe he could be. He’s a professional athlete, he didn’t get there by being lazy. These guys know how to workout, and its completely plausible that if he was motivated enough he could have himself in shape. The mere statement that its “crazy to think he could be in shape” is the only crazy part of this article. People that are professional athletes don’t become them without having an incredible work ethic.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Here is the deal with the secondary –
The game plan was obvious to me and it hung the secondary out to dry against Jones and white.
Game plan: It was crush the middle to stop Turner at all costs and stop Gonzalez.
I think it was great!! Talib and Biggers and Barber etc… did better than most think against a real good QB throwing to pro-bowl caliber WRs over 40 times.
They didn’t play great, but it was not as bad as the stats show. Kind of like the run defense against Detroit, they played much better than the stats showed.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Capt.,
Tanard wasn’t good? Then you bring up Phillips? I like him but he was hurt every year. Kinda like being suspended for drug issues….ur still not playing. I don’t know how much he will help, but he is a lot faster than the other guys we have in the SS/FS position. And he has good ball skills and can catch.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:51 am
it would seem silly to me to not bring him back to at least be a rotational player. i understand that he’s not dependable off the field and all that, but the cody grimm injury kind of forces thier hand.
September 26th, 2011 at 9:56 am
Holder has been wrong often enough, so I really don’t care what he says.
OMG, Joe…did you really just say that? roflmao!
On to Tanard Jackson & other matters…
I think its possible Jackson is in, or close to being in, game shape. He seemed to have no troubles during the lockout workouts when he attended (I think he attended the one in Bradenton-Sarasota area).
I also think that with the injury to Grimm, the Bucs may ask Goodell to expedite (sp) his decision so they know if they need to find a free agent.
Is Lynch good enough?
Well it all starts up front. If the front 5 guys (including Foster) keep getting better, it will make it easier on Lynch. Last year, Jackson was suspended and wasn’t Grimm injured then as well? Who filled in for him? Was it Lynch? (I really do not recall; just woke up).
The REAL issue to be dealt with…
E. J. Biggers
He’s just not good enough. The Falcons would not have had that comeback if not for him. The Bucs were likely wanting to give it another year to develop him…and if the rest of the defense was doing poorly because of their youth, I might be inclined to agree.
But the Defensive line is coming together ahead of schedule. We may well be a contender this year. And Biggers is the guy that could cost us big.
Fullback
I said it before the draft and after the draft. I said it all the way to the start of the season. We need a big heavy fullback to open lanes for Blount. Lorenzo in his prime type of guy. If we want the running game to take off, that’s what we need.
Running Back
Blount is great at pounding through the defense…but we need a finesse (sp) back as well. Caddy was that guy, but I think it was the right thing to let him go. It was the wrong thing to not replace him.
If I had my choices
1) I would release Collin Franklin from the practice squad and replace him with a young cornerback that shows promise. It won’t threaten Biggers enough to give him a bad attitude…but it will show him they are concerned. And it gives the Bucs a fallback plan to start preparing.
2) I would give some attention to Bradford to see if he can be prepped properly. I would also start working with Mossis Madu (practice squad) a little more…get him ready.
I’m concerned that blount could get injured. He pounds that rock…and without the Offensive Line opening proper holes for him…he could overdo it and get injured.
If he does get injured, what are we left with? Nothing. Graham can’t replace him. Bradford is not ready. Madu is not nearly ready. We may have to delve into free agency. Who’s out there?
Huggins is.
Peanut is.
Tiki is.
If I had my choice, I would go with Peanut. Tiki is experienced, but at his age injury is an issue. Still, at this point he would come cheap.
Unless Bradford is improving in leaps and bounds. Either way…someone needs to be there.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:00 am
Biggers allowed over 60 yards to Jones. Jones’ 100 yards was not all Talib by any means.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Biggers also had a few shutdown plays in the End Zone and Made the Final Bucs drive possible against the Vikes last week ,….. For those who want to whine about Biggers you are in a Dream World and need to Wake Up !!!
Biggers has been one of our more consistent DBs and is basically a 2nd year 7th Round Pick … I would say he is outplaying his expectations.
For those of you who think Good DBs are always perfect why dont you go watch some tape from the Eagles – Giants game and watch how the GREAT Nnamdi Asougmha played and how many yards … OR TDs he gave up.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:18 am
How quickly we forget that he was once considered one of if not the best player on our team……will he start this week no….in football shape is he our best safety……yes.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Also … If you put on the Bucs film there is always a certain #26 running into the screen a few steps behind the Big Plays. Sean Jones Gives up Points every game
September 26th, 2011 at 10:26 am
Tanard Jackson most likely wouldnt start for sometime. But it would allow the Bucs to run some special packages with him as the lone deep Safety instead of #26 and do some more Bump and Pressure packages.
Tanard Jackson is a very instinctive player which will help him on the field quickly. You are kidding yourself if you think he hasnt had an IPAD with all Defensive plays.
This is more like being out with an injury for a season .. Except no injury.
But first things first he has to come back.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:38 am
I predict Jackson will be back and starting at some point this season.
And if we’re going to be realistic here, the sooner he’s back and starting the better for the Bucs’ record.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:44 am
Pete – I don’t normally disagree with you, but I think you’re WAY off base here. Is Biggers as good as Talib and Barber? No, not yet. Is he as bad as you make him out to be? Not even close. He has done well, and he was pitted against an All Pro WR yesterday, as the coaches felt we needed Talib to match up with Julio Jones in a better size/speed matchup. Considering that, he did pretty good.
Then you go on about a Fullback with size to open run lanes. Have you even been watching games this season? Lorig has been near brilliant with his blocking. Yesterday I watched him hit the hole, find the LB and drive him 5 yards out of the hole as Blount went through untouched. Last week, I watched as he recognized the crashing backside pressure and pulled up short of the hole to seal that guy out to let Blount actually get to the hole. He has good vision, great size/strength. Really, watch Lorig play, he’s been pretty amazing so far this year. Last week, I even called him out as one of the most underrated players on the team for his efforts against the Vikes.
And finally, Caddy was NOT a finesse back. Not even close. He was a very good 3rd down back that could pass protect, blitz pickup, catch passes out of the backfield, and run draw plays and screens. We do not “need” a finesse back, but we do need a more consistent back to spell Blount. I couldn’t care less if it’s the same type of back, or a scat back, or something in between. Graham is ok, but seems to have lost a step and can’t shake the first guy anymore.
September 26th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Football shape does not refer to working out in the gym, running, conditioning, etc. It has to do with throwing your body into larg men running full speed. The body has to get used to that.
September 26th, 2011 at 11:18 am
I personally know tanard and he’s in shape and been training all I know is when he gets back on the field he will make a statement. Doubters continue doubting but with Jackson in the line up our defense will be top ten again. And people will have to gameplan for our safeties…because we’re winning games but we’re also allowing 300 per game through the air and that’s so unbucs like
September 26th, 2011 at 11:34 am
BamBamBuc, You’re the resident statistician here. Can you clear up something for me? I read that the rookie Julio Jones got 48 yds from 4 recpts on Talib, 18 yds on EJ Biggers, and 49yds on either Jones or Lynch due to an assignment error in zone coverage when Lynch came in for the injured Grimm. Is this correct?
September 26th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Dave- in this “post of madness”, you were spot on. The game plan was very obvious from the beginning. We were going to put heat on Ryan, Stop Gonzales, and leave our Corners one on one. Biggers had White. Barber had Jones. In the three receiver sets( most of the time!) Ronde played the Slot receiver, and Talib played Jones
I gotta say, I thought all three of them played pretty well!
Biggers gave up 150 yards to White- but no TDs! Barber did great on Jones and Reems. Talib gave up the 49 yard pass to jones, but played solidly the rest of the game. I thought they did good! But when Atlanta went to 4 WR, we struggled. Gotta get s
September 26th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Damn it ! Gotta get another Cb up and running. Didn’t see Lewis much yesterday.
One thing is obvious. If any of our top three CBs atelier for any time, we are in trouble!
September 26th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
One name: Ahmad Black. The reporting I’ve read says he’s been looking great lately as part of the practice squad.
If internally they don’t expect TJack to return soon, and if Grimm needs to be placed on IR, you can expect Black to be elevated off the practice squad.
As for Biggers, he’s an above average corner with starting ability. However, he struggles with big strong receivers like Calvin Johnson and Roddy White. That’s why the Bucs drafted Myron Lewis…he’s a bigger, stronger corner with good speed. It’s just that the Lewis plan hasn’t come to fruition because he can’t stay healthy.
September 26th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
FlBoyinDallas- yup, that’s all right on the mark. Asante or Lynch replaces Grimm, Black moves to Active Roster.
Again- just amazing how some people can have faith in a guy that’s failed four Drug test in a row! Everyone the league gave him since the Combine!
He had to take another Drug test as a condition of reinstatement- wanna bet what the results were?? I hope the guy straigthens up and never has another problem again- but I wouldn’t bet any of my money on him yet!
September 26th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Macabee, I’d have to go back to the game and watch specifically for that, and even then it’s tough to say due to coverage schemes. There’s no way to tell if it was a blown zone coverage or if it was a man coverage call and someone was late getting there to help. I will say that the pass to Jones that everyone is putting on the Safeties, Talib was trailing him by about 5 yards. Usually, this indicates man coverage with anticipated help over the top. CBs play “underneath coverage” in those situations a lot. However, 5 yards off your man is too far “underneath”. Looks like Talib got beat and the Safeties were too deep to recover. Either that, or it was zone and Talib couldn’t get deep enough to make up for the failed zone. Hard to say. Talib did the same thing on a dropped ball by Jones though, where he played underneath with over the top coverage, but trailed again by 5 yards. We were lucky Ryan threw that over the outside shoulder making it a near impossible ball to catch by Jones and he dropped it.
Also, after rewatching the game, There were at least 3 of White’s catches that had absolutely nothing to do with Biggers. Lewis was in coverage on White for at least two of those catches, and Barber was the nearest defender in a zone on the third. Also, White’s drop near the goal line that people blame Biggers for not being there… Biggers was in Cover 3 on Douglas in the corner of the endzone and came up to make the stop when White dropped the pass. That wasn’t his coverage, but he was in position for a TD saving tackle (if he caught the ball and Biggers makes the tackle which Biggers struggles with a bit… tackling).
September 26th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
I think the D needs him back sooner than later. Tanard has that “dog” (or whatever you prefer to call it) that the D is missing IMO. Am I the only one who remembers that. I don’t know maybe he was just angry that he couldn’t tweet his weed man 60 min before game time. ALLEGEDLY!
September 27th, 2011 at 1:19 am
Capt. Tim, our defense was much better when Tanard was around and I think his absence has hurt us. When he’s reinstated, we need to start him. Asante and Lynch aren’t that good. Look, he may have smoked weed but so did Warren Sapp. I’m kind of glad we still drafted him, aren’t you? i wouldn’t be surprised if he smokes weed now that he’s retired from football. At least Tanard isn’t doing cocaine like Michael Irvin did or stuff that’s a lot worse than pot.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:14 am
Patrick- come on ,man! While Sapp was rumored to have failed a drug test in college-a rumor that started on draft day, and was never substantiated, Sapp Never, EVER failed a drug test in the NFl. And never had legal trouble for ” Ho smacking” until he retired. To throw that out is such BS!
Name one Buc, who was suspended for drugs while in the NFL, and came back to have a great career. Just one! I doubt you can. The NFL makes the day you take the Drug test known. You no it’s coming months ahead of time. If you pass it- that’s it til next year. Only if you are dumb enough to fail it, are you subject to further test, or random test. And even the “Random test are announced days prior to taking the test.
So to fail it, knowing the day you are scheduled to take, you are either a total idiot, or you are addicted. And we are talking about a requirement for a job that pays millions of dollars a year!
Yer boy failed the test not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR times.
Really? This is a guy some of you think can help the team?? Really? You guys are delussional!
September 27th, 2011 at 10:02 am
Capt…I cannot think of a Buc, but Ricky Williams comes to mind.