Target On Eric Wright’s Back
July 18th, 2013
Since the end of last season, former Bucs scout, Jets linebackers coach (under Monte Kiffin) and front office man Pat Kirwan has been banging the drum for Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik to sign free agent sackmeister John Abraham.
But it isn’t just the Bucs’ pass rush, largely unproven Kirwan believes, that has Kirwan suspicious.
He applauds Dominik for upgrading the secondary with Batman and Robin, but Kirwan is worried because the Bucs have, essentially, two starting strong safeties with Mark Barron and Batman Dashon Goldson, and the presence of Robin Darrelle Revis means one guy in the defensive backfield will be wearing a bulls-eye for opposing quarterbacks.
That would be cornerback Eric Wright, so Kirwan explained on “Movin’ the Chains,” the NFL-only talk show he co-hosts with Tim Ryan heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“You know that Brees and Matt Ryan are going to throw the ball 35-40 times a game if they feel like it. And how are you going to stop that? They don’t have to throw to Darrelle Revis. They don’t have to go anywhere near him. There is plenty of opportunity to go to the other guys on that team.
“Eric Wright? They are going to work him over. He better be able to respond because they are coming that way. A lot.”
Joe would include rookie corner Johnthan Banks in that group as well. Joe sees where Kirwan is coming from; Whoever plays opposite of Revis — Wright or Banks — NFL quarterbacks, especially Matty Ice and Brees, are going to go after him time and time again until Banks/Wright can prove they can stop the pass.
Unless Revis is not 100 percent recovered from his knee surgery, no quarterback in his right mind will test Revis more than once or twice a game.
In other words, Wright looks to be a busy man this fall.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:03 am
That’s fine, because who ever is opposite of Revis will get help. That may be a linebacker sliding over to help underneath or a safety to help over the top. Just depends on formation and down and distance.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:15 am
better one guy with a target on his back than 3 or 4.
last year was like shooting fish in a barrel.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:15 am
@Tim
Exactly. If Revis is 100% healthy and holding his own, then they will cheat Goldson over the top. Whoever the opposite CB of Revis will be able to play more aggressive and be able to jump the underneath route. It all boils down to how the defensive coordinator runs the defense. Talented team can only get you so far if the coaching sinks then its useless (2007 Dallas Cowboys, 13 Pro Bowlers lost to Giants, and Super Bowl Champs with none)
July 18th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Last year was so bad, on Sound FX on the NFL Network, the Falcons were laughing on the sidelines. Tony Gonzalez was bragging about everyone is open and he wasn’t lying.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:25 am
Lol why is every analyst trying to make it seem like we are doomed regardless?? Other than the Falcons, it’s not like the teams in our division are deep at WR, who’s Wright got to cover, LaFell and Lance Moore?? Oooooh, I’m shaking.
July 18th, 2013 at 10:31 am
well said Tim!
July 18th, 2013 at 10:45 am
Every time you cite something from Sirius NFL Radio…it makes me not want Sirius radio…because those guys seem to lack comprehension of football basics.
You shade the safety away from Revis…I mean its not rocket science…Antonio Cromartie was lousy when he got to New York but the Jets still had a hell of pass defense despite their lack of even a DECENT safety the whole time Revis was there.
And we don’t have two starting strong safeties. Goldson always played free safety in San Fran…does he have the ability to come up in the box and play strong? Yeah of course he does…all great free safeties give you that option…but most of the time in San Fran he was a rangy centerfielder. Now don’t get me wrong, Goldson is far from the best coverage safety in the league, he has a tendency to get beat over the top from time to time by taking too many chances, but he is also a ballhawk…anyways, to the point…we don’t have two strong safeties…what we have is two more idiots in the national football media running their mouths to kill time because they don’t know what they’re talking about.
July 18th, 2013 at 11:02 am
This really is an idiotic piece of commentary. Who in the NFL has no weaknesses in the d-backs?? It’s not like Eric Wright is Myron Lewis or Biggers and it’s not like he’s going to be covering the #1 receiver. On top of that, I believe Banks is going to win the job. No NFL QB can pick on one guy the entire game. I wish he would. That way if Banks is covering well by the time the QB goes through the progressions to find an open receiver he’s sacked. There will be help over the top and this is a non issue in my opinion. They act like Wright or Banks is incapable of covering a #2 receiver.
July 18th, 2013 at 11:10 am
Whoever starts opposite Revis definitely has a target on their back. With that being said, Unless Banks is the next coming of……………Revis, what coach in their right mind would start a rookie opposite him?
July 18th, 2013 at 11:27 am
WOW! I’m impressed that Kirwan actually came up with that! (sarcasm)
No friggin duh! …uh hum.. it goes without saying!
Every team in the NFL faces the same situation, every team has a corner who gets targeted more than others. There’s not one team in the NFL that has one Batman and two Robins. For being the third best defensive backs in the starting lineup, Wright, Banks, or Johnson are no slouches, and are completely serviceable, but it’s a foregone conclusion they will be targeted more than other DB’s.
July 18th, 2013 at 11:29 am
@ Tim
spot on.
July 18th, 2013 at 11:33 am
I left out ….and are capable of holding their own against the #2 receivers.
July 18th, 2013 at 11:42 am
If the defense pass rush was anything close to last year, Then it is hard to shade or run double coverage when everyone and their brother on blitz’s to try and get pressure. Sometimes i think you guys are too drunk or just not watching buc games at all.
July 18th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
@ realist
Its a little early for me to be drunk, but apparently you forget we have never had Clayborne, Bowers and GMC on the field at the same time. All three are healthy and will represent a respectable front. Also with better coverage we should eliminate some of the three step drops that killed us last year. There is such a thing as coverage sacks and we should see plenty this year.
July 18th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
I don’t know if anybody noticed that all the losses the Bucs had in the NFC-South were within a TD or less, except for the Dec 16th 41-0 beatdown in the SuperDome last year. You may have also noticed that our opponents have not added one offensive weapon that the Bucs would be concerned about.
We’re going to essentially be playing the same offensive teams with a significantly improved secondary. I say the advantage goes to the Bucs! And any team that underestimates Eric Wright will do so at their peril. The grossly overpaid, Adderall popping E-Righteous can play at a high level when he’s in good health. Eric is definitely no shutdown CB, but he is no easy win either.
Schiano may at times appear over-confident, but he’s a cagey throwback coach who will disguise and roll coverage inviting QBs to do exactly what Kirwan says they will do. I can’t wait for the Buc’s no-fly-zone to take the field!
July 18th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Realist presents a good point. The defense is set up to attack from all positions. That means CB, Safety, and of course LBs are gonna be expected to get into the backfield. This is why having purely man coverage defenders (revis, banks) to jam the WR at the line is so important. And yes, the blitzes wont be coming all the time and God knows wright will need the help up top
July 18th, 2013 at 12:40 pm
@macabee they didnt need to add any more weapons. The bucs have yet to prove they can step.up to what these teams already got. Good news is they still have their sorry ass d’s that kept the games close
July 18th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
I think we’re going to see more 3 CB plays this year. I think it will be Revis and Banks on the outside, and Wright in the middle. I believe that’s how they will compensate for weaker deep pass coverage with the safeties.
July 18th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
We NEVER played press coverage last year. NOW WE CAN. I honestly believe Leanard Johnson will be our NO3 Corner come week 4-5. He will learn alot from revis and should become one of the better cover corners in the league.
July 18th, 2013 at 1:05 pm
BucsfaninChina,
That is consensus opinion, but we beat Carolina twice, beat Atlanta once and came within a point or two of beating them twice, put up 38 points and came within a TD of beating the Saints in the first game. I can’t help but believe that with this secondary now, things would have been considerably different.
I know hindsight is 20/20, but my money is on the Bucs this time around!
July 18th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Just what we needed…some negative asshole from China to start posting. Welcome comrad….
July 18th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
I agree they didn’t add more offensive weapons, but they all improved their defenses. That means it may be harder for the Bucs to score and keep tough games close.
I think the blitz’s last year were mainly to try to help the secondary as much as possible. Schiano had to compensate and nothing else was working. It was a disaster in that secondary last year.
But, thankfully, they took extreme steps to fix it.
My main concern is the Defensive line with Spence. Haven’t seen how he’ll do yet so I’ll be watching. The rest in line depth concerns on both sides of the ball…and maybe RB depth.
July 18th, 2013 at 1:23 pm
Lol uhh ive been posting on here for a while? And i consider myself to be of the positive camp. That being said its silly to think that with the additions of Revis and Goldson that Wright will up his game simply bc he has more help. His signing was a mistake since day 1. QBs WILL target our weakest link and right now it is mr wright.
And i agree macabee, i believe with he secondary we have the bucs will have a considerably dif situation with brees and matty ice than last yr. I just hope someone steps up and starts smacking the snot outta the QB.
July 18th, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Lol uhhh ive been posting on here for a while? And i consider myself to be of the positive camp and am happy with the direction of the bucs, though i too am weary of Dom’s drafts. That being said, wrights signing was a huge mistake since day one. Besides his int and runback against NYG i cant think of a single play of his. He WILL be targeted by everyone. Again.
I agree macabee, i expect our divisional games to be considerably different. I am just praying someone on the d line besides mccoy plays up to their talent and starts getting qb’s jerseys dirty. Gonna be some great games im expecting.
July 18th, 2013 at 1:46 pm
I like the d line actually and maybe wright is a better #2 guy than a #1 like mike williams at wr but i wanna see banks win that job
July 18th, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Whoops. Joe can you get rid of a couple of posts? Thought they just werent going through
July 18th, 2013 at 2:24 pm
@Realist
“If the defense pass rush was anything close to last year, Then it is hard to shade or run double coverage when everyone and their brother on blitz’s to try and get pressure. Sometimes i think you guys are too drunk or just not watching buc games at all.”
I have been re-watching the Bucs games from last season and came away from the games thinking that if we had just SOME coverage, there would be more sacks. Re-watch the Dallas game, the Giants game, the Eagles game and I’m sure others. These quaterbacks were getting hit every other throw. The issue was that the throw was still made and with that, the catch as well.
I’m sure the coaches watched the film again and came to the same conclusion. We were .25-.5 seconds away from MULTIPLE sacks throughout the year. What keeps QBs holding onto the ball? Coverage.
July 18th, 2013 at 2:45 pm
@BucDan…..EXACTLY. However…that knowledge is way over Realist’s head.
Joe’s website needs to have the ability to use stick figures and word pictures in order for us to communicate with Realist. A hand with the middle finger up would be a good one to start with. That would be used quite often.
July 18th, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Yea joe please give hillbilly bobby a tool where he doesnt have to use english, it hurts my eyes
July 18th, 2013 at 6:27 pm
there’s gonna be a huge mental edge if Revis is 80-100%. do you really think all 16 #1 receivers will keep their cool throughout a game if theyre being ignored. in some cases, even if its working. there are plenty of whiny ass Kellen Winslows out there. and if they get taken out of the game, they might keep bitching enough to get their QB to force a few more throws Revis’ way.
July 19th, 2013 at 6:38 am
That was some funny stuff Bobby. Thank you!