Biggest Hole
May 9th, 2016
Find him weapons!
So the draft is over a week old. Rookie minicamp is complete. For some teams, the NFL draft for 2017 begins by targeting (already) top players.
Hopefully, the Bucs have absolved themselves of the decade-long sin of not having a top edge rusher with the selection of Noah Spence. It seems they have the shutdown cornerback in the making with Vernon Hagreaves.
Next up for next spring, writes Sterling Xie of BSPN? That would be a weapon for America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston — a wide receiver.
But while general manager Jason Licht poured resources into the defense (and special teams, via Roberto Aguayo), he failed to supplement the weaponry around QB Jameis Winston. No Tampa wide receiver finished among the top 25 at his position in DVOA or DYAR, yet the Bucs did not invest a single pick on a player who might develop opposite Mike Evans. Vincent Jackson is entering the final year of his deal at age 33, and the options behind those top two are inexperienced and/or uninspiring.
Joe has no clue what the hell DVOA or DYAR means and really doesn’t care. You don’t need to have a geek glossary to determine the Bucs are thin as hell at receiver.
Sure, some in the Bucs’ front office, and some fans, cling to the notion that Kenny Bell can be the next scourge of NFL secondaries. What this is based on outside of underwear football and blind faith, Joe isn’t sure.
To this day, one of the greatest sins in NFL history was the Rams spending a No. 1 overall pick on Sam Bradford, and then never getting the guy weapons and wondering why he didn’t develop into a top-tier quarterback.
The same could be argued now in Tampa. Oh, sure, Mike Evans could be a stud receiver, but which Mike Evans shows up this fall, the guy terrorizing cornerbacks or the guy more worried about drawing a flag than his primary responsibility? You know, catching the football?
How much longer can Vincent Jackson be a weapon? After Evans and Jackson, this receiving corps is more of a gamble than a roulette wheel and a business woman who charges by the hour at a Las Vegas rub joint.
May 9th, 2016 at 4:08 am
VitaleV
May 9th, 2016 at 4:11 am
Sims
May 9th, 2016 at 4:12 am
Doug
May 9th, 2016 at 4:38 am
So after 1 season, Tampa could argue that point? Hey maybe we can go sign that gifted top tier player J Football? Maybe he can play WR since he couldn’t get the QB position down? Just a thought
May 9th, 2016 at 4:45 am
ASJ has potential if he can stay healthy, Brate has shown some promise, Louis Murphy is never going to light the world on fire but he can be a solid receiver when healthy, and we have a few young guys that still need to prove something with Humphries, Bell, and Dye.
To say WR is our biggest hole is a massive exaggeration. Our top three WR: Evans, VJax, and Murphy are a pretty formidable group to trot out on the field.
Last year was an aberration at wideout for us. Two of our top three were injured for most of the year and ASJ was doing his usual routine of being injured. Even if we see injuries at the position it can’t be as bad as last year where we had Evans and two undrafted rookies as our number 2 and 3 receivers.
May 9th, 2016 at 5:36 am
Joe, the same ‘blind faith’ argument you made about Kenny Bell developing into a decent WR could be said for any of our rookies. Until these guys show up in games who can say how valuable they’ll end up being. Everyone was excited about Bell this time last year … a late-round steal everyone thought. Didn’t perform that well in training camp then got hurt, but he’s still got potential. It’s make-or-break time for Kenny this season.
Bucs have plenty of other weapons catching the ball; more than most teams I’d say. Jackson, Evans (he’ll come around), Martin, Sims, possibly Vitale (like his potential), and several others (like Humphries and yes, I’m hoping Murphy). The cupboard’s not bare by any means.
May 9th, 2016 at 5:41 am
Those natiional spokes folks have to find something, Carolina had a terrifying receiver Corp last year, right. It hurt them in the Super Bowl, but they got there.
May 9th, 2016 at 6:27 am
Sign Anquan Boldin!!!
May 9th, 2016 at 6:40 am
Agreed luvmybucs. Sign Boldin. Bondin is a leader and a beast. He could be great for Mike Evans. Would much rather have him than White.
May 9th, 2016 at 6:42 am
The biggest hole on this team was the defense. Imagine what the fans would say if we did not draft a DE and a CB? Can’t do everything at once. Not well in any case. Reminds me of the mom who bought her son 2 shirts for Christmas, a blue one and a white one. The next day he comes downstairs to the kitchen wearing the blue one. The mother responds “What’s the matter, the other one you didn’t like”?
May 9th, 2016 at 7:17 am
Why can’t Mike Evans use the same type gloves that Odell Beckham uses?
May 9th, 2016 at 7:33 am
agree with Luv my bucs,one of ny favorite receivers. Toughness and heart second to none.Also believe VJAX will even at 34 would be a far better signing than Roddy White is now.
May 9th, 2016 at 7:34 am
Kenny Bell is a shifty pass-catching option who ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He had 788 yards receiving last season, and his career-high 863 yards receiving happened in 2012. He’s Nebraska’s career leader in receptions (181) and in receiving yards (2,689). He should serve as offensive depth, possibly someone who could add some flexibility to the Bucs’ offensive scheme under coordinator Dirk Koetter. He’s also as an option on special teams.
This kid seems like a third option. Having spent a year studying the playbook and he is supposed to be a study junky, he could be the third WR.
May 9th, 2016 at 7:39 am
Time will prove that we should have taken Corey Coleman. When Winston is sitting in the pocket getting destroyed waiting for our big slow recievers to get open this will become obvious.
May 9th, 2016 at 7:44 am
Sims needs more touches in the passing game.He has great hands.Also have a lot of potential in Brate and Vitale.My point is ,Give Jameis another year to develope.analyze his skill set and draft accordingly.If Jameis improves his Accurracy on deep passes then a speedy wideout will be needed.But if he doesn’t (believe he will)then another tall wide recever will expand his target
zone.
May 9th, 2016 at 7:45 am
The biggest hole is Hillarys lying mouth
May 9th, 2016 at 8:02 am
Agreed Joe. I was surprised that they didn’t draft a WR or sign someone in FA. The offense was dramatically weaker once VJ went down last year. We’ve at a problem with depth for a while now. It’s pretty sad when you’re missing guys like Tiquan Underwood and Mike Williams.
May 9th, 2016 at 8:10 am
If you QB is Kurt Cousin’s, Teddy Bridgewater, Andy Dalton etc…you spend high draft picks on WR’s if your QB is Manning, Brady, Rivers, Luck, Winson you don’t. It’s a luxury the Bucs now have. WR’s and RB are not high priority. Oline and Defence is and will continue to be the Bucs priority in FA and the draft.
May 9th, 2016 at 8:19 am
HFXBUC survey says: correct for 5000
May 9th, 2016 at 8:24 am
If Winston is what Joe thinks he is then he can win with Evans, Jackson, Brate and Martin.
No excuses with Winston if Bortles can make a huge jump in year 2 so should Jameis
May 9th, 2016 at 8:30 am
another thing,if ASJ stops posing and starts catching,then we could have
a tony Gonzalez type weapon to move the chains like Keyshawn used to.
May 9th, 2016 at 8:31 am
+1 on HFXBUC
A good QB can make an average WR competitive.
May 9th, 2016 at 8:50 am
An hour at a rub joint?
May 9th, 2016 at 9:02 am
@HFXBUCS
I with you for the most part. But not on Andrew Luck, how did he fare last season without any weapons? Not very good at all. His o ly weapon he has is TY Hilton Wich is a no. 2 guy for most teams. He doesn’t have a tight end or a tall WR to compliment TY. Why they don’t get him more weapons is beyond me but it was obvious last year why he was having a bad season.
Yes we have a good corps right now but with ASJ & Louis Murphy always injured and V Jax getting older and becoming more injury prone himself, history says it will happen again this year. And you seen how bad this offense struggled with JAX out. That’s why most of us are optimistic about Bell cause we need him to come thru for us and be that deep threat we all know he can become.
I still think they need to give the USF product “Andre Davis” his shot. I think he has the potential and skills to help this team out. The should be no reason why he can’t with outcasts like Dye and Humphries being handed roster spots. Imo hes more talented then both of them by a long shot. I wouldn’t mind seeing Reedy a shot as well in preseason. We could always use another speedy deep threat if bell doesn’t work out or gets injured.
May 9th, 2016 at 9:06 am
HFXBUC…thanks for saving me the time and not having to post what you just said.
Well done.
Though it should be noted that JW had a tougher year without Benjamin and only Green in his last season at FSU. Cook saved their ass more often than Jameis.
May 9th, 2016 at 9:36 am
HFXBUC – I hear you
But Manning already had two beast on the roster when he was drafted
Examples
• *Marvin Harrison | 1st round (19th overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft.
• Ken Dilger | 2nd round (48th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft.
Over the years Indy Continued to add Receiver depth w/premium picks
Examples
• Jerome Pathon | 2nd round (32nd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft.
• *Reggie Wayne | 1st round (30th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft.
• *Dallas Clark | 1st round (24th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft.
• Anthony Gonzalez | 1st round (32nd overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.
*3 Potential Hall of Famers (All Premium Picks)
Then he Re-ups in Denver w/
• Demaryius Thomas | 1st round (22nd overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.
• Eric Decker | 3rd round (87th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.
• Emmanuel Sanders | 3rd round (82nd overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.
• Wes Welker
May 9th, 2016 at 9:40 am
I would much rather have picked the players we did in this draft, rather than reach for a wideout that Dirk & Jason didn’t believe was better than the defensive players we drafted. There’s a plan in place at One Buc Place, I’ve now got the faith that we should allow these guys (Jason, Dirk & Smitty) to implement it, without questioning every move they make. Lets wait & see……we may be pleasantly surprised.
May 9th, 2016 at 9:43 am
Ok so Evans (a top receiver) / VJAX (a top receiver) / ASJ ( possible )/ Brate (showed as a solid receiver) / Humphries ( solid) / Murphy ( possible ??) / Bell ( solid)
Sims and Martin out of the backfield…
How many people does Winston need to throw too…
he can only look at so many in 3- 4 seconds…
This team has PLAY MAKERS and they will show …
Mark this date on the calendar JOE ____ The Bucs will have a DYNAMIC OFFENSE this year….
May 9th, 2016 at 9:52 am
We not even talk about the Coaches & Running backs he had
Running Backs
• Marshall Faulk | 1st round (2nd overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft.
• Edgerrin James | 1st round (4th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft.
• Joseph Addai | 1st round (30th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft.
Caoches
• Senior Asst. :Ted “The Great” Marchibroda
• Offensive Coordinator:Tom Moore
• Quarterback Coaches: Bruce Arians
Talk about being born with a silver spoon…geesh
May 9th, 2016 at 9:53 am
*coaches
May 9th, 2016 at 10:01 am
“TOUCHDOWN TAMPA BAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! – KENNY BELL!!!!” – Gene Deckerhoff, 2016-2026
May 9th, 2016 at 10:16 am
Season has not even started and getting the excuses ready. But there are none. The excuses have run out. And by all accounts there should have been none last year. 6-10 loser.
May 9th, 2016 at 11:08 am
No chromolly Hillarys is not as huge as the foghorn and black hole of a mouth Donald Chump has. That blowhard has all you neo conservatives all worked up and ready to go to some kind of war. Ewe ‘guys’ and I use that term lightly are so funny! You must be one of the clowns who think Adam “Rudy” Humphries is a great receiver.
It is so laugable that you conservative types will always spew your political views on this football site but let anyone even impliy race in their posts and the pc policewomen up here get their panties in a bunch telling us not to do it but any number of you hypocrites spew your garbage and it’s ok. Your political crap don’t belong up here plain and simple
May 9th, 2016 at 11:27 am
Have any of you who like to mention Murphy being a weapon ever bothered to look at his career stats. Murphy has started the season on the couch 2 seasons with only the bucs calling. hardly a huge demand. If he was a true number 3 or hell even a true 4 he would not be begging for work. Buc fans are the kings of confusing Local Feel Good Stories with actual production. Murhpy has done nothing in this league and is a 5 or 6 receiver not a 3. He also is not versatile and does not play special teams. It’s mind boggling to me how Joe and some of the others can actually use the term weapon when referring to Murphy. He’s hurt all the time. His best season is still worse than any season Old Man Roddy White has turned in. Let me help some of you out with Murphy Stats… 10 career touchdowns in 7 years played. His best season in terms of yards is 609 in 2010 which was also his best catch total of 41. Sorry if Dye and Murphy make the team the bucs are in a world of hurt at wr. I like humphries and Bell but neither are proven. VJAX will miss games and we all saw first hand that Evans is not a true number one until he corrects his hands and the mental game. I am all for giving humphries and bell time to develop that being said the bucs need an experienced wr to step in when vjax misses games or bell and humphries stumble and Murphy is not that guy. You can’t count on him.
May 9th, 2016 at 11:31 am
David…laughable to you. Race will ALWAYS be a touchy subject, no matter where it’s mentioned.
Oh and trust me us cons can’t stand Trump. That just goes to show how much your side actually understands conservatives. Trump is further to the left than your beloved, lying, fake politician, Hitlery.
Sorry Joe I couldn’t help myself. I tried with everything I had.
May 9th, 2016 at 11:31 am
Back to the Bucs!
May 9th, 2016 at 11:46 am
Vjax and Evans split on each side, ASJ inline, Sims and Vitale in the backfield on 1st down, motion one of the backs to a slot position, and play in a NO HUDDLE, that’s a lethal offense, that’s a 5 WRs type offense in a base offense versus a base defense that can’t substitute, plus we can still run the ball cause Sims averaged 5.0 YPC and Vitale can block, the key to NO HUDDLE
May 9th, 2016 at 11:49 am
Patience Joe, you’ll get your wr next draft.
May 9th, 2016 at 11:52 am
Stop complaining. –Joe
May 9th, 2016 at 11:54 am
Bucs will sign another receiver before training camp. Probably Roddy White. No need to freak out Joe. Having your 1B and 3rd receiver out for a large part of the year is not likely to happen again. Any team in the league would look shallow at receiver like the Bucs did 2nd half of last year if their 2nd and 3rd receivers go down.
May 9th, 2016 at 11:57 am
The NFL is not Pop Warner. You don’t get roster spots just because you can snap a chinstrap.
First, Joe always qualified his Sims’ statements saying he was hurt. Still, you wouldn’t start Sims, would you?
Look, Kenny Bell may be the nicest guy on the roster. Rooting for him. But the guy has to give Joe some reason to believe. Bell has shown zero reason to believe. What has Bell shown you that he can play in the NFL? What is Joe missing here?
Give Joe a reason to believe and he may believe in a player.
May 9th, 2016 at 12:10 pm
Tampa Tony Says:
May 9th, 2016 at 8:24 am
If Winston is what Joe thinks he is then he can win with Evans, Jackson, Brate and Martin.
No excuses with Winston if Bortles can make a huge jump in year 2 so should Jameis
Bob in Valrico Says:
May 9th, 2016 at 8:30 am
another thing,if ASJ stops posing and starts catching,then we could have
a tony Gonzalez type weapon to move the chains like Keyshawn used to.
————————————————————————————–
Maybe they should pick up Tim Wright (5 TDs in 2013) and Tiquan Underwood (4 TDs in 2013) with Mike Glennon throwing to them, which were both more than ANY WR caught from Jameis in 2015. And even though ASJ had 4 TDs last year, two of them came against the Titans once down 21-0 and then 42-7, and one TD came on a “Hail Mary” against the Bears at the end of the game. What a weapon! BTW, Sims also had four TD receptions last year, but watch the replays to see how many of those were 1 yd passes turned into long touchdowns.
tickrdr
May 9th, 2016 at 12:35 pm
I’m your huckleberry. I’ll give you a reason to believe in Bell.
He’s still here. Same as Sims was still here. Fans are hoping there’s a reason why he’s still here. Myron I never got, Stocker too, but Bell is unknown and the tone of your article suggests he might be a bust. How can he be a bust if we’ve yet to see him perform? You’ve talked about KB more than just this time. So to me your opinion is he is going to be a bust, or why bother keep talking about him?
We all want that 3rd WR, we all know Jameis needs more weapons, the Bucs and it’s fans like you stated are hoping KB is the one.
I know you hate the word hope, but isn’t that all we got? We’re Bucs fans after all. Our confidence was shattered years ago.
May 9th, 2016 at 12:36 pm
^^^@Joe
May 9th, 2016 at 1:13 pm
and if vitale is as good as projected.putting him in with Martin will no longer telegraph the play.defense will also have to watch for pass. and with sims ,there will also be some unpredictability.
May 9th, 2016 at 1:37 pm
Sims, ASJ, Evans, VJax, Brate, Vitale, Humphries, Bell… all can contribute in the passing game. I know we don’t have a top wideout to put opposite Evans if VJax is hurt again, but we only had 7 draft picks. I think Koetter is confident in the guys he’s got, and creative enough to get the ball to SIms, Vitale, Brate if the front line guys go down. Basically, I think they’ve still got enough weapons to have a very good offense, though drafting a receiver to go with Evans next year will probably be a priority, unless one of the young guys we have now is ascending (which isn’t a total fantasy – they have talent).
May 9th, 2016 at 1:40 pm
Only in a Merica’ do people take actual pride in their ignorance: “DVOA or DYAR” what’s that? More information?! “Fooeeey I trust my gut and my eyeballs cuz me likes football me no like information”. It is possible to enjoy the game, use film, previous experience AND advanced stats & metrics when discussing football. The idea that anyone who incorporates or uses advanced metrics does so only without any other input (like players/coach expertise/experience/their own eyes) as they consume/evaluate/enjoy the game is asinine and the constant bemoaning on the site about ‘them’; is funny as it is disappointing. It is the epitome of the old geezer constantly screaming “get off my lawn”.
May 9th, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Well I don’t wanna get back on drafting this kicker thing but miller Boyd and cooper could have been had there.
May 9th, 2016 at 2:06 pm
Matthew Says:
May 9th, 2016 at 1:40 pm
…which explains Donald Drumpf and climate denial and muslim bashing and a whole lot of other things as well.
May 9th, 2016 at 2:22 pm
What am i complaining about joe? The fact you do not like to let young players develop? Am i complaining because i pointed out how wrong you were about sims last year and you seem to be doing the same with bell? Im confused
May 9th, 2016 at 2:54 pm
1987 Don’t get me wrong, I do like some things she said but if course even I know she spent all night practicing her emotions being she don’t spend it with Wild Bill. The fact she’s either been or still is under investigation for illegal activity and hubby has been ‘legaly’ impeachead and oh yeah that Whitewater thing the woman should have never been allowed to run for pres. It shows how really desparate the Dems are since Biden never ran. For a Democrat he had some cajones on him. I did see one of the funniest Republican bumper stickers I’ve seen. It read HILLARY FOR PRISON!!!! Got a good laugh out of that.
I’m not a liberal trust and believe. I don’t like the extremes of either party!
I only made comment because of chromolly little blurb
May 9th, 2016 at 2:55 pm
Laughing at all the losers counting on ASJ being productive
Brate is his superior in every way
May 9th, 2016 at 4:28 pm
^ When ASJ has been on the field, he’s been a serious weapon. There’s no reason to think he can’t have a healthy season, just like when McCoy went into his 3rd season with people calling him a bust since he was hurt in year 1 and 2… Let’s wait and see. ASJ is too big a talent to just give up on yet.
May 9th, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Didn’t Winston throw for 4000 yards with these “losers” last year ? I think we’re doing okay. Also, what’s this term “Neo” conservative. That means “New” conservative. Unless you are trying to imply Neo nazi ? Very sneaky you are. I went to High School with Hillary at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. Let’s just say she has earned her reputation. Her mom was nice though.
May 9th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
salish_seamonster
there is more to ASJ failures than injuries. He has acted like a mental midget on the field and cost his team dearly with mental mistakes / penalties. Talent means nothing if you are not productive consistently.
May 9th, 2016 at 4:57 pm
ASJ has had a few penalties, most notably the Captain Morgan, but to call him a mental midget is stupid… He’s a smart guy, made some rookie mistakes… I think this guy takes way too much hatred from most of the people here because of his unfortunate injuries, which are frustrating for sure… But you can’t argue with his productivity when he’s been out there. I can forgive some boneheaded penalties from a young player if they’re corrected.
May 9th, 2016 at 5:07 pm
Uckinator I left nazi out because people got offended by it when I used it before to describe some of the blowhards who run their mouths err I mean run amok with their keyboards. I used it because some of them remind me of that word.
When Wild Bill was in the WH I would look at her and see why he ran around so much.
If (A)nother(S)tupidin(J)ury doesn’t buck up and be the man on the field that he was drafted to be then he is a loser and we need to cut that zero and get us a hero!
May 9th, 2016 at 5:18 pm
Call it a leap of faith but I think we have sufficient talent, if healthy, to be competitive.
We’re going to need to spread the ball around though.
May 9th, 2016 at 5:22 pm
Call it a leap of faith but I think we have sufficient talent to be competitive. We’re going to need stay healthy and spread the ball around.
May 10th, 2016 at 8:37 am
Lmao not even Joe likes tiny tim.