Guessing The Final-53
June 21st, 2016
Losing out to Brandon Myers?
Of course, it is late June. But it is now officially summer. Training camp is less than six weeks away.
So as we tosweat by the practice fields of One Buc Palace, it’s a luxury to try to name the final-53, as in the final 53-man roster.
Jenna Laine of BSPN did just that. And in a bit of a surprise, she sees tight end Luke Stocker getting the boot.
Tight ends (4): Cameron Brate, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brandon Myers, Danny Vitale.
This would surprise Joe for a couple of reasons: If you look at snaps played last year, Stocker was on the field significantly more than Taylor Swift fan Brandon Myers.
Also, from talking to Bucs types, the team is high on Stocker because he is versatile. Sure, Cameron Brate can catch, but he’s not much of a blocker. Tweety Austin Seferian-Jenkins — when he can get on the field — is an average blocker at best (more skilled in catching the ball). Stocker can block and catch. Stocker also is a standout special teams player.
If you consider snaps played and how Stocker is viewed as versatile, maybe more so than any of the other tight ends, and given that Myers makes slightly more money than Stocker, per Rotoworld.com, there’s no way Joe will say Myers gets the nod over Stocker.
June 21st, 2016 at 7:04 am
Yah. Stocker is on the team for sure. Brandon Myers not looking good
June 21st, 2016 at 7:07 am
Stocker > Myers – Myers has better hands but Stocker is a WAY better blocker and apparently knows where everyone needs to be, not just himself. I think keeping 4 TE’s that have different skill sets is better than having big guys that can catch…
June 21st, 2016 at 7:18 am
would be surprised if they cut Stocker. He is the grinder of tight ends.Koetter likes grinders that will the dirty work.
June 21st, 2016 at 7:20 am
Shows how much she’s knows about the bucs. There’s no way they get rid of stocker, he’s gonna get tons of playing time because we’re gonna run the ball with Dougy alot. To me it’s pretty obvious who’s getting the boot, and that’s over-aged & over priced Brandon Myers who has done next to nothing since arriving in FA a few years ago. Add him to the list of Lovie’s failures along with ghost Johnson and Anthon Collins. This was one of the guys he scouted while he was in his basement so u can’t really put it on Licht.
June 21st, 2016 at 7:25 am
Seriously? Jenna Laine is giving Luke Stocker the boot from her ‘Final 53’? I’m sure that Luke is trembling right now.
Coach Koetter knows what he has in Luke Stocker, and Luke’s not going anyplace. Protecting Jameis is Priority 1 followed by run-blocking for Martin & Sims, and Stocker does that much better than any of the other TEs.
What I don’t understand is why everyone is listing Danny Vitale as a TE instead of a FB (and yes I know he’s in the TE room right now). We carried 4 TEs and a FB last year if I remember right. Why is BSPN writing off the FB position?
June 21st, 2016 at 7:54 am
Stocker stays.
June 21st, 2016 at 8:07 am
Defense Rules
The entire league has written off the full back position.
June 21st, 2016 at 8:14 am
Because on the official roster issued by the Bucs, they have Vitale listed as a tight end. If the Bucs didn’t want him referred to as a tight end, they’d list him at another position.
June 21st, 2016 at 8:30 am
Joe agrees with my assessment. 😉
Myers is the odd man out. Stocker goes nowhere because of the commitment to the running game.
Vitale’s versatility as TE, FB & ST—IF he proves himself— gives the Bucs flexibility to keep an extra WR…just in case. This helps Shepard, a ST ace.
But who knows? A lot can happen before opening day…
June 21st, 2016 at 8:35 am
Bye bye stocker !! Lol can’t wait for him to leave
June 21st, 2016 at 8:39 am
Looking at her 53, I disagree with Storm Johnson at RB, and Schum at P.
Anger is one of the NFL’s best punters and Schum is forgettable.
Not sure of 4RB’s are needed. With Glennon all but gone for ’17, I suspect they will keep Griffin at QB and not keep Johnson at RB.
Need some better depth & names at LB. Beyond the top 4-5, the LB group is weak. Weak, or I don’t know much about them.
June 21st, 2016 at 8:41 am
Stocker is not going anywhere. ASJ is more likely to implode or do something stupid to get cut than stocker being let go. Sad to say but stocker may not be as talented but he has proven to be reliable and that’s something ASJ can not say.
June 21st, 2016 at 8:58 am
I don’t see how they will not be looking for an “elite” TE come NFL draft 2017!!!!
June 21st, 2016 at 9:18 am
Seems like I remember Stocker’s stock taking a dive here in Bucs fan opinion in the not too distant past. This must be reflective of the overall talent at the position now.
June 21st, 2016 at 9:37 am
ludicrous…he’s the main lead blocker…Stocker is a lock for the roster…
June 21st, 2016 at 9:38 am
@realist…we have good te depth….first you said we need an elite de….that changed to elite wr….then elite safety…now elite te….your clueless…STFU & GTFOH….GO BUCS!!!!
June 21st, 2016 at 9:55 am
I think we have a bit of a strange year coming up. We have an offensive minded coach who was famous for his four vertical. He likes to score and so does his QB.
Having said that Koetter wants to win and so we’ll see plenty of Doug and Koetter is also creative and he will design an offense around the players who rise to the top of the heap…at whichever positions that happens.
Like Joe I have enough questions about WR depth to see a challenge…but we can ease any problems there with creative formations, play calling, and using the talent we have.
There are soooo many possibilities that watching this team is going to be EXCITING.
Bottom line…if Brate..and ASJ emerge as REAL receiving threats…and Stocker is the best blocker…and Vitale is real deal…I suspect we’ll see some more 2 TE sets even though we normally will enjoy spreading out the field.
What’s exciting this year is that we’ll play to our personnel on both offense and defense…I love getting the best players on the field and using their strengths as well as Koetter’s creative mind,
June 21st, 2016 at 9:59 am
We can save some roster spots by having only 3 DTs on the team but I’m guessing Ayers and Gholston will provide depth there. I don’t doubt that if there’s an injury to that position we’ll bring Daquan Bowers back in a second.
June 21st, 2016 at 10:00 am
tmaxcon … Concur that FBs aren’t used nearly as much as they used to be (and it’s decreasing even further), but found this on the web in the Washington Post sports pages …
“Ten teams — the Arizona Cardinals, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Chicago Bears, the Denver Broncos, the San Diego Chargers, the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Indianapolis Colts, the St. Louis Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles — do not have a fullback listed on their roster.”
If that’s correct, then 22 teams did carry a FB on their roster last year. Can’t verify that though. By the way, Mike Tolbert (listed as a FB/RB) played almost 60% of the snaps for the Panthers last year. And yes, Panthers actually rushed more than they passed (Tolbert got just a little more than 10% of the rushes).
June 21st, 2016 at 10:08 am
Defense Rules
good info… I’d like to see the full back used more in the passing game at the very least. I am very interested in seeing how the offense changes now Koetter does not have to answer to a head coach.
June 21st, 2016 at 10:22 am
^^^ Yea it’ll be LOVIE’S FAULT!!
June 21st, 2016 at 10:23 am
Tbbucs3 Says:
We can save some roster spots by having only 3 DTs on the team but I’m guessing Ayers and Gholston will provide depth there.
Keeping 3 DT is a HUGE risk considering that GMC is hurt every single year he has played and will miss games, Akeem Spence has a questionable back and like GMC is coming off an injury plagued season last but not least McDonald is coming off an injury plagued season where he missed significant time. You can not gamble by keeping less DT’s when every DT on the team is a walking injury.
June 21st, 2016 at 10:41 am
*Repost
Wrote this after – Koetter was hired as the OC
*February 24th, 2015 at 4:26 pm
You don’t need the traditional full back in the Air Coryell offense.
A match up nightmare would be a H-Back/F-Back.
Example:
Nick O’Leary could = Chris Cooley
You could run (Z,Y, Z) then put your HB back in motion-in countless sets.
June 21st, 2016 at 11:14 am
I like this roster that Jenna Laine is predicting, especially Luke Stocker getting the boot. Major Wright losing out to Keith Tandy ( if they only keep 4 safeties) I like Major, but he’s injury prone. Jenna is doing a good job, covering the Bucs (so far). I would say that she’s doing a better job than Pat Yasinskas was doing, when he held the position. Adarius Glanton is a good SAM LB, he played his high school ball at Lake Gibson in Lakeland, he started a playoff game for the Carolina Panthers in 2014 as a rookie. I like Mike James and Storm Johnson as backup RB’s. I also believe Bernard Reedy will win the kick and punt return job. I like this final roster, there will be a few changes, but I believe most will stay the same.
June 21st, 2016 at 12:03 pm
I think a lot of teams are trying to mock the Patriots with to pass catching tight ends on the field at the same time I think it’s a great idea.Patriots got another pass-catching tight end this year I can’t remember his name anybody remember it’s pissing me off
June 21st, 2016 at 12:30 pm
I had several disagreements with Jenna’s 53. On the O-line, she has Gosder staying. I don’t see it. They have a few UDFA linemen that they really like and I just don’t see Gos being around with his big salary, bad knees, and lack of future. This team is still in a development mode and should sacrifice a little age to hold onto young talent.
She also has Storm Johnson as a 4th RB… I don’t see them cutting Peyton Barber for Johnson. Barber, I think, will be in the mix for the 3rd RB.
June 21st, 2016 at 1:37 pm
[…] tight end Luke Stocker, the Bucs’ No. 1 tight end, has played his share of fullback over the past few seasons, and the 6-6, 270-pounder is all […]
June 21st, 2016 at 1:53 pm
Stocker over Myers for sure.
June 21st, 2016 at 1:58 pm
The only way Myers makes this team is if ASJ gets hurt, forgets the plays, or goes bonkers again and gets cut. There is no way Stocker or Vitale go anywhere. Stocker is the best blocker of the bunch and Vitale is too flexible and fast and is a good blocker too and has better hands than Stocker. On running plays they can have Stocker and Vitale come in as a double TE set which will improve our runs or they can have Vitale speed up the middle for a long pass as a surprise if they bring up a Safety to stop the run.
June 21st, 2016 at 4:15 pm
Luke Stocker has been with the Bucs for 5 seasons, and all 5 seasons we have been a BOTTOM FEEDER. Good Riddance, it’s time for some new blood.. Bucobruce…. the Patriots have Martellus Bennett the brother of Michael Bennett, he will have about 60-70 receptions this season, and we have Luke Stocker with 44 receptions in 5 seasons. That’s why the Patriots are a TOP team and we are a BOTTOM FEEDER.
June 21st, 2016 at 4:53 pm
So you real Buc fans must of forgot he was injury prone too. Luke has been riding the pine for years getting paid for re-habbing. Last year was his best season. He time is up. We picked him to high in the draft to have gotten that tiny production over the years. Kick rocks
June 21st, 2016 at 7:18 pm
I dunno…I think Stocker and Myers will be a pre-season tossup.
June 22nd, 2016 at 12:43 am
Thought Nick O’Leary would be a total stud in the NFL. Must not be any good if the guy can’t stay employed in the NFL.
Nick O’Leary is FSU’s version of Tim Tebow. Everyone wants him but NFL GMs.
June 22nd, 2016 at 7:36 am
I would of liked seeing the bucs bringing in one of Winston favorite targets at FSU in O leary. Personally tho I didn’t see all the hype around him. He isn’t tall enough to be a consistent target in this league and that’s probably the main reason he’s unemployed right now. But with all the depth we have at TE there’s no need to bring in another guy. I wonder if Jameis went to the staff and put in a good word for him.