Downgraded
October 16th, 2019
There won’t be any Tyrann Mathieu comparisons coming again any time soon for cornerback/safety/nickel M.J. Stewart, the No. 53 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Cornerback Stewart took 32 percent of the defensive snaps against New Orleans two Sundays ago. Against the Panthers three days ago, he took a grand total of one.
Joe wonders what Stewart’s trade value would be if he can’t crack the lineup on one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL?
Stewart’s special teams duties were increased against Carolina, but he’s not special there, either.
It sure seems like Stewart’s fall from grace can’t be blamed on Mike Smith and his staff. He had a healthy offseason and appeared to be emerging as a player, and then the regular-season lights came on.
October 16th, 2019 at 11:09 am
Just another day in Bucsland.
October 16th, 2019 at 11:11 am
Naw man these secondary players are garbage. Defense gave up 21 drives of 70 yards or more. 14 TDS and 7 fgs Hot damn
October 16th, 2019 at 11:16 am
Problem is, he was initially slated to move to safety. once they moved him back to corner due to some injuries in camp, it was downhill from there. However, it probably wouldnt even matter. We are a team full of bums.
October 16th, 2019 at 11:16 am
This all falls mainly on the scouting staff.
FIRE the Scouting Staff!
Unless they are the 1st pick in the draft, we wiff on the pick…oh wait….
October 16th, 2019 at 11:21 am
Another over drafted Licht pick.
October 16th, 2019 at 11:22 am
I rarely get up in arms about a pick but I did on this one……..I usually wait to see how they pan out……but..
What alarmed me was the selection of MJ Stewart ahead of Carlton Davis…..it made absolutely no sense to me……the analysts were puzzled also.
This year’s puzzle is SMB…..had somewhat the same feeling because he was a surprise to most. Hopefully, I’ll be wrong about him.
Jason Licht gets in trouble by trying to be to clever with his picks….especially in round 2 or with extra picks. He pulled the move on Cappa….that may work…
He deserves credit for some very good picks…..Godwin, Whitehead…Maybe Davis….and his 1st round picks (IMO) have been fine for the exception of VH3.
Jason Licht Derangement Syndrome (JLDS) takes over here on JBF and he is overly criticized too early on some picks…..Rojo, Cappa come to mind…..also Vea….and now to some extent Howard.
I believe that I am correct that beyond the last two years….now that Bond & Benenoch are gone…..there are absolutely no players from round 5-7 on the roster.
I give Jason a C+ for his drafts.
October 16th, 2019 at 11:23 am
i say teach the entire secondary a lesson and let dean and ryan smith start on the outside, bring up a PS player and let him play nickle….
let the entire secondary know that they’re play aint cutting it…..let the others know if they step up and play well, they’ll continue to start….
but imo, things wont change until JPP comes back and can add some pressure to the QB….outside of shaq, we have nothing…..
GO BUCS!!!!!!
October 16th, 2019 at 11:25 am
I agree with AKickInTheBucCojonnes: Fire Shelton Quarles and his whole scouting team for gross mismanagement and fraud and take Licht with them for being complicit to this train wreck of a secondary as well as key lack of depth in the trenches!
October 16th, 2019 at 11:25 am
His loafing on the 30 yard Cooper Kupp TD was brutal
October 16th, 2019 at 11:26 am
Licht and every single scout on the Bucs needs to be FIRED!
October 16th, 2019 at 11:27 am
Yep, Licht has a 5 year contract to keep it WRONG!
October 16th, 2019 at 11:31 am
I honestly think MJ Stewart was a worse pick than Roberto Aguayo…
October 16th, 2019 at 11:33 am
It’s looking like another Licht swing and a miss!
October 16th, 2019 at 11:33 am
We took this dude over Donte Jackson lol
October 16th, 2019 at 11:48 am
Another premium pick wasted by Jason Licht and his scouting staff. What did Licht actually see in this kid? M.J. is short and slow, it showed up on the field, just couldn’t keep up with NFL wideouts.
October 16th, 2019 at 11:54 am
Jason seems to fall in love with the character of players….their personality as if that makes them better players…..faster/quicker/tougher……
Sure, character matters….but surely there are players who posses both…..
October 16th, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Play Vernon Hargreaves as your nickel corner and play Dean on the Titan’s fastest receiver and keep Davis because he is a good corner when playing man to man and jamming at the LOS. All of our man to man corners when forced to play zone as our DC did last game will all look bad. When we have White with his excellent speed and cover capability and can spy the QB and stop the QB if he runs, there is no excuse for playing any more zone. Hopefully JPP will be back to pressure the Titan’s QB and that along with their WRs in the wrong places due to jams and tight coverages should result in some turnovers in our favor.
October 16th, 2019 at 12:10 pm
This team sucks because Licht sucks, and the owners are clueless. Just look what the Saints picks look like compared to ours, and they pick at the bottom of each round not the top. Fire Licht, and hire their assistant GM, boom, problem solved.
October 16th, 2019 at 12:12 pm
So right now we have 6 DBs: VHIII, Davis, Dean, SMB, Ryan Smith & MJ Stewart. Of those, veteran (?) VHIII can’t cover, 2nd-year guy MJ Stewart is in the doghouse, rookie SMB is slow developing, 2nd-year guy Davis is penalty-prone, rookie Dean has been hurt & is just now returning, and veteran (?) Ryan Smith just got off of suspension. For safeties you’ve got 2nd-year guy Whitehead who’s playing fairly well, rookie Edwards who appears to be banged up, veteran (?) Adams who was on the couch just a couple weeks ago, and veteran (?) D Stewart, the great unknown.
Now imagine yourself being Todd Bowles. You’ve got to play at least 4 of those guys and preferably 5 (maybe even 6 in certain situations). No REAL veteran presence back there. No REAL field leadership to keep everyone on the same page. Marginal cover skills, at least in this point in their careers. Essentially a bunch of youngsters only 1-2 years removed from college. Good luck with that TB. Don’t waste your time on any of those who won’t be here next year.
October 16th, 2019 at 12:14 pm
Our DB picks have been a crapshoot for sure. Even so, TBBF is probably right that as much as I’ve harped on Licht its not obvious that anyone else would do better. The most maddening aspect over the post-Gruden era has been picking talent that doesn’t fit into our scheme… and switching to schemes that don’t fit our talent. There has been definite progress this year with Bowles… let’s just hope the season doesn’t go 100% dumpster fire and take down the staff. Looking more and more like our best hope for this staff is a 2021 break-out after a 2019 shake-out and a 2020 transition. Its a Bucs life!
October 16th, 2019 at 12:16 pm
May I ask where you have seen White show his speed and cover ability? Maybe at LSU but certainly not here….he has been a total NON FACTOR for the Bucs…. hmmmm, I wonder what Josh Allen’s stats are like with the Jags, just sayin
October 16th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
TBBF
i agree with just about everything you said but you have to add JW and OJ to the list along with VHG….
thats 3 former 1st rounds who havent panned out….
2nd rounds like spence, roberto, MJ and SMB have hurt this team too….
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 16th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
I have no issues with this at all. The coaching staff needed to evaluate him and they did.
Ten years of losing won’t change in one season. No one can say this team isn’t better in several areas.
October 16th, 2019 at 12:40 pm
They fell in love with the guy over one or two practices in an All-Star game against a bunch of late round picks and free agents . I must say the scouting report ports on him have fit him to a T. No top end speed
October 16th, 2019 at 12:43 pm
The Bucs are in cap hell and the limited number of players with any trade value are sorely needed by this team.
Great job Jason!
Thank you so much!!
October 16th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
Jason Licht cannot hit mid-round picks. It’s only ever 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounders that play above their draft position!
October 16th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
Back to the drawing board.
October 16th, 2019 at 12:57 pm
I want to get on the Glazer Boyz gravy train !…
October 16th, 2019 at 1:01 pm
“I honestly think MJ Stewart was a worse pick than Roberto Aguayo…”
I honestly think SMLB is a worse pick than MJ Stewart.
I believe the Gumpster Fire belongs in the XFL, the way he ignores premium college players from major universities and prefers long shots from D3 directional junior colleges.
Gump and his entire staff should just change shirts and caps to the Vipers and everyone will be a lot happier. They can all jump in the pool if and when ever they win a game.
October 16th, 2019 at 1:01 pm
@ElioT they are not in cap hell in 2020. They will have top 10 cap space in the offseason. Relax.
October 16th, 2019 at 1:16 pm
Another bust courtesy of Jason Licht. Release them both today
October 16th, 2019 at 1:20 pm
the football gods called unless someone puckers their lips up and kisses them where they fart, the bucks will never be any good again because what they let happen to the superbowl winning bucs team and coach
October 16th, 2019 at 1:21 pm
bucs
October 16th, 2019 at 2:44 pm
TOO SLOW TO BE AN NFL ANYTHING!!!
October 16th, 2019 at 3:49 pm
Bonzai
Dying to know, exactly what areas are we better in?
October 16th, 2019 at 4:28 pm
The reason why we can’t turn our franchise around is the simple fact that we we can’t draft. For every Marpet we find we miss on 3 others. We draft OJ Howard when clearly Jameis had a bond with Can Brate who just received an extension during the off season. Dalvin Cook seating there waiting to be drafted. By the way how is the off the field concerns people had with his so called friends he hung with? Just a special player with home run ability that we passed up for a guy that we don’t feature in our offense or can’t seem to get open. And what’s with the corners we select that are all garbage? No foot speed what’s so ever and lack of aggression. We won’t draft lineman of d ends. Football is won at the line of scrimmage. But what do I know?
October 16th, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Tom Brady only had 123 touchdowns in his first 5 years and he was with a championship franchise. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his rookie year. Winston has 100 touchdowns in 5 years and Tampa Bay is not a championship franchise. Mistakes will happen on a bad football team. I guess you guys would rather have Baker Mayfield or Johnny Manziel. You need to be patient with Winston. It’s not like you guys are just a quarterback away from a Super Bowl.
October 16th, 2019 at 8:55 pm
Terrible stretch. But we are not a team of bums. We can play better and we will. All three phases. We DO have a TEAM that can win this year. Trust, loyalty, respect. Rats ready to abandon the team and say everything and everyone sucks after 6 games can bail now. Go Bucs!
October 16th, 2019 at 9:00 pm
Run defense, sacks and pressures, red zone effectiveness, yards per rush…my initial thoughts with no research…
October 16th, 2019 at 11:01 pm
Jonathan Banks- 4.6
Vernon Hargreaves- 4.5
MJ Stewart- 4.55
Carlton Davis- 4.55
Ryan Smith-4.45
What has teacherman been saying for the past decade?
Only draft sub 4.4 cornerbacks!
We have s SLOW secondary!
October 17th, 2019 at 3:32 am
Bucs draft method. Throw a dart.
October 17th, 2019 at 9:21 am
He should be at Safety. He’s miscast on the slot guy. Hargreaves to the Slot, Dean on the outside.
October 17th, 2019 at 10:17 am
For all the nincompoops that the NFL Combine is a farce and you can’t measure ability in short and on a bench and 40 yard dash I present Vernon Hargreaves and MJ Stewart. These two guys are short and slow… they played well in college and went to the Combine and measured short and timed slowly, now we act all outraged at how small and slow they are… the warning signs were there. This is why timed track speed is actually important an important tool in evaluating prospects.
October 17th, 2019 at 11:23 am
Donte Jackson (from powerhouse LSU and runs a 4.3 – 40) was on the board when we selected slooooow MJ Stewart…. SMH