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Bucs rookie corner Rashaan Melvin may be the hidden gem of training camp.
In every NFL training camp, there is a player that often flies under the radar of fans but excites the organization. For the Bucs, that may just be cornerback Rashaan Melvin.
A product of Northern Illinois, Melvin wasn’t invited to the combine and wasn’t drafted, despite his often-drool-inducing measurable, 6-2, 190 with a long reach.
Joe started hearing whispers from Bucs suits that Melvin was a guy Joe should monitor. The whispers grew louder as training camp approached. At a position of need which has already seen a fair degree of upheaval on the Bucs’ roster, Melvin may also be part of that come September, though it’s still a long way to go before the final 53 man roster is chosen.
Melvin seems to believe his less than high profile image has been good for his development.
“At the end of the day I still have to play ball,” Melvin said. “Not everybody gets invited to the combine and I used that to get extra, extra ready for my Pro Day, and I think it worked out the best for me.”
Melvin came into camp with an attitude that coaches love.
“My expectations was to come in and learn,” Melvin said. “Obviously Darrelle Revis was here. The cornerback staff was here already. Come in and learn what they have and learn. It has worked out for me for the better.”
What Melvin said he has learned from Revis is “press technique. He is a man-cover guy. Just being patient at the line and being consistent and understand the release.”
He also remarked how being a professional player allows him more time to study the game.
In what may be a display of confidence from Bucs coaches, Melvin has played a fair share of snaps with the first- and second-team defenses, facing the first-team and second-team offenses.
“That really has allowed me to showcase my talent,” Melvin said.
As far as any peculiar rules Bucs coach Greg Schiano may have, Melvin just smiled.
“I don’t think [any] of the rules are strange.”
There is no question the Bucs needed and wanted to upgrade their defensive pass rush. The Bucs are so intent on getting heat on quarterbacks, former front-seven coach Bryan Cox, arguably the Bucs’ best defensive assistant, was given a new title and new assignment: He solely and only works on pass rush drills and coaching.
By letting last year’s sack leader Michael Bennett walk away, the Bucs have put a lot of faith (and pressure) on Da’Quan Bowers, who has been nagged by injuries since he was drafted in 2011.
It was a controversial move and reading into a piece on now-injured Adrian Clayborn typed by Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, it seems Bucs coaches are not doing backflips over Bowers’ practices after the first week of training camp.
In at least one case up front, the Bucs still aren’t sure if their No. 1 guy is worthy. That’s at left end, where third-year pro Da’Quan Bowers has replaced Bennett. The Bucs think Bowers is ready to make an impact as an edge rusher and run stopper, but his play through the first week of training camp has not necessarily been up to their standards.
“He’s played at a high level (in the past), but he’s done it as a situational pass rusher,” Schiano said. “Now, he has to learn how to play down after down and still be a situational pass rusher.
“Situational pass rusher is not a bad deal. You go out there, and 95 percent of the time they throw the ball. So, you don’t have to worry about stopping the run. You don’t have to do the dirty work. When you get to where you’re a first- and second-down player as well as a pass rusher, well, then your world really gets harder. So, we’ll see.”
This is the biggest question on the defensive side of the ball outside of Darrelle Revis’ knee. Can Bowers live up to his talent? It seems, per Cummings’ article, a bit of doubt has crept into the minds of coaches.
Look, Joe knows there is a long, long road to go before the Bucs play the Jets to open the season in New Jersey. One bad week of practice does not a season make.
But the Bucs, namely Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, put a lot of eggs into Bowers’ basket, rather than signing someone like John Abraham, who was dangling on the line all summer for the Bucs (or any team) to sign.
It was, and is, a gamble. A very big and perhaps a very costly gamble.
Davin Joseph has often offered telling commentary about Josh Freeman, like in March, for example, when Joseph strongly implied that Freeman gets too caught up in media commentary and statistical data.
So Joe always listens with a keen ear to captain Joseph’s assessments of No. 5. Yesterday, Joseph told the Ron and Ian show on WDAE-AM 620 that Freeman’s mind appears to be in the right place.
“Just the way he showed up to training camp impressed me a lot,” Joseph said of Freeman. He just had that look like he was ready. He had the look like, you know, he really wants to be here. You can tell the guys who are really ready for training camp, and the guys who are just kinda are here. He really looked ready when he showed up.”
Well, Joe hopes “that look” rivals whatever Freeman looked like this time three years ago.
Also of note, Joseph flat out said he believes Demar Dotson will be the best right tackle in the NFL this season.
“He has some crazy ability,” Joseph said of Dotson. “He’s a guy, I think he seriously has the potential to be the best right tackle in the league. With his work ethic, his focus, the way he comes to work every day, I think he’ll be that this year.”
Dotson has been the running with the first team in perhaps every snap in training camp. Gabe Carimi looks healthy, as well as dominant with the second team and against second-teamers.
Joe suspects preseason game performance will play the biggest role in deciding that position battle.
Big year for Josh Freeman. Heard that before? In the first year of Mike Sullivan’s offense, Freeman struggled, let’s be honest.
Sure, he threw for franchise-record yards. Given the quarterbacks in Bucs history, is that really a laudable accomplishment? Yes, Freeman threw for over 4,000 yards last year, a feat also eclipsed by a veritable Who’s Who of quarterbacks, including such NFL luminaries as Don Majkowski, Scott Mitchell, Steve Beuerlein and Bill Kenney.
Joe’s all about wins. One can spin stats all they want but at the end of the day, it’s about wins.
Yes, Freeman is in the second year of the Mike Sullivan era. This means a great deal to Freeman. Stability, which Freeman has not had in his short career, breeds success. Look at what happened when Alex Smith finally had some stability with Jim Harbaugh. The man was a special teams fumble from a Super Bowl.
Even Freeman admits he’s well-advanced from last year when it comes to being able to talk turkey with Sullivan and knowing what the hell Sullivan is talking about, documents Tom Krasniqi of WDAE-AM 620.
Over the course of his career, Freeman has had three different offensive coordinators so continuity has been an issue. But Freeman is optimistic that with a year of offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan’s complex system under his belt, things should move more smoothly in year two. Overcoming the “language barrier” as Freeman put it has been instrumental in his development. Less thinking, more reacting.
The Bucs have placed a heavy emphasis on two-minute situations. On Wednesday, Freeman and the first team excelled. Down 21-17, the offense drove the ball downfield with Freeman hooking up with wideout Mike Williams twice on the drive. Freeman culminated the drive with a touchdown pass to WR Kevin Ogletree. “Most of the games last season came down to 7 points or less, two-minute drives,” Freeman said. “It’s something we want to work on every day.”
Freeman has struggled at times with accuracy during training camp. He attributes those struggles to the improved defense he faces each day. “It has made it a little more difficult at times,” Freeman said of the defense. “We just have to continue to run our stuff and persevere.”
If Freeman’s words are not enough for you, how about Vincent Jackson’s? Yesterday, Joe asked Jackson how players felt about being with Sullivan for a second season and Jackson told Joe that since all the players are speaking the same dialect, Sullivan has been able to add new wrinkles to the offense, sort of like a Spanish I student in high school advancing to Spanish II.
With a healthy offensive line and an advanced understanding of a complex offense, Joe really does expect Freeman to play better this season.
Of course, Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620 were with Joe at Bucs practice today and there is all sorts of audio Bucs fans will want to listen to.
Of course, there is Greg Schiano’s daily presser. Heralded undrafted free agent corner Rashaan Melvin talked about getting to the NFL to chase his dream. Vincent Jackson explained how much better the Bucs offense should be this season. Wide receiver Tiquan Underwood discusses the battle for the No. 3 receiver slot. And, Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman talks more about the Bucs offense as well.
All audio courtesy of WDAE-AM 620.
It’s Joe’s new Wednesday evening tradition; Joe joined the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, at 5 p.m. to talk all things Bucs for an hour.
As you can imagine, Joe and The Big Dog hit on all kinds of Bucs subjects and took fan calls. Enjoy the podcasts below. (Ignore the very minor microphone glitch to start Part I.)
The czar of Tampa Bay sports electronic media, J.P. Peterson, discusses the news and happenings out of One Buc Palace today as the Bucs wrapped up Day 6 of training camp 2013 in this WDAE-AM 620 video.
Joe keeps an eye on Greg Schiano during practice quite often, and it’s always interesting to see Schiano’s reaction to a play when the first-team offense is against the first-team defense.
Who can/does/should Schiano root for?
Late in practice today during a two-minute drill, Josh Freeman completed a pass in the left corner to Kevin Ogletree at about the 10 yard line. Ogletree was 1-on-1 with rookie Johnthan Banks covering. Ogletree turned to Banks and gave him a nothing juke and cut past him inside for a touchdown.
Schiano was not sporting a happy face.
After practice, Schiano said “we overleveraged the route or the tackle, and Ogletree ducked inside.”
Perhaps that’s one of the “bad habits” of Banks that Schiano referenced yesterday.
Now’s the time for Banks to be a rookie. He’s got to learn through the preseason. The home-opener against Drew Brees is not the time.
In addition to rehabilitating veteran studs for Week 1 readiness, the New Schiano Order also is fast-tracking a rookie for opening day, projected starting nosetackle Akeem Spence.
Spence’s development is a race against time, Greg Schiano acknowledged today.
Joe asked Schiano to comment on whether Spence’s notorious feats of strength are showing up in practice film and how he’s progressing. The leader of the New Schiano Order said Spence is playing strong and a is major focus of his staff.
“He’s made some big improvements, even from his college tape as far as technique and stance and hands. Yeah, he’s got a lot of upside. The problem is we need that upside to be soon. We’re trying to accelerate it in every way we can. And he knows that,” Schiano said.
Yes, Joe trembled a little when Schiano used the word “problem,” thought it may have just been a figure of speech.
Spence is getting high marks from the guys across the line from him.
“He’s going to be a good player. He already has the leverage battle won on most people with his height,” Jeremy Zuttah said today. “He’s extremely strong – 500-pound bench, cleans the world, all those things. It’s about getting out here and getting comfortable and we’re confident in his ability.”
Ted Larsen said he likes Spence’s “tools” and said he shows an affinity for an unnatural position. “He does his job well. It’s not everybody’s natural position. Playing that tilted nose, it can really be a weapon.”
Yes, the Bucs have depth at nosetackle with Gary Gibson and Derek Landri, but Spence, a fourth-round pick, is the guy they want.
One could make an easy argument that the most valuable player on the offensive side of the ball is Vincent Jackson. Yes, Jackson is as talented of a wide receiver as they come. But it’s the intangibles Jackson brings to the table as a veteran that prove his worth.
Work ethic is a key for Jackson. So much so he believes his mindset along with his work ethic are the reason for his success.
“It’s a beginner’s mentality,” Jackson said. “I come out here like I am trying to earn my job. From there, I act like I have never been in the system. Take notes every meeting. Come out here and work on fundamentals and individual drills. Work on the small things. Catch balls in different positions. That’s what I do every year. I do that at the start of every season and maintain that. Take care of your body and focus on your job.”
Mike WIlliams often points to Jackson for him being the player he’s become. Last year, Williams said, he learned by Jackson’s example of how to be a pro — little things like how to take notes in meeting rooms, how to study film, things that add up to big success.
It’s the word “success” that Jackson uses for the Bucs offense. He believes the team is on the cusp of blowing up this season.
“Another year under our belt [with offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan],” Jackson said. “I think there is a lot more confidence and comfort in what people are doing out there. People are moving a lot fester. We are able to implement new things and add some nuances of our offense. It is fun.
“We added some great pieces to the offense and with guys being in the second year of the offense, guys are more confident in what they are doing. Coaches are more confident in the players in what was going on out there. I think we will be very, very solid on offense this year.”
Now this is an aspect Joe didn’t focus on; now that players are more familar with Sullivan’s offense, they are adding new and different twists in order for receivers like Jackson to get mismatches on, say, a nickel corner.
If coaches are comfortable with players in this offense, Joe is going to guess fans will be happy with the results.
To hear all of what Jackson had to say after practice today, click on the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620.
Here are nuggets and notes from Bucs practice, Day 6 of training camp 2013.
* Kevin Ogletree schools Johnthan Banks on a comeback route TD from JF5 along left sideline. Schiano shakes head in disgust.
* MW19 goes low to dig up JF5 pass for 18 yards.
* JF5 to MW19 big gain along right sideline.
* Fake crowd noise!
* Michael Smith with a little shake and bake inside but goes down. Schiano bellows, “Finish, finish!” Smith bounces up, biting the football, and continues running.
* Nate Byham with a catch off a beautiful JF5 play action fake. Next play on a flea-flicker, blitzing Ahmad Black forces JF5 to unload ball.
* Derek Hagen has a short pass bounce off his fingertips on a crossing pattern.
* Josh Freeman threads needle to Kevin Ogletree.
* Lavonte David strips a pass out of Mike James’ mitts.
* Granted, Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks are limited but sure seems like Adrian Clayborn and Lavonte David are in backfield quite a bit.
* Vincent Jackson with a short catch nearly batted down by Mark Barron.
* Michael Smith lit up in backfield by Jonathan Casillas.
* Derek Hagen nearly made a circus catch against Braden Smith along left sideline but couldn’t hang on.
* Chris Owusu makes one-handed catch along left sideline in drills.
* Adam Hayward beaten badly by TE Danny Noble.
* Nice jump and fingertip grab by Mike Williams on a short throw.
* Freeman throws behind Kevin Ogletree
* Vincent Jackson with a drop on a very easy-to-handle ball.
* Interesting drill: WRs fight with DBs for pass over shoulder.
* Chris Owusu fielding punts. As much work as he is getting, it appears he is very much on coaches’ radar just like fans’ radar.
* Branden Smith (Georgia CB) now returning punts.
* Mike James returns kickoff straight up the middle.
* Captain of the inactive list Michael Smith returns a long kickoff and the fans respond with loud ovation.
* Bucs rock star general Mark Dominik walks past bleachers and receives standing ovation from fans.
*TE Nate Byham getting work with the first team in red-zone work.
*Undrafted rookie Rashaan Melvin with two instances of good coverage in one red zone period.
*Bryan Cox screaming praise to Daniel Te’o-Nesheim for his work at left end on a run play.
*Cox taking a long teaching moment with Williams Gholston on the field.
*Camp meat alert: Nice effort and technique by Adam Smith working at left tackle.
*Peyton Hillis turns the corner on Steven Means for a long gain. Hillis is powerful-looking dude.
*Keith Tandy slips as last line of defense following a Vincent Jackson catch. TD.
*DaQuan Bowers, late in practice, appears to succumb to the heat. Or he’s in deep prayer.
*Michael Smith runs into nosetackle Derek Landri and goes backwards.
*Najee Goode plays with a lot of attitude.
*Mike Williams with a good catch and escape of Rashaan Melvin.
*Steven Means is limping late in practice but playing through it.
*Sean Baker ends practice with an interception of Mike Glennon in the two-minute offense. Heinous throw.
The human armoire, Carl Nicks, the manbeast of manbeasts on the Bucs’ offensive line, got his first taste of serious action at practice today. Nicks is working his way back from offseason toe surgery to repair a mangled turf toe that rivaled the planet Uranus in size.
Greg Schiano said after practice it was part of the “little-by-little” process of preparing Nicks for opening day.
This is a great sign and came as a bit of a surprise to Joe. Nicks guaranteed earlier he’d be ready for Week 1, and it feels like a lock after seeing him in pads and throwing his body around — sans limp.
Greg Schiano broke the bad news after this morning’s practice. Adrian Clayborn injured his groin very early in the session and “couldn’t practice.”
Schiano had no timetable for Clayborn’s return and said it’s “usually not a good sign.”
Joe doesn’t want to go overboard here, but the Bucs’ biggest question marks are along the defensive line, and there’s not a load of depth at defensive end.
Fingers are crossed across the Bay area.
Aside from Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman, no area of the team needs to start man up and step up more than the pass rush. Gone is 2012 sack leader Michael Bennett.
With both defensive ends Da’Quan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn finally healthy, the Bucs are counting big time on the two young bookends to put the fear of God in opposing quarterbacks, or at least make them yellow their pants.
Just from the vibe Clayborn feels in meeting rooms, opposing quarterbacks should beware.
“The way everybody has bought into the system, it is 10-times, 20-times better than last year and I only played three games,” Clayborn said. “ It’s a lot better than last year. I feel good. My knee is 100 [percent] finally.
“We have Bryan Cox in the room full time now helping us with our techniques and he is really helping out. It is showing. It is showing. [Cox explained] get back to my old self. Don’t be fancy. Be hard-nosed and get to the quarterback.“
It sounds as if the constant stunting and being cute on the defensive line is going away. Pin your ears back and, as Warren Sapp would say, “hunt.”
Joe remembers last year Gerald McCoy, tired of the cutesy stunting, demanded it stop to allow him to chase quarterbacks. It worked. Later, GMC said he was talking to Sapp about this and Sapp said, “The quarterback is over here. Why are you running over there?”
Joe has a hunch Cox will take care of matters. Look, he helped lead a woebegone NFL worst rush defense, and with the addition of just one player (Lavonte David), turned the same unit from worst to first in the NFL. That’s coaching.
Now that Cox is solely focused on rushing the quarterback, Joe has visions of Bowers and Clayborn planting quarterbacks into the soil of the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway. To hear all of Clayborn’s comments, click the arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s good friends at WDAE-AM 620.
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Raheem Morris says stats are for losers. Joe never bought into that nonsense. Stats can be valuable when they’re not twisted, turned, massaged, invented and/or manipulated. And some stats are downright telling.
Doug Martin had the fourth-most carries in the NFL last season with 319. He also caught 49 balls.
The folks at NationalFootballPost.com took a look at the production of every running back over the past 11 years in their season following a 300-carry workload. The data was revealed as it relates to real football and fantasy football.
The message was that landing a spot in the 300-club often means a drop in production the next season.
Joe’s not predicting a decline in anything for Martin. Joe suspects Martin will get more work — carries and receptions — if his offensive line is healthy and playing up to its capabilities. Keep in mind a punishing running game will limit the snaps of Darrelle Revis and friends, something the Bucs would love to do early as they work Revis back into top form.
What happens when you put Tampa Bay sports radio icon Steve Duemig and Joe in the same studio to talk all things Bucs for an hour?
Find out at 5 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620. The new, Wednesday “JoeBucsFan Hour” rolls on this evening. You don’t want to miss this.
Joe tries to be objective when it comes to Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. Joe sees the measurables, sees him rifle lasers through traffic to Vincent Jackson, sees him (not enough) scramble to create plays, and they make Joe smile.
Then Joe sees the irritating rollercoaster of inconsistency and cringeworthy melting down under pressure, and Joe wonders if Freeman can ever turn the corner.
Joe points to the Denver game last season. The Bucs defense may have played it’s best half of football all season, bottling up Peyton Manning in the first half. Holding a scant halftime lead, Denver coach John Fox brought the house on Freeman, and Freeman wilted and vanished with a chance to pull off a major upset and keep the team in playoff contention.
Yes, quarterbacks are supposed to struggle under pressure. But the cream of the crop of quarterbacks rise above the fray. If Freeman is able to get the Bucs to the playoffs, you don’t think he will face pressure from opposing defenses then?
Steve Palazzolo of ProFootballFocus.com decided to crunch some Freeman numbers and under heat from a defense, Palazzolo revealed chilling data on the Bucs’ signalcaller.
Tampa Bay fans are still wondering if Freeman is truly their long-term answer, but on the glass-half full side, go to our AFC North Pressure Profiles and check out Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco. Freeman’s pressure numbers are eerily similar and perhaps a good sign that he’s at least capable of leading the Bucs to the playoffs and beyond. In glass-half empty news, only three quarterbacks have graded worse than Freeman’s -46.3 when pressured, so he likely has to show some improvement in that area to take the next step. Freeman’s only positive grade comes from left guard pressure while he’s particularly poor when under heat from left tackle and right guard.
So now Joe will play glass half-full. Palazzolo’s informtion is from Freeman of 2012. What was missing most of the season? Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph. So with those two upright and healthy (Joe hopes), this will help keep defenses off Freeman and also help keep Freeman’s jersey clean.
That alone should improve Freeman’s numbers from last year.
Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud says Bucs fans should be on the lookout for Adrian Clayborn and DaQuan Bowers to flip-flop sides of the defensive line throughout games, all part of a new “handprint,” Stroud called it, from Greg Schiano on his beloved defense.
Will the Bucs really do this? Joe will wait and see. Does Joe like the idea? Well, Joe’s learned enough from former Bucs DE Steve White to know that moving around on the D-line severely limits the opportunity for ends to set-up offensive tackles with a series of moves. As in, ‘I’ll give him two of these and come back with one of these.’
Also interesting to Joe is that John Abraham, who the Bucs passed on in free agency, was one who often moved around along the D-line. (You can catch Stroud’s breakdown via the WDAE-AM 620 audio below.)
Year 2 of the Bucs offense under the New Schiano Order should bring more continuity, confidence and, subsequently, efficiency within the established system.
Year 2 of the Greg Schiano defense should bring the same.
Year 2 of special teams?
That’s a different animal, says longtime Bucs special teams captain Adam Hayward.
“Now we need to go play football,” Hayward told Joe. “Last year we kinda were trying to learn so many different things and when you’re doing that you’re thinking and you’re not playing fast. This year [special teams coach Dave] Wannstedt is making it real simple. You know, ‘This is what you gotta do. These are the way to beat the blocks and go make plays.’ That’s huge.
Is that the way it used to be around here, Adam?
“Definitely that’s how it used to be. We kinda got away from that trying to do too much. And now we’re back to the basics. There’s only so much you can do in football on the return side and we’re getting back to making it simple so we can go play.”
The Bucs were not special on special teams last season, outside of leading the NFL in blocked punts, an obsession of Schiano. Last year’s special teams staff was blown out and Wannstedt has taken over.
There’s plenty of room for improvement.
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