Dallas Clark “Going In A Different Direction”
May 3rd, 2013Yesterday, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik appeared with Pat Kirwan and Tim Ryan, co-hosts of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
(Joe was busy at One Buc Palace yesterday and was tipped off to the interview, so he stayed up past 2 a.m. to record the rebroadcast.)
Now Joe knows some Bucs fans screamed for Dominik to draft Tyler Eifert, tight end from Notre Dame, almost as bad as they were pining for slot receiver Tavon Austin, until Dominik used the No. 13 overall pick to land star corner Darrelle Revis.
Still, Bucs fans are rumbling about the tight end position and this also gathered interest from Ryan, who peppered Dominik with a question about the Bucs’ tight ends.
Tim Ryan: Take a peek at the guys you’ve got [at tight end]. Luke Stocker is coming back. I think a fourth-rounder a couple of years ago. I like the [Tom] Crabtree signing. He’s got some nastiness to him as far as certainly having the desire and is a pretty good at blocking. Who is the flex guy? Is there still an opportunity for the door to be open for Dallas Clark and his return? Who is your flex tight end if you had to name one right now?
Mark Dominik: We have a couple of guys we are looking at. Dallas is a free agent. You know, I haven’t talked to his agent – we talked after the season and it sounds like that is going in a different direction. So for us, that’s why we went out and – when Tom Crabtree did not get tendered, we were aggressive with his agent in trying to get him on the team. We see what you see: an aggressive blocker who is untapped down the field. I think he is going to be able to do both. We are excited about the uses of a dual guy who can detach a little bit and go “H” and even some stuff in the backfield.
We have a couple of guys that we like and want to see develop. We picked up the other Zach Miller. We have some young guys, [Danny] Noble and Evan Landi, excited to see how they go through.
It seemed obvious that if Clark wasn’t around by now, he likely wouldn’t come back. And it sure seems Dominik has turned the page on Clark.
The key element here is Crabtree. Yes, he’s a solid blocker, as many Packers beat writers documented since his release. But Crabtree was in a log jam — ard to get playing time when you are behind Jermichael Finley.
The Bucs really believe Crabtree has the skills to split defenses over the middle. We shall see.
The rest of Dominik’s interview with Kirwan and Ryan Joe will have next week. Way too much Bucs news now.