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Remember what happened when the Bucs took free agency seriously? Joe Henderson does.
In this Channel 8/TBO.com/The News Center/Media General video, Tampa Tribune columnist Joe Henderson discusses what appears to be the NFL version of oil and water.
The Bucs and free agency.
While Henderson agrees with the general premise of building through the draft, it’s not a cure-all.
Henderson explains in detail.
USC Safety Taylor Mays
Former Gator cornerback Joe Haden is one of several defensive players whose NFL scouting combine performance made general managers skittish and looking for shots of Jagermeister.
But there were plenty of combine winners, too.
Is Taylor Mays a perfect fit for Raheem The Dream?
NFL Draft guru Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, breaks down the combine winners and losers on the defensive side of the ball.
Enjoy! {+++}
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By STEVE WHITESteve White spent every season of the Tony Dungy era playing defensive end for the Bucs. He’s spent countless hours in the film room with the likes of Warren Sapp, Rod Marinelli and more. Joe is humbled to have White, also a published author and blogger, as part of the JoeBucsFan.com team. Below is White’s weekly Bull Rush column that breaks down all things defense. It’s simply a can’t-miss read for the hardcore Bucs fan.
With the 2009 season over, White is profiling every Bucs defensive lineman and breaking down his strengths and weaknesses, as well as how he may fit in in next season.
Today he looks at Kyle Moore, Dre Moore and Michael Williams, who all played sparingly in 2009.
Kyle Moore:
If there is one guy I expect to make the biggest leap in production next year, it’s Kyle Moore. Hampered by injuries most of 2009, he finally got an opportunity to play late in the season and he showed flashes in his rookie year. The Bucs used him both at left end and inside at defensive tackle some, but I think he will find a home next season just staying at end. He has all the physical tools to be a very good defensive lineman, but the one thing I believe he has to work on is transitioning to a more pro-style approach instead of a college approach to playing defensive line.
For instance, Moore didn’t show a great variety of pass rush moves and the one move he seemed to rely on was an arm over/swim move.
Now everyone loves to see a guy execute a swim move when it works, but the problem is in the NFL it rarely does. And when you miss on a swim move, you generally can not counter out of it and make a secondary move. That’s why the majority of winning moves you see in the NFL are some version of a rip move. Rip moves allow you to keep your balance and, if you get blocked, you still have the ability to counter out of it with a spin move or a hump move or a bull rush.
I think the Buccaneers’ brass is going to give Moore the opportunity to start at left end, especially if Jimmy Wilkerson isn’t re-signed or isn’t healthy by the beginning of training camp. With some technique work this offseason, I think Bucs fans will be happy with what they see out of Moore in the fall.
Michael Bennett:
I liked what I saw out of Michael Bennett after we signed him off of the Seahawks’ practice squad. He showed some real burst in getting off the ball and he used his hands really well. He, like most of our defensive linemen, is going to have to work on using pass rush moves because he was another guy who relyed way too heavily on a bull rush last year.
Also, because he is one of the low men on the totem pole, he is going to have to find a way to stay healthy. He missed a great opportunity for playing time being out with a toe injury after Jimmy Wilkerson got hurt. When you are a backup who wasn’t a draft pick and you are third string or worse, the harsh reality in the NFL is that you can’t afford to be hurt when your number is called. If he stays healthy, however, I think he can provide us some quality depth and he should be able to make the roster again next year.
Dre Moore:
Of all our defensive tackles, Dre Moore was the guy who most looked the part of a nose tackle. He is listed at 305 pounds but he certainly looks bigger on the field and he appears to be a pretty good athlete, as well. I think where he fits in on the team, if at all, will depend on what we do with the starters from last year.
I don’t know if both Ryan Sims and Chris Hovan will both still be on the 2010 roster. If they are, then Dre is going to have a hard time sticking around because he is another low man on the totem pole and there is no doubt that the Bucs are going to bring in new defensive tackles, whether through the draft and or free agency. If one or both starters are gone, however, then I think Moore has a really good chance to stick around.
The best advice I could give him this offseason is just work on playing a double-team block. It would be great if we had a nose tackle that was great at pass rushing, but that will never be his primary job. The nose tackle needs to be an anchor of the defense who commands a double team and is good enough at playing them so neither the guard nor the center can come off the block and go up to a linebacker, lest the nosetackle make the play in the backfield. If Dre can model his game after a guy like the Vikings’ Pat Williams, then he will be a prized commodity not just for the Bucs but for other 4-3 teams.
Who is this Panther?
NFL Draft guru Justin Pawlowski, of WDAE-AM 620, goes deep in this breakdown of combine winners and losers on the offensive side of the ball.
Is Dexter McCluster free falling?
So how would you look in a Cadillac Willams jersey?
All subscribers to the NFL Draft coverage will now have their names thrown in a hat to win a Reebok replica Cadillac Williams jersey. Joe’s got a bunch, sizes large and XL. (Yeah, these sell for $80.)
Subscribe today!
Remember, all subscription coverage is accessible here.
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[audio:combineoffense.mp3]
It’s mere minutes until the NFL free agency period begins and a former Bucs beat writer is one of the few people in the Fourth Estate who believes the Bucs will make a splash.
SI.com columnist Don Banks is of the believe that Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson will be headed to Tampa Bay shortly to join the Bucs.
Where he will sign: Tampa Bay —The Bucs clearly won’t break the bank for the former Texans franchise player, but if Robinson’s market turns out to be soft and the price tag is reasonable, the Bucs could target him and land a youthful (27) but experienced option (six-year veteran) to replace the aging Ronde Barber, who turns 35 in April. Other teams expected to shop in the cornerback market this offseason include the Falcons, Vikings, Titans and Packers.
This wouldn’t be a bad move, but it sounds like a peculiar move. The Bucs, specifically Mark Dominik, have stated they are not going to be players in free agency. While it’s true the Bucs will need to replace Barber, he’s still going to be with the Bucs for the 2010 season.
There are much bigger holes on the defense that need to be addressed for this fall. Cornerback isn’t one of them.
This season.
In this video, veteran St. Petersburg Times columnist and budding television personality Gary Shelton notes how the recent releases of LaDainian Tomlinson and Bryant Westbrook bring to mind how Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and Ike Hilliard were cast to the curb by the Bucs.
These video snippets Shelton has been pumping out are actually quite good. Joe is impressed. In Joe’s limited TV appearances, he has learned there is a very fine line between being too wooden and being too over the top. Shelton has this art figured out.
The Bucs need a wide receiver worse than Joe needs a cold Caybrew on a steamy hot Florida Saturday afternoon.
Vacation Man, of BSPN.com, thinks he has found that wide receiver.
It’s Louisville wide receiver Scott Long.
Vacation Man believes the way Long wowed NFL scouts at the NFL combine, Long has moved up from a late-round pick to perhaps a third round pick.
He believes the Bucs will come knocking.
Long ran a 4.46 40-yard dash. Not bad, but it was seventh best among receivers and it’s not going to qualify him as a “burner.’’ But you need to look beyond the 40 time to get a better picture of how Long helped himself at the combine. His 11.0 seconds time in the 60-yard shuttle was first among receivers, and he also had the best vertical jump at 41.5 inches. Long also was the strongest of the receivers, recording 20 reps on the bench press.
Long’s best event was the three-cone drill. He did that in 6.45 seconds, the best time of any player (at any position) at the combine.
Long wasn’t much for touchdowns, only had four in his last three seasons. But he did average double-digit yards per catch in each of those three seasons.
First, Joe would like to humbly thank former Bucs offensive lineman and current WDAE-AM 620 morning host Ian Beckles for allowing Joe to ramble on his airwaves about the Bucs this morning. Thanks, Ian!
As Joe mentioned during his appearance, Joe learned through his always rigorous research that not only is Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall available, but relatively cheap for a receiver of his stature.
Joe’s good friend Jason McIntyre, the baron of TheBigLead.com, asked Sports Illustrated NFL columnist Peter King, via Twitter, which receiver King would take if afforded the opportunity, Dez Bryant or Marshall. Below is the “conversation.”
@TheBigLead: Which baggage player do you take, Brandon Marshall or Dez Bryant?
@SI_PeterKing: Marshall. Might be able to pry him from Den for a 2.
A second round pick for Brandon Marshall? Where does Joe sign up?
Granted, first thing Joe would want to know is, when is the pick, this year or next year, the Bucs’ first pick in the second round or the Bucs’ second round pick they got from Chicago for Gaines Adams?
If Joe were Mark Dominik, and King’s information is accurate, Joe would already be burning the phone lines to Denver.
As Beckles told Joe this morning, the Bucs’ receiving corps, as it now stands, may be the worst in the NFL. How exactly does that help in Josh Freeman’s development?
Many Bucs fans — including a former Bucs defensive lineman Steve White (who Joe is humbled to have write a weekly “Bull Rush” column for Joe) are banging the drum to draft Tennessee super safety Eric Berry.
But history suggests the Bucs, with the No. 3 pick overall, will not draft Berry, no matter how good he is. Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune details why.
During the last 18 years, no safety has been selected in the top three. The last safety drafted within the top three was Eric Turner, who was the No.2 overall selection by Cleveland in 1991.
When it comes to safeties, only four others have been top 10 picks since 1991.
Laron Landry, Redskins – #6 overall (2007)
Michael Huff, Raiders – #7 overall (2006)
Sean Taylor, Redskins – #5 overall (2004)
Roy Williams, Cowboys – #8 overall (2002)
Richardson also points out that the two current elite safeties in the game Berry is often compared to, Baltimore’s Ed Reed and Pittsburgh’s Tasmanian devil Troy Polamalu, weren’t even selected in the top 10 when they were drafted.
Given the fact current Bucs standout safety Tanard Jackson will likely be wanting a payday in the near future, that’s a whole lot of cash to tie up in the same area.
Recently on Sirius NFL Radio, Derrick Brooks stated he didn’t think the Bucs would give up so quickly on their 2008 second round draft pick Sabby the Goat because they have so much money tied up in him.
Will the Bucs draft Berry? Perhaps. But Joe’s of the mind that if manbeast Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy are available at No. 3, Berry won’t be buying a home in the area any time soon.
Coming up later today for JoeBucsFan.com draft subscribers, NFL Draft guru Justin Pawlowski rolls out the first of his position breakdowns.
Offensive lineman are first up, and every other position will follow. (Remember to send your draft questions to Pawlowski to answer at nfldraft@620wdae.com).
Also, Joe has just confirmed some draft analysis from a current Buccaneer player coming in about 10 days.
Not a subscriber? You can find what you’ve missed here.
Also, winners who won a Mugs Grill & Bar gift certificate for subscribing will be notified today. And now March subscribers will instantly be eligible to win one of several Reebok replica Cadillac Williams jerseys. Just subscribe, and you’re in the running.
Word came last night from Michael Lombardi, of the NationalFootballPost.com, during a guest appearance on the NFL Network’s Total “Access Show” (fast forward to the 2:33 mark of this video), that disgruntled yet supremely talented Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin can be had for a third round pick.
On face value, this is a steal. Now Joe would be more inclined to trade a future third round pick given how deep this draft is, but that still would be a steal.
Then Joe learned, again through Lombardi, that for the trade to be consummated, Boldin would have to be signed to a lucrative, hefty contract in order to pacify him.
Then there’s the thing about his age and health. He will be 30 this fall. Increasingly, he is getting dinged up. Combine a player on the wrong side of 30 with increasing injuries and throw in a big contract, that’s scary territory.
Remember, injuries is a big part of why Antonio Bryant was dispatched.
Lord knows the Bucs need a receiver. Now, almost as bad as a defensive tackle or a safety to play in place of Sabby the Goat. But would acquiring Boldin be too much of a risk?
Nearly a month after he was alleged to have slapped around his girlfriend following a night of drinking and carousing in a South Florida clothing-optional establishment in the wee hours of the morning, and being hit with a disturbing domestic battery charge, former Bucs great Warren Sapp was nowhere to be found in a Miami-Dade County court today to stand in front of a judge and face charges.
Rather, Sapp sicked his lawyer into court to obtain a two-week continuance in what some suggest is an effort to cop a plea, so reports SportsByBrooks.com.
Instead, Sapp’s lawyer Christopher Lyons requested and was granted a two week continuance. The move by Sapp’s attorney may be the first step in a plea deal, depending on who the Dade County District Attorney assigned to the case.
The March 17 appearance will likely bring a plea bargain or Sapp’s actual plea.
Slightly over a day after he was jailed and released, Gary Nelson of WFOR-TV in Miami suggested that Sapp was sprung from his cage in the Miami-Dade County jail because of his celebrity status, having been a local hero for the Hurrigangstas.
At the Sunday morning hearing, Sapp’s attorney Christopher Lyons asked Judge Yvonne Colodny if she could “expedite” his release from jail, after he posted his $1,500 bail. Colodny turned to corrections officials and said, “Okay, Corrections, as a courtesy, if you can assist us, if you can do anything to expedite the bond, the defendant’s friends and family would greatly appreciate it.”
In the recording of the hearing, a corrections official can be heard to say, “Yes, Judge.”
The “courtesy” extended to Sapp is not extended to everyone. It typically takes hours, sometimes most of the day, for defendants in the morning bond court session to be processed out of the jail.
If that isn’t revolting enough, Sapp is alleged to have sent an alarming two-word text to the victim of his alleged physical abuse just moments after the incident was said to have occured, “You whore.”
Sapp has yet to be seen at his job on the NFL Network since he was pinched.
SI.com columnist Peter King wondered aloud if somehow Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye could help the Bucs.
Bucs fans, you are in for a long, long season.
It’s not because your favorite coach Raheem the Dream is still here.
It’s not because, as many Bucs fans believe, the Glazers are cheaper that Ebeneezer Scrooge.
The Bucs will have a long season because Peter King said so.
Co-hosting on the “Opening Drive” today with boring stick in the mud Randy Cross heard exclusively on Sirius NFL Radio, the longtime Sports Illustrated columnist talked about what he foresees with the Bucs this fall.
It ain’t pretty.
A caller asked about combine issues and ended his call begging for King to give Bucs fans a reason to look forward to the season.
King was hard-pressed to, but detailed what he sees for the Bucs.
Randy Cross: Come on Peter, give Tampa Bay fans something to feel good about.
Peter King: I think [Bucs management] is confident [Josh Freeman is the Bucs quarterback of the future] after getting some experience last year and now will have a full offseason with the team.
Remember, last year Josh Freeman had his rookie year interrupted. He had a lot of hardships in his first year. When your offensive coordinator and the guy that designs plays gets whacked at the end of training camp, that is not an ideal situation.
One thing I cannot emphasize enough is that stability for Freeman is vitally important and learning the game is vitally important. One game I watched him last year — I can’t remember against who — he made a bunch of mistakes but he made some real NFL throws.
This year is about seeing how good Freeman can be and be sure if he can be your longterm quarterback. That is the biggest thing you need to accomplish this year.
I don’t know anyone who can look at this team and say they will have a great year. The only way they can have a great year is if Josh Freeman becomes the next Matt Ryan.
I would be more encouraged than discouraged by your quarterback.
The most important thing you have to do is that team has to get a pass rushing threat from either free agency or the draft or you try to squeeze another year or two out of someone like with someone like Adewale Ogunleye, you have to get more pressure on the quarterback than you had last year.
Cross: It really seemed to click for Freeman at the end of last year.
Joe may not be Peter King ,and he has more of a personality and is not anal like Cross, but Joe knows when your two best wide receivers are Sammie Stroughter and Mo Stovall, that is not aiding the development of Freeman in any way, shape or form.
Hey, Joe isn’t all about the Bucs. He’s about the Bolts too!
The NHL trade deadline is just over an hour away and already the Lightning have made a deal!
Wanna know who? Gotta go to JoeBoltsFan.com.
There, Joe will keep a running tally of any Bolts moves today. Who else can you trust besides Joe?
So go there, check it out, and make sure to read Amanda Harris’ can’t-beat musings on the Bolts.
NFL analyst Pat Kirwan, he of Sirius NFL Radio, of NFL.com, of CBSSports.com, has returned from the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
Armed with loads of information, he has posted his mock draft on NFL.com. He also believes the Bucs will actually get the best man for their defense. That would be Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.
The Bucs have returned to the Monte Kiffin style 4-3 defense, and McCoy can do many of the things Warren Sapp did back in the glory days of Tampa’s defense.
Kirwan believes the Bucs will be able to get McCoy because the Rams will pick quarterback Sam Bradford and the Lions will grab manbeast Ndamukong Suh.
Also in the link above, Brian Billick, Jamie Dukes and Steve Mariucci of the NFL Network break down who they think is better between McCoy and Suh.
Joe is a confident guy and believes in the power of a positive attitude. However, overconfidence to the point of ridiculousness is never a good thing.
Joe is growing increasingly concerned that the Bucs’ brass believes the team is better than it really is and that may negatively effect how the Bucs proceed in free agency and the draft.
First, there were Mark Dominik’s comments in January to the Tampa Tribune.
“As you sit here today, you can pick apart the roster but I do believe that the guys that are in our locker room, the guys we added in 2009 and the success we had with our trades – every trade we made over the last 12 months – were all correct. All the decisions we had to make were difficult, but I believe they were correct and I do believe we had a successful draft last year. And I think those are things we can build on.”
So Dominik thinks every personnel move the Bucs made in 2009 was on the money. Hmmm.
Second, there were Raheem The Dream’s comments last week to the St. Pete Times, when he proclaimed the Bucs are “light years” ahead of where they were last year.
“It’s got to translate onto the field. I’m not going to sit here and act like you go 3-13, and just because you’re getting better and competitive every game, that’s acceptable. There ain’t no way.”
Hello. Coach Rah. “Competitive every game?” What were you watching? Even if you were “competitive,” that’s hardly an accomplishment.
Third, Joe heard the comments of Josh Freeman last week on 1040AM and walked away bewildered.
“You know, it was the thing last year, a few plays go right and a few plays don’t go wrong, and we’re right on the bubble to make the playoffs. So it’s just a matter of putting yourself in situations to make more right plays, and not have the interception that might cost you the game, or the fumble or whatever it may be.” —Freeman on 1040 AM
Last Joe checked, the two NFC Wild Card teams last year were 11-5 (Philly and Green Bay), yet our quarterback thinks the 3-13 Bucs were a solid handful of plays away from “on the bubble” to make the playoffs. Huh?
Joe puts all this stuff together and just isn’t seeing a team grounded in reality. And that can’t be a key element to success.
The women without the NFL Network in Joe’s reading audience will remember him as “The Bachelor.”
Gators fans will remember him as a former starting quarterback for Florida in the early years of the century.
Hardcore Giants fans will remember the eight games he played in two years for the Big Blue.
Most now know him as one of the top college football analysts on television, now slaving for the Kremlin of cable, BSPN.
He is Jesse Palmer. Joe caught up with Palmer during media day at the Super Bowl and Palmer, who was working for TSN out of Canada covering his sixth Super Bowl, was kind enough to give Joe his thoughts about the Bucs and quarterback Josh Freeman.
JoeBucsFan: What happened to the Bucs? They went from flirting with the playoffs to horrid in a matter of weeks.
Jesse Palmer: Obviously, there was a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback playing the majority of the season. There was a lot of change. I think in the locker room, with that [also] comes change.
It is very, very rare to see a team succeed — the New York Jets did this with the same circumstances, a new coach and a new quarterback — I think there were so many growing pains that came along with that.
I think there were a lot of positives however, particularly down the stretch. I think the win on the road down at New Orleans was huge for the franchise. Hopefully that is something they can build on for next year.
Joe: You think the Saints just took the Bucs too lightly?
Palmer: Maybe a little bit so. [The Saints] still had a chance to win near the end of the game. They had special teams blunders — a punt returned for a touchdown and a missed a field goal — but you cannot take anything away from the physicality of the Bucs late in that game. They really showed they were willing to run the football. Freeman did a great job of managing that game. That was one of the bright spots to look forward to going into next season.
Joe: From a quarterback standpoint… the Bucs got rid of Jeff Jagodzinski just days before the season started. How much did that screw up Freeman? Because of Jagodzinski’s firing, he had to start from scratch. All he had learned through the OTAs through training camp, that was all out the window when Jagodzinski was fired.
Palmer: That’s certainly tough, there’s no question about that. I think there is a chemistry that gets developed between a coach and his quarterbacks and the offense. As soon as that is gone, as you said, you are starting from scratch in a very short time frame. I think in all fairness, that did have some impact early in the year in that offense.
Joe: Related to that, the Bucs are bringing in Alex Van Pelt as a new quarterback coach. Raheem Morris may only have one more year. You almost think he doesn’t have much job security when you look at attendance, there’s not much attendance. If he doesn’t turn things around this year, then Freeman gets another new offensive coordinator and another new quarterback coach. That would make three offensive coordinators in three years. How much will that stunt his growth?
Palmer: It has an impact. I played with Alex Smith in San Francisco and he went through some similar times. In his first four years he had four different offensive coordinators, four different systems, four different playbooks. The terminology was different each and every year. Those are very difficult sets of circumstances and situations to have to develop into as a quarterback. Nobody doubts the fact that Josh Freeman has the skill sets to be successful, but [so many quarterback coaches and offensive coordinators], man, that is tough.
It will be interesting to see how he gets into it with an entire offseason and mini camp under his belt which will help. The same coaching staff, same terminology, that will help.
"Hey Tebow, this isn't no f''ing Bible school you hired me for and it isn't my g-damned problem Urban Meyer couldn''t teach you how to throw a f''ing football the right g-damned way! Jimminy Christmas!"
Chucky is getting tired of hanging out in his bunker at the Ice Palace and dealing with the Bolcheviks in Bristol and is itching to get back to coaching.
So he has. He’s the newest tutor of H-back tight end fullback quarterback Tim Tebow.
Earlier in the week, a Chucky intimate and acolyte Rich Gannon, on Sirius NFL Radio, talked about how Chucky is now Tebow’s newest quarterback coach, as the former Gators great tries to transform himself from that gimmicky, schlocky spread-option tripe into an NFL quarterback.
This is another in a long line of quarterback gurus that Tebow has hired — former Bucs coach Sam Wyche is another — and so many cooks in the kitchen is beginning to concern Gannon.
“I’m worried about three or four experts in his ear,” said Gannon, the former Raiders All Pro quarterback.
Joe also wonders what the Supreme Being will think when his Chosen Son’s ears will be subjected to Chucky’s salty, foul language.
Is this why He has given us Sunshine State residents such Midwestern wintery weather in March?
Joe might have to resume going to daily Mass as a result.
A lot of Bucs fans, provided the Bucs don’t land manbeast Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy, are hoping the Bucs draft Tennessee safety Eric Berry.
Sure, some may accuse former Bucs defensive end Steve White of bleeding too much Volunteers orange or singing “Rocky Top” too many times, but on his blog “Passing on the Game,” White explains how Berry is much more than just a safety and would elevate the Bucs’ defense just with his versatility.
First of all it means that you won’t have to substitute as much. Many times offenses will use personnel as well as formations to try to dictate what the defense is going to do. When your safeties aren’t good in coverage then you end up having to take out a linebacker and put in an extra corner when an offense goes to a three wide receiver set most of the time. That makes you a lot more vulnerable to that team running the ball against what essentially becomes only 6 people in the box. When you have a guy like Berry however you can match him up on the slot receiver, keep all three linebackers in the game and still be stout against the run with 7 in the box.
Second of all some teams will put in an extra tight end along with a fullback at times to give the appearance of running the ball down hill at the defense only to go play action pass. The Saints in particular use this set quite a bit and it has been very effective for them. Now a defense that doesn’t have a physical safety may elect to take someone out of the back line and put in an extra defensive lineman to match up against the offense’s heavy personnel. But if you have a guy like Eric Berry, again you can keep basically your regular personnel in the game and be more sound against both the run and the pass.
Third of all when your team is in a division where there are several talented tight ends, you are going to need to have a safety that matches up well with them or you end up having to double them lest they burn you up and down the field. Berry has been a corner early in his career at Tennessee and he still has corner’s feet. You can single him up on most tight ends and he has enough size and quickness to cover them down the field and he is physical enough to tackle them should they actually make the catch. And if you aren’t doubling the tight end then that free another guy up to cover underneath routes which makes your pass defense more fundamentally sound.
White goes into much greater detail on why Berry — in his eyes — is a must for the Bucs.
After devouring that blog entry, make sure to check out White’s weekly offerings for Joe in his “Bull Rush” column.
It was bad enough last year that Raheem the Dream hatched a radical scheme, thinking aging safety Jermaine Phillips could actually learn to play linebacker.
That fool’s gold of a move didn’t last past the preseason and soon after — shockingly — Phillips broke his thumb and was done for the season.
Perhaps in a cruel, twisted attempt to get people to realize he was still on the squad, Phillips was embroiled in an ugly domestic dispute.
Add it all up and the sum is a ticket out of town. That’s the word from eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune.
In a TBO.com Bucs question and answer feature, a fan wondered what has happened to Phillips. Kaufman filled him in.
Q: I’m confused on everyone’s predictions that we will draft Eric Berry. Sure he’s good, but what happened to Jermaine Philips?
Adam Calica, Hoquiam, Wash.A: The Bucs are moving on without Jermaine Phillips, who had a nice run in Tampa. Phillips will turn 31 in March and he has been too injury prone for the Bucs to count on. He also has a domestic violence charge to deal with.
Phillips developed a reputation as a hard hitter who offers solid run support, but his coverage skills have never been better than marginal. Look for the Bucs to draft a safety fairly high to compete with Piscitelli this fall.
As a free agent, Phillips figures to get a fresh start somewhere and he will contribute if he stays healthy and out of trouble.
— eye-RAH! Kaufman
Joe knows one thing: If the Bucs don’t draft Eric Berry or, say, Chad Jones out of LSU, they need to pick up a free safety in free agency. Look, a guy off the street could probably play strong safety as well as Sabby the Goat.
That headline almost sounds like a 1960s Japanese horror flick like “Godzilla vs. Mothra.”
For Bucs fans, they lay awake at night dreaming of one of those monsters falling into the Bucs hands, like Joe does waiting for Rachel Watson to lunge into his arms.
Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com has a video in which he throws a bucket of cold water onto Bucs fans’ fantasies, daring to suggest one of the two if not both could well be busts.
You be the judge.
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