Five Position Battles Heading Into The Summer

Kenny Bell hopes to stay healthy and make a splash with the Buccaneers this season.

 

Heading into the summer, the Buccaneers have a good problem. There are actual position battles that need to be won before the season starts.

Why is this a good thing? Because the Bucs might actually have some depth, something that they have not had in years.

Here are five position battles to look forward to as the summer moves on:

3^rd Wide Receiver

Potential Starters: Louis Murphy, Adam Humphries, Kenny Bell, Donteea Dye Louis Murphy looks to be the choice but coming off of a torn ACL nobody knows if we will have the same ability as he did prior to the injury. Through the first 6 games of 2015, Murphy only had 10 catches but was averaging 19.8 YPC so he was showing the ability to make big catches.

Adam Humphries was a nice surprise for the Bucs as an undrafted free agent. He ended the season with 27 catches for 260 yards and one touchdown in 13 games. He was solid on underneath routes but didn’t have the ideal speed to create separation downfield.

Donteea Dye had the speed to get the separation last year, but had a hard time hanging on to the ball. Dye ended with 10 receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown. On December 17^th, a Thursday night national televised play Dye started to celebrate a 44 yard reception – but the play was still live. As a result the ball was fumbled and that pretty much sums up Donteea Dye. He just can’t finish.

Center Potential Starters: Joe Hawley, Evan Smith Evan Smith was signed as a free agent by the Bucs to a 4-year, $14.25 million dollar contract before the 2014 season from the Green Bay Packers, and has been another free agent bust by the Bucs front office. When Smith went down with injury at the beginning of the 2015 season, the Bucs signed Joe Hawley off the street and Hawley helped paved the way for Doug Martin to be the #2 rusher in the NFL. Even after returning from injury Smith couldn’t surpass Hawley on the depth chart. It will be interesting to see whether or not Smith will be able to get back to the form that earned him a contract with $7+ million guaranteed dollars.

Right Tackle Potential Starters: Demar Dotson, Godser Cherilus Demar Dotson has been entrenched as the starting RT for the Bucs since beating out Jeremy Trueblood early in 2012. Dotson suffered a knee injury in training camp last year which led to the Bucs signing Cherilus as a replacement. Even after Dotson was cleared to play, he could not take over the starting position until the final game of the 2015 season. Dotson and Cherilus are both entering the final year of their respective contracts, and the Bucs will only resign one (if any) after this season. Cherilus might have the leg up because of playing in the offense for almost an entire season, but Dotson was thought to be the best Bucs offensive lineman over the past few seasons so it should be interesting to see who gets the starting nod.

7/27/14 – New York Giants’ Robert Ayers Jr. at training camp. Photo by Bill Kostroun.

Defensive End Potential Starters: Robert Ayers, Noah Spence, George Johnson, William Gholston, Jaquies Smith The Bucs have had a complete lack of pass rush from the defensive ends over the past decade. The last Bucs defensive lineman with double digit sacks was Simeon Rice, wayyyyy back in 2005. The Bucs signed Robert Ayers away from the Giants after picking up 9.5 sacks in only 12 games in 2015 and also spent their second round pick on Noah Spence, the highly touted defensive end from Eastern Kentucky via Ohio State in hopes of boosting the pass rush. The Bucs will also hope that Jaqueis Smith rounds back into form from the 2014 season where he had 6.5 sacks in only 8 games.

Defensive Back

Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida) is selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the number eleven overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

This should be one of the more interesting battles over the summer and heading into the offseason because the Bucs have a lot of money and high draft picks invested in this position. The Bucs spent millions on Brent Grimes and Josh Robinson, but then drafted Vernon Hargreaves 11^th overall out of Florida in the draft. The Bucs gave a hefty contract to Alterraun Verner two years ago, and he has not lived up to that deal. The Bucs also invested a 2^nd round pick in Jonathan Banks and he has also been somewhat disappointing. Banks was a solid performer before the Lovie Smith era began and then he could barely make his way onto the field. Verner was one of the top CB’s in the league while with the Titans, but again under Lovie, he did not flourish. Jude Adjei-Barimah was one of the players who did play well under Lovie Smith, but is he a system corner? Who will be the starters? Do you throw the rookie in there? Do you start him off slow and play him at the nickel and/or the slot? He was primarily on the outside at Florida, but showed that he wasn’t afraid of contact. Where do Robinson, the free agent addition and Adjei-Barimah fit in? Chris Landry, the former NFL scout and current analyst once said “every NFL team needs four cornerback” and it finally seems like the Bucs have at least that, if not more.

Rays Up – If You Want A New Team

If I told you that Rays opponents were hitting .231, would you be shocked that they are 15-17?

That’s because those “new hitting approach Rays” are hitting a rather awful .224 as a team.

Woof.

Who woulda ever thunk that the home run slugging Rays would be so awful on offense.

As a team, they’ve hit 46 home runs, which is 8 more than their opponents.

As a team, they have scored 113 runs, which is 9 less than their opponents.

More home runs, less runs scored. Riddle me that, Rays fans.

Chris Archer has not lived up to the Ace billing in 2016

It isn’t that they aren’t getting timely base hits – they aren’t getting hits at all. A few weekends ago the Rays had 15 hits, 8 of which were home run.

I am not baseball expert, but I don’t think that pennants are hung on solo shots.

The other problems is that the pitching has been less than awesome. The Ace, Chris Archer is 2-4 with a 4.57 ERA. Matt Moore, who was thought to be a quality #2 starter is 1-3 with a 4.83 ERA.

The pitcher with the most wins? Erasmo Ramirez. A relief pitcher. He tops the charts with 6 wins.

More than ever before, this team is lacking an identity. Back in the ol’ days when the Rays were going to the World Series (and were actually a fun team to watch) they were a bunch of young bucks – Evan Longoria, David Price, Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, etc. looking to prove the baseball world wrong. There were a few quality vets – Troy Percival, Dan Wheeler, Eric Hinske and Cliff Floyd that were  sprinkled in that could come up with those clutch at-bats or get out of a jam when on the mound.

Now? Logan Morrison to the rescue!

It might be time to dump a few of these pitching gems that can come into the clubhouse and give it some identity and teach these younger players how to win. Teach players like Steve Geltz how to get out of a jam. Show a batter like Corey Dickerson how to break an 0-20 slump.

That is what this team is lacking. They are lacking in direction. The are lacking in leadership. And quality at-bats. And the ability to get out of a jam.

Corey Dickerson, Acquired from the Rockies in the offseason has been one of the few bright spots for the Rays

 

Does that mean the team needs to be blown up an re-done? Maybe. There are some quality pieces – An aging Longoria, A home run/ strikeout machine in Stephen Souza Jr., Corey Dickerson seems to be a solid ball player, unlike Desmond Jennings and his never-ending potential that can’t be tapped.

A team with no identity and no direction needs something.

But where do you start?

A Kicker In The Second Round.

I must have said this 1000 times to myself over the past few weeks.

Why would the Bucs, who need lots of talent, draft a kicker in the second round?

How can a team who hasn’t been good, MOVE UP TO PICK A KICKER in the second freaking round?!?!?

Let’s think about where the Bucs need help – Secondary. Defensive Line. Linebackers. Wide Receiver. Offensive Line.

Here are just a few of the prospects that went AFTER the Bucs drafted:

• Carl Nassib
• Maliek Collins
• Bronson Kaufusi
• Jonathan Bullard
• Shilique Callhoun
• Javon Hargrave

Fierce Mouthpiece, Brah.

 

 

And those are just the defensive linemen that were gone by the time the Bucs traded up to pick a kicker in the second round.

Was Roberto Aguayo was arguably the best kicker in the history of college football, but being the best in college assures you zero in terms of being great in the NFL.

Ty Detmer threw for over 5100 yards and 48 touchdowns the year he won the Heisman at BYU.

Bust.

Remember Mike Rozier, the University of Nebraska running back?  He rushed for 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns and beat out Steve Young in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Bust.

Reggie Bush. Bust. Matt Leinart. Bust. Archie Griffin was two Heisman’s at The Ohio State University. And he was still a bust.

Success at the collegiate level does not equate to success at the professional level.

The Bucs need help now. Braxton Miller is someone who can stretch the field and is an electric playmaker. That is what the Bucs need. Not a kicker. Miller would be a better 3rd option that an aging Louis Murphy, who is coming off of an ACL tear. Will Vincent Jackson be healthy all season? Will he be back next season? Mike Evans had a production season but had a case of the dropsies that befuddled him all season.

Yet, here we are drafting a kicker in the second round.

The Bucs once drafted a kicker in the third round – little Martin Gramatica. We all loved “Automatica,” but let us not forget that he only lasted five and a half years.

This is a team that cannot risk a second round pick only lasting five and a half years.

Who knows if, or how many of the players drafted after Aguayo will turn out to be contributors, or even starters but the Bucs needed more than just a kicker. This team isn’t just “a kicker away” from being good.

Bad pick, Bucs. Bad pick.

I’m Writing About Hockey? I’M WRITING ABOUT HOCKEY! AND SOCCER!

So yeah. I have stated on numerous occasions, drunk and sober, more times than I can recall that I hate hockey.

Here’s the truth – Much like soccer, I don’t hate the sport.

Yeah. I do not hate hockey and I do not hate soccer.

My biggest issues are the fans. If you love soccer, love it when it isn’t the World Cup. If you love hockey, love it when it isn’t the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It is those bandwagon jerk-offs that make me hate the sport. The fill up my social media timelines and the fill up the local watering holes – not because they love the sport but because they love being a part of something.

Don’t get me wrong – I get it. I watch the Daytona 500 every year and then as the summer drags on my love for the sport of NASCAR fades away much like a set of tires at Bristol. When football season hits…Sorry NASCAR, but I am over you. Until next February when SpeedWeeks rolls around.

Here is the difference – I genuinely love to watch NASCAR. I love restrictor plate racing. I have been to Daytona to watch numerous races. I pay the extra money for the pit pass thing so I can be up and close to the drivers and so I can watch the mechanics wrenching on cars. I hate pictures of myself in Victory Circle and at the starting line at Daytona.

I just love the Bucs more than I love the High Banks of Talladega. Or Dover. Or Kansas, Las Vegas, Richmond or Homestead (where I saw Kurt Busch win his only Cup Title).

I can’t stand the fake enthusiasm of the World Cup or the Stanley Cup playoffs. Where are all of these people with their “USA USA USA” nonsense when the Home Team is playing a friendly against Honduras in Portland on a rainy Tuesday night? That’s right – they aren’t being fans.

Same thing for when the Bolts have a mid-October game in Dallas. Nobody cares.

That is…Until the playoffs start.

Maybe my issue is that I am a Bucs, Bulls and Gators fan 365 days out of the year. I read about them, I study them, I damn near obsess over them but that is because I am a fan. not a part-time fan, not a bandwagon fan, not an “only when they’re good” fan but a true fan of those teams.

Maybe my idea of being a fan is a bit off, considering of how much of a fanboy that I am.

As a fan, going to a Bucs game in November, when they’re out of it, against the Tony Romo-less Dallas Cowboys gave me goose bumps. Hell, I get goose bumps now thinking about how much fun that game was (a thrilling 10-6 Bucs triumph) because I am a fan of the Bucs. Winning, losing and everything in between.

It’s great that people do get behind winning teams, I just wish that we could do that all of the time. Not just in the playoffs.

Quit clogging up my social media feeds with your fake enthusiasm and love your team. love them when they’re good. Love them when they’re bad. Love them 365 days a year. Love them when they disappoint you.

Just love them.

You’ll be better off – I promise.

 

 

 

It’s Been Far Too Long

It has been almost two years since I last updated and quite frankly, I do not know why. I still live and breathe sports, but there has been a lot of change in my life. The first reason why I have taken a two year hiatus is that I no longer work at Tampa Brass. Why is that an issue? I did the majority of my writing between 4:30am when I arrived at work and 7am, when the bosses arrived at work.

The next thing is….Life. Life has been an absolute whirlwind over the past two years. I am finishing up my 2nd year as a teacher and I have two of the most perfect little babies that one could ever hope for or imagine.

As a teacher, I am the newspaper adviser and I push my kids to write and the ones that do write, love it. Those who don’t take the opportunity…I just don’t get it. They can write about whatever they want to write about. There really are no restrictions. Maybe me cranking back up the writing has something to do with my amazement that the kids have the opportunity and don’t take advantage of it. Maybe this is me being jealous and maybe this is what I have chosen to do to keep my mind off of how angry I am that they don’t write.

Whatever it is it feels good to sit down and bang on the keyboard for a while.

In terms of sports in Tampa – it has also gone through a major transition. The Bucs have another head coach – the third in the past four years. Out with Lovie Smith and the putrid defense and boring press conferences. In is Dirk Koetter and his fun-to-watch offense, which for the firs time in a long time was exciting.

The Bucs also drafted a kid names Jameis Winston. He turned out to have a pretty decent season, throwing for 4000+ yards and giving Bucs fans a glimmer of hope for the upcoming season(s). The offense also has a pair of electric running backs, a wide receiver that has the potential to be really, really good, an offensive line that is young and talented and a defense with a lot of talent.

As a Bucs fan, there is hope.

As a Rays fan….

The team was built on pitching and defense. Well, they have the pitchers, they have some defense but it is just that darn offense that seems to jump up and screw them year after year after year after year after year. This season they decided to look for power with the likes of Hank Conger and Logan Morrison. That hasn’t worked out.

This team epitomizes “boom or bust.” Last weekend they had 15 hits (all weekend), 8 of which were home runs (8 home runs in a weekend?!?). Both of those have to be some sort of record, but I don’t know if they are the good or bad kind.

Then there are the might USF Bulls led by ol Willie Taggart. I am not the biggest fan of ol Willie. He started out losing to McNeese State in epic, blow out fashion. Last year, after traveling to Maryland and watching the wheels fall off in person for the first time in a few years the Bulls came home to lay a first half egg against a bad Syracuse team. I think that USF was ready to part ways with Taggart if he was going to let that game slip away, but then it happened.

USF took advantage of the players on the field.

I know this comes as a shock because the first 26 1/2 games under Taggart were a bore.

Then…He let the runners run and the throwers throw. Magical things happened. The offense scored. They scored in droves. It rained yards and points and fun.

I don’t know if I have jumped back on board of Coach T’s Bus, but at least I am looking at the bus stop. I really want to see what happens this year – will he revert back to the boring crap that he forced us to fall asleep to for almost two and a half years or will we be able to experience the offensive bonanza that occurred the last half of the year?

There’s even hockey going on….And I will write about it. But not now.

Enjoy your weekend. Make good choices and I’ll catch ya on the flipper.