Saturday Draft Notes: Bucs looking to address defense first?

by Craig T on Apr 18, 2009 5:56 PM EDT Comment 14 comments

Dear God, I hope so. Although he didn't rule out the possibility of drafting Freeman, Coach Morris recently told Yahoo! Sports that the Bucs have needs on the defensive side of the ball they hope to address in the draft, namely, as many of us have pined about on here, at Defensive Tackle.

Regarding draft needs:

“We’ve got obvious needs,” Morris said. “We want some defensive tackles. We addressed a lot of our needs, obviously, in (free agency) on offense. We feel good about some of those positions. But in the draft, you’re thinking D-tackles, you want to add corners, you want to add some players at those positions.”

Regarding exactly what needs they need to fill on the defensive line:

“I should say defensive line (as a whole),” Morris said. “We want depth at all those positions.”

When quizzed about the pash rush (or lack thereof, I suspect), Raheem responded:

“Great D-linemen, that’s what they do. Warren Sapp, you didn’t have to talk to him about pressure. That’s what he did. Simeon Rice, you didn’t have to talk to him about pressure. That’s the kind of character this D-line has had. We have to generate that. The only way you win games is if it starts up front. We all know that.”

Accordingly, Yahoo! Sports Buccaneer Insider pegs the Bucs to trade down and try to recoup its second-round pick and hopefully land an impact defensive player at the end of the round.

Trading down in general sounds like a good philosophy and all.... hell, we all love increasing draft picks and this team certainly has plenty of needs... but you can't assume that this is all taking place in a vacuum. First, trades have to be a fit to pull off. The Bucs would have to find a trade partner willing to part with a first day pick, probably a second-rounder, to move up. Said trade partner likely can't be a division mate looking to land an impact player, or at least it shouldn't be. Also, how far of a trade down would we be talking about here? 5 spots? 10 spots? Out of the first round? If the Bucs are really high on defensive guys like Ron Brace, Larry English, Clay Matthews, or Michael Johnson and if one or more are still available, they might have to think long and hard about trading down too far and missing out on some impact players. What if a stud WR like Jeremy Maclin or QB Mark Sanchez fall in their lap? Unlikely, but not impossible. It's easy to say trade down, and I'm all for it if the right trade situation presents itself, but everything depends on what specific scenario the Bucs are faced with on April 25... what compensation they'd be offered to trade down, how far down they'd trade, and what guys they could potentially be missing out on by trading.

That said, if Yahoo! Sports' hypothesis were true that the Bucs could trade down into the low 20's and still land an impact guy like, say, Michael Johnson, Ron Brace, or one of the USC 'backers, and recoup a 2nd, that's a no-brainer. Whether that scenario presents itself... we shall wait, hope, and see.

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SPOT ON

commentary on trading down.

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by UNFNOLE on Apr 18, 2009 10:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Per Pewter Report and Bay News 9.....

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are showing heavy interest in a number of players from the University of Mississippi. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry, wide receiver Mike Wallace and offensive tackle Michael Oher have met with the team numerous times this offseason, and the Bucs have also met with Rebels linebacker Ashlee Palmer.

YeeeHaw!

by TheUltimateBucFan on Apr 18, 2009 11:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

We brought just about everyone

that has a 1 in a 1,000,000 chance of being drafted by us. It doesn’t mean much.

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by UNFNOLE on Apr 18, 2009 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

anybody know the stats or draft value of

mike wallace or ashlee palmer?

"Yeah, I am not the old annoying guy next door. Heck, I don't even know who i am"

by Some other guy who does not care on Apr 18, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dear Craig T:

Will you please get QB Freeman out of your mind? We’ve got a full roster of QBs now, and nobody will waste a 19th overall pick on a player the scouts have as near about the 50th best on the draft boards.

I’m more intrigued with the possibilities that the Bucs will go for the likes of DT Jerry. Of course, I’m openly biased toward WR Percy Harvin because I feel our WR corps seriously needs the weaponry: Bryant’s the ONLY one to strike fear in the hearts of anyone.

by witty on Apr 19, 2009 9:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dear Witty:

Why am I still somewhat concerned about the Bucs drafting Freeman? Because they haven’t ruled it out yet. Morris and Dominik brought him in town and took him out to dinner last week in Tampa. Granted, they’ve met with other players, but it is still unknown what they will do. Dominik’s comments back on April 15 shed little light on what the Bucs may do regading Freeman/QB position:

“I don’t want to ruin NFL ratings,‘’ Dominik said Wednesday. "You’ll have to tune into the draft and see what happens.

“You could look at position X and say, "Boy, it looks like they’re fairly well-covered there. I’d like to say we’ll take the best player that makes the most sense for the Bucs.’

As such, it’s still up in the air what the Bucs will do. Do I feel it’s more likely than before they pass on Freeman now that they have 4 guys signed? Yes I do, I’ve noted that on here before. That said, I don’t care one bit what the “scouts” think of a player as it relates to where a player will be drafted, because what “scouts” think of a player certainly doesn’t translate into what a team will do. If the Bucs feel Freeman is their “guy”, they may well take him. The Bucs obviously haven’t come out and said he is, but there’s been a healthy level of flirtation between him and the Bucs during this process. I’ll feel better when the Bucs make their selection of a guy not named Josh Freeman on April 25.

Cannons... fire them.

www.BucEm.com - SBNation's home for discussion of all things regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

by Craig T on Apr 19, 2009 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Harvin

I don’t think he’ll become a prototypical X/Z type route-running receiver outside in the NFL… I think he’s geared towards a slot receiver position and he could present some tough matchup problems in that role. Perhaps as important, he certainly has the upper body strength to be a good blocker in the Bucs’ running game.

Jerry doesn’t have the ideal undertackle size right now the Bucs would want for Bates’ system, which is the position on the line that the Bucs need most help at, in my opinion. However, I don’t think that will put him off the Bucs’ radar. Raheem has already said he’s looking for help all along the defensive line, including guys that can add quality depth. If Jerry can’t put on the size necessary to eat blocks and become an effective, every-down undertackle, he might be looked at to add depth or eventually start as a 7-technique.

Cannons... fire them.

www.BucEm.com - SBNation's home for discussion of all things regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

by Craig T on Apr 19, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I could have told you that.

Everone knows we need to address the Defense More then any where esle.

by Maxumas on Apr 19, 2009 3:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Luke Haters

The only people who think the Bucs are going to use their 1st round pick on a QB are those that are either too ignorant from lack of information or just dont believe in, the fact that Luke McCown has shown promise and has considerable upside. Mobility, Strong Arm, Size, Accuracy, all his strenths. His weakness? making bad decisions? doesent everyone see that is something corrected by reps and starting more games?

Other spots on the Bucs that are also so called weak spots like Linebacker, you will hear the old adage “if those guys were any good, they would have started”. Thats an excellent point. …and we have seen that so many times with Earnest Graham and Barrett Ruud.

Still under the Doug Williams Curse People. Its not over! We won a Superbowl with Defense!!!

by Niko Houllis on Apr 19, 2009 8:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ryan Leaf

has all the tools as well. However, bad decision making plagued his career. The truth is nobody is “Luke Hating” we are simply being realistic. Is he going to be awful? Probably not. Is he going to be a Pro-Bowler? Probably not. The truth is somewhere in the middle. What is certain though is that the coaching staff do not believe he is the future. They have dangeled him in trades. They have talked about open-competition. If the coaches were convinced of his ability, none of this would be happening.

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by UNFNOLE on Apr 20, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe

J.J he has the tools and he is a bit of a project but i believe he can be a good (maybe great) qb somewhere.

"Yeah, I am not the old annoying guy next door. Heck, I don't even know who i am"

by Some other guy who does not care on Apr 20, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Trade Brian Griese and Trade Down

If you work it right you can get a lower 1st round pick recoup a 2nd round pick and free up some of the Brian Griese money.

I am still on record saying that we need to draft Alphonso Smith. A CB in the first round and a DT in the 2nd round.

by PewterPirate55 on Apr 20, 2009 1:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agree with getting a 2nd.....

I think Rhonde has another year left in him….we can get a good CB in the 2nd or 3rd……that is where we have gotten our DBs from before……DL top priority

by buccanator on Apr 20, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs