OT: Official 2020 Tompa Bay Gronkaneers Thread

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Jamel Dean had about as bad of a start to his career as you can have. Missing the first half of the season due to injuries, Dean got his first chance to play in week 9 vs Seattle and was absolutely torched all day long. He was targeted 14 times by Wilson and allowed 10 of those passes to be complete for 155 yards and 3 touchdowns. In a game the Buccaneers lost 40-34 in overtime, the young corner was one of the main reasons for the loss.

A debut that bad can easily destroy a young players confidence, something that always lingers in the back of their mind and prevents them from ever reaching their potential. One of the biggest reasons I think Jamel is a future star in the NFL is he posses the elite mentality needed to be a successful cornerback at the highest level. 1 week after getting shredded in Seattle, Dean took the field against Arizona and only allowed 1 completion for -2 yards on 5 targets and grabbed his first career interception, an interception late in the 4th quarter that helped the Buccaneers to a 30-27 victory.

After his horrid debut game, from week 10-17 Dean got targeted 38 times and only allowed 42% of those passes to be completed for a total of 162 yards and zero touchdowns while also grabbing 2 interceptions. For comparison, Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore in that same time frame was targeted 44 times, allowing 47.5% of those passes to be completed for 242 yards and 0 touchdowns while grabbing 3 interceptions.

Now, I am not at all saying Dean is even close to being the player Gilmore is, as he is one of if not the best corners in the NFL right now, but that just shows how well Dean played to close out the season. I do, however, think Dean could develop into being an elite player in the mold of Stephon Gilmore one day, the 2 cornerbacks actually size up very similarly.

I'm a big fan and yea he really turned it on at the end of the year. I had a 3rd on him and pleasantly surprised so far. Not the most versatile but what he does he does well. Happy to hear someone else likes him and mentality. Lots of draftniks didn't think he was mentally strong enough to consistently play the position. Along with his struggles off the line/footwork and coverage besides man/press.

Hopefully he stays healthy. His knees might actually be worse than Sony.

 

[sb1]

Must be recess or did you sneak on the forum during third period Algebra?

Rent free.

#BradyitesCantHandleTheTruth

 

[moosekill]

I'm a big fan and yea he really turned it on at the end of the year. I had a 3rd on him and pleasantly surprised so far. Not the most versatile but what he does he does well. Happy to hear someone else likes him and mentality. Lots of draftniks didn't think he was mentally strong enough to consistently play the position. Along with his struggles off the line/footwork and coverage besides man/press.

Hopefully he stays healthy. His knees might actually be worse than Sony.

Yes, I am certainly not ready to crown him the next, oh who is that Cheatriott player who is really good, um Gilmore, but he might just be special, and help our defense step up to the next level.

 

[catent]

Some nice reading on the 3rd string UDFA CB who made the roster this past summer:

--

"In a shortened offseason with no OTAs and no preseason games, how is an undrafted free agent rookie supposed to make a team?

It’s not easy and the vast majority of NFL teams will likely not have undrafted players make it, in all likelihood, but that is not the case for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and rookie cornerback Parnell Motley.

Motley was the pre-draft victim of a number of different circumstances.

First and foremost, playing defense in the Big 12 is not the most glamorous job from an NFL Draft evaluation standpoint. Motley played his college football at Oklahoma, where Kenneth Murray recently proved it’s not impossible to draw a lot of attention, but Motley’s contributions were almost totally overshadowed.

Motley was a four-year player for the Sooners but a starter for three seasons, and in the last three seasons he racked up 33 pass breakups and 167 total tackles along with six interceptions and 7.5 tackles for loss.

He managed to get a workout in at the Oklahoma pro day, but he didn’t turn in great numbers at 6-feet, 180 pounds with a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, a 7.20 in the three-cone, and a 30-inch vertical jump.

Those numbers don’t exactly scream “NFL” but Motley’s production at Oklahoma was good enough to get him drafted, or at least invited to the Scouting Combine, but he wasn’t.

Motley wasn’t invited to the Scouting Combine nor was he selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, providing him with overwhelming odds to make an NFL club.

Throughout Buccaneers camp, Motley was seen picking off Tom Brady multiple times, making his presence felt on the field and proving that pre-draft metrics can only be relied on for so much of the evaluation process.

Tape always takes precedent over everything, and Motley was consistently very good at Oklahoma, not only allowing a low completion percentage into his coverage but also generally forcing quarterbacks to not really throw his direction a lot.



This is only the beginning of Motley’s NFL journey, but he’s overcome a lot in a short amount of time to earn a roster spot. He’s even been hurt and sidelined at Buccaneers camp, but has performed so well in practice that he’s apparently making the initial 53-man roster.

Despite his lack of measurable athleticism, no Combine invitation, not being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, no OTAs, and no preseason games, Motley did enough to win a job in the NFL as an undrafted rookie."

Buccaneers UDFA Parnell Motley defies the odds in short offseason

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie cornerback Parnell Motley has defied the odds as an undrafted rookie and made the final 53-man roster.

nflmocks.com

 

[Deus Irae]

Are they? In the Patriots 2 wins Cam Newton is averaging 160 yards passing. He has as many interceptions as TDs. His rating is 89.7 verse 88 for Brady last year.

If Tom Brady is QB they are still probably 2-1 and we are talking about if Tom Brady is too old to play instead of talking about signing Newton to $100m contract.

That poster has no idea what he's talking about. He's just here to troll.

 

[moosekill]

To be fair, I have no idea how good Tampa Bay would be without Brady, nor do I really care. I think the Patriots could well be 1-2 or 2-1 if he were here. I don't think they would have beaten Seattle, and I think they would have beaten oakland. Not sure on Miami.

 

[sb1]

That poster has no idea what he's talking about. He's just here to troll.

I'm afraid wishful thinking just doesn't make it so.

If Bradyites really want to imagine that Brady's departure singlehandedly turned the 2020 Patriots from a Super Bowl team with a great QB to a bad team they're entitled to do so. They're very wrong and kinda laughably so, but who am I to deny them their opinion.

I think it's amusing that they also demanded we adopt the silliness that Brady's departure singlehandedly turned Belichick from a great coach into a trash one. Well don't they feel silly right now.

 

[sb1]

To be fair, I have no idea how good Tampa Bay would be without Brady, nor do I really care. I think the Patriots could well be 1-2 or 2-1 if he were here. I don't think they would have beaten Seattle, and I think they would have beaten oakland. Not sure on Miami.

I'm assuming they kept Winston. Brady's arrival and Winston's departure made them better, and Brady's departure made the Patriots better too.
Otherwise the Brady offense, which was embarrassingly bad at the end of the season would have stayed here, with no new weapons, no new receivers and pretty much the status quo. Not good.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Some nice reading on the 3rd string UDFA CB who made the roster this past summer:

--

"In a shortened offseason with no OTAs and no preseason games, how is an undrafted free agent rookie supposed to make a team?

It’s not easy and the vast majority of NFL teams will likely not have undrafted players make it, in all likelihood, but that is not the case for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and rookie cornerback Parnell Motley.

Motley was the pre-draft victim of a number of different circumstances.

First and foremost, playing defense in the Big 12 is not the most glamorous job from an NFL Draft evaluation standpoint. Motley played his college football at Oklahoma, where Kenneth Murray recently proved it’s not impossible to draw a lot of attention, but Motley’s contributions were almost totally overshadowed.

Motley was a four-year player for the Sooners but a starter for three seasons, and in the last three seasons he racked up 33 pass breakups and 167 total tackles along with six interceptions and 7.5 tackles for loss.

He managed to get a workout in at the Oklahoma pro day, but he didn’t turn in great numbers at 6-feet, 180 pounds with a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, a 7.20 in the three-cone, and a 30-inch vertical jump.

Those numbers don’t exactly scream “NFL” but Motley’s production at Oklahoma was good enough to get him drafted, or at least invited to the Scouting Combine, but he wasn’t.

Motley wasn’t invited to the Scouting Combine nor was he selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, providing him with overwhelming odds to make an NFL club.

Throughout Buccaneers camp, Motley was seen picking off Tom Brady multiple times, making his presence felt on the field and proving that pre-draft metrics can only be relied on for so much of the evaluation process.

Tape always takes precedent over everything, and Motley was consistently very good at Oklahoma, not only allowing a low completion percentage into his coverage but also generally forcing quarterbacks to not really throw his direction a lot.



This is only the beginning of Motley’s NFL journey, but he’s overcome a lot in a short amount of time to earn a roster spot. He’s even been hurt and sidelined at Buccaneers camp, but has performed so well in practice that he’s apparently making the initial 53-man roster.

Despite his lack of measurable athleticism, no Combine invitation, not being selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, no OTAs, and no preseason games, Motley did enough to win a job in the NFL as an undrafted rookie."

Buccaneers UDFA Parnell Motley defies the odds in short offseason

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie cornerback Parnell Motley has defied the odds as an undrafted rookie and made the final 53-man roster.

nflmocks.com

Another guy I really like. Had a 4th on him which was probably too high when you look at where he want but so much to like.

Nothing ever came easy for him. Had to battle every year in college for his spot. One of the better DBs at reading, baiting a QB. Click n close player at times. Just always had a knack for playing the QB's eyes, when to peel off and make a play.

TB definitely has some talent in that DB room. Winny, Davis, Bunting, Dean, Whitehead, Edwards. Big fan of all those guys.

 

[moosekill]

Bacon, overall, what grade would you give Tampa's draft, now that we are a few games in the season? Wirfs looks like he could really be something special.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

93 pages in and some are still complaining about one OT thread about Brady & TB?

I really don't understand why it's so hard to scroll past, ignore the thread if it bothers you. I can't imagine why or how it bothers some?

I really think posters should focus on themselves - What they post and contribute to the forum as opposed to what others are doing. If you're not bringing something to the table don't complain about what's being served.

And lastly if Ian is ok with it that's literally all anyone should care about.

 

[LJRomanoff]

I really don't understand why it's so hard to scroll past, ignore the thread if it bothers you. I can't imagine why or how it bothers some?

The reasons have been stated repeatedly. You can disagree with them if you like, but it's ridiculous to assert you can't imagine why someone would object to discussing players who are not New England Patriots in a New England Patriots forum.

 

[moosekill]

I don't even really care about discussing Brady and Gronk. However it doesn't stop there. It has become a discussion about the Tampa Team as a whole. Therefore, move it to the NFL forum.

 

[Deus Irae]

Bacon, overall, what grade would you give Tampa's draft, now that we are a few games in the season? Wirfs looks like he could really be something special.

I don't even really care about discussing Brady and Gronk. However it doesn't stop there. It has become a discussion about the Tampa Team as a whole. Therefore, move it to the NFL forum.

Umm.....

 

[203Pat]

I don't even really care about discussing Brady and Gronk. However it doesn't stop there. It has become a discussion about the Tampa Team as a whole. Therefore, move it to the NFL forum.

 

[1960Pats]

Tom Brady is a Buccaneer.

So what? Is there a rule here that prohibits Pats fans from discussing ex-players? How about discussing players who passed away. Is that allowed?

The fact is, @PatsBoy12 create a popular thread and many of us will enjoy it, most likely for 2020 and 2021. I think you might want to get used to that.

If I had any negative comments about this thread it's that too many fans go back and forth with the obvious trolls.

 

[Doctor DDS]

2019 Pats scored over 400 points and had the 2nd best point differential in the NFL. They would not be 0-3 with Brady at QB despite how much SB1 wants it to be so. Last years team completely controlled the game against a good Bills team week 16 and were likely a play or 2 away from beating the Titans. Not a great team by Patriot standards but they would have figured out ways to score if Brady, Stidham or even Hoyer were QB's.

 

[Deus Irae]

 

[sb1]

2019 Pats scored over 400 points and had the 2nd best point differential in the NFL.

I'd say that had a lot more to do with their defense and easy schedule than with their offense.

They would not be 0-3 with Brady at QB despite how much SB1 wants it to be so.

I'm a Patriots fan, so I don't think I'd "want it to be so". But yeah I can definitely see them 0-3 and soon to be 0-4 right now if they kept Brady. They are 2-1 because they reinvented themselves. Keep Brady and that wouldn't have happened, it would be the same putrid offense from last year with no new receivers or weapons and QB is now a year older and schedule is much harder. They were embarrassed by Miami in week 17. Raiders are a pretty good team, better than most teams they played last year. Would have lost to the Seahawks too.

Start Hoyer for 16 games last year and we still win double digits games. That's how good our defense was not to mention a historically easy first half schedule.

Last years team completely controlled the game against a good Bills team and were likely a play or 2 away from beating the Titans.

The "one play away" thing works both ways. Josh Allen doesn't overthrow his man in the end zone and the Pats probably lose that Bills game too . "One or two plays away" often separates the good teams from the weaker teams.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Bacon, overall, what grade would you give Tampa's draft, now that we are a few games in the season? Wirfs looks like he could really be something special.

B+/A-

I loved Winny & Wirfs. Had a 1st on Wirfs and Winny just missed a 1st round grade. He was S1 though. So you basically got two first round picks in the top 45 by my scale.

I loved Johnson for a minute but was a little nervous bc Tom and the depth there. I still think he's quite the player. He just missed a 2nd round grade for me. Had a 3rd on Davis as well.

TB had a great draft imo