For those of us that want to see Marcus Thomas a Buccaneer...

[Itchalot]

What?

[krazybuc]

i agree, thomas would be a great pickup in the 2nd round and for the talent, it'd be a great bargain. booger traded for thomas... i'll take it.

[UFBucgator]

Marcus Thomas' problem is that he isn't accountable for his actions.  He "tries" weed, tests positive but says it was only once and gets suspended.  After his suspension he tests positive again and claims it was still from the first test.  Everyone gives him the benefit of the doubt and after sitting out a few more games comes back.  He then is given some very simple guidelines to follow in order to play again and does them for a couple weeks.  Very simple things.  Don't miss class, see a drug therapist, stay in Gville.  He does so well that he is rewarded with the honor of being a captain in the Georgia game.  The week after he skips class, stops seeing the therapist, and leaves town to go to Halloween horror nights.  So Meyer kicks him off team.  Marcus does interviews with anyone who will listen that Meyer is just too hard.  It isn't his fault.  I guess going to class is a lot to ask from a senior captain.  Then he starts hanging out with a five star prospect from his hometown that is committed to UF.  Telling the kid Meyer is crazy...too hard on kids...etc.  Meanwhile, he goes and tells Meyer that the kid wont sign with UF unless Meyer recommends him to the senior bowl.  Meyer refuses..kid signs elsewhere..
So Buc fans...you guys want to make this kid a high pick and leader of our dline?  He is talented but can he keep his head on straight?  Can he be another Sapp, who was not a "nice guy" but was solid on the field and stayed out of jail...or is he another Pacman or Tank who are "victims of their environment".  Whatever the hell that means.

[alldaway]

and leaves town to go to Halloween horror nights

Which reinforces my point.  A young kid that does not realize what he is doing and what needs to be done.  A grown man would know what to do but that requires wisdom for that too happen.

If it is a sin to go Halloween Horror nights as a young college student I dare any of you to cast the first stone!   He broke the rules and should have known better but if this is the other reason (not just drug use) as to why people are down on Marcus Thomas they better look in the mirror as they too did things like this as a youngster.  We all know that if we had the wisdom that we now have we probably would have done things differently as youths.  Reality is no one is born with wisdom it is acquired through learning and time is the best teacher.

Now will he use what he learned and not go down this path again? I do not know but he has paid a big price already seeing he may not be drafted day one at all but I doubt it.  Someone will take a gamble on him in the third round.   

[Itchalot]

How in the world did you guys make the jump from pot to alcohol. Do you think that was Meyer's point - oh you smoke dope you have to go, you should have gotten drunk instead?
 

The reason for the leap from pot to alcohol was merely pointing out societal hypocrisy.   Is it more harmful to smoke a joint or have children before you can take care of yourself thus jeapardizing the future welfare of those children? 

No the topic wasn't the hypocrisy of society.  No alcohol abuse and child abuse do not justify legalizing pot.

[klb55]

How in the world did you guys make the jump from pot to alcohol. Do you think that was Meyer's point - oh you smoke dope you have to go, you should have gotten drunk instead?
 

The reason for the leap from pot to alcohol was merely pointing out societal hypocrisy.   Is it more harmful to smoke a joint or have children before you can take care of yourself thus jeapardizing the future welfare of those children? 

No the topic wasn't the hypocrisy of society.  No alcohol abuse and child abuse do not justify legalizing pot.

I was aware of the OP's original topic when I made the post.  Threads sometimes digress a little through the course of debate or discussion.  If a poster digresses should I not add to, challenge, expand, or reply to it?  I'll make that decision.  I never said that alcohol abuse or child abuse justifies legalizing pot.  BTW, I never talked about child abuse.  It's just typical hypocrisy from a society that believes people cannot decide for themselves.  Unfortunately, due to the "Great Society" run amuck people are becoming more dependent on the government and less able to take care and decide for themselves.

[dpc1192]

We should get him with our 2b or 3rd round pick for sure...

I think we actually have a pretty good chance at him this draft, considering we are in dire need of a DL, and it seems like the Buccaneers organization is partial to picking players from local colleges.

[dbtb135]

1) Marcus was NEVER kicked off the Gators for pot....that is where 75% of people have it all wrong. He was kicked off for missing a meeting with the student union.

I didn't say he did, I'm saying a guy who didn't get in that deep of crap isn't going to go telling all his secrets to scouts unless they already knew. The big knock on his stock came when he got kicked out.

2) I saw the mocks, I heard the professionals...Yes Marcus was a top 10 pick before his suspension.

Give me one reputable source that isn't "looking back on it".....

3) Claude and Hawthorne were not as polished in run stopping as Marcus is and they couldnt switch up and play DE like Marcus can becasue he runs a 4.7 /40...I get a lot of crap for my statements on "versitility" but Marcus Thomas is probably one of the most versitilie DL in the draft....and that has been proven against SEC talent

Wroten was as good stopping the run as Marcus. Marcus, to my knowledge, didn't play DE with regularity, so thats a moot point IMO. And once again, the guy doesn't run a 4.7 40, I'll bet you anything. I believe you got that from scout.com from when he was a recruit. IIRC, he's even bigger now than he was playing at in Florida.

No Marcus Thomas isnt as good as Sapp was in his prime...however he reminds me a lot of #99 fresh out of UM.

He reminds me of the guys I already named a lot more.

[simmstheanswer]

He reminds me of the guys I already named a lot more.

if you take a look around the league, one thing stands out in regards to Dlineman. quality (i mean real disrupting every game kinda guys ) DT's are much much harder to get then DE's. every year some new DE get's 15 sacks, and makes a butt load of money. just in our division alone, we had Pepper, Rice, Grant, Kerney, etc... DE's that were and are vey highly regarded. but how many DT's do we have in our division that i would say are very highly regarded? maybe one, Rod Coleman.  though i think drafting Adams would be fine, at the #4 spot, unless you name is Julius Peppers, i don't think you're worth it. now  we're talking about taking a pre-season consensus top 10 pick in the 2nd round. if this is a DT that can make a real impact, i am 100% behind taking the risk on him. our defense lives and dies on up front pressure, and just coming off the edges won't get it done, it has to come up the middle...

[dbtb135]

if you take a look around the league, one thing stands out in regards to Dlineman. quality (i mean real disrupting every game kinda guys ) DT's are much much harder to get then DE's.

Thats funny, I've made the same point plenty of times this past year. And operating under the logic that it'd be easier for us to find a pass rush with a DE than to chase the elusive "dominant" inside penetrator to throw into that Sapp position.

every year some new DE get's 15 sacks, and makes a butt load of money. just in our division alone, we had Pepper, Rice, Grant, Kerney, etc... DE's that were and are vey highly regarded. but how many DT's do we have in our division that i would say are very highly regarded? maybe one, Rod Coleman.  though i think drafting Adams would be fine, at the #4 spot, unless you name is Julius Peppers, i don't think you're worth it. now  we're talking about taking a pre-season consensus top 10 pick in the 2nd round. if this is a DT that can make a real impact, i am 100% behind taking the risk on him.

Again, Thomas is remembered a lot better than where he was rated to start the 06/07 season. He was behind Pit**CENSORED** a ton of places and Pit**CENSORED** wasn't a consensus top 10...

our defense lives and dies on up front pressure, and just coming off the edges won't get it done, it has to come up the middle...

Bull! Our D was very good in 05 with HOVAN AND BOOGER up front. Granted, we weren't as good as the D in our prime, but we were still a top 5 D. Maybe even top 3. That was good enough to get a team with extremely limited offense to the playoffs.

Marinelli is pretty high on Branch.

I heard Branch was dealing? 

He showed up at his Pro Day with 40 lb. of crack!

j/k

[STRICK9]

I seem to remember another DT that had problems with the mean green coming out of some Miami school and we took a chance & drafted him I forget his name but he played pretty good for us... it was something like Tapp, Chapp or maybe Sapp dont remember... I'm pretty high ;0)

Yeah:  That Bob Sapp is one mean dude!!!!!!!!!!

[Big Bucco]

MT played at 290 pounds for the Gators this past season. That Jacksonville story said that he weighed 315 when he was trying to go to the NFL combine.

Sounds like (yet) another red flag.