Leonard Johnson

[chace1986]

I like Leonard and hope he continues to get better.  We don't know his ceiling, or if he has reached it already.

But no GM in his right mind, would declare Leonard the #2 CB right now, on faith only.  He would be committing career suicide if it didn't pan out.  Then what does he do after 2-3 games and Leonard is getting scorched?

Yup.

[MUSCLE_HAMSTER]

All of our CBs have the potential to grow and be better. The phrase "No where to go but up" comes to mind.

[The Anti-Java]

All of our CBs have the potential to grow and be better. The phrase "No where to go but up" comes to mind.

The young guys yes.  But a guy like Wright,  is what he is. He won't be turning into Revis Island any time soon.

[MUSCLE_HAMSTER]

All of our CBs have the potential to grow and be better. The phrase "No where to go but up" comes to mind.

The young guys yes.  But a guy like Wright,  is what he is. He won't be turning into Revis Island any time soon.

I don't think hope he cant get any worse though.

[Detrimental]

Doesn't have great long speed but is tough at the LOS and has ball skills. So he already has what it takes to be an above average #3 in the NFL he just needs to play good consistently.

[JDouble]

LJ showed some promise, but there is no way we should go into 2013 counting on him as a #2. If that is the plan, then our plan sucks.

[DA_OAKS]

LJ was our best corner last year. And I believe he was matched up against the number one plenty! I believe he is a very viable option to play outside when barber is (eventually resigned) and plays the slot when 5 DBS are on the field. He would be a pretty good complement to revis cause he can play zone. When you got the island then zone is a option on the opposite side of the field. If I remember correctly be was pretty solid in man as well.

I would not be surprised one bit we get de/dt in 1st and Logan In 3rd.(maybe trade up) This is all contingent on revis and barber coming back! Long story short I love LJ cause of his instincts and strong build! Could be a 20 pound heavier barber!

 And maybe this is why we are looking for a true 1 and not the shifting throu the abundence of 2s that were prevelent during free agency

[caradoc]

I've been mentionng that I think the team likes the players more than the fans do for a while now.  They fired Cooper for a reason and that reason wasn't "we gave you crap to work with and you didn't turn water into wine so you're fired".

[TheChronicHotAir]

I don't know why lots have such a woodie over Leonard Johnson.

Toast City!
Sucks at tackling, poor ball awareness, slow straight line speed.

Biggers outplayed him by a WIDE MARGIN in 2012.

[buc_on_or_buc_off]

LJ showed some promise, but there is no way we should go into 2013 counting on him as a #2. If that is the plan, then our plan sucks.

Thanks for that all encompassing, insightful post... hope the staff at one buc place receive word of your opinion. Surely, the omniscient JDouble has all the right ideas! Just look at the many accolades Chad Spann has accumulated since his arrival in the NFL.

[Bucko40]

Johnson is the only cb I like, he's going to get better. But I'd rather have him at our 3 string

Bucs need quality starters. Not developmental players acting as starters.

[TampaBucks05]

Other then Barber Tampa just has a bunch of unexperienced Cornerbacks. they need a great veteran that can give some good advice in todays passing league.

But do they need two? Perhaps it wouldn't be such an urgent draft day need as people expect if we land Revis.

[Knucknbuc]

Hell be a good no.2 or no.3 whenever we get revis.

[BucNY]

Most Buccaneers fans and the media have seemed to assume that we know that Dom and Coach feel like we have to upgrade our CB's and bring in 2 new starters. What are the chances that we are wrong and they actually feel like Leonard Johnson is a starting caliber CB for this team? I like the kid and feel like he would be a great 3rd corner and who knows what he could become, but count me as one of the ones that thought we needed 2 guys. At this point even if we get Revis it is damn near too late to find another starter in FA and going into a draft with the goal of finding a certain starter for a certain spot just throwing BPA out the window is a terrible idea. So maybe they feel like Johnson is the man?

There you go. Starting putting two and two together. There have been numerous FA CB signed for reasonable contracts. What that tells other buc fans is that Dom is an idiot and the Glazers would prefer to lose. What that tells anyone else is that apparently all those guys getting signed for 4-5 million a year aren't viewed as upgrades over what we have.

Johnson will be fine. In fact Johnson was one of the top 4-5 corners in the draft last year that dropped like a rock because of his 40 time. So there is a chance we are rolling with Leo Johnson as a starter and Gaitor, who I do like, as our slot man with a couple Corners taken in the draft. That is a legitimate plan. Certain defenses value certain positions higher than others. I'm starting to believe that in the Schiano defense, LBers and Safeties are the most important positions.

[BucNY]

You guys need to re-watch the last couple games of the year, be objective, and count the number of passes broken up and in general how much tighter coverage was compared to previous games. We held Matt Ryan to his lowest total of the year and their only loss of the season.

I"ll get burned for this but I don't care. This pass defense was statistically much much better and to the eye much much better the last few games of the year. Wright wasn't even playing. So we could very well not be making a move for a corner before the draft.

There is a growing idea that Corners are not a place where you need elite talent and should not be spending big money on those spots. That could be the direction we're going. Sign em young and on the cheap.