DEAR Santa: Calvin Johnson

[RedAlert]

But even Galloway is not a true #1. And he's going to be 36 next year. We do NEED to pick up a quality WR, if not a #1. I'm not saying it'll be in round 1, but we need help at WR.

What exactly is a "true" #1?

[alldaway]

The only way the Bucs entertain the thought of CJ is if Thomas and Gaines are off the board or Galloway retires in the off-season.  If Galloway retires in the off-season then CJ may be a serious option to look at.

But even Galloway is not a true #1.  And he's going to be 36 next year.  We do NEED to pick up a quality WR, if not a #1.  I'm not saying it'll be in round 1, but we need help at WR.

I am not leading the charge for a WR day one until I see what Stovall can bring.  And no I am not saying that becuase I am the President of the Ike Hilliard club. 

Owens hasn't even been the best WR on his team this year, and Dallas is still doing well.

Surely you aren't suggesting that Glenn is a better WR than T.O..... are you?

[BucsPirate]

Calvin Johnson could be a great pick. As good as Galloway is at getting open, he is worthless unless he has that seperation. Calvin Johnson has the body to go get it and the speed to do it deep. He didn't show it against Wake, but you can see that as long as Gradkowski isn't throwing fades like he did Sunday, Johnson has a good shot at any ball close to him. People are talking about trading down, but here's a question what if we trade up from the top of the second and possibly grab one of the good defensive players that will still be around there. A Laron Landry, or Quinten Moses could possibly still be there. If not Anthony Spencer or Lamar Woodley could be there in the top of the second. These players seem to have close to as much value as Gaines Adams. Calvin Johnson is said to be the WR to come of college football in years.

[Bucnation619]

Calvin Johnson is fast? or what ?

[BTownBucFan]

bah humbug

If the Bucs don't spend the top 5 pick on defense I would go to One Buc and ask Gruden to leave. he's not that stupid........? is he?

I don't pretend to have much knowledge when it comes to college prospects so please excuse my ignorance. What defensive player(s) is worthy of a top 5 pick this year?

IMO, only Gaines Adams is worth a top 5 pick.

Adams will be a top 5 pick however there are DE's in this draft that will be just as god in the 2nd and 3rd rounds

[dbtb135]

Yeah we upgraded the line from horrible to okay. Joseph, a future pro bowler, Trueblood who may develop into a good starter, and unproven WR Stovall.

And yes I think we need to ditch the Tampa 2... its just not working anymore. I like the 3-4. As of now we could have our 3 starting linebackers. Put in Ruud and take out the UT.

I remember earlier in the week a lot of you complaining about finding a good UT these days. You know why? Because having an extra lineback in place of another big guy is just plain better. Tampa 2 is basically 4-3 with a lot of zone correct?

With that 4-3 they know where you're 4 rushers are coming from. In the 3-4, you can send Nece, Quarles, hell even Allen! It just works a lot better.

Well maybe we can upgrade our young defensive talent from horrible to okay. The point is, we ignored the defense almost entirely in the first 2 rounds recently. Now people want to be balanced when it's time to give the D theirs?

The Tampa 2 still works. I'm so tired of people knocking the scheme when we don't have any talent in their prime on the defense other than White. And ironically, White is the only one playing well! Crazy how that works out, isn't it? Barber is past, though not playing AS BAD as some. Kelly is past. Brooks is past and it's showing to everybody and their mothers. Spires is past. Rice is past. Hovan is slightly past, but will do for now. Wyms is alright, but not all that talented in the first place which explains his role since he's been here. Ruud is before his, and could be a real player (again, that crazy thing about drafting defense high). Zemaitis is before, who knows with him. Pearson is before, and could do well in the future. Everyone is just too old or too inexperienced and thin on talent all over. Of course the scheme looks bad!

Going to the 3-4 would be an absolute nightmare. Hovan could probably play end. Could White be suited for end? Moster nose tackle is something we don't have. Two decent edge rushers is something we don't have. Ruud could play inside easily. Don't know if we have another ILB to fit in the mix as Brooks is already playing badly in a scheme he's better suited for. Q is done IMO. So we need two OLBs, an ILB, a NT, and the already needed DB help. Thats too much. The NT is hugely important to the 3-4 as are the OLBs, so essentially we're missing the biggest pieces to the defense. Plus, to do that, we'd probably have to draft Branch to play either tackle or end. Adams doesn't really strike me as a 3-4 LB nearly as much as he does a 4-3 end. Plus, there's some nice Cover 2 talent in FA in Briggs, June, Freeney. It might work in theory, but in the realistic situation we're facing, it's the last thing we should do.

[Lord Freesus]

And yes I think we need to ditch the Tampa 2... its just not working anymore.

Disagree. This defense works well when you have the right personnel. You simply have to re-stock with the right guys.

Think of it from a rebuilding perspective. These guys fresh out of college got to learn this way different system. I repeat, finding a good UT is hard. Have our front 3 White, Hovan, Rice/Spires/Gaines/Branch or whomever! NFL... reality TV for men... this is great lol

[Larry Brackins]

Defense in the 1st round
Troy Smith in the 2nd
More defense in the 2nd

Ryne Robinson sometime later

[DanTurksGhost]

And yes I think we need to ditch the Tampa 2... its just not working anymore.

Disagree. This defense works well when you have the right personnel. You simply have to re-stock with the right guys.

[Lord Freesus]

So you expect another game where our DB's and Kicker win the season for us? You gotta go both ways in the draft. Pure offense and pure defense aren't going to bring us back up in the ranks. It has to be a blance of both.

Funny you say that after our ALL offense first day last draft.

Yeah we upgraded the line from horrible to okay. Joseph, a future pro bowler, Trueblood who may develop into a good starter, and unproven WR Stovall.

And yes I think we need to ditch the Tampa 2... its just not working anymore. I like the 3-4. As of now we could have our 3 starting linebackers. Put in Ruud and take out the UT.

I remember earlier in the week a lot of you complaining about finding a good UT these days. You know why? Because having an extra lineback in place of another big guy is just plain better. Tampa 2 is basically 4-3 with a lot of zone correct?

With that 4-3 they know where you're 4 rushers are coming from. In the 3-4, you can send Nece, Quarles, hell even Allen! It just works a lot better.

[Lord Freesus]

Okay. Someone please tell me how fixing up the defense is going to make this offense any better?...

Let's put it this way. If your boat has a steady leak in the hull, do you put a bigger motor in it?


Fixing the defense doesn't make the offense better, it makes the team better..

So you expect another game where our DB's and Kicker win the season for us? You gotta go both ways in the draft. Pure offense and pure defense aren't going to bring us back up in the ranks. It has to be a blance of both. I say take Calvin Johnson. IF (thats a big if) Jamarcus Russel is there for our second roudner then take him. If not, then go defense from there until the 4th round and consider take a center. Then go back to defense and along the way consider sleeper wide receivers. We may find our Colston or Houshmanzadeh there.

[Orangegone1]

I don't pretend to have much knowledge when it comes to college prospects so please excuse my ignorance. What defensive player(s) is worthy of a top 5 pick this year?

Nobody can realistically tout any players until the Bowl games and combine are over, but if the circumstances result in us being able to trade down and land a couple of solid defensive players in leiu of a top 5 anything, I'm cool with that. Defensive line is the weakest link in this chain, like OL was last year. I just hope we do the right thing like last year and work towards fixing that link. I'd love to see that Sapp/Brooks kind of 1st round again, however unrealistic that might seem..

I don't know. The O-line is looking worse than the d-line. We need a pass rusher but we are stopping the run better. We can't run the ball on O. We are young on the o-line but I would not bypass a franchise LT just because we also need help on D.

Okay. Someone please tell me how fixing up the defense is going to make this offense any better?...

Let's put it this way. If your boat has a steady leak in the hull, do you put a bigger motor in it?


Fixing the defense doesn't make the offense better, it makes the team better..

The people who insist on a Defensive pick in the first round don't seem to acknowledge that we suck worse on offense.  The defense is in the top 20.  The O is dead last.

We have so many needs, we can pretty much take the best guy available in round 1 and address a critical need.

That said, I think we should go defense, I just don't think that it's out of the question to get WR.