What?!?! The Bucs Only Have 2 Safeties Under Contract

by Douglas O'Connor
follow me on Twitter @Ren_Daxt by clicking HERE 

     The Buccaneers safety position has been in the cross hairs of nearly every Buc fan at one time or another these past couple of years. The underwhelming combination of two year starters Chris Conte and Bradley McDougald were a part of a defensive backfield that gave up a NFL league worst 70% completion rate in 2015.

     The addition of corner backs  Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves and new defensive coordinator Mike Smith shaved almost seven points off of that total, but the Bucs are still only middle of the pack in the category.

     Most NFL personnel experts agree, for the Buccaneers to take the next step. An upgrade at the safety position is needed. Luckily, the free agents and 2017 draft class has the players to do just that, and Jason Licht has the cap room to make it happen.

     I'll breakdown who the Bucs have under contract. What possible free agents they could be looking at and what draftees could be catching Jason Licht's eye.

Who The Bucs Have

     It may come as a surprise to Buccaneers fans that their team only has two safeties under contract. A five year roll player and a futures contract guy who has never played a down in the NFL. 

     Kieth Tandy was drafted by the Bucs in 2012 out of the University of West Virginia. Only 7 starts in his first 4 years Tandy's seemed to be destined as a career NFL backup. That all changed when starter Chris Conte went down with an injury in week 12. Taking over the last 5 games Tandy put up Pro Bowl type numbers, with 44 TOT, 7 PDEF and an eye popping 5 INT, including 2 that sealed Buccaneer victories.

     Tandy's late season play defiantly earned him a starting safety spot when training camp opens. Buc fans will just have to wait and see if Tandy was a flash in the pan or can become a long term solution.

     Isaiah Johnson bounced around during his college career. JUCO to the University of Kansas and finally landing with the Gamecocks in South Carolina. Known as a big hitting safety with above average cover skills Johnson could make the 53 man roster because of the lack of safeties under contract.

Free Agents

     The 2016 free agent season saw Buccaneers GM Jason Licht sign key second tier contributors to fill out the roster. I expect much of the same from Licht this year. ACCEPT when it comes to the safety position. Given the depth on the roster, age of the top free agent safeties and amount of cap room the Bucs have. Licht could go all in this year, hoping to shore up one of the two safeties spots for years to come.

     Eric Berry, Age 28 Regarded as the best safety in the NFL. Berry is a 5 time Pro Bowler and a 3 time All Pro. Already the highest paid player at his position Berry as come out and said he will not play the 2018 season under the franchise tag and who can blame him. 

     The franchise tag guarantees a player makes an average of the 5 highest paid players at his position. Since Berry is already the highest paid player essentially he would be taking a pay cut. As of time of posting the Kansas City Chiefs, the team Berry currently is under contract with, only has 4.7 million of cap space to sign free agents and draft choices. 

     Best guess. Berry hits the free agency market but his asking price is more than the Bucs are willing to pay him.

     John Cyprien, Age 27 Has been playing football in the state of Florida his entire life. A Miami area product that suited up for the Panthers of FIU before being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft. A sure tackler with over 100 TOT in each of his first 4 years. Cyprien is a thick bodied and likes to play physical with the wide receivers. If this kid played for a perennial playoff team, he would be a household name.

     Jacksonville has plenty of cap room to sign Cyprien and he should never hit the free agency market, but there have been player grumblings about the scheme DC Todd Walsh runs. Especially from the DB's. 

     Best guess. Cyprien test the free agent market and continues his football career in the state of Florida. Jason Licht makes a hard push for Cyprien and he will have to decide between the Bucs and the Jags.

     Tony Jefferson, Age 25 A 2013 UDFA that signed with the Cardinals and has had the opportunity to learn from some of the best DB's in the game. And it looks like he paid attention. Jefferson is a jack of all trades type of player. Solid tackler, good cover skills, above average blitzer and a knack for causing fumbles. His NFL arrow is pointed straight up and he isn't yet in his prime. Arizona has the money available to pay him but also has to try and resign high priced free agents Chandler Jones and Calais Campbell. 

     Best guess. Jefferson listens to his agent and hears offers from other teams. Someone is going to overpay for this guy thinking that their safety concerns are over for the foreseeable future. This is the guy I see Licht coveting for that very reason. Add in that he is only 25, Jefferson will be seen as a cornerstone type player. Something every team is looking for.

Mike Adams, Safety - Indianapolis Colts

     Mike Adams, Age 36 If Jason Licht misses out on his targeted young free agent safeties, Adams is the type of bridge player he likes. A mentor for the young guys on the team to teach them the right way to go about being a pro. A player like Adams could be instrumental to the development of the safety the Bucs will certainly pick up in the 2017 draft. 

     Adams has been a top NFL safety for many years and the Colts are looking to get younger on defense. I think Adams would jump at the chance to end his playing days with a young competitive team. 

     Best guess. I don't think it comes to this. Licht will make sure he gets a young free agent safety on his roster in 2017. It's not out of the question that Adams ends up with the Bucs as well, given the lack of experience on the team. If the price is right of course.

2017 NFL Draft

     The 2017 NFL draft is stacking up perfectly for the Buccaneers. Every position where the team has a need the draft is deep and the safety position might be the deepest of all. Some sites have as many as 30 safeties with draftable grades. 

     Now knowing this I'm just going to go quickly go through some top players because I firmly believe that one of those players will be drafted by the Buccaneers.

Malik Hooker, Ohio State - 1A best safety in the draft. Will not be available for the Bucs at 19.

Jamal Adams, LSU - 1B best safety in the draft. Will not be available for the Bucs at 19.

Obi Melifonwu, U Conn - His size to speed ratio is the best in the draft. A sub 4.6 40 at the combine cements his day one draftability. 

Jabrill Peppers, Mich - Freakish athlete, to small to play LB not enough reps at safety to be considered a 1st rounder. Total wildcard IMO.

Budda Baker, Wash - Makes plays all over the field, on the smallish side but great instincts. Won't make it out of the 2nd round.

Marcus Maye, UF - Does everything good nothing great. Broken arm cut his season short, could end up being the safety steal of the draft.

Justin Evans, Texas A&M - Better in the box tackler than a cover man. Slated to be a SS by most analyst. 

Marcus Williams, Utah - A turnover machine and will stick his nose in there despite his sub 200 lbs frame. The combine and his Pro Day performance will decide which round he is taken.

Rudy Ford, Auburn - A solid SEC safety. His Senior Bowl week opened some eyes. Watch for his stock to rise after the combine.

Eddie Jackson, Alabama - A liability in the run stop game but outstanding ball hawking skills. Jackson is a gifted punt returner as well.

     Just to be clear Buc fans this is not my Top 10 list. It is a list of 5 players you probably heard of and 5 players you might not.

What I Think Will Happen

     The Buccaneers will add at least two safeties this off season, probably more because there is zero depth as of now. Most will come as UDFA to fill out the training camp roster. 

     If Jason Licht gets his young safety in free agency I see the Bucs not drafting one until the 4th round or later. If he misses on his top targets the Bucs will draft safety early, no later than the 3rd, depending on how the draft breaks.

     Lastly don't rule out the return of Bradley McDougald. His play was very consistent throughout the year and he knows Mike Smith's system.

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as always Thanks For Reading and GO BUCS!

Signature Win?

The Bucs have won two in row by playing complete football games back to back against the Bears and Chiefs respectively. This team is starting to believe and is getting better each week as they are back at 500 now sitting at 5-5. For them to go on the road and pretty much man handle a good 7-2 team and close them out for the win was pretty impressive for such a young team. Could this be the signature win that this team has been searching for the last decade? Former coach Tony Dungy believes it was as he feels this could be the start of a push towards winning ways.

Huge win for Tampa Bay on the road at KC. This might be the signature win they've been looking for to jump start them toward the playoffs.

— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) November 20, 2016

I will say it was an huge win because it shows that this team is more than capable of beating anybody when guys do their jobs and they play as one. Jameis Winston has been outstanding the last two weeks and has raised the play of others around him which is great to see. The defense is flying to the ball and getting off the field on third down which is what good defenses do. Again they are not an perfect unit but they are making progress and coming up with clutch plays at big moments. Chris Conte has gotten a lot of crap for his play but these last two weeks he has made game winning plays with his two interceptions.

Not going to say this Chiefs win is going to spark them towards the playoffs but it should give them confidence going into this Sunday's game against Seattle who is also 7-2. If Jameis keeps playing like he has, this team is going to have a chance against any team including the Seahawks this week at Ray-Jay. Hopefully the Bucs can keep this momentum going and get that big victory at home they have needed for a while.

Safeties Finally Getting It

Sunday against the 49ers may have been the best game by both of the bucs safeties. Bradley McDougald came away with his first pick and Conte didn't allow the big play and also came away with a couple key stop as you can see below.

McCoy splits 2 defenders and causes enough pressure to cause Kap to throw an interception to Bradley McDoug... https://t.co/CBtlnwQRrJ

— realbucstalk (@realbucstalk) October 24, 2016

I give him such a hard time always but Conte coming up with a big tackle to force 3rd down. We force punt n... https://t.co/4UyfT4ilg5

— realbucstalk (@realbucstalk) October 24, 2016

Great blitz scheme. Everyone at the line and Kwon and David stay back as Conte and Jude fly in and meet at ... https://t.co/qre68yjAYW

— realbucstalk (@realbucstalk) October 24, 2016

Both McDougald and Conte have gotten a lashing here from us at Real bucs talk but it looks as if they are finally figuring it out. They may have done well against a below average team in the 49ers but they still were in the right places at the right time. Conte, whom I bash the most seemed to always be in the right assignment and played fast. McDougald obviously flashed with the interception but also totaled 5 tackles and one pass deflected. Its good if you don't hear the safety's name called as they are the last line of defense and usually are making the tackle after everyone else has missed.

Hopefully McDougald and Conte take this game as a confidence booster and go into this Raiders game ready to play knowing the level at which they can play. It's the best I've seen them play this season and that can only be a good sign.

Big Hitting Safety Added To Bucs Practice Squad

by Douglas O'Connor
follow on Twitter @Ren_Daxt

     The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added big hitting safety Trae Elston to their practice squad on Monday. A 4 year starter from the University of Mississippi whose college resume includes a Sports Illustrated cover and consecutive wins against SEC bully Alabama.

     His measurables won't jump off the page at you 5'11" 195lbs. with a pro day time of 4.46 in the 40, but is adept at attacking the ball at it's high point and has soft hands, according to NFL.com. Find his full predraft bio HERE. 

     Starting Buccaneers safeties Chris Conte and Bradley McDougald have had some communication problems thus far and have let some receivers run free in the back end of the defense for big gains this year. 3rd safety Keith Tandy hasn't fared much better. While rookie Ryan Smith only sees the field as the Bucs kickoff return man.

    Given that the Bucs starting safeties aren't under contract after this year is telling that they are looking to upgrade. Trae could finish the year out on the practice going to meeting and learning Mike Smith's defense. That would put him in a good position to compete for a roster spot next training camp. No matter what happens with Elston, chances are that the Bucs shake up their safety position sooner than later and Jason Licht thinks this kid has a chance to contribute.

     I did find this highlight reel of Elston on the New England Patriots website. If you'd like to check it out you can find it HERE. 

     You can follow other Real Bucs Talk staffers on Twitter @realbucstalk. As always thanks for reading and Go Bucs!

    

State Of The Bucs 1-3

    
Realbucstalk has added to their team, here is an article written by our newest member Douglas O'Connor,  you can follow him on twitter as well: @Ren_Daxt

The pieces are in place for the Buccaneers to become a perennial playoff team.  Though young the Bucs have top tier NFL talent throughout their organization. General Manager, Jason Licht, who understands player contracts and how to work the draft. Experienced coordinators on both sides of the ball and Pro Bowlers dot the roster at key positions. Then why is Tampa Bay 1-3 and in danger of falling 3 games out of first place just after passing the quarter pole of the season? There are many reasons for the disappointing start but all can fall under the umbrella of growing pains. 

     I will start at the top. Jason Licht has proven to understand the draft process and find ways to get the players he covets. His free agent acquisitions however have largely been busts his first two years. This off seasons signings is a mixed bag, mostly to to injuries but all in all his best group yet. Buc fans hope Jason has figured out the difference between contract year performers and solid contributors.  

     Coaches: One of Head Coach Dirk Koetter's biggest worries about becoming the big man on campus was his ability to manage the clock late in games. So much so he assigned Assistant Wide Receivers Coach Andrew Weidinger as a Game Management Coach to help him in such occasions. Fast forward to week 3 against the Rams. The Bucs were driving for the winning touchdown with under 2 minutes to go when coach Koetter didn't call a time out hoping to catch a tired Rams with a winning TD pass. Weidinger was telling Koetter to call a time out but he ignored the plea and took the shot into the end zone. The pass was overthrown and over 40 seconds had ticked off the clock. Fans can debate if that was the way to go or not, but the fact of the matter is that the Buccaneers ran out of time before they ran out of downs and lost the game.

     Offense: This analysis, as it always will, begins and ends with number 3 Jameis Winston. Having a young quarterback lead your team and the phrase, growing pains, being thrown around is about as common as Doug Martins name showing up on the injury report. I can't tell fans anything about Jameis that they don't already know but here is my two cents anyway. Jameis is putting his football team in bad situations by making bad decisions with the football. There is no 10 point play in football. Sometimes a sack is better than forcing the ball into a tight window. Going 3 and out and punting isn't the end of the world. Take what the defense gives you and move the chains. All fans love his competitive nature but when two defensive linemen are hanging off of you, it's time to take the sack and get'em on the next play.

     Defense: Not surprisingly the defense is going through the biggest pains. Having to learn a new scheme and language is no small task, but NFL teams do it every year and aren't last in the league in points given up. Which the Bucs are. Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith has stated that it takes four weeks to learn his defense, react on the field instead of thinking. He has also talked about how Chris Conte and Bradley McDougald, the Bucs starting safeties that have been in fans cross hairs, are communicating much better. Well coach it's week 5, time to show how much the guys on your side of the ball have grown in your system.

     Special Teams: To be perfectly honest I really don't even want to do this one. Did you hear that the Buccaneers traded up back into the second round and selected a kicker and said kicker is struggling on his extra points as well as field goal attempts? Yay, so did everyone else in the NFL fandom kingdom. Look Roberto Aguayo is going to be the Bucs kicker this year and next year no matter what happens. It is what it is and I totally understand the frustration. When points are at stake almost every time you touch the ball going through growing pains can be soul crushing for the invested fan. Bright side, the punter is really good.

Cardinals Game Rant *Uncensored

Ok Buc fans its been a couple days since the bucs 40-7 ass whooping by the Cardinals and there needs to be a rant to let out some true feelings.

First and foremost everything will always begin and end with our leader Jameis Winston. I above all may be his biggest fan and supporter but what I saw from him on Sunday was piss poor. So many passes were off target and he is too attached to Mike Evans. Yes, I still loved his passion for the game as he was still competitive and even made a big block on one running play but he's got to show much more than this.

People will say hey, the defense gets paid to stop him too, but to me that straight bullshit. The game is Xs and Os. You find weaknesses and you attack the weakness. What did Winston do the first drive? He attacked their strength, which is Patrick Peterson, possibly the best corner in the NFL and what happened? That's right a beautiful interception that was off target but the Winston faithful said Evans could have fought for the ball. Hell, if the ball is thrown inside Evans can easily box Peterson out for the touchdown. I harped last week to not test Peterson at all costs and to attack any and everyone else but I guess I was wrong. After that play Winston and the bucs looked to just tail spin down and let the crowd get the best of them.

Winston even made 4th year pro Marcus Copper (the other CB) look like a pro bowler by giving him 2 interceptions in one game when he has only had 3 in his career. He threw one right in his chest but again everyone claimed it was Vincent Jackson's fault. Winston is our QB, he's our unquestioned leader, he's the answer to every question of whom will bring us out of this bottom dweller we have been in for so many years. With that said he has to perform better. We should never see a QB rating of 39.2 again, this is not your rookie season Jamies and you need to step up from the shambles you created that day.

Now the Defense.... Chris Conte has forever scared the crap out of me and still does. The man keeps getting lost and getting beat time after time. This defense did so well against the Falcons preventing the deep ball and somehow forgot how to do it a week after. I don't know if they got some sort of entitlement after one damn win but it was pathetic. ABSOLUTELY no pass rush whatsoever and that against an Oline that allowed 3 sacks the week prior against a slower Dline than ours. Credit to Noah Spence for recording his first sack of the year which was the only bright spot of this game. The entire game was nothing but time for Palmer to deliver strikes to whichever receiver he wanted. The Dline needs to step up without question and if they can't those added blitzers better rush the process or you will get burnt deep, espcially when you send a safety.

Enough Bashing of my beloved Bucs. I will forever be a bucs fan but they need to show up and perform. I expect corrections to be made and problems fixed across the board here in Tampa when we play the Rams. Players and coaches alike need to clean up a lot. Start attacking the weaknesses that every team has and stop giving the game away by attacking their strengths. Show up for your home crowd and give us bucs fans something to finally be proud about. In other words, COMPETE. 40-7 is an embarrassment and that should not happen again. I am washing that from my memory and zoning in on the LA Rams, as should every other buccaneer fan.

Negatives From Preseason Game 3

Everyone looks good when you win but there still were mistakes and bad plays mixed in the 30-13 victory the bucs had over the browns.

CB height:

Brent Grimes was one of the bucs big acquisitions over the offseason and he was worth every penny of it, but his height is what everyone was scared about going against all the taller receivers in the NFC south (Jones, Benjamin, etc). I'm not saying Grimes is over the hill and isn't any good, I'm just saying the lack of height obviously showed and not just on the two deep throws to Josh Gordon. Terrelle Pryor used his bigger frame as well to body the ball in front of the smaller Grimes. Teams will be able to game plan against this slight weakness. The height issue goes for all of our corners, not just Grimes.

Safety Position:

Safety has been the most glaring weakness to me on the bucs roster. No one has clearly stood out and made any plays to warrant needing to be in the starting lineup. On both deep balls to Gordon there was no safety in sight, leaving Grimes on an island. It also seemed like on the deep 44 yard pass on 3rd and long in the first that Grimes played the underneath route, trusting that he would have safety help. Now this could be a miscommunication, but who was it on? Grimes or Conte? Based on the lack of safety help is looks as if the bucs will be susceptible to the deep ball again this year. The defense looks as if they are molded to get pressure to prevent the deep ball but if the pressure isn't there it won't look pretty.

Fullback Position:

The Bucs may not even go with a fullback at all this year and just have 3 tight end sets as no one on the roster can play the position well. Dan Vitale, although an amazing athlete and fan favorite, got called for holding on his first play as fullback. Vitale needs to learn the position as he wasn't asked to be a blocker in college and he shouldn't be learning in a game situation.

Missed throws:

Jameis isn't perfect, there were plays he left on the field last night that during the regular season could have been interceptions or costly drive staller. Jameis no doubt is our franchise QB and has shown signs of progression already but he holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else and I'm pretty sure he knows he needs to put the ball in a better position for his receivers.

Most Consistent

Dirk Koetter was asked today who he thought was playing the most consistent in these first 5 days of camp and of course he gave the big names like McCoy and Lavonte David but he also gave some names that you wouldn't have thought.

Alterraun Verner and Brent Grimes at corner, Chris Conte at Safety. On the offensive side of the ball Demar Dotson, Right Tackle, off to a fast start. Cameron Brate, Tight end, fast start. Doug Martin and Charles Sims, fast starts.

Its great to hear him name drop players like Verner who had an off year last year and Dotson who is coming off of an injured season. Its also good to see Cameron Brate's name in there, showing that he has improved and is showing that on the practice field. Its still really early in camp but getting the attention of the head coach is a good sign. Time to keep improving and getting better day by day.

Player Profile: Elijah Shumate

Every year there are undrafted players that make the final 53 man roster and some go on to become really good players. I think the Bucs could have a sleeper in undrafted safety Elijah Shumate out of Notre Dame. Bucs signed Shumate shortly after the draft had concluded and they hope he can bring competition to the position. Shumate has the measurables you look for in a player with great size and good speed. Shumate is 6'0 216lbs and ran a 4.58 40 which is impressive for his size. Shumate is known for being a big hitter and is good against the run.

However, he needs work on his technique and footwork in pass coverage if he wants to become a more complete player. Inconsistency with his tackling has been an issue as well but with proper NFL coaching all of this can be corrected. Good news for Shumate is he is excellent on special teams and can make plays on kick coverage. The bad news is the competition at his position where the Bucs have returning starters in Chris Conte, Bradley Mcdougald along with reserves in Keith Tandy, and Major Wright. Plus the Bucs added Ryan Smith in the 4th round who will play the safety position so that gives the Bucs five solid safetys.

So it wont be easy for Shumate to make the squad as he will likely have to play really good to beat out one of the other five safetys. At the very least I expect Shumate to make the practice squad and could be a contributor for the 2017 season.

Bucs Resign Safety Chris Conte

The Bucs have resign safety Chris Conte to an 1 year deal according to Gil Arcia of TheBaycave.com. Arcia thinks Conte can be an asset for the team and flourish under the new coaching and scheme.

Conte did a serviceable job last season given the dysfunction on the defense and could flourish under new coaching, scheme.

— Gil Arcia (@GilArciaTBC) March 13, 2016

Smart move by the Bucs to bring Conte back as he can be a decent starter and provide quality depth for the defense. With Conte back, the Bucs will have the same group of safeties from last season for at least till training camp. Its only a one year deal, so another smart move by Jason Licht who is doing the right things so far this offseason.

Market Heating Up For Conte?

Bucs safety Chris Conte was one of the more consistent players for the team last year. He wasn't spectacular, but played decent for the most part. The Bucs have mention before that they would like to bring him back and think he could provide solid play for the secondary. He put up decent numbers with 79 tackles, 2 ints and 6 pass breakups, however was inconsistent as was the whole secondary. With free agency starting today, it looks like the Bucs will have competition for Conte's services. Per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network says Conte will explore the market before making a decision.

#Bucs safety Chris Conte is drawing interest from multiple teams. Tampa wants him back. He'll explore the market before making a commitment.

— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) March 7, 2016

I think bringing Conte back on a one to two year deal wouldn't be a bad move, as he can provide depth and be a decent starter for this team. It is good to see that Bucs free agents are garnering interest from other teams, which is usually not the case.

Bucs Comfortable With Safety Position?

As I have stated in previous posts, I feel the Bucs should make upgrades at the safety position this off-season. Last years group was decent as both starters played well at times, but were too inconsistent. Chris Conte, Bradley Mcdougald, and Keith Tandy are all free agents while Major Wright still has 1 more year on his contract. I would re-sign Mcdougal and Tandy as they are decent players with some upside since they are still young.

I don't care for Conte as I feel he is just average and misses on too many plays and should be allowed to look elsewhere. I think there are solid safetys that will be available through free agency or the draft, and could easily become impact players on the Bucs. However, Jason Licht has different ideas as he talked about the safety position this past Thursday with local media, per Rick Stroud of tampabaytimes.com:

“Chris Conte did some good things for us and he has a familiarity with (fellow secondary coach) Jon Hoke, who was his coach in Chicago,’’ Licht said, according to Stroud. “We will be discussing the possibility of bringing him back, but we still like Bradley McDougald, who we think has upside and we still have Major Wright under contract and we liked what Keith Tandy did in his role for us last year. But it can’t hurt to bring in competition.’’

I see this as a sign that Licht will bring back these guys for the right price but will also look to add new blood to bolster the group. Who knows how new defensive coordinator, Mike Smith sees these guys as he might think they can thrive in his system, and feel no upgrade is needed. Hopefully, the Bucs are smart and add a impact safety or two.