Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Special Teams

by Buc Wild on Aug 26, 2009 10:30 AM EDT in News

Last piece of the "Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers" columns. This one focuses on special teams and their performance.

Short intro, short piece. Hit the Jump for more.

Special Teams

Kicker

Mike Nugent - Can't continue to go 1 for 2 and make team. No competition at this point. For someone with a strong leg, again, he didn't reach end zone once on kickoffs. His field goal tries have sufficient distance, and until I see Bryant kick from the same spots, I'm still not willing to say Bryant's leg is weaker. Grade: C

Punter

Dirk Johnson - Has been overwhelmingly average. Punting from Jax 45 yard line, he dropped a kick at the 20. Not acceptable. That ball has to be on the 10 or give the coverage teams a chance to down it inside the 5. Other kciks were decent, but not changing field position. Grade: C-

Return Units

Sammy Stroughter - We've got several options at KR/PR thanks to SS. Showed good agility, good vision and ability to hit the seam quickly. Danced too much at times. Good ball security and good speed. If he can learn that sometimes its best to take the 5-7 yards and not dance, he will be VERY good at this role. Grade: A-

Clifton Smith - Is a great asset on special teams. Still had good vision and ability to get upfield. Delivered a good hit on coverage team. Grade: B

Maurice Stovall - I'll chalk this up to being a preseason game, but that was an idiotic move he made by not downing punt. Not going to help his cause any, though I'm 99% sure he is one of the gunners on opening day. Grade D-------

Overall the special teams unit was above average, thanks to a few returns. Funny after all these years our return game may be the better part of special teams with the way the kicker/punter are performing. Grade: B

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Comments

Any chance Clifton Smith gets cut?

I understand he is a pro-bowler, however this is one of the most fickle positions in the NFL and is far more about the wedge schemes than it is the returner. We are so deep at running back and he really would free up a well-needed roster spot, while being able to put Stroughter at PR/KR.
Probably wouldn’t be a very popular decision, but one I couldn’t argue with. Also Stovall needs to be a gunner for the Orlando Tuskers.

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by MNeilson on Aug 26, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

ARE YOU CRAZY???/

That is probably the worst question I have ever heard asked. He is the first pro bowl kick returner in Bucs history and he is just flat out a big time player. Morris is talking about increasing his role to make him a 3rd down back. He is a lock on the roster. Have you see the guy run, catch, kr/pr or cover punt/kicks? Prob not if you are asking that question. The interesting guy in the rb position is the rookie kareem huggins. He is solid but i think the number will catch up with him. I see him making the practice squad.

I would not be surprised if smith beat out earnest graham as the 3rd running back and they move graham to fullback. Smith is a blur out there on the field and graham has had some nagging injuries and looked terrible in the first game vs the titans. It was preseason but he will get another shot tomorrow vs the dolphins.

by tbbuc4 on Aug 26, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I Don't think Clifton gets cut

and I don’t think he leapfrogs any RB on the team (barring injury). He’s a great complimentary back and return specialist/special teams guy. Every team has them.

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by Buc Wild on Aug 26, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I can't even justify a response.

What does he add to the running backs corp that we don’t already have (outside of special teams, which I already made my argument for)?

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by MNeilson on Aug 26, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions

These are the words of raheem morris

He may not pass them but if D-Ward and Caddy get the ball moving the best, Graham will be the odd man out because those are two dynamic backs. If this happens, Morris is all about putting the best guys out on the field so it will come down to , “How can I get Graham in ?” I think the answer to this will be to put him at fullback. If this happens, I could see Smith getting some 3rd down possessions because he is just so explosive. Look at guys like Maurice jones-drew and darren sproles. Looks how things have opened up with them just because of their explosiveness. They both have moved way up the depth chart past many guys who were infront of them. Drew has passed the great fred taylor and sproles made turner expendable to the falcons.

There is always room for playmakers. Graham will get ever opportunity to prove himself but if caddy and d-ward can stay healthy i see them being the 2-2 and graham being the -1 guy in the new 2-2-1 scheme that morris is trying to use.

by tbbuc4 on Aug 26, 2009 11:57 AM EDT reply actions

You certainely don't argue with your brain....

Smith is no MJD. And there is room for playmakers, but is Stroughter not one? You have to make necessary and difficult cuts.

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by MNeilson on Aug 26, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Very true

I just don’t see Clifton on that list. Here’s why. How many RB’s do most teams carry? 4. You have your starter, usually a split guy, and then a 3rd down back. The 4th is usually spot duty (injuries, mop up time) and special teams play (gunner, blocker, or return man).

I don’t think he sees the field as a RB much (barring injury) but any guy that is versatile enough to return kicks/punts, play on special teams and provide a boost as the only true “scat back” on the team doesn’t seem like a cut to me.

Now Huggins is a cut, Clifton does the same thing with a year under his belt. Plus, I dont think (in the interest of saving money) the Glazers cut a Pro Bowl undrafted free agent. His value is considerably outweighing his contract.

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by Buc Wild on Aug 26, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions

But how often do pro-bowl returners

repeat their success the next season? Progress starts to slip, no matter the age or ability of the player.

"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"

by MNeilson on Aug 26, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Funny you should ask that

I wrote an article on it a few months back. Here’s the link

You can see where I stand, but I think versatility is key. What about Michael Lewis, Dante Hall, Devin hester (before he played WR)? They were guys who contributed next to nothing otuside of special teams, so there is a place for them.

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by Buc Wild on Aug 26, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I agrre to a point

Strougther is def a play maker and I see him being the 3rd or 4th receiver. I would liek to see him and stovall take the 3rd and 4th position. I am not a Brian Clark fan as a receiver, he is a great special teams guy but he just isn’t NFL Reciever material, he has no seperation and drops to many passes. Stovall has alot of potential to me. Stroughter is not going to beat out smith as a kr/pr so I hope he makes it as a slot receiver.

I was making the comparison that those guys earned their running back carrries after being starts on special team. It took them time to take over as a running back but smith is only going into his second year. I think that he has potential to be a running back in the NFL , just like people doubted MJD and sproles when they came into the league. I am not saying that he will be a pro bowl running back but I see him gettin carries at running back this year and if not this year then def next year whether it be as a buc or a with another team.

Smith adds a small , shifty guy that can be a change of pace back. He can be a guy who comes in and takes the screen pass the distance. Those small guys are hard to tackle and he is the shiftiest back that we have on the team. He has moves to break tackles. He was getting some carries last year but he developed a fumbling problem and Gruden took his carries away.

by tbbuc4 on Aug 26, 2009 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions

There's no possible way that Smith gets cut.

Stroughter and Smith aren’t fighting for the same roster spot. They’re both safe. It’s not really even worth arguing.

Back to how everyone played in the game… Dirk deserves better than a C minus. He averaged 46.1 yards per punt, and yes, those stats don’t come even close to telling the story, but that’s nothing to shake a stick at. Yes, he should have probably pinned them down inside the 20 that one time, but no one’s perfect. Solid outing for him IMO.

The Nuge hasn’t impressed me. We’ve yet to see any of that “better-than-Bryant” leg strength of his. He’s looked pretty average on kickoffs, and he’s batting .500 on FGs. It’s insane to even think about, but if it were up to me, Bryant would keep his job without even having to kick in the preseason.

by OfficerRodFarva on Aug 26, 2009 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

Bryant would be 0 for 4 from the distances nugent has kicked

We all know bryant would not make a 50 yarder, he would be 0 for 2 from there and the other 2 were 46 yards, i would say bryant would at best make 1 but i doubt he would make 1. Don’t get me wrong, nugent is wowing us but he must be doing it in practice. If you look at that , i would say that 50 percent is better than 0 percent. Don’t you agree? Hopefully the bucs can move the ball better during the year and we won’t haveto kick these extra long field goals.

by tbbuc4 on Aug 26, 2009 2:44 PM EDT reply actions