Alston signing should maintain Bucs high standards in Special teams

by Niko Houllis on Mar 13, 2010 8:56 AM EST in 2010 Free Agency Comment 20 comments

Alston impressed well at the 2006 combine.

At one point the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the 4th ranked offense in the NFL. Then we blinked.

Reality set in, and a few Quarterbacks later, the Bucs settled back down to their normal spot towards the back of the theater! The unusual part was watching Tampa Bay Defense and Last Place have a synonymous relationship in 2009. Once Jim Bates defensive duties were replaced by Head Coach Raheem Morris, that unit started marching towards their normal front seats they've been comfortable in for several years.

The one thriving unit that most Bucs fans were unaware of, has been Special Teams. Tampa Bay had the best special teams in several categories last year, giving up the least amount of real estate on Punt returns or Kick Off returns, and that usually is a sign of good quality backups on the roster. Players like Maurice Stovall, Will Allen, and Matt McCoy may not have been good enough to crack the teams starting roster, but their contributions are missed when they are injured, not able to play, or in these cases, traded away or released.

While it may seem to be a move to immediatly replace the depth at linebacker, signing former Raider LB Jon Alston gives Special Teams Coach Rich Bisaccia another speedster to replace the loss of McCoy and Will Allen who was signed by the Steelers last week.

Alston is a former Stanford Cardinal who ran a 4.5 second 40 yard dash at the 2006 combine, and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 3rd round. As a Cardinal, Alston saved his best for last: accumulating 113 tackles, 16 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss and causing 6 fumbles, all in his last two years in school.

Being only 26, he fits in well with the overall youth movement and will back up Geno Hayes at least initially, with placement in a depth chart likely not to happen until OTAs or camp. During his rise up mock drafts due to his combine performance, several teams expressed an interest in switching him to Safety. Its possible the Bucs were one of those teams and may be considering that move now.

Bucs are still interested in signing Sean Jones of the Eagles to compete at Safety. Jones concluded his visit last Friday, and normally teams that work deals for players are done before they leave a teams complex.

CLAYTON UPDATE: Michael Clayton will be going to the bank again, as he is due a $1,000,000 deferred bonus on March 15th. This is money the team owes their receiver as part of the contract he signed in 2009, but there is no roster bonus or new money that would force the Bucs to make a quick decision on him. With a career low 16 catches for only 230 yards last year, it is increasingly uncertain whether we will see #80 catching footballs for the Bucs after August.

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Good pick up.

Hopefully he stays healthy.

by Vin on Mar 13, 2010 9:47 AM EST reply actions

Alston

Decent signing…makes sense foe special teams as you say and for adding a bit of depth. I think adding Reggie Brown for a 6th rd pick was actually pretty shrewd, considering most 6th rounders rarely make the 53-man. Props so far I suppose…especially compared to last offseason.

Re-signing Clayton for no. 1 WR money was one of the most insidiously stupid moves of the decade. Giving Luke McCown starters money before jettisoning him before the start of the season ranks up there too. Maybe standing pat and waiting for the draft is a good thing after all.

Cannons... fire them.

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by Craig T on Mar 13, 2010 10:22 AM EST via mobile reply actions

The Winslow pick up was very good, and the Ward pick up could still be important.

But you are correct on the Clayton deal, and McCown may look worse in hindsight.

Gary Williams for President!
Jordan Williams freshman Manbeast

by terp12 on Mar 13, 2010 10:44 AM EST up reply actions

Good points

But it’s still too soon to tell on both those deals for certain (although the Winslow deal seems pretty good right now). I think its safe to say the money spent on Clayton and McCown were failures, as Clayton just can’t/wont/isnt getting any better and McCown is gone. Still not sure completely on the other two. Like Clayton, they gave Ward starter’s money, and he either wasn’t given the opportunity, or more likely didn’t earn it on the practice field.

Winslow was a constant in the passing game and is talented to be sure, but unless he can step his game way up in his blocking assignments, he won’t become a complete TE like Gates, Witten, or Gonzalez. It limited what the Bucs could do and the effectiveness of their offtackle and outside runs. Jerramy Stevens needs to sack the hell up and become effective at something again…give the Bucs a boost at that position in the power game.

That said, am I glad Winslow is on the team? Certainly. I can’t imagine where the passing game would be without him. However, given his history of moody streaks, off-field antics, fights with the injury bug, and questionable effectiveness in the run game, I’m reserving judgment until I see more.

Cannons... fire them.

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by Craig T on Mar 13, 2010 11:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

I think hindsight is 20/20

When Ward was brought in, he was likely to be the top back because NOBODY thought Williams would either survive a full season, or perform to the level he did. I think it is a little hard to evaluate our RB position because although we had pretty good pass protection, our O-line didn’t open running holes and nobody could be effective if they are consistently met at the line of scrimmage.

As for McCown, I could be wrong, but I think at the time of his signing, he was by most accounts our best QB, and we needed to tie him up. Of course that is a sad statement that he was seen as our best QB, because he never proved he could be good, but we were in a bad place at that time. There was a lot of craziness going on when these commitments were taking place. Some of these choices were between two bad outcomes. I think if you look at any of the deals from last year with clarity in the moment, there is a reasonable case to be made for any of those decisions.

We are now committed to rebuilding. I think last year’s draft has potential to have been a huge success or a moderate bust, it will take some time to know for sure. My guess is that it will be either pretty good or great. I will be a harsher critic this year if bad moves for the future are made.

Gary Williams for President!
Jordan Williams freshman Manbeast

by terp12 on Mar 13, 2010 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

I understand you point on hindsight.

Makes sense the most in the Luke McCown situation I’d say, because the Jeff Garcia was going bye bye and they had to knee jerk and keep someone around, like you said. However, they’d had a chance to see what he could do over multiple years and should have been able to evaluate that he wasn’t worth giving starter’s money, especially when money is apparently tight. That’s $7.5 mil guaranteed with incentives up to 14 mil for 2 years they gave him. And it ended up for what? A 5th or 6th round pick?

Ultimately, a front office is judged not be what they did at the time, but for how those things panned out in the long term. Still TBD on multiple things, but some things we can say have failed.

Cannons... fire them.

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by Craig T on Mar 13, 2010 6:51 PM EST up reply actions

Agreed, I am sure some of their bets last year will turn out bad (Clayton, McCown, maybe others)

I hope that most turn out well. I am willing to give them a little more slack for last years decisions than this year. This is their time. They can’t screw up this year or the next two. They have time to really focus and pick their coaches, develop THEIR scheme, and pick players to fit. They better get it right. They won’t get all of them right, nobody does, but they better be very good at building this team, or even I will lose patience. And I may be the most optimistic guy on this blog.

Gary Williams for President!
Jordan Williams freshman Manbeast

by terp12 on Mar 13, 2010 9:23 PM EST up reply actions

I think Ward's a bust

At best he is a nice part of the rotation. He was paid to come in here and start. Nothing I saw from him this year leads me to believe he is capable of that. I think they should cut Steven’s. He is a nice 2nd TE if your #1 isn’t Winslow. As you stated Winslow not much of a blocker. I think Steven’s is even worse. He could be better but his effort is questionable. I would like to see them bring in a traditional blocking TE.

"big-time players make big-time plays in big games."

by SoonerSlayer on Mar 13, 2010 1:30 PM EST up reply actions

I won't say Ward was a bust. I think bringing him in and not using him is a bust.

Something tells me they didn’t have any faith in Caddy.

HIBERNATION NATION

by bucnut1 on Mar 14, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions

It makes me a bit cautious

when our best offensive player requires us to “wait and see”. I agree on the Ward signing. I wasnt too thrilled with it back when they got him. I was against the Winslow trade and sign, but I’ll admit, its worked out so far. Clayton, well I just wont say anything about that.

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by Buc Wild on Mar 13, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions

My input

Ward will have a better season especially with Caddy’s future unsure. Nobody expected Caddy to bounce back, he started 2nd or 3rd on the depth chart in preseason. I like Williams but I would not be surpise if he is cut because of injury-problems. Williams doesn’t have any ties to the new regime. His 09-10 might have saved his job.

P.S. Winslows is a BEAST when he’s “on the field”, hopefully he stays on the field. Go Bucs!

by Starbucs32 on Mar 13, 2010 4:58 PM EST up reply actions

How do we know he will translate to a good special teams player?

by Starbucs32 on Mar 13, 2010 5:03 PM EST up reply actions

I think Clayton

Will get cut before the season starts or during mid season when he doesn’t take advantage of his last chance

by Buc-Drunk on Mar 13, 2010 11:08 AM EST reply actions

Rick Stoud:

of the St. Petersburg Times says that the Bucs do not plan on making a decision regarding Michael Clayton until after training camp.
Clayton was reportedly due a $1 million roster bonus on March 15, but the bonus is guaranteed whether he is on the roster or not, so it makes sense to just see what Clayton does in camp. The Bucs signed the receiver to a horrid five-year, $24 million deal last offseason.

Grrrr, someone send this chest-beating-ball-dropping man to another training camp.

by rjblitz02 on Mar 13, 2010 1:33 PM EST reply actions

Perhaps I missed something,

but isn’t Stovall still on the team as a restricted free agent with a tendered offer?
“Players like Maurice Stovall, Will Allen, and Matt McCoy may not have been good enough to crack the teams starting roster, but their contributions are missed when they are injured, not able to play, or in these cases, traded away or released.”

5 picks out of the first 100 in a draft saturated with talent. Yes, I'm optimistic.

by chuckyforpres on Mar 13, 2010 3:19 PM EST reply actions