Most Underrated Bucs
by MNeilson on Jun 11, 2011 1:18 PM EDT
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An article was posted on ESPN.Com today with John Clayton's "All-Underrated" team. Without posting the entire team, I will tell you that no Buccaneers players made this list and only 2 NFC South players were named (Brent Grimes, who I couldn't agree more with and Charles Johnson DE Carolina.)
I have a couple of disagreements with Clayton. The two biggest ones I could argue is Jacoby Ford over Mike Williams at WR and Doug Free over Donald Penn at LT. Ford and Free are both very nice players. Ford offers more speed than Williams, but Williams is more of a playmaker and his stats reflect that. Williams has a higher DYAR and catch rate than Ford, not to mention far more targets and yards. Williams was at a disadvantage to a quarterback in OROY voting, which is why I would say he is underrated. Ford offers more in the ST game, there is no doubt, but if we are strictly talking about underrated receivers, in my opinion, Williams is more underrated.
The second is Donald Penn being left off. This one is a little tricky. Penn is well regarded around the league. Most RDE would tell you he is probably one the best pass-blockers in the game right now. So it's hard to call him overrated, yet he is continually shafted in Pro-Bowl voting. I say he is overrated because the casual NFL fan doesn't give him the credit he's earned, therefor the media doesn't really pump him up much. It's easy to say that Doug Free is overrated. He replaced Flozell Adams and played pretty well. He is nowhere close to the talent level of Donald Penn (Penn is elite). He also plays on an often criticized offense.
Who are the other underrated players on the Bucs that didn't make the list?
Cody Grimm - He had a couple of plays where he just got lost in pass coverage and the results usually ended up on ESPN. He's a rookie with less physical tools than most FS. Yet he was probably one of the most sound tacklers in the NFC South and wasn't quite as big of a liability as some of those highlights may suggest.
Aqib Talib - When on the field, he is an elite cornerback. He does it all; provides run support when necessary and is one of the biggest playmaking corners in the NFL. He's not lock-down by any means. He's a gambler. He'll sell out on first cuts trying to get a jump on the ball and will chose going for the ball over going for the defender quite a bit on deeper routes. None of this goes to talk about his off-the-field problems. The reason I call him underrated is because I'm not sure that most see him as an elite corner. I think most media members and casual fans would lump him in the 2nd tier of CB's. He's a first tier guy, for sure.
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Did he lay out any criteria to define underrated?
As you can always expect come from behind victory is when you least expect it.
I don't think Talib is underated...
as he gets his props for his play ON the field. Now, if we could just keep him on the field and not let him have any time for a personal life (see Kenny Britt) everything would be fine.
If Talib is locked up, Asomugha should be getting a call....
I hope Glazers are thinking the same
((b-town))
by Titankillah on Jun 12, 2011 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions
I think they should call him even if Talib doesn't go to jail and we keep him.
But neither will happen, they’re not gonna spend any money.
I'm not negative, I'm just telling you how it is.
Well... they might have to spend the money
if the NFL implements a solid cap floor. I am not sure spending that kind of money on ONE player is a good idea though. What will happen when Talibs contract is up? He is not worth matching Namdi’s salary, but we know that most players are not really all that objective when it comes to their monetary values.
I’d love to have him, but it would throw our salary baseline all out of kilter.
by Cracker Ball on Jun 13, 2011 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I don't think he is vastly underrated like I would consider Penn being.
The media gives him props, but I think if you were to ask most media members they would put him the 12-16 best CB range. Strictly on the field, I think hes a top 7 corner. However, if we go by Claytons standards (no 1st round guys and no pro-bowlers) he is excluded from this list.
Formerly UNFNole
Talib
I think Talib is underrated…Great player in his own right.
Coach Steve Tucker
www.football-tutorials.com
by CoachSteveTucker on Jun 12, 2011 2:23 PM EDT reply actions
Maybe over rated as a person...
but he is respected by his peers as a great player.
by Cracker Ball on Jun 12, 2011 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Talib is NOT underrated...
For every big splash play he makes (intercepting a pass with his ankles, etc.), he gets burned deep by a WR. I think at least once in every game in the first half of last year he let someone get behind him for a TD, which totals more (8) than his interceptions (6). He is not a “shut down” corner, he is a big play corner. I’d rather have a shut down corner, as it opens up other players to make “big plays” while not allowing that “big TD”.
He had a couple of those busts
But it’s hard to say which ones were his fault and which ones were the fault of a safety playing over the top of him. A number of those were on him, but it’s probably 4 or 5 and not 8.
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