Wide Receivers struggling for a roster spot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
by Sander on Aug 7, 2011 4:56 PM EDT
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PrintLast season, the Buccaneers carried six wide receivers on the roster on opening day: Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn, Micheal Spurlock, Maurice Stovall, Sammie Stroughter and Preston Parker. The year before, the Bucs had just five receivers on the opening day roster. So with some five or six spots for receivers, the Bucs will have to make some tough choices on who to keep.
Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn and Dezmon Briscoe are all assured of a roster spot at this point. Mike Williams is a star in the making, while Arrelious Benn looked very good before going on IR late last season. Dezmon Briscoe showed a few last season and has supposedly looked great in training camp, cementing his spot on the roster. But behind those three players, things become more murky.
We can probably pencil in Sammie Stroughter and Preston Parker as well. While these are two similar players, the Bucs kept both on the roster for the entire season last year. The fact that they can function well as slot receivers and punt returners means they're more likely to stick on the roster, while both have some kick returners as well. Versatile players who can contribute on special teams will make the roster over players who can only do a limited number of things.
Many may expect Micheal Spurlock to be a sure thing to make the roster as well, but I'm not so sure about that. Spurlock has been in the league since 2006 and had his best season last year - with a whopping 250 yards receiving. While he is a good kick returner, he's not elite, and he's not going to get much better as a receiver. Because of his limited upside I don't think he makes the roster as anything but a kick return specialist, and it will be tough for the Bucs to find a roster spot for just a return specialist this season. If they do keep Spurlock on the roster, that will likely keep Stroughter or Parker off the roster.
With Williams, Benn, Briscoe, and then two of Stroughter, Parker and Spurlock the Bucs have just one more roster spot left. Two players have been making a name for themselves in camp: Ed Gant and Raymond Webber. I've talked about Webber before, and I think he has the talent to make the roster - but he'll have to beat out Ed Gant to do so. Gant is a third-year player who spent the past two years on both the Cardinals' and Buccaneers' practice squads. Gant and Webber have similar frames, although Webber is a little bigger, and Gant may have the edge because of his previous experience. But the real battle will be fought in the preseason, so keep an eye on the second- and third-team receivers.
Besides Gant and Webber, the Buccaneers also have Detron Lewis and Jock Sanders on the rosters. Sanders is very small and can only play in the slot because of that. He will have to beat out either Preston Parker or Sammie Stroughter (or even both) for a roster spot, and his size may prevent him from making any impact on special teams. He has a real uphill battle to climb. Lewis has a better shot, but likewise will have to battle Parker and Stroughter for a roster spot. Running a 4.64 40-yard dash and being just 6'0" tall, he doesn't have the physical tools to thrive on the outside. But he could work well as a slot receiver going against linebackers and trying to find a hole in zone coverage.
Looking at these names it's clear the Bucs lack some depth on the receiving corps. While Williams is a legitimate number one receiver, everyone behind him is a question mark. Arrelious Benn has the talent to be very good, but is coming off an ACL injury and didn't make an impact last season until late in the year. Dezmon Briscoe flashed a little bit in games last year, but really hasn't produced much yet. Stroughter and Parker are both similar players, limited to playing the slot receiver position. Spurlock is a useful fill-in at times, but nothing more than that. Behind them, no one on the roster has any NFL experience. The Bucs are in the middle of a youth movement, and once we look at the names behind the starters we can see this really hurts their depth.
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Spurlock could make it due to being a better kick returner than Stroughter
While Stroughter has proven better as a WR and has done duty as a returner, the inverse is true for Spurlock. And I think we have a new special teams coordinator this season, right? having veterans at key positions for the ST may be necessary, and that means keeping Spurlock at the punt/kickoff return job.
Time to shamelessly plug my book and short story!
This has nothing to do with the article...
But we need a countdown icon on the homepage to get us more amped up for the season. I know this sounds cheezy, but hey, its kinda cool.
As far as receivers go, if Benn can be healthy for the whole year and have mike be the man he was last year, I see no reason why any of our number 3 receiver not to have a good year. Any decent #3 receiver can beat a good linebacker or safety any day of the week.
If I could wear a bucs shirt with a noles hat for the rest of my life, by golly I would be the happiest man in the world.
If there are 3 receivers on the field they'll generally go against another cornerback
Nickel defenses are fairly standard against 3WR sets
Good point
I dont know why I didn’t think of that.
If I could wear a bucs shirt with a noles hat for the rest of my life, by golly I would be the happiest man in the world.
Spurlock makes plays
Call me silly but it seems I can remember Spurlock making some pretty big plays at just the right time. If he doesn’t make the team it will because someone has shown more upside in BOTH recieving and returning….Lot’s of time to figure it out but I have afeeling some experience may prove very important….no matter I think we have several potenia;;y very very good recievers. GO BUCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just please catch the darn balls like there is no tomorrow.
I say spurlock makes it.
I think he is just as good a reciever as stroughter, if not better. Remember, without spurlock, we don’t win the cincy game. His sideline grab was one of the best I have ever seen. I think he would make it over Parker and possibly stroughter also.
For REAL!
I mean, kudos to both Spurlock and Freeman. Hell I’ll give kudos to coaching, because Spurlock was perfect in between zones, great spot yo. Clutch as --
Nasty pirate zombie.. Arrgg!
Give Jock a Shot
He’s small and strong and he can make big plays, I hope we get a shot to see him play. As far as the rest of the WR corps I think Mike Williams is going to continue to thrive and we can tell Freeman likes finding him so that duo can only get better. Benn will continue to contribute, i just hope he’s confident in his knee enough to get better and be consistent The rest should be left to compete for a job IMO let them fight it out
by GoBuxGo on Aug 7, 2011 7:19 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I just dont understand why
the bucs didnt pursue more WR help in the last couple weeks. i mean obviously we dont know that dom didnt, but it seems to me like they kind of sat back and are happy to watch the competition. but lets be honest to be successful in this league u need to surround your QB with weapons. look at the packers, driver jennings james jones and jordy nelson. other than mike, the bucs dont have 1 wide out as good as any of those guys. why not go after james jones? why not go after malcolm floyd? i understand that our guys have alot of potential, but like the article says we really dont have great depth at WR.
by BucShot55 on Aug 7, 2011 7:36 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
we essentially have 1 legit
proven receiver, the rest are still virtual unknowns. dezmon briscoe looks good in camp but realistically alot of players do and amount to nothing. there were free agent wideouts that have put up at least decent numbers for multiple years…
@Bucshot: Rodgers makes those guys that good.
Just as Brees and Manning do for their teams. They are allowed free-rein to spread the ball around as they see fit, and they do it well. To say we don’t have anyone (outside of Williams) that is as good as james jones and jordy nelson is a bit of a stretch.
Am I going MAD, or did the word "think" escape your lips?
I believe the only reason people are discussing...
the WRs like Stroughter, Parker, Spurlock, Gant, Ray Webber and Briscoe is because Dom refuses to go out and get the better players when he can. Mike Williams is the only very good receiver we have, but has only been here one season so far. Benn may eventually turn into something, but he clearly hasn’t yet. The rest of them probably shouldn’t even be here in our discussion, but the “meh” talent level and the inability/unwillingness to legitimately replace them keeps this topic alive.
exactly
especially in the NFC south we have to stay as competitive as possible and im not really sure that staying pat and not adding more potential weapons for our number 1 asset is really the best strategy. potential is great but like if we were to have added james jones for example. i think its pretty clear that he would be our bonafide #2. and yes i agree that rogers may make those guys look better but whos to say that JFree couldnt do the same?
Benn flashed last year
He made plays both down the field and across the middle. To say he isn’t something makes me think you didn’t watch the Bucs last year. He is a legit #2 and will continue to grow now that Mike will get most of the attention from coverages.
Just sayin...
I agree that we don’t “experienced” and “proven” players at WR, but I think talent wise there are three receivers that are Youngry enough to make an impact. Gant,Webber and Briscoe have the physical tools to be a concern for teams with questionable secondaries or even stretch the field.
Really?
Brisco made big plays last season and is doing so in camp, Benn made big plays before getting hurt, and Stroughter has played at a decent level constantly. We don’t need Receiver help. It is quite honestly our deepest position as far as Talent goes. This entire article was ABOUT our depth, not our lack-there-of.
Briscoe made one very good touchdown catch on a fade route
And he made a catch on a broken coverage that I could have made – there was no skill involved there, he was just 20 yards beyond any defender because they blew the coverage.
That’s about the extent of what he did.
Can I add?
That NO was running 2nd team at that time too? …they were resting for SEA (lmao)
Nasty pirate zombie.. Arrgg!
It could get SCARY!
With Williams coming back with his confidence, he’s a good #1. Barring injury, Benn may become the most dangerous. He’s bigger and and faster than Williams. I’d LOVE to see Raymond Webber, Ed Gant and Briscoe as the other receivers. They’re bigger and faster than Stroughter and Spurlock. Stroughter and Spurlock aren’t that SPECIAL as receivers. They don’t have major impact. They’ve been fortunate to be on the field and receive catches at a couple key moments….that’s it. The younger guys (Webber/Gant/) have size and speed advantages over the more “experienced” receivers that haven’t proved to be a threat.
*Jock Sanders as a kick returner/punt returner? YES
Preston Parker reminds me a lot of Paris Warren
Everyone was so high on Warren everyone thought he was a lock to make the roster and he may have been but he broke his leg in the final pre season game and never made it back. It’s useless to speculate till we at least see these guys in 1 pre season game.
by T-Jack on Aug 7, 2011 8:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I don't know if Spurlock makes it, for 1) he's nearly useless as a WR 2) KR aren't going to be that big this year.
I focus on money my hands touch
If that right there don’t add up
I gotta let you know your math sucks
You don’t ever talk to a calculator
You don’t get caught with an ounce of paper
Every convo is about a favour
Spurlock played well last year, made some nice plays.
He did better than Stroughter.
I'm not negative, I'm just telling you how it is.
Strounghter kind of rhymes with Slaughter though....
What the hell does Spurlock rhyme with? We need to consider our cheerleaders, bucnut.
Am I going MAD, or did the word "think" escape your lips?
Mispelling Stroughter really screwed the delivery on that one.
Am I going MAD, or did the word "think" escape your lips?
Now that i said this, I don't see much use for Parker either.
I focus on money my hands touch
If that right there don’t add up
I gotta let you know your math sucks
You don’t ever talk to a calculator
You don’t get caught with an ounce of paper
Every convo is about a favour
by 4QB on Aug 8, 2011 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Parker is basically Stroughter
I tend to think the two are competing for one roster spot. At the same time, they did keep both of them on the roster last season.
I hear what you're saying about Spurlock...
but I’m alot more comfortable with him at Kick Returner than any of the others. I’d much rather have him and Stroughter than one of the bubble players. Spurlock may not be big, strong, fast, or shifty but he has gotten the job done better than anyone I remember for the Bucs. Other guys can take their turns and if it seems like someone else is ready to fill that role. Than we can replace him with a bubble player with more upside.
Spurlock reminds me a bit of Troy Brown
when considering the context of the article and the blog replies. People cant really explain why, but the guy just makes plays wherever you put him.
At receiver he made big plays that you cant just say " any receiver would have made the same play ". Remember the Big Catch against Grimes in Atlanta when we were backed up against our own redzone. I guarantee you that Stroughter doesnt have the speed to get that sliver of separation and Parker doesnt have the “clutch gene” to make the catch.
Point is that this guy played a huge role some of our wins last year. And deserves more credit than just “he was in the right place at the right time”.
You guys mention James Jones as a free agent pick up, didnt he drop a MAJOR ball against the Eagles in the post season. Im not saying that Spurlock is better than J. Jones but when you have a guy who has flat out made plays during his ENTIRE time with our team, doesnt that count for something more than a little “upside”????
He returned our first kickoff for touchdown, made that major punt return against N.O. 2 years ago after he was just resigned like couple of days prior. Add all the plays he made last year and you have a guy who has proven invaluable in primetime (some Deion Love) situations. The guy deserves a bit more respect than to be compared to Stroughter and Parker who havent done anything in comparison with the opportunities theyve been given.
Josh Freeman will be better than Matt Ryan, Cam Newton cant compete with FreeFive. Not so sure about Drew Brees.
Stroughter doesn't make those plays, no
Because Stroughter has a different role. But Briscoe can make that play. So can Williams and Benn, and so can Raymond Webber and Ed Gant probably.
So what you are effectively saying is...........
If you had to go back and redo the play all over again and you could replace Spurlock with a player not named Benn or Williams (its already assumed that our top two wideouts can make that play) with Raymond Webber, Ed Gant or Dezmond Briscoe.
You just stated previously that Briscoe hasnt done anything besides one nice catch against the N.O. second team.
Webber and Gant were barely even drafted yet you would put them up against a probowler and uber athletic and competitive guy like Brent Grimes?
Its hard for me to hear you actually try to justify this, Im usually so on board with your point of view.
Josh Freeman will be better than Matt Ryan, Cam Newton cant compete with FreeFive. Not so sure about Drew Brees.
I'm just looking at Spurlock's skillset
And it’s very, very ordinary. Yes, any undrafted rookie with the right size should be able to make those plays. It’s not like he was creating huge holes for himself. He did do a good job stacking Grimes, but it still takes a perfect over-the-shoulder throw to make a catch in those cases.
Raymond Webber is pretty much Victor Cruz
I focus on money my hands touch
If that right there don’t add up
I gotta let you know your math sucks
You don’t ever talk to a calculator
You don’t get caught with an ounce of paper
Every convo is about a favour
by 4QB on Aug 8, 2011 2:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Spurlock is NOT a lock on the roster
And it’s very simple to explain. For those that say he made some very nice plays last year, you would be correct, he did. However, when Caddy was moved to a specific role, 3rd down back, he also made some very nice plays. The catch to win against the Rams. The draw play against the 49ers (I think it was the 49es anyway), he had several of those, and another early in the year (as the starter) that was called back due to penalty. So, you can say he was productive. Lumpkin and Bradford are (at best) potential. That’s it, they are guys that have the potential to fill that role. Yet, the team let Caddy go for a 1 year league minimum deal. If they’ll let him go, and if the kick return role has lost some value due to the new rules, it is VERY possible Spurlock doesn’t make the team.
It doesn't matter....
…there is no way Spurlock is as limited as what Sander seems to think. The deep TD catch to put away the Browns in week 1, the fact that he doesn’t fumble on Kick Returns, oh and that sick sideline/toes barely inbounds/defender draped all over him/Clutch with seconds remaining in the game catch he made against the Bengals…… The guy deserves one more year and a little more credit. Williams, Benn, Spurlock, Stroughter, and Briscoe. Let the other hungry guys fight over the 6th spot.
by TheDarkLord on Aug 8, 2011 4:40 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Sorry Sander
I usually agree with you, but not this time. What can I say, I was a Wayne Chrebet fan. I like to see the guy succeed that isn’t “supposed to”
by TheDarkLord on Aug 8, 2011 4:42 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
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