Impressed with new Bucs OLB.
So last week Bucs outside linebacker Haason Reddick put on a helluva performance for the local pen and mic club at minicamp.
Among the many things Reddick said, he vowed he wanted to be the best teammate on the Bucs. He wants to help his teammates play better because he knows it takes production from everyone, not just him.
Reddick’s session with the fourth estate was so good, Joe got a whiff of a hard sell. Too hard.
One of the things Reddick mentioned was how he wanted to take younger outside linebackers under his wing and help them develop. So the next day, Joe spoke with Anthony Nelson about Reddick.
And it’s true, Nelson said. Reddick is already helping the OLB room with tips and techniques to try to improve a woeful edge rush.
“‘Son has been great ever since he has first come in, especially in communication with what [moves] works for him,” Nelson said. “He’s trying to pick up stuff that we’re doing. He’s a guy that is always learning.
“He’s a student of the game. He loves it. You can tell.”
How much is Reddick helping out his team, to hear Nelson, Reddick had a cutup tape of edge rushers and their moves, including his own.
Nelson said he would explain the moves and add something along the lines that a specific move may or may not work for him but it doesn’t mean they can’t work for others. He encouraged his Bucs teammates to try them.
“We watched film from around the league,” Nelson said. “He’s pointing out things he likes. And things he does that works for him. Things that he knows has worked for other guys.
“He’s had a lot of nuggets he’s already dropped on us. So I’m excited for camp to get some more from him and see him in action.”
So when Joe relayed to Nelson some of what Reddick said about wanting to be a first-class teammate and a sounding board for getting after the quarterback, Nelson told Joe that Reddick has been a model leader.
“That’s pretty accurate,” Nelson told Joe. “That is exactly what he has shown.
“He is trying to do anything he can to make us better pass rushers.”
And heaven knows the Bucs need all the help they can get attacking quarterbacks from the edge.