“Good job, Jamel.”
Each season, no matter if the Bucs are bad or good, Bucs fans have to have a player to beat up on.
No question the leader in the clubhouse for that honor this season is cornerback Jamel Dean. Many Bucs fans reacted with glee when they learned Dean was forced (?) to take a massive paycut and shortened contract which will make him a free agent come March.
Some fans have gone so far as to beg Bucs coach Todd Bowles to play rookie Benjamin Morrison even though Morrison has missed most of training camp with hamstring issues. Even last week Bowles suggested Morrison isn’t ready to take a bunch of snaps yet due to missing so much time.
Well, yesterday, Bowles urinated in these same fans’ bowl of Cheerios. Bowles claimed in some instances last Sunday at Atlanta, Dean may have played the best of his career.
“I thought, from a man-to-man standpoint, [it was] some of the best press technique he’s had since he’s been here,” Bowles said. “From a zone standpoint, [there were] two plays you want to have back. They were minor plays, but you still want to have him back.
“I thought he competed at a very high level. He’s been business-like since he’s been there, he’s been healthy, he’s been helping the young guys come along. So, he’s been great.”
Ah, but we all know what is coming with Dean. We just don’t know when. That is injuries. And that is Joe’s lone hangup with Dean. You cannot bank on the guy.
Despite Dean missing five games last season, the most of his career, the Bucs were 1-4 in the regular season games where Dean was sidelined. Joe doesn’t believe in coincidences in football.
And if we want to get picky, Antoine Winfield saved the Bucs and Dean’s bacon on the third-last play of the game when Dean fell down which allowed Casey Washington to get free on the eight-yard line.
Thank goodness Winfield flew in and knocked the ball right out of Washington’s mitts. Otherwise, Washington walks into the end zone and the Bucs lose.
Does Joe think Dean is a good corner? Yeah. But his time missed with injuries is unacceptable. In three of the last four Bucs playoff games, Dean either couldn’t answer the bell or he was not on the field in the fourth quarter due to injuries.
You cannot make a run in the playoffs when your best corner is watching from the sidelines while the defense is on the field.