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Confident.
What has been a disconnect between the Bucs and fans — not just Bucs fans but NFL fans — is now a full-blown major disconnect.
At inside linebacker after the great Lavonte David, there is who exactly at inside linebacker? Let’s dig in.
A talented guy who has missed 17 games with injuries in his two NFL seasons (SirVocea Dennis), a guy the Dolphins washed their hands of (Anthony Walker) and a 30-year old well-traveled veteran (Deion Jones).
Other than 35-year old team icon David, that lineup is not exactly what a team wants to highlight in a season-ticket marketing campaign.
One thing has been clear to Joe: The Bucs either really believe they have the winning formula at inside linebacker or they have done a superb job of selling the notion they are just fine.
Shoot, virtually everyone and their brother believed the Bucs were going to draft an inside linebacker at No. 19 in the draft. That should tell folks the public perception of that position on the Bucs’ roster.
Joe has spoken with suits and Bucs coaches, privately and on the record. Their message(s) have been very consistent: The Bucs are good at inside linebacker.
If you really twist some Bucs-types’ arms, maybe they will suggest the Bucs added by subtracting. OK.
Well, today at One Buc Palace after underwear football, Todd Bowles really pushed his poker chips to the middle of the table. When asked to cite the positions on the team with the most depth, on defense Bowles didn’t blink an eye.
Bowles said flat out inside linebacker was the deepest position on the defensive roster.
> “I like the depth of where the inside ‘backers are right now,” Bowles said.
Better than defensive interior line? Better than corners, which is now a deep position?
That selling point is going to be hard for Bucs fans to choke down.
Joe doesn’t think any Bucs fan believes SirVocea Dennis is a bad player. Fans are nutso fed up with Jamel Dean missing so much time and Dean looks like an iron horse of stability compared to Dennis.
Yeah, Joe gets that, allegedly, an injured shoulder Dennis has been dealing with since his Pitt days has supposedly been resolved through surgery. But has he tried to tackle Bijan Robinson with that surgically rebuilt shoulder yet? Or Saquon Barkley? Or Breece Hall?
And the reality is Dennis hasn’t missed 17 games in his two-year NFL career only because of his bum shoulder. No matter how you slice it, that is a helluva gamble banking on Dennis to be on the field, say, 15-16 games this fall.
Joe hopes he is (there’s that ugly word again, “hope”) but until Dennis demonstrates he can do it, he hasn’t.
As for Jones, Bowles raved about him today. Recent history suggests he’s no more than a backup. Buffalo cut him last August and he languished on the Bucs’ practice squad until January.
Did it look to you like the Bucs had Jack Ham playing next to Lavonte David preventing the Bucs from promoting Jones to the active roster?
Walker started eight games for the Dolphins last year, missing three with hamstring and knee injuries. _Meh_.
Joe sure hopes all the people at One Buc Palace, including Bowles, are seeing something Bucs fans aren’t. Because if the Bucs are right, this defense could be damn stingy.