Currently on the Roster – Jonathan Hefney, Donte Nicholson, Jermaine Phillips, Sabby Piscatelli

Guaranteed Spots - Jermaine Phillips, Sabby Piscatelli

Jermaine Phillips will continue to hold down the starting SS job in 2008.  He had 83 tackles and 4 picks and combined with starting FS Tanard Jackson in a very imposing tandem in the Tampa 2.  Both guys love to knock heads with receivers over the middle.  Phillips provides great support in the run game, and is more than capable of handling his coverage duties.  Before last season, Piscatelli would have had a chance to unseat Phillips at SS, but he got injured and spent most of the year on the IR.  He should be a stalwart on special teams and could play a few plays a game on the defensive side of the ball.

No Chance – Jonathan Hefney

Battling for Spots – Donte Nicholson

Nicholson has proven to be a solid special teams player, but with the return of Piscatelli, and the addition of Eugene Wilson (who we plan to play at CB, but who has been a very effective S in the NFL) should prove to be the end of Donte’s time as a Buccaneer.

Currently on the Roster – Will Allen, Tanard Jackson, Eugene Wilson

Guaranteed Spots – Allen, TJax and Wilson

I see no plausible way that all 3 of these players do not make the team.  In yesterday’s write up, we discussed the possibility of Wilson even starting at CB.  He is a lock.  Tanard Jackson finished last season with 56 tackles, 16 starts, and weekly bone jarring hits that made people in the Bay Area think about our old friend John Lynch.  Will Allen is a great backup S and an excellent special teams player.  It is nice to have someone with his experience as a starter, albeit an average one, backing up a position as pivotal to our D as the FS spot.

We will breakdown all of the picks made this weekend, there potential impact on the team, and throw in some highlights as well. 

Round 1 – CB Aqib Talib, Kansas

Anyone who is a reader of this site knows that Talib was my first choice of corners.  Not my first choice of corners that might be available when we picked, but my first overall choice.  Mike Jenkins would have been nostalgic, but I believe that Talib is a much better fit.  The Bucs had not chosen a CB on the first day of the draft since Dwight Smith in 2001, and Talib is only the second overall DB to be selected by the Bucs in the first round.  He is a perfect fit for the Cover 2 in my opinion, and possesses great size and tackling ability.  His biggest knock thusfar has been whether he will have the recovery speed to keep up with fast WR’s.  In our defense, this point is moot.  He has great instincts, and leaping ability.  He led the nation in pass breakups per game at 2.8 last year, and was the MVP of the Orange Bowl.  Talib should compete with Phillip Buchanon and Eugene Wilson for the starting job opposite Ronde Barber, and should see the feel often as we run a lot of dime and nickel sets.  He should immediately become a player in the return game for us, competing with Ike Hilliard and Phillip Buchanon for those duties.  I also would not count out Jon Gruden finding a way to utilize him offensively (he had 4 offensive TD’s last year).  

Scouts Inc. - While it’s rare to see a two-way player at the next level, he has flashed the big-play ability to potentially contribute as a return specialist and occasionally on offense.

Jon Gruden – (Talib) has a knack for making plays on both sides of the ball.