There is a report that Patrick Johnson is going to TB
 

The Bucs have signed nine free agents and all but one on offense. Bucs GM Bruce Allen hopes to sign Johnson today or by weeks end. Were dose this leave us at that spot?

Should be OK. We have Coles, Gardner, Jacobs, McCants (though he's an RFA), Russell and the guy with the NFLE (Cloman?). Plus there'll be FA's and undrafted FA's available should we need depth. Our only worry is if McCants gets signed to another team and/or one of the starters goes down. The latter is always a risk, so I don't think about it.

All the reports I read indicated that Tampa were so tight against the cap that they could hardly move. How have they managed to create so much cap room? I know Sapp's contract is big $ but officially he is still under contract and the space needs to be there BEFORE new players are brought in, or at least so I thought.

The reason being that Laveranous' contract was delayed last year until we re-worked Arrington's. Or is that just for restricted free agents and creating enough room for the offer sheet.

The whole damn cap is pretty confusing. It seems to give GMs license to lie through their teeth.

I'm not really worried about losing PJ, though he was a nice contributor on ST.

I kind of hope somebody signs McCants so we can get a 5th round pick. We have a lot of good recievers and I think the offense would be better benifitted by another good blocking tightend which you can still find in the fifth round.

[QUOTE=skins009]I kind of hope somebody signs McCants so we can get a 5th round pick. We have a lot of good recievers and I think the offense would be better benifitted by another good blocking tightend which you can still find in the fifth round.[/QUOTE]


Rasby is our blocking TE - I say we keep McCants around, he's much better than a 5th.

[QUOTE=Ade Jimoh Fan Club]I say we keep McCants around, he's much better than a 5th.[/QUOTE]

Yes, yes, 100 times yes. McCants is just scratching at the surface of his talent. I can see him being better than Gardner this year if given the chance.

[QUOTE=skins009]I kind of hope somebody signs McCants so we can get a 5th round pick. We have a lot of good recievers and I think the offense would be better benifitted by another good blocking tightend which you can still find in the fifth round.[/QUOTE]
Really? Do you think it's likely we'd find somebody in the 5th round that has McCants' ability? I don't. Sure, once in a while you'll find a diamond in the rough that can contribute in year one... but you don't expect to find a goal-line weapon like Darnerian. He was one of the few bright spots in our anemic offense last year. Tied for the team lead in TDs with Coles (6). He'd be a good #2 receiver for most teams and will be great in Gibbs' three WR sets. I really hope we can keep him.

McCants is much less of a risk than hoping to get something better out of the fifth round. He is the exact type of guy Gibbs wants on the team..."A True Redskin"

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]I'm not really worried about losing PJ, though he was a nice contributor on ST.[/QUOTE]

All I remember is his muffing that punt in Miami, I was at that game....talking nonsense to all the dolphins fans until the 4th qtr came and we choked the game away. Punctuated by PJ fumbling the punt to give us one last chance. I know the game wasn't his fault and he did make SOME contributions this season, but if we lose him it is no big deal, there are a million Pat Johnsons in this league.

[QUOTE=dieselhog] How have they managed to create so much cap room? I know Sapp's contract is big $ but officially he is still under contract and the space needs to be there BEFORE new players are brought in, or at least so I thought.[/QUOTE]


I'm pretty sure Sapp is an unrestricted free agent and doesn't count anything against the cap and they will be freeing up more room when Lynch is offically cut in the next day or 2.

[QUOTE=EEich]Really? Do you think it's likely we'd find somebody in the 5th round that has McCants' ability? I don't. Sure, once in a while you'll find a diamond in the rough that can contribute in year one... but you don't expect to find a goal-line weapon like Darnerian. [/QUOTE]

we drafted mccants in the 5th round if memory serves me right but I agree with keeping him because, while I don't see him being a #1 quality reciever anytime in his career, he has the chance to be a very solid #2 or 3 WR.

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]we drafted mccants in the 5th round if memory serves me right but I agree with keeping him because, while I don't see him being a #1 quality reciever anytime in his career, he has the chance to be a very solid #2 or 3 WR.[/QUOTE]
I know that. My point was that you can't go into the fifth round expecting to find a stud. It's hit or miss. Darnerian was a rare hit.

I think that with this coaching staff, there will be more hits than misses in the later rounds than we're used to.

I hope so. Our late rounds haven't been very successful over the past few years:

Here are our late round selections since 2000... not one starter:
2003
(7) QB Gibrad Hamdan

2002
(5) DB Andre Lott
(5) TE Robert Royal
(6) OT Reggie Coleman
(7) LS Jeff Grau
(7) DE Greg Scott
(7) FB Rock Cartwright

2001
(5) WR Darnerian McCants
(6) DT Mario Monds

2000
(5) S Quincy Sanders
(6) QB Todd Husak
(7) DT Delbert Cowsette
(7) WR Ethan Howell

I still can't believe we got such a stud of a player like the Rock in the 7TH!! round.

[QUOTE=cpayne5]I think that with this coaching staff, there will be more hits than misses in the later rounds than we're used to.[/QUOTE]

Cpayne, that's pretty much what I've been saying for a while now. A lot of getting late round picks to perform well and be successful is quality coaching. Are the Patriots that much better at scouting than other teams? No, but they do have better coaching than many teams. This new veteran coaching staff headed by Gibbs has the ability to identify hidden potential and bring it out.

Would be a shame to lose PJ. He's been a solid backup WR for the Skins.

Hopefully we'll keep PJ on the team through 04.

I like Johnson, but if he's getting a starting roll we should let him go.

Johnson would have a better opportunity in TB... they badly need a respectable deep threat.

I think I missed the memo. When did Patrick Johnson become any kind of "respectable" deep threat for any team? Patrick Johnson is no good. He's never had any more than 29 catches and that was an abberation. His next highest total? 15! He's had 10 TDs in a 6 year NFL career. He had all of 15 catches for 170 and an average of 11.3 ypc last season. If he's going to start Tampa Bay's in more trouble than I thought.

Um, what exactly is the source of this "report"?

I got the stats from ESPN.com.

Tampa should only draft/sign people with the last name Johnson from now on.

I meant the original report that the bucs were after PJ, JDlea. Your stats sound right on to me. Not sure why anyone would really covet PJ, but you never know I guess. Maybe he'll replace Sapp on the d-line...

is this report right beside the warren sapp to dallas report written by mr nerd himself,
john claton?

Clayton is a nerd, but I think he's one of the better columnists on ESPN.