Butch Davis: Barron drafted because of Graham

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It hasn’t exactly worked; the Saints are 4-0 against the Bucs since Barron arrived.

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Hah.

I like how we're good now.

yeah way to completely shoot yourself in the foot

this article is very intriguing and shows the NFL did it's homework with this case.

I never even thought of that angle…but this is pretty damning:

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted safety Mark Barron specifically to help them defend New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, according to testimony from former Buccaneers assistant coach Butch Davis.

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Davis admitted that the Buccaneers didn’t draft a cornerback to cover Graham and that they would never have drafted a safety to cover Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson.

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and that they would never have drafted a safety to cover Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson.

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Seems like Graham's lawyer could've turned this around by referencing the Saints drafting Vacarro and signing Byrd. We didn't do that to cover TEs.

Turned it around how? This was about a safety being drafted to cover a tight end, and that same team not drafting a corner to do so. And that same team also wouldn't draft a safety to cover a wide receiver.

So if they wouldn't draft a safety to cover a wide receiver, then they saw Graham as a tight end.

Us drafting or signing safeties has no effect on how other teams cover Graham. Not sure where you're going with that.

It was also stated that other teams use linebackers and safeties to cover Graham even when he is in the slot or out wide, rarely using a corner to do so. The Pats were the only team to exclusively use a corner on him and that corner had the size of a typical safety.

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I see you've edited but that still doesn't make sense as it relates to Graham. What argument is to be made?

We didn't draft Vaccaro to cover wide receivers(not exclusively or even half the time). Byrd isn't going to be playing much man. That has zero impact on the Graham situation.

If anything I believe Vaccaro played man against TEs and HBs more than against slot receivers.

I know Vaccaro was used a lot against Tony G. That actually plays in to what the Bucs did with Barron and Graham which would again help the NFL's case.

Not seeing how that helps Graham at all.

Butch Davis says

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drafted safety Mark Barron specifically to help them defend New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham

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Saying he's must not be a WR because you wouldn't draft a S to help defend a WR isn't necessarily correct.

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Us drafting or signing safeties has no effect on how other teams cover Graham. Not sure where you're going with that.

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It shows teams bring in safeties to stop WRs as well as TEs.

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It shows teams bring in safeties to stop WRs as well as TEs.

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Still not relevant unless you can show me one safety who spends even half his time in man coverage on a WR. Just because a safety covers a WR occasionally doesn't mean that that's why they brought him in. It's only a small part of the job, not the meat in other words.

That's like saying we brought Strief in to be a TE when we still had Stinchcomb. Just because he played that role occasionally doesn't mean that's what we brought him in to do.

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Saying he's must not be a WR because you wouldn't draft a S to help defend a WR isn't necessarily correct.

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Not straight forward 100%, but Davis said they drafted Barron to cover Graham, compared Graham to tall receivers like Calvin Johnson, and then said they wouldn't draft a safety to cover Johnson.

Teams draft tall corners to defend tall receivers, not safeties. Teams draft safeties and LBs to defend TEs and backs. That's why even when split out Graham still mostly drew LBs and safeties in coverage.