Edwards: Bennett will be good for Bucs

I talked to Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, who believes Michael Bennett will be a good addition to the Bucs.

   It's hard to disagree. Bennett (pictured at the Oct. 17 Bucs practice) is a speed demon who can give the Bucs a game-breaker at running back, something they lost when Cadillac Williams went down with a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his right knee.

   ""He'll fit in good with those guys,'' Edwards said of Bennett. ""He can really run. If he hits a crack, he's a home run hitter. He can make a big play. He catches the ball better than some people think he can. They're getting a good team guy, a no-nonsense guy. He'll be on time for meetings and do everything you ask him to do.''

   So why didn't the Chiefs hang onto him? Well, for one thing, this is his last season under contract. Edwards is trying to rebuild the Chiefs and wants the extra two draft picks, one each in 2008 and 2009.

   ""He probably wanted to play a little more and that's always tough for us with Larry (Johnson),'' Edwards said. ""Plus, he was in the last year of his contract. At the end of the year, he would be looking for a better place. Maybe we can get a pick to help us continue to build. And we've got Priest Holmes coming back, so it all just came to fruition.''

Photo by Brendan Fitterer | Times

 

Comments

[Doofus]

Bennett may be a burner and I hope he really works out, but I’m not a big fan of giving up two draft picks. That’s just me; I would rather build through the draft. When a guy goes down use the backup and hope for the best. Graham may only have had 30 yards, but to his credit Tennessee has one of the better run defenses in the league. I would like to know what the conditions for the picks are. Since a pick possible picks are now gone I’ll be pulling for him to resurrect his career with Tampa.

[Tom]

I agree Doofus. It all depends on what the stipulations are on the deal. We have gotten a lot of good players late in the draft. Tanard Jackson, which I think is playing just as well if not better than LaRon Landry, was a 4th round. Greg Peterson was a nice pickup late last year. Quincy Black has been playing great on special teams. Ellis Wyms was a 7th rounder I believe.

Tennessee's defense was very good. Their front seven may be one of the best in the NFL. We were a little conservative in the 4th quarter. But it wasn't like we ran three times in a row like in the Dungy days.

But Gruden has an uncanny ability to ressurect football careers. If the guy can catch, he is going to work well in the offense. We'll see what happens. I have confidence in our coaching staff.

[al]

The one thing I have noticed is that Bennett is a former first round pick. We seem to have a lot of those on our team. I hope everyone of them, new and old, plays to their expectations. I believe Bennett was a very good pickup for us, he has great speed and can catch. I only hope he is happy with the trade and wants to stay on next year. I am sure it will be a couple of weeks before we see some action from him, but I am anxious to see if he will be returning kicks also. I hope he realizes he is walking into one of the best situations he could be in right now. And by that I mean a possible starter for at least the rest of this season and possibly some, if not all, of next.

[Adam]

Of course he'll be good for the Bucs... he's fast and he'll be running for his life. It's like peanut butter and jelly!

[Cole]

I'm glad to see the Bucs-haters have all left the building. It was amazing to read some of the posts that Bucs "fans" posted over the last 2 weeks. This is an exciting trade to get an explosive threat on offense. 2 conditional draft picks is a lot, but we are trying to win this year. Gruden knows he will really be on the hot seat if he has another losing season. We should have a young enough players that losing those draft picks won't hurt too much, but those young guys DO need to step up, like Al said previously. But I like the move and I think he fits well in our West Coast style of play.

[JA]

Hey Cole, Just because Bucs fans don't agree with every decision the coaching staff makes, doesn't make anyone less of a fan. Gruden has a lot to prove and so do the young players, its the "show me the money" attitude that is wrong with football, lets see the play action boys!!!

[Bob]

What about Lars Tate? All we need to Lars Tate back on the roster.