REAR ENTRIES: Only Barely Bucs-Related

June 25, 2009 at 09:28am by Scott   •  1 Comment »

ABRAHAM COACHING AT GIBBS: Donnie Abraham, currently second on the Buccaneers’ list of all-time interceptions has been hired by Gibbs High to be their new football coach. Before that he was an assistant coach at East Lake, one of my high school’s old rivals. When did former NFL stars start becoming assistant coaches at high schools? Our school’s football coach was the driver’s ed teacher. Oh, wait, maybe that’s why we lost all the time.

ALEX SMITH ADJUSTING: Gee, who would have thought that Alex Smith would have an easy time adjusting to being part of a team that does nothing but win?

Because of the trade, Smith moved on from one of the more unstable teams in the league to a Patriots organization that has been among the most consistent in the NFL since Bill Belichick took over as head coach in 2000.

I was kind of mad when I first read that. UNSTABLE?! WHO ARE YOU CALLING UNSTABLE?! But, yeah, it’s true. In fact, in terms of stability, I’d say the only team that’s worse off than Tampa Bay is Denver. Still, the article spends a little too much time dogging the Bucs. So, you know, screw the author for that. The nice thing is that Smith gives Jon Gruden a lot of credit for preparing him to play in an offense like New England’s.

“It’s different, but at the same time, there’s a lot of similarities as well,” Smith said. “Gruden had that very complex offense as well, with lots of formations, lots of personnel groupings. You see a lot of similarities here. There’s a lot of volume here. I thought Gruden had a lot, but it’s definitely a lot of plays, a lot of switching in and out. But fortunately, I’m able to come with a bit of a background with Gruden.”

Someone has a more complicated playbook than Gruden? Holy shit, they must be the worst team ever.

WINSLOW HELPING OUT MCCOWN: Luke McCown and his brothers put on an annual passing camp in their home town area of east Texas. It’s not a free thing, but knowing the McCowns, no one is making money on this deal and the fees just cover the costs. Anyway, the guy I love to hate is continuing to make it tough on me to do so. This time, Kellen Winslow, a guy with absolutely no ties to these small Texas towns, is taking time out of his vacation to help out Luke. And this is only a week after he had his own camp at One Buc. Jeez, this grudge I hold is just getting pathetic.

Next week: On his way home from building a children’s burn ward with his bare hands, Winslow rescues a basket of puppies and pledges a game check to the local Humane Society.