Rookie Minicamp

May 13, 2013 at 01:35am by Scott   •  7 Comments »

The Bucs held a rookie minicamp sometime in the last month or so. I’m pretty sure it was last week, but the Bucs’ draft was full of relatively anonymous players and I’ve been busy. What, you don’t have a calendar? Pirelli makes more than just tires, you know. Here’s the condensed version of what happened at the camp:

Johnthan Banks: Was on a separate field from the media and no one could tell what he was doing most of the time. Lined up at right CB on Day 2.
Mike Glennon: Big arm, very smart, sporadically accurate, started camp fumbling snaps from center.
Akeem Spence: Strong and fast, needs help with footwork.
William Gholston: Practices hard, has nasty streak, hot and cold practice but a lot of raw potential, played at DT and DE.
Steven Means: Easily overpowered, had relatively poor practice, hard worker.
Mike James: Out of view.

There were a ton of tryout players an undrafted free agents on the field for the minicamp, too. The Bucs wound up signing four. In alphabetical order:

WR Jheranie Boyd (North Carolina): Physically gifted, injury history
OT Jace Daniels (Northern Michigan): Another project tackle, strong.
WR Chris Denton (Mount Union): Projected return man, productive in DIII.
DE Ka’llal Glaud (Rutgers): Went to Rutgers, also plays LB, went to Rutgers.

To make room for the new guys, the team cut three players you didn’t know existed and George Selvie, who seems to have a soft spot in Bucs’ fans hearts since he went to USF.

Round 3: Mike Glennon

April 30, 2013 at 12:50am by Scott   •  10 Comments »

With their third round pick, the Bucs took quarterback Mike Glennon out of NC State. I knew Mike from his season opener against Tennessee in 2012 (which the Volunteers won, by the way (although they didn’t win many more after that)) and thought he had a great arm but poor accuracy and limited pocket presence. He’s a good leader and is clean off the field, but I honestly didn’t think this was a good value for this pick for what he brings to the table. I’ve heard the comparisons to Joe Flacco and I guess I see the height and arm strength (Flacco still has the better arm) similarities, but Flacco was always more accurate. Glennon reminds me more of Derek Anderson, which makes him a solid backup, but no threat to Josh Freeman.

John Jenkins (Georgia) was still on the board and could have been a good NT to replace Roy Miller. Dallas Thomas (Tennessee) was also available and would have provided solid competition at RT. If the Bucs wanted to improve on Dan Orlovsky, Glennon may eventually be that guy. But I wouldn’t trust a game to him in 2013.

As long as I’m talking about quarterbacks, let me answer the “Why didn’t Tyler Bray get drafted?” question. It definitely surprised me. I thought he had a fifth-round value but that some team would overdraft him because teams overdraft quarterbacks every year. Not this year. They saw that the crop of quarterbacks was subpar and they stuck to their boards. Good for them, but tough for the kid who declared for the draft knowing that teams always pay a premium for a big arm. But Bray is a known jackass. Nothing terrible — mostly college prank stuff — but he doesn’t handle adversity on the field well, either, and that’s the dealbreaker. So the guy who probably had the best arm in the draft went unselected and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Chiefs. He should have stayed in school. Everyone knew it, except apparently him and his agent.

A Slightly Better Backup?

April 16, 2013 at 11:37am by Scott   •  3 Comments »

So, it’s been a few days… where to start? Oh, I know.

According to a report by Mike Florio in Profootballtalk.com, the trade talks between the Jets and Tampa Bay for cornerback Darrelle Revis have included the possibility of the Bucs assuming Mark Sanchez and his contract.

You might think I’m about to rag on Sanchez and say the Bucs shouldn’t take him. And you’d be half right because Sanchez is awful. Not an awful person since I don’t know him (although I’ve heard he’s a douche when you meet him) but an awful quarterback. But if the Bucs can restructure Sanchez’s contract so it’s more in line with what a likely backup makes and doesn’t include $8.25-million guaranteed, then he’s a better option than any of the other backups that are out there and would actually provide a perceived threat for Josh Freeman. Not an actual threat, of course, since Freeman is ten times better than Sanchez, but for some reason people keep thinking that Sanchez is good. Freeman knows Dan Orlovsky isn’t going to unseat him, but maybe Sanchez gets his attention a little more.

This is all assuming that including Sanchez as part of the Revis trade is to make it more equitable for the Bucs. If the Bucs are considering giving ANYTHING additional up for Sanchez, they should walk away now. They probably should anyway.

In other New York news, Da’Quan Bowers pled guilty to a minor charge of disorderly conduct and all the gun charges were dropped. Let this be a reminder to all of you to check your luggage for guns before you start packing for a trip. I suggest just jamming your hand into your bags blindly an feeling around for them.

The Bucs added a chicken nugget of camp meat in Eric Page, an undrafted free agent from 2012 who spend that year at home injured after receiving a settlement from the Broncos.

Did you know Eric Wright has a web site? In this blog entry, he explains the process of his restructure, his injury and conveys his gratitude several times to everyone involved. He’s saying all the right things. As long as he doesn’t take any of the wrong meds, I’m cool with it.

Now Who Will Wear The Baseball Cap?

April 05, 2013 at 01:28am by Scott   •  12 Comments »

The Bucs released backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky today, leaving the team in about the same quarterback situation they were in yesterday. Orlovsky left the team’s headquarters and headed to his car, but walked a few steps outside the back of the parking lot, just for old time’s sake.

Orlovsky signed a two-year contract entering last season but the Bucs have been trying to upgrade their backup quarterback spot for several weeks. That included their efforts last week to acquire Carson Palmer, who liked the Tampa Bay as a destination but had serious doubts about his ability to beat out Freeman. Palmer ultimately was traded to the Cardinals for a seventh-round pick.

Palmer would have been a good addition and if the goal was to get competition for Josh Freeman, it would have been a decent fit. I don’t think Palmer could beat out Freeman, but he would have pushed him. Now the free agency quarterback class is really picked clean. You basically have Brady Quinn and Matt Leinart who are worth anything. Or if they just need a placeholder, Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich (again) are both available, but I don’t see either of them as an upgrade over Orlovsky. It would be really cool if I thought the Bucs had a plan in place before they cut Orlovsky. But the only other option besides the has-beens and failures I just listed would be someone like Jordan Palmer, who is awful, or spending a mid-round draft pick on a quarterback, who will definitely not push Freeman. Again, a Russell Wilson won’t happen every year. Especially not in this draft class. Or they could trade a draft pick for a backup veteran quarterback, which would be a terrible use of a draft pick. Can anyone help me understand this?

Oh, and the Bucs released D.J. Ware, probably because he didn’t go to Rutgers.

No News Is No News

March 26, 2013 at 01:20am by Scott   •  3 Comments »

The only Bucs news happening right now is non-news and it involves cornerbacks not doing anything. Eric Wright is on the trading block but it’s silly to think any team will give up anything more than a free buffet coupon for him since there are still a ton of decent corners on the market already and Wright is one Pepsi Max away from a year-long suspension. Also, Ronde Barber told NFL Network today that he doesn’t know if he’s coming back and he has as long as he wants to think it over. Oh, and Darrelle Revis may not even be available for a trade since the Jets have no idea what they want for him. Wasn’t free agency supposed to be more fun than this?

(If that free buffet coupon is from Shoney’s, though, it might be worth it. Good french toast.)

Dashon Goldson Is A Buccaneer

March 14, 2013 at 01:27am by Scott   •  8 Comments »

The Bucs announced today that they signed their first free agent this season, safety Dashon Goldson, formerly of the 49ers. Did you know they picked him up in their private plane and flew him to Tampa? I did, because it was covered so much that you’d think the story was about the plane ride and not his $41-million contract. How many hookers did they have on that plane to make it so important?

“I was encouraged that we recruited him hard enough to get him on the first flight,” general manager Mark Dominik said of the charter Goldson took to Tampa on Tuesday. “There were times I was nervous and wondering if we were able to make this come together.”

Kudos to Rick Stroud for foregoing the “Struck Gold” pun.

It’s a great signing, but it leaves Ronde Barber in the position of “go corner or go home”. The Bucs would probably welcome him back as the nickel corner since he’s still good at it and the next best corners they have under contract are Leonard Johnson and Danny Gorrer. Seriously. E.J. Biggers is an unrestricted free agent, as is Brandon McDonald. Eric Wright has no future with the team and Myron Lewis is doing exactly what we expected a Vanderbilt player to do in the NFL. So the name of the game tomorrow is, “How do we make Ronde happy?” Remember, an airplane full of hookers is never the wrong answer.

“We’re going to wait and see how Ronde feels,” Schiano said. “I’m going to let Ronde make his decision and celebrate Dashon’s signing and everything that goes with it.”

He’s playing it cool, but Schiano needs Ronde more than Ronde needs the Bucs. They’ll have to use a high draft pick and hit free agency to get the corner situation taken care of. Dunta Robinson already signed with the Chiefs, but there are still some interesting options out there. Was Nnamdi Asomugha overrated in Oakland or just a bad fit in Philadelphia? He could be had for a pretty reasonable price, I think. Derek Cox from the Jaguars just signed with San Diego, so he’s out of the mix. I thought he was a good young prospect. I thought Brent Grimes would be re-signed by Atlanta after they let Robinson go, but he’s still out there. DeAngelo Hall is still only 29 and not nearly the douchebag he was when he was with the Falcons. One of those guys plus a first (unlikely) or second (more likely) rounder will keep the Bucs from depending on guys who simply aren’t ready to start yet.

Schiano Eases Up

February 27, 2013 at 12:13am by Scott   •  5 Comments »

Greg Schiano explained at the combine that he is going to loosen up some of the rules that he had been enforcing last year, turning the dial down from “dictator” to just “dick”. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a dick. We saw what happened when the Bucs had a buddy as their coach.

“We had one big thing we had to do. We had to establish a culture in the building,’’ Schiano said. “Sometimes, you have to go overboard one way or another to get that culture established. But I think at this point, our football team understands who I am and how our football program is going to be run. I think that happened as the season went on.’’

I like the fact that he knows he was going overboard and that it was for a purpose, and now he knows when it’s time to stop. He needed to weed out the Kellen Winslows of the team who wouldn’t buy into a more disciplined philosophy. And now Schiano is relaxing stuff and Winslow is unemployed.

“Oh, just some mandatory things I don’t think grown men need,’’ Schiano said. “Take mandatory meals. If a guy is meeting his weight — we have goal weights a guy has to meet each week — if a guy is meeting his weight, I don’t think they need any of our staff making sure they check in for breakfast and for lunch. They’re grown men, they’re professional athletes. But again, we had to establish a culture of accountability. But now they understand. And if your weight isn’t where it’s supposed to be, you will get checked in.’’

I spent a few minutes trying to think of a way to make fun of this, but it all sounds very reasonable. If he doesn’t give me some material soon, I’m going to have to start in on the gap in his teeth, and that’s just childish.

Oh You Jackass

February 18, 2013 at 11:52pm by Scott   •  4 Comments »

Because falling from the first round in his draft because of his knee and then missing the first six games of last season because of his Achille’s wasn’t challenging enough, Da’Quan Bowers thought he’d make his NFL career a little more interesting by carrying a loaded gun into a New York airport.

Bowers had a loaded .40 caliber firearm in his carry-on bag as he was attempting to get on a US Airways flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The story is that Bowers forgot he had the gun in his bag and then, once he remembered it, told TSA workers and made them aware of the situation. Which is what he should have done in that situation. But what would have been better is not being so cavalier with his guns that he forgets he has one is his carry-on bag. My question is, where did he confess? Had he already passed through security and been cleared? Here’s how it’s worded in the original article:

He was about to board a US Airways flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.

That makes it sound like he was at the gate, right? So let’s all take a moment to thank a TSA worker for pulling 88-year old women aside in order to inspect their colostomy bags while not noticing a loaded handgun in a bag. And I’m not a fan of profiling, but if you hold up a headshot of the old lady and a headshot of Bowers and ask 100 people, “Who is more likely to hijack an airplane with a handgun?” I’ll say 101 will say Bowers because the guy asking the questions will say, “I know, right?” after every person gives the obvious answer.

Oh, and congratulations to Bowers for picking New York to pull this stunt right after they signed new gun laws into effect, one of which is a magazine limit of seven rounds. Bowers’s weapon was reported as a .40 caliber handgun. The Glock 22, a popular .40 caliber handgun, has a standard magazine capacity of 15 rounds. He should have flown out of Dallas where they issue guns to you like headphones and peanuts.

Mark Dominik had no comment about this situation, but DL line depth is pretty shitty, so I’m going to say this isn’t going to affect Bowers’s status on the team. Maybe there will be a fine or something, but certainly nothing more than a suspension. And that’s how it should be. He actually surrendered the gun when he figured it out, which is a whole lot different than trying to sneak it past everyone. It was dumb — really fucking dumb — but not malicious. And completely different than Plaxico Burress‘s thing where he shot himself in the leg while carrying a loaded handgun into a night club and, you know, SECURED IT IN THE WAISTBAND OF HIS SWEATPANTS. If Bowers gets the same two years in prison that Burress got, then the justice system in New York obviously isn’t the well-oiled machine I remember from The Warriors.

Freeman Are You Okay? Are You Okay? Are You Okay Freeman?

February 06, 2013 at 09:35am by Scott   •  7 Comments »

Guess who has a lot of free time on his hands.

In the upcoming ESPN The Magazine music issue, the 25-year-old Josh Freeman is transformed into Michael Jackson, posing for duplicates of the Thriller and Off the Wall album covers.

So we’re all okay with the kid touching, then? Enough time has passed that we can dress up like a dude who got children drunk on jesus juice and then slept with them? I’m just checking here because I’ve been wanting to dress as Roman Polanski for Halloween for years.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Michael Jackson,” Freeman said. “He’s an icon. The way that he took so many different styles of music and dance. He almost created his own genre.”

Just so we’re clear, I’m willing to listen to Jackson’s albums and watch Polanski’s movies, but dressing up as the guy who
gave kids cocaine and had this painting of himself commissioned as a fuck you to devastated parents everywhere is over the line. But hey, don’t let me ruin your fun.

“It all started with the hair,” Freeman said in the video. “You know, you’ve got to get the hair right. I’m getting there.”

You’re right, Josh, it all starts with the hair. Then why are you still playing your games in a mohawk?!?

Freeman also dons an Afro wig and poses in a black tuxedo to duplicate the Off the Wall album, which was released in 1979.

He shouldn’t have had to wear the wig. He should have had fro to spare.

“My favorite Michael Jackson song is Black or White,” Freeman said of the Jackson hit off of the Dangerous album in 1991. “Because I am black and white. My father is black, African American, and my mom is Caucasian. So it’s a nice split right down the middle.”

“Black or White” is the last decent song Jackson did, and most of that is because Slash did the riff. And please don’t say “split right down the middle” in a sentence referencing Michael Jackson.

You can see a slideshow of the shoot here and see the promo video below. They really got Freeman to look a lot like Jackson, so hats off to the studio. Next year, I want to see Ronde Barber‘s homage to Grace Jones‘s “Slave to the Rhythm” album.

D-Line Stars Haven’t Played Together

January 29, 2013 at 12:40am by Scott   •  5 Comments »

At first I thought this fun fact was an interesting tidbit that maybe shed some light on why the pass rush just wasn’t getting there.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik has a dream. In it, he sees defensive linemen Michael Bennett, Gerald McCoy, DaQuan Bowers and Adrian Clayborn all getting after the passer on the same third down.

“We never had those four players playing together at the same time – ever,” he said. “And whether that’s us being snakebit or whatever, it’s still an important thing that just didn’t happen.”

But that’s three defensive ends, right? Bennett swings to tackle sometimes, but it seems like you’d want a bigger guy on the field (you know, like a nose tackle) when McCoy is playing his standard 3-technique. I guess offensive alignments might dictate that you’d want four lean, fast guys on the field some time, but that would be a rare thing. Now if all four of those guys have never been healthy at the same time, that’s a different complaint. But Dominik’s take almost seems like saying that they’ve never had Doug Martin and LeGarrette Blount on the field at the same time. Which I’d actually like to see once. I know Erik Lorig is a good fullback, but one time I’d like to see Blount grating the road for Martin. There would be pieces of linebacker marking the path for Martin to follow.