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March 31, 2008

Bucs Do Not Receive Compensatory Picks

A lot of compensatory picks were handed out, but none to the Bucs. And actually, the picks handed out in the third and fourth rounds will push the Bucs back in the fourth and fifth rounds by a total of nine picks. What would suck is if Bruce Allen legitimately thought that someone he wanted in the fifth round wouldn't be available by his slot and he didn't have a seventh rounder to throw at some team to move up a couple notches because he pissed it away on the Jake Plummer gamble. But what are the odds of that happening?

(the answer is about 2:1).

Posted by Scott at 4:02 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: bruce allen, draft talk

Someone Bought Michael Husted

Every few months, some paper somewhere will cover Michael Husted's company, iPlayers.net. I first wrote about it a couple years ago but kind of ignored it after that because nothing new was being reported. Now it looks like things have really gone well for him.

After several years of running the business from his garage, iPlayers was recently bought by The Active Network, which has more than 400 employees headquartered in a gleaming office tower in Sorrento Valley. The Active Network chose iPlayers over the many competitors because it was easy to use and navigate for players and coaches, said Tina Wilmott, a company spokeswoman.

In case you don't know, iPlayer.net is a site where athletes can post videos of themselves showing off their skills. Coaches and whoever can then go to the site instead of having to sort through a bunch of video tapes or DVDs if they want to see a particular person. For this, the athlete pays $260 per year. Of course, posting to YouTube is free, but for your money you get significantly better video quality than YouTube and some other service that breaks down footage. And for all his hard work, Husted got paid for his company and a job with The Active Network. But more importantly, he got five minutes alone in the supply closet.

"I have a stapler," he said. "I don't think I'll ever use one, but I had to have one."

Everyone remember how much Husted liked that stapler when they find The Active Net headquarters burned to the ground in a couple years.

Posted by Scott at 8:33 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, michael husted

March 30, 2008

Throwing Crackpipes Is Bad For Your Nervous System

If I asked you to name which former Buccaneer linebacker was arrested and tasered yesterday for throwing a crackpipe at a police officer, how many guesses would you need? Here's a hint: He was arrested last month on other drug-related charges, leading several Buccaneer fans to exclaim, "I thought he was dead already."

Of course it's Keith McCants.

According to police, McCants was loitering in a business parking lot on Highway 45 Friday night, along with two women who were attempting to flag down motorists.

When officers confronted McCants, he became hostile and refused to drop a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a crack pipe. Police say he threw the items, almost hitting an officer in the head. McCants was tasered, arrested and booked into Prichard City Jail and charged with loitering, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.

I really, really want to know what the pliers were for.

Anyway, McCants's former coach is doing something a little more constructive with his time.

Former NFL football coach Sam Wyche has joined the race for the District 3 seat on the Pickens County Council against Council Vice Chairman Ben Trotter.

I really respect people who run in local elections because they generally have a genuine desire to make life better in their communities. It's only later on when they go crooked and start stealing cash from the public coffers that I lose that respect. But for that first month or two, they've got my full support.

Posted by Scott at 2:09 PM | Comments (3)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, hello officer, keith mccants, sam wyche

March 28, 2008

Bucs: We Need Room For More Quarterbacks

Jesus H. Christ on a Segway, doesn't anything interesting happen on Fridays anymore?

The Buccaneers are floating the proposal that offseason roster limits should be increased to 90 players. When the NFL Europe exemptions were in effect, they could have that many on the roster and not violate any rules. Now that the spring league is gone (and what ever will we do without it?) there are no more exemptions and the number is a hard 80.

Some cheap-ass owners think 80 is plenty and don't want the limit increased. But sometimes football players get, you know, injured. Not bad enough to put them on injured reserve or release them with an injury settlement, but still enough to keep them out for a few days. It's nice to have the next guy already in place to take the reps and keep camp moving along at a good pace. Besides, this is a maximum we're talking about, not a mandatory minimum. Those owners don't have to sign that many players if they don't want to, but they should let the teams that want as many bodies in camp as possible to do it. The fact that it's the Bucs that are asking for the increase should assuage the notion floated by some crazies across the pond that the Glazers are cheap when it comes to their sporting teams. But of course it won't. Crazies don't listen to reason. That's why they're crazy.

So there you have it. Two posts about rules today. Fun, huh? So, I'll do what I always do and post a cheerleader pic as a crutch. It's getting harder and harder to find Buccaneer cheerleader pics that I like that I haven't used already. I may have to switch to just straight-up hot chicks that have nothing to do with football if I can't find any pretty soon, and... wait, why is that a bad thing, again? Well, I suppose a Buccaneer site should have some kind of tie-in with the team. If you have any Bucs cheerleader pics that you'd like to share, send them over and I'll post them on a slow day. Or a lonely day. Or a day when I'm wearing extra loose shorts. It's all good.

Posted by Scott at 1:02 PM | Comments (8)
Tags for this article: cheerleaders, malcolm glazer

Rule Changes That Are Meaningful, Still Boring

A couple good rules, or more precisely rule repeals, will be considered at the NFL owners meeting that takes place next week. Along with all the boring shit about tampering and waiting periods will be things that actually affect the game. They may seem minor, but when your team has third and three on the opponent's 25 with 40 seconds to go and this kind of bullshit stops the clock, they are the most important things in the world.

First is the elimination of the five yard facemask penalty. I never understood why this was ever a penalty at all. It's even called "incidental", implying that it just happened during the natural course of the play and was unintentional. The 15 yard version which qualifies as a personal foul would still remain, which is fine. To get that one you have to grab and pull or twist (ooh, I'm getting excited) the facemask and you could paralyze a guy doing stuff like that. But if this passes, no penalty if a player's fingers happen to get caught up in a guy's grill.

The second one is the almost-elimination of the force-out rule. If this passes, a player could catch the ball in the air and be pushed out of bounds before his feet hit the ground and be ruled incomplete. The same thing happens now anyway, but it always leads to a five minute official conference to determine if the player would have come down in bounds if he hadn't been pushed and it's just a mess. There's supposed to be some weird condition that exists where a player could still be ruled forced out if he is pulled out of bounds (I guess by a player that's already out of bounds?) but I don't understand it and won't worry about it right now.

Both of these proposals take a little more of the game out of the officials' hands and give it back to the players, and that's almost always a good thing. Other rule changes being considered are defensive players putting radios in their helmets, coin toss options, instant replay on field goal att... zzzzzzz.

French toast, please.

Posted by Scott at 9:41 AM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2008

Earnest Graham Is Bowling For Children

Earnest Graham is holding a bowling tournament to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida. For $300, you and three friends/ringers can bowl against Graham, Mike Alstott, Michael Clayton, Dexter Jackson (really?) and Cadillac Williams among others. Here's a hint: Don't let Cadillac on your team. His knee is all fucked up.

If you really want to help the kids out and have some blackmail money just burning a hole in your pocket, you can be a sponsor of the event and get hang out with the players even longer.

Some of the incentives for sponsors include tickets to Tampa Bay Buccaneers games, exclusive dinner with Earnest Graham and friends following the game, corporate parties at Gator Lanes, and various promotional and advertising before and during the event.

Go to hereforthekids.org to register. Seriously, how much would you and three of your buddies spend for a night of bowling anyway? Lane fees are out of control these days. This way, your money goes to help kids and you get to meet some Bucs players at the same time. So if you live in Naples, make a night of it and do it. And don't let the name "Gator Lanes" scare you away; it's just a name. But, if by some weird chance Tim Tebow does show up, do me a solid and drop a bowling ball on his foot.

Posted by Scott at 1:06 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: cadillac williams, dexter jackson, earnest graham, mike alstott, nice guys, tim tebow

We Don't Want Him, You Can Have Him, He's Too Fat For Us

My bewilderment that the Steelers of all teams would offer Anthony McFarland a contract was apparently shared by others. Namely, the Steelers.

On Tuesday night, it appeared that the Steelers were ready to sign the free-agent defensive lineman. But after working him out Wednesday morning, they apparently withdrew their offer.

I wonder how many times the phrase, "Oh, that Anthony McFarland" was said in Steeler headquarters yesterday. Bruce Allen is still wanted for robbery in Indianapolis after getting a second rounder for him.

Posted by Scott at 9:48 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: anthony macfarland, bruce allen, buccaneer history, steelers

18 Months = Not Enough Time Off For Simms

Chris Simms has spent the last 19 months of his life throwing seven interceptions in his last three games, rupturing his spleen and then taking the next 18 months off. During this time, the Buccaneers brought Jeff Garcia in from free agency and traded for Jake Plummer and Brian Griese, all while paying Simms $7.1 million. You might think that all of these factors would make Simms eager for the offseason training and conditioning activities to start and motivate him to put his best foot forward to show the team that he is back to 100% health and can be the quarterback that he had always claimed he had the potential to be.

But you would be wrong (dumb ass...)

Simms has decided to skip the quarterback orientation and the first offseason workouts. To be fair, they are voluntary. But, I dunno, after collection over $7 million from a team for really doing nothing, I'd think he'd feel he kind of owes it to them to show up to whatever the team is doing now that he's healthy. But I would be wrong (dumb ass...)

Simms said he has split time between working out on his own in Tampa and traveling to New Jersey, where he has thrown with friends and his father, former Giants Super Bowl quarterback Phil Simms.

So that's his workout. Throwing the football in the back yard with his dad. I'm guessing he's playing vigorous games of freeze tag to build up his fast-twitch muscles, too. Jesus Christ, are you kidding me?

"I just think... it's in my best interest to continue my own workouts and to just wait and see what happens with the team," Simms said. "I don't really know what's going to happen. As far as the Bucs and the quarterback position goes, it's always an adventure."

He's been with Jon Gruden for five years now. Is Simms just figuring out that he's weird about quarterbacks? Gruden signed Akili Smith a couple years ago, for fuck's sake. Of course it's an adventure. But how is it in his best interest to not show up? This sounds like a tactic his agent put in his head to force some kind of issue, but Simms has no leverage. Zero. If he wanted to, he could compete with Griese for the backup spot. Gruden picked Simms over Griese a couple years ago to start, so it's not like it's such a remote possibility.

The Bucs are going to dump at least one quarterback sooner rather than later, most likely in a trade. I had just hoped that Simms would fight for the chance to be one of the ones that sticks around. At the very least, he should act like he's still a Buccaneer until he's not. He's not proving anything except that he isn't exactly the lovable lefty everyone thinks he is and he can, in fact, be a crybaby douche when he wants to be. Yes, part of this is personal. I've been in Simms's corner from day one. Even when I was sure he would get cut last summer, I was sad about it. I really thought "Simms to Clayton" was going to be the next "Montana to Rice", with Cadillac Williams providing that constant running threat. Was that really only three years ago?

The article mentions Green Bay and Minnesota as teams that are looking for a quarterback, but I think he winds up in Miami. Bill Parcells has known Simms through his dad his whole life and I'm sure has some kind of affection for him. I'm not sure what kind of offense Tony Sparano is installing, but it's got to be more complimentary to Simms's skills than the West Coast Offense. They invested a second round pick in John Beck last year, but no one seems to be giving him a chance to land as the starter -- I'm not sure why. Whatever the reason, it gives a veteran quarterback an opportunity to push him aside. I think that veteran will be Simms.

One other note about the article...

Coincidentally, it was Simms' performance in 2005 that prompted Griese's departure from Tampa Bay.

I know I've said some nasty things about Rick Stroud in the past, but let me give some credit where credit is due. Nine out of ten writers these days would have incorrectly used the word "ironically" to lead that sentence. Stroud got it right. People notice. I also noticed that Stroud never mentioned the word "proprioception", even when he explained Simms's condition in the last sentence. Bravo. See, I can be nice to Tampa media.

Posted by Scott at 9:13 AM | Comments (2)
Tags for this article: bill parcells, chris simms, dolphins, jon gruden, tampa media, tony sparano

March 26, 2008

Two Former Bucs Don't Have To Find Day Jobs Yet

Pittsburgh picked up Anthony McFarland today. So, the team that plays a the 3-4 signed a guy who has never played in that system before. Where would he fit in? No one is pushing Casey Hampton off his starting spot at the nose, and if Warren Sapp couldn't make the transition to 3-4 defensive end, I don't think McFarland will do any better. I guess he'll compete with Chris Hoke to backup Hampton, but Hoke has been with the Steelers for seven years now and knows the system. I don't know the contract details yet, but I'm guessing he signed for no bonus and is really there as a camp body.

Speaking of former Bucs who are off the unemployment line, Jeb Terry landed with San Francisco. They're pretty thin on the offensive line, especially if Larry Allen signs elsewhere or retires, so Terry may have a pretty good shot at sticking with them.

I've decided that it's too nice a day to make you look at a photo of either of those two players, so here's a nicer picture that is just begging for a caption. Leave them in the comments if you're feeling creative.

Posted by Scott at 12:26 PM | Comments (5)
Tags for this article: anthony macfarland, buccaneer history, jeb terry

Positions Thought I'd Never Do Proper: Linebacker

Derrick Brooks: I'm not sure what changed for Brooks between 2006 and 2007, but there was a huge improvement in his play. I'm pretty sure a lot of it had to do with my criticisms of him a couple years ago. Anyway, if he can keep up that level of production, he's going to make it hard to force him into retirement at the end of the season.

Barrett Ruud: There are still some fans who don't know if Ruud is for real, and I just can't understand it. Ruud was leading the league in tackles for the first few weeks of the season last year and ended the season with 114 despite missing a game. He's got a great nose for the football and is turning into a leader. He's here for quite a while.

Cato June: June wasn't as active as I thought he could have been last year, but I don't know if that's a function of his performance or because he's playing on the strongside. June is signed through 2009, so he still has some time to get it worked out, but he may see some competition during this camp. His foot surgery is said to be fine and he'll be ready for all the OTAs.

Quincy Black: Black had a decent first season, but played mostly on special teams. Black has the physical ability to really play any linebacker position and the coaches are high on him, but the logjam at linebacker may hold back his development for another year or so.

Ryan Nece: There's a chance Nece doesn't even make the team this year. He has been consistent, but never a big play guy. I think the fact that team signed a boatload of linebackers this offseason so far is a strong indication that they're not completely happy with Nece.

Adam Hayward: A lot of people are talking up Hayward, and he looked pretty good during the last game of the season. When the Bucs drafted him in the sixth round in 2007, they thought maybe he could be a successor to Brooks on the weakside. But as it stands today, he's just one of the guys in the mix to try and compete for a backup job.

Antoine Cash: The team re-signed Cash instead of letting him go off to free agency, so they want him to be part of the competition. Cash was on IR the whole 2007 season because of his knee, so if he doesn't show something pretty special in camp, he's most likely gone.

Sam Olajubutu: He's still on the team? I liked this guy and thought he could be a scrappy Sam Mills type of player. Then he had a season-ending Achille's injury and now he's pretty much in the same boat as Cash, only the Bucs have less invested in him.

Leon Joe: One of the first players the Bucs signed in free agency this year. Joe was actually on the opening day roster, but was quickly released when they needed the space to sign Taye Biddle. Exactly. Joe was with Buffalo last year and made four tackles. There's got to be something about him I'm missing because they just keep bringing him back. I'm pretty sure his sole purpose on this team is to scare Cash, Hayward and Nece into performing better.

Matt McCoy: McCoy is fast and strong and is an excellent special teams player. The Bucs actually wanted to sign him last year but he went to New Orleans instead, which makes signing him this year that much sweeter. He was a second round pick in 2005, not all that long ago. I say McCoy makes the team.

Teddy Lehman: Lehman has huge upside because of his versatility and speed, but just can't stay healthy. I know some Lions fans were sorry to see him go because they thought he could be something really special when he started all 16 games in 2004. He was brought into Tampa mostly for depth purposes and because he didn't cost much, but if he can get his ankle and shoulder right, he could make a serious push at the backup middle spot.

Last year I kept pushing for the team to keep Jamie Winborn on the team and thought Shelton Quarles would play one more year. Everything else I pretty much got right.

So, if you're keeping count, the Bucs have 11 linebackers on the roster now. Last season they opened up with seven, but Joe was quickly replaced by a non-linebacker. They have too many good ones to only go with six, so I say they open it up again with seven: Brooks, Ruud, June, Black, McCoy, Hayward and... ugh. I just can't pick who the seventh will be. I'll say Lehman because of his upside and starting experience.

I really don't see the Bucs picking a linebacker at all this year in the draft. After signing three in free agency and most of them are pretty young already, there's no need. They only have five picks and several other positions to worry about. If they absolutely had to, though, they could pick up Marcus Howard (LB, Georgia) in the fourth round, probably. But seriously, no linebackers this year.

Posted by Scott at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: adam hayward, antoine cash, barrett ruud, cato june, derrick brooks, leon joe, matt mccoy, quincy black, ryan nece, sam olajubutu, teddy lehman

March 25, 2008

Sports Illustrated Opened Their Vaults

Sports Illustrated recently hired a bunch of wizards who, in full Fantasia style, waved their wands and magically made the words off of all their old issues come to life, walk across the room, and playfully hop into the computer for the rest of the world to more easily enjoy. At least I assume that's how they did it. After Myspace became succesful, I decided technology was no longer for me and promptly replaced all the computer knowledge in my brain with the comprehensive scripts from all Bugs Bunny cartoons from 1940-1964. I think I'm better for it.

Even if I have a couple details behind the process wrong, the result is the same. The text from Sports Illustrated issues dating back to 1954 are all available online for free. If you want to skim through everything they've ever written about the Buccaneers, click here. It's kind of fun. For example, in their second mention ever about the Bucs is a John McKay quote that I don't think I've ever heard.

John McKay, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, asked how he and his staff were managing to operate without any players because of the delayed allocation draft: "We all have swivel chairs. We look at one wall for a while, then turn and look at another."

Or this one from Dewey Selmon in 1980:

Dewey Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker, who is working on a Ph.D. in philosophy at Oklahoma: "Philosophy is just a hobby. You can't open up a philosophy factory."

And upon Steve Christie's official retirement this offseason, we can now recall how Christie actually screwed the Bucs when he broke a promise to new coach Sam Wyche when Plan B free agency was in full swing.

Before the Feb. 1 start of the plan B free-agent signing period, kicker Steve Christie assured the Bucs he wouldn't accept another team's offer if he wasn't among Tampa Bay 's 37 protected players. The next week he signed a $2.23 million, four-year deal with the Bills.

Paul Stewart over at Bucpower.com must be absolutely erect with this kind of access to SI's archives. I plan to scour these regularly to see what kind of good Buccaneer nuggets I can dig up, and also to determine if there was a time when Dr. Z. was ever happy.

Posted by Scott at 9:09 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, dewey selmon, john mckay, steve christie

Herm Edwards Is Bitter

People all over the NFL respect and admire Herm Edwards, and I have never understood why. I'm sure he's a good secondary coach and all, but only because John Lynch and Ronde Barber have said he is. But he seems to take teams that are doing all right and make them progressively worse. He went 41-39 in New York, starting out 10-6 and ending at 4-12. Dick Vermeil bequeathed Edwards a 10-6 team that he promptly took to 4-12 in two short years. And I never quite got why the "You play to win the game" speech was so profound or why anyone would consider it so after he interjected a drama-queeny "Helllllooo?" into the middle of it. Shit, I've been more enlightened by fortune cookies that told me I was about to receive bad financial news -- and then I saw the check! Oooooooh.

Anyway, Edwards is now saying that the Buccaneers broke tampering rules when they signed Jeff Faine during the first day of free agency. Only he's not "saying" it. For a guy who is supposed to be such a straight shooter, he pretty much pussed out of this one.

During a news conference called to announce plans for his football camp in Kansas City, Edwards indicated the Chiefs were as aggressive as NFL rules allowed them to be in pursuing center Jeff Faine and kicker Josh Brown.

"There were probably some deals done before (the start of the league year)," Edwards said when asked why the Chiefs didn't get in the game with either player. "We didn't cheat. We abided by the rules. That's how you're supposed to do it, and that's what we did."

Faine signed with Tampa Bay in the hours after free-agency began. Brown immediately visited with the Rams and signed with them before the Chiefs could get him to visit.

"You'd have to ask Tampa," Edwards said when asked whether the Bucs were in early on Faine. "I don't know what Tampa did."

Just come out and say it, Herm! Unless you're not totally convinced that Tampa really cheated and you're just using that as an excuse to cover your ass for not getting the players you wanted.

Let's see... "as aggressive as the rules allowed"? Really? Because the Bucs made Faine the highest paid center in the history of the universe. Did you offer that? That might have had something to do with it. And did you know Faine is originally from Orlando and he still owns a home there? And Tampa Bay has a young and aggressive offensive line while the Chiefs' are retiring all their good blockers. Oh, and you live in Kansas City, the town so embarrassed with itself that it's named after a different state altogether. But, yeah, it was tampering. Eat a dick, Herm.

Posted by Scott at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: chiefs, herm edwards, jeff faine, kindly shut your noisehole

March 24, 2008

Gruden Landed Troupe With Strategic Recruiting, Taunting

In an interview with the Times, Ben Troupe discussed his time in Tennessee, his goals, and also how Jon Gruden convinced him to come to Tampa.

He made a couple of calls after kicking off the courtship. One came during Troupe's visit to Buffalo the week before he signed with Tampa Bay. It turned out the call was particularly well-timed.

"I got kind of fooled," Troupe said. "It was like 60 degrees the day that I got there. And then the next day, it was like 10.

"But the funny thing was when I got to the airport, Gruden had called me and left me a message. He said, 'I know you're in Buffalo. You don't want to go to Buffalo. I know I'm better competition. I'm looking out my window, and I see sunny skies.' ''

The interview doesn't mention the "Weather is here, wish you were beautiful" postcard that Gruden sent as a follow-up, but you know it happened. It's easy to sell the Florida weather in February and March when half of the league is dodging sleet or shoveling snow. I'll bet Gruden didn't mention the part about the 110 heat index at Disney in July in full pads while being screamed at by a horror movie icon.

Posted by Scott at 11:58 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: ben troupe, jon gruden

Bucstats.com Annouces Partnership/Discount With Bucgear.com

Bucstats.com has renewed its partnership with Bucgear.com for the Second Annual Bucstats.com Draft Contest. I'm still working out the details for the contest itself, but it is definitely happening and there will be prizes again, so start your research now.

As a special thank you to Bucstats readers, Bucgear.com is offering a 10% discount on everything on their site through May 15. Use the "bucstats" discount code when placing your order. Men, have you been waiting for just the right time to buy your lady that special red Buccaneer thong? Now you can get it for 10% off, just in time for... whatever that holiday is where people exchange underwear. Flag Day, I think? I traded underwear with someone on St. Patrick's Day one year, but not out of tradition so much as necessity. Hoo boy that was uncomfortable, especially while riding bitch on an RG-500 across the Courtney Campbell. Wait, where was I going with this?

The point is that for any item that isn't nailed down in your house, Bucgear.com has the same item except with a Buccaneer logo on it, making it about ten times cooler. And your purchases go to help unfortunate kids in Atlanta. Mine.

Special thanks to Jeffrey and Lynda for their continued support. You guys are the best.

Posted by Scott at 11:06 AM | Comments (1)

Fleas May Have To Seek New Shelter

Look, I can go either way on the issue the Chiefs are raising about players' hair flowing out from the backs of their helmets. On one hand, it could be a safety issue like it was when Larry Johnson pulled Troy Polamalu down after an interception. Of course, that did happen a year and a half ago, but I guess better late than never. On the other hand, if players want to risk giving their opponents something else to hang onto in the name of vanity, more power to them.

All I'm saying is that there could be some people who might get a little edgy when a large group that identifies themselves as Indians start talking about forcing haircuts on them.

From a Buccaneer standpoint, the only players I can think of that this would only affect are Patrick Chukwurah and Davin Joseph, and pulling either of those guys down would be a holding penalty. And if you're dumb enough to try and pull Joseph down by his hair, you deserve the beat-down you're about to get.

Posted by Scott at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: chiefs, davin joseph, obscure references, patrick chukwurah, troy polamalu

Mike Williams Is Staying Hungry

I kind of like to keep up with what's going on with Mike Williams from time to time because the Bucs were so close to taking him in 2005. They took Cadillac Williams (no relation) instead, and while I can't be as arrogant and asshole-ish to the Lions as I was back then, if Cadillac never plays another down for the Bucs again, they still came out on top.

Williams is still with the Titans for now, and Jeff Fisher is seeing too much of him around the office. Literally.

Another player who has been put on the spot at the start of the off-season conditioning program is receiver Mike Williams, who has been instructed by Coach Jeff Fisher to be at a certain weight or risk being released.

Speculation was that his weight was more than 260 pounds at the time of his signing. The Titans are believed to want Williams in the 235 to 240 range.

Williams must have had some kind of weird bet with Lendale White to see which former Trojan-turned-Titan can eat their way out of the NFL first. Is this some kind of USC thing that I don't know about? Are Matt Leinart and John David Booty going to get into competitive hog dog eating during their offseasons? Oh God, please let them do that.

Posted by Scott at 9:53 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: cadillac williams, lendale white, lions, mike williams, titans

March 21, 2008

Bucs Will Work Out Chad Henne

The Bucs seem to have scheduled Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) for a workout sometime next week. Please, people, don't take this as anything more than academic curiosity and due diligence. Over the next month, the Bucs will work out many college players from all different positions. I think it is highly unlikely that they draft a quarterback this year unless one falls to them that is such a bargain that they can't refuse him.

For those who care, Henne is said to be a tough, excellent student of the game with a great arm and a nice touch on the deep ball. Unfortunately, he's had trouble with accuracy on shorter and intermediate throws and is about as mobile outside the pocket as Chris Simms. Depending on who you ask, he's between the third and sixth rated quarterback this year.

Posted by Scott at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: chad henne, draft talk

A Few Things To Read When You Bring Your Laptop Into The Bathroom

Here are a couple things I read today because there is little else to report.

From RealFootball365.com, Os Davis (Os?) wrote this piece on what the Buccaneers have done this season using a children's nursery rhyme theme to deliver the repeated line "The House that Chucky Built". And it's... it's just awful.

Eugene Wilson's the guy who picks the pass behind the pressure from Teddy Lehman, who's there to back the line with Cato June, the name on the defensive side, which supports the 'O', including Askew, who will see some runs behind Gilmore, who'll be blocking the path for Warrick Dunn, who runs with the ball from Jeff Faine, who snaps the ball to Jeff Garcia, who leads the team, the front of the house that Chucky built.

I don't know who Os Davis is, but I'm pretty sure he's right behind Dane Cook on the list of people that should be pushed into an active volcano. Gimmicky writing is all right once in a while, but this was just unbearable.

sorry, living with a pair of pre-kindergarten daughters will do that to you

No, living feral among monkeys in the mangrove forests of Bangladesh will do that to you. If we all mimicked our kids in our writing, my entry to this blog would be various ways to say "I don't know" and would consistently be several days late. Oh, and your comment about B.J. Askew being a disappointment is completely wrong. Askew played excellently and Gruden said on more than one occasion how pleased he was with his performances.

Elsewhere, Patrick from MVN.com, who was ballsy enough to leave a rebuttal to my last entry about one of his articles, was kind enough to write up for the rest of us the top ten worst moments in Oakland Raider history. The loss to the Bucs in the Super Bowl makes it, of course, as does the Immaculate Reception that they still can't get over. Let it go! No one knows who that ball bounced off of and no one ever will no matter how dogmatically you present your argument. And how can the re-hiring of Art Shell not be on your list? That season had to be worse than 1995.

Say, did you know Erin Andrews's first job after graduating was to cover a Buccaneers game? It's true. Is this insignificant fact just a weak excuse to post a picture of Erin on a Bucs blog on an otherwise dull Friday? Oh, you're sharp.

Everyone loves Erin Andrews, especially Bruce Pearl who thought it would be perfectly appropriate to grab and shake Erin on national TV a couple weeks ago. Lucky for me, everyone already knows Pearl is fucking crazy, so his actions don't really reflect on the Volunteer nation too badly. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

In response to an audience member's question about how it feels to be the subject of a YouTube video montage glorifying her "being hot," Andrews said, "I just don't care. Boys are gross."

"Boys are gross." Nope, I don't think I can top that as a closer.

Posted by Scott at 10:06 AM | Comments (5)
Tags for this article: b.j. askew, bruce pearl, erin andrews, raiders, someone actually paid this person to write this shit

March 20, 2008

NFC South Free Agency Quantified

Many of you know that I like things I can quantify. Numbers make me comfortable; much moreso than words or feelings or other people. With that in mind, I broke down the free agency movement in the NFC South to its basic components of players lost and gained and tried to determine who won free agency so far. There's a lot more to it than this, but at least I got to create a table.

NFC South Free Agency
	ATL	CAR	NO	TB
To Other Teams	5	9	2	3
Still Unsigned	12	9	6	8
Re-signed	3	6	9	4
From Other Teams	8	7	5	10
Net Gain/Loss	-9	-11	-3	-1

Ok, so, what have we learned? Team by team...

1. Atlanta is going for the complete purge. They allowed 20 players to walk and only re-signed 3 of them. 12 are still out there after 3 weeks of free agency and they brought in 8 from other teams with only one real big splash (Michael Turner). They really would appreciate it if the 2007 season could be purged from their memories and the record books.
2. Carolina gave 24 players the chance to leave and re-signed 6. Only 9 are still unsigned, so they actually lost a lot of players that other teams wanted, which might be a bad sign. The only outside guys that made any noise were Muhsin Muhammad, D.J. Hackett and possibly LaBrandon Toefield. This looks like a team that is trying to avoid cap problems.
3. The Saints only lost two players to other teams (both Buccaneers... hee hee) and re-signed 9 of their own guys. They only brought in 5 players from other teams, Randall Gay being the biggest name. They still have 6 players unsigned, but they all have 10+ years behind them. This is clearly a team that feels they are only one or two players away from going deep into the playoffs.
4. Tampa Bay put 15 players out without contracts and only 3 have been snatched up by other teams so far (2 of them to Detroit, natch). 4 others have been re-signed and 8 are still floating around. Then they brought in 10 players from other teams because that's just the way they roll. The Bucs like their players, but they don't "like like" (spoken like a 9th grade girl) them and are totally willing to let them walk and pick someone else up. Don't cry, baby. It's not you, it's them. They're just not ready for the 3-5 year commitment you're looking for. But if you just want to, you know, hang out for a year on the cheap, they're cool with that. No biggie.

So, if you're just going by free agency, Atlanta and Carolina look like they're doing some rebuilding and won't be all that competitive in 2008. The Saints are holding firm with what they had last year and are going to lean on their coaches to make the improvements and are the most likely to give the Bucs a challenge for the division. And the Bucs are bringing in shitloads of players to camp and letting them duke it out for depth while retaining most of their starters. It will be interesting to see which strategy panned out in December.

Posted by Scott at 10:39 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: falcons, nfc south, panthers, saints

ESPN Approves Of Bucs' Spending Habits

Just a quick pointer to an article on ESPN.com. It's complimentary, but Pat Yasinskas obviously wrote the article while he was hungry.

They've been one of the league's most active teams, but it seems that they mainly are stocking up on canned goods for the winter.

There's far less risk with all the other free-agent signings because the Bucs are taking a very safe approach, spending wisely and buying in bulk.

As you can probably tell, the article basically points out how the only real splash the Bucs made in free agency was Jeff Faine, but they continued to be active and sign second and third tier guys at reasonable prices. It's a similar philosophy to what they did last year when...

Damn it, he's got me thinking about food now. Anyone want to go in on a pizza?

Posted by Scott at 9:11 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: jeff faine

March 19, 2008

The Bucs Like Good Players

TBO.com posted something yesterday about Derrick Harvey's pro day and how impressed Monte Kiffin was with him.

I noticed Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin showed a lot of interest in Harvey. After Harvey showed his tremendous coordination, agility and speed through numerous drills, Kiffin was one of only two scouts (Jacksonville was the other) that spent time individually talking with the Florida standout.

Harvey might be snapped up before Tampa Bay selects at No.20, but if available, expect him to be a player the Bucs takes a serious look at, especially if they trade for a playmaker that day.

Just like Jon Gruden has never met a quarterback he didn't like, Kiffin has never met a pass rusher he didn't like. Of course he was impressed with Harvey... he's projected as a first rounder. And if Harvey does fall that far, I'm sure there will be a discussion. But now with seven defensive ends on the roster, four of which have three or fewer years experience, and with other needs at defensive tackle and wide receiver, I can't imagine they spend their first round pick on another defensive end to throw in the mix. Especially at the price they're going to pay the #20 pick.

"If you watched the Super Bowl, you can't have enough good pass rushers," Kiffin said.

Now you know Kiffin is getting into his offseason cliche-speak. Really, can you have enough good players at any position? Is there any scenario you can imagine where the Buccaneers don't even consider a good player because they're already well-stocked? Please. The Bucs are just as seriously considering about a dozen other players for that first round pick. Harvey will probably already be gone, but if he's not, I don't think the Bucs take him.

Posted by Scott at 10:55 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: derrick harvey, monte kiffin

March 18, 2008

Roy Williams Is A Beautiful Girl

I was actually going to link to this story for a different reason, but I forgot what it was when I read the ending quote from Rod Marinelli about how he's not going to trade Roy Williams.

"When you are a beautiful girl, people will keep knocking on the door and asking for dates - but the old dad has to keep coming out and saying 'Nope.'"

If only he really was a beautiful girl, he wouldn't have to worry about spending money to go out to fancy restaurants like Red Lobster. Guys would surely be lined up around the block to take him out for a night on the town. And then after about ten minutes of listening to him drone on and on about himself, they would abandon him somewhere on I-75 without ever coming to a complete stop. And that's on a good day. Chances are if Roy Williams was a chick, he'd quickly find his way face down in a shallow grave.

I think my original intent was to comment on how Marinelli acknowledges that he is basically rebuilding his defense with old Buccaneers that the team didn't want anymore.

"These are all old Bucs, but they have also played in different places," Marinelli said Monday. "These men all have great familiarity with what we are doing and what we are about. I know the type of guy I want, and that is what we are getting with these men."

So far, he has brought Chartric Darby (I refuse to call him Chuck), Dwight Smith, Brian Kelly and Kalvin Pearson to Detroit. But two of them are certainly past their prime and one is on the bubble. Pearson is the only one that I would count on for the future of their team.

Posted by Scott at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: brian kelly, chartric darby, dwight smith, kalvin pearson, kinda gay, lions, rod marinelli, roy williams

The Six-Way Battle For LDE

Things just got a little more interesting at defensive end with the re-signing of Kevin Carter to a one year deal. I'll make the assumption here that Gaines Adams will start at right end, leaving the left side to one of six guys so far. They may still draft at that position, but I think all the recent free agent signings at defensive end pushes that need down beyond where we need to consider it.

I think we can rule out Patrick Chukwurah and Charles Bennett as starting left ends. Bennett is still developing and Chukwurah is almost certainly a backup who is still listed a swing guy at DE and LB. Speaking of swing guys, we now have Carter and also Jimmy Wilkerson who can play any position on the defensive line. Both Carter and Wilkerson opened the season as starting right defensive ends last year, although Carter had a significantly more successful season than Wilkerson. The fact that the Bucs were willing to let Carter move on to Oakland for more money if he chose to tells me that they already have a starting plan in place and Carter isn't really in the picture.

That brings us down to Marques Douglas and Greg White. White was the sack leader on the Bucs in 2007 and started two games. Douglas started all 16 games for the 49ers last year at right defensive end in a 3-4. Douglas has already proclaimed he is starting at left end and I believe Gruce probably had something to do with him thinking that. I'm betting that the real competition for starting left end is between Douglas and White. Whoever does best in camp wins it.

Of course, this abundance of defensive ends can't last. The Bucs opened 2007 with five defensive ends on the roster: Greg Spires, Carter, Adams, White and Chukwurah. Adams is the only sure thing, but if I had to guess, I'd say the Bucs cut Chukwurah and Bennett. The Bucs like versatility and Carter and Wilkerson are pretty dynamic. Chukwurah can also play linebacker, but with the cache of linebackers already on the team, they don't really need his brand of versatility.

Man, this is almost like real analysis.

Posted by Scott at 8:33 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: charles bennett, greg white, jimmy wilkerson, kevin carter, marques douglas, patrick chukwurah, rummaging through the scrapheap

March 17, 2008

DeSean Jackson Is Not Jacquez Green, But I Can't Prove It

Just about everywhere I look, I see someone comparing DeSean Jackson to Jacquez Green and saying that Jackson is destined to be the same kind of bust that Green was. So, I thought I'd compare them for myself.

Jacquez Green
Height: 5-9
Weight: 170
40 Time: 4.40
College Stats: 113/2,181/23

DeSean Jackson
Height: 5-9
Weight: 169
40 Time: 4.35
College Stats: 162/2,423/22

Ok, so I guess if you're into "measurables" and "facts", they're pretty similar. Green had a college career average of over 19 yards per catch, while Jackson had significantly more catches but only 15 yards per catch ("only" being a relative term since that's still an impressive average.) And you're right. Normally he's not the kind of guy I would like. I can't put my finger on why I think he'll be better in the NFL than Green was. I've seen him play several times and he was always dangerous. Even if he didn't make the play, he created a big enough distraction for someone else to make it. I don't think he'll ever be Steve Smith, but I think he can make a threatening #2 or #3 and take some heat off of Joey Galloway.

Posted by Scott at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, desean jackson, jacquez green

March 14, 2008

From The Mailbag: Wide Receivers In The Draft

I normally get one or two letters a day that qualify as homework assignments, and I usually ignore them because I despise work and resent the fact that they don't contain free money. But Mark has been a reader for a long time and this was a topic I was going to cover next week anyway. So, from Mark...

Here are some receivers that may be available to the Bucs in the first round. Malcolm Kelly (Okla), Limas Sweed (Tx), Devin Thomas (Mich St), DeSean Jackson (Cal). Do you think any of them are worth our first round pick? Will you share what you know about them?

Limas Sweed: A lot of mocks have Sweed as the top WR in the draft. I like him, but the Bucs don't have a shot at him. He's also not ideal for what the Bucs need right now. He makes tough catches, runs good routes and is said to be a team leader with a good work ethic. All that is great, but he doesn't have the breakaway speed or elusiveness in the open field that the Bucs are missing. He was also banged up during his senior year. I wouldn't turn him away, but I'm not particular upset that he won't be available at #20.

Malcolm Kelly: He's got great hands and is probably the best overall receiver in the draft. Last year his quarterback made life hard on him but he still made some great catches. Kelly didn't participate in the combine and then he didn't run the 40 at his pro day on Tuesday. It makes me think he knows he's going to run slow. He won't get past Buffalo, though.

Devin Thomas: Buzz is building on Thomas and I think he'll be one of the better receivers from this draft with some added experience. He's smart, but sometimes makes bad decisions. I'm also a little concerned about his hands. He dropped several catchable balls last year. But he can run all the routes and isn't afraid to be physical.

DeSean Jackson: Jackson is my pick for the Bucs if he falls that far. He is the most elusive receiver in the draft and a stellar return man. He has great hands and can catch balls that aren't thrown perfectly. He is also the only legitimate deep threat on this list. I'm not concerned about his height. Steve Smith in Carolina is about the same size. The 170 pound weight is a little concerning because he may not be able to recover from a significant jam at the line. He'll have to be a motion man. I've also heard he's kind of an asshole and may not be the best practice player. I'm counting on Jon Gruden to beat that attitude out of him, though.

I am not counting on Antonio Bryant for anything. As far as I'm concerned, the Bucs have the same need at WR they did at the end of the season. If they miss out on Jackson in the first, they should wait until a later round and take Donnie Avery or Dexter Jackson.

Posted by Scott at 12:55 PM | Comments (10)
Tags for this article: desean jackson, devin thomas, dexter jackson, donnie avery, draft talk, limas sweed, malcolm kelly

The Evolution Of The Buccaneer Cheerleaders

Below is the lovely Gina Evans, circa 1981. Note the cutlass, the sash and the hat attempting to stay true to the buccaneer theme. Also note the leggings, the granny-panty-looking leotard and the fact that they only part of Gina not covered by something is her face. This photo is really all the promotion that "Swash-buc-lers" (get it?) got outside of the game.

Let's move ahead 26 years to 2007 and Miss Jessica Diaz. Note the tits, the body, and the eyes which seem to indicate that she wants to leap through the camera and jump you like a starving tiger on an injured gazelle (sorry, I just got done watching the Discovery Channel.) Notice also that this photo has absolutely nothing to do with cheerleaders or football, yet it is for sale along with a dozen others in the Buccaneer Cheerleaders Swimsuit Calendar. What have we learned? That in making the cheerleaders dress in bikinis for what is essentially a softcore porn publication, the Buccaneers demonstrate that they know how to adapt to their audience and environment, much like how some male mockingbirds change their song based on which females are nearest (ok, I'll turn the TV off.)

Although there are many old schoolers out there who long for the days when there was no such thing as a facemask or pass interference, I think we can all agree that the evolution of the Buccaneers cheerleader should continue unabated to its natural conclusion of nudity and dance routines which include lots of kissing and groping. You wait... it's only a few years away.

(Yes, the only reason for this post was because I stumbled across that old photo. Cut me some slack; there is absolutely nothing going on today.)

Posted by Scott at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, cheerleaders, jessica diaz

March 13, 2008

Confusion On Defensive Line

The Buccaneers just signed DE Marques Douglas from San Francisco. Douglas is a good player, not a great one. His obvious talent is stopping the run, as is evidenced by his 250 career tackles against 19 sacks in nine years with three teams. Ok, fine, good pick-up for the Bucs. Here's the interesting part.

Douglas said he will be the starting left end on first and second downs, and he will move inside to defensive tackle on passing downs with the Buccaneers.

I hope this is just wishful thinking on Douglas's part and not something the Buccaneers promised him. With their current stable of defensive ends, I don't know how you don't start Greg White and Gaines Adams. Again, for the billionth time, the strategy this offseason was to get better at the pass rush; to get to the quarterback more. You don't do that with a run-stopper playing defensive end. I can see Douglas challenging Jovan Haye for under tackle and working into the rotation with Jimmy Wilkerson to relieve the starters at DE. But he thinks he's going to be an every-down player? I'd really like to know what Bruce Allen told this guy before he signed him.

Posted by Scott at 2:08 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: gaines adams, greg white, jimmy wilkerson, jovan haye, marques douglas, rummaging through the scrapheap

John Daly Is Fun

Remember the other day when Jon Gruden caddied for golfer John Daly? Apparently, Daly's "swing coach" (which can't be nearly as cool a job as it sounds) Butch Harmon wasn't cool with that and has ended his relationship with Daly. Ooooh, golf drama!

"Jon Gruden caddying, I thought was ridiculous. I thought he made a circus out of the whole event."

To be fair, this is just the latest in a long series of troubles Harmon has had with Daly.

"My whole goal for him was he's got to show me golf is the most important thing in his life," Harmon said from his golf school in Las Vegas. "And the most important thing in his life is getting drunk."

Daly spent Saturday at the Hooters "Owl's Nest" at the tournament, drinking beer, mingling with fans and signing autographs, including one on the back of a woman's pants.

I never realized golf was all booze, broads and famous people. Now if they would just eliminate the unbearable monotony of the game itself, I think I could get into golf.

Posted by Scott at 1:36 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: jon gruden

Dr. Z. Hates Everyone

In the wake of the Brett Favre retirement, Dr. Z. did a short piece on Warren Sapp and Sean Landeta who are also retiring but, of course, not getting noticed for it. In Landeta's half, Z focuses mostly on his longevity, but really makes Landeta out to be a sad loser during his various periods of unemployment.

"I'd go out to one of the high school fields on Long Island, where I live. No, I never found anybody to go out and kick with me. The high school and college punters would all be in school. I'd take a bunch of towels out there, spread 'em 50 or 60 yards apart, and punt at them. Just me, I didn't mind."

I realize it's a quote, but Z could have done something to make him seem less like the pathetic kid in high school who was scared of deodorant. Landeta worked for 21 years to erase everyone's memory of the punt he whiffed in Chicago only to be eulogized like that. The story also has a brief bit about how he landed in Tampa for the 1997 season in case you care.

But the real hate begins when Z talks about Warren Sapp. Z says he lost respect for Sapp after Sapp leveled Chad Clifton in 2002, but it's pretty obvious that Z never liked him and really just used that incident to justify his feelings.

Sapp didn't bother much with the run, but he was a problem for the pass blockers on downs when he felt like rushing.

You can say a lot of things about Warren Sapp, but I never once heard that he took plays off during games. I've heard sometimes he was lazy at practice, but smoking pounds and pounds of weed will do that to a guy. Not during games, though.

Sapp is a glib, witty person who will make a colorful TV announcer some day, but after that play I've never been able to think of him with any kind of respect.

He played as hard as he felt like in his four-year stint with the Raiders. Sometimes he seemed to have his old quickness back. Now he's gone.

Hooray!

What a bitter old dick. Sapp invited his share of controversy, but to completely ignore his contributions to the game and not even have a single positive thing to say about him is just wrong. But it's his opinion column, so he can write what he wants. Just like I can write in my blog that it is my opinion that Dr. Z. and his flaming redhead wife are the leaders of a greyhound prostitution ring. They go to the dog tracks every month, scour the kennels for greyhounds that are past their racing prime, buy them from their owners at reduced prices, and pimp them out to disgusting perverts who want to have sex with animals. In my opinion.

As a reward for being completely unlovable, Z was handed swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker as a writing partner last year. For my journalistic integrity and commitment to the Bucs, I got to co-write an article with Ski. Yeah, life's fair.

Posted by Scott at 1:26 PM | Comments (2)
Tags for this article: brooklyn decker, dr. z, get off my lawn, sean landeta, warren sapp

What Is The Appeal Of D.J. Hackett?

Everywhere I look, I see Bucs fans getting excited about D.J. Hackett and I have to wonder why. Hackett is essentially Michael Clayton but without the big-time blocking ability. He is big and has decent hands, and he can pretty much outjump anyone. But he is not fast, is constantly injured, and has not been very productive as a pro so far (about 1,400 yards in 4 years.) Seriously, I'm more optimistic that Antonio Bryant can make an impact than Hackett. Bryant has the ability to be a big play guy. There's nothing wrong with him physically; he's just a jackass. Hackett has only played in 33 games since 2004.

Everyone knows the Bucs need speed on the outside. They're already loaded with big guys who can catch across the middle: Clayton, Maurice Stovall, Paris Warren. There's some optimism that Chad Lucas can turn into a deep threat, but I'll wait for camp before I get too excited. Hackett would just be another one of those guys. When he's not on injured reserve, that is. Someone tell me if I'm missing something.

Posted by Scott at 8:49 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: chad lucas, d.j. hackett, maurice stovall, michael clayton, paris warren, rummaging through the scrapheap

March 12, 2008

Positions Thought I'd Never Do Proper: Defensive Line

Gaines Adams: Obviously isn't going anywhere. Showed enough at the end of 2007 to be handed a starting spot. Not like they enough competition at DE to really make it a contest.

Greg White: Statistically the best defensive end on the team last year. He didn't seem happy with the tender he was given and the Bucs are working to give him a new contract. Since he's an exclusive rights free agent, he can either accept what the Bucs give him or sit out since he is not technically under contract. He'll eventually sign and should be motivated to build on the success he had last year.

Patrick Chukwurah: Chukwurah didn't have nearly the dominant year I thought he would, although he missed some time with an injury. Because of lack of depth, he'll have the opportunity to be a major part of the rotation, but if he doesn't impress, the coaches could quickly become frustrated with him and bench him.

Charles Bennett: A lot of people liked Charles Bennett last year in camp. He's been between the practice squad, the active roster, injured reserve and the street for both of his pro years. I still can't really think of anything he's done since that blocked field goal a couple years ago. If the Bucs do any DE drafting, Bennett may be out.

Jimmy Wilkerson: Wilkerson was one of the first acquisitions by the Bucs during this free agency period. The fact that the team has been mostly pretty frugal and patient this year means that they saw something in Wilkerson that they liked. Wilkerson isn't a good pass rusher, but he is versatile and will probably be this year's Kevin Carter who can play any line position.

Marquies Gunn: I remember when Gunn was playing for Auburn and I didn't think he was anything great. He seems to lack strength and I've heard he's not a high-effort guy. After Michael Strahan decided to play last year, the Giants cut him and he spent time on their practice squad. I don't see him making it to the last round of cuts unless he has some amazing camp.

Chris Hovan: Hovan is as consistent and reliable as the mail. My only concern is that his salary goes from $1.9 million in 2008 to $3 million in 2009. If he slips at all this year, he could be the target for one of those "restructure or get bent" deals next offseason.

Ryan Sims: I think Sims proved he wasn't the complete bust he was made out to be during his time in Kansas City. He really came on at the end of the season and his Carolina game was fantastic. I expect him to get more playing time this season.

Greg Peterson: Ryan Sims absolutely stole the rotation spot that Peterson was in line to get. When ti came down to it, Sims performed and Peterson didn't. DL coach Larry Coyer still likes Peterson a lot, but there are only so many roster spots. Peterson is going to get some competition from any rookie defensive tackles that are signed as well as Wilkerson.

I had no clue last year. I thought Simeon Rice and Dewayne White would be with the team and Greg Spires would be cut. I was also pretty sure the Bucs would use their #4 overall pick offensively. At least I spelled everyone's name correctly.

All the early talk was that Rod Coleman would quickly sign with the Buccaneers, but almost two weeks into free agency and still nothing. The team also seemed high on bringing Kevin Carter back onto the team, but they've been slow to make anything happen. There are a lot of names out there, but the talent is questionable. Dan Klecko? Ian Scott? Kimo van Oelhoffen? See what I mean?

Tampa Bay has only signed one defensive lineman (Wilkerson) in free agency and one of their stated goals for 2008 was to make their pass rush better. It is conceivable that they use one of their first two picks on the defensive line. It's unlikely Derrick Harvey (DE, Florida) will fall to the Bucs in the first round, but if he did, they'd basically have a Gaines Adams for both sides of the line. In the second, a guy like Pat Sims (DT, Auburn) is interesting, but really more of a nose tackle... a position that doesn't need addressing this high in the draft. If they want to wait another round or two, Trevor Laws (DT, Notre Dame) has incredible intangibles and could be coached to be a fixture at under tackle for a good, long time.

Posted by Scott at 1:32 PM | Comments (5)
Tags for this article: charles bennett, chris hovan, derrick harvey, draft talk, gaines adams, greg peterson, greg white, jimmy wilkerson, jovan haye, marquies gunn, pat sims, patrick chukwurah, ryan sims, trevor laws

When The Joe Theismann Video Isn't Enough Anymore

Have you ever caught yourself thinking that, no, in fact, you don't know nearly enough about Chris Simms's ruptured spleen? Well then, Sport Science is for you.

Granted, the first episode is scary. Entitled "Field Warriors," it looks at and analyzes a number of horrific sports injuries, including the ruptured spleen of Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Chris Simms.

Any show that can be described using any combination of the words "horrific", "sports" and "injuries" is A.O.K. with me. This particular episode also analyzes Clint Malarchuk's jugular injury, which is the only reason I know his name. I had always hoped that "Blood on the Ice", "Death by Knockout" and "Football's Greatest Injuries" would one day come true. Oh, happy day!

Sport Science is on FSN, which means that you probably aren't getting it, and if you are, you're paying too much for it. But chances are good it, like every other TV series ever in the history of time, will be out on DVD shortly.

Posted by Scott at 9:43 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: chris simms, my broken friend, obscure references

Simeon Rice Is A Visionary

Ok, get this. Are you sitting down? Because this is totally going to blow away any concept of what you thought television could be. Ready? What if someone hired a camera crew to follow them around all day while they did shit and just taped everything? And then they pieced the most provocative parts together to give the viewer an idea of what really goes on in that person's life? Wouldn't that be fucking awesome?!? And since it's all real, they could call it "reality" TV. Maybe in, like, 100 years or something, someone will finally have the balls to do that. And when it finally happens, I hope the guy who does speaks only in strained metaphors.

"A warrior in this league, you want to go out on your sword," he said. "You want the fat lady to sing when you call her up, the curtain to close when you close it. I've been the puppet master in my life for a long time."

Yes, folks, baby Jesus heard your prayers and has delivered onto you a Simeon Rice reality show. Rice has been working out in a last ditch effort to disappoint one last NFL team before he finally hangs up his pads, and he thought you would all be interested in the process.

"My life is an eclectic ride of a lot of different moving parts," he said. "At this point, we're trying to capture a little bit on film. We want to detail the climb and fall and climb and fall of a great player - that being myself."

Simeon is a pretty smart guy, so the irony of that statement can't be lost on him. The man with a metric ton of ego is intentionally grouping himself with Gary Busey, Danny Bonaduce, Scott Baio, Brett Michaels and Flavor Flav. The difference, of course, is that all those people know they're ridiculous. And they didn't have to hire their own camera crews.

Who picks this show up? VH1 doesn't care about him and NFL Network will pass despite the fact that they air those cheerleader tryouts every year. Maybe Spike. They seem to have a thing for washed up athletes lately. In fact, even if they pass on Rice's show, watch for him on the next season of Pros vs Joes. You just know that's the next step. And it's going to be awesome. Watching some restaurant manager from Topeka launch three footballs into a bucket before Rice can lay a hand on him? I am so there.

Posted by Scott at 8:40 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: simeon rice

March 11, 2008

In Defense Of Michael Pittman

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Warrick Dunn signed with the Buccaneers last night. The contract is for 2 years, $6 million with $2 million guaranteed. He was also considering going with Dallas or Houston, and no one is sure exactly how much play he actually got from those clubs, but in the end he felt like Tampa was the best fit.

Dunn spoke with the Times and told them how he felt about re-joining the team after being in Atlanta for the last six seasons.

"I'm just really honored and humbled that the coaches believed in me, and hopefully I can come in and get to know those guys and just continue doing what I've been doing."

Everybody loves Warrick Dunn. I always liked him myself. "Honored" and "humbled" aren't words you regularly hear from skill position players and it's refreshing to hear that a player appreciates what he is getting even if he knows he's earned it. The Tampa media is drooling all over themselves at the idea of Dunn returning to the Bucs, although I have the feeling that a big part of that is the fact that any component of the old Tony Dungy regime is treated like royalty. He's a big character infusion to a team that is often criticized for not having enough of it, he knows he's not going to be the feature running back in this system, and he's a smart and highly-respected leader for a couple of young backs like Michael Bennett and Earnest Graham to learn from. He also farts Renuzit. I think the price tag was pretty high to bring him in, but I guess the team can afford it. Normally, you would think I'd be happy with this signing.

But Dunn's arrival is the death knell of Michael Pittman's tenure as a Buccaneer, and that makes me a little sad. Pittman has been the ultimate teammate to the Buccaneers for the last six years. In the biggest game of his career, he had the best performance of his career. The team brought in Charlie Garner to replace him in 2004, and Pittman responded with his best season as a Buc. The next year they tried to replace him with Cadillac Williams and Pittman responded by being a mentor and playing backup and special teams. He'd do anything to be on the field, as evidenced by his 42 kickoff returns. Hell, he even volunteered to play safety if the team wanted him to. He has done everything the team has ever asked of him, including restructuring for less money, and done it with a smile. Remember, the whole reason Pittman is a Buccaneer in the first place is because Dunn left Tampa for more money in Atlanta.

Comparing their stats, of course Dunn has the edge in terms of quantity. But that's mostly because Dunn has been a feature back most of his career whereas Pittman has only had that role for a few seasons in Arizona and Tampa. Dunn has 2,483 carries for 10,181 yards and 463 receptions for 4,009 yards. Pittman has 1,316 carries for 5,307 yards and 415 receptions for 3,400 yards. This gives them about the same yards per touch average. Since 2002, Dunn has appeared in 90 games and Pittman has appeared in 87, so they have about the same level of durability, but Pittman has one less season and about 1,100 fewer carries on his tires than Dunn. At this point they seem have about the same speed, but I would trust Pittman to break an extra tackle or two more than Dunn and would expect Dunn to be a little shiftier between the tackles than Pittman. They're both excellent receivers out of the backfield and neither of them are afraid to pass protect (although, come on... who would you rather have blocking your blind side?)

In essence, they'd both make fine #3 running backs. Except Pittman was already on the team, has less wear and tear and would have worked for much less than $6 million. This feels like a sentimental signing that coincidently happened on the same day that Antonio Bryant became the Buccaneers' annual character reclamation project. I don't think the Bucs will win any more or less games than if Dunn hadn't signed honestly, and if it makes the fans feel good about the team, it's probably a smart business move. And it pleases me to no end that Falcons fans hate this signing. But I think Pittman deserved better.

Posted by Scott at 10:23 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, cadillac williams, charlie garner, michael pittman, warrick dunn

March 10, 2008

Antonio Bryant = David Boston + 1 Year

So, the Bucs signed Antonio Bryant. Color me unimpressed.

A lot of it has to do with the terms of the contract, which as of now are not available. I hope it's one of those one-year contracts for the league minimum to give Bryant a chance to prove that he can go a year without getting high or being blatantly disrespectful to a coach. I know Bruce Allen is pretty good about these things, so I'm not concerned that the Bucs are getting themselves into something they'll regret at this time next year (see Javon Walker in San Francisco Oakland for an example of that.) I just think this may be a waste of time and resources that can could be used elsewhere.

I thought David Boston last year was impressive in camp and seemed to be on the way to earning at least a #3 receiver spot on the roster. Then came the whole "fell asleep at a stop light and got lippy with a cop on video" episode. And then they're stuck having to re-arrange the roster to accommodate a player they counted on now being gone. My only suggestion to the Bucs is to plan the roster as i f Bryant wasn't even there. If the receiver they want to draft is still available in their spot, pick him. If they're targeting someone for a trade, make it. At the very worst then, they'll have too many receivers on the roster, which would be a decent problem to have.

Posted by Scott at 7:57 PM | Comments (3)
Tags for this article: antonio bryant

Gone Fishin'

Be back tomorrow.

Posted by Scott at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

March 7, 2008

Joey J. Needs A Break

A quick blurb about one of the more popular former Buccaneers from the past ten years

Joe Jurevicius told the Browns that he could not take the pounding as the second receiver and asked to be moved to No. 3.

Jurevicius is a fierce competitor and it's pretty rare that you hear about any wide receiver asking for fewer snaps, so he must have been playing with some serious pain last season. It's probably safe to say that this will be Joe's last season in the NFL.

Posted by Scott at 1:51 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: buccaneer history, joe jurevicius

Jon Gruden Holds The Wood

Jon Gruden was John Daly's caddie for seven holes at the PODS Championship Golf Tournament yesterday at Innisbrook. And, really, the only words that meant anything to me at all in that sentence were "Jon Gruden".

Daly spent the rain delay at the Hooters Owl's Nest, a corporate hospitality tent near the 11th fairway, when he hooked up with Gruden. That's when he hatched the plan to turn the Bucs' coach into a caddie the rest of the afternoon.

After it got too dark to play, the tournament was suspended until the next day. As everyone was filing into the clubhouse, Gruden could be heard exclaiming, "We're all gonna get laid!"

Posted by Scott at 10:28 AM | Comments (1)
Tags for this article: jon gruden, not-so-obscure references

Hey, I Recognize That Name!

For those of you who gave up on the Free Agency Tracker because nothing was happening, you'll be happy to know that former Titan Ben Troupe agreed to terms with the Buccaneers yesterday. Troupe fell out of favor in Tennessee when he was injured in 2006 and left the door open for Bo Scaife to start along side his former Texas quarterback Vince Young. But he's still an excellent pass catcher and a surprisingly good blocker. He may not be Tiger Woods, but he's at least [fill in the name of some pretty good golfer who's won a couple things and whose name people would recognize. I really have no idea.]

This gives the Bucs a nice trio of tight ends in Alex Smith (the receiver), John Gilmore (the blocker) and Troupe (the hybrid). The Bucs will likely take another tight end to training camp and Jerramy Stevens is still out there, but it's likely that his baggage and reputation will keep Bruce Allen from signing him and inviting more public scrutiny about the character of the players he signs.

That said, Gilmore was arrested a couple years ago for trespassing at a Chicago bar. And pot possession. And resisting arrest. Ahem.

Still, no one's writing five page stories about Gilmore's bar incident. Hell, I didn't even think resisting arrest was a crime in Chicago. When did they turn into such pussies? Anyway, I don't think it's anything to worry about. But Stevens? Yeah, he's probably going to remain unemployed. The Bucs still have Keith Heinrich and Daniel Fells on the roster if they want to take them to camp, so I'm pretty sure that's what's going to happen.

Posted by Scott at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: alex smith, ben troupe, daniel fells, hello officer, jerramy stevens, john gilmore, keith heinrich

March 6, 2008

Chad Lucas: Playmaker

Bruce Allen was defending the Buccaneers' current corps of wide receivers yesterday, probably after he had been asked a hundred times why oh why haven't they added a wide receiver yet?

"We do have players on our team that we are confident can fit those roles," Allen said. "First of all, there are very few wide receivers that would stack up to what Joey Galloway has done the last few years.

"And we liked what Ike Hilliard did. We like Michael Clayton, and we think Maurice Stovall is going to be fine when he regains his health. And we do have some young guys that have the speed we feel will help us."

Allen was talking in particular about Chad Lucas, who saw little action last season. Allen suggested that a better understanding of the offense could allow Lucas to become the playmaker the Bucs have failed to sign in free agency.

Well, that would be pretty sweet if that was the case. Lucas caught that 51-yard pass from Luke McCown in the last game of the season where all those backups played, so there's that. Depending on who you believe, Lucas has between 4.34 and 4.45 speed, which is somewhere between "not bad" and "great". But it wasn't enough to keep every team in the league from passing on him seven times. And it didn't keep Allen himself from waiving him last October in favor of Chas Gessner. Hey, you never know. Rod Smith from Denver was an undrafted free agent wide receiver and that turned out pretty good. I would just hate to think that Allen is letting proven free agent receivers sign with other teams because he is sinking all his hopes for improving the passing game into Chad Lucas's theoretical potential. I'm hoping Lucas is Plan B and Plan A just hasn't had time to hatch yet.

Posted by Scott at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: bruce allen, chad lucas, chas gessner

March 5, 2008

Bruce Wants To Pay His Guys

Bruce Allen briefly explained some of his plans for the cap room.

"One of the reasons you want to get some room under the salary cap is so you can extend your own players into the future," Allen said. "...We've had some dialogue with some of those players and we'll continue to do that."

Well, that explains part of it. Guys like Earnest Graham, Jovan Haye, B.J. Askew, and everyone else on his list definitely deserve it. I would also add Greg White because to extend him now will cost significantly less than if they wait until he's a UFA. Continuity is great and it's a good way for them to spend some money.

But there are still big gaps at wide receiver and cornerback, and we were still promised fireworks. It will be interesting to see what he finally delivers.

Posted by Scott at 5:19 PM | Comments (6)
Tags for this article: bruce allen

Depth To Trade?

Anwar S. Richardson made a comment in his last blog entry on TBO that I don't quite understand.

My guess right now is Buc GM Bruce Allen is adding lots of depth in order to pull off some trades down the line. They obviously were not happy with the talent available on the free agent market and believe this team can be improved through a different approach.

The second sentence is fair enough, I guess. Teams really are spending a lot of money on free agents that wouldn't have commanded as much in a deeper season, although there has been at least one top-tier player available at every position except quarterback this year. But the first sentence puzzles me. The Bucs are acquiring depth to make some trades later? Which players that the Bucs acquired this season have any trade value at all?

And if they were acquired to replace a current Bucs player that they will trade, who would that be? The only one I can think of is Brian Griese replacing either Bruce Gradkowski or Chris Simms or both. Maybe those guys have a little trade value, but not much. And will they get more for them than the 2009 sixth rounder they gave up to get Griese? Maybe one of the linebackers the Bucs just got will replace Ryan Nece as the Mike backup. But what's Nece worth? A fifth rounder or an equivalently valued player? I'm not seeing the point. What trades are the Bucs really in a position to make, assuming they aren't in the market to give up any of their already-limited 2008 draft picks? Stop messing with my head, Anwar S. Richardson.

Posted by Scott at 1:09 PM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: bruce allen, rumors and lies, tampa media

Albert Haynesworth Feels Your Pain, Face

Albert Haynesworth, who somehow went from ostracized to league-renowned franchise player in just over a year, is upset about the progress Tennessee has made in free agency thusfar.

"Alge [Crumpler] is a great addition, but we have all this money and we've already let some of the best receivers out there go to other places," he said. "I don't know what we are doing, I really don't. Saving this money doesn't add over to next year."

The Bucs haven't really lost anyone of much consequence, but Haynesworth's comments regarding saving cap money echoes what a lot of Buccaneer fans are saying about their free agency transactions. So just know, Bucs fans, Albert Haynesworth is right there with you. Cover your face.

Posted by Scott at 11:59 AM | Comments (0)
Tags for this article: albert haynesworth, titans

Sapp Is Done

I didn't realize it was unofficial up until now. But apparently Warren Sapp is retired now for real. How pissed is he that he happened to pick the same day that Brett Favre retires and got completely overshadowed? It's going to be tough to even find an article about his retirement that doesn't mention Favre. After all their jawing on the field, I guess Favre gets the last word.

I loved Warren Sapp. I wished he had been more fan-friendly, but that's really the only thing I can fault him for. If he doesn't get into the Hall of Fame pretty quickly after he is eligible, it will be a crime. The "Tampa 2" simply doesn't work without a force like him on the inside. The word is overused, but in this case Sapp really did revolutionize the position. Defensive tackle hasn't been played quite the same since he started his streak of domination (1997 - 2003) and Lawrence Taylor is the only other defensive player I can think of in the modern era that teams had to change their game plan for. Maybe Deion Sanders, too. That's pretty good company.

Now, Warren,