Dunn returns

Warrick Dunn will return to the pewter and red next season and as I have said over and over, I hate to keep trying to link to the past, but I think this is a sensible, reasonable signing. This isn't the Dunn signed out of Florida State years ago, but he's still a very effective NFL player and can bring some mojo to Bennett and Darby.

I feel this was a good signing, not a blockbuster, but it returns a leader in the locker room, and another player which can rip off a 40 yard play at any time.

I also see today the Bucs inked Antonio Bryant, who was out of football for a year. Coach Gruden likes to reclaim project players, and perhaps Bryant is a prospect worth taking a look at, and according to rotoworld.com the Bucs looked at him last year. The guy is a flier, had off-field issues, drug issues, and sat a year from the NFL. Perhaps the time off allowed him to grow a bit and become focused on the game. Perhaps a cheap contract to a player which posted a 1,000 yard season which could reap great rewards isn't so much of a bad deal. Yes, I was hoping for a Javon Walker deal too fellow Bucs fans, but not at that money the Raiders poured out.

The draft is upcoming, and I'm certain there will be some additional signings, so relax, everything works out for a reason.

Why bother to even play in 2008

As I read over the various Buc website message boards, I'm becoming more and more aware that the internet is comprised of teenagers with nothing better to do than spend their parents money. A team releases a player, and the boards light up, what about so and so. There is malise regarding the so called lack of activity in free agency. Then, there is the Madden factor, avid gamers think just because a player does well on their home computer or X-Box, he would be a perfect fit for the team.

Let's look here for a minute at some key needs for the Bucs. First, defensive tackle. Kris Jenkins, Marcus Stroud and Shawn Rodgers were all pined over by cyber GM's on the boards. Sure, they were signed by other teams, but if they were really difference makers in games, do you think that their respective teams would have let them go? I remember this years Bucs game versus the Lions, Rodgers is about 360 and a Big Mac away from a heart attack. Do you really want to give up a third round pick for that???

Wide receiver- Oft-injured Javon Walker got outrageous money from Oakland this year, along with Bernard Berrian and Donte Stallworth. Do you really want to mortage the future of the franchise on the backs of one of these three wideouts? Not me. I was all for Stallworth if the price was right, but not at the price he got.

Running back- The Bucs have been rumored to be interested in Julius Jones from the Cowboys, but in my opinion , if he doesn't come with a reasonable price tag, address running back in the draft, and this years draft is deep at that position.

Many folks, including those in the media in the Bay area, are about to write off the Bucs chances next season before they even hit the field for training camp, I will state, I support Bruce Allen and the front office for the financial restraint they have shown. There were no giants out there this season in free agency. Moss was going to return to New England and even turned down more money from other clubs to return. Samuel was not a corner which was worth the money in a cover 2 defense and that was a great call.

As free agency moves forward, each day a player isn't signed, means less in his potential contract. I'm looking forward to some acquisitions made by the Bucs for bargain prices down the stretch.

Brian Griese returns to RayJay

Information broke this afternoon that the Bucs executed a trade with the Bears for the return of Griese to the Tampa Bay squad. And, as expected, message boards filled up with hateful posts regarding Brian.

I'll say, I was never a supporter of Brian when he played here in Tampa, but considering he understands the verbage, and is a more than serviceable back-up for Garcia, I think this move is a win/win for the Bucs. At this point and time, Chris Simms and Bruce Gradkowski are odd men out as Luke McCown will be the thrid qb.

I feel this was a smart move to make. As reported on profootballtalk.com, the Bucs gave up a 7th round pick this year and absorbed a 300,000.00 roster bonus to bring Brian in. Once you get to the 7th round, you might as well target the crap shoots of the undrafted free agent pool and hope for the best.

I'm happy with the move, and it solidifies the quarterback position for the Bucs while not breaking the bank. Solid.

Serenity now, serenity now.......

Following an episode of Seinfeld where George's father finds peace through reiterating the words, serenity now, I've got to say the same to Bucs fans after the start of the free agency period.

I realize the team is 44 million dollars under the cap, and it needs to spend 28 million just to get above the cap floor. But, patience grasshopper. I have full confidence that the front office and Bruce Allen are conducting business in a responsible manner. Buccaneer message boards are all on fire because the Bucs failed to sign every high profile free agent this season in the first 24 hours of free agency. Message boards are a virtual shouting match, made up of mostly teenagers and 20-somethings who exchange insults and play video games believing their outcome will somehow result in reality in the real world.

So, right out of the gate for the 08 free agency period, the Bucs sign Jeff Faine. I thought was a great addition. This addition helps to solidify the OL, something which has been a problem in Tampa for a long time. And we all understand, it all starts up front. The Bucs follow that signing up with adding John Gilmore, a large blocking tightend from Chicago, and the the online groans start. The chorus online of "where's the playmakers?" "where's asante samuel? lance briggs? randy moss?"

I assume that reasonable fans will have seen the progress which has been made with this team in regards to the salary cap, and at the same time understand that simply because the team is well under the salary cap, does not mean that the front office needs to be spending money like drunken sailors.

I read a few posts online today regarding the signing of Jimmy Wilkerson, a defensive end. Due to the fact that most everyone has never heard of him, many posting online sounded as if individuals wanted to get in their car, park it atop the Skyway Bridge and jump, next season is lost, Bruce Allen has no idea what he's doing. These comments are from the same folks which thought all would be lost if Monte Kiffin did not resign his contract in January. If everyone thought all was lost if Monte moved on, while he resigned, I'm certain he had input into the signing of Wilkerson. So, stop the car, get off the Bayway or 275, return home. Things will be just fine.

I have alot of faith, albeit blind, in the front office to make the correct decisions. The video game players and message board posters need to go back to their games, and leave reality to those who are in charge, trusting their judgment. Myself, I'm disappointed that we didn't land Henderson or Stallworth, but there is a reason for that. There might be something big right around the corner.

Can the Bucs make history?

In the 42 years there have been Super Bowls, no single season passing yardage leading quarterback has ever won the Super Bowl. But also, there has never been a team which plays in the Super Bowl host city, ever play in the Big Game. Can the Bucs be the first?

With the release of Greg Spires and Kevin Carter yesterday, the Buccaneers are now over 40 million dollars under the salary cap, a team record heading into the free agency period. With all this "free" money, a brand new state of the art facility, natural grass surface in one of the league's nicest stadiums, you would image the Bucs are poised to make their biggest splash in free agency in team history.

General Manager Bruce Allen has done an admirable job over the past two years of frugally signing some veteran players during free agency and along the way, managing to sign a few players which created an impact which weren't high on anyones radar screen, see Greg White and Javon Haye this past season. Allen has also done a great job of recovering the Bucs from the failed polices of the previous GM, Rich McKay, who created a salary cap burden on the team which had the front office handcuffed in the pursuit of offseason aquisitions in past years.

This season, with 40 plus million in cap space, the Bucs should be players in the free agent market to address key positions and hopefully be able to go into this years draft with the ability to draft the best available players in positions which allows for future success of the club.

Now, lets see if the front office can put all the pieces together, and the Bucs can make history this year by getting the ultimate home field advantage.

26 points and we win!

As the Bucs move towards the free agency period and the draft, there seems to be three areas to focus on, the defensive line, cornerback and the dire need to add a couple of playmakers on offense. Sure, Joey Galloway continued on his Darryl Green-like career, notching his third consecutive 1000 yard season, but wound up at the end of the year playing with a bad wing and was a non factor in the playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants.

The simple fact is that the offense has to improve. The Bucs struggled in the red zone this season and settled for field goals when they should have been scoring touchdowns. The Jacksonville loss this year immediately comes to mind. An interesting trend emerges when you look at the Jon Gruden tenure with the Bucs. In the 6 years with Gruden holding the tiller, when the Bucs score 26 points or more, including the playoffs, they have a 21-3 record. They were 7-0 in the Super Bowl year of 2002, 3-0 in 2004, 5-0 in 2005 and 4-0 this past season. Actually, the only year Tampa had a losing record when scoring 26 points or more, was the abomination in 2006, when they lost 34-31 in Chicago, even though Tim Rattay led a valiant comeback effort in defeat.
In this day and age of prolific scoring in the NFL, 26 points a game shouldn't be such an insurmountable goal. It's simply 28 points more than the Bucs all-time single season scoring point total of 388 in 2000 when second year quarterback Shaun King was under center and he was throwing to the likes of Keyshawn, Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green.

So how to rectify the problem?

The first thing I would address is the return game. While the Bucs did finally produce their first ever franchise kickoff return for a touchdown this season, the punt return game suffered greatly. I realize injuries took their toll as the season progressed, but by the end of the year, the Bucs should have simply put all 11 men on the line and tried to block the punt rather than set up a return. Through either free agency or the draft, the front office should focus on finding one player which can return both kickoffs and punts while being able to fill in at a wide reciever position. I really like Devrey Henderson from New Orleans for this. He's a young player who has great speed.

Second, the wide recieving corps has got to be upgraded. Galloway could most likely play 2-3 more years, but he's got to get some help. Ike Hilliard had a good year but suffered a neck injury late in the season. Maurice Stovall shined on special teams until he was lost at the end of the season with a broken arm. And once again, Michael Clayton stood out with his blocking ability but had a lackluster year in receiving, 22 receptions for 301 yards and no scores really strikes no fear in opposing defenses. This writer believes that Clayton and Stovall are really on the bubble this year. One player which could be considered an upgrade at the wide reciever position and is now available is Donte Stallworth. This former first round pick in 2002 by the New Orleans Saints, played for the New England Patriots this past year in the third wideout position recording 46 receptions for nearly 700 yards and three scores. Thats really not all bad when you consider he was playing with Moss and Welker. The front office should move on bringing Donte in for a tryout/interview. Stallworth has played with Jeff Garcia in the past, and while he's never posted a 1000 yard season in his career, I feel he would be a major addition to the recieving corps. He's a solid reciever, not another Alvin Harper or Bert Emanuel. Remember, the objective is to get to 26 points per game.

Third, there is always the nagging position known as tight end. For so many years, the Bucs have had to rely on a big blocking tightend so he could stay in and help block with the dire state of the offensive line. With a young o-line coming together, perhaps we can actually utilize that position in the offense more next season. I thought Jerramy Stevens did some good things down the stretch this year, but recently there have been some character issues brought up again regarding him. Alex Smith, who always seems to look like he's right on the cusp of becoming an elite player, but then something happens. Anthony Becht, along with Stevens are both free agents this offseason and might not be back. I've read reports after the Super Bowl that the Bucs front office might want to trade for Jeremy Shockey from the Giants. Shockey might be a good player, but it just brings to mind how the egos of Gruden v. Shockey might co-exisit harmoniously. Then there is Alge Crumpler, expected to be released today from the Falcons. 30 years old, and doubt regarding a knee injury. I say bring him in for a physical and if he's healthy, sign him to a reasonable deal. If not, does anyone have Jackie Harris or Jimmie Giles on speed dial?

The last position to address is running back. Usual readers already know I'm excited about the re-signing of Michael Bennett. Earnest Graham will most likely have his contract extended. Mike Pittman might be the odd man out here. I'd love to see him back for another season or two, but not at break the bank money. If Pittman moves on, I'd like to see Dominic Rhodes fill his roster spot. Carnell Williams is up in the air as to whether he will play in 2008 or even ever again in the NFL. I like the fact that Ken Darby can be in the mix in the offseason. I see alot of Warrick Dunn features in his game, pass catching abilities and speed on the outside. There seems to be alot of discussion about Michael Turner from San Diego on the message boards now, but he's going to get a break the bank type deal and really isn't the type of back which fits with the Bucs. Turner is a talent, no doubt, but he needs a Denver, Pittsburgh, Chicago, grind it out style of offense. Tampa needs a Roger Craig, Ricky Waters, or Michael Westbrook type back.

In 2002, Gruden instilled the motto, "Pound the Rock" in the lockerroom. Perhaps in 2008, Gruden can work on scoring 26 points or more a game. It's a proven successful combination.

Shermans march to Atlanta

Wow. Yesterday some talanted players from last years Falcons squad were released. And, of course, there was plenty of chatter on various NFL team message boards on which team had to sign which player. Many Bucs fans wanted to sign Alge Crumpler as soon as he cleared out his locker, but reality is, free agency hasn't started yet, and some team will over pay him. He wont be signing with the Bucs this next week. And then there is the issue of Rod Coleman. He will be a late training camp, post June 1 signing for someone who needs a fill in player.

After reading various Bucs message boards, there seems to be a movement towards wanting to sign Asante Samuel from the Patriots. I have to ask, WHY? Should we really lock up Nate Clemens type dollars on a corner? I say NO. Take a CB in the draft in the 2-3rd round of this years draft.

The two players I'd like to see signed in FA period on the offensive side of the ball, Dominic Rhodes, and Devery Henderson. If Crumpler wants to sign quickly, sign him too, but his agent is most likely advising him to await the free agent period.