If you have been a fan of your team for more than a decade, I am almost certain you have or will in the near future experience a "Re-Building" Era. A New coach that wants new players, new schemes and youth are all markers of this. Entering into this season as a Bucs fan I prepared myself for a bad season. We knew it was going to be a re-building year and I warned you of the potential shortcomings of this years Buccaneers. Holes have been exposed. Our defensive secondary is thin and incapable of stopping the opposing pass offense. Our defensive line generates 0 pressure and our defensive tackles aren't capable of accomplishing their one goal: stuffing the middle. On offense we look good. However, the more people get injured the more the problem rears its ugly head. Depth. Jeff Faine [...] Continue reading →

I have really sucked at keeping you informed of what is going on in Tampa. By the time I get around to writting these articles, you surely have read what has happened the previous weekend. For that, I apologize. What I don't apologize for is what you are about to read. I did my best to warn you the growing pains that the Bucs will experience this season. I warned you about the lack of depth, lack of defensive leadership and coaching and too many people starting who shouldn't be. First, you have the opportunity to read what is going on from other sources (and of course my opinion): Jermain Phillips is out for a while with a broken thumb and could be a candidate for the [...] Continue reading →

Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a 34-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Bucs played a better game than losing by Two Touchdowns , but a loss is a loss. By now you have surely read the box score and seen the highlights. So, we'll skip the formalities and dig the positives and negatives for the game. Positives: Byron Leftwich. He was 25 of 41 with 276 Yards, One Touchdown and most importantly 0 interception. Miraculously, the offensive line also protected him from any sacks (though he did take plenty of hits). He had some fantastic throws, and several more that were dropped. He did miss a few open WR, but he surprised many critics. The Offensive Line: The OLine played very [...] Continue reading →

I started delving into the Red-Zone (Inside the 20) statistics. The Bucs were the 30th best Red-Zone Team. Let's look at the numbers and then why the Bucs have to improve this season. First, all of these stats come from USAToday.Com. They have some great records of stats which I utilized. Also, I understand these stats mean nothing this year. New Coaches, New Scheme, New Running Backs, New Quarterback, New Tight End...I get it. Please do not leave a comment saying this. The Buccaneers were EXCELLENT at getting to the red-zone. In Fact, they tied for 9th with 56 [...] Continue reading →

James Williamson, the "Fan Voice" of the Dallas Cowboys, was gracious enough to spend a few minutes answering some questions about the Cowboys and this weeks game (also my opinions are in italics): ME: With the departure of Terrell Owens, how can we expect your offense to change? Will they rely more on your fleet of running backs or will it continued to be a balanced offense? JW: Mike, the offense is changing, but not in the way you think. Most people believe that the Cowboys failed because they became a passing team last year and Tony Romo screwed up. That wasn't the case. The Dallas Cowboys lost left guard, Kyle Kosier, who was replaced with Cory Proctor, who was, to be nice, inconsistent. The Cowboys ran the ball around 50% of the time last year. They just [...] Continue reading →

News, Notes and of course, my opinions After giving Coach Jeff Jagodzinski the boot, Quarterback coach Greg Olsen will take over the play-calling duties. Olsen plans on opening up the playbook. Speaking of Coach Jags, it seems to be a consensus around the locker room (per several Bucs news sources) that it was a good decision. Basically it came down to Jags being lazy. He wasn't ready to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL and didn't put in the effort and work it would take. I liked Jags, and I liked him as a head coach at Boston College, however, if this is the case it was the right decision. The confusing part is the lack of vetting Raheem and Co. did [...] Continue reading →

Wow! Here is the press release per Buccaneers.Com The Buccaneers announced today that they have dismissed Offensive Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski. Quarterbacks Coach Greg Olson has been promoted to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Jagodzinski was named the Buccaneers offensive coordinator on January 29, 2009. He came to Tampa Bay after two years (2007-2008) as the head coach at Boston College. Prior to his stint at Boston College, Jagodzinski served as the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and spent the two seasons (2004-2005) prior to that on the staff of the Atlanta Falcons. Olson joined the Buccaneers as quarterbacks coach in 2008 and was retained when the team promoted Raheem Morris to head coach. Olson previously served as the [...] Continue reading →

With as often as I am wrong, there is no reason you should take these predictions with much value. However, Here are some Official (and you can hold me to as many of these as you want) predictions about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 1. Byron Leftwich WILL remain the starter the entire season. Josh Freeman simply isn't ready. Nor do I forecast that he will be by week 7 or 8. While Leftwich will make some mistakes, none of them will cost his job. I could see Morris buckling to fan and media pressure if he made some crucial mistakes, but I just don't see that happening. Mistakes? Yes, of course he will make some and he may do nothing special to win games, but they will be minimal. 2. Jermaine Phillips gets benched. Tanard Jackson is a better free safety. [...] Continue reading →

Some News, Notes and of course, My opinions Sean Mahan was Released after signing Marcus Johnson. I am pleased that Tampa didn't settle for Mahan being Jeff Faines backup, as he was just terrible in Training Camp and Pre-season. Who has a fighting chance to make the roster? Torrie Cox doesn't look like an option going into the season. Entertaining take from Shaun King and JoeBucsFan about Freemans development at the third spot on the roster. It's not often you hear of a 1st round quarterback also being [...] Continue reading →

In the third pre-season game or "Week -2" for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the Miami Dolphins edged the Bucs at home in a barn-burner....10-6. I took a ton of notes during this game, but will for the most part spare you. A lot of what I saw surprised me, however, we are going to look at this game in conjuction with their training camp and first two preseason games. The fourth pre-season game is largely irrelevant and is just to determine the last few roster spots. I will throw out a couple of my observations from last night and add some thoughts about the rest of what we have seen and know. The defense is surprisingly good. The only touchdown the first string Bucs have allowed was a bomb on the first play from scrimmage against Jacksonville. It was largely a blown [...] Continue reading →