Will Favre be able to run the Buc's offense with just a limited training camp?  In order to answer this question, GM Bruce Allen went to a surprising source.  He turned to Chris Simms.  Simms recalled his conversation with Allen to the The St Pete Times:

"He asked if I felt Brett would be able to come back and be good here if he didn't have a lot of reps in training camp.  I said I thought he would but there would have to be some compromise with coach (Jon) Gruden. He'll just want the play called and to drop back and throw it in there."

I agree with Simms that Favre's success in Tampa hinges on Gruden releasing his grip on the reigns of the playbook.  Simms said what many of us already know; Favre is a gunslinger.  More interesting than any tactical appraisal, is the fact that Simms told the media about this conversation in the first place.  If I'm Chris Simms, this deal with Green Bay may be my best chance to be starting in late October.  I have to admit, I'm impressed with Simms subtly.  He is not out there blindly cheering for Favre nor is he staying silent on the sidelines.  Instead, he provided an honest appraisal of Favre's future in Tampa in the hopes that he will better maneuver himself to colder weather so he can compete for Aaron Rodger's job.

I'm still of the opinion that Favre won't be in pewter next year, but I'm kind of impressed by Simms media savvy.  He may make something of himself just yet.    

ESPN.com's John Clayton is reporting that the New Orleans Saints have officially traded for New York Giants Tight End Jeremy Shockey. The Giants get a 2nd and 5th round (2009) draft pick in return.

I'm a little envious, only because Jeremy Shockey is interesting and provides a brash personality on the football field ala Warren Sapp. The problem is his attitude and his recent rash of injuries. You gotta figure Drew Brees is excited but with a bit of skepticism and unknown for his new teammate. This inevitably will send the rivalry up a few notches, as Shockey has a tendency to fire up defenses with his on field antics. Who lays the lumber on Shockey first? Tanard Jackson? Jermaine Phillips? or Barrett Ruud? My moneys on Phillips... Welcome to the NFC South Jeremy..

Be sure to checkout Saintsational at Canal Street Chronicles, our New Orleans Saints Blog, for the latest on this trade.

Antonio Bryant could be the difference between winning 9 or 12 games next season.  A solid to great #2 WR is like adding a great arm to your bullpen.  It takes stress off of your rotation and allows each reliever to move down a spot.  The same thing occurs with a great deuce WR.  It frees up your main target, gives your TE's a little breathing space and forces defenses to stay honest and not crowd the box against the run.  This is especially true for this year's Bucs as we posses one of the best offensive lines in franchise history, a stable of reliable running backs and an intelligent quarterback.

So, is Antonio Bryant the difference maker?  When he was healthy, he put up some pretty gaudy numbers.  But he hasn't played in over a season.  What is unfortunate is no one in the media is really telling us anything.

In their recent "let's get jazzed for training camp" article, the St Pete Times called Bryant's offseason, "impressive".  The Tampa Trib astutely noted that Bryant "appears to have regained his passion and hunger for the game."

Wow, that was informative.  How is he handling Gruden's playbook?  How has he carried himself in the locker room?  Does he put in extra hours? Has he made plays that exceeded expectations?  Is he getting along with the coaches?  Teammates?  The Media?  Has his presence improved the play of Clayton/Stovall/Warren?  Does he still drive expensive Italian sports cars at illegal speeds?  Is he still refusing to take drug tests?  You know, the basic questions.

As of this point, I have no idea if Bryant will even make the team.  Some reports think that he is back to his old form.  The Bradenton Herald believes that Bryant could do a great job exposing NFC defenses for Brett Favre.  We won't know until the end of training camp, and even then all we will know is if he is better than our bottom feeders.  Let's just say that I am tapering my expectations.

Unlike ESPN/ScoutsInc, Jeremy Green, this is the story that we should be watching.  Clayton/Stovall/Hillard/Warren are not going to inspire fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.  On their good days, they are mediocre slot guys.  On a normal day they are either slow and/or enjoy dropping catchable balls.  Bryant's quickness and ability to get open when he shouldn't be able too are what is needed to elevate the Bucs to a playoff victory. 

At least he has no history of steroids like Boston.  Well, I hope. 

I guess I better start writing my next post, Dexter Jackson - Joey Galloway's Heir or Jacquez Green 2.0?

After months of bad press and scandal, a story like this can really make your day.  Stuart Mandel on SI.com wrote a great story about Myron Rolle's academic pursuits. While I would love to watch Myron suit up in a Bucs jersey, I am rooting for him to get the Rhodes, go to Oxford and become a leader in global health.  I've always thought that he was one of our best recruits, both in terms of talent and character, over the last five years and this story proves it.

On a more serious note, I also think this story demonstrates that the student-athlete is not dead, rather it is a choice that players make.  I am not saying that every footballer needs to be a 4.0 pre-med student, but it is possible to have above a 3.0 and graduate with a real degree.  As the Patriots have shown, players who graduate and do well in college, turn out to be more successful in the NFL.  I do believe that if Rolle does decide to turn pro, he has the potential to play with John Lynch's intellect in Ed Reed's body.

Summary:  The NFL's current use of geography to determine which four teams are in a division is arbitrary and should be dismantled.  The NFL should consider other options for organizing the regular season schedule in order to improve the overall quality of the regular season and the playoffs.  I recommend that the NFL abandons the idea of conferences in favor of an system that encourages both winning and rivalry.

Continue reading this post »

Update: Roy Cummings of the Tampa Trib thinks Simms to the Colts is a possibility as well.

For those that don't know - Peyton had surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his knee.  What is an infected bursa sac you say?  Well, as far as I can tell it looks like the tumorous head from Total Recall.  The Colts are saying that Peyton will only be out for four to six weeks and will be ready to go for the start of the season.

I believe that Peyton will be ready to start the season.  But, you have to think that Polian et al must be reevaluating their backups.  Even if they have faith in Sorgi (who makes Adam Vinatieri look like a linebacker), they can't think that rookie Adam Tafralis is ready to go.  No chance.  Fortunately for us, there are not a whole lot of quarterbacks on the market or on the trading block that they Colts would want to target.  I am throwing out the Favre to Indi possibility because I can't see Favre wanting to play as a backup.

So, I am going to call this right now.  Chris Simms or Brian Griese will be dressed in blue and white by the start of the season.  Either option is great for the Colts because these veteran quaterbacks will provide much needed competition to see if Sorgi is really ready for prime time.  It also provides the Colts with a viable insurance policy if Petyon gets injured.

What can the Bucs expect from this deal?  Not a ton, but maybe a fourth or fifth for Simms or a sixth for Griese. 

Why is this deal better than Glenn for Simms?  Well, it may not be in terms of talent, but I feel more comfortable with Simms playing in the AFC than in Dallas.  I have nothing but respect for Brad Johnson, but he is too old to play for more than a couple of quarters.  If we face Dallas in the playoffs, I would rather Gaines and Co had to chase down Brad than Chris.

The NFL needs to quit depriving its fans and get rid of the exclusive rights deal with Reebok. The main reason? Reebok is lacking in the Apparel department, specifically in the Hat Department. Checkout what MLB has done with its apparel: Nike, New Era, Twins Franchise etc. Granted MLB players actually wear hats as part of their uniforms, but who didn’t come out of the womb with a ball cap on? Whether it’s the NFL, MLB, or the NBA; fans wear hats a lot.

Why would you limit yourself to one outfitter, especially an outfitter like Reebok who can’t seem to manufacture a decent hat? They’ve yet to realize that you can actually color code the NFL Shield to match the team in which it’s accompanying. Nothing says ugly like the Bucs Red, Black, and White followed by Red, White, and Blue. I think we can all agree that Lids.com is the premier supplier of Hats, professional or casual. They actually have more Tampa Bay Devil Rays hats, than Tampa Bay Buccaneers Hats…. Are you serious? Head over to Lids.com if you feel like becoming depressed by the embarrassing selection of Bucs Hats for purchase. That’s not Lids fault, the blame falls squarely on Reebok and the NFL’s ignorance.

Check out the hats that could have Bucs logos and color schemes:

Now feast your eyes on the options we actually have as Buccaneer fans and consumers:

Unless Reebok miraculously figures out how to mimic New Era, Nike, and the Twins Franchises every move with their products, the entire NFL fan base is stuck like Chuck; as the NFL and its owners signed a 10 YEAR exclusive deal with Reebok in 2002… Ouch!! Who’s looking forward to next season’s hideous Draft Cap? What a disaster…

This week the absolute greatest Video Game on earth gets released…

For those of you Florida State fans out there, this is the only venue in which you will enjoy marginal success. We are in for a disastrous year at Doak Campbell Stadium at Bobby Bowden field, but hey at least they installed Video Boards so they can continue to royally disregard key replays. Damn I’m bitter.

At any rate, the game will unveil new (breakaway tackles) and supposedly more fluid movements and juke moves. The player models have been upgraded to make college athletes look like, well, college athletes and not a bunch of Gladiators roaming the field. Another cool addition to the game, is touchdown celebrations. You can actually run to: teammates and celebrate, run to your teams mascot and celebrate, OR run to the opposing teams mascot and GLOAT, which In turn riles up the opponents home crowd, very nice addition. EA has also added more uniform combinations including FLORIDA STATE’s Black on Black UNCONQUERED unis.

Madden will be released a month from now, although it’s never as good as NCAA Football, this year’s edition should be a little more exciting for Buc Fans as we actually have another threat on offense outside of Joey Galloway (DJax), plus we should have a return game at our disposal… If you’re going out to get NCAA, don’t forget to jump on EBay and get your roster names, I don’t know what I would do without those!!!

ESPN.com is reporting QB Brett Favre has asked the Green Bay Packers for his release, indicating he is not done playing Pro Football...

No way does he make down to Tampa, no way

(7:08 Eastern Time) NoahChestnut:

Now on ESPN.com's front page:

ESPN's Kevin Seifert (a former Minnesota Viking beat writer - most likely irrelevant and something that may only interest me as I believe that the Vikings want Favre more than anyone else, though no way Ted gives Favre to the Vikings) reports that Tampa is as close to a perfect fit as Favre can find.

Seifert makes a reasonable argument that Favre can learn Gruden's system easier than many may suspect due to Gruden's previous coaching in Green Bay and the Favre's familiarity with the west coast offense.

The question now is - how much are the Bucs willing to give up to get Favre.  I wouldn't be surprised if Gruden was willing to pull a mini New Orleans Ditka and trade a second and third round pick for Favre's services.

I am still in the Garcia camp, but the I wouldn't be surprised if this is all we here about before training camp.