Buc 'Em: FanPosts

Dre Moore, Clifton Smith, Micheal Spurlock amoung Practice Squad signees

TheUltimateBucFan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:10:22 -0000

The regular eight-man practice squad includes six players who were with the Buccaneers throughout this summer's training camp: wide receiver Brian Clark, tight end Daniel Fells, cornerback Marcus Hamilton, defensive tackle Dre Moore, running back Clifton Smith and wide receiver Micheal Spurlock. The other two spots went to cornerback Brandon Sumrall, a rookie just cut by the Minnesota Vikings, and offensive lineman Julius Wilson, most recently of the St. Louis Rams.

I am just estatic that the Bucs will be able to continue to develope Dre Moore as it would have been disappointing for him to sign elsewhere. Clifton Smith made a huge splash this preseason and I know many are happy to see him sign. How can we forget Micheal Spurlock? Include both Clark and Hamilton and this makes for a great looking practice squad and one that most should be familiar with the players who are on it. Of course as the season progresses, this group will surely change but for now I am happy with the group that we have.

Bucs release Eugene Wilson

TheUltimateBucFan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:01:10 -0000

A little bit of a suprise since Wilson was one of the few moves made in this less than splashy off season. Goes to show how much faith they have in undrafted free agent CB Elbert Mack. I personally don't see how this guy went undrafted because after watching his play in the preseason I am definitely sold. To fill Wilson's spot, the Bucs claimed OG James Gee from the Browns. The Bucs were especially vulnerable going into the season on OL with Davin Joseph out. They only had 7 lineman on their 53 man roster before signing Lee.

New England releases John Lynch

Craig T — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:07:08 -0000

The Pats apparently released John Lynch today after agreeing on a deal with him a few weeks ago. I didn't get to watch but a few minutes of the TB-Pats game and certainly haven't watched any other Patriot preseason games, but he must have been more than half a step slower than the rest of the Pats DB's to cut him after committing to a salary with him. The team will be trotting out Rodney Harrison and James Sanders for Week 1 and is reportedly interested in possibly bringing Lynch back in at a later time. Yes, Lynch, who will turn 37 in a few weeks, is at the twilight of his career, but some team looking for an aggressive, hard hitting safety who can fit into blitz and run support packages might not give the Patriots the chance to do that.

Bucs Ready For Saints

williams24 — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:07:33 -0000

Obviously we had some tough decisions but we’re excited to get the season going,” Gruden said. “New Orleans is going to be a great challenge in itself, but we feel like we’ve got 53 quality football players and now we’ve just got to prove it.”

Some of the most difficult calls for the Buc management involved familiar faces that have done a lot for the franchise, both on and off the field. Veteran players such as Chris Simms and Ryan Nece were hard to let go, Gruden said, but making such moves is in the nature of the business.

“We had some tough decisions,” Gruden reiterated. “It’s hard to say goodbye to Chris. He laid it on the line here and did some great things for us and I’m confident that he’ll get another opportunity. I can’t really speak on every single player, but we had some tough decisions. With that being said, it was emotional, to a degree, and hard. But it is every year. Ryan Nece is a guy that played a lot of football here. I wish all those players the very best. Unfortunately we’re only allowed to keep 53 guys.”

Those 53 players are now preparing for the New Orleans Saints. Although the Saints are a familiar NFC South foe, they also have some new faces on their 53-man roster, and Gruden said the Bucs have been preparing for the opener for some time now.

“You have to look at New Orleans,” Gruden said. “They’ve made multiple changes. They have some new players in key positions — Jonathan Vilma, Sedrick Ellis; they’ve added some corners; Jeremy Shockey; they’ve got a great quarterback; and they’re well-coached. We tried to moonlight a little bit and see what’s going on. There have been some changes in there structure, and I’m sure they’ll have some changes they haven’t shown waiting for us.”

WR Chad Johnson shall be forever known as Loco

JScott — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:16:23 -0000

From this point forward if you discuss the Bucs trading for Bengals WR Chad Johnson be careful as nobody may realize who you’re talking about. That’s because Chad Johnson has officially changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco, reports ESPN.com.

This guy can’t get any more weird can he? My goodness, officially scratch him off your "Potential Wide Receivers worth trading for" List. I mean, is he for real? The funny part is this: In Spanish Ocho Cinco means Eight Five… Not the Eighty-Five he would logically be going for. Then again, Ochenta y Cinco doesn’t have that good of a ring to it does it? I can’t believe I actually suggested GM Bruce Allen should trade for this cat.

Update to Anquan Boldin Fan inspired Trade Scenario:

JScott — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:48:18 -0000

If you’re interested in whether the Arizona Cardinals fan base is warming up to your current trade offer of a 1st Round NFL Draft Pick and RG Jeremy Zuttah or WR Michael Clayton for WR Anquan Boldin be sure to head over to Revenge of the Birds, our Arizona Cardinals Blog, for the current poll results!!!

You might be surprised...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Top Fantasy Football Players are...

JScott — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:17:43 -0000

I’ve been asked by Eric from Fake Teams to provide his site with our team’s Best Fantasy Player and a Sleeper Pick for his respective readers… As you can imagine I struggled at first with this task as we truly do not have a ‘Stud’ Fantasy Player per say. Sure we have a Pro Bowl Quarterback, but he wouldn’t be your first choice at Quarterback if you intend to win your Fantasy League. Our typically stellar Wide Receiver hasn’t played a single down of Pre-Season Football and I have a hard time visioning his last performance against the eventual Super Bowl Champs in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs (its vomit inducing). So I had to get a little crafty in my selections for Fake Teams. Be sure to head over to Eric’s site and determine for yourself if I made the right selections: click here. If you agree/disagree let your voice be heard here and over there!!!

DE Marques Douglas traded to Ravens for picks in 2009/2010

TheUltimateBucFan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:22:08 -0000

Check this link regarding Bucs trading DE Douglas to Ravens: Click Here I wasn't really thrilled with the signing in the first place. The picks appear to be low/conditional picks and aren't known at this time Good thing is that we don't take a cap hit and 2.6 million will be added to the cap this year (Douglas signed a 4 year/10 million dollar deal in the off season).

Also, what about Chris Simms rumors? Anyone have any? How about this link talking about the injury to Kyle Boller? Check this out: Click here. Doesn't mrention anything about Simms, but Ravens and Falcons are high on my list of teams for Simms to be traded to.

BOLD MOVE FOR BOLDIN?

stixx692001 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:53:41 -0000

I think getting Boldin would prove the BUCS are serious about improvement. We didnt get a big name free agent when we had a chance. Although Bryant is gonna blow the doors off of this Division I gurantee.So if Boldin is really gonna be available we gotta try and get this guy. He would bring great speed and skills to our WR reciever group...c`mon Bruce Allen...tighten up!! We would have an awesome group and it would make our running game deadly, worrying about the deep threat would bring the DB`s out further off the line of scrimmage. The RB situation is vastly improved also. Bennett is what I saw in Minnisota. He may be the starter before this season is over. And with someone being a threat downfield like Boldin, we will be by far the best team in the NFC SOUTH. We are already probally the best team we ever had here in tampa ever, offensive wise. As always....GO BUCS!!!

Buc Fantasy Football

derbyfever60 — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:47:19 -0000

Attention all SERIOUS Buc Fans. I have an awesome Fantasy Football League with 10 teams seeking to expand to 12 teams. Draft will be on Tuesday night September 2 at 6:00 PM in St Pete. If interested, please e-mail me at derbyfever60@yahoo.com for more details. This will be first come first served so do not waste any time. Once we fill, that is it. The only thing better than winning a Fantasy Football League is the Bucs winning a Super Bowl!

P.S. Ernest Graham RULES!!!!!

THANKGOD FOR THE NY JETS!!

stixx692001 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:07:53 -0000

WE DIDNT NEED FAVRE, WE HAVE GARCIA AND HE`S THE REASON WHY WE MADE THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR. NOW GARCIA HAS TWO YEARS UNDER GRUDENS SYSTEM. WE NEED CONSISTANCY AT QB HERE IN TAMPA. AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SAW THIS WOULD`VE BEEN A BAD MOVE? NOT TO MENTION A STAB IN THE BACK FOR ALL THE WORK GARCIA PUT INTO THIS TEAM? JEFF GARCIA IS ONE OF THE TOP 5 QB`S IN THE NFL AT THE MOMENT. FAVRE IS OF COURSE A LEGEND AND ALL THAT "BLAH BLAH BLAH"....BUT CMON, GARCIA IS A BETTER FIT. AND WHEN WE WIN THE NFC SOUTH AGAIN YOU WILL ALL AGREE WITH ME. GARCIA HANDLED THIS CIRCUS WITH CLASS AND NOW HE WILL COME AND KICK ASS 4-SURE THIS YEAR. THE JETS NEEDED FAVRE A HELL OF ALOT MORE THAN WE DID. I WISH THEM LUCK AND GOOD FOR THEM. WITH GARCIA AND GRIESE WE HAVE A DARN GOOD QB SITUATION AND WE`LL BE FINE. BETTER THAN WE HAVE IN MANY MANY SEASONS! GO BUCS!!

Brett Favre traded to the New York Jets

jacksontsmith — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:06:32 -0000

Being a Buccaneer fan, I was almost totally convinced that Brett Favre would be our quarterback this season. The way this panned out really looked like he was going to come to Tampa Bay.

That idea is finished. As of tonight, Brett Favre is now a New York Jet. The Packers recieve an undisclosed draft pick for Favre, who will now most definitely be the starter for the Jets.

This could perhaps be the end of Chad Pennington's career as a Jet. The scenario that seems to play out is Kellen Clemons sitting behind Favre for a year or two, grooming to be the starter.

JScott:

What a mess, you gotta wonder immediately how this impacts Jeff Garcia and every other Quarterback on the Roster not named Josh Johnson. This is clearly a case of Bruce Allen dragging his feet. I'm fine with the outcome, but if your putting your hat in the pool for BRETT FAVRE all the while stabbing each of your QB's in the same breath, you do everything you can to get Favre on your team. I also think Gruden might have lost his desire when he had 75 reporters in his face on an uneventful Training Camp morning... I don't think he was prepared or wanted to experience that onslaught day in and day out... Never the less it was an interesting and exciting couple days, but life goes on without Favre in Tampa...

SPTIMES.COM Reports Garcia Went Down With Knee Injury

balward — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:01:07 -0000

http://blogs.tampabay.com/bucs/2008/07/gruden-downplay.html

We'll see what happens now. I wonder if the Bucs will go after Favre now. Are they stupid enough to give them a first round pick? Or will they just go with McCown? Look on the bright side. We can be the worst team next year and get a high pick next year for a quarterback. We can draft Tebow! haha Oh and Haye went down with an injury too.

Update: The diagnosis is a torn calf muscle. Garcia is out for the season.

Another great story of one our beloved Bucs being a stand up citizen....

TheUltimateBucFan — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:35:38 -0000

Check out this link on reserve S Donte Nicholson who was arrested at a downtown St. Pete club over the weekend...http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3499488. Hopefully upper management will can his ass. He hasn't contributed much since being drafted back in 2005 anyways. In other news, I wonder why the Bucs didfn't make a move on Jeremey Shockey? I was reminded why after watching Nicholson get arrested! We don't need this kinda crap here!

Is my prediction going to happen faster than I thought? Reports say Favre visited Tampa/One Buc Palace

Rays Rule — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:10:37 -0000

The word on the street is deafening. Every bar I go into, every SportCenter I watch, you can't get away from it. Brett Favre could be a Buc sooner than we think people. Favre was reportedly seen dining with Bruce Allen at Flemings in Tampa, He also reportedly toured One Buc Palace as well. Reports from both Bays is that the Bucs are offering Chris Simms and a possible 2nd round pick for Favre,

It all makes sense. I believe this deal could go down (alhough I prefer a lower draft pick) and Brett Favre could be a Buccaneer by the time Training Camp breaks. Obviously this would give Jeff Garcia his chance to retire and become his wife's permanent cabana boy. Or, if he chooses to annoy another team I am sure he would fetch a mid round pick or better. Chicago and Minnesota as well as Miami would probably take him off our hands. Bruce Allen and company will get this done if it is at all possible.

WANT FAVRE? HERE'S A DOSE OF REALITY

ftballguru — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:39:33 -0000

2007 PACKERS VS GIANTS

Once again the Packer fans felt their team was destined for the Super Bowl because the overrated one was behind center. The Packers hosted the Giants, who were the NFC’s 5th seed. The Packers were seeded 2nd. Favre threw an errant pass in a close game early in the 4th quarter. Although in character, it was one of those passes that left you scratching your head in wonder. The ball was intercepted, but Favre was bailed out when a teammate forced a turnover, and as a result the Packers tied the game with a field goal. That was their last scoring drive.

Unfortunately for Favre the Giants place kicker missed two straight field goals, and the game went into overtime. The Packers won the coin toss and were now in control of the game, but not for long. For just the 2nd time in NFL history a quarterback threw the game away with his first attempt in overtime. Incidentally, Brett Favre was also the first. The Giants returned the interception to the Packer 34, which led to an easy victory.

Is there any chance Favre was most responsible for this loss?

Take a look at this photo. 3 receivers were wide open, and Favre wasn’t under any pressure. Think they were holding?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2256/2218951294_1523dffcbf_b.jpg

2006 PACKERS. NO PLAYOFFS Why didn’t he retire?

2005 PACKERS. NO PLAYOFFS Why didn’t he retire?

2004 PACKERS VS VIKINGS

Once again the Packer fans felt their team was destined for the Super Bowl because the overrated one was behind center. The Packers hosted the Vikings who had lost 7 of their last 10 games. The Vikings had backed into the playoffs with an 8-8 record. Favre became only the second Packer quarterback to lose a playoff game at home. The first was also Brett Favre. Favre’s second pass attempt was a perfect strike to a defensive back. The stage was set as Favre chased his mistakes throughout the day, and he finished with 4 interceptions versus a pass defense ranked 29th of 32 teams.

Is there any chance Favre was most responsible for this loss?

Why didn’t he retire?

2003 PACKERS VS EAGLES

Once again the Packer fans felt their team was destined for the Super Bowl because the overrated one was behind center. The Packers offense over-shadowed the Eagles, as many of the starters for the Eagles were out with injuries. Their offensive line was depleted, and as a result McNabb was sacked 8 times. McNabb was the Eagles only real offensive threat, because Westbrook was out of the game, and their top receivers were Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston.

The Packer defense had a better unit than the Eagles, and the Eagles defense allowed over 200 rushing yards, but the game came down to the quarterback position. McNabb converted on 4th and 26 and forced overtime, and in overtime the Packer defense held the Eagles three-and-out on their first possession. As a result the Packers started with good field position, and were now in control of the game, but not for long. On 1st and 10 Favre became the first to throw a Hail Mary pass in overtime, and he overthrew the intended receiver by a minimum 20 yards. That’s assuming there was an intended receiver. The Eagles picked off the pass, which led to an easy victory.

Is there any chance Favre was most responsible for this loss?

Why didn’t he retire?

2002 PACKERS VS FALCONS

Once again the Packer fans felt their team was destined for the Super Bowl because the overrated one was behind center. Favre would be the 1st Green bay quarterback to lose a playoff game at home. The Packers had both the better offensive and defensive units, but the game came down to which team had the better quarterback. Favre’s second pass was a perfect strike to a defensive back, and he finished the game with 4 turnovers.

Is there any chance Favre was most responsible for this loss? Probably not, but he certainly had a bad game, and did nothing to help them win against the NFL's 23rd ranked defense.

2001 PACKERS VS RAMS

Once again the Packer fans felt their team was destined for the Super Bowl because the overrated one was behind center. Favre would match a playoff record by throwing 6 interceptions. In fact, the opponent's first score was a defensive touchdown off of the first one, and they returned 2 more for 3 defensive touchdowns in all. The Packer defense was ranked 5th in the league and performed extremely well against the NFL’s best offense, but they couldn’t overcome six interceptions. The final score was 45-17.

Let’s do the math. 6 turnovers times 7 points is 42 points. The 3 interceptions alone were enough a Ram's victory.

Is there any chance Favre was most responsible for this loss?

2000 PACKERS. NO PLAYOFFS

1999 PACKERS. NO PLAYOFFS

1998 PACKERS VS BRONCOS

Once again the Packer fans felt their team was destined to win the Super Bowl because the overrated one was behind center.

Favre threw an interception midway through the 1st quarter, and the Broncos scored a touchdown as a result. Then he fumbled the ball on their next possession, and the Broncos scored a field goal. Both turnovers occurred with bad field possession for the Packers, and it should be noted that the Packer defense held the Broncos to no yards gained after his second turnover.

The Packers never saw the lead again, but down by 7 with adequate time on the clock guess who had the ball in Denver territory? Yes, Favre and the Packers. Favre finished the game throwing three straight incomplete passes in Denver territory, and the AFC proceeded to win their first Super Bowl since 1983.

Unlike 1996 the Packers were facing an equal. In 1996 the Packer’s return game accounted for as many yards as Favre passed for on 14 completions (less than a completion per possession), and he was facing the league’s 2nd worst pass defense. The Packer’s number 1 defense picked Bledsoe off 4 times, and White set a sack record.

Buccaneers Fantasy Depth Chart

NYCowboy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:43:39 -0000

Earnest Graham was one of the top fantasy free agent pickup of 2007 with ten touchdowns in ten starts. He'll enter this season as part of a deep backfield in Tampa. Read about where he should be slotted in drafts, and the rest of the Bucs in this fantasy depth chart summary.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS FANTASY DEPTH CHART

Key:

PTR= Position Tier Rank. This is the tier level where the player should be slotted in drafts.

1 = Elite Player

2 = Solid Performer

3 = Backend starter/Bench fill-in

4 = Roster filler or long-term prospect

0 = No value

ITR = In The Rotation

PB = Position Battle

S = Starter

QB PTR

Jeff Garcia - S 2

Brian Griese - PB 4

Luke McCown - PB 4

Summary: Garcia had an efficient, but unspectacular season, posting 13 TDs with just 4 INTs. He can be a reliable second QB option and will likely be drafted in the 16 - 24 range among QBs. Griese and McCown will battle for the backup job and both are capable of stepping in effectively.

Read the full depth chart summary here at The Fantasy Sports Forum

Keith McCants - Huh you say?

NoahChestnut — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:16:10 -0000

A great read from Pete Karasotis about Josh Hamilton and Keith McCants.

As a life long Rays fan it is both hard but ultimately rewarding to see Josh Hamilton succeed. It is rare that we get to see a public figure (athlete, celebrity, politician, etc) successfully confront their personal demons and rise so high and so quickly as we have with Hamilton. I'll be rooting for him at the home run derby.

I only wish we could have said the same thing about McCants. The more I think about, the more grateful I am for the culture that Tony Dungy brought to the Bucs (remember the concerns about Sapp) and how much certain players could use Tony in their lives.

If you are in Tampa, Tony is speaking at the Barnes & Nobles on North Dale Mabry this Friday. I wish I was there.

Draft Picks in a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Brawl?

Buc Beast — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:14:33 -0000

Soooo it seems (7th Round Pick) RB Cory Boyd and (1st Round Pick) CB Aqib Talib are arguing with each other all day at the rookie symposium and it turns into a fist fight during the budgets and finance meeting… Both of them had suspension problems in college.. and they embarrass the Bucs .. i mean they didn't even fight someone from another team!! What do you guys think about this mess? Does anyone have any details?? Right now with [Jerramy] Stevens problems people are starting to stare hard at the bucs.

JScott:
Rays Rule provides an excerpt from Buc Stats in the comments section about what had and might have happened leading up to the scuffle. Other than the report from Pro Football Talk I havent heard a single thing about this altercation, which is odd seeing how the Tampa Newspapers absolutely love this sort of stuff (who doesn’t). Regardless it’s a pretty sad story. I’m sure they’re over it now, but teammates’ fighting is unbelievable. It’ll be interesting to see how those two move on considering Training Camp will provide more than a couple occasions where they will compete head-to-head.

Could Brett Favre become a Buc? I say hell yeah!!!

Rays Rule — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:44:04 -0000

Oh think of the possibilities....Brett Favre and the Bucs, the Bucs and Brett Farve. Could it possibly happen? With the fact that Jeff Garcia wants a healthy raise and Bruce Allen and company are not foolish enough to give it to him, there is a significant chance that Brett Favre could end up a Tampa Bay Buccaneer (sorry, I'm choking on my spit right now). I have always dreamed that one day we could have a QB of Favre's ability, but never in my wildest dream did I think we could actually have the man himself. Old or not, the guy is a legend who can still play the game.

I found this link on ESPN that actually breaks down every team's chance of landing Favre. See this link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=williamson_bill&id=3474482. Hey, I say why not? I mean, we have a near 40 year old at the helm already so the only difference is that one is a Super Bowl winner and future Hall of Famer and the other is just a whine ass? Guys of the likes of Josh Johnson could learn a thing or two from the old man.Obviously there is no selling Jon Gruden. I'm sure he is watching this situation very carefully. I say to Bruce Allen: Take a chance because you never know when this train is going to stop again.

From Rays Rule aka TheUltimateBucFan