SB Nation - Ryan Sims

Should Raheem Morris go? These last three games may be the report cards biggest entry.

Niko Houllis — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:54:54 -0000

The next three games will make a loud case for or against Raheem Morris keeping his job.

It's an age old question, just one we can not believe we are asking already after only one season. In this article, we will look at the Pros and Cons Of Raheem Morris and his first season at the helm.

Mark Dominik is the second youngest GM in the NFL, but Dominik has developed a reputation as a good talent scout, and several teams were interested in him as a GM. He is the longest tenured Buccaneer, as he was hired in 1995, and promoted MANY times. We are going to give Dominik a pass. He will go into 2010 on the auto Hot Seat, as will Morris should we vote for him to return.

Executive Decisions: We have come to find out recently through many outlets, that the Glazers actually had a bigger hand in the hiring of Jeff Jagodzinski and Jim Bates than we thought. The Glazers did not want their young rookie coach to be without experienced talent around him. Yet Jags was fired 10 days before the season even started, and the Jim Bates experiement ended before the season did. The fallout from these mistakes is serious..

1) Ryan Sims was terible on the line last year, but he was thought to compliment Bates system. He was resigned.

2) The playbook is a mess. It has plays from Jags book, Jon Grudens Book, and some of Olsens book too.

3) The defense ended up going back to the Tampa Two. How many wins would they have gotten?

Its starting to seem like we cannot fully blame Morris or Dominik for this, but be known, it cannot happen again. A franchise QB like Josh Freeman needs continutity, and a running game around him. I hope we are a pass happy team now because of the playbook disaster and the maturing of Freeman at a faster pace.

IN Game Decisions: - Morris has been average, slightly below. But he seems to have learned some lessons along the way.

1) Clifton Smiths fumble eneded the 4 way running back race, and losing our two fullbacks ended the 3 way race too. But the two headed attack hasnt really done anything great.

2) Early on, Morris would seem to listen to players telling him to challenge a play based on their feeling. We havnt seen that happen.

3) Having guts to onside kick is great, but when you chicken out on 4th and 2, you lose some credibility. Deciding when to go for it, or not, is not easy. He has had a chance to learn from that this year.

4) Chest bumping will not be frowned upon...Gruden was far worse and no one said a word when we were 4-12 as to why he was pumping fists and going BOOM BOOM BOOM. Thats the way Raheem coaches...so be it.

But we have to go to the Head Coach when dishing out grades because ultimately it is his team. This team does NOT run the ball and the last three games is going to show us how much of what he says he means, or is hot air.

Player Coaching responsibilities- Lets face it, the team has never quit....up till last week. The Jets game showed us some offensive players who quit, and offensive guys are farthest from Morris as far as loyalty. These next three games, will show us how much Morris is in charge. If the Bucs are outplayed in the next three games, despite the lack of talent, Morris can kiss his job goodbye, and I will be calling for it. It will mean the Players are no longer hearing his message, and thats why we got rid of Chuky is it not?

New York Jets Run Offense vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Defense

John B — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:38:48 -0000

More photos » by Chris Young - AP

Thomas Jones should feel like he's facing the Bills.

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The Bucs are brutal against the run. They give up over 160 yards on the ground each game and 4.2 each carry. They are about as bad as the Bills against the run. You may remember the Jets hanging over 500 yards in two games against them. With a backup quarterback in the lineup and the kind of power rushing attack the Jets own, you can expect to see healthy doses of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene.

Stopping the run starts in the middle, and the defensive tackle situation tells us a lot about why Tampa Bay struggles. Chris Hovan and Ryan Sims have been two of the worst tackles in football this year. They consistently lose their matchups. Sims in particular will be New York's target as the Jets seem to have a big edge with him going against Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore. We'll see another below average run defender, Roy Miller, join the mix at the position as a rotational player. You'll see a lot of mock drafts suggesting Nebraska tackle Ndamukong Suh will end up with the Bucs. There's a reason.

At end things don't get a ton better. Stylez White is the one lineman on Tampa Bay who plays the run well, but he'll be matched up with D'Brickashaw Ferguson, who should have the edge. The Jets love running it to the right side anyway, and Damien Woody will be facing Jimmy Wilkerson, a below average run defender giving about 50 pounds.

Tampa's best linebacker against the run is Geno Hayes, undersized at 220 pounds and battling a hamstring injury. Middle linebacker Barrett Ruud has been something of a bright spot, but strong side backer Quincy Black, ironically the biggest Bucs linebacker, has played poorly.

Tampa Bay will probably load up the box, but I'm not sure how much it will help. They seem pretty overmatched up front.

Closing the Book on Week 10: A Clear-Headed Look Back

Craig T — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:58:25 -0000

More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

about 1 month ago: Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth (10) kicks a field goal against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter of NFL football action in Miami, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)

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After going through what we in the legal field call a "cooling off period", its a little bit easier to get over the BS officiating at the end of the first half and the sting of the late-game defensive collapse. Emotions aside, as usual, there are some things to take away from Sunday's game that left me nodding my head and grinning. Likewise, there are some things to look at that had me ready to chuck something at the TV. With a cooler head, let's take a look at some of those things.

3 things to take with us into Week 11:

1. Connor Barth. Need I say more? The cat booted THREE field goals of 50+ yards and launched some deep kickoffs, putting 2 of 3 second-half KO's from the 30 yd line into the end zone. His FG's carried straight through the middle of the uprights into the net, with plenty of leg to spare. Also, after kicking off from the 15 on the final drive after Winslow's boneheaded penalty, he punched a hard, knuckling line drive that streaked past Ginn, pinning the Dolphins inside the 20 with just over one minute to play. Game ball, sir, because Sunday you were the spark that set up...

2. A solid game by the Buccaneer special teams. The Buccaneers succeeded on one of the main factors I identified as a key coming into Sunday's game: contain Ted Ginn, Jr. On the strength of the deep kicks from Barth, the success the Buccaneers had in getting penetration in the initial Dolphin wedge, and the discipline to stay in their assigned lanes, the Buccaneer kick coverage team was as sound Sunday as in any game they played this year for certain. Miami averaged 18 yards per KO return and returned 3 punts for a total of 3 yards. Conversely, our weapon X, Clifton Smith, continued to provide a spark for the offense, finding a crease and returning a kick for 36 yards. He averaged 28.5 YPRet. Edge to our disciplined Buccaneer special teams unit.

3. Maybe, just maybe, this offensive scheme has some promise with Josh Freeman leading the way. Two weeks, two herculean comebacks by the rookie and a suddenly resurgent Buccaneer offense that has found a growing heartbeat in Olson's shotgun, multiple WR 60/40 pass/run offense. The offensive line (now even better with the return of Arron Sears) has actually done a pretty nice job protecting Josh Freeman, who has made plays mainly with his arm, but has also shown the ability to tuck and run... pretty darn well, actually... certainly better than I gave him credit for in my draft preview back in March. At one point, I recall him fighting through what appeared to be a sure sack and picking up positive yardage in a very Jared Lorenzen-like manner. Freeman gave double-digit targets to Kellen Winslow, who just can't be covered by anyone right now except good cover CBs and FSs. So far (and yes, it's early), you just have that feeling that when Freeman drops back and he has time, he's going to find an open receiver and make a play. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks, and it's of course possible he puts up a stinker, but his poise and level of play gives you a heckuva lot more confidence that he's got what it takes to succeed in this league than any other young quarterback this team has tried out in recent years.

3 things to leave behind at Landshark Stadium:

1. The continuing mental mistakes. As Paul aptly noted in his well-written piece today, good teams make plays and find ways to win games, and bad teams make mistakes and cost themselves chances to win games. The defensive breakdown on the final drive is obvious, but there were other mistakes during the game that contributed to the loss. FOUR fumbles by QB Josh Freeman, one of which was lost, another of which killed a potential TD drive in which Bucs had to settle for a long FG. Kellen Winslow had a big drop that hit him in the hands in the 2nd half, stalling a drive. He also had a selfish, look-at-me penalty after Caddy's go-ahead TD, setting the Bucs back to the 15 yard line. Think of your team, Soldja, and check yourself. Party on the sidelines after the extra point, guy. No, it may not have ultimately mattered in the end, but it could have if not for Barth's pick-me-up on the kickoff. Mo Stovall dropped a huge pass inside the Fins' 10 yard line, killing a drive late in the 4th quarter.

2. An anemic rush from the front 7. And I say "rush" to identify not just rushing on passing downs, but run blitzing off the edges on obvious rushing downs. As UNFNole and Buc Wild discussed before the game, the advantage gained through the extra blocker by the Dolphins' wildcat formation is suspect in some degree to a pass rush off the edge. My problem was not per se with the passing down situations, because I thought the secondary had a solid game, limiting the opportunities for passes over 15 yards by the pedestrian Dolphin receivers. Henne only completed 17 of 31 passes for a paltry 5.5 yards per attempt, the same ypc as the Dolphin rushing attack. It would have been even less if the defense had not gone into 'ole! mode on the final drive. As such, I don't think the lack of pass rush killed them as much today as it might when facing a much more potent passing attack.

Pretty conservative plan, alot of 4 and 5 man rushes. Not gonna get away with that next week against a strong Saints offense and all-world QB like Brees. Gonna have to take some chances.

3. More suspect tackling. This might upset me the most. This wasn't Week-2-in-Buffalo-debacle bad, but still... Forget the fact the Dolphins ran for 199 yards at a hearty 5.5 ypc gallop. The Buccaneer defense whiffed on some tackles that just simply had to be made. Good defenses have defenders who make plays in the open field when it counts. Unfortunately, the Buccaneer defense has some players who can't get it done play in and play out. Sabby not only lost his jock on Miami's first drive of the game, allowing Ronnie Brown to scamper from Dolphin territory into the Buccaneer red zone, but he took a terrible angle on the play. Instead of breaking down and at least forcing the outside-running Brown to cut it back towards the line of scrimmage and fellow defenders, he froze and let Brown get outside and into the open field. With the game in the balance, Ricky Williams ran right through an arm tackle from 300+ lb DT Ryan Sims on the final drive that sent the Dolphins from the fringe of field goal range to chip shot territory. Those two plays were game-changing plays at two important points of the game that set the Bucs back. No doubt there were more, but those two stuck out to me.

Chime in kiddos. What else did you guys and gals take as a positive from this game? What else do you want to leave behind at Landshark Stadium?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Grading out the defense - Week 1

Buc Wild — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:00:18 -0000

The column I've least looked forward to since taking over Buc 'Em. We all have a pretty good understanding as to how bad the defense played at times. It's also tough to assign blame when someone gets beat. I was discussing this point with a few guys over at DRB and it's a tough thing to quantify. Did the DB's fail due to lack of pressure? Did the LB's not get enough depth in drops? Tough to assign blame, but that doesn't mean I won't give it a go.

Click on over to the Tampa's little shop of horrors

Defensive Line

Gaines Adams - The whispers are mounting that he is a busy. I'm not ready to make that leap just yet, but his performance on Sunday didn't help his cause. Gaines didn't show up in the boxscore. Wait, he did. He registered an offsides penalty. That's it. He did pressure Romo on one or two occassions, but as a #4 pick and our top DE, he did nothing. Pressure has to be consistent. He has to be a guy teams game plan for. He isn't there. We need this guy to do more than he did. Grade: D

Roy Miller - Two tackles for the rookie. Not a huge impact, but as we've discussed, the DT's aren't asked to bring the heat, just stop the run and clog the middle. Dallas did run for 119 yards (4.9 YPC) against us, so there still is some work to do. But a 3rd rounder stepping in on day one is a good thing. Grade: C+

Ryan Sims - See the story above. Except he's not a rookie, nor a third rounder. He can occupy space and he does that, but he HAS to be stout against the run. Provided pressure on one play that I recall. Ultimately, a pretty average performance. Grade: C

The others - Was surprised at no Kyle Moore. Hovan played alright, but his (lack of) size is going to be a detriment. But he has a high motor so he fits nicely in rotation. Wilkerson was pretty much non existant. Pressure was put on Romo at times, but it wasn't consistent and didn't often come from the front four. Grade: C

Linebackers

Geno Hayes - Stepping in for a legend (once he got on the field) and he filled in pretty well. Six tackles, 3 QB hits and a tackle for loss. Not a bad start for his first as heir apparent. Was flying to the ball, didn't get out of position on coverage. Pretty happy with his play. Grade: B

Barrett Ruud - 4 tackles. For the leader of our defense, he didn't play much like it. He was beat several times in pass coverage. Tough matchup, but he has to do better. The system should fit Ruud well as its supposed to funnel everything in his direction. Something didnt work as intended then. While I was clamroing for him to get a new contract in the offseason, thus far the Glazer's have done the right thing. I hate saying that. He needs to pick it up and be a destructive force. Grade: C-

Quincy Black - Six tackles. Not an eye popping stat, but for another young guy who was getting his first start, he did well. Looked average in coverage. Was beat several times but had good closing speed to recover. You can tell he is still learning the position. A step in the right direction, but nothing to write home about. Grade: C

~~Touchdown Observers~~ Defensive Backs

Ronde Barber - Did well in his first day as a non Cover 2 corner. Had the only sack of the day on a nicely timed blitz. Added two tackles and a pass deflection that was almost a pick. The biggest feat? Not calling his name on ANY of the long touchdown passes. Grade: B+

Aqib Talib - For being labeled a head case, and still trying to learn the NFL game, thought he acquitted (pun intended) himself rather nicely. 4 tackles with 2 pass deflections he did well when matched up with the physical Roy Williams. Some confusion on a few plays but again, we didn't call his name on the long TD passes. Grade: B-

Jermaine Phillips - I'll buy into the "he still has LB weight on him, that's why he's slow" argument as to why he looked a bit lost in coverage. But the missed tackles? This is a trend. He hasn't learned to wrap up. His best hit of the day was taking out Elbert Mack on Austin's TD catch. Loves to come flying in only to miss a tackle. Has to get more disciplined. I'd rather see the ball carrier get another yard or two if Phillips would just slow down and wrap up. Grade: C

Elbert Mack - Missed jams at the line several times. Was beat on the Austin TD. He'll be on the field a lot. That's not a good thing at this point. Grade: C-

~~Sabby Piscitelli~~ He who shall not be named - I don't even know what to write. He led the team in tackles. That was usually a result of being beat in coverage. Gave up two long TD plays on completely blown coverage. He wasn't out manned, he simply was out of position, inexcusable. Got caught looking in the backfield too many times, bit on play action, bit on no play action, this was a game to forget. Finds himself involved in a lot of plays, either being a ball hawk, or chasing a receiver down the field. Just a gross day for HWSNBN. Grade: Z - It's the lowest letter I know of.

Overall

Bates' system was blown up. The pass rush was minor at best, the line backing crew played the run well, but didn't inspire confidence against the pass, and we all saw the secondary. The biggest surprise to me? No turnovers and only one sack. This wasn't a much better performance than Kiffin's refusal to adapt towards the end of his tenure. Minus the Austin TD, the first half was actually played very well by the D. Maybe it's the personnel not fitting the scheme, maybe it's coaching, maybe it's talent, lack of preparation, lack of discipline. It could be anything (though I fall in the lack of discipline area). What the Bucs (and we as fans) have to do is forget it. All will be forgiven if the Bucs shut down Buffalo, but if we see another repeat performance, the whispers will grow to yelling. The grades above may seem harsh, but I don't think our DL played any better than average, our LB corp, while they had some good plays, weren't game changing, and our secondary, well, when I have time to stand up in the stands during a play and yell they're going deep before Sabby and crew can realize it, I consider that a loss for the team. Overall: D+

A look back at the first week of training camp

Buc Wild — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:30:09 -0000

More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP

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The players are out watching the new G.I. Joe movie. And deservedly so, they just finished the first week in training camp, one that was more physical than the last few seasons due to Coach Morris' mandate on wearing pads and hitting. We've seen and heard alot about the Bucs in the last week, but what have we learned? With week one fully in the books, let's take a position by position stop around the team and recap the first week of the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's 2009 training camp.

Quarterback - We all know about the expectations, question marks, and relative inexperience at the quarterback position. But how is the battle shaping up? Josh Johnson, though not performing poorly, seems like a man destined for the practice squad, either here or with another team. Josh Freeman has had ups and downs. The young gun definitely has the arm strength, but as you'd expect, he's still green. A three interception day in camp is not what you want to see. At this point, I'd expect him to have a clipboard in hand come opening day. The last two are the vets, Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown. They'll be battling for the job all camp long. McCown has been fairly level while Leftwich started slow and has come on towards the end of the week. It'll be interesting to see who wins out. No one seems to separate themselves from the pack. I wonder if it's possible that Johnson could be kept on over Leftwich or McCown? Too soon to tell.

Running Back -Here we have the four headed monster. Earnest Graham has looked good, even ripping up equipment and ending a drill early when he pulled a cord off the goalposts. Derrick Ward is a bit hobbled right now, with his foot in a walking boot. Let's hope it's nothing serious. We need him this year. Clifton Smith is Mr. Everything right now, hitting special teams and running back. Cadillac is back at it on the field, looking good. His hands are still suspect, but he will be a valuable commodity during the year. No real movement on the depth chart here. Graham and Ward (assuming both are healthy) are the guys here.

Wide Receiver/Tight End - We know what we have in Antonio Bryant, and he hasn't let us down yet. Michael Clayton has come on strong in camp and looks like a number two receiver. The battle for the third spot continues and each day a new receiver has a strong day. Today was Cortez Hankton, but Brian Clark, Sammy Stroughter and even new addition Mario Urrutia have come on strong. Dexter Jackson started off strong but in recent days has started shying from contact again and dropping passes, not a good combo. Winslow and Stevens are known commodities and while Winslow was called out for his emotional outbursts, it's nothing we didn't know. As far as camp goes, no real surprises here as the top dogs are performing as such and there are some good battles going on for the lower spots

Offensive Line -Let's just hope everyone stays healthy. Jeff Faine is out with a groin injury and with Arron Sears still not in camp, we can't afford any more losses. The line is still adapting to the new zone scheme and for every great play and correct read, they have one that doesn't look so good. But that's to be expected in training camp.

Defensive Line -Big movers here. Gaines has been called out by the coach for a double digit sack year. Stylez G. White and Jimmy Wilkerson are having alright camps, but not spectacular. Chris Hovan hasn't had his name called much and I'd imagine he and Ryan Sims are incumbents in name only. The guys making some noise are newbies Kyle Moore and Roy Miller. Moore has been everywhere in the backfield drawing praise and Miller has been eating up the middle. I'd like to see Gaines get to the QB more and be more aggressive. This group, although the rookies are playing well, needs to step it up

Linebacker -Let's start with Barrett Ruud. I'm just happy he's in camp without that new contract. We need him to be a leader and he is doing just that. Jermaine Phillips can still hit you, but his reads have got to improve. He's learning on the job, and that will have some bumps in the road, but let's go Flip, you're a linebacker now. Geno Hayes may not be turning heads, but he's been alright. Consistent with only a few big plays. The big game changer thus far? Quincy Black. I hope his performance translates to the field. His performance in camp has been great and if he can make it count on Sundays then we have a pretty good player here.

Defensive Back -This group, well, it's been tough. Much like the OL, for every good play, there's a bad play. Ronde Barber has actually been fairly solid in the new scheme, something most Bucs fans didn't expect. Elbert Mack has been on fire, making play after play after play. Smart money is on him to be no worse than second string. The surprise? Aqib Talib and his poor play. He's been beaten, missed some tackles, just seems in a funk. Hope he can find his form quickly. The safety position has been quiet, with Tanard Jackson and Sabby Piscitelli making few plays, but also being somewhat solid in coverage. Will Allen looks to be in the mix as a rotating player.

Special Teams - Josh Bidwell is doing his thing. The kicking battle is close. Though Mike Nugent has missed more kicks, I'd say he's in the lead just based on Matt Bryant sitting out with a leg injury. Bryant has to get back into camp and make some kicks to show he's the man in Tampa. Several players have been returning kicks and punts. Clifton has been back there, Sammy Stroughter, Elbert Mack, even Cadillac. Alot of faces back there, but it's gonna be Clifton's job to lose.

So there you have it, a quick run around camp position by position. As far as dominating story lines, here you go

- Padding up: Players in full pads and live hitting in most drills. Not usual for Bucs camp

- No rest for the weary: The cool down tent is gone, get used to the heat

- McCown running with the ones: He's had first crack most days with the first team, followed by Leftwich

- Cadillac is back: Hasn't missed a practice, good to have you back

- Injuries: The lack of injuries is a great thing, though a few players have been dinged up

- All players in camp: Outside of Sears, every player has been in camp, another good sign

Practice starts back up tomorrow morning and is followed with an afternoon session. Hope the players enjoyed the night off, it's a full day tomorrow.

Inconsistency plagued Day Two of camp for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buc Wild — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:14:38 -0000

More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP

If I can't make the team as a cornerback, maybe my jazz hands will impress the cheerleading staff........

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Training camp is now in full gear on day two, and it's easy to see that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a young team. We have many first-timers on the team including starting quarterback, head coach, GM, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. While there has been general excitement around the team, today was a day where some question marks started to slip in.

Day two of camp isn't the end of the world. I highly doubt that any team is firing on all cylinders, but with a young team, the concerns are there. One of the main concerns is inconsistency across all frontiers. It was well noted by any and every publication yesterday that the Bucs offense got the better of the defense. The routes were crisp, the blocking was good, the throws were delivered with authority and to the right players (though it's hard to screw up 7 on 7 drills). Today was a different story. Balls were dropped, throws were off the mark, snaps were fumbled. I fully expect this to continue, that is, to see the ups and downs of young players learning how to play while digesting a new playbook. It's no reason to declare the season as done, but will be something to keep an eye on.

The defense appeared to improve, generating some pressure and making some splash plays. Ryan Sims even managed to find the backfield and stay on his feet, an improvement over last year. Quincy Black is another name to keep an eye on. Looks like the coaches plan on moving him around and letting him rush the passer a bit. He seems to be a better fit in a 3-4 defense in the role of a Merriman, Ware or Harrison, but when you can make plays, the coaches will find a way to use you.

In fact, things were so off-kilter that Morris ordered the team to go full bore, contact, tackling etc for the last little bit of practice. Only caveat was, don't touch the QB. It's interesting to see Morris take charge and change the dynamic. I've been pretty impressed thus far, though I guess my expectations aren't sky high.

Some of the other quick notes. Leftwich is struggling, even with elementary tasks like taking the snap, as he fumbled a few. McCown still looks like the number one, though its a long way from over. Freeman is doing what rookies do, learning on tthe job. He did throw an interception, but it sounds more like a wrong route than bad pass.

The more mistakes they make now, the better they will be. It takes time to gel as a team and to understand your responsibilities in a system. I'd rather see blown coverage now, or a fumbled snap now than on September 13th with Dallas in town.

Day two is almost in the books. Still a lot to learn and a lot to see until the first game.

Roy Miller gets his contract

Buc Wild — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:26:24 -0000

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Roy Miller, Defensive Tackle from the University of Texas, has come to a contract agreement with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 6 foot 1, 310 pound defensive tackle will compete with Dre Moore, Chris Hovan, and Ryan Sims for playing time. His strength at Texas is what drew the Bucs to draft him, though his size is almost identical to the other three players he will be competing with.

Per ProFootballTalk, Miller's deal has base salaries of $310,000 (2009), $395,000 (2010), $480,000 (2011), and $565,000 (2012) with a $770,000 signing bonus. Miller was a captain his senior season at Texas and was named as an All Big 12 defensive tackle after starting all 13 games.

With the signing, there is only one draft pick left to join the team; quarterback Josh Freeman, which there is some encouraging news on the contract talk.

The completion of the deal means the Buccaneers have now signed five of their six '09 picks, leaving only first-round selection Josh Freeman still in negotiation. The quick contract work on this year's draft class has inspired confidence that the entire roster will be intact when camp opens on July 31.

From Buccaneers.com

Welcome to the Bucs family Roy. Don't be afraid to venture into the other team's backfield once in awhile.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Voluntary Mini-Camp Day 1

JScott — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:56 -0000

Trivia Time: Which song did the Buccaneers warm up to today on the Practice Field?

2Pac – Ambitionz Az a Ridah

Seether – Careless Whisper

Conway Twitty – Lead On

Quarterback Luke McCown continues to say the right things (hopefully Antonio Bryant learns something from him):

"I don't buy into the whole, ‘This is my team. This is that guy's team,’ This is our team. We're a young team, we got young real fast. We lost a lot of key veteran guys that have been here for 14 years obviously with Derrick, Ike, Joey, and Kevin; guys who have been in the league a long time. It's not my team, it's not Jeff Faine's team, this is our team. We're going to get better together." per the St. Pete Times

QB Brian Griese will miss this three day voluntary mini-camp as he is in Denver with his wife who is expecting their second child any day now.

RB Earnest Graham is not in camp either as he deals with an undisclosed family matter.

Continuing the trend of those not in camp, Donald Penn is nowhere to be found either. Some speculate he is sending a message to the club… right

New LB in Angelo Crowell is also skipping this voluntary minicamp in order to be 100% healthy for June’s mandatory camp.

"QB Luke McCown remarked about the size of his new playbook (three inches) compared to Jon Gruden's (six)." - St. Pete Times

Jimmy Wilkerson is spending a lot of time at Left Defensive End and if the season were to start today Chris Hovan and Ryan Sims would be your starting Defensive Tackles. - St. Pete Times

Bates said if need be he can adjust his system to Ronde Barber, but at this point it’s bump and run coverage for every CB.

Do yourself a favor and check out the photos from St. Pete Times photographers Brian Cassella and Daniel Wallace, there are some fantastic images there (DJax, Derrick Ward, Raheem Morris, Kellen Winslow, Jags, Tanard Jackson etc)

The Colts have released LB Buster Davis, if this were Kiffin's defense we might give him a look. If it were mine I would give him a shot.

Antonio Bryant Franchised; Ryan Sims Signed to Long-Term Deal

The Bull Gator — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:26:17 -0000

Special thanks to TheUltimateBucFan who recently posted both stories in the FanPosts section.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially placed the franchie tag on wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Be placing the tag on Bryant, the Bucs ensure the receiver will be in pewter and red in 2009. Once he signs of course. There is a small chance another team could scoop him up, but at the cost of two first-round draft picks, it's highly unlikely.

The two sides were not close enough in their long-term contract negotiations, but applying the franchise tag buys more time. Tampa Bay still has the opportunity to negotiate with Bryant without the fear of losing him.

In other signing news, the Bucs have signed reserve defensive tackle Ryan Sims to a four-year deal. The terms of the contract are unknown at this point.

This is an interesting move on the Bucs part as Sims provides depth, but will never live up to the hype he received coming in to the league. We'll reserve most of our thoughts on this until the terms of the deal are released. Locking up depth at a low price is never a bad thing.

Team Needs: Nose Tackle

Matty I — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:15:07 -0000

Previously, I've talked about the Dolphins' needs along the offensive line and at wide receiver. And Nicky did an excellent job talking about Miami's needs at outside linebacker. So now let's stay on the defensive side of the football and talk about arguabley the most important position in a 3-4 defense - nose tackle.

2008 Key Contributors: Jason Ferguson (22 tackles, 5 tackles for loss), Paul Soliai (3 tackles)

2008 Performance
At 34 years old, Jason Ferguson didn't have his best season ever. But when you consider how Miami's defense simply wouldn't have worked without him, Ferguson was a solid performer week in and week out for the Dolphins. And one could argue that the acquisition of Ferguson by Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland is the main reason why the Dolphins' rush defense improved from dead last in the NFL in 2007 to 10th in 2008. And never was Ferguson's value exemplified more than in the regular season meeting between the Dolphins and Ravens. The Dolphins were able to contain Baltimore's rushing attack until Ferguson was forced to leave the game with an injury to his midsection. In the 2nd half, without Ferguson or backup NT Paul Soliai (who was suspended by the team for the game), the Ravens ran right down Miami's throat. So make no mistake about it - Jason Ferguson, despite being 34, can still play and still has gas left in the tank.

But he does need some help. He needs a guy that can spell him more often during the course of the game. Paul Soliai has the body type to be an effective nose tackle, measuring in at 6'4 and 355 pounds. But he has been a disappointment through his first 2 seasons as a Dolphin. His play has been inconsistent at best while he has reportedly shown flashes of immaturity off of the field - likely the reason why Soliai was suspended for a game 2 seperate times in '08 by this coaching staff.

But Soliai really did look like he was coming on strong late in the season - providing a surprising push up the middle. And he was the guy who made that early big play against the Ravens in the playoff game - forcing that fumble that Joey Porter receovered.

It'll be interesting to see what the Dolphins do with Soliai this offseason. He has the potential to be a decent nose tackle. But he must become more consistent on the field and more mature off the field. But with just a $550,000 salary in 2009, he'll likely have every chance to prove he belongs on this roster.

The versatile Randy Starks also played a little bit at the nose - specifically when Ferguson went down against the Ravens. But despite his measurables being very similar to those of Ferguson, Starks isn't really a nose tackle and likely will not see action at the nose except for emergency situations. He's too valuable as a versatile DE/DT combo as a reserve.

Help Wanted, But Who?
It's no secret that the Dolphins will at least look long and hard about finding a potential long-term replacement for Jason Ferguson. He'll be 35 in November and is going to begin to wear down sooner rather than later. But where will the Dolphins turn for help?

Find nose tackles is a tricky thing to do. The draft rarely has more than a handful - and even that's pushing it - of players who could play the nose. And free agency usually isn't packed with them, either. After all, teams who need nose tackles know how hard it is to find a good one and rarely let one go once they have one.

Potential Free Agent Targets
Colin Cole - Cole, who measures in at 6'1, 330, has spent his first 4 years in the NFL in Green Bay, primarily as a reserve defensive tackle. And Cole recently turned down a 3 year, $7 million deal from the Packers. With their defense expected to switch to a 3-4 in 2009 with Dom Capers running their defense now. But Cole, for what I've seen of him, is stout at the point of attack and could very well be an effective nose tackle.

Gabe Watson - At 6'3, 332, Watson is an idea nose tackle. But he's a restricted free agent in 2009 and the Cardinals will likely try hard to re-sign this young stud lineman. He generates a very good push from wherever he lines up and, from what I can tell, is a terrific run-stuffing force. But the Cardinals will definitely place some kind of high qualifying offer on him which will make it hard for another team to sign him away without giving up unreasonable compensation. But could another team possibly tempt the Cardinals enough with some kind of trade package?

Tank Johnson - Weighing in at just 300 pounds, Johnson might not be the ideal fit for this regime at nose tackle. And his off the field issues make him a risk. But what if he was willing to come to Miami on the cheap? Eh - I still think it's unlikely.

Ryan Sims - Sims will be 29 this offseason, but doesn't have too much tread on his tires. He has the measurables, coming in at 315 pounds. But he's never played the nose before. And from what I've seen of Sims, he doesn't get as much push as you'd like out of your nose tackle. But might he come on the cheaper side?

Potential Draft Targets
The draft, as usual, doesn't offer too much in the way of potential nose tackles. Boston College's B.J. Raji is the best NT prospect, but will be long gone by pick #25. However, his college teammate, Ron Brace, is probably a guy who will project as a 2nd rounder and he very much has the ability to be a top nose tackle. Measuring in at 6'3, 323 pounds at the Senior Bowl, Brace is big and strong. The knock on him, though, is his conditioning - which may not be up to par. However, this regime and the South Florida heat would likely fix that quick. He's a guy who could be on Miami's radar.

Terrance Taylor, out of Michigan, is the only other lineman that I could see possibly playing the nose. He weighs in at 308 pounds according to most reports. And he hold his ground well. But he doesn't necessarily have the ideal size Bill Parcells usually looks for in a nose tackle. However, should he fall into the 3rd or 4th round, Taylor could very much be a possible selection by the Dolphins.

My Thoughts
I'd love for the Dolphins to pass on all of the free agents and simply draft Ron Brace with their 1st 2nd round pick. But the Dolphins could very well decide to hold off a year on taking a nose tackle. It depends on how much importance this regime is placing on finding Jason Ferguson's future replacement. But man, Brace would look damn good in aqua next year.