SB Nation - Jimmy Wilkerson

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

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

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

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.

Bucs on the verge of a Top 10 Pass Defense!

Niko Houllis — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:45:10 -0000

More photos » by Reinhold Matay - AP

One of the reasons the Bucs have improved in pass defense.

Browse more photos »

Before you go down your own "Life on Mars" checklist of possible causes of this unbelievable headline, know one thing. It is NOT a misprint or typo. Use whatever reasoning you want to in coming up with an explanation, (like the fact we have the 31st rushing defense) but the numbers do not lie. We are currently the 11th Passing defense, at 198.5 yards per game, and that's not the only statistic that the Bucs are better than the average bear in.

In what is exclusively an offensive catagory, the Bucs are tied for 14th in sacks allowed. This is easy to understand, as Josh Johnson is not easilly sacked, and the fact that our Offensive Line is one of our biggest assets.

Then you have probably the only catagory that both sides have to contribute to, the turnover margin. In this realm, the Bucs are a respectable 16th (Tied) at -1, meaning with one more interception by a Tanard Jackson or so, the Bucs will have given the ball away as often as they have taken it.

So what does it all mean? Well speaking of T-jack, it may be no mystery that since his return the Bucs pass defense has improved (along the lines of Jimmy Wilkerson and Styles White increased results in rushing the passers) in passing stats. Rushing stats however, the Bucs are virtually dead last, 31st, at 171.7 yards per game, absolutely absurd for an NFL team. Clearly the Bucs need to invest in their interior defensive line, somthing has really has not been news for several years now, going back to the weekly requests by former Head Coach Jon Gruden calling for more effort from his D line. One by one the stars on the line have gone, and have not been replaced adequately.

Simeon Rice ---> Gaines Adams---> Styles G White...

Warren Sapp--->Chartric Darby---->Anthony McFarland--->Ellis Wyms---->Jovan Haye---->Ryan Simms....

Brad Culppeper---->Anthony McFarland---->Chris Hovan....

Greg Spires---->Kevin Carter---->Jimmy Wilkerson

as you can see, only one, and that is probably debatable, is close to the same level as the guys who rushed the passer in the heyday of Franchise. Luckily, the 2010 draft of which the Bucs are stacked with an ultra high #1 and #2 pick, as well as an extra #2 pick of the Bears for the trade involving Gaines Adams. Expect youngsters like Roy Miller to get serious playing time for the rest of 2009 as Raheem Morris looks to see what he has from the latest picks.

Build a Defense of Former Kansas City Chiefs

Chris Thorman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:45:30 -0000

More photos » by Reinhold Matay - AP

3 months ago: Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams (34) gets brought down by Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Gaines Adams (90) and Jimmy Wilkerson (97) during the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)

Browse more photos »

Since it's a bit of a slow news day, I wanted to throw out what should be a good conversation starter: What former Kansas City Chiefs would you build a defense with?

A couple caveats here. First, let's make sure the players are active or at least capable of being active and at least appeared on the Chiefs roster at some point. That could be practice squad or regular season roster. It doesn't matter. Second, keep in mind that the Chiefs are running a 3-4 defense now. Do your best to pick players that make sense in that role (Although after putting together my list, this is tough).

You can just talk about which former Chiefs defensive players you think are even slightly worthy of bringing back. Like I said, this is a conversation post on a slow news day.

A good resource for you is Pro Football Reference's Chiefs page. Click on the year then click on Starters & Roster to peek at the players for each season.

My picks are after the jump. Cut and paste this list into the comments to make your own.

DE: Jared Allen

NT: Vonnie Holliday (Not the best fit but the NT is tougher)

DE: Jimmy Wilkerson

OLB: Scott Fujita

ILB: Kawika Mitchell

ILB: Kendrell Bell

OLB: Boomer (Ha!)

CB: Benny Sapp

CB: ???

SS: Bernard Pollard

FS: ???

Wow. Okay, I wrote the intro to this post and then tried to pick the players. This is tough work!

Enlighten us AP readers. What former Chiefs are even slightly worthy of being considered backups on our 32nd ranked defense?

Have fun with this. I'm off to bed early tonight.

Panthers vs. Bucs: Blogger Q&A

Jaxon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:37:49 -0000

More photos » by Mel Evans - AP

2 months ago: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Johnson (11) is sacked by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Chris Gocong (57) in the first quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Browse more photos »

It's Wednesday Panther fans and that means its time to move past last weeks game and onto the match-up at hand. This week the Panthers travel to the Big Sombrero that is Tampa Stadium, home of the Buccaneers. The blogger team from SBN’s Buc ‘em blog joins us this week for the next installment of blogger Q&A. Providing the answers to my five questions is Niko, BucWild and UNFNole who blog quite robustly about the Tampa Bay Bucs. Be sure to check out my answers to their questions over at Buc em.

If you should have a question or two as well feel free to post it in the comments and we’ll see if we can get one of the guys to come over and answer it by the end of the week.

Let’s get this party started:

Question 1: We might as well start at the top. So what is your impression on new HC Raheem Morris at this point? Is there anything about him that has surprised you? Still happy?

Buc ‘em: I'm one of the people who actually knew about Raheem Morris before February of 2009. When he came back from one year at Kansas State, he immediately repaired a great deal of damage from the 2006 secondary, which became a fantastic 2007 defensive backfield. Has Morris made mistakes? Yes. The Training Camp, OTAs, Preseason battle between McCown and Leftwich, all wasted. The Offensive coordinator shambles, and perhaps even the choice of defensive coordinator, which we won’t know for some time if that was a mistake. Cutting Derrick Brooks and his leadership could be another one. There are many Bucs fans who want him removed ASAP. But the knowledgeable football fans understand that the real problem of the Bucs is a lack of experience and talent. Instead of retooling, Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen repaired holes with band-aids, aging veterans and castoffs that are no longer in the league.

It doesn’t sound an ideal first season for the Morris regime.

Question 2. So is your offense now a passing offense or are you still a running offense? Which should the Panthers plan for the most?

Buc ‘em: It depends on how fast and much of a lead you get on us! The Bucs have been passing a lot because they have fallen behind a lot. Also, they have run the ball well at home. You can expect a heavy dose of Cadillac and Ward, but if you get 14 points spotted on us early that might change that prediction. Or if you’re able to shut down the run like Philly Was, that too could put the ball more in Josh Johnson hands.

The Panthers will certainly want to force the Bucs to play catch up and throw the ball. SS Chris Harris has a big match-up with TE Kellen Winslow.

Question 3. Tell us about the QB situation. Are you happy with Josh Johnson at QB? Do you expect rookie QB Josh Freeman to get a start soon?

Buc ‘em: Josh Johnson has really shown remarkable improvement in just the two games he has played in so far. Bucs fans know Josh Freeman is supposed to be the future of this franchise, but Coach Morris has said this is Johnson's team until Freeman is ready. Freeman has the physical tools to be successful, but Johnson has the ability to stretch the play with his feet, and has a quick release and accurate/ strong arm. As long as he is not part of the problem, Bucs fans are cheering for JJ.

For those Johnson fans it sounds like this kid could become available in the future. He is just the kind of player the Panthers would target in free agency.

Question 4. How have the big Free Agent acquisitions RB Derrick Ward and TE Kellen Winslow met expectations? How do you rate those moves so far?

Buc ‘em: They came after the failure to secure arguably the biggest prize in free agency, Albert Haynesworth. They were met with immediate applause, which turned to some little boos as K2 got a contract extension and did not show up for all the OTAs. However, with his 100+ yard game last week, Bucs fans got to see that K2 can be Josh Johnson's best friend in the passing game, and Derrick Ward simply hasn’t had a chance because quick 14 point deficits have had the Bucs offense more in passing mode. When he has gotten the chance, Ward has made the best of it, and Bucs fans know that no matter what, the running back position is the deepest on the team, and not a major cause for concern.

We know that Derrick Ward and Warrick Dunn can hurt us so there’s even more emphasis on getting an early lead.

Question 5. Has perennial Pro Bowl LB Derrick Brooks been adequately replaced? Who's your defensive MVP to date?

Buc ‘em: There is no way to replace a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer like Derrick Brooks. You just try to do your best to refill in the position. Geno Hayes was Brooks’ protégé last season, and still gets text pointers from ESPN's newest member. Hayes, like Brooks, is considered a little on the small size, but what Hayes mostly lacks is the experience Derrick brought to the position. One such example is the Slow It Down play you can see on our site from Wednesday. Brooks would have sniffed that play out; instead the Eagles used it to trick Hayes. Defensive End Jimmy Wilkerson had three sacks vs. the Eagles, and has been the lone standout on the Defensive line which needs a complete overhaul in the offseason.

I’m still surprised Brooks hasn’t landed somewhere else. I’m also surprised to hear the DL needs an overhaul. It sounds like RT Jeff Otah may have his hands full with Wilkerson.

Score prediction:

Buc ‘em: Probably a close game as most Carolina/Tampa Bay games seem to go. Probably not a whole lot of defense, nor offense either for that matter. 50 total points seems about right any way you want to slice them up. 23-21 should be the score, and for the last time this season, I will pick Tampa Bay.

I'm thinking its more like 31-17 Panthers.

Positives are there, if you can find them.

Niko Houllis — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:06:29 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

NFL leading pass dropper, currently with 8 drops in 5 games.

Browse more photos »

Most fans knew going in this was going to be a David vs Goliath. Looking back on the game, the Bucs did show up with some pretty impressive sling shot materials. Just enough to, at times, leave you thinking that they could make a game of it.

Until Sean Mahan played Matador (Ole) letting Eagle pass rushers through untouched, or Michael Clayton dropping 4 more passes, for a total of 8 on the year, leading the NFC. Doesn't Raheem Morris understand, Clayton needs 20 touches a game before he can be expected to catch every ball. If Michael Clayton thought he caught heat this week already, that is nothing compared to what this next week will be like. Several fans have already started a website 80sucks.com that is getting mentioned on sports radio shows including the Bucs own, and it is bound to get worse. He can no longer be relied upon to catch a football, and no matter how good he blocks, Tampa Bay pays other guys to do that. Some of those guys are called Tight Ends, who coincidentally did not get it done when it came to blocking assignents.

But just when we think we have the Bucs where we want them, players like Kellen Winslow Jr come up and show the youngsters how its done. Numbers are one thing, but K2's 9 catches for 102 yards was not as impressive as the fact two of them were Touchdowns, and that the catches were all seemingly at key moments of the game. Winslow's receptions were PLAYS the team needs to start making. Young guys like Josh Johnson at times looked like the players the Bucs need to turn this losing streak around. Then on other occasions they don't, like losing a simple snap on 4th down, or throwing up the ball when under pressure instead of throwing it away and living for another play. The positives were there to see for Josh Johnson, who had the team moving the ball in between the 20's. Four red zone turnovers killed several scoring drives.

Jimmy Wilkerson led the defense with 3 sacks, but the pass rush from the Bucs otherwise was virtually non-existant. Gaines Adams, who had the best quarter of his life last week, did not record a tackle.....again. We heard all preseason that this team was going to abandon the Tampa Two but jam up receivers at the line and hold them up until pass rushers get to the quarterback. Sounds good in theory. Problem is this team has no one that can get to the Quarterback, and corners that cannot cover consistantly if at all. The Bucs have given up 8 TD passes of 30 yards or more. There were back to back seasons the Bucs would not give up that many deep scoring plays.

All of this is sure to bring on even more pressure on first year Head Coach Raheem Morris, who is now having to start to explain the reasons for this, the poorest start in 14 seasons. College Freshmen were not yet in kindergarten the last time a Bucs team was 0-5. The offense was supposed to be a running team with deep throws off of the play action, but shouldn't a team run the ball first successfully before a play-action is effective? The Bucs are currently wasting one of the deepest backfields in team history, including a remarkable return from not one but two career threatening injuries to Cadillac Williams. Not tot mention the valuable experience Josh Johnson is getting that's probably being wasted as Josh Freeman will be getting the start soon when Center Jeff Faine returns, and the lessons for the young QB will have to be repeated. If the losses continue to add up, the calls for Josh Freeman will start to be heard if they aren't already.

Bills vs Buccaneers: Five questions with Buc 'Em

Brian Galliford — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:30:16 -0000

Last week in our pre-game preparations, we spent an entire six days interviewing the folks at Pats Pulpit about the then-upcoming Monday Night Football game. For the rest of the season, we'll be doing interviews in this format - five questions on Thursdays, and predictions on Saturdays.

The Buffalo Bills have a massively important rebound game - it's also their home opener, by the way - coming up this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs opened their season with a 34-21 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys, and are making the trip to Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first time in franchise history this week. Here to help us understand a bit more about the Bucs are Buc Wild and Niko521bucs, big dogs at SB Nation's Buccaneers blog, Buc 'Em. Our conversation with these two Bucs bloggers are after the jump, and make sure you drop by Buc 'Em for the reciprocating Bills-centric interview/conversation.

The Bucs gave up three touchdown passes of 40+ yards to Tony Romo and the Cowboys this past Sunday. What happened on those plays?

Niko521bucs: It was a combination of inexperience in Jim Bates' new defense and inexperience on the part of safeties Sabby Piscitelli and Elbert Mack - two young guys in our secondary. Another major contributor to the problem is free safety Tanard Jackson, who is suspended for the first four weeks.

Buc Wild: He's right. Sabby Piscitelli got caught out of position on two of the big plays. It's a case of a young player not being disciplined enough in coverage. The other long TD came from a missed assignment by Elbert Mack, as he whiffed on the bump at the line of scrimmage.

Dallas did a great job of neutralizing DE Gaines Adams, who did not record a stat in Week 1. Beyond Adams, how does Tampa's pass rush look?

Niko521bucs: Not really that good. Honestly, neutralizing Gaines is not as hard as it sounds. Head Coach Raheem Morris has told him straight up that anything less than double digit sacks will label him a BUST. As for the rest, they did an adequate job against the run, but we have to improve against the pass.

Buc Wild: I hate to keep echoing Niko's thoughts here, but our pass rush is just not very strong right now. We have no premier pass rushers, and in Jim Bates' scheme, pressure comes from the DEs and LBs while the DTs clog the middle. This leaves it up to Adams, Jimmy Wilkerson and the linebacking crew. While they are young and talented, you just can't count on all the pressure coming from linebackers in a 4-3 scheme.

Byron Leftwich was efficient in Week 1, and the offense as a whole was excellent, picking up 450 total yards. How confident are you that that production will continue?

Niko521bucs: The biggest worry we have is losing Jeff Faine, center. But free agent pickup Jonathan Compas played in his absence pretty well. Left guard Jeremy Zuttah can play center, too. The trend should continue somewhat, especially once Faine returns in about four weeks.

Buc Wild: I'm confident that the offense can remain efficient; not so much in the 450 yards. I'm hoping our defense can cut some of the mistakes, thus allowing our offense to grind out some more yardage and clock. Leftwich shouldn't be throwing 40 times a game.

If you had to game plan against the Bucs, give us your brief strategies on offense and defense.

Niko521bucs: The Bucs like to run the ball, and will run with three if not four running backs, and then throw the ball on play action fakes.

Buc Wild: There are two ways to beat our offense - you either pressure Leftwich and force him off his spot, or you put eight in the box and stop the run. We're a pretty balanced offense, and throwing that balance off will kill us. On the defensive side, you beat the Bucs by throwing. I think we can stop the run fairly well, but with three young members of the secondary and Ronde Barber, there are holes to be had.

I'll admit that I was, and remain, a huge fan of Raheem Morris and his potential as an NFL head coach. But he's made some controversial moves early in his stint. How do you think Morris is coming along as a head man?

Niko521bucs: You will get different answers from different people, even probably within our site. I like Coach Morris, and do not feel he has really done anything all that crazy. Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks, Alex Smith, and Ike Hilliard are all still looking for work.

Buc Wild: My opinion is still being shaped, but as of now, I'm not sold. I think he's done some good and some bad, but he's making rookie mistakes. Problem is, we have no seniority to help him lead the team.

Game Day Focus- Jimmy Wilkerson

Niko Houllis — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:15:08 -0000

View full size photo »

Prepare yourself as best you can. Take a seat first, drink a cup of strong coffee, do what you need to do and get it out of your system. Because when you turn that TV on tonight and you watch your Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are not going to look too familiar. It will be the first time since 1995 that the Buccaneers defense goes into battle without coordinator Monte Kiffin. Add on another year since the last time the weak outside linebacker position was manned by someone other than number 55; Derrick Brooks. They say Barrett Ruud will take over as team leader. We know Jim Bates is the new man in charge of the side of the ball that has gotten it done for the Bucs for a great deal of time, and No One is going into this season with higher expectiations than Gaines Adams. But on the other side, Jimmy Wilkerson who parleyed a starting spot in the lineup last season. Wilkerson had 5 sacks, but 4 came in the last half of the year.

From 2003 to 2007, He started a grand total of 5 games for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs saw something in him that KC did not; and made him the starting Defensive End for 2009. It was his offseason improvements that spoke volumes for him. He slimmed down from 290 to 265, yet added muscle in its place.

Tampa Bay ranked 19th in sacks per pass play last season. That just will not cut it, in fact the Bucs were held scoreless in sacking for 3 straight games in October; @Denver, Carolina, and Seattle.

Now Wilkerson is optimistic the plans implemented by Bates will improve Tampa Bay's pass rush this season. Now that he is a starter, he can finally be at ease, but his wait to become a standout left end has just started! But he has had an excellent attitude, working hard even after the OTAs were finished and the wait for season began.

If the Bucs are to try to have a winning record in 2009, players like Jimmy Wilkerson are going to be the ones that that lead them there.

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

Browse more photos »

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.

Raised Expectations for the Defensive Ends

Buc Wild — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:15:08 -0000

Something we hope to see more of this year; Gaines Adams harassing opposing QB's

View full size photo »

Expectations for a player can be dangerous. A first round pick at WR who puts up an average of 40 catches for 500 yards and 2 TD's is seen differently than a 5th round pick who does the same. A 7th round DE who totals 7 sacks has parades thrown in his honor while a 1st rounder who puts up the same numbers can be seen as a disappointment. Gaines Adams, Jimmy Wilkerson and Stylez G. White know this, the coaches know this, and the fans certainly know this.

When you are the 4th pick in the draft and brought in to replace one of the best pass rushing defensive ends (Simeon Rice) expectations are raised. Changing your name from Greg White to Stylez G. White puts you in the spotlight, garners more stories on you, and with more publicity comes higher expectations. Having ESPN name you the breakout player on the team thrusts you into the limelight and put you in a place where an average season suddenly becomes a disappointing season. All three of these players have had expectations raised by things take took place off the field. Not typically a good sign.

I find myself more excited than years past to see what these guys can do. I'll admit, I was never a fan of the Gaines Adams pick. I root for him, I hope he does well, but leading up to the draft I was hoping the Commish would announce a different name. It's a tough place to be in as a fan; you want your team to do well, but you don't necessarily agree with the pick (Sound familiar 2009 #17 pick?).

When he came out and pseudo-underperformed, I thought "This is what we drafted? A "dominant" end who can't get to the QB and who takes the outside rush every play?" But with the hiring of Jim Bates and bringing in his 4-3 Run Contain scheme and coaching that has produced big numbers for pass rushers in the past, I actually look forward to seeing what Gaines and crew can do. Worst case scenario, they don't play well, but at least then we know what we have and know that defensive end is a need. I'm not rooting for that, but I'd rather know what we have in a player than go in blindly year after year. Best case scenario, the defensive ends turn into clones of Jim Bates' past.

Jason Taylor had 2.5 sacks, and he (Bates) went in there and had 14.5 and 17. Trace Armstrong went from single digits to 16.5 in his only Pro Bowl year. Adewale Ogunleye came in and had 16.5. Aaron Kampman went from single digits to 16.5

- from an interview with the Pewter Report

Without taking a technical look at the ends, or previewing years past, I think we all can say we expect more out of that group. More pressure, more sacks, more fumbles. Everything on defense starts with pressure.

So going into the 2009 season, the bar has been raised simply by hiring a new coach, a name change, a brief article on ESPN and continued expectations based on a draft slot. What does this mean? Hopefully we see these players destroy those expectations, but I'd be happy with this group just meeting them. Gaines will be challenged to live up to his draft status and paycheck and become a game changing defensive end, one who teams have to gameplan on how to stop him. Stylez (it's beyond ridiculous to type that out) will be faced with trying to live up to his flashy demeanor on the field and prove that the coaching staff can rely on him after a name change and motorcycle accident. Wilks needs to show up everyday and play and show he is worthy of being an every down player. Expectations are there, challenges have been issued, how till they respond?

With the new season just around the corner, what are your expectations for our defensive ends?

Tampa Bay Buccaneer's Wednesday Morning Links

Buc Wild — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:52:51 -0000

A few links to start off Wednesday morning. Another day, a few more looks at our ~~inexperienced~~ young team.

Can Morris defy the odds? - Doesn't appear that Vegas is too high on Raheem Morris and company winning the NFC. Maybe if you believe enough you should drop a few clams on the Bucs to win the NFC, you know, if sports betting was legal.

Winslow in Fantasy - Overrated? - Telling us more of what we already know, a fantasy look at Kellen Winslow (Here's a preview; They think Winslow might have a gimpy knee and attitude problem..........shocker).

Glazer's selling off assets - From the financial portion, Glazer's sell the controlling stake in a company George H. Bush started. The Glazer's have had a controlling stake since 1992. What does this mean? Could be nothing, could show they are hurting for cash with Manchester United bleeding. Speculation can be fun, until it hurts your team.

Buccaneer Camp Dilemma - Breaking News: It rains in Florida. That is all.

NFC South Running Game - A quick look at the NFC South, particularly the running backs and how they fared in 2008 with a brief look at 2009.

Wilkerson a breakout player? - This article is a little older, but I wanted to bring it up as not many people are familiar with Jimmy Wilkerson. If you had told me we'd be running Monte's Tampa 2, I'd so "No way is he gonna break out this year". But with Jim Bates in town and his history with Jason Taylor, Trace Armstrong, Ogunleye, and Aaron Kampman, maybe he can make something out of Wilks also. The premise for the article seems far-fetched. ESPN is essentially calling him a break out player mainly due to the fact that he has practiced with the first team in the offseason. Maybe they know something, I certainly wouldn't object to double digit sacks from Wilks.

Bucs need a WR? - According to one columnist they do. And who do they say could fit the bill? Ex-Qb turned WR turned junkie Matt Jones. He is on the young side of things, but unless Dominik does a 180 after saying we didnt need Plax, I can't see Mr. Jones being signed.

That does it for the early morning links of the day.