SB Nation - Cortez Hankton

Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Offense

Buc Wild — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

It's game like this that give me a love/hate relationship with this column. It's hard to be a fan and to be objective at the same time, and after a frustrating game like last night's it makes it difficult to put the "writer" hat on and be fair and balanced. This week we're gonna run through position by position in some cases, not player by player as we saw mostly starters, and I'll be honest, when in the seats at a game, it's nto always easy to tell who is who, particularly on the offensive or defensive lines.

Quarterbacks

I feel like we've said all we can say at this point. But let's dive in player by player here since this seems to be the hot topic around the Bay area

Byron Leftwich - We know who he is. Us expecting more is a pipe dream. He has a slow windup that will result in fumbles and sacks, as we saw last night. He has a cannon of an arm, which is a belssing and a curse. He rifles everything, which is great in places, but caused him to miss several open receivers. He felt pressure in the pocket and delivered the dump offs at correct times. Led our (only) two scoring drives. Not as accurate as I'd hoped, but kept the chains moving. Grade: C+

Luke McCown - Again, we know what we have, but we keep expecting more. Maybe he needs more experience, but i disagree with that notion because in probably 75% of his games, he has looked the same. He has a problem staying in the pocket. He makes reads and decisions in slow motion. He scrambles into too many sacks. He can deliver a nice ball, as we saw him hook up with Jerramy Stevens (though Stevens dropped it). Has a habit of rolling back and right on most plays. His mobility does help in places where players are covered, but just like Leftwich's cannon, it's a good and bad thing. Must learn to read and react faster. Allow wide receivers to make plays. Grade: C-

Josh Freeman - This is what I expected of him all along, to look like a rookie. When he wasn't running for his life, he was off on his throws and stared down receivers. I'm still encouraged in the long run with what I've seen of him, but this performance pretty much sealed his opportunity to play early. See you in Week 8-10 rookie (unless we are gunning for a playoff berth). Grade: C-

Josh Johnson - So much for him getting a chance to show his stuff. This leads me to believe that either he is cut material, or his position as 3rd QB is safe. I'd like to give him a chance (which I'm sure he and Freeman will get in the next game) to see what he can do. Too bad we can't see him with starters. He may not be great, but give the guy some snaps. Grade: B for being on the bench (in reality he's a definite INC)

Running Backs

Cadillac Williams - A great performance from this guy. No he didn't shatter any records (or body parts) but he didn't miss a beat. He ran with authority, found holes, made guys miss. Remove my obvious bias for the guy, and I like what I see as a Buc fan. Three strong, solid backs, and thats not counting Clifton Smith. This was a great (beginning of a) comeback for Caddy. Keep it up. Grade: A-

Everyone Else - Our running game has to be relied on this year. I know we were trying to evaluate three QB's last night, which is why we didnt run as much, but we've got a stable of very good running backs. Ward had a bit of an off night, but I'm not worried. Graham and Askew looked strong. I like it. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers

It's so hard to grade these guys because they aren't starters. We know that. Stovall had a atypical Stovall preseason game. He looked good. I want to see that in Octoboer. Clark was jsut average. Stroughter looks like a definite playmaker. This guy will be a weapon. Cortez Hankton caught a ball! Now please catch a bus out of here. Jerramy Stevens dropped a nice pass from McCown and though Winslow did some other things well (fumble recovery), where is his receiving threat? Paid alot of money for a blocker to this point. Hard for the WR's to make an impact when the QB's either deliver the ball high, check down, or get sacked Grade: B-

Offensive Line

I heard Davin Joseph say the line still has a long way to go. If thats the case, Im pretty dang excited. The line looked pretty good for most of the night. Both Leftwich and McCown had some time to throw, though there were some break downs on blitzes. The running game had some great blocking going on with both Caddy and Graham finding space to run. Again, progress was made. Grade: B

Overall

The Bucs had some good stuff happen on offense. The good news is we ran the ball well, we were able to move the ball through the air, no interceptions were thrown, and no fumbles were lost. The bad news? We put up 6 points, all in the first half. That isn't acceptable. For all this talk about red zone efficiency, we put up a huge goose egg on Thursday night. It seems we can have Wyche, Dungy, Gruden, or Morris as the head honcho, we still settle for field goals. We have to put a touchdown up on the board. Our defense played pretty darn good and to give them 6 points to work with isn't a good thing. The execution was off at times, but there was enough good stuff there that it wasn't a total failure. Grade: C+ (B- for execution, and moving the ball, D+ for scoring)

The Point After - Grading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Offense

Buc Wild — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:00:17 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

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Saturday night proved to be the baptism by fire for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fielding so many new players and coaches, the only way to evaluate what we have, and see how they hold up is to have live game action. Though the final score didn't total in our favor, the game did feature some bright spots. In this edition of The Point After, let's take a look at how the offense performed and grade them out.

Grades are indicative of the players performance in this game only.

Quarterbacks

Luke McCown -Was the starter of the first preseason game. Had a very underwhelming performance behind a very poor offensive line. Went 4 of 8 for 19 yards. Made some nice plays with his legs, but was not sharp in his delivery. A dropped pass may have hurt his numbers, but he was by no means stellar. Was bailed out of a terrible fumble and bad sack by a facemask penalty. Grade: D

Byron Leftwich - Second QB in. His slow wind up was evident, but delivered the only passing touchdown of the game. When had time, was able to throw strikes and showed fairly good decision making skills. Dumped ball off when needed to. No speed and once touched by a defensive player, the play is dead. Final numbers: 6 for 14, 61 yards, 1TD. Grade: B-

Josh Freeman - First live action in NFL. Displayed good poise in the pocket generally, though he did scramble right into a sack. Telegraphed passes which lead to an interception. Maintained the short throws. Showed a live arm and above average accuracy. Bounced back from interception well. Successful first attempt on the field. Final numbers: 5/9 for 52 yards, 1 INT Grade: C

Josh Johnson - Last of the 4 QB's in. Showed a nice zip on his passes, good decision making, and accurate throws. Scrambled well in a 43 yard TD run. Competition was weak, but didn't show a glaring weakness. Good effort to build on. Final Numbers: 3 for 5 for 15 yards. 1 Rushing TD. Grade: B

Running Backs

Earnest Graham - Poor first showing in 2009. Though the OL did him no favors, did not show any burst or good read abilities. Didn't make anyone miss. Had chances to fall forward or make defense miss and made no progress. Got a pass out of backfield and fumbled it away. Final Numbers: 4 carries, 1 yard, 1 catch for 1 yard and a fumble Grade: D

Derrick Ward -First run was best of bunch, for 7 yards. Again, OL provided no support, but was able to manufacture a few yards. Showed good burst and tenacity when hit. Moving forward all the time. Final Numbers: 4 carries for 9 yards, 1 catch for 7 yards. Grade: C+

Clifton Smith - Showed good ball security, a change from last year. Made several players miss with good jukes and agility. Showed good receiving skills out of the backfield. Was able to find holes and make most of time with ball. Only question could be durability or ability to handle blitz pick up assignments. Final Numbers: 5 carries for 27 yards, 1 catch for 7 yards. Grade: B

Kareem Huggins - Showed good receiving skills, good burst with ball, and ability to hit hole and rack up yards. Not much hesitation, good for a young player. Did not go down without a fight. Final Numbers: 9 carries for 43 yards and 3 catches for 14 yards. Grade: B+

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Bryan Clark - Was the recipient of the only Bucs TD pass. Made an nice adjustment to haul it in. Had a drop, also caused a holding penalty resulting in safety. Not spectacular but made the play when it mattered. Final numbers: 2 catches for 29 yards and a TD. Grade: B

Maurice Stovall - Not hard to see why he isn't a force in regular season. Disappeared for most of the game. 1 catch for 8 yards. Will need to rebound to factor into future plans. Grade: D

Cortez Hankton -Will end up simulating other teams on practice squad. Several drops on balls that should have been caught. Not impressive in the least. Grade: PS as in get to the practice squad

Sammy Stroughter -Good debut for the rookie. Looked shaky on a kick return early on, but rebounded well. Displayed good hands and ability to run with ball in hand. Looked comfortable at every level on the field. Final numbers: 3 catches for 42 yards. Grade: B

Kellen Winslow -Didn't play much. As a blocking tight end was just average, if that. Didn't get many opportunities in passing game. 1 catch for 5 yards. Grade: Incomplete

The rest of the bunch - The remaining receivers didn't do much to stand out. As a group they were below average and will struggle to make an impact. Truly shows the lack of depth at WR. Pray that AB or Clayton don't get hurt (again). Grade: C-

Offensive Line

The Big Guys - First string had a terrible performance. Didn't open any holes in the running game. Penn was overmatched at points. Provided little to no time for quarterbacks. Running game was a non-factor. This zone scheme is either very complicated to pick up, tough to master, or we might be in over our heads. Not ready to jump ship after 15 plays, but didn't give me much confidence. Grade: D

The second string and beyond provided some good time for Leftwich and other QB's. Running game got going as first stringers left game. Still tough to gauge depth on team as running plays routinely had defense in backfield. Grade: C+

Overall

The offense looked lost. It's tough to determine how things are going after one preseason game, particularly after a game where the opponent has one more game than you and was one of the better defenses in 2008. All the hype surrounding the new offense, the new scheme, and the addition of Ward and Winslow left in a hurry. While those two players were not the main culprit in the futile efforts of the offense, the offense as a whole failed (first string). Other squads (the backups and beyond) looked decent, though competition was not of the same level and I don't count on those guys to make an impact during the year. I won't be surprised if the Leftwich/McCown loser is cut if Johnson keeps this up. There is alot to work on going into Jacksonville. Final Numbers: 17 first downs, 5/15 on 3rd downs (33%), 138 yards rushing, 118 yards passing (256 total). 2 TD's and 2 Turnovers. Overall Grade: C-

How did you grade out the Bucs offense on Saturday night? Hit the comments section below and let us know.

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.

Breaking down the Bengals wide receivers

Kirkendall — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:54:24 -0000

First and foremost, I wanted to do a "Flashback" story in mid-December 2007 that referenced a post by PFT.

A league source tells us that there is growing animosity in the Bengals locker room toward receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Per the source, both are yelling "all the time" at quarterback Carson Palmer, but coach Marvin Lewis doesn't say or do anything about it. Players are also upset that the two receivers are trying to "run the team."

The situation reminds us of the latter days of the Denny Green era in Minnesota, where receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss were berating quarterback Daunte Culpepper and operating under a separate set of rules.

Now, truth be told, nothing came of it. And one has to consider that PFT is partially rumor, partially truth, all based on sources that either written in newspapers or unnamed in PFT's circle. Still, when it happened, you had to admit that there's a possibility of truth; not easily tossed aside for blind denials. Both receivers are extremely emotional, and if the team, or one of the players, isn't doing what they believe should be done to win, then you had to consider this partially true. My reason for saying partially true is because it wasn't followed up, nor confirmed.

I wrote before the 2008 NFL Draft that "A scenario does exist that the Bengals could lose their their three best wide receivers that combined for 69 receiving touchdowns since 2005 -- 80% of Palmer's 86 passing touchdowns." This was when Henry was dealing with his last (or latest) legal issue, Chad Johnson during his campaign to get traded and T.J. Houshmandzadeh the final season of his contract.

Fast forward to now. We can adjust the presumption to commit that Henry will be with the Bengals in 2009, and there's a strong argument for Johnson returning, save for Drew Rosenhaus' manipulating letter-writing skills.

All things being known, we can preview the position to look like this before free agency in two weeks.

Chad Johnson
Chris Henry
Andre Caldwell
Jerome Simpson
Antonio Chatman
Mario Urrutia
Maurice Purify

Glenn Holt is a restricted free agent, and until he's signed, you have to consider that the Bengals may not offer him a deal.

It's not the most experienced list, and there's noise that's both legit and very loud about Jerome Simpson's potential based on anti-Mike Brown arguments. Henry has the physical attributes to be a hellva receiver, but not the mental fortitude to even be the team's number two. Andre Caldwell seems likely to be the team's best option in the slot and Antonio Chatman, when (lack of) durability isn't sucking his playing time dry, has shown to be effective enough to warrant playing time. Urrutia and Purify were on the team's practice squad in 2008 and it has to be assumed, without including the unexpected, that they won't break into the 53-man roster.

In truth, it's a weaker roster without Houshmandzadeh -- that much is way too obvious. However, there's also unknowns with several guys that could surprise us in 2009. The truth of the matter is, this is the wide receiver group heading into next season.

Considering the Bengals could go after a wide receiver in the draft (not the first two rounds for sure based on deeper needs), or after free agents with a list that includes:

Bryant	Antonio	Buccaneers	UFA
Clayton	Michael	Buccaneers	UFA
Colbert	Keary	Lions	UFA
Copper	Terrance	Ravens	UFA
Engram	Bobby	Seahawks	UFA
Gaffney	Jabar	Patriots	UFA
Hall	Dante	Rams	UFA
Hankton	Cortez	Buccaneers	UFA
Henderson	Devery	Saints	UFA
Houshmandzadeh	T.J.	Bengals	UFA
Jackson	Darrell	Broncos	UFA
Jenkins	Justin	Bills	UFA
Johnson	Bryant	49ers	UFA
Jones	Brandon	Titans	UFA
Lloyd	Brandon	Bears	UFA
Looker	Dane	Rams	UFA
McCareins	Justin	Titans	UFA
McDonald	Shaun	Lions	UFA
Morant	Johnnie	Raiders	UFA
Robinson	Koren	Seahawks	UFA
Roby	Courtney	Saints	UFA
Shepherd	Edell	Broncos	UFA
Toomer	Amani	Giants	UFA
Washington	Nate	Steelers	UFA
Williams	Reggie	Jaguars	UFA
Anderson	David	Texans	RFA
Austin	Miles	Cowboys	RFA
Baskett	Hank	Eagles	RFA
Bodiford	Shaun	Packers	RFA
Floyd	Malcom	Chargers	RFA
Holt	Glenn	Bengals	RFA
Hurd	Sam	Cowboys	RFA
Moore	Lance	Saints	RFA
Webb	Jeff	Chiefs	RFA
Wright	Wallace	Jets	RFA

Are you comfortable with our roster of wide receivers as it is with a few gaps to fill? Should the Bengals address the position in the draft or free agency or both?