Now, let me begin by saying that this is an opinion piece. Obviously I can't speak for all Tampa Bay fans. Everything related here is heard from talking to co-workers and friends of mine. Most of which are pretty much in the same age range and income level. Twenty to thirty somethings with a moderate amount of disposable income. With that being said, I can't remember when being a Bucs fan was ever this insufferable.

Obviously I wasn't around for the Culverhouse days, which I realize was much worse. At least the Glazers have a history of winning, and there is hope we can return to those days. I'm speaking of the current state of the Buccaneer fans in my generation. Many of us have tuned out over the past few weeks. It's just become unbearable to watch. Who wants to watch a "game" with this team playing in it? I put game in quotes because I'm not really sure we can call them that anymore. Dictionary.com lists a definition of game as:

A competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators.

It's the chance part that gets me thinking. Why have so many people tuned out this year? In my opinion it's simply because the outcome of the game is usually not in question. We pretty much know what we're going to see before we see it. The Bucs will most likely come out slow. The offense will sputter. The opposing team will shove the ball down the defense's throats while everyone in a Buccaneer jersey will do their best impression of Deion Sanders making a "tackle". We'll quickly get behind and abandon the run. Freeman will throw underneath for a few first downs in garbage time. Connor Barth may or may not get to kick an extra point in the fourth quarter, once the outcome is no longer a question (if it ever was to begin with for some of us).

When was the last time the outcome of a game was even in question after the half? It doesn't matter who we are playing against. Blow outs by a three win Jacksonville team and the Panthers put many of us over the edge. I don't want to say people are jumping ship, but they're certainly tuning out. Obviously they aren't going to start rooting for other teams or anything. They're still out there, but they aren't throwing remotes at their TVs anymore. They're just apathetic. They have become desensitized to the atrocities we see weekly.

What can peak their interest again? What can put butts back in the seats in Tampa Bay? Read my top five ways the team can get most of the fans back on board the ship after the jump.

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This is the question that I have been pondering since the debacle last week. I don't think I really thought the Panthers had a chance of bypassing us until I saw that sloppy excuse for a game in Tennessee. A finish behind Carolina in the division means we took a major step backward. That team was abysmal last season. To think that they have bypassed us in team development is infuriating. Of course, they have Cam Newton, and the absence of Peyton Manning has shown what an incredible difference a good QB can make on a bad team.

Gruden was fired for much less. Of course, patience had worn thin with him so it isn't even close to the same situation. The more I think about it, the more I think that if they sweep us then Morris needs to go, and Dominik needs a stern talking to. This team could easily be in playoff contention if we had added two or three free agents at key positions.

Strictly adhering to "the plan" was a mistake. I'm sure the original plan didn't predict the new labor agreement and one of the best free agent classes in history. To only walk away from that bounty with a punter is unforgivable. There also seems to be a serious disconnect with front office personnel's evaluation of on field talent. Quincy Black did not deserve that contract, and his play has actually gotten worse. There were lots of linebackers in free agency that could have come in and outplayed Black. Same goes for Biggers (although Morris get's a pass on that one. I agree he showed enough last year to warrant a good hard look).

Either way, this franchise is in major meltdown mode. A last place finish in the division after such a promising season last year (albeit with a much easier schedule) should be the death knell for the current regime. As I've said for awhile now, not every team can emulate Green Bay's strategy. It took some great drafts and quite a bit of luck for them to end up where they are roster wise right now. Don't we think that if every team could just draft players and never have to shell out big bucks for free agents that they would? Of course they would. It's a great way to run a football team IF you draft lights out and don't mind rebuilding for a couple of years.

Right now we're seeing what happens when you don't draft lights out. We're seeing why the Green Bay Packers are the exception and not the rule. We're seeing why 30 other teams realize that if they want to win they need to have the best possible players playing at every position, and that sometimes you have to admit weakness and take drastic steps to improve yourselves with free agent acquisitions. By drastic steps I don't mean signing a safety, a punter, and the Eagles 5th WR. This is getting a little long, so if you want to keep reading, read more after the jump. Otherwise, here's a poll for you:

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With the Buccaneers' depleted running back corps there are probably many fans wondering about recent acquisition Chad Spann. Spann was signed by GM Mark Dominik after the injury to Legarrette Blount a couple of weeks ago. He is an undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois University.

Spann is a shorter back. He is listed as 5'8" but may even be a little shorter. His weight seems to hover around 200 pounds. He was an absolute touchdown machine at Northern Illinois his junior and senior seasons. In 2009 he crossed the goal line 19 times whilst averaging a hefty 5.8 yards per carry. His play further improved in 2010, a year in which he was the Mid Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Spann led the nation in rushing touchdowns and reached the end zone an impressive 22 times while still averaging a respectable 5.4 yards per carry ratio.

Despite this success, Spann wasn't even invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and wasn't generally ranked in the top 25 running back prospects of the 2010 class. Everything I have read seems to point towards him being a small but powerful back with decent speed. He seems to remind quite a few people of another product of Northern Illinois, Atlanta's Michael Turner. I also read a few reports that seemed to refer to him as a less dynamic Darren Sproles. As far as I can tell, the only thing Spann has in common with Sproles is his diminuitive height. He runs low to the ground with power and lacks explosive speed. While he ran a respectable 4.52 at his pro day, Spann doesn't have the elite speed to consistently beat NFL defenders like Sproles does.

After Spann went undrafted he was signed by his hometown team, the Indianapolis Colts. Spann spent the preseason with them before being placed on injured reserve. It seems like the move was more to make room for another player, rather than a significant injury. He reached an injury settlement with the Colts and was consequently waived. He waited patiently for another chance and eventually received the call from Mark Dominik. Let's hope he can make the most of his second opportunity. With Kregg Lumpkin playing mediocre football and Earnest Graham most likely done for the rest of the year, the chance is there for the taking.

I suppose this doesn't come as a huge surprise after the four interception disaster that was yesterday, but I still can't wrap my head around it. How has Freeman gone from only throwing six picks all of last season to currently leading the NFL in interceptions through the first seven weeks? Not only that, but Freeman is very near the bottom of starting quarterbacks in standard quarterback rating with an abysmal 73.1. Say what you will about the merits or demerits of the rating system, but the fact of the matter is it paints a fairly accurate picture of the quarterback landscape.

I'm sure if we could get a QB rating for simply the fourth quarter then the picture would be a little less bleak. Freeman shined again late in the game yesterday and almost led the team back to another win. I was pleased to watch the offense finally click, but what in the world is going on with this team in the first three quarters? Did the Bears defense simply start going with a prevent that Freeman picked apart more easily? Did he finally get rid of the jitters? There has to be some type of tangible explanation for drastic turnaround in effective play.

The day was also fraught with injuries. Don't get me started on the turf at Wembley Stadium. It is clearly sub-par and not fit for the NFL. Earnest Graham's injury came before he was even tackled as he tried to cut on that joke of a playing surface. It looked like the injury to Price may have also been caused by the field.

Kregg Lumpkin looked less than fantastic as he took over for Graham. Rumor has it that Graham tore his achilles and may be out for the rest of the 2011 season. With Blount's return up in the air, the backfield is looking very weak at the moment. Hopefully Chad Spann can step right in, but I doubt it. Perhaps a phone call to Clinton Portis is in order. I know a few teams kicked the tires on him earlier this season and came away impressed. Even if Blount isn't ready to go after the bye week they need to bring in at least one more back. Whether that's Portis or another player that Dominic poaches off a practice squad is up to them. If Graham is indeed done for 2011 this team needs depth at the running back position, especially with the way Blount runs the ball and is likely to become injured again at some point.

Speaking of Blount, did anybody see him in street clothes on the sideline yesterday? Dude has to have gained 25 pounds since last season. Come to think of it, Freeman is looking a little portly as well this year. Is conditioning an issue for this team? I'm not saying anything definitively, but just throwing the issue up there for conversation.

All in all, we almost snuck out a win against an average team. If we are truly the playoff team we claim to be we should be beating teams like the Bears emphatically. I'd like to believe that it would have been a different story had Graham not been injured, but I'm not so sure. Graham doesn't play defense, and Matt Forte and Marion Barber simply did whatever they wanted to do yesterday. What do you think Bucs Nation? Would we have won with Graham playing? Is conditioning an issue for this team? Can Freeman turn it back around or has he truly regressed back to 2009 form?

  I created this fanpost so we could all have a place to discuss fantasy football. Please rec this post so it remains at the top of the page. Feel free to ask questions about matchups, trade offers, etc. The community can all come together and hopefully help you out.

I know this doesn't really pertain to the Bucs only, but I love this site and have been hankering for some good fantasy football discussion. What better place to have it than here with you guys?

Don't come in here and tell us that nobody cares about our fantasy teams. This thread is for the people that do care.

If this thread really takes off and the comments get out of control I'll delete this post and simply create another one. I guess that's about it. Enjoy.

Now, I'm sure this will unleash some fury hurled at me, but someone has to point out that Josh Freeman seems to have regressed considerably since last season. Last year Freeman was a dream to behold. He stood tall in the pocket, made plays with his feet, had impeccable timing with his receivers, made excellent decisions, and was extremely accurate on the majority of his throws. This year, not so much.

Of course Freeman has still been making plays with his feet. Many a first down this season has come thanks to his heavenly combination of size and athleticism. I'm more concerned with his decision making and his accuracy. Now, you may be looking at Freeman's completion percentage and scratching your head. The fact of the matter is that Freeman's completion percentage is being grossly overinflated by the many check downs he has thrown this year (I mean, Earnest Graham is the team's leading receiver people, and no one else is even close).

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If anybody was paying attention this past Sunday it would have been hard to miss the exemplary play of Tampa Bay safety Sean Jones. Jones played well last year in his first season with the team, but his play this year has been very, very good so far. This past Sunday Jones had the amazing stat line of seven tackles (five solo), one sack, one fumble recovery, and one tackle for a loss. Not too shabby.

Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris is obviously comfortable enough with Jones to allow him to come on the blitz as he did a couple of times on Sunday, once sacking McNabb, and the other time disrupting the play. Jones exhibits sound tackling and a great nose for the football. He is an asset in pass coverage as well.

His play thus far is even more exciting when you think of the possibility of he and Tanard Jackson roaming the defensive backfield at the same time. Jackson's status is still uncertain, and although Cody Grimm is no slouch, he just doesn't seem to be the same player he was last year before getting injured.

Larry Asante is also another player that really excites me and once he returns from injury the Bucs are sure to have one of the deepest safety corps in the entire NFL. The safety depth on this team is quite remarkable considering the Buccaneers are only a little over one year removed from Sabby Piscitelli starting games for them.

Jones is on pace for 120 tackles right now. Hopefully he won't hit that number. The first two levels of the defense should and could help him out a little bit more in future games, but it's good to know we have a guy back there that can be counted on just in case.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer head coach Raheem Morris looked mighty relieved at his post game press conference yesterday. He approached the podium wearing his "Yungry" hat and promptly admitted that the first half of the game was horrid.

"We couldn't have played worse in this first half. Arguably the worst half of football we've played since I've been head coach."

This is exceptionally true. I had a friend joke via facebook that it was the first time he wished the away games were blacked out too. I agreed. Raheem then went on to call the comeback a team effort. It was a team effort, but personally I would have liked to hear a little more about why he thinks the team has had so much trouble in the first half of games this season.

Morris also said that Quincy Black suffered an ankle injury during the course of the game, and that was why he wasn't on the field. In response to the question "Where was Quincy Black?" Raheem said:

"Quincy had an injury. He went down with the ankle deal. He was limping. I got him out of the game. Uh, he wasn't productive for us that day. Hopefully we can get him back next week and see where he is. I didn't bench him."

Now, the reporter said something unintelligible after "Where was Quincy Black" and it may have been something about him being benched, but I can't really hear that. This leads me to believe that Raheem was considering benching Black before the injury, and he would have been right to do so. Black's play has been lackluster to say the least all season long. In this bloggers opinion, Geno Hayes deserved that extension much more than Black did. Just because you pay a player like he is in the upper tier doesn't mean he turns into a different player. Black is still the same disappointing player he has been throughout his career. Showing flashes of brilliance and superb athleticism but  either can't get the mental aspect of the game, or won't put in the work necessary.

Morris went on to credit Blount's effort, and said it was the way he should run the football every single week. He also gave credit to Freeman, and especially to the surprisingly effective play of Preston Parker. Morris noted that the Bucs are tied for the division lead, which is their goal, so right now he says the team is in good standing. He freely admitted that the team isn't there yet, and have a lot of work to do. Basically he said all of the right things. Obviously this team has the potential to win any game, but have to get over the tendency to shoot themselves in the foot and starting behind the 8ball. If they can accomplish that, then I believe they can compete for the wild card in the NFC.

If you would like to view the press conference in it's entirety you can view it here.

How about it Bucs Nation? Did this win change your expectations for the season? Is your faith renewed or do you have more doubts than ever?

via cdn1.sbnation.com

Call it what you will; soothsayer, psychic, oracle, clairvoyant, auger, seer. Bust out your tea leaves and crystal balls, because I've got an assignment for you Buc fans. Last year, we had a lot of fun trying to predict various stats and then seeing how we did at the end of the season. I've decided to do it again this year. Below I'll predict some random stats for our beloved Bucs and challenge you to do the same.

Each correct answer will be worth one point. Please make all yardage predictions in increments of 25 yards. If nobody gets the correct answer the closest person will be awarded a point. In cases of tie, both players will be awarded the point. After the season is over, we'll go back and tally everyone's score up and a winner will be announced and congratulated on the front page.

So here we go. Just copy and paste my predictions in the comments section and change the number to whatever your prediction is.  As reigning champion I welcome all challengers. I have made this a fanpost so more can participate this year. Since I am posting it just now, don't worry if you don't get it your predictions in before the game today. We'll give everyone a head start this week and make the deadline for picks next Saturday at 11:59pm. I will close comments to this post at that time and no new entries will be allowed. Good luck.

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With the likelihood of Cadillac William's re-signing diminishing with each day the team spends in training camp, I have been forced to look at this roster and shake my head at the running back situation. Allen Bradford is currently the only running back that was drafted into the NFL on the roster. Legarrette Blount had a big year last season, but was inconsistent. Earnest Graham is the seasoned veteran amongst the group, but hasn't carried the ball more than 20 times since 2008.

Armando Allen and Mossis Madu are most likely training camp fodder, and Lumpkin scratched his way onto the team last season after impressing coaches in camp. I understand that running back in the NFL is by far and away the easiest position to "plug and play", but the lack of depth and experience on the roster is a bit disturbing for a team that has playoff hopes.

The Buccaneers seem to have put a lot of faith in Blount, and hopefully he can shoulder the load. That doesn't protect us from injury though. Blount's aggressive running style makes him a prime candidate to get banged up. If he goes down for an extended period of time, the Buccaneers may as well kiss their season goodbye. Earnest Graham has never disappointed us in the past when his number was called, but let's face it. He is a 31 year old backup running back whose best days are most likely behind him.

Just for the heck of it, I decided to peruse the remaining running back free agents out there. Read after the jump for  a list of guys that are still out there and whether or not they may fit in. I realize that this is most likely an exercise in futility as the Bucs are stubbornly sticking to their "draft only" plan, but a little rosterbation never hurt anyone.

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If you're a natural born skeptic like me, you may be curious about the Buccaneers one and only free agent acquisition thus far, punter Michael Koenen. We have been hearing about what a great addition he is, but recently a Falcons fan dropped into one of our threads and said he thought Koenen's leg had lost a bit over the past couple of seasons. So I decided to do a bit of research and see for myself. Below I have compared both the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers punting statistics for the 2010 season. I think you may be surprised.  All stats are pulled from espn.com.

Not nearly as big a difference as we thought huh? For starters, the rank is insignificant. It is just ordered in terms of total punt yardage, which is pretty much a useless stat in my opinion. Next, we can easily see right off the bat that Tampa and Atlanta had a fairly similar punting game last season. Total yards, punt average, and net yards are all virtually identical.

Koenen makes a significant improvement over the Bucs punters in punts landed inside the twenty (ranked 8th), as well as punts that were fair caught (ranked 2nd). The return average was almost a yard and a half less for Tampa, but that doesn't really fall on Koenen's shoulders so much as the coverage teams.

Koenen ranked 26th in net yards last season. That may be the most telling stat of all. He's certainly not the worst in the NFL, and once on the opposing end of the field he is worth every penny of that $3.5M salary, but those net yards may indeed be a cause for concern. The thing that concerns me most is obviously his leg power. He was actually a little worse than the guys that the Bucs scraped off the bottom of the barrel last season after they wasted a sixth round draft pick on Virginia Tech's Brent Bowden.

Ultimately I'm taking the wait and see approach with Koenen. This is a small sample size, and I'll admit that last year may have been an outlier, because I simply didn't take the time to look up his stats from previous years. I also realize that some of Koenen's value is tied in with his ability to kick off, but think that particular asset is pretty much negated by the rule change this year.

What do you think Bucs Nation? Did we overpay for an average punter? Does Mark Dominik over value the position after spending a sixth rounder on Bowden and then shelling out almost twenty million for a free agent?

The guarantee from an athlete doesn't hold much water in this day and age, nor is it especially newsworthy, but since 99% of the NFL content out there is focused on the Steelers and Packers, this one has picked up some steam. In a story published yesterday by the Tampa Tribune, rookie receiver Mike Williams was quoted as saying:

"We're a young team, but we're guaranteeing the playoffs, and if we get into the playoffs we know we can do some some damage."

Which is it Mike? You guarantee the playoffs and then follow it up with a big old "if"? You can view the article in it's entirety here. As a fan this makes me excited because I realize this guy has some fire in him, and he is already looking ahead to proving himself again next year. On the other hand I can only roll my eyes at yet another "guarantee" from an athlete. Guarantees used to mean something. When Joe Namath famously guaranteed his Jets would beat the favored Baltimore Colts I'm sure he had no idea of what kind of precedent he was setting.

In fact, if you want a good laugh, just go google "guarantees victory" and look at all the morons that had to go back and eat their words. While I realize that playoffs and victory aren't quite the same thing, a guarantee is still a little too cliche for my taste. The most recent playoff guarantee to go unrequited that I can recall was Brandon Marshall's mid season guarantee that the Dolphins would make the playoffs. Despite this guarantee, Brandon Marshall could be found at home on his couch every Saturday and Sunday this past January. Hopefully Williams' prediction turns out better than that one. On the flip side, I can also recall Jim Fassel's guarantee that the floundering Giants would make the playoffs back in 2000. This guarantee was said to spur the team on to their Super Bowl appearance. The difference between that team and this team, and a player and a head coach desperate to keep his job, are pretty far off in my opinion. At least New York had a pass rush.

What do you think Bucs Nation? Is this excessive confidence a good or bad thing?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have taken a back seat in the free agent market in the past couple of seasons, having decided to go with a massive youth movement instead, but it is always fun to rosterbate a little bit with the guys that are available at positions of need. I have taken it upon myself to address five positions of need going into this offseason. All of the players listed are slated to be unrestricted free agents going into 2011. Some of them may very well choose to re-sign with their former teams, but since we have no way of predicting the future, I've simply eliminated that part of the equation from my analysis.

Many of you are already saying to yourselves that there is no way we're going to make any free agent moves because of the aforementioned youth movement, but I will counter that argument by saying that since the youth movement is already paying dividends, that the front office may very well realize that they are on the verge of contention. A marquee free agent or two could easily make the difference between 10-6 or 11-5 next season. I will address five positions of need in this series: Cornerback, offensive guard, defensive end, linebacker (both inside and outside), and strong safety.

Let me start this by saying that I'm not getting into contract information. If we're being honest, the Buccaneers could easily afford any of these players if they really wanted to. I will also argue that once a new CBA is in place that there will almost certainly be a salary cap, as well as a salary floor. The Buccaneers will most likely be struggling to reach the latter with their current contracts on the books. So, for the sake of argument, let's eliminate all of "he is going to cost too much" argument before it even begins. The Bucs team salary as of right now heading into next season is less than sixty million. That may seem like a lot, but the conservative estimates for the new salary floor is 100 million. Do some quick math and you'll realize that not only are the Bucs likely to sign one or two of these guys. They may very well have to. And with that, let the rosterbation begin:

Cornerback:

1. Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders:

Asomugha's name has been brought up many times on this board over the past month or so. The pros and cons have been debated, and he isn't the first name on my personal list because I simply don't think the Bucs have a realistic shot at landing him. He is obviously the best free agent corner available and deserves to be at the top of this list. Asomugha is 29 years old and by all accounts is still playing lights out football. Teams literally fear him, which is why at first glance his numbers look fairly unimpressive. His blanket coverage is so good that teams often don't even test him anymore, instead choosing to throw to only the opposite side of the field. He is going to demand huge jack on the free agent market, and every team that has a need at corner will be looking his way. The addition of Asomugha to the secondary would immediately give the Buccaneers one of the top five cornerback tandems in the NFL. Although 29 is bit old for our youth movement, we should still be able to get Pro Bowl caliber play out of Asomugha for 3-4 years in my opinion.

Read about who is number one on my personal wish list, and the other corners that are likely on the Bucs free agent wish list after the jump:

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Before the season started this year I wrote a post called Crystal Balls and Calculators (which you can view here). In this post I challenged the users on this website to join me in making some random predictions for this season. As promised, it is now time to go back and lay claim to the predictions we made right, and the ones in which you can only shake your head at and laugh. I predicted Josh Freeman to throw 25 interceptions. I was only off by nineteen. That's just embarrassing.

After the jump I will put up my predictions, the actual stats, and the user that came the closest to an accurate prediction for each one. There are some pretty accurate predictions. I correctly predicted the Buccaneers defense and special teams would give up 36 touchdowns this year. User 4QB was only off on Mike Williams' receiving yardage total by a mere ten yards. He predicted Williams to end up with 954 yards, and he actually ended up with 964. Pretty darn close. We will also see who came the closest to predicting the most playoff teams, and who still has teams in the hunt for a Super Bowl.

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With four new additions to the active roster this week, I thought I would take a little time and dig up some info on each of them. That way you, the reader, don't have to waste your valuable time googling each and every one of these guys. Dezmon Briscoe, Brandon Carter, and Vince Anderson were all brought up from our own practice squad and strong safety Larry Asante was poached signed off of Cleveland's practice squad. There is a strong chance one or even two of these new additions could be called upon to play this week in the event of an injury (knocks on wood). With the exception of Brizcoe, the other three guys don't have much in front of them on the ole depth chart. So let's take a look at a couple of these gentlemen and see what they've accomplished in their careers up to this point. Today, I will take an in depth look at the two safeties, and tomorrow I will have a follow up piece about Brandon Carter and Dezmon Briscoe.

Let's start with the player most of us are probably least familiar with.

Larry Asante:

Asante is a strong safety that was selected in the fifth round by Cleveland in the 2010 draft. He was a first team All Big 12 defender last year at Nebraska, and was ranked as the sixth best strong safety in the nation last year by NFLdraftscout.com. He is 6'0 and 212 lbs and his speed, while not overly impressive, is adequate for his position (averages in the 4.6 range in forty time).

Asante transferred from Coffeyville Community College to Nebraska in 2007 and immediately made the transition from linebacker to strong safety. He started 36 games during his tenure at Nebraska and recorded 79 tackles, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions (one pick six) his senior year. Nebraska led the nation in scoring defense and pass efficiency defense last year, and Asante's play was a big part of that.

After being drafted by Cleveland, Asante was signed to a four year, 1.96 million dollar contract on July 16th, but for one reason or another he was waived in September and subsequently signed to the practice squad. Mark Dominik and company must have seen something that they liked in the preseason, because as soon as the need arose, they didn't hesitate to pull the trigger on this guy. I'm certainly excited by this player's prospects and interested to see how he stacks up versus the other new safety, Vince Anderson.

Read all about Vince Anderson and his truly fascinating journey to the NFL after the jump.

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Yesterday a co-worker walked up to me and thanked me for telling him about Mike Williams before the season started. I guess he (like many of us Bucs Nation members did I expect) took a late round flier on the rookie from Syracuse in his fantasy draft. He had drafted Chad Ocho Cinco as his second receiver, and his subsequent disappearance from the Bengals' offense was made much easier to deal with by having Mike Williams step into that role for his team. I simply gave him a smug "I told ya so" grin, but in reality I had to remind myself that not even I expected this young man to play as spectacularly as he has this season.

By now we've all surely heard the hoopla about Mike Williams leading all rookies in receiving, but what we haven't really heard about is how he stacks up versus all his peers. Right now Williams is amongst the top twenty of receivers and tight ends in both yardage and touchdown catches. His 470 yards put him 20th amongst his peers, and only six of those top twenty players can boast a better yards per catch average than Williams' 14.7.

His four touchdowns make him tied for 17th in the NFL. The one stat that Williams is probably not proud of is his three fumbles on the season. This puts him at the top of the list along with Chicago's RB Matt Forte. Obviously rookies make mistakes and I have no doubt that Williams will learn to protect the ball moving forward.

Could anyone have predicted this kind of success? Williams was an instant hit once he joined the Buccaneers and some draftniks had him rated as high as the #2 receiver on the board after Dez Bryant. Looks like those guys were right. Not a single issue has arisen with Williams' so called "character issues" we heard so much about before and after the draft, and I have to give kudos to Tampa Bay Buccaneer GM Mark Dominik for seeing the light and drafting this guy.

Now that Williams has reached the century mark in yardage for the first time in his career I can only expect him to trend upwards on this list of statistics rather than downwards. I think his production thus far is more than sustainable and if he obtains a mere thirty yards next week versus the Falcons he will be on pace to reach 1,000 yards his rookie year. No matter which way you look at the anomaly that is Mike Williams, you can't help but be impressed by this.

What do you think Bucs Nation? Are you as impressed with this young man as I am?

Here is a great photo I came across of Raheem during the preseason this year. Sorry the caption contests have been so few and far between this year, but SB Nation's new policy of only using approved photos has really cut into what I have to select from. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any good pics that come across the site and be sure to put them up for contests when I can.

Same rules apply as always. Enter as many captions as you like. Rec the ones you find humorous. Feel free to rec multiple captions. Which ever caption has the most recs after a couple days of voting is the winner. Let's try to refrain from using any explicit language and keep it PG-13 if possible. Other than that, feel free to write whatever pops into that brain of yours when looking at this picture.

Good luck.

As stated in the fanshot below, the Buccaneers made a move prior to the trade deadline and picked up Kansas City defensive end Alex Magee. Magee is currently in his second season in the NFL and was taken with the 67th overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Purdue. Magee, a four year starter at Purdue, has the size to play any of the four defensive line positions. His measurable all look good. He is 6'3 and 298 pounds. He runs a 4.8 40 and has nearly a 30 inch vertical. Not too shabby for a 300 pound man.

Magee failed to make a name for himself in the 3-4 defense in Kansas City, but did manage to rack up two sacks last year. His success in a 4-3 scheme in college and his versatility on the line likely prompted Raheem and Dominik to make this move. One man's trash is another man's treasure. This cliche is all too true in the NFL, and players often find homes in different systems.

Considering the fact that Tampa Bay has only managed to reach the quarterback in one of their five games this year, I have to say I'm behind this move 100%. Magee has high upside and didn't cost much. Dominik has shown a pretty good eye for talent in his short stint as GM, and I'm gonna defer to his judgement until proven otherwise. He is trying to fix what is broken, and we can't fault him for that. Everyone knows we need a pass rusher in next year's draft, but maybe Magee can help us win an extra game or two in the interim. Hell, maybe he will end up being a pro bowler. While this is unlikely, it's a fact that Magee has not had the opportunity to play the position that earned him the 67th overall selection only a year ago. For all any of us know, Magee may get buried on the bench and we may never see him step onto the field, but I'm hoping Raheem and company can get this guy motivated and help him live up to his potential.

What do you think Bucs Nation?

While I think we can all agree that the loss yesterday was certainly disheartening, I think that most of us would have been happy with this record going into the season. We're still in the midst of a rebuilding process, and it was extremely evident yesterday on the field. This writer predicted a win loss record of 6-10, and I still think that is easily attainable. Even an 8-8 season may not be out of reach. Our remaining schedule is extremely conducive to winning a few more times. Seattle, Detroit, St. Louis, San Francisco, Arizona and Washington are all pretty beatable. In fact, even our vaunted division champions of last year, the New Orleans Saints, have been showing chinks in their armor. Losing to a very game Atlanta team yesterday, as well as struggling to a sinking 49er team last week, has shown that New Orleans has lost the defensive magic that propelled them into the playoffs last season.

It's really astounding how much our perceptions can change after just a couple of weeks. I had actually started to drink the Kool-Aid a little bit, but the fact remains that there isn't a single game remaining on the schedule that I wouldn't give us a fair shot at winning, and I don't think we can chalk any of them up to an automatic loss. Let's take a look at what's left, and you tell me if you think we can't compete for a victory.

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Now that I have had a good night's sleep, and have hopefully tempered my homerism a bit, I decided to take a quick look at how the Buccaneers' young quarterback is faring compared to his competition around the NFL. Now keep in mind that these numbers are a bit inflated because of the poor talent we have faced, but nevertheless they are still quite impressive. Although I admittedly disliked the pick in the draft two years ago (I actually threw a half full beer across the room), I have to admit that all the offseason work Freeman put in this year has made a huge difference thus far and translated itself into much more careful play on the field.

He seems like a completely different quarterback than the one we saw throw 18 interceptions in just nine games a year ago. We saw him err on the side of caution numerous times yesterday, and throw the ball away rather than risk a costly turnover. The 3rd down in the Red Zone in the 3rd quarter when we were up 14-7 particulary stands out in my mind. Freeman threw the ball away because he knew that was a gimme field goal and we needed the cushion. I don't think he makes that play last year.

I will hit all the basic stats, because I know and love them. DVOA is great and all, but as a few pointed out last week, they don't tell us much more than the basic stats do until after week 6. Read after the jump to see how Freeman compares to his peers thus far in the 2010 season.

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Our Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to North Carolina this weekend to face their division rival, the Carolina Panthers. Usually I'm less excited for away games, but this year I'm loving them because it means I can actually watch my favorite team play on Sunday. In related news, Carolina's streak of not being blacked out since 2002 was severely tested this week, but they managed to sell out just before the deadline. So, I guess the problem isn't exclusive to the Tampa Bay area.

Last season the Panthers had two very hard fought wins over the Buccaneers. I'll do a quick recap of each game and hit some highlights of how I think we can beat them this week, and what we need to watch out for. If you have any questions for the Panther's fans and writers over at Cat Scratch Fever, please click the link over in the fanpost section. Those guys have been absolutely wonderful in patiently answering all our questions thus far.

First some basics:

Buccaneers (1-0) vs. Panthers (0-1)

Kickoff: Sunday, 9/19 at 1:00 pm EST at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC

Line: Carolina favored by 3.5

Over/Under: 39

Read the recaps of last year's games and the analysis for this week after the jump...

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