Before the start of this MLB season, I was eagerly anticipating the beginning of professional baseball. Every year, I go to the Astros homepage to check out the roster and see who the new guys are that I will be cheering for.

This year, I came to a realization. I do not care about the players on my team. I am a huge Biggio/Bagwell guy, so the roster now looks so foreign to me.

I am wondering why I even pull for a team that I haven't gone to see play in 5 years. I live near Austin and the only games close enough to see are the Texas Rangers.

So here's what I'm asking in the poll below: Should I jump ship to another team or stick it out with the Astros?

Before the start of this MLB season, I was eagerly anticipating the beginning of professional baseball. Every year, I go to the Astros homepage to check out the roster and see who the new guys are that I will be cheering for.

This year, I came to a realization. I do not care about the players on my team. I am a huge Biggio/Bagwell guy, so the roster now looks so foreign to me.

I am wondering why I even pull for a team that I haven't gone to see play in 5 years. I live near Austin and the only games close enough to see are the Texas Rangers.

So here's what I'm asking in the poll below: Should I jump ship to another team or stick it out with the Astros?

Knowing that our recent draft picks at wide receiver have been piss poor (Clayton, DJax, Stovall), I'm looking at the 2009 Free Agent pool for who the Bucs need to pick up in the offseason. JScott's post on Michael Clayton got me motivated to comment on Scouts.com's list of top RFA and UFA WRs.

Pos	Pos Rank	Rating	Name	Type	Yr	Ht/Wt	College	2008 Team	Signed Team
WR	NR		T.J. Houshmandzadeh	UFA	8	6-1/199	Oregon State	Cincinnati
WR	NR		Amani Toomer	UFA	13	6-3/202	Michigan	NY Giants
WR	NR		Bryant Johnson	UFA	6	6-3/211	Penn State	San Francisco
WR	NR		Bobby Engram	UFA	13	5-10/188	Penn State	Seattle
WR	NR		Antonio Bryant	UFA	6	6-1/205	Pittsburgh	Tampa Bay
WR	NR		Ashley Lelie	UFA	7	6-3/195	Hawaii	Oakland
WR	NR		Darrell Jackson	UFA	9	5-11/210	Florida	Denver
WR	NR		Justin McCareins	UFA	8	6-2/215	Northern Illinois	Tennessee
WR	NR		Drew Carter	UFA	5	6-3/200	Ohio State	Oakland
WR	NR		Brandon Lloyd	UFA	6	6-0/200	Illinois	Chicago
WR	NR		Hank Baskett	RFA	3	6-3/224	New Mexico	Philadelphia
WR	NR		Demetrius Williams	RFA	3	6-2/198	Oregon	Baltimore
WR	NR		Brandon Jones	UFA	4	6-1/212	Oklahoma	Tennessee
WR	NR		Nate Washington	UFA	4	6-1/185	Tiffin	Pittsburgh
WR	NR		Devery Henderson	UFA	5	5-11/200	LSU	New Orleans
WR	NR		Shaun McDonald	UFA	6	5-10/183	Arizona State	Detroit
WR	NR		Jabar Gaffney	UFA	7	6-1/192	Florida	New England
WR	NR		Lance Moore	RFA	3	5-9/177	Toledo	New Orleans
WR	NR		Robert Ferguson	UFA	8	6-0/210	Texas A&M	Minnesota
WR	NR		Sam Hurd	RFA	3	6-2/195	Northern Illinois	Dallas
WR	NR		Miles Austin	RFA	3	6-3/215	Monmouth (NJ)	Dallas
WR	NR		Dane Looker	UFA	8	6-1/193	Washington	St. Louis
WR	NR		Dante Hall	UFA	9	5-8/187	Texas A&M	St. Louis
WR	NR		Malcom Floyd	RFA	3	6-4.5/215	Wyoming	San Diego
WR	NR		David Anderson	UFA	3	5-10/194	Colorado State	Houston
WR	NR		Tab Perry	UFA	3	6-3/215	UCLA	Miami
WR	NR		Jeff Webb	RFA	3	6-2/200	San Diego State	Kansas City

We can start by noticing that Michael Clayton is not on this list. Cowboys 4th and 5th string WRs (Sam Hurd and Miles Austin) made the list, further clarifying my viewpoint that Clayton has outstayed his welcome in Tampa.

One obvious UFA that I expect to be signed any day now is Antonio Bryant. Great talent and has proven that he wants to be a Buccaneer. I know the Bucs have the money get Housh, but I just don't see it happening. Bryant and Housh would make an excellent pass game for any QB, young or old.

Out of the remaining 3 stars on the list, I think we should pass. Their price tags will not equal their abilities and we got plenty of those on our sideline already.

Out of the 2 star fellows, there are plenty of names that peak my interest. Nate Washington, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Miles Austin. Any of these guys could play a #2/#3 receiver role and would add a great deal to our receiving group. Also,

• Lance Moore - 79 rec, 928 yds, 10 TDs - Stats speak for themselves. #1 in yards on best offense in league. Could compete with Bryant for #1 spot.
  
• Devery Henderson - 32 rec, 793 yds, 3 TDs - Beat out Colston in yards with 15 less receptions.
  
• Nate Washington - 40 rec, 631 yds, 3 TDs - Great hands, still made over 600 yds with Hines Ward and Santanio Holmes running routes next to him. Price might get high with a Super Bowl ring.
  
• Miles Austin - 13 rec, 278 yds, 3 TDs - Made it count when he could get Romo to actually throw him the ball...cough...TO...Witten...Roy Williams...Crayton...Barber...Bennett...my throat is getting dry.

Let me know who you think should be a WR on the Bucs depth chart in 2009.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a situation on their hands. Without a win in the playoffs since winning Super Bowl XXXVII and a disappointing 9-7 season this year, Bucs fan are asking how the Pirate ship got off course. While you can place the blame on many reasons for the team's current state, the inconsistency on offense needs to be priority number one if the Bucs are to return to glory.

Continue reading this post »