SB Nation User Blog: LinuxTX

Not even close: Bulls outdrew Bucs by 12k

LinuxTX — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:01:28 -0000

Not even close: Bulls outdrew Bucs by 12k

From TampaBay.com - USF drew more fans for its game against Cincinnati than the Bucs drew against Division rival Carolina Panthers.

Garcia returns to Eagles, but Kolb likely to start

LinuxTX — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:08:16 -0000

Garcia returns to Eagles, but Kolb likely to start

Our starting QB from last year has finally found himself a home this year.

Former Buccaneer Tim Rattay to play for United Football League's San Francisco

LinuxTX — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:15:10 -0000

Former Buccaneer Tim Rattay to play for United Football League's San Francisco

The UFL is a new league created by an ex-NFL guy with ex-NFL coaches. A former Buccaneer, Tim Rattay will be suiting up for the San Francisco (insert name here).

According to the Bleacher Report, he is the #2 top known player in the new league. Sad day for the UFL...

Good news is they have a team in Orlando.

Is it time to part ways with the 'Stros?

LinuxTX — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:57:09 -0000

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?

Poll

Which MLB team should I pledge my allegiance to?

Houston Astros

43 votes

Texas Rangers

82 votes

Other (leave team in comment below)

6 votes

131 votes | Poll has closed

Is it time to part ways with the 'Stros?

LinuxTX — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:19:02 -0000

Poll

Which MLB team should I pledge my allegiance to?

Houston Astros

38 votes

Texas Rangers

6 votes

Other (leave team in comment below)

7 votes

51 votes | Poll has closed

Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Warren Sapp - Interview with the greatest defense of all time.

LinuxTX — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:38:53 -0000

Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Warren Sapp - Interview with the greatest defense of all time.

Free Agent Wide Receivers

LinuxTX — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:17:06 -0000

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.

Poll

Which 3/5 star free agent receiver would give the Bucs the most value (cost vs. production) in 2009?

T.J. Houshmandzadeh

55 votes

Amani Toomer

1 votes

Bryant Johnson

4 votes

Bobby Engram

2 votes

Don't try to get any of those guys. Let's go for one of the 2 star receivers.

11 votes

Screw them all! The only one on the list worthy enough to wear Pewter is Antonio Bryant.

16 votes

I live with my head in the sand and think we should run the ball 100% of the time!

3 votes

92 votes | Poll has closed

Finally a Stars blog!

LinuxTX — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:53:38 -0000

Finally a Stars blog!

This is just a quick post to say that I'm glad SBNation now has a blog for my favorite hockey team. The Dallas Stars fans are counting on you Brandon. Welcome Defending Big D to the SBNation.

What the Bucs Need To Win

LinuxTX — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:16:34 -0000

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.

Defense has been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bread-and-butter since the Glazer's bought the Bucs in 1995. The list of great defensive players that come to mind from Tampa's recent history include Hardy Nickerson, Donnie Abraham, John Lynch, Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, Derrick Brooks, and Ronde Barber. That said, I still believe the defense is in good hands with our "Changing of the Guard" coming up. Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber will soon retire and pass on the leadership of the defense to our new guys (Barrett Ruud, Gaines Adams, Aqib Talib, and Sabby Piscitelli). No big changes needed.

On the other hand, our offense has never taken an identity during the last 15 years. Our only glimmer of light shown when Mike Alstott and "insert running back here" could keep our ground game afloat. Our identity crisis on offense makes me believe this is where Glazer, Allen, Gruden's focus needs to be this offseason. By getting what we need instead of the quick fixes, we will create the consistency our offense has not seen and the productivity the fans have been waiting for.

QB - We need a our first franchise quarterback in recent history. No more journeymen. No more wondering who will start all the way up to the first game of the season. Develop a rookie or find a proven winner that hasn't hit menopause. Let Garcia and McCown go. Griese can be insurance. Don't screw around with Josh Johnson if you're not willing to put the time in to develop him.

RB - If Gruden decides to be run-oriented, then we have to get a play maker at running back. Earnest Graham and Clifton Smith are not enough. With one of the largest free agent RB pools this offseason, the Bucs need to fish for a big one.

WR - If Graham and Smith are the only two RBs in Gruden's future, then he must invest in receiving talent. Sign Antonio Bryant immediately. Find a receiver that can catch the ball. I don't care if he's fast or big, we need hands. Noticing our track record of rookie WRs (Stovall, Clayton, DJax), I'm not so sure we should draft one.

TE - We're good here. We need help elsewhere.

OL - No matter whether we have Dan Orlovsky or Peyton Manning behind center, we gotta block. I know I could completely blame the O-Line for Garcia's happy feet this year, but watching you guys this year looked like a scene from David Carr's nightmares. We can not have inconsistency here. With the amount of OL talent in this year's draft, I say make our first pick here.

While the defense needs some touch-ups, the offense needs to be rebuild or we will keep seeing the same results year after year. An offense of play makers with familiar faces will get the fan base excited, put butts in the seats, and put us on nationally televised games. It's time we wear those cannons out. It's time that people are afraid of us on both sides of the ball. It's time we use that $45 million we have lying around and get serious about football Mr. Glazer.

Let me know what you think...and GO BUCCANEERS!!!

Poll

What is the Bucs greatest concern that needs to be addressed this offseason?

I agree. We need consistency in the offense for a chance to win.

43 votes

Forget the offense! We need to focus on our aging defense.

21 votes

It's Gruden and Allen's fault. We need better leadership in our management the most.

21 votes

It's DOOMSDAY at One Buc Place! Fire everybody and start from the ground up!

9 votes

94 votes | Poll has closed

My Rant For Today

LinuxTX — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:20:08 -0000

The Buccaneers DO NOT have an offense. Period.

I don’t care if it’s Garcia or Griese at the helm, we need a new QB next year. All that extra money we have laying around is a testament why we are choking our playoff chances away. We need to put big Bucs into a QB that’ll be a playmaker.

Our defense can’t stay on the field the entire game.

I’m done for today. Gotta go cool off.