Great quote from Jeff Garcia to the Tampa Trib's Ira Kaufman.  Garcia said,

“Jon Gruden hasn’t given you an answer yet?,” Garcia said. “He loves quarterbacks, but he likes to just date. He doesn’t like to marry.”

I guess he hasn't met Garcia's wife. 

Updated Favre watch:  Favre is at home playing with his dogs in Mississippi.  There is nothing substantive to report outside of the fact that he will not be playing in Green Bay next year.  I think we all kind of figured that one out by now.

Chances Favre suits up for the Bucs - 10 to 1.

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports that Tampa is also allowed to talk to Favre.  And so it officially begins.  It looks like Green Bay is going to give us a chance.  I still don't buy it, especially because we play them in the regular season and are a legit NFC contender, but this does start to warm my heart. 

Let's see if this can get done by next week.  The sooner the better. 

Or we can always have Garcia start the season and then have Favre come in around week four or five.  I'm sure that will be just peachy.

Now this sounds believable.  Chris Mortensen reports that Green Bay is allowing Favre to talk to the Jets.  The Packers and the Jets do not play each other this year and let's be honest, probably won't play against each other in Tampa. 

Mortensen also reports that the Jets and the Bucs are the only two teams that have contacted the Packers about Favre.  At least we are trying.

Obviously, dealing #4 to the Jets makes the most sense for the Packers.  He will be in the AFC.  Hopefully, Favre can take a couple of games away from New England and the Packers will be happy. 

Now, let's say this deal goes down and Mangini gets Favre, but he is happy with Clemens/Pennington (unlikely).  What is to stop him from trading Favre to the Bucs or the Vikings for a higher pick? 

We all know that Bill Belichick knows how to "misinterpret the rules".  I'm sure Mangini does too.

Get in your DeLorean and go back to 2000 when the Bucs decided to trade two first rounders for Keyshawn Johnson.  In the present, I don't see a deal in which the Bucs would trade two first rounders for any wide receiver.  Let's say the Bucs owned the 13^th and 27^th picks for the 2008 draft.  Would you have given them both up for T.O.?  For Randy Moss?  For Antonio Gates?  Probably not.  What you would see is a combination of second and a fourth or a second this year and a first next year.  Yet, we gave up two first rounders for Keyshawn.  What if we kept those picks and didn't trade Keyshawn.  Let's go back to 2000. 

With the 13^th and 27^th picks from the Bucs, the Jets took DE John Abraham and TE Anthony Becht.  When healthy, Abraham is one of the better DE's in the business.  Imagine the damage he could have done lined up with Warren.  Abraham would have been a substantial upgrade over Steve White.  Also, remember that this season Brett Culpepper was still playing well and Booger (in his second year) was our primary DT sub.  I would stick with this pick. 

Before re-drafting the 27^th player, let's look at the entire Bucs draft from 2000.

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Will Favre be able to run the Buc's offense with just a limited training camp?  In order to answer this question, GM Bruce Allen went to a surprising source.  He turned to Chris Simms.  Simms recalled his conversation with Allen to the The St Pete Times:

"He asked if I felt Brett would be able to come back and be good here if he didn't have a lot of reps in training camp.  I said I thought he would but there would have to be some compromise with coach (Jon) Gruden. He'll just want the play called and to drop back and throw it in there."

I agree with Simms that Favre's success in Tampa hinges on Gruden releasing his grip on the reigns of the playbook.  Simms said what many of us already know; Favre is a gunslinger.  More interesting than any tactical appraisal, is the fact that Simms told the media about this conversation in the first place.  If I'm Chris Simms, this deal with Green Bay may be my best chance to be starting in late October.  I have to admit, I'm impressed with Simms subtly.  He is not out there blindly cheering for Favre nor is he staying silent on the sidelines.  Instead, he provided an honest appraisal of Favre's future in Tampa in the hopes that he will better maneuver himself to colder weather so he can compete for Aaron Rodger's job.

I'm still of the opinion that Favre won't be in pewter next year, but I'm kind of impressed by Simms media savvy.  He may make something of himself just yet.    

Antonio Bryant could be the difference between winning 9 or 12 games next season.  A solid to great #2 WR is like adding a great arm to your bullpen.  It takes stress off of your rotation and allows each reliever to move down a spot.  The same thing occurs with a great deuce WR.  It frees up your main target, gives your TE's a little breathing space and forces defenses to stay honest and not crowd the box against the run.  This is especially true for this year's Bucs as we posses one of the best offensive lines in franchise history, a stable of reliable running backs and an intelligent quarterback.

So, is Antonio Bryant the difference maker?  When he was healthy, he put up some pretty gaudy numbers.  But he hasn't played in over a season.  What is unfortunate is no one in the media is really telling us anything.

In their recent "let's get jazzed for training camp" article, the St Pete Times called Bryant's offseason, "impressive".  The Tampa Trib astutely noted that Bryant "appears to have regained his passion and hunger for the game."

Wow, that was informative.  How is he handling Gruden's playbook?  How has he carried himself in the locker room?  Has he put in extra hours? Has he made plays that exceeded expectations?  Is he getting along with the coaches?  Teammates?  The Media?  Has his presence improved the play of Clayton/Stovall/Warren?  Does he still drive expensive Italian sports cars at illegal speeds?  Is he still refusing to take drug tests?  You know, the basic questions.

As of this point, I have no idea if Bryant will even make the team.  Some reports think that he is back to his old form.  The Bradenton Herald believes that Bryant could do a great job exposing NFC defenses for Brett Favre.  We won't know until the end of training camp, and even then all we will know is if he is better than our bottom feeders.  Let's just say that I am tapering my expectations.

Unlike ESPN/ScoutsInc, Jeremy Green, this is the story that we should be watching.  Clayton/Stovall/Hillard/Warren are not going to inspire fear into the hearts of opposing defenses.  On their good days, they are mediocre slot guys.  On a normal day they are either slow and/or enjoy dropping catchable balls.  Bryant's quickness and ability to get open when he shouldn't be able too are what is needed to elevate the Bucs to a playoff victory. 

At least he has no history of steroids like Boston.  Well, I hope. 

I guess I better start writing my next post, Dexter Jackson - Joey Galloway's Heir or Jacquez Green 2.0?

After months of bad press and scandal, a story like this can really make your day.  Stuart Mandel on SI.com wrote a great story about Myron Rolle's academic pursuits. While I would love to watch Myron suit up in a Bucs jersey, I am rooting for him to get the Rhodes, go to Oxford and become a leader in global health.  I've always thought that he was one of our best recruits, both in terms of talent and character, over the last five years and this story proves it.

On a more serious note, I also think this story demonstrates that the student-athlete is not dead, rather it is a choice that players make.  I am not saying that every footballer needs to be a 4.0 pre-med student, but it is possible to have above a 3.0 and graduate with a real degree.  As the Patriots have shown, players who graduate and do well in college, turn out to be more successful in the NFL.  I do believe that if Rolle does decide to turn pro, he has the potential to play with John Lynch's intellect in Ed Reed's body.

Summary:  The NFL's current use of geography to determine which four teams are in a division is arbitrary and should be dismantled.  The NFL should consider other options for organizing the regular season schedule in order to improve the overall quality of the regular season and the playoffs.  I recommend that the NFL abandons the idea of conferences in favor of an system that encourages both winning and rivalry.

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Update: Roy Cummings of the Tampa Trib thinks Simms to the Colts is a possibility as well.

For those that don't know - Peyton had surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his knee.  What is an infected bursa sac you say?  Well, as far as I can tell it looks like the tumorous head from Total Recall.  The Colts are saying that Peyton will only be out for four to six weeks and will be ready to go for the start of the season.

I believe that Peyton will be ready to start the season.  But, you have to think that Polian et al must be reevaluating their backups.  Even if they have faith in Sorgi (who makes Adam Vinatieri look like a linebacker), they can't think that rookie Adam Tafralis is ready to go.  No chance.  Fortunately for us, there are not a whole lot of quarterbacks on the market or on the trading block that they Colts would want to target.  I am throwing out the Favre to Indi possibility because I can't see Favre wanting to play as a backup.

So, I am going to call this right now.  Chris Simms or Brian Griese will be dressed in blue and white by the start of the season.  Either option is great for the Colts because these veteran quaterbacks will provide much needed competition to see if Sorgi is really ready for prime time.  It also provides the Colts with a viable insurance policy if Petyon gets injured.

What can the Bucs expect from this deal?  Not a ton, but maybe a fourth or fifth for Simms or a sixth for Griese. 

Why is this deal better than Glenn for Simms?  Well, it may not be in terms of talent, but I feel more comfortable with Simms playing in the AFC than in Dallas.  I have nothing but respect for Brad Johnson, but he is too old to play for more than a couple of quarters.  If we face Dallas in the playoffs, I would rather Gaines and Co had to chase down Brad than Chris.

Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram reports that Jerry Jones is interested in adding another Buc to back up Tony Romo.

"The name that continues to float around Valley Ranch is former Texas star Chris Simms . . . "

It appears as though head coach Garrett Wade may not be fully confident in Brad's arm.

Johnson will be 40 in September, and in the one game he saw extensive time in last season — the regular-season finale in Washington — the team witnessed that his arm is no longer what it was when he was 30. They love his mind and professionalism, but should Romo go down for as much as one game the Cowboys want a passer who can keep defensive backs honest.

This move could be great for the Bucs as rumor has it Dallas may be willing to part with Terry Glenn for Simms.  I know Terry is old and injured, but I'll take my chances on an injured, aging, so-called "washed-up" Dallas receiver. I am not promising Joey's numbers, but Glenn could be a great addition to a questionable receiving corps. 

Since the Cowboys really don't have anything outside of Johnson, I think a fifth round pick may also be in the mix.