I have been enjoying the offseason quite a bit.  However, I'm continually amazed at how excited analysts get over rather routine and cyclical events:

QUESTION (from breathless analyst): "The Browns cut Derek Anderson, where will he end up now?"

ANSWER (from monotone Bucsfandave):  On another team's bench.  If you can't start for one of the three worst teams in football, who cares?

QUESTION (from excited analyst): "Has Tebow reworked his footwork to be an NFL quarterback?"

ANSWER (from a nonplussed Bucsfandave): "Jamarcus Russell was the first overall pick after Todd McShay sent him a love note after watching, and this is a legitimate quote, 'the best individual workout for a quarterback I've seen in ten years of scouting'.  I remember  thinking at the time, 'Who cares if he can throw eighty yards from his knees.'  And by the way, how long does it take to redo footwork?  I can teach seven year olds to throw a baseball properly in three practices, but Tebow works around the clock for a month to fix his throwing motion and it may take years to perfect it?"

 As you can see, I've been observing.  But I have a lot of thoughts on offseason football and some pop culture happenings in this, the greatest country on earth.  Read more after the jump.... 

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One of the most difficult tests I’ve ever taken was the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). Back in the spring of 1992, my friend and I studied for months to take that test, only to be disappointed with our mediocre scores. Nowadays, everyone takes the ACT, but back then, colleges preferred the SAT to the ACT. Simply put, the SAT is more difficult. Divided into two sections, the test measures your verbal and mathematical aptitude. For some good math practice, read Buc Wild. I’m here to help with the verbal. One of the most difficult parts of the verbal section consists of defining very big words you’ve never seen before. Words like illation (the act of drawing conclusions) or quern ( a hand turned grain mill) combine to really lower your score. With that in mind, I thought I’d provide our student readers with a little vocabulary lesson, Buccaneers style. Learn to use really big words to describe the Buccaneers, Raheem Morris, or Josh Freeman after the jump.

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At Buc 'Em, we have decided to start the offseason with biographies of the staff.  Using a secret formula, I was selected as the first to post his backstory.  Unfortunately, I don't have a great "Lost" flashback full of angst, hoping for redemption.  Rather, my story begins in the 8th grade....find out how I became a Bucs fan after the jump.

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Wow, with no Monday Night Football, we’ve been tuning into the Bachelor on Monday evenings in the Bucsfandave household……Ooops. Did I just say that out loud? All right, you got me, I’m a sucker for dating shows. However, since our fan base skews to the younger crowd, I figured I’d provide some dating tips for Buccaneers fans this winter. Maybe this will lead to a girlfriend/boyfriend for some of you during the spring. I asked BucWild for some dating statistics, and he quickly hit the Dating Outsiders website. Apparently, Buccaneers fans have a below average HUPLA (Hook Ups Per Liaison Attempted). Further analysis reveals an above average HUPLAAFBH (Hook Ups Per Liaison Attempted Adjusted For Babe Hotness), which is nice.

So, with room for improvement, I offer you ten Buccaneer dating do’s and ten don’ts, after the jump….

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The Glazers quickly dispelled rumors of a Cowher/Morris swap.  The Panthers refuse an extension for John Fox and he does not want to coach without one (cry me a river).  Black Monday was extremely quiet, with the only firings foregone conclusions.  If you'll recall, my very first post related to the reasons the Glazers went with Morris in the first place, specifically the low cost alternative while they rebuilt through the draft and prepared for the upcoming disaster known as 2011, or as we will detail after the jump, Football Armageddon.

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From the Football Dad’s house, we bring you great tidings of joy. Our stockings are hung, the cookies and milk await the big guy, and the presents lie neatly wrapped under the tree. So, what we like to do at this point is heat up some hot chocolate and pop in a Christmas themed movie. With that in mind, I thought I’d give you a list of my favorite Christmas movies. I must warn you, I am not too sappy, so you won’t find The Christmas Story or Miracle on 34^th Street. Plus, those were really before my time. I’ve included a mix of comedy and action films. So, walk down memory lane with me as we view these holiday classics again, after the jump.

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Well, I needed some help. The Josh Freeman bandwagon had two flat tires and an overheated radiator. Trapped on the side of the road, my cell phone was getting no reception and the CB radio only registered a trucker named Rah and he didn’t seem too inclined to help. I was sure these troubling times would end soon. Then, Seattle AAA arrived to fix what ailed our group of Freeman supporters and get us back on the road.

Quarterbacks are funny creatures. Somewhere along the line, a parent or coach has to anoint a kid as a quarterback, and push him in that direction. Rarely, does someone play lineman in Pop Warner and then suddenly, at high school tryouts, say "I’m ready to be a gunslinger." Josh Freeman was molded to be a quarterback and it’s time for that training to kick in and start producing some top flight quarterback play. The interceptions were just a blip, right? Just a bump in the road, right? After all, we are not going to be teased for years by Josh Freeman’s potential, are we? It could be worse. We could be Philadelphia Eagles fans. Find out why, after the jump.

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I understand that Mike Brown has a really terrible record in Cincinnati, some of it deservedly so.  However, I think it bears saying that he has drafted extremely well in the past few years.  Specifically, let's look at successful draft picks from the past three drafts:

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Buc 'Em Nation, I just recieved my Christmas card from Mark Dominik and thought I'd share with everyone:

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow, what a year….2009 has been quite eventful for me and I thought I’d write a Christmas letter to all of you just to let you know what I’ve been up to. I got the year off to quite a start in January when both Raheem and I were promoted! Wow, one week you are graduating from college and the next you are running the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Unfortunately, these were just promotions in title and responsibility only, as we did not get raises to go with our new jobs. Maybe when this economy picks up, heh, heh, heh!

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With the Buccaneers nursing a four point lead, Raheem Morris decided to fake a punt and try for the first down behind the immortal Dirk Johnson. Now, this violates one of the rules I live by, namely never let the success of a crucial life decision rest in the hands of someone named Dirk or Face, but that’s just me. Now, the fake heard round Hotlanta has landed Raheem firmly in the crosshairs of the media and fan base. That got me thinking, what have been the greatest fake outs in history? Was it the time that you learned your well endowed girlfriend was upsizing with help of bra inserts? How about the hidden ball trick fake out in baseball? Nope, they didn’t make my list of the six greatest fakes in history. Find out after the jump…..psych!!! …….. Just kidding, I really do have my six favorite fakes after the jump.

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The other day I decided to test Child 1. Around lunch time, I offered this choice: you can have either grilled chicken, or ice cream. You have a football game today, and the chicken will give you strength for the rest of the afternoon. The ice cream will taste good, but you won’t have any energy for the last game of the season. Child 1 looked me right in the eye and replied, "the Buccaneers need to stop trying to play a two-gap system with Tampa two personnel. Something’s got to give. I’ll have the grilled chicken." A father couldn’t be prouder….I get teary eyed just thinking about his good decision making ability. As prophetic as we are in bucsfandave’s household, we cannot see the future. However, we can learn from the past. So, after the jump, let’s run down the decisions of the Dominik/ Raheem regime, assess our mistakes, applaud our successes, and look to our future.

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Well, the Josh Freeman excitement continues to build in Tampa and extended communities. I’m officially all in for the Josh Freeman era after two great games. Yes, he had some ball control issues, but his crunch time poise is exceptional thus far. Defensively, we need some playmakers. As we head into the holiday crunch, you may be wondering what to put on your holiday shopping list. Since Target will not be stocking run-stuffing, All-Pro defensive tackles, I thought I’d give you my five favorite sports books to add to your holiday wish list. Check them out after the jump:

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This week, the Football Dad watched the debut of the Josh Freeman era at the local Beef O’Brady’s with my brother. The waitress found our afro wigs odd, and intrusive, but that did not stem our excitement for our new franchise quarterback. I can tell my brother has his own throwback move today: the old I-forgot-my-wallet-you’ll-have-to-pay-and-while-I’m-at-it-give-me-some-extra-blue-cheese-with-my-wings trick. I haven’t seen this since the creamsicles went away. Ahhh, good times. What happened during the game? Did our wings arrive in time? Follow along after the jump…

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So, a new era begins this weekend for the Buccaneers. When a team reaches drafts a quarterback in the first round, they gamble the next five years on his development. Against the Packers, we’ll see our first Josh Freeman game. Now, everyone will tell you "don’t expect much", "it is not the quarterback’s fault this team is bad", and other nonsense. Let’s be honest, if Peyton Manning was our quarterback and every other player was the same, we’d be a 4-3 team at worst. I firmly believe in the team concept, and how the entire team working together wins games, not one player. But, a great quarterback cures a multitude of sins. Think back to the Gradkowski era, and how his complete inability to pass within ten feet of Buccaneer receivers made the defense look bad. The Buccaneers would hold teams in the first half, but fall apart in the second after 56 consecutive three and outs by the offense and a total time of possession of ten minutes. We all heard how Shaun King was working on his footwork to improve his accuracy. IT NEVER GOT BETTER!! So, while Freeman may not command the offense this Sunday, here are five clues that you have the makings of a great quarterback, and hopefully Raheem won’t need an annulment:

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The Football Dad and crew had just settled in for some bye week football, when BOOM! All of Buccaneer nation blacked out for two minutes and seventeen seconds. I woke up with Mountain Dew spilled all over my John Lynch jersey and the dog eating a Snickers bar out of my hand. Child 1 lay beside the table, readying to clean up the lamp broken by his errant pass. Significant Other called from the mall, claiming that somehow, receipts from Macy’s showed up in her purse after the blackout. Child 2 asked for more applesauce. Was this a global occurrence? Who else blacked out? What did I see in my flash forward? Do I have any Snickers left? The answers to these and more questions, after the jump….

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So we head into the bye week, and maybe you, like me, enjoy watching sport shows in general, and all things football. After watching enough television, you tend to hear similar analysis. Well, a few tidbits from the experts are starting to really irritate me. Now, I can appreciate the difficulty of talking for three hours a day on radio or analyzing the same plays over and over. Nonetheless, it is a minor complaint I feel is valid. So, here are seven phrases I no longer want to hear when watching football/sports:

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Jolly Ho, Bucs fans. The Football Dad decided to add a decidedly British flair to this week’s diary, guv’nor. Given that we’re playing the Patriots, we may be dropping quite a few Gor Blimeys and Bolluckses. If you aren’t familiar with those English words, they are both British for "What on Earth is Raheem Morris doing that for?" and "Did JJ really try to make that throw?" Please enjoy, as we did in my house.

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As you finish your work week and prepare to enjoy another fall weekend, let me help you reminisce over a few libations. In fact, I have the specific libations and memories in mind. Join me after the jump for a comparison of my ten favorite beers to their corresponding Buccaneer players. As always, enjoy responsibly and be sure to have a designated driver.

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This is my entry into the fanpost competition for a 30 year old hat:

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I'd like to take a shot at dissecting the quarterback decision if I may.  Let me state that I am on Team McCown.  However, I realize that the decision is complicated and last night offers a microcosm of how difficult that decision will be.

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