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All year long following a great finish to a remarkable 10-6 season, us Buc fans were left to wonder what could possibly be next for our potentially great young offense. We were left to wait out a lockout (thank you Roger Goodell) and daydream to ourselves just how bright the future was for the Bucaneer offense. Josh Freeman looked to be headed to super stardom with 25 TDS to only 6 INTS in his first full year as the starting quarterback. "Starship" he was dubbed and the entire city went from doubters to followers after Freeman led come from behind victories five different times I believe. For the first time since Mike Alstott the Bucs finally had a workhorse running back who could wear down opposing defenses. When they were beaten down to a pulp; LeGarette Blount would become a regular on highlight shows by hurdling opposing defenders. On top of this; when the power run game worked, our play action pass game would make this offense impossible to contain with standout rookie Mike Williams breaking the franchise record for receiving touchdowns with 11 as a rookie. If opposing defenses decided to double Mike Williams, they would pay dearly underneath with Kellen Winslow, Arrelious Benn, Sammie Stroughter, and an emerging Dezmon Briscoe. Heck we even found more receiving talent this season in Preston Parker. I remember making the statement that with all this fire power at our disposal, I didn't think Greg Olson would be the right man to make this weaponry a lethal killing machine.

Fast forward to week eight of the regular season and I now believe I have proven my point. Before everyone jumps the ship and talks about our season last year as a fluke, let's examine the brain power behind our offense. Because Greg Olson has done so little, with so much talent I have decided to spend my very, very un-satisfied Sunday afternoon researching all of his past contributions on the NFL level. His collegiate career isn't much better, but I won't dive into that as thoroughly. Look guys, this information I'm going to share is DISTURBING to say the least. The first offense that "Ollie" was put in charge of was in 2005, the Detroit Lions and Joey "Heisman" Harrington was the first poor sap to be stuck with Greg Olson as his offensive coordinator.

The Lions offense under Greg Olson that year placed 28th in the league in scoring averaging 14.9 points per game. Their passing yardage was good for an improved 26th, while their rushing offense wasn't much better. (Those retarded draw plays that you insist on using didn't work back then, and they still don't work now!) The Lions were 26th in rushing yards per game averaging just over 90 yards per game. The ten rushing tds on the year actually put the Lions in a tie for the seventh fewest rushing touchdowns on the season.

In 2005 Joey Harrington and Jeff Garcia were the two main quarterbacks for the Lions, but just so I don't leave anyone out for arguments sake Dan Orlovsky also made 17 pass attempts. As you can see the passing game was basically impotent, and what is even worse is that when Jeff Garcia broke away from Ollie's coaching and came to work under Jon Gruden he revived his career briefly and even made a Pro Bowl.

So maybe Greg Olson could produce a run game. After all for all of the high draft picks that were afforded to this Lions offense, there has to be some input from their offensive staff on some of these failed draft choices. Here are the numbers individually for Ollie's backs in 2005.

Surely Greg Olson with his exotic plays to make his playmakers (being they sure weren't the running backs) get the ball in their hands. Isn't it great every week watching Rejus Benn either take the same retarded end around for a gain of hopefully two - three yards, or that amazingly discreet quick screen pass that never works. I won't even sort out just the wide receivers because this offense was so impotent. Backs, receivers and tight ends had these gaudy numbers under offensive coordinator Greg Olson.

I will add that Charles Rogers added 14 receptions for 197 yards and a score to these totals. On the season here are a couple of statistics to show just how pathetically ran of an offense Olson was the mastermind of.

Field Goals                                              19/24                                                        24/30

According to Wikipedia, "He was the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams. During his first season in St. Louis, he did not call the offensive plays for the team until near the end of the year. He developed game plans with head coach Scott Linehan, and worked to develop the offense in general. Linehan decided to hand over play-calling duties to Olson so that he could manage games better, without having to focus on one side of the ball.

Olson was fired after the 2007 season. (SI.com, Rams fire offensive coordinator Olson, 2011)"

So according to Wikipedia which references sports illustrated articles which could also illustrate this information just allow me to compare the Linehan ran offense to the Olson ran offense. I will first use the individual player performances, and than I will compare not only the 06 Linehan ran offense to the 07 Olson version, but will also compare to the Rams opponents. Keep in mind here people, in 2006 the St. Louis Rams had one of the most dynamic offenses in all of football. After Greg Olson received play calling duties they became one of the worst.

This here shows just how great of a quarterback Marc Bulger was under Scott Linehan's playcalling in 2006. When Olson took over the playcalling duties you can easily see a gigantic dip in every single passing category listed. There are even more that went down, I just want everyone to see this ASAP so they see just how horrible Olson is.

Ask Steven Jackson how Greg Olson can suck all of the skills right out of a guy. The Rams already had an amazing system in place to get wonderful potential out of not only the passing game, but Ollie also made the Rams running game nearly abysmal. Well compared to the year before, yes Ollie basically ruined the Rams days as offensive juggernauts in the NFL.

Although there were a few more ball carriers, none of which carried the ball more than 11 times and none scored touchdowns. Their yards per carry were also low enough not to warrant including them in this list. Just like my breakdown of Detroit I will also include the receivers and tight ends who made an impact on the season.

Name                   Receptions               Rec Yards               AVG                           Long                       TD                        

In 2006 four other players caught a touchdown. Jim Klopfenstein was the next productive receiver with 20 catches for 226 yards and a score. I will give Ollie in 07 Drew Bennett added 33 receptions for 375 yards and 3tds.

Yes I failed to include a few factors such as sacks allowed. This did not make a substantial difference because in 06 the Rams allowed 49 sacks, in 07 48. The area where there was a major spike from 06-07 was turnovers. Under Linehan the Rams were +14 in the turnover battle, under Olson they went -10.

In 2006 even though Greg Olson had the title of offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan was the head coach who called his own plays. The offense ranked 6th in total yardage, 4th in passing yardage, 17th in rushing yards per game, and 10th in scoring. Very impressive year offensively for the Rams.

In 2007 when Scott Linehan decided to turn over playcalling duties to Olson here were the results.  The offense fell to 24th in total yardage, 19th in passing yardage, 25th in rushing, and 28th in scoring. Olson was fired after just one year of calling plays in St. Louis.

I am starting this petition amongst fellow Buccaneer fans to sign and hopefully we can make a difference. There is no way you can honestly tell me that Marc Bulger, Isaac Bruce, and Steven Jackson all completely failed to reproduce the magical seasons because of their faults. The play calling has to make somewhat of a difference, to drop so significantly in every area was Olson's fault.

Fellow Buc fans, heading into the bye if you are sick of the slow starts, the ridiculously repetitive scripted play calls, and generally featuring an offense that rarely allows our players to do what they do best than sign this petition and together maybe we can make a difference. After the way our defense played today I sure bet they wish they had an even somewhat competent coordinator calling the shots for the offense. Josh Freeman should be rolling out using his athleticism and throwing deep balls to our big targets. LGB should never have to deal with not seeing more than two carries per half. Greg Olson's track record is horrible, he is only dragging down this young team. Hopefully it won't last much longer.

All statistics were looked up at nfl.com and I used Wikipedia to find out exactly which years Olson coached where. I did not skew any statistic while doing this, I was actually somewhat surprised because he is even worse than I had projected. I no longer want Josh Freeman learning from this clown.

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     Da'Quan Bowers defensive end from the Clemson Tigers led the nation with 15.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss (which was good for 150 lost yards for opponents). He also chipped in an impressive 63 tackles. These are some very impressive numbers, especially for a defensive lineman. Bowers smashed the Clemson record for sacks in a season previously held by our man Gaines Adams (R.I.P). Some draft pundits believe Bowers could fall outside of the top twenty in the draft because of lingering issues with his knee. If he is sitting there at twenty, it is an absolute steal for the Bucs to take a chance and swing for the fence. We might just knock one out of the park.

     When the Buccaneers landed Gaines Adams in the 2007 draft, I do not believe he was the first player on the Bucs draft board. Mel Kiper, (who I personally no longer value his opinion) had the Detroit Lions pegged to select Adams. The Buccaneers were in the perfect position because either Joe Thomas or Calvin Johnson would fall into their laps. This of course is what Mel Kiper protested even during the draft as the Lions were on the clock. He guaranteed the Lions can't afford to use another pick on a wide receiver. Unfortunately for the Bucs, Kiper was dead wrong and Tampa ended up selecting the "best defensive player available" Gaines Adams. Adams most productive season as a Buccaneer produced 6.5 sacks, not horrible but enough to warrant Raheem Morris to call him out as a "bust" if he did not produce to the media.

     Adams was the mentor of Da'Quan Bowers, after the untimely death of Adams, Bowers father passed away during spring practice. His last dying wish was for his son to become the top prospect in the NFL Draft. If not for a knee injury his son most likely would have made his father very proud. There are differences in the Bowers and Adams game, which I believe warrant a selection in the upcoming draft. Bowers would be more of an anchor on the defensive line, lining up as the left defensive end.  

     Most left defensive ends are considered bookends, while the right defensive end is looked at as the pass rusher. Bowers is athletic enough to get after the quarterback with consistency, but also hold his own against the run. Opposing tight ends will usually line up on the side of the left defensive end. When Gaines Adams worked out at the combine, he absolutely tore up the positional drills and athletic checks. His forty time was an outstanding 4.64, three cone was 7.19, broad jump an impressive 9'11" and his vertical leap was 35 inches (amazing considering Mike Williams jumped 33"). Adams never benched until his pro day when he put up 21 reps of 225lbs (Gerald McCoy put up 22).  The game tape on Adams showed that he was weak against the run, even against college tackles. He really only had one move to get by his opponents, which in college he was able to get away with because of his pure athleticism. Gaines Adams played at 6'6" 265 lbs.

     Da'Quan Bowers is not the athletic freak that Adams was. Bowers recently held his pro day, many scouts left uneasy. Bowers was only able to bench at the combine where he posted a somewhat unimpressive 22 reps. At his pro day the numbers were no more impressive. He clocked a 4.91 forty time (which I do not care about, defensive ends rarely run forty yards straight), the three cone drill was 7.1 seconds (which shows acceleration, or lack thereof),  his broad jump was a 9'2", while vertically leaping 34.5 inches. Watching Bowers on tape did not justify his rather weak workout numbers. Game film says Bowers is explosive, plays with great leverage, and is strong enough to shed blocks one handed at times. Bowers is a physically imposing looking young man at 6'4" 282lbs.

     Numbers like Bowers put up could possibly drop him all the way to the Bucs pick at twenty. I will give a bit of a chart to show how Bowers compares to other top prospects. Robert Quinn is the athletic gem of this draft, he also weights much less than Bowers however. I believe the difference in weight will certainly help Bowers hold up against opposing linemen. I included some of the premier defensive ends in the NFL today, just so everyone could see how this seasons prospects compare to their professional counterparts.

*All statistics and times from www.nfldraftscout.com

     Jared Allen should be the first to admit that combine statistics mean nothing. Vernon Gholston was a workout warrior, an absolute freak for a defensive end according to the combine. Gholston has done so little to this point of his career, I will not even bother looking up his impressive combine. The point of my article is that combine numbers are great, but game film and intangibles are a much better scouting tool than men working out in shorts. If Da'Quan Bowers falling into the twenties is not just smoke screen by teams picking in the teens so he falls out of the top ten, I hope that the Bucs swing for the fences and hit a home run.

via www.joebucsfan.com

I was doing my usual Madden franchises which actually have accurate contract information for the most part and after seeing on ESPN First Take it donned on me that LeGarrette Blount is a "free agent". I know that we plucked him off of   the Titans practice squad, but am I the only one worried that he did not get resigned? Sure some might think that we can duplicate his production without a long term investment, I on the other hand think that this kid really could be special for at least four or five more seasons. I realize his running style might cut his career shorter than most would like, however the way our run game picked up after he became the starter was ridiculous! I really do not see the point of starting over with a whole new back and I'm pretty sure that we can at the very worst tender him, but what happens if the new CBA voids these tenders and we could potentially be stuck without his services. Running backs might be a dime a dozen as Blount proved last year, but it seemed that he fit in well with Raheem's in your face style of Buc ball. I love the look of our young offense and losing Blount would be a shame. Am I just overly concerned for no reason or do I have a legitimate worry? I think that we're crazy if we don't give him an extension similar to what we gave Earnest Graham four years ago (believe it was in the ball park of four years 17 - 19 mil with 7 - 8 guaranteed).

Since the draft is just around the corner does anyone have any exciting ideas for our beloved Bucs? This sure is a reach but if Robert Quinn falls out of the top ten I sure hope we do what we have to and move up for him. Personally I hope we get an impact linebacker this year, I hate watching Ruud get thrown around and drug down the field like a rag doll. I think its silly to make bold mocks in March before pro days even happen, however kind of like Keyser says I would love to add some serious top shelf speed to our offense. Kareem Huggins looked like he could be that change of pace scat back, but with the serious injury he suffered I really do not expect him to reach his full potential (another reason to hate those Saints, especially that cheap dirty Malcolm Jenkins!). As much as I respect Cadillac Williams, no matter if he stays or goes I will wish him the best (unless he's in the dirty south of course) but his time is up here most likely. It won't be worth paying him more than Blount, just to be a tutor to our work horse.

Guys I think the Saints are honestly trending downward especially in our division, and we were within a yard and a kickoff without disaster (Stovall) of being in serious shape to win the division. The Detroit debacle ultimately destroyed us but prior to that we were ahead of Green Bay in the standings. Not saying we could beat the Packers, but I think we could hold our own with anyone else in the conference easily. Sorry about the rant there just had to get it out, but back to business. Someone please tell me that we have exclusive rights to Blount, and that some other team can't just swoop in and leave us with no one but Huggins under contract.

Does anyone else think that Josh McDaniels would be a good hire? I for one do not think that Ollie is horrible, yet I think that Freeman could become a top five quarterback real fast if we did hire an elite offensive coordinator. There were moments throughout the season where I have wished we had a different play caller. Tom Brady is the man, but I don't see him throwing fifty touchdowns ever again. Kyle "Snortin" Orton has raised his game well beyond anyone could have ever imagined, he did it under the play calling of Josh McDaniels. I know that Freeman is my favorite player, but realistically he is more talented than Kyle Orton. I think Mike Williams, Rejus, Kellen are all more talented players than Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, and Daniel Graham respectively. Freeman seems to be at his best out of the gun, which McDaniels uses quite often. Four or five wide sets would be tough to cover, our personnel is built to spread it out. I know that with a young quarterback it is not good to have to learn a new offense, but if we did make a move this off season I for one would be extremely happy to upgrade the OC position. Well guys we need to finish strong, I feel awful that Aqib Talib's fantastic season has come to an end; I was actually able to get over the loss day dreaming about Talib taking a Donovan McNubb pick to the house, but like Raheem says its "next man up".

I know its way too early to say who is the best of the three, but does anyone else think the Lions and Jets might be kicking themselves after watching their "big money QB" play? Stafford is back on the shelf for I believe the second or third time already, and Sanchez showed more potential for HBO than for the NFL. Freeman is far from being a polished QB, but looking back at that draft while he was actually booed before even playing a snap (even when we had studs like Byron Leftwich and Luke McClown to look forward to on Sundays) I'd say we got a steal at pick #17. Ridiculously before I ever saw Freeman play, I had thought that we reached on him especially because of Raheem's youth. I thought that we probably might have been able to trade down a few picks and still lock him up, however I bet right now the Jets and Lions are the ones wishing they traded back and took our boy from K-State! It was awesome visiting Ray Jay for the first time, and with a franchise QB like Josh Freeman it sure as heck will not be my last visit!

While doing my first fantasy football mock draft on Yahoo the other night I came across this horrible ranking system which had our beloved Bucs as the worst team in terms of fantasy players. Lots of laughter from mostly idiot Steeler fans up here but anyways I honestly think I have a good argument that we're not in as horrible shape as some would suggest. Looking at our defense if McCoy and Price can be even half decent I like what I see. Love the way Geno played over the second half of the year. I know these are biased opinions don't bash me like Keyser but I see T Jack and Aqib as two pro bowl caliber players. Talib I absolutely have loved since his KU days, T Jack is well deserving of a raise. Alot of praise has come out of OTAs for Quincy Black, who I do see potential in... Ruud has his chance to earn his big pay day this year and I'm pulling for him to do so. As long as we start Sean Jones over Sucky Piscitelli I think we're in decent shape. I know this depends on our D line but I really think we're going to be alright. Nothing brought me more joy last season than betting on our Bucs who were 13 point underdogs to the eventual Super Bowl champs and winning.

As for our offense obviously with my nickname you all know I'm high on Freeman. Cadillac has his chance to earn either big bucks with us, or he'l most likely receive mid level payment for the remainder of his career god bless him. Contract years usually equal big numbers although I thought that about AB last year and he disappointed us. The Bungals still decided to pay him, but they love spending big bucks on other teams scraps (Coles from the Jets). I've heard lots of great things about Mike Williams, we just gotta get AB signed before camp and I see us as having a potentially nasty offense. We weren't very good last year, but Freeman showed the poise to at least keep us fighting as we could have easily won the Miami game which we were down 14 I believe at the half but we took a 1 point lead with about 2 minutes left. Lost the game on some long field goal after a BS pass interference call. I saw we signed Sergio Render and Hunter Lawrence. Both were pretty decent college players, hope Render makes the team and Lawrence can challenge Connor Barth for the job. 

So this being said you guys think I'm crazy for thinking we can win 6-8 games this year? We gotta weak schedule, I'm really looking forward to week one against the Cleveland Clowns. Living up here in PA I deal with a few of their fans as well, and personally I think we're a far more legit team than they are we should be able to open up with a win. We get to play the Big Ben less Steelers who hopefully Byron throws us a few picks and we can steal one from them.

Hey guys so its been awhile but I figured this might get some chatter. Now after the Sam Bradford workout/ Marc Bulger release its becoming evident that we at worst case should be looking at one of the "BIG TWO DTS".... Personally I'm higher on Suh, however personally I'd be happy with McCoy... Now I hate to be pessimistic but does anyone else see the bust potential out of McCoy? I mean Gaines Adams (god bless him) was a FREAK out of Clemson with can't miss blue chip potential. I thought the experts were correct, and although he showed flashes of brilliance I don't think he was worth the fourth overall pick... I'm somewhat high on the Sean Jones signing, however looking at Eric Berry I do see him as a more sure thing type pick granted Suh is off the board. I know some people are going to rip on me and harrass me for this, and good teams build from the inside out, but can we afford to miss another high draft pick? Also out of all the WRS that could possibly be there for us at 35 do you guys think Dez is so far above say Golden Tate to trade a second and third with say scrub Derrick Ward or maybe Barrett Ruud to move back into the late first and scoop him? Freeman has tons of potential and everyone that hated on him before watching him play has pretty much accepted the fact that he IS a franchise QB of the future, we just can't screw him up early and with the targets we have to work with including our incumbent big slow and unskilled Michael "The checks cashed" Clayton and Reggie "Downtown" Brown I'm skeptical... I just don't want to see the poor kid completely set up to fail, I thought he had a decent thing going with AB so lets get him someone to "grow old with" 

Well I've been checking mock drafts most of the night  and have come across a few that have us actually having the choice of Suh or McCoy... Most agree now that the Rams won't pass on Sam Bradford, and the pick of LT does actually make sense for Detoit after picking up Corey Williams... So what do you guys think the chances are of this happening? If we could be so lucky does Gerald McCoy's lack of bench press reps concern you? I'm higher on Suh, however I could see McCoy being more of a splash impact player. Just wondering what wide outs and safeties you guys think will be available for round 2 thru 5? 

Now I've read a few mocks and I've been scared stiff! I still think about the draft that Oakland was fortunate enough to scoop up franchise qb Jamarcus Russell. Mel Kiper Jr who everyone seems to love had for months promised that no way in heck the Lions would go and take Calvin "Megatron" Johnson... I was enamoured with the thought of Calvin, however I also knew that if Kiper was wrong ( which McShay said he would be!) there was a possiblity of the Bucs taking a young pass rusher "freak" athlete with unlimited upside... that upside produced us a career best six sacks in three seasons and was traded for a draft pick around 40 spots higher... the reason I'm so against Jason PP is well actually i have a few

1. We could have selected AD Adrian Peterson however Allen Gruden thought that Earnest Graham was the answer for a broken down Cadillac Williams

2. How would Patrick Willis of looked in pewter? Now say what you want about Ruud, but that was his first year to start. We had Shelton Quarles until that season, and Ruud would have made a perfect strong side backer in our tampa two. Imagine us having Willis Ruud and Geno running wild?

3. I love Aqib Talib, but the draft before him we could've had a defensive back by the name of Darelle Revis.. The Jets are lame and arrogant and without Revis Island their nothing. Fat Rex Ryan if not for having Darelle Revis would look just as bad as a rookie coach as Raheem.... We picked the best qb in the draft I honestly believe it and so should you Jet fans!

4. The following year we drafted Aqib who I love but come round two I remember a guy named Desean Jackson we twice passed on... looks like a pretty solid WR considering we decided that Dexter Jackson would be a more serviceable fit

Please no high risk/reward picks, we're in bad shape.... Eric Berry played for Monte he loves the system please bring him here if we can't have Mccoy/Suh. I understand you need a pass rush to make your DBS look good, we add Eric Berry to T Jack, Talib, and hopefully like a previously stated a Javier Arenas, Pat Robinson, to take over for Ronde our secondary is talented enough to actually off set our crap line

Ok so I am a die hard buccaneer fan, only 25 years old so i wasn't even around for the worst years... i still vaguely remember a monte kiffin led D that could win games even with a rooke qb from tulane current espn analyst shaun king. i at the time loved king compared to the prospects of rob johnson brad johnson, and it really reminds me of being sick of garbage like bruce gradkowski jeff garcia byron leftwich and brian griese. a buc fan to the end im pumped about #5... watching him take us down field being down in the fourth was amazing for any rookie qb... say what you want call me an idiot but i was more impressed with mr freeman despite the carolina game than either sanchez or stafford...  now with this offseason being the most important that i remember i want to bring up a few possibilities that i enjoy and hope you can all jump in with your insight! fack the saints 

1. i believe in bryant leaves (which i wouldn't want) but if we're stuck  with poopie clayton and stovall we need to trade a 2 and 4 and get us some brandon marshall... if that fails atleast get us q boldin... i understand we need young wrs to grow with freeman but freeman can't grow with these bums we need a legit threat downfield... help our run game and help k2 (beast) underneath

2. if both of those fail as much as i want eric berry we do need a d line to start with.  thanks to studs like warren sapp and simeon rice we won a superbowl and dexter jackson won the mvp and coincedentally got paid! now dexter jackson was a scrub that was fortuntate enough to play for us when we had a beast d line.. i hate HATE HATE sabby but with help i think hes about the same level as dj was... love tanard and aqib probably my two current faves on D 

3. so lets say both DTS are gone when we pick (although my gut tells me the rams pick bradford or trade with us) do we trade down and go after a dez bryant, a joe haden, and improve the line in the second round? personally i think eric berry is a stud, however i wouldn't mind to scoop taylor mays with extra picks.

4. i love brandon spikes and rolando mcclain however i think linebacker is actually our most solid position assuming we keep ruud... hayes has mad potential black is pretty decent esp cover 2

5. ultimately i want to see us with brandon marshall and  suh or mccoy! mix in some hopefully taylor mays or even that dude from lsu maybe even some javier arenas round 2 or three and that is one hell of an offseason! opions please