by Davey, Blown Coverage
Man, where do you even start with a Tampa Bay preview. There's Chris Simms and his tender spleen, there's Jon Gruden's horrible facial expressions and there's that feeling that aliens have abducted Carnell Williams sometime during his rookie season and haven't returned him yet.
I don't know, I'll guess I'll start with the fact that this is a pretty bad team right now. The Bucs finished 4-12 last season and a big part of that was because their offense scored less than Gilbert Gottfried. As a die-hard Miami Dolphins fan, I've grown accustomed of seeing anemic offenses over the past few years but even I point and laugh at Tampa's unit. The Bucs finished 29th in the league in total offense (270.1) and 31st in points per game (13.2), numbers that'll make Gruden's face even less pleasant to see.
After Simms destroyed his spleen in the third game of the year, rookie Bruce Gradkowski stepped in and took over on offense. Gradkowski started off strong as he led last minute wins over the Bengals and Eagles but things got ugly after that as the team went on to lose 5 out of the next 6 games. Gradkowski got replaced by Tim Rattay for the remainder of the season as the team went on to finish a lethargic 4-12.
Now enters Jeff Garcia. Garcia was acquired in the off-season after he revived his career after taking over mid-season for an injured Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia. Garcia led the Eagles to the play-offs and has now parlayed that into a starting gig in Tampa. Garcia now takes over an offense that wouldn't even scare Stanford's defense.
Things get pretty interesting behind Garcia on the depth chart. Gradkowski and Josh McNown have both played very well in the pre-season and have basically assured their spots on the roster. And that means that Chris Simms finds himself in a very awkward position. Tampa could keep 4 qb's on the roster for now and try and work a trade for Simms and if that's the case, there are rumors that the Falcons could be a possible destination.
Going into the 2005 draft, the big question was which Auburn star would get drafted first. Some people thought that "Cadillac" Williams would be the better pro but most had Ronnie Brown ranked higher and Nick Saban agreed, drafting Brown second overall for Miami.
Williams got picked 5th by Tampa and so both guys got linked together and will probably be compared for the remainder of their playing days. Cadillac had a very good start to his career, rushing for big yardage in the first half of the season and even though he faded a bit down the stretch, he still finished with 1178 rushing yards, 6 Td's and bragging rights over Brown.
But the 2006 season was the definition of "sophomore slump" for Williams as he had a very disappointing season, finishing with 798 yards and just 1 Td. Ronnie Brown had the upper hand in year 2 as he passed 1200 total yards and had 5 Td's. Both guys have now played 28 games and I'd have to give the edge to Ronnie. Williams has 60 yards more rushing but Brown has more receiving yards, more total yards, more Td's, a better rushing average and has done this while splitting time with Ricky Williams and Sammie Morris.
And while people are still waiting for Brown to "break out", Tampa fans must be hoping that Williams can get back to the form he showed early in his rookie season. The addition of Garcia and some improvements on the O-line should help Williams but I still think that he'll struggle given that the offense still doesn't really strike fear into anyone.
For years, Tampa's strength had been their great Cover 2 defense and you could always count on that unit to be one of the league's best at the end of the season. Last season that defense took a big step back as the unit finished 17th in total defense (329.4 ypg) and 21st in points allowed (22.1 ppg). It was the first time since 1996 that Tampa's defense wasn't ranked in the top 10.
The defense has been retooled somewhat as Booger McFarland and Simeon Rice have been shown the door. McFarland was traded to the Colts for a 2nd round pick in October of last season and Rice was released during the off-season after he didn't want to take a pay cut. During free agency the team spent some cash to add veterans Cato June, Kevin Carter and Ryan Sims.
But the fact remains that this defense needs to get younger and their 2007 draft class showed that. Of Tampa's 10 picks, 7 were defensive players, led by 1st round pick Gaines Adams from Clemson. The Bucs will be hoping for big things from him on that defensive line and he'll basically need to be another Julius Peppers for them on that defense.
There are only 2 Bucs that you should probably draft and those are Joey Galloway and Carnell Williams. Galloway is the # 1 option on a bad offense so you know that most passes will go to him. He had a nice '06 season finishing with 62 catches for 1057 yards and 7 Td's and he could be a decent # 2 receiver on your team.
Take Williams on your own risk though. If you think he'll bounce back this year, you can take him as your # 2 back or maybe stack him on your bench. I avoided Williams like the plague in all of my drafts because I think he'll struggle this year again.
Jeff Garcia's ass should be firmly planted on your bench if you drafted him for some reason and I really see no reason for having Tampa's defense if not for an emergency start when your # 1 defense has a bye week. If you have taken any other Buc, I will fight you.
If Tampa's looking for some help from the schedule, then they're out of luck. They'll be playing against the AFC South and NFC West along with their usual games against NFC South rivals.
The tough road games are at Seattle, at Carolina, at New Orleans, at Indy and flying cross country to face a much improved 49ers team is no easy task either.
The tough home games are against New Orleans, Carolina, St. Louis, Jacksonville and Arizona (I think they'll have trouble with Arizona's offense). The Titans, Redskins, Texans and Falcons should be easier games for them.
2007 looks like another ugly season for the Bucs. Jeff Garcia should bring some life into this offense and the fact that he can scramble a little should save him from getting killed behind that offensive line. Garcia will have Joey Galloway to throw to but a guy that needs to produce is Michael Clayton. With Paris Hilton Warren done for the season, guys like Clayton and Maurice Stovall need to step up.
David Boston was making some noise in camp and Jerramy Stevens finished the pre-season on a good note and if they can contribute anything this year it will be a plus. But the guy that really needs to bounce back is Carnell Williams. If Williams can't run the ball again, it's going to be another long and painful season.
The defense, while not what it once used to be, still has some playmakers in Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber and Cato June. If Gaines Adams can come in and be the guy they expect him to be, it will also be a big boost. But the defense has lost it's edge and that was very evident last season. The schedule is tough, the offense is weak and it adds up to another depressing season in Tampa.
I see them between 4-12 and 6-10 depending on the running game.
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Sunday, September 2, 2007
NFL Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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