Bucs Lose To Texans 13-16

And so it goes. The Bucs' 2nd/3rd team defense, the one that got destroyed by the Jags last Saturday, played much better this week, but still missed some assignments and tackles. Overall, though, they managed to make some stands, which shows some of the guys are worth keeping. I thought Bradley, Cash, and Bryant did quite well, though the announcers, for some reason, were hard on Bryant (he's not going to make every play, guys!). The offense showed some more life this week, but had a hard time converting some downs, including going 1 of 3 on 4th downs. Simms barely sniffed the field, and Buenning, unfortunately, got banged up. Haven't heard how long he'll be out.

One guy that got plenty of action was David Boston. He had around 10 passes intended for him, 6 of which he snagged for 77 yards. He's definitely going to be a big threat as he continues to get back into game shape. The offensive line did OK. I heard the announcers mention that the line wasn't getting any push, but this was usually after a Watson run for few yards. Graham, on the other hand, seemed to be able to chew up many more yards behind the same line, so I think it was more Watson than anything. Unlike last year, I just haven't been very impressed with him at all this season. I think Graham is going to be the third tailback and the "emergency" fullback, should the Bucs only keep 2.

Overall, the offensive line managed to do much better than last week, but still had some assignment breakdowns that caused pressure. It seemed that when they got their hands on the proper defender, they did quite well. It's when they missed the guy that really hurt. Gradkowski was pretty solid this game, but really screwed up on the Bucs' 4 and 17 play when he threw short. Should have sent that ball down field, even in coverage, as the game was over once he blew the play. Gruden was clearly unhappy with it. Special teams looked solid, but the returns are still hit or miss. It will be interesting to see how Pittman does as the kick return guy this year.

All things considered, I think this team is ready for the Ravens. The defense will certainly kick some. We just need to hope that the offense, with all of its weapons available, will be ready as well. Which reminds me, the Bucs also picked up Doug Jolley for a conditional draft pick. Should be interesting to see how quickly he gets incorporated into the offense. He'll likely be the third string tight end.

Fiedler Wacked!

Well, the Bucs decided to let Fiedler go since his shoulder wasn't coming around fast enough. The move was a little bit of a surprise, but I guess they feel that Rattay and Gradkowski can hold the fort until McCown is able to rejoin the roster. What happens then is anyone's guess.

The Bucs used the slot Fiedler occupied to resign Tackle Cornell Green, who battled for the RT spot with Walker back in '02. The Bucs made other cuts, with no surprises, on Tuesday, which included Russell, Betia, and others. The Bucs are now down to to 75. One more game and it's down to the final cut.

Bucs Lose To Jags 18-29

You've got to love Preseason (no...not really). I guess the Jaguars really wanted to win this game badly because Del Rio left his front line offense, minus Taylor, in the game during the entire 3rd period against the Bucs' number 2/3 defense. In fact, the secondary was almost entirely 3rd string, and so were some linemen, when the Jaguars scored 2 TD's to take the lead. I can maybe see the first drive, but the second? Once it's clear your offense has lesser competition to go against, what are you proving to yourself? This usually ends in the other team going ahead and making the switch. I really thought it was humorous when Leftwich was really pumped up and excited. "Yeah, I just beat the Bucs 2nd and 3rd team defense! Yeah!!" Time to take a chill there, pal.

In any case, most of the real action worth noting came in the first half which was mostly a 1st team vs. 1st team event. The Bucs offense took advantage of a Leftwich fumble to drive 43 yards for a TD and then a 2 point conversion in which Dewayne White was the intended receiver. White was clearly held with no penalty, and the Jags appeared to intercept the ball when White ripped the ball away and secured the two points. It was a bizarre play to say the least. Simms looked very good, save the three batted balls, one of which was clearly on Ken-stinking-yatta. The DE he was blocking backed off and floated into the passing lane. Instead of seeing Kenyatta do the right thing, which is to run up and chest punch the DE backwards, he let the guy go to the gap and jump up and bat down the ball. Twice more Simms got batted down on 3 step drops with slant patterns. The line has to do a better job of seeing the DT's release in preparation to bat the ball down, and punch them back.

The offensive line of the Bucs really had problems holding up against the Jags, at times. One sack came when Joseph was moved to LG (why?). Another came from Wade failing to stay with his man, who backed off and stunted around the other DT to get into the backfield. They also failed to get good push in the running game. This is probably one of the best DL's the Bucs will face, and one that's given them problems before, but they did hold up enough for the Bucs to make some plays.

The first team defense was simply awesome. The Jags have a pretty solid OL, but the Bucs defensive line made them look like swiss cheese. Booger actually got another sack, as did Rice. The rest of the first team defense played lights out, and all told held the Jags to 1/7 on 3rd down conversions. Kelly didn't play, but everyone else did. Cox looked stellar out there, including a great pass defense while covering Matt Jones. Really, the Jags first team offense had only a few early runs by Taylor that went anywhere, but then the Bucs stuffed Taylor and the rest of the Jags offense the rest of the first half. Obviously they were frustrated, as they came out and played the entire 3rd quarter against the Bucs 2nd/3rd team defense, as I noted earlier. From there it got pretty ugly.

How ugly? Two picks and a fumble by Gradkowski. The wonder QB showed why he isn't yet ready for prime time. He may be one day, but that day ain't now. The turnovers helped the Jags pile on two more TD's. Then he finally hit Gassner with a bomb to put the Bucs in 1st and goal, but with only 14 seconds left. They did score the TD with a beautiful catch by Russell that was then reversed, in bullsnit fashion, if you ask me. I'm getting pretty tired of TD's being called non-TD's. The ball didn't touch the turf, and he had full control until the ground made the ball shift in his hands slightly. Kind of reminds me of the Shepherd TD that was taken away from us in the playoff game. They then turned around and scored again with Warren, which actually stood.

Well, clearly the effort by the 2nd/3rd team defense wasn't really all that great. Don't know why, but it wasn't. The first team defense came to play and it showed. The first team offense continued to show it's uncanny ability to score on their first drive which is a good sign. Some poor penalties and sacks caused some issues. The lack of a running game was a little concerning, but the Jags appeared to be overplaying the run, as we have run through them a lot during the past Preseason games we've played with them. What can you say? Eh, pretty much sums it up for me. I think the offense is clearly showing some great play at times. Now they need to get consistent. In my opinion that starts with dumping Kenyatta on the bench. He continues to be a swinging gate. Just two weeks until it's real.

Defensive Backs

Due to a plethora of chores and other items I've been taking care of this week, I haven't had the time to get around to putting up the last two position reviews; Defensive Backs and Special Teams. With the Jags game set to start in a little bit, I'll go ahead and look at the DB's. This group has the usual players of Barber, Kelly, Phillips, and Allen. The nickel seems destined to be Bolden's job, while Cox seems to be stepping up to be the back-up corner spot. At safety, Pearson seems to be entrenching himself as the third safety while Nicholson and Adams battle it out for the final spot.

Barber is...well...Barber, and I expect to see him continue to be one of the best corners in the league playing in this defense. Kelly should continue to play strong at the other corner spot, making it tough to consistently beat this secondary unless they are letting you throw underneath. Bolden, however, seems to have improve noticeably over last year where he regularly got beat deep, or for long 3rd down conversions. He appears to be a step faster, and seems less prone to allowing receivers to get by him deep. While he can still be beat, his improvement will go a long way towards helping the defense get off the field in 3rd and long situations, something that they struggled at times with. Cox has also been a bit of a surprise. It seems as though the light finally came on for him, and he has been having a preseason after a strong camp. He should allow the Bucs to maintain a strong nickel if Kelly or Barber go down, and will help the dime package out.

At Safety Phillips continues to be a strong run supporter and a solid, but not great, pass defender. I'm hoping to see his pass defense take another step this year, but we'll see. We should get a better performance than last year and he was solid then. He also needs to stay healthy. Allen will also need to stay healthy and he's already off to a rough start with the thumb injury. However, he's mostly being held out as a precaution, and could probably play. He's strong against the pass and average against the run. If he and Phillips can improve, the safety positions will be solid. Backing them up is Kalvin Pearson who seems to be coming on pretty strong. He's playing much better than last preseason, when he was regularly torched. He adds depth to a position that seemed lacking a month or so ago. Then there is Nicholson and Adams battling it out for the final Safety spot, and Adams seems to be winning, especially since he's good on special teams and can also play corner. Overall the safety spot is still a little thin, but maybe not in as bad a position as it seemed to be.

Going into this season, the DB's should be improved overall and it should help the defense stop those painful third and long conversions that killed them in some games like the game in Atlanta. As long as this group continues to improve, overall, the Bucs defense will continue to be at or near the top of the league.

Bucs Lose 10-13

Well, it's just preseason, so a lose isn't that big of a deal. Let's put things into perspective. The Miami 1st string offense couldn't move the ball on the Bucs first string defense, even though it had Quarles, Rice, Brooks, and Allen out for the night (Allen is resting the thumb). In fact, it wasn't until the Bucs had all of it's starters off the field before Miami's first string offense was able to move the ball and score a TD. The Bucs held the Dolphins to just 25 yards in the first quarter. Ruud was a terror, sacking Culpepper once (unofficially twice, forcing an intentional grounding call). McFarland actually busted through the line once to get a sack, as well. I have little doubt that the starting defense is going to be terrorizing teams. I also have little doubt that Quarles is looking over his shoulder because Ruud is good enough to challenge him for the start. That should keep Shelton on top of his game.

Offensively, the Bucs opened solid, with the pass protection looking very strong early, but giving way once a substitute or two got in there. Alstott continues to look faster than last year, running the ball twice for 14 yards (8 on one, 6 on the other), which may get Gruden to let him run the ball a few more times a game to help keep Caddy from having to carry too much of a load. Graham looked pretty good at times. Gradkowski continues to impress against third teamers, showing that the Bucs have a deep team. I would be shocked if he doesn't at least get one solid look at the 2nd string spot to see if he can play well enough to bump Rattay down to the third spot.

Overall, the offense was good at times, putting up 300 yards (40 more than the Dolphins), against a pretty solid group of defensive players. If it wasn't for some poor turnovers on drives heading into scoring range, the Bucs probably would have won the game. Simms, was a little disappointing, but he played against Miami's first string defense, and sometimes it's tough to get going against a group like that without a few more shots at it. Not too bad of an overall showing for the Bucs. Now it's off to Jacksonville for another solid test. The Bucs have had a real poor time of it playing up there. If they can play well this time, it might be a good sign going forward.

Linebackers

And yes, the fun continues as we look at the Linebackers. This year's team appears to be rather deep at the Linebacker position. The starters still appear to be Brooks, Quarles, and Nece. Backing them up will be Winborn, Ruud, and Cooper. All three backups could combine to be a starting linebacking corps on many teams. Cooper is the weakest of the group, but seems to continue to improve. Right now he seems to be backing up the Sam spot instead of the Will, as Winborn is a better Will linebacker, and a very good one at that. If Winborn can stay healthy, which has been his only negative during his career, he could become a very good Wil for the Bucs and a possible replacement for Brooks if they don't draft a better player.

Ruud continues to push Quarles at the Mike spot, and looks awefully good. Ruud could end up being, in a couple of years, every bit as good as Quarles. But the one thing Ruud has over Quarles is size. Speaking of Quarles, we saw his play elevate to a new level last year after two sub-par seasons. I don't know if it was him getting healthy, or the new competition for his spot, but he's turned it up a notch and doesn't appear to be ready to let Ruud take the Mike spot away, at least not yet. Brooks is, of course, Brooks. With the current conditioning program, I have a feeling we'll see Brooks regain a little bit of his speed, and be as effective as ever. Age is slowly catching up, but he found a way to overcome it last year, and the new conditioning program seems to be helping a lot of players get quicker and in better shape, so I'm thinking we may see Brooks performing close to peak all season again. Nece is Nece, and will continue to do a solid job at the Sam spot. I would like to see Cooper push him more, but that hasn't happened yet, and Nece seems to have plateaued a bit. But the Sam spot only requires that the player be solid, which Nece has been.

Overall I expect to see a similar, or slightly better performance from this group than last year simply because of the combination of effective competition and a better conditioning program that emphasizes quickness and endurance more than in prior years under Giemont. Should be interesting to see how much longer Quarles can hold Ruud off. If Ruud gets to be good enough, I'd almost like to see Quarles moved back to Sam on normal downs with Ruud at Mike, then take Ruud off in nickel packages leaving Quarles in there. That would be a stellar group. But, nevertheless, I expect this group will help to continue to establish the Bucs' dominance on the defensive side of the ball.

Camp Nearing An End

Well, camp is almost over. The Bucs finish up tomorrow morning with a walkthrough practice in preparation for their Saturday night game against the fish. Once complete, the Bucs will high tail it out of there and head home. They'll have another walkthrough on Friday at MacDill. Then after the game, they'll move into the new facility on Sunday.

Can't wait to see if some pictures/videos come out of that place. It'll be neat to see what they have going in the new building. Beyond that, the season will be quickly approaching. Just a little over 3 weeks until kickoff!

Defensive Line

Now back to our regularly scheduled positions posts...Next up is the Defensive Line. Once the pride and joy of the Bucs, the Defensive Line has slowly become an also ran on the defense. While Rice still terrorizes QB's from the right side, Spires has been less intimidating in the last couple of years, and McFarland has continued to produce half that of a "washed up" Sapp in Oakland, in terms of both tackles and sacks. In '03 and '04, this unit had actually become a problem, as it was a sieve in the running game while not getting the customary pass pressure. Last season the Bucs went and picked up Chris Hovan. He then proceeded to become a merciless, tireless Nose Tackle, constantly drawing double teams, while helping close the running sieve in the middle of the line. But the pass pressure was still lacking. The Bucs still underperformed in the sack area, and required more blitzes than normal to get them.

This year the Bucs come into camp with mostly the same line, with a couple of additions via the draft. Both Julian Jenkins (5th round) and Charles Bennett (7th) were picked to add some depth at DE, but neither seems suited to help cure the pass rush from the middle of the line. While the Bucs don't expect much pass pressure from the NT spot, the Under Tackle needs to be disruptive and that player needs to be in the backfield as often as possible. Sapp made a living doing this. McFarland, on the other hand, has consistently shown an inability to consistently do this. He occasionally shows flashes of it, but rarely manages more than a couple of plays a game where he has any real impact. This is despite the fact that Hovan and Rice drew a lot of double team last year, giving McFarland a lot more one-on-one opportunities. Wyms actually had more sacks playing the spot in reserve than McFarland did starting. Unfortunately, Wyms just doesn't have the size to hold up at UT all year long. If there is one position on this team that still kind of scares me, this is it. Without a disruptive UT, the pass pressure will not show up without blitzing.

Rice should be looking at another great year from the RDE spot. He'll be spelled by White or Andrew Williams from time to time. Spires, on the other hand, needs to pick up the slack at LDE or White will unseat him as the starter. In any case, I expect to see solid pass pressure from the ends this year, along with solid run stopping. Hovan should be able to improve on last year's effort, and may actually notch some sacks this season. It will be tough, though, as he will get doubled a lot unless the Bucs can find a better UT, or McFarland gets a fire lit under his rear. Anthony Bryant could be a potential NT replacement, allowing Hovan to move over to UT, but Bradley has been fighting him off. Jenkins has been seeing time at UT, but, quite honestly, he's way too small to fit there at only 277lbs. Overall I think the Bucs have the talent to get what they need out of every position except UT. This must be fixed. The run stopping will be there, but the pass rush looks to still be a problem, and the Jets game did nothing to discount that in my mind.

Bucs Beat Jets 16-3

Well, I finally found time to put my two cents worth in on the Bucs Preseason win over the Jets. We didn't see much of the stars on offense or defense, which was expected, but we did see the Jets keep most of their first string offense in against the Bucs second string defense. And while the Jets did drive the ball, Pearson forced a fumble/sack, and Ruud recovered. From there on it was all Bucs. It was pretty obvious, by the time it was deep into the second half, that the Bucs clearly had a much deeper team than the Jets. Some of our third stringers could start for some teams. The Bucs finished the game holding the ball for just over 36 minutes, while racking nearly twice as many first downs (23 vs. 12) and putting up 305 yards vs. 185, with 167 coming on the ground. The Bucs held the Jets running game in check all game, and forced the Jets to make do with a lot of short passes (4.3 yards per pass play). Granted, the Jets are in transition, and may not be all that good, but it was clear the Bucs were at least a couple of levels above them.

The Bucs could have tacked on another TD late, but sat on the ball to finish up. But they weren't looking to rub it in, and wanted to get out of there healthy. Joseph and Trueblood got a lot of time together on the offensive line, and they looked quite good for their first time out, especially in the running game. While it was the Jets, the Bucs were able to run through any gap they chose to, and did so quite well, though Pittman seemed to have an off night, fumbling twice, and not really breaking through the holes well. The offensive line held up very well in pass protection, giving up no sacks, with Rattay slipping past the closest attempt during a scoring attempt. The receivers played well with Galloway not playing and with both Clayton and Boston seeing little time. Stovall had the most catches with three, including the clinching TD pass to put the Bucs up 16-3 (missed extra point). Davis ran quite well, for a fullback, coming in right behind Graham, who had another excellent game. Tight ends played well, but weren't heard from much in the passing department. The defense played solid with a lot of base coverages, though the defensive line didn't put up enough pressure, in my opinion. The linebackers played great from top to bottom, and the secondary was solid, only allowing one big pass play on a miscommunication on the defense. Special teams were fine. Bryant is probably a lock, as he's got the better kickoffs, and Betia missed an extra point attempt (never a good thing).

Overall, I was quite impressed. We'll see how they do against Miami, a better team that usually plays us to win during the Preseason. If they continue to play like this, it would be a good sign. One thing I liked was the lack of any major injuries. So far, this team seems to be in pretty good condition, and hopefully that will be a sign of things to come. It would be a very good thing if Morris' conditioning program made a noticeable difference in the frequency of preventable injuries.

Quarterbacks

Speaking of signal callers (see the Tight Ends below before this reading this post), the Bucs come into this season a little thin, having lost Luke McCown for at least half of the season, and having signed Jay Fiedler, who is still not 100% with the banged up shoulder. The Bucs currently have Rattay and Gradkowski (their 6th round pick) backing up Chris Simms. Rattay has 16 games under his belt, and should be able to run the offense in a pinch, but he clearly has a lack of arm strength, which can hinder what is becoming a more wide open passing offense. Gradkowski seems to be the better athlete and has a pretty strong arm, but he's a rookie, and this offense is not kind to rookies. The Bucs would rather not have to throw him into the fire, as it would likely tank the season, unless the offensive line is good enough to keep the running game going against 9 man fronts.

But while the Bucs lack depth, for now, at the QB spot, what they do appear to have is a QB that just might be a franchise signal caller. Simms, after a rough start, came in and began to move the ball nearly as well as Griese had done before. But where Simms had an advantage from the start, was with the deep ball. Is uncanny ability to accurately hit the deeper passes, allowed Galloway and Shepherd to stretch defenses and score big TD's. Simms also developed a knack for rallying the team in the fourth quarter, winning most, and losing some, in that effort. What Simms showed by the end of the season was that he could do the little things that made some QB's great. Never underestimate how hard it is to bring teams back in the fourth quarter. Now, coming into the new season, Simms lit it up in the OTA's and seems to be doing the same in camp. He's become more vocal in the huddle, and reads defenses much quicker. The Bucs are even using special methods to improve his ability to get the ball past the defensive linemen, reducing the number of batted passes. Add this stable of receivers, tight ends, and backs, and Simms now has targets that can attack every spot of the field, and he has the arm to get the ball there. Make no mistake, he will still screw up a lot this year, as he's still got less than a full season under his belt, but he will also burn teams, and could lead this offense to new heights if he continue to improve and stay healthy.

It's exciting to think about how good Simms might just turn out to be. It's still early, but he's already shown a lot of those key traits you look for in a top flight QB. This will be the season that will likely make or break his career as a Buc. Let's just hope he stays healthy, as his backups aren't looking to great at the moment.

Tight Ends

This year's tight ends will likely be very much the same as last year, but with one change. Whether or not Anelli or Massaquoi wins the final TE spot is still up in the air. Smith, Becht, and Moore will be the other three. Last year the Bucs found a nice surprise in Smith, who came on the scene rather quickly with a couple of TD passes in the Bucs opener against the Vikings. By the time the season was over, it was obvious that Smith was becoming a top tier receiving threat at the position. The only thing that was a little lacking was his run blocking which improved as the season went on to a point that it was average by year's end. This off-season he's worked hard to improve that phase of the game while continuing to learn the nuances of the offense. If he continues to improve, it could end the season as one of the top 5 all-around tight ends in this league. But that will depend a lot on how much he can improve the run blocking.

Speaking of run blocking, Becht, whose best skills are in this area, has done the same as Smith; work his weakness during the off-season. Becht has worked hard on improving his flexibility and quickness, while working on his hands. So far it seems like he's improved some, but we'll have to wait for some real action to see for ourselves if he can become more a of receiving threat to help balance out the tight ends. Dave Moore returns as basically the third or fourth string tight end and primary long snapper. Moore can still catch the ball and play well, but he's not as quick as he used to be, so he's not an intermediate or deep threat. An occasional 3rd and less than 5 catch for a first will likely be his forte', if he sees the field as a tight end this year.

The Bucs are a little thin at Tight End, but Smith and Becht appear to be guys that can stay healthy. In an emergency, Maurice Stovall may be able to slip in to play the position, as he is learning how to play the tight end spot on the side. He's got enough size to play the spot, but not enough to hold up in single blocking against larger defensive linemen. Assuming Smith and Becht stay healthy, they will add the firepower to go with the running backs and receivers, allowing the Bucs to credibly attack the defense at all levels. In reality, this may be the best set of skill players the Bucs have fielded in the franchise's entire history. That's not an exaggeration, either. They finally have all the weapons in place for Gruden. Now he just needs a signal caller that can get the job done.

Running Backs

Next up on the list is the running back position, consisting of the tailbacks and the fullbacks. Needless to say, this position will look awfully familiar with maybe one or two changes. Caddy will, of course, start the season as the primary tailback, with Pittman spelling him at times, or joining him in the rocket package. After that will be either Graham or Watson, though it is possible the Bucs may keep both, with Graham able to play both HB and FB. Alstott will be the starting fullback, and the primary goal line and short yardage back. Sowell will back up Alstott in much the same capacity as Cook did, though Sowell may be a replacement for Alstott after this season, and until the Bucs find a replacement. I don't think Razzano is going to make the roster this year, but could end up on the Practice Squad.

If the Bucs are looking to keep 3 tailbacks and 3 fullbacks, then I think it will be Williams, Pittman, Watson, followed by Alstott, Sowell, and Graham. The Bucs really like Graham and everything he brings to the table, so I am assuming they want to find a way to keep him on the roster. With these backs in the Bucs' stable, defensive coordinators must worry about several backs that can cause a variety of problems. The Bucs depth at running back, talent wise, parallels the receivers, and DC's across the league must be hoping that the Bucs' offensive line has continuing struggles. Williams is likely to light it up again this year. He's gotten Nike to make him some form fitting shoes to prevent the foot problems he had last year. Combined with his desire not to go through what Clayton did, and I expect him to post 1,200 to 1,400 yards rushing, assuming he can get at least the same level of blocking as last year. Better blocking, and we might see him hit 1,500, but I'm not going to get all excited thinking of the possibilities until I see the line in action. Pittman will come in and add a few hundred yards, and continue to provide the pass catching out of the backfield. With Williams getting a better grasp on catching and pass blocking, it may be harder for Pittman to get on the field on third downs.

Alstott will continue to provide that power down at the goal line and during short yardage situations. He'll also be the target of a noticeable number of passes. I expect Alstott, now nearly 3 years removed from his injury, to play the best he's played since before he was injured, and to go out with a bang. Don't be surprised if he racks up the touchdowns, and gets a three or four hundred yards on the ground. Of course, the one guy he will be fending off is Sowell, who is an excellent blocker and solid pass catcher. Sowell will, however, be much like Cook was, an occasional pass catcher and blocker, at least this year. So far Alstott's been showing he should still be the main guy, and I doubt Gruden wants to keep Alstott off the field in those key situations unless Sowell is the better player, which he hasn't really shown so far.

With the running backs and receivers being so deep and talented, I expect to see the Bucs offense move up the charts drastically. If the offensive line can improve just a little, this offense will have the fire power from these two positions alone to do some serious damage. Next up will be the tight ends, which means even more weapons for DC's to worry about.

Wide Receivers

Next up on my list of position reviews is the Wide Receiver position. Last year, as most know, this position was made average, at best, due to Michael Clayton's physical condition, and the over reliance, down the stretch, on average receivers. This year, after Galloway posted top numbers, Clayton comes back in shape, healthy, and catching the ball much better than last season. That alone would improve this receiving corps to above average. Not taking a chance, however, the Bucs decided to draft Maurice Stovall, and pick-up David Boston and 2nd year receiver Chas Gessner. So far, Maurice is looking a lot like Clayton, David Boston is looking like a Pro-Bowl receiver again, and Chas Gessner is really putting the heat on Shepherd to even make this year's roster.

In effect, the Bucs appear to be going into this season with 4 top caliber starting receivers, and 2 top notch Number 2/3 type receivers. Right now I'm predicting the Bucs will keep 6 receivers, and they will be ordered as such on the depth chart: Galloway, Clayton, Boston, Hilliard, Stovall, and Gessner. I think Edell has simply made one too many bobbles on critical catches, and appears to be getting slightly outplayed in camp by Gessner. Stovall will, eventually, move up past Hilliard, but he has to fully learn the offense first. What we are likely to see, barring injuries, is a heavy dose of Galloway and Clayton, and a more common use of the 3 receiver sets to get Boston on the field. Simply thinking of Galloway lining up with a healthy Clayton, and healthy Boston, makes me drool over the possibilities. All three can cut across the middle. All three can get deep, with Galloway and Boston doing this best. All three can block in the running game, though Galloway is clearly the weakest of the three. Basically, it's a nightmare for Defensive Coordinators, who already have to worry about the Bucs' running backs.

What I expect to see this year is a more liberal use of the deep and intermediate routes than what has been typical of Gruden. When you have a QB that can consistently hit the deep ball nearly as well as most QB's can hit short passes, and you have 2 receivers that can beat almost any corner deep, and another that can beat most, you take advantage of it. I expect to see a lot of crossing routes, post patterns, and go/streak routes. I expect to see this off of play-action in one back, one tight, three wide sets, with Simms faking to Williams, drawing a safety in, and letting at least one of the the receivers get deep. If the defenses collapse low, but keep the safeties deep, then they simply get the tight end out in an intermediate route in the soft middle. This is, quite frankly, probably the deepest, most talented wide receiving corps the Bucs have ever fielded, and it will show on game day.

Offensive Line (Start Of Position Reviews)

In an effort to really gear up for the upcoming Preseason game against the Jets, I'm going to review each of the 10 key areas of the team (OL, RB, WR, TE, QB, DL, LB, CB, S, and Special Teams). These reviews are simply my opinion on where these groups are, and what to look for as the Preseason progresses, and has we hit the regular season.

So first up is the offensive line, which is probably the one group in the most need of getting to the next level of play. Last year's group, which started all 17 games, was adequate, but the run blocking on the right side was lacking, and pass protection from the Tackles, and the right guard was generally poor. Walker continued to struggle opening holes in the running game, and his pass protection, which was average most of the time, would break down at key moments causing so really poor play results, including sacks, and a couple of fumbles. Mahan, who played RG last year, simply could not get push against most DT's he faced during the season. He also was a liability against solid pass rushing DT's. Then there was Anthony Davis who was consistently one the team's best run blocker, but who's lack of quick feet often led to him being easily beaten by speed rushers. Buenning was strong at LG in both the running and passing game, though his pass protection would break down at times due to his lack of experience leading him to take the wrong angle or block the wrong defender. Wade was average in pass pro, and run blocking. Nothing great, nor bad about his game, though he leaves you wanting something a little better at Center.

So how is this year's group looking? Let's go from left to right. At Left Tackle Anthony Davis worked his butt off to get quicker with his feet so that he could get out on his blocks quicker. He's got the size and talent to hold up against even the best DE's, but the lack of quickness has killed him. So far it appears he will be much improved in this area, and should be far less prone to giving up pressures and sacks. I look for him to be even better in the run, and be average, to slightly better at pass pro. At Left Guard, Buenning continues to improve his game, and should be able to take it to the next level, which will allow the Bucs to continue to have success running to the left, despite defensive overloading to that side. He should hold up even better against the pass rush with more experience and a better understanding of what he's seeing from the defense. He had better be, too, because Fonoti will continue to push him. Fonoti has reportedly been impressive in the running game, but less so in pass pro. So Buenning will probably continue to start, but he's not a 100% lock, and needs to remember that. Wade and Mahan will battle it out all summer for the Center spot. So far the competition is helping both players look better, but neither is looking like an All-Pro. As long as the play improves some over last year, it should be good enough.

At Right Guard, Jeb Terry appears on his way to do what he was doing last year, which is win the starting spot. Right now, Joseph's lack of knowledge of the offense, and how to attack the NFL game, is giving Terry the edge he needs to beat out the better athlete. Last year, before being injured, Terry looked to be one heck of a run blocker and a solid pass blocker. He appears to be doing that and a little more this summer, and should end up starting, though it's unlikely he will permanently retain that spot. Joseph looks strong in the running game, but his pass pro needs work, which is expected considering the differences in speed and power of the DT's in the NFL. He may not start this year, though I wouldn't bet against him, but he as the ability to be pretty dominate at his position and will likely be the 2007 starting RG unless Terry turns into a Pro-Bowl caliber player. Either way, the Bucs will have a much better situation at Right Guard this season, and will be able to run to the right, at least as far right as the guard spot. At Right Tackle is Walker and Trueblood. Walker's issues are well known around here. Last year he started the season playing pretty good, but seemed to slip back a little as the year went on. I don't know is his knee problems are getting to him as the season progresses, but Walker seems to be unable to really breakthrough and perform to his physical ability. So far, it looks like he will continue to play pretty much the same as last year, which is barely adequate for what the Bucs want out of their RT spot. Trueblood will continue to get a lot of reps and seems to be improving by the day. Too many observers, he seems to be progressing faster than Joseph, and could possibly push Walker out of the starting RT spot. He'll need a big Preseason to do it though, as his pass pro still needs a lot of work. He's good at times, then at others, he gets beaten with regularity. He has the physical traits to be a good RT, but time may be required.

Overall, this unit is certainly deeper this year than last. With Terry, or Joseph taking over the RG spot, and with Davis noticeably improving his quickness off the line, the Bucs offensive line should be able to start turning into a very solid unit this year. If this group remains healthy all year, they should be close to their potential around week 6 or 7. They should be more balanced in the run, and defenses should find it a little hard to blow by Davis, or the RG, to get in Simms face. I still have concerns with the RT spot, but we'll see how it goes. In general, this line will probably reduce the sack count by 5-10 sacks this year, and reduce the pressures around10%. They still won't be stellar, but with all the talent at the skill positions, it should be adequate enough to help the Bucs' offense move way up the charts this season, and put a good number of extra points on the board compared to last year. That's a start, and this young talent is only going to get better.

Offensive Line (Start Of Position Reviews)

In an effort to really gear up for the upcoming Preseason game against the Jets, I'm going to review each of the 10 key areas of the team (OL, RB, WR, TE, QB, DL, LB, CB, S, and Special Teams). These reviews are simply my opinion on where these groups are, and what to look for as the Preseason progresses, and has we hit the regular season.

So first up is the offensive line, which is probably the one group in the most need of getting to the next level of play. Last year's group, which started all 17 games, was adequate, but the run blocking on the right side was lacking, and pass protection from the Tackles, and the right guard was generally poor. Walker continued to struggle opening holes in the running game, and his pass protection, which was average most of the time, would break down at key moments causing so really poor play results, including sacks, and a couple of fumbles. Mahan, who played RG last year, simply could not get push against most DT's he faced during the season. He also was a liability against solid pass rushing DT's. Then there was Anthony Davis who was consistently one the team's best run blocker, but who's lack of quick feet often led to him being easily beaten by speed rushers. Buenning was strong at LG in both the running and passing game, though his pass protection would break down at times due to his lack of experience leading him to take the wrong angle or block the wrong defender. Wade was average in pass pro, and run blocking. Nothing great, nor bad about his game, though he leaves you wanting something a little better at Center.

So how is this year's group looking? Let's go from left to right. At Left Tackle Anthony Davis worked his butt off to get quicker with his feet so that he could get out on his blocks quicker. He's got the size and talent to hold up against even the best DE's, but the lack of quickness has killed him. So far it appears he will be much improved in this area, and should be far less prone to giving up pressures and sacks. I look for him to be even better in the run, and be average, to slightly better at pass pro. At Left Guard, Buenning continues to improve his game, and should be able to take it to the next level, which will allow the Bucs to continue to have success running to the left, despite defensive overloading to that side. He should hold up even better against the pass rush with more experience and a better understanding of what he's seeing from the defense. He had better be, too, because Fonoti will continue to push him. Fonoti has reportedly been impressive in the running game, but less so in pass pro. So Buenning will probably continue to start, but he's not a 100% lock, and needs to remember that. Wade and Mahan will battle it out all summer for the Center spot. So far the competition is helping both players look better, but neither is looking like an All-Pro. As long as the play improves some over last year, it should be good enough.

At Right Guard, Jeb Terry appears on his way to do what he was doing last year, which is win the starting spot. Right now, Joseph's lack of knowledge of the offense, and how to attack the NFL game, is giving Terry the edge he needs to beat out the better athlete. Last year, before being injured, Terry looked to be one heck of a run blocker and a solid pass blocker. He appears to be doing that and a little more this summer, and should end up starting, though it's unlikely he will permanently retain that spot. Joseph looks strong in the running game, but his pass pro needs work, which is expected considering the differences in speed and power of the DT's in the NFL. He may not start this year, though I wouldn't bet against him, but he as the ability to be pretty dominate at his position and will likely be the 2007 starting RG unless Terry turns into a Pro-Bowl caliber player. Either way, the Bucs will have a much better situation at Right Guard this season, and will be able to run to the right, at least as far right as the guard spot. At Right Tackle is Walker and Trueblood. Walker's issues are well known around here. Last year he started the season playing pretty good, but seemed to slip back a little as the year went on. I don't know is his knee problems are getting to him as the season progresses, but Walker seems to be unable to really breakthrough and perform to his physical ability. So far, it looks like he will continue to play pretty much the same as last year, which is barely adequate for what the Bucs want out of their RT spot. Trueblood will continue to get a lot of reps and seems to be improving by the day. Too many observers, he seems to be progressing faster than Joseph, and could possibly push Walker out of the starting RT spot. He'll need a big Preseason to do it though, as his pass pro still needs a lot of work. He's good at times, then at others, he gets beaten with regularity. He has the physical traits to be a good RT, but time may be required.

Overall, this unit is certainly deeper this year than last. With Terry, or Joseph taking over the RG spot, and with Davis noticeably improving his quickness off the line, the Bucs offensive line should be able to start turning into a very solid unit this year. If this group remains healthy all year, they should be close to their potential around week 6 or 7. They should be more balanced in the run, and defenses should find it a little hard to blow by Davis, or the RG, to get in Simms face. I still have concerns with the RT spot, but we'll see how it goes. In general, this line will probably reduce the sack count by 5-10 sacks this year, and reduce the pressures around10%. They still won't be stellar, but with all the talent at the skill positions, it should be adequate enough to help the Bucs' offense move way up the charts this season, and put a good number of extra points on the board compared to last year. That's a start, and this young talent is only going to get better.

Barber Signed/Allen Injured

Didn't get to comment on this stuff yesterday, but Ronde Barber signed on the dotted line for the deal that everyone was reporting. That should pretty much lock him up for the rest of his career, and allow him to retire a Buccaneer. Now the Bucs can turn their attention to other players who need to be addressed long term.

On what was a good day, Will Allen had his thumb examined (fractured), then surgically repaired. He's listed as being out indefinitely, but the Bucs have been hopeful that he could return for the August 11th Preseason opener against the Jets. The Bucs don't have a lot of proven depth behind him, but this may give some of the other players a chance to step up and show what they have. Let's just hope Allen recovers quickly.