2008 Bucs' Schedule: PNG

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Bucs Cuts Are Done...For Now

The Bucs finished getting their roster down to 75 by placing Terry and Matt Herian on IR, while also picking up LB Leon Joe. Jeb Terry is really the only notable player in the roster moves to get down to 75, and he's just going on IR, as opposed to be cut. The rest of the cuts really had no names of note, save Chad Owens, who failed to unseat Mark Jones for the return duties. Of course, Jones isn't a lock to make the squad either.

The Bucs will have to cut down to the final 53 man roster by 4PM Saturday. I expect to see a bunch of cuts announced not too long after the Texans game. Some of the cuts will come down to the wire, and it will be interesting to see what the Bucs do at some of the positions where they seem to have a lot of talent stacked up, like receiver. Of course, the big one to watch for will be Simms. The Bucs aren't totally opposed to carrying 4 QB's, so he may make the roster, but who knows. The Bucs have 7 receivers that have played really well, but I can't see them keeping all of them, so the spots are going to be tight.

What's encouraging, at least too me, about the direction of this squad is that, as you look at the back-ups that were starters, and you see the depth forming on this team, it gets harder to make cuts. When that happens, that's when you know the team is starting to get back to where it was. I remember the years when most of the cuts were easy because the talent only went so far. Now the team has some really hard decisions in a lot of positions.

I can just smell the regular season now. One more warm-up game and it's countdown to kick off time!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Bucs Beat Dolphins 31-28

Tonight was probably the best all-around performance by the Bucs in Preseason. For the most part, I like what I saw. There were some miscues, and some issues that popped up, but I think, after 3 games, some questions appear to have been answered.

On offense, the Bucs were able to rack 24 offensive points with Garcia zipping in a nice deep pass to Galloway in the endzone on yet another broken play. McCown led the team to a field goal. And Bruce led the team to 2 touchdowns. The most impressive thing for me is that, after playing three straight playoff caliber defenses, the offensive line, including its first tier backups, has shown that it's for real. I'm really impressed with the offensive line overall. The Bucs started with Donald Penn at RT to give him a lot of work over there, and he was very solid, though he did fail to get a Miami DE knocked down on a pass to Williams, which got picked off and led to a short TD drive for the Dolphins. Caddy managed to rip off a couple of good long runs. All of the receivers played well, including Warren and Gessner, who both made statements for making the team. Boston also had a good reverse despite his recent incident. The QB's did alright, with Gradkowski playing the best. Luke seems to have regressed some, and held the ball too long a couple of times with the result being coverage sacks. The other backs all managed to get good runs in, with Graham making the most of it. Tight ends were a little quite and Heinrich looked pretty piss poor when he dropped a Simms pass right on the numbers which would have sustained a drive. For me though, and I can't emphasize it enough, the offensive line looks very solid all around and it should give us a glimpse of what we can expect this season.

On Defense, the first team struck quickly by first stopping Brown for a 2 yard loss, then Cato stripped a screen pass right out of Brown's hands for a short TD interception return. The next series, however, the defense made a lot of good plays, but kept giving up some key plays to allow Miami to keep the drive alive and score a TD. It's hard to tell if the defense is going to make a habit of that during the regular season, as they're running a lot of base, and the veterans on this defense tend to play a little less tighter than they would in the regular season. It's disturbing to some degree, but we've seen this defense shut teams down at times this Preseason, so we'll see. I can't really blame them too much on the second score, as that was just a big time trick play that allowed the back to get open. Not too mention the back's knee actually hit at the 3 before th ball crossed the plane, but nobody reviewed it. They shut Miami down on the next drive. The backups played MUCH better this week. Nece finally looked good at MLB. Still don't know if I like him there long term, but Ruud is going to be the man unless he gets injured. The third string defense did a pretty decent job, but had some bad plays at times that allowed Miami to hit a couple of long TD passes. The defense played a lot of prevent and looked the part (man do I hate the prevent!!). Overall, it was a so-so night, but I didn't see anything really alarming as the run defense was pretty solid all night long and the pass rush looked decent for most of the night. If there's one area of concern it's the pass rush. They are getting in the QB's face, but they need to get to the QB one step quicker to start knocking these guys around.

On Special Teams, the Bucs looked pretty solid with good returns and solid coverage. The punting and field goal kicking units were excellent, including a well run fake FG pooch punt. Jones and Owens both tried to make statements in the return area. Overall, this unit was solid.

With three games in the books, I think it's safe to say that the Bucs have a pretty solid team. If they can avoid key injuries, especially to the lines, this team could have a chance to return to the playoffs. Right now 9-7 or better looks to be a pretty strong guess. It will be interesting to see how good this offense is late in the season if Garcia stays healthy all year. It could be another late charging offense that starts putting up large scores late in the season like the '02 squad did. Just one more game to get through, and we'll see who they carry into the season.

Friday, August 24, 2007

David Boston's Arrest For DUI

Well, I watched the video of the field sobriety test and was, quite frankly, shocked that the police still took him in after he had already passed a breathalyzer. The cop was being almost as much a jerk as Boston was. What tips me against the cop, whom I would normally side with, is the fact that Boston was obviously not impaired (the video is available at TBO.com) and immediately offered to take a BAC and Urine test and just skip the field tests. With so much riding on the line, I seriously doubt Boston is stupid enough to just volunteer for these tests if he was taking an illegal substance.

In some ways I feel for the cop, knowing how things can be out there, but I'm kind of suspicious of the motives in this case. They did, after all, release him just 2 hours later. Clearly they saw he was not obviously impaired. If he was, then they were negligent in letting him go. I think this is a situation where they should have gotten him in a cab and towed the vehicle. But that's the state of our country these days.

Now, don't take me wrong, if he pops, he should pay for his crime, and he should get a suspension. If it's bad enough (say cocaine, or some other narcotic) then the Bucs should cut him. But I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's just wait and see how the urine tests come back.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Vick Is Toast

Mark my words, Vick is done. He'll serve 18-36 months in the Federal Pen, then have to serve a suspension in the NFL (at least one year). By the time he's done, assuming he doesn't get a lifetime ban for gambling, he'll have withered down too much and will simply not be the player he once was. He'll also be a lightning rod for any team that decides to touch him after this.

Quite frankly, being an owner of two dogs (Shiba Inus) I don't feel one bit sorry for the scum bag. He's getting what he deserves, and he'll have to use his trademark speed to keep Buba from making him his biatch! As someone on the PR boards mentioned "Does this now make Marcus the good one?", or something to that effect. Classic.

So, it's time for the Joey Harrington show to begin in Atlanta. Should be fun picking him off, unless he turns into another Delhomme, that just haunts us every game. With Shockley also going down, the Falcons look to be dangerously thin at QB, and have other issues. It looks like it could be a real long season for the dirty birds.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Jags Over Bucs 31-19

Let's start with the good. The first team offense did well, though they had a tough time running against the starting Jags' unit. The pass protection was solid, and Petitgout looked quite good in his first Preseason action. Garcia went 6 for 6 and hit Boston on a designed roll-out for a TD. The second and third team offenses were equally effective, and found running room against the second and third team Jags' defense. For the most part, the Bucs' offense was strong all night, but a couple of turnovers in scoring position killed them.

The first team defense was outstanding, holding the Jaguars to just 20 yards. When the defense went with some second stringers mixed in with 1st string, the defense was solid, but not spectacular. Overall, I thought, for once, the Bucs' starters and some immediate tier back-ups looked good against the Jaguars, something that we haven't seen in the last few Preseason and regular season contests. I was overall impressed with the offensive line as they usually get pushed around by the Jags, but stood up very well this time. They rarely lost at the line, and kept the pressure on our QB's to a minimum. Not bad at all.

The bad...mostly the turnovers on scoring drives (one was within field goal range, with another around the 5 yard line). Some of the center/QB exchanges were bad, and will hopefully be corrected by the end of Preseason. Caddy had a slow running start, though it was against an extremely good and physical Jags' defense.

The ugly...well, the mixture of second and third team defenders that played for most of the second through fourth quarters just outright blew. They weren't very stout in their tackling and looked a little slow to get on top of their coverage. Two of the Jags' scoring drives would have been stalled if solid tackles were made. Even after the Bucs' second fumble around the 5 yard line, the defense had the Jags deep with third and long, and Nicholson only needed to wrap his man up to stop the drive and get the offense the ball back, and he blew the tackle. That drive ended up going 95 yards and killed a "resurgence" by this unit that came out in the second half and stopped the Jags on their first drive and started that second drive strong. I am not impressed with Nece in the middle. I really, really, really hope Ruud stays healthy all year. Nece is simply not aggressive enough, nor strong enough to handle the middle. Ruud was outstanding, but the drop off is too much.

Overall, the offense was solid at all times against a very good, and pretty deep, Jaguars defense. I thought this was a VERY good sign for the offense, and could mean that this unit will do some really good things this year. The offensive line appears to be everything I thought they were after the first Preseason game. This unit looks to be for real, and will be a serious upgrade over the bulk of last year's work. The starting defense, against one of the biggest and strongest offensive lines in the league, held up extremely well, and provided some pressure, including a Kevin Carter sack, against Leftwich. They covered well and we're around the ball a lot. I was very impressed with their performance. Some of the second string defenders looked good as well, including Piscitelli who saved a TD on one play, and nearly picked off a pass on another. Special teams was solid. The only thing that really concerns me was the play of many of the second, and most of the third string defenders. I think some of this is due to experience, and will hopefully resolve itself with continued play and practice. Some of it looked like a lack of physical play and proper tackling technique. If the defense stays healthy, they'll be back in the top 10, no question in my mind (at least to this point). But if we have a rash of defensive injuries, it could get ugly. The offense looks like it can survive a handful of injuries, though, which is a good thing.

I have a feeling we'll see the Bucs pretty much dominate the Dolphins next week. If they don't it'll raise some concerns in me, but they have just played two of the top teams in the league and, despite the effort in the 2nd quarter tonight, held up quite well, even looking like the better team at times. But it's Preseason and we can only gauge this team so far.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Simms' Future

With the way things are going, the current belief is that Chris Simms will be cut prior to the start of the regular season. At this point, with all I've heard and seen, that definitely appears to be the case. Though there is still the possibility he could come on during the next 3 weeks of practices at One Buc Palace and during the 3 Preseason contests to maybe warrant a possible stay in that cut. But I doubt it.

Right now Luke McCown, barring injury or the ingestion of a dozen stupid pills, is going to be the back-up to starter Jeff Garcia. So it's technically a battle between Simms and Gradkowski. Since Bruce isn't exactly lighting it up, it's always possible Simms could make that run, but he's just so far behind. Chris has said to Pewter Report that he may wait a year to heal before rejoining any team. That could even be this team in '08 much the same way Boston came back after being cut.

We'll see, but Chris will have to really step up to the plate to either remain on, or come back to, this team. In any case, I fully expect the Bucs to move on this season, and go with the three guys they went with last Friday.

Bucs Break Camp

Well, the Training Camp Fat Lady has sung. The Bucs were given the morning session off, and allowed to return to Tampa. They will perform a walk through at MacDill AFB tomorrow before heading up to Jacksonville to play the Jags on Saturday night.

It's amazing how quick camp came and went. Usually these things seem to drag on forever, but it's been pretty quick, to me at least, this season. Now we get to sit back and watch 3 more games before they do it for real.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Game Review - Bucs Beat Pats 13-10

Well, before I go any further, this review is a day behind the times because I wanted to watch the video of the game to make sure I saw what I saw at the stadium. Having said that, I believe I can now review the game.

On Offense, the Bucs started out a little slow with Garcia attempting a more passes than runs during the two short drives. He did hit one nice pass to Caddy on the edge, and did get a first down pass into Galloway's hands, but the ball went incomplete and almost got picked off. Once Luke McCown came in, the Bucs started primarily running the ball, jamming it right down the Pats' throats. That opened up some room in the passing department, where Luke went 7 for 7 (the Force was truly with him). The running game was, in fact, very successful all game long. I was actually rather impressed with the offensive line in the running game. And once they had success running it, they had much better success against the pass rush. In general, the offensive line did a pretty good job protecting the QB, only allowing about 5 or 6 pressures, with a couple of Luke's sacks coming from holding onto the ball too long. There were only two outright break downs that I counted with a couple more that were borderline. It will be interesting to see if this line can open holes against the Jags as well. If it can, I think we can be pretty safe in thinking that this offensive line will allow them to run the ball effectively all season.

On Defense, the overall effort was strong, as they limited the Patriots to only a couple of effective drives and 10 total points. The pass rush was so-so, but they were also playing one of the better offensive lines in the league. They did collapse the pocket quite a few times, but they need to actually get the QB more often. Two sacks (I don't understand the 1 sack, as Wyms and Sims both got sacks in the game) is not the greatest for this defense. I do think that they may get better as they start working together more. The run defense was excellent, and the defensive line rarely got pushed back, generally winning or pulling a draw at the line. That allowed the linebackers and safeties to come up and make plays. Nece was so-so at the MLB spot. Ruud will be better as he's bigger and stronger. June and Winborn looked good, as the Pats' tight ends weren't much of a factor. The secondary was pretty solid, though they still give up a good gain on occasion. I want to see them a little tighter at times. The Bucs held the Pats to just over 200 yards of total offense and 3 of 9 on third down conversions. The Pats also got some calls their way, including an offsides that was caused by a flinch by the Left Guard. Brooks also had a shot to kill the one TD drive that the Pats had when a pass went right into his arms, but it deflected off his biceps.

On Special Teams, the coverage teams were pretty solid, giving up only one long return. The return team wasn't very effective, and the Bucs need to find a way to change that. Punting was solid, and Matt Bryant nailed his two attempts, including the game winner as time expired. This unit looks pretty much like last years. If they can just improve the return game, they would be solid.

Overall, the team looked quite good, with few penalties and no real big mistakes, save the fumble by Gates (that's not good!). This team looked really solid against a good Pats team, even though it's just preseason. The best thing is that the offensive line looks like it could be one of the best that Gruden has had since he's been here, much as the Channel 8 commentators stated. It could be even better once Petitgout gets healthy. Garcia needs to get some better timing down in the offense, but he should be fine, and the defensive line needs to continue to work on getting the QB on the ground, and not just getting in his face. This was a good start, but we'll see how they handle the Jags next week. If they can play physical and push the Jags around, I'll be even more impressed.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Mike Alstott Done?

Today Mike Alstott and Bruce Allen had a press conference to denote that Mike had suffered a neck injury above the prior fusion and that it was serious enough to warrant placing Mike on IR. It was an emotional press conference (here) where you could tell that Mike will probably never suit up for the Bucs again. The neck is not something you really want to mess with. He rolled the dice once, and has been lucky so far, but when it gets like this, it's a signal to stop. If he were to hit it correctly now, he could end up with some paralysis, and it's just not worth it.

He says they'll review the situation later this year after it's had time to heal up, and they'll see if he's done then. But really...does anyone think he'll risk it then? I don't. He's got his family to think about, and I don't think he could live with himself if he permanently injured himself in a way that would prevent him from playing with his kids and doing other things around his home.

If he ends up leaving the game, he leaves as the Bucs second leading rusher behind Wilder, and the third leading receiver. He's also the all-time leader in TD's with 71, which will probably stand for a long time unless Caddy starts racking them up. Alstott would also leave behind tons of highlight reel runs and receptions, including the TD run against the Vikings, the 2000 (1999 season) playoff TD run against the Redskins (from one side of the goal line to the other), and 2005's two point conversion against the Redskins in the regular season to put the Bucs ahead. My favorite run, however, is the one against Cleveland in 2002 when he plowed over 6 or so Browns. That was classic. There are tons more, many of which I have forgotten, and he will always be a fan favorite.

He will be missed.


Alstott after some hard work.















After drills, Alstott appears ready for a break from the heat.












The lone soldier of the grid iron purveys the field of play for one of the last times.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

More Pics

I'm posting three more pictures below. I have also managed to pull the video off my camera and have roughly 11 minutes of decent footage that I'll cobble together with some titles and such and post on the internet maybe tomorrow, or the day after, time permitting.

Below you'll see Kiffen having a discussion with Gaines Adams, a running play being run during 11 on 11 drills where Pittman takes a handoff from McCown (notice the hole that only the linebacker could plug - Pittman got some decent yardage on this play), and then you'll see a picture of Stovall continuing to catch passes after the practice session was over.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Some Initial Impressions

While I've still got to find time to rip that video off my camera and get it on the hard drive, I thought I could at least throw some impressions at there. I'll break it down into the three main groups.

Offense: Overall, this group as one thing that's quite noticeable - talent. It's actually surprising how much talent they appear to have amassed over the last couple of years. Of course, the QB position is still the biggest question mark, but the offensive line looks pretty solid. One thing that appears to stand out is the occasional ability for the offensive line to just blow a big hole open for the running backs. It happened a couple of times on Saturday, though the defensive line has been playing very fast and physical making it tough to consistently beat them. The receivers all look solid. I think I only saw one drop, as the receivers pretty much snared everything, which is a far cry from what we saw last year. Galloway is going to tear them up this year, and Stovall and Clayton are going to be performing at their best to try and latch onto that starting flanker spot, with Boston and Hilliard providing solid play right behind them. The backs look solid, especially Caddy and Pittman. Caddy's hands look great, and he appears to be over his issues receiving the ball. If he carries that over to game time, he'll be a top flight running back as his running looks to be back in full force. The Tight Ends look good. With the improved play of the line, we may actually see these guys get out there more. Becht actually looks a little more comfortable catching the ball this year. He seemed too stiff last year, but I saw him execute a nice route on the endzone drills for a score. If we can keep Garcia upright and get that run blocking going, this offense looks like it will produce. We'll see on Friday.

Defense: The line backers are faster. Ruud didn't practice on this day, but the rest of the gang looked good, especially June, who just flies all over the place. He seems to be around the ball a lot. Nece did OK at the Mike position, but I would much prefer to see Ruud back in there. Brooks seems to be a little quicker than last year. It may be the practice regimen, or a renewed vigor brought on by the competition. I don't know, but he doesn't look as slow as last year. The defensive backs look strong. I didn't get to see Sabby play, as he had a hamstring tweak, but the other defensive backs looked good, and Barber picked up one fumble to run it back, showing he's ready to be on top of any opportunities. Didn't see anyone pick a pass, except for Gruden who stepped in front of an endzone pass by Garcia. The line is really making the offensive line earn it's way. They put a lot of heat and pressure on, and I sometimes thought they were playing a real game, except they didn't hit the QB. When they got pressure, they were back there quite fast. So far it looks like both lines are getting better from talent infusions and aggressive play on both sides.

Special Teams: Punting is going to be strong again this year, as Bidwell just kept booming punts with excellent distance and hangtime. The other punter (I need to look his name up) wasn't as good as his punts were lower and more like line drives. Bidwell could have another Pro-Bowl season. The field goal kicking looked bad on Saturday, though Bryant has supposedly been solid all camp. He missed at least three times that I saw, with one ball nearly hitting me in the head. Not good, but I chock it up to one bad practice (crossing fingers here). Didn't see any real return drills, as the plays were whistled dead when the punts or free kicks were caught, so I can't really evaluate that.

Overall, this team looks like it actually has some talent, and some serious defensive speed. How much the inexperience of some of these players will impact the club is hard to tell at this point. We just need to see them in live action. Can't wait.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Saturday Practice

Well, I got out there and got some good video and pictures of Saturday's spirited, if not slightly sloppy, practice. Some some good things, and not so good things. Watching footballs flying at me in the endzone was not good, since I was to one side of the goal posts, which meant Bryant was missing attempts. He nailed one then appeared to be close on a couple and shanked another badly. He was slightly upset about it.

Got to see how the teams did overall against each other, though my view was, at times, obscured by the players. I will start plopping pictures on here from time to time. I might do something like a Picasa web album, or other such thing, so stay tuned. I'll also have video once I get the time to take it off the camera and get it edited and posted on Google video (or YouTube). I've included three pictures to give you a taste. These are reduced from the originals, and I am more than willing to send out the full size pictures upon request. I retain all copyrights, however, and written approval must be retained from me to reuse these pictures beyond desktop wallpaper, or personal printouts, etc...

The three pics are below and include one of Caddy and Alstott jogging down toward the endzone for one of the drills, Caddy catching a pass from Garcia during receiving drills, and another of Garcia practicing the shotgun snap with an assistant.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

On A Football Note...

Time to write about the actual players. I've been keeping tabs on what Pewter Report's reporters, and some credible other sources, are saying about the various players and how the sides are looking. My general overall impression is that Garcia IS going to make a difference for this offense. I believe we'll see Williams running behind a more potent offensive line with a highly credible passing attack backing defenders off. I think the combination of strong running and passing attacks will allow the Bucs to really force defenses to either take huge risks focusing on one aspect or to back off and play a safer defensive concept to try and minimize the potential damage and just slow the Bucs down. Teams like Indy will obviously take the latter approach. The teams with aggressive defenses will either sink or swim against this offense.

Defensively, I think this unit will clearly place in the top 10, even without Rice and Quarles. I also think Sabby will split a lot of playing time with Phillips and he will eventually supplant Phillips as the starter. I think the Bucs will have the best linebacking corps, top to bottom, in this league, BAR NONE! I also think picks will be up quite a bit this year. Sacks are still a little harder to gauge, but the Preseason will help give us some idea.

Overall, I think the Bucs have a lot of potential. We'll see shortly if they will come out and play up to that potential, or if they'll flop around and fail to win as many games as they could. Just a week from Friday will give us our first glimpse. It will be an interesting game to say the least.

On another note, I'll be heading up to Orlando on Saturday to catch the morning session followed by the Pewter Report get together. I have a much better camera than what I have taken to prior TC sessions, and will also bring my mini-DV camera along as well to get some video that I will post. So be ready for all the good photos and at lest a few minutes of practice video (hopefully, as the still camera will take precedence). It may take a few days for me to report on TC and get the pics and vids posted, but it will be coming. The site redesign, however, isn't getting anywhere yet because of a lack of time. Just so many hours in the day. But I am hoping to get it done before the season starts. Fun, eh!?

The Bias...It's Getting Old

Why is it I have to keep hearing and reading about all these evil things that Gruden and Allen supposedly do? Especially considering that guys like Bellichick can cut guys and do so unceremoniously and they are great coaches, yet Gruden/Allen do it and they are scum? I mean really. Lombardi wasn't exactly a choir boy. Teams that recover, and turn themselves around, do so because they make the tough decisions and move on. Gruden learned this from Walsh. Heck, Brad Culpepper was mad as hell when he was cut, and that was a turk cut, yet Dungy was always perceived as this class individual (which he is), when in fact he was also able to make the tough cuts.

The reality is that this team was shown to have really poor depth as well as some players that could not be depended upon to stay healthy going forward. Quarles was cut, and, instead of getting away from the EVIL Gruden/Allen monster, he said yes to being a Pro Scout for the Bucs the moment they asked him. He's HAPPY to be back with this team. He's even since admitted that he needed to realize that he couldn't play forever. It's amazing how many of these players, who guys like the little dog say hate Gruden, seem willing to come back to the Bucs. Even McCardell and Keyshawn put feelers out about coming back!

Yet, the bias continues. Why? Maybe because the local rags have to work hard for information now that Allen is there? Maybe because Gruden doesn't care for some of their questions and can tend to be short with them? Who knows? The bias is, however, clearly there. So much so that some places appear to just be making up crap that the Bucs then have to run around denying because people believe this stuff. Does Simms have an issue with Proprioception? He says no. The Bucs say no. The Times says yes. The reality appears to be no. It appears to be a "bad golf swing" type issue compounded by a sore elbow/arm. Gee...the evil GM/HC combo deal must be lying...right?

It's really getting old. I can't even listen to a lot of sports talk anymore because it's all anti-Gruden/Allen. They aren't saints by any means, but they did build the Raiders' team that nearly went to the Super Bowl the year before they did. That team didn't change much in 2002 when it did go to the big dance to get stomped by Gruden's Bucs. Yeah, the defense was Dungy's and Kiffen's, but the offense was almost all Gruden's, as was some of the defensive depth. To top it off, this is the same coach that took a team that had shallow depth, and who's starting QB was knocked out and replaced by a QB that doesn't fit well in a West Coast system, and went 11-5 and was a handful of just wrong calls away from winning a playoff game. Yet so many think he's just a bad coach and want him gone. I really hate going into a season with all this negativity. I had enough of that during the 80's and early 90's. Gruden FINALLY has the right QB for his offense here in Tampa, much like he had with the Raiders when Gannon came in. I expect this offense to be potent, and for the rebuilt defense to get back into the top 10. If those things happen, this team will likely see post season play again.

So let's throw off the negative thoughts. Be skeptical where needed, but keep it in context and realize that Gruden isn't the guy that people like the little dog claim he is. He's not perfect either. He's just a damn good coach who isn't afraid to make changes when necessary. Let's give the staff some benefit of the doubt and see what this team brings to the table. We'll know soon enough if the front office chose wisely or blew it out their collective rears.