Buccaneers Gab

THE GOOD

Josh Johnson looks more fluid, less rigid in the pocket and passing.

McCoy and Price on the field together is a thing of beauty. The Bucs D got 10 QB pressures.

Myron Lewis showed his strong skill set. I’d like to see him get more aggressive and physical but they are giving cushions in preseason.

THE BAD

Brent Bowden had a rough game.

The running backs were good for 6 carries for 8 yards in the first half. Ward started to look better, but that was likely all for some other team to evaluate now. According to the Bucs’ sideline reporter, he was cut for financial reasons which is a bummer.

The defense had some serious speed but it seems like each week, a different unit looks mediocre. This time, it was the linebackers with the exception of

Overall: The first team looked more 6-10 than 8-8 with the exception of the DTs, Josh Johnson, Mike Williams, and Earnest Graham. I really don’t think the DUI of assistant coach Chris Mosley is going to be a factor. If anything, this sometimes endears someone to their players because they think the coach is more human now. The next game is the one for the guys to make their dreams reality.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company, a subsidiary of the adidas Group, has introduced a new line of hats and visors, which features the primary colors and logos of all 32 NFL teams. Golfers across the country can now fly the colors of their favorite teams on the golf course (not on Sundays of course).

Fans can choose from all 32 NFL teams at on-course and off-course retail locations, in addition to select sporting goods retailers. If you are a displaced fan and don’t think you will be able to find your favorite team locally, go to www.taylormadegolfgear.com for a complete selection.

Each hat and visor will feature an NFL team’s logo blazoned on the left panel. The team’s name will also be stitched onto the left corner of the hat/visor. The TaylorMade logo will appear in 3D embroidery on the front panel of the hat.

The hats will be available at retail at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $27.99.

Aqib Talib is going to miss 1 game with suspension. Week 1 is always the hardest game to project anyway, teams are sometimes rusty, jittery, feeling each other out, getting back in a rhythm and geting their first chance to see new players in real action. The Browns’ top receivers will likely be Mohamed Massaquoi, Chansi Stuckey, and Ben Watson. There’s some upside for the first two, considering accuracy, protection and chemistry weren’t there last year and those guys are a year older. I wish Talib were playing but guys often miss 1-2 games in a season.

As for Derrick Ward, if this was purely from an “eye test” and going over film and they concurred that they’d rather have Clifton Smith as the third back, then I’m fine with the move. If it was that they felt like this was too much money to pay for a third back, I’m not sure how much I like it. I have complete faith in the fact that Huggins has passed him but I can’t help but feel like since Cadillac Williams is their #1 back, they need to have two solid running backs behind him. If they carry a second fullback with Earnest Graham, then this cut is justified.

On the NFL.com Season Preview for the Chicago Bears, “The Big Number” was 6.8. They want you to know that with Mike Martz, Kurt Warner averaged 6.8 interceptions a season in five seasons with Martz and they compared it to the 26 Jay Cutler had last season. While that is definitely true, it’s important to mention that Warner started 16 games just twice, once in 1999 (including when he played only a half in the last game) and once in 2001. The other seasons featured 11 starts, 6 starts and 1 (!) start.  His INT% was 5.2 and 4.0 in back-to-back seasons in 2000 and 2001, 27 games total. Jay Cutler’s was just 4.7 last season, lower than the 11 games Kurt Warner had in 2000.

Let’s not forget they chose the field goal kicker as the subject for “The Big Number” for Tampa Bay.

I’m not saying the NFL should FIRE anyone over these issues, but maybe they should HIRE a different writer. I have one in mind. Hee hee hee.

Worst predictions: 4 of the 6 pundits pick Green Bay to win the NFC North instead of Minnesota, Pat Kirwan has Baltimore only going 9-7, San Francisco gets a unanimous #1 spot in the West despite losing all 7 non-divisional games against winning teams last year, Brooks has San Diego at 13-3 (ha ha), and three of them pick Atlanta to go 11-5, four to win the division. Atlanta plays Baltimore, @ Philadelphia, Green Bay, Cincinnati, @ Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Francisco, Carolina twice and New Orleans twice. And don’t count out the Bucs against that defense whose only star is Babineaux.

The NFL has done a thorough special on Buc Cody Grimm, however.

NFL.com previews the Bucs season with 6 different predictions, and calling into attention the field goal kicking.

Michael Spurlock talks about his road back to the Bucs.

Check out a Tampa Bay Q&A with answers by sports writers.

It sounds like Josh Freeman is making progress in his recovery, and if things continue to go well, he should be able to go in week one vs the Browns at home.

Quarterback Josh Freeman was able to grip the football and threw passes briefly with a trainer Sunday, according to coach Raheem Morris. Freeman broke the tip of his thumb on his throwing hand against the Chiefs nine days ago and has been receiving treatment ever since. On Monday, he rejoined his teammates on the field for practice but did not participate. “He’s on or maybe ahead of schedule,” Morris said Monday. The Bucs expect Freeman to practice sometime next week and play in the Sept. 12 season opener against Cleveland.

Bucs in the News:

Gerald McCoy and Brian Price shined against the Jags, and they’ve been blitzing Quincy Black.

Sammie Stroughter keeps bringing his lunch pail.

The Bucs’ second team defense could learn from their first team.

The St.Pete Times reports on the rush of tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price:

Though he passed for 211 yards on 24-of-31 passing, Jaguars quarterback David Garrard was pummeled by the interior of the Buccaneers defensive line, specifically the rookie tandem of tackles, Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. It was a performance the Bucs hope foreshadows what is to come from a duo they drafted with hopes they’d do exactly this. Price decked Garrard twice and McCoy once, but Garrard managed to get the ball away just prior to the hit in each case. There were several other instances in which the tackles applied pressure and made Garrard deliver the ball prematurely. The Bucs didn’t manage a sack, which is never considered acceptable, but the presence shown by the interior linemen was something not seen from Tampa Bay for years. “(Coaches) told me I needed to make the quarterback uncomfortable and that the quarterback needs to feel us,” said McCoy, the team’s first-round pick. “So I made sure I stayed in his face all night.”

Bucs in the News:

“Stylez is my Allen Iverson, and he’s not going to change, He’s gotten better.  He’s gotten better the last couple of days and practiced [better] throughout training camp than he has in the past, but he is Allen Iverson,” said Raheem Morris.

Former Bucs president Gay Culverhouse is in an article for ESPN The Magazine. Check out the pic from it.

Some of the best, hard-running Division II running backs of the last five years will be on display this Saturday: the Bucs’ Kareem Huggins, and the Jags’ Rashad Jennings. (Another small-school standout, Deji Karim will miss the game with a hand injury but has shown big-play potential and great burst in practice.) They will be running wild at Raymond James Stadium but, it will be blacked out so you may have to wait until 2AM Monday on NFL Network to see it. Rashad Jennings and FB Greg Jones will get extended looks because Maurice Jones-Drew will be withheld for precautionary reasons.

Speaking of blackouts, week 1 vs. the Browns will be announced by Spero Dedes and Rich Gannon. Week 3 vs. the Steelers, also on CBS, will be announced by Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker.

I’m wondering, at what point would the attendance turn around? I feel like Warren Sapp, that this team could win eight games. They may need to out-physical some teams, use their athleticism at the offensive skill positions, and create turnovers so they can win some early games. I think if they were to get to 3-1, having a hot young quarterback playing well could push them towards sellouts.

The Jacksonville defense, called by Jack Del Rio with coaching by second-year DC Mel Tucker, could allow considerable  confidence-boosting. The Jaguars defense was ranked 19th overall last year and is transitioning from a 3-4 to a 4-3. DE Aaron Kampman is its biggest addition, ahead of DT Tyson Alualu. Tampa Bay will likely score a few touchdowns on the first team defense and feel good while knowing they are going against a defense that is still in flux and probably vanilla. Mike Williams should have a fun challenge in Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox.

Also, I want to apologize to Old School from What The Buc? for posting a rumor from another person and attributing it to him. From now on, if I receive a rumor from his site that I want to post, I’ll get his permission first. As for anyone who freaks out over the nature of the rumor, it’s really no different than seeing someone get hurt on the field and not knowing how serious it is until hours later.