Gruden Left the Cupboard Bare.

Clayton drops one of many

With the release of Mike Clayton yesterday, another blown high draft pick, it got me thinking as to just how bad Gruden was at talent evaluation and decision making. Now we all know Al Davis is the decision man in Oakland. We all remember how pissed off Gruden was when Al picked a Kicker in the 1st round(17 overall) which led to a rift between Al and Jon. Everyone knew Gruden was leaving after his contract was up, as his Agent came right out and stated so even though Jon danced around the question during interviews. Gruden wanted to go some place where he had control over the decisions, and personnel.

Now if you want to believe that the Glazers would give up two 1st rounders, two 2nd rounders and $8 mil and not guarantee Jon that he'd have more control over the decision making and personnel, then you are naive. Jon had so much control that a power struggle behind the scenes, between he and Rich McKay ensued. Rich McKay had his faults, but he did help construct a SuperBowl winning roster that Gruden had the luxury of riding it's coattails to a victory in his first season. After Rich McKay was allowed to leave before his contract expired, Jon Gruden hand picked his own GM Bruce Allen. Hand picked GM by his coach? That is absurd, but just more evidence as to how much decision making power laid in Jon's hands.

So lets take a look back at Gruden's mighty drafting prowess dating back to his first season. Bolded players will represent players still on the Buccaneers roster that were drafted by the Gruden regime. The number in parenthesis represents the number of selections that year.

2002(8)
Marquise Walker
Travis Stephens
Jermaine Phillips
John Stamper
Tim Wansley

Tracey Wistrom
Aaron Lockett
Zack Quaccia
2003(6)
Dewayne White
Chris Simms
Lance Nimmo
Austin King
Sean Mahan
Torrie Cox
2004(8)
Michael Clayton
Marquise Cooper
Will Allen
Jeb Terry
Nate Lawrie
Mark Jones
Casey Cramer
Lenny Williams
2005(12)
Carnell Williams
Barrett Ruud
Alex Smith
Chris Colmer
Dan Buenning
Donte Nicholson
Larry Brackins
Anthony Bryant
Rick Razzano
Paris Warren
Hamza Abdullah
J.R. Russell
2006(10)
Davin Joseph
Jeremy Trueblood
Maurice Stovall
Alan Zemaitis
Julian Jenkins
Bruce Gradkowski
T.J. Williams
Justin Phinisee
Charles Bennett
Tim Massaquoi
2007(9)
Gaines Adams
Arron Sears
Sabby Piscitelli
Quincy Black
Tanard Jackson
Adam Hayward
Chris Henman
Marcus Hamilton
Kenneth Darby
2008(7)
Aqib Talib
Dexter Jackson
Jeremy Zuttah
Dre Moore
Josh Johnson
Geno Hayes
Cory Boyd





Of a total sixty(60) draft selections between 2002 and 2008, thirteen(13) remain and contribute to this team. That is a whopping 21% success rate. Of those thirteen players still remaining, only five were 1st or 2nd round selections. Gruden had eleven 1st or 2nd round selections between 2002 and 2008, so that is less than 50% success on the selections that are supposed to be the foundation of your franchise.

Some fans want to blame Raheem Morris or the Glazers for being cheap as a result for the team's current status as bottom feeder. When in reality, whether the Glazers are cheap or not, whether they are in financial trouble or not, who were they supposed to spend their money on? Had Gruden had any type of success at drafting and talent evaluation, this roster would be littered with players playing under their more lucrative second contracts, thus increasing the payroll. As it stands now, there really was no one to spend their money on. Gruden left the cupboard bare, and Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik were left to restock it.

Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC

Signing Ward In '09 Was the Right Move

Hindsight is 20/20

Flashback to the 2009 offseason, and the Halfback position was filled with uncertainty. Ernest Graham came off his amazing feel good story of the 2007 season, and followed that up with decent success in '08 but only played in 10 games. Carnell Williams was coming back from his second severe knee injury, and Michael Bennett proved to be a wasted FA signing. After 5 games, Bennett was now a San Deigo Charger.

The Halfback cupboard was bare, and the Free Agent pool was slim pickings. The lone bright spot was Derrick Ward. Ward was a proven runner in the NFL. A successful 1000 yard back in a very crowded backfield, Ward was the "Wind" in the Giants now famous Earth, Wind and Fire backfield. The Giants were only one season removed from the remarkable upset of the 16-0 New England Patriots in the SuperBowl, and Ward had a large hand in the Giants' success the previous 2 seasons.

Ward was signed by Tampa and at the time it was a brilliant move. Unfortunately Ward got his 1st big pay day, and forgot that you actually have to play football in the NFL. He started off '09 by not showing up for offseason voluntary workouts, and followed that up with slow adaption to the new OC and playbook. His 2009 regular season was very disappointing and unproductive. With the re-emergence of Cadillac Williams, and Ward's apparent lack of focus, Williams reclaimed the starting Halfback job and held on to it the entire season. Ward became an after thought by the latter part of the season. He barely touched the ball, and when he did he didn't give the coaching staff any reasons to feed him the ball more. 

Now we reach the present and Ward shows his team and fans just how dedicated he is to right the wrongs of '09 by showing up to camp overweight and out of shape. His performances in the preseason games are horrible, unproductive and show no signs of fire. So the Buccs front office does the right thing and cuts him. Of course the front office and coaching detractors will use this as ammunition to bash them and cry aloud from the roof tops, "THAT WAS A HORRIBLE FREE AGENT SIGNING!" When in reality, given the team's severe need at HB, the shallow pool of free agent HB's and the production and success Ward had with the Giants at the time it was a brilliant signing. Who knew Ward would fall prey to Fat Cat Syndrome and throw his career away? You can't fault the Buccs front office for trying to make the team better.

Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Jaguars

One of Black's seven tackles Sat. night

The Good - Quincy Black was a man possessed Saturday night. He was all over the field, from QB hits and hurries to dropping running backs for losses. He was seen from sideline to sideline wreaking havoc, and it was a beautiful sight. Some fans were starting to give up hope in Quincy before Raheem took over the DC duties last season and showed some real star power at the Sam Backer spot. Fans were high on Black coming out of New Mexico, as we were told he played the same position as Brian Urlacher and was quite successful at it. Many had Black already appointed to future Mike Backer. Some even dabbled in the thought that he could be Brooks' heir apparent. Unfortunately Quincy never set the world on fire. Well that was until the latter part of last season and he's carrying that over into this season. Saturday night Q tied Ronde for the team lead in tackles with 7, and had a coming out party of sorts. Continued play like that into the season will surely help the defense get back into top 10 status.

The Bad - Reggie Brown is on the bubble to make this roster, and while so many Buccaneer fans want to close the chapter that is Mike Clayton, Reggie isn't grasping the brass ring. Brown's recorded 0 Catches for 0 Yards, had a sure TD pass bounce off his hands, and another pass hit off his hands and fall incomplete. I was excited when I first learned that Mark D had pulled off a trade for Brown for a low 6th round pick. Brown took the League by storm, got injured and then pretty much disappeared. He does however have talent, but he's not using it. Saturday night may just have sealed his fate although he made the first round of cuts today. Thursday night will have to be his highlight reel game if he wants to keep his spot. As much as I am done with Mike Clayton, if Brown doesn't show some legit flash Thursday, I'd rather keep Mike.


The Ugly - The Offensive line was horrible Saturday night. Some players performed better than others, but as a whole unit it was most ineffective. Oddly, the one HB who had been under performing(Ward) got the benefit of the few holes that were opened that night. The O-Line which is mostly made up of 1st and 2nd round picks has had some success the past few years. However Aaron Sears(2nd round), Dan Buenning(4th round) and Chris Colmer(3rd round) turned out to be busts, and largely responsible for the lack of depth on the O-line at this time. Davin Joseph was inactive for the game due to injury and his replacement Jeremy Zuttah has not lived up to the hype of a 2nd round pick. We need the 1st string O-Line to remain healthy the entire season, or the offense could be stymied on occasion this season.

Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC

What Exactly Is It About Kareem Huggins?

Plain and simple, Huggins gets yards!

Kareem Huggins has caught the eye of many Buccaneer fans. Some fans are ecstatic about his potential, while others are watching him with guarded optimism and fingers crossed, and of course he has his detractors. What is it about Huggins that had so many fans excited? What is he doing out there on the field that Derrick Ward isn't doing? Some would call me crazy if I tried to convince them undrafted second year pro Huggie is a better halfback than the seasoned veteran Ward. After all, Ward put up very good numbers for the SuperBowl winning Giants, so he must not suck. The big difference I am seeing is the quality of the O-line Ward had to run behind in NY during his time there. The holes Ward had to run through were huge. It didn't take much skill other than being able to run fairly quickly in a straight line. Unfortunately for Ward those holes aren't here in Tampa, and he has shown so far in his Buccaneer career that he is unable to create his own opportunities or create his own yards.

That's what separates Kareem Huggins from Derrick Ward whom I believes is a better Halfback than Ward and deserves to back-up Carnell Williams. Many fans are wondering why Kareem hasn't been listed as #2 behind Caddy yet? I think Raheem is giving Derrick every opportunity to succeed, and I don't think he can or will take advantage of those opportunities. He hasn't so far.

So what is it about Kareem? Kareem is the type of player who finds yards that aren't there. He creates opportunities even if the offense doesn't provide them and the defense doesn't give them to him. Let's take a look at what Kareem has done so far this preseason. In this first part I have broken down each of his carries against the Dolphins, and will try to point out what I saw through my own eyes and convey that to you. Later I will do the same for the Chiefs game.

Versus Dolphins Quarter 3
14:05 2nd & 19 - Kareem takes the hand off on a shotgun draw play. He runs right following the lead block of pulling lineman Marc Dile. The DE beats Dile and forces Huggins to stop dead in his tracks for what looks like a 1 yard loss. Kareem immediately cuts right out of the grasp of the DE and bounces outside. Three Dolphin defenders pursue nicely and take away the outside. Huggins cuts back inside and makes all three defenders over pursue and miss the tackle opportunity. He is then tackled by a 4th Dolphin defender, but not before picking up 5 yards on a run that should have been stuffed for a loss.
12:31 2nd & 10 - Kareem takes the hand off left inside Tackle. He cuts inside just a hair and hits a nice hole. He shows a great burst of speed. The Safety takes a nice angle to Huggins, but his speed is too much for the Safety and beats the angle. This forces the Safety to make a diving tackle at Huggins feet which allows him to pick up and extra 8 yards after initial contact at the Miami 36 yard line, eventually being dropped at the Miami 28.
11:48 1st & 10 - Kareem takes the hand off left and heads off Tackle. The Buccs O-line takes the D-line left by down blocking. The RDE seals off the edge not allowing Huggins outside, and the D-line does a nice job of going with the pressure and seals up the hole on the left side. Kareem sees a cut back lane off the right hip of the Center and between the right Guard. Huggins make a nice cut right and takes it for a 4 yard gain.
8:23 1st & 10 - Kareem takes the hand off left and follows his lead blocking Fullback. There is a small hole the FB leads him through, but just as Kareem hits the hole the RDE blows up the left Tackle pushing the Tackle backwards into Huggins' left shoulder twisting him sideways and knocking him off balance as he enters the hole and is met by a Dolphin defender. Kareem keeps pumping his legs pushing the defender backwards and eventually picks up 4 yards before being brought down.
7:43 2nd & 6 - Marc Dile totally whiffs on his block and Kareem is met 5 yards in the backfield as he receives the hand off from Rudy Carpenter.
7:04 3rd & 11 - Halfback screen left. Huggins catches the ball, turns up field, surveys his lead blockers then seems to turn on another gear and displays an amazing burst of speed to pick up the 1st down for 14 yards.
6:18 1st & 10 - Kareem takes the hand off left inside Tackle. He stutter steps to give the hole time to open up. He hits the hole hard and is forced to cut back inside. He breaks a tackle attempted by a LB at the 43 yard line. Forced to bounce outside due to Safety pursuit, he is met by the CB coming off a block. He breaks the attempted tackle by the CB as he feels the pressure and ducks under the tackle, once again cutting back inside where he is eventually dropped for a 17 yard gain.
5:32 1st & 10 - Huggins takes the hand off left and is dropped for a 1 yard loss as he is met by the DE, DT and LB who all got line of scrimmage penetration.
4:49 2nd & 11 - Karrem takes the hand off up the middle. The offensive line gets blown up and drive off the lie of scrimmage and Huggins is dropped in the backfield for a 2 yard loss.

Versus Chiefs Quarter 2
7:52 2nd & 10 - Hand off right inside Tackle. There is no hole and Linebacker comes off the edge and looks like Kareem will be stopped in the backfield. Kareem beats the Linebacker to the line of scrimmage and backer makes first contact with Huggins at the 22 1/2 yard line, then begins to be dragged by Huggins. Kareem makes a quick cut right to avoid players laying on the ground and now has the LB and a Defensive End trying to drag him down. Kareem is eventually dragged down at the 28 for a 6 yard gain.
6:57 1st & 10 - Hand off right behind Joseph and Kareem takes the ball up the 4 hole. Cornerback comes crashing down and attempts a diving tackle. Kareem senses the pressure and skips laterally to his left at the 50 yard line almost avoiding the tackle. CB manages to keep a hold of Kareem's left foot, but Huggins manages to drag the defender as he hops forward picking up an additional 6 yards after contact for a 13 yard gain.
5:45 2nd & 5 - Halfback draw up the middle. Hayward lead blocks, but gets blown up at the point of attack. Adam gets pushed backwards and turned sideways giving the LB a lane. Linebacker's momentum carries him forward and stumbling, he dives at Huggin's legs who is coming right at him. Huggins executes a quick hurdle as he squeezes through a small hole, just over the reaching arms of the LB at the line of scrimmage and is eventually brought down for a 3 yard gain.

Quarter 3
15:00 1st & 10 - Hand off up the middle. Defensive End peels off FB's block and gets an arm around Huggins in the backfield. He drags Kareem down from behind but not before he is able to grind out 4 yards.
14:25 2nd & 6 - Halfback draw, Linebacker comes off the edge untouched within arms reach of Huggins 5 yards deep in the backfield. Kareem quickly side steps left just out of the LB's reach. The Defensive End beats the Tight End inside and has a clean shot on Kareem 3 yards deep in the backfield. Huggins quickly sidesteps back to the right giving the TE time to re-engage the DE. DE gets just an arm on Kareem as he drags the DE 7 yards until he gets help bringing Huggins down after a 5 yard gain.
8:53 1st & 10 - Hand off left off Tackle. Nothing spectacular on this run. Kareem bounces it outside twice for  4 yard gain. His lateral movement just looks so effortless.
0:36 1st & 10 - Hand off up the middle. Kareem stutter steps, finds a hole to the right of the Center/ Linebacker meets Huggins at the hole but Kareem shakes him off. He just has an uncanny way of just shifting his legs out of the way of would be tacklers without losing his rhythm or balance. Huggins weaves left and right for a 9 yard gain to end the 3rd Quarter.

Quarter 4
15:00 2nd & 10 - Hand off up the middle. No where for him to go, as he tries to bounce it outside he is swallowed up for no gain.
14:20 3rd & 1 - Hand off right. Kareem gets into a small seam and hits the hole hard, shows his burst of speed and races down field for a 20 yard gain..............but all for naught as Derrick Hardiman gets called for holding.

These are just my observations. Your eyes may have seen something different. I'm beginning to believe there could be something special about Huggins. Only time and opportunity will tell.

Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Chiefs

Ward with another bad showing.

The Good - Mike Williams continues to shine and prove to excited Buccaneer fans that he may have been the steal of the draft. Williams was characterized in pre-draft analysis  as having 1st round talent, but character concerns and commitment issues had him falling down the draft boards league wide. Williams claimed to have expressed himself and his situation to teams during interviews, and felt comfortable that any questions they had about him were answered. We don't know how other teams felt about Williams after said interviews, but we do know that the Tampa Bay Buccaneer front office felt Mike Williams was too good to pass up when he was sitting there at the top of round 4. Tampa had just drafted WR Arrelious Benn with their second pick of the 2nd round, but that did not stop them from investing another draft pick at the same position. Williams Came up big early catching a wide receiver screen for 16 yards and a 13 yard slant over the middle. Both catches came on third down and converted first downs for Tampa. Williams made a great 15 yard catch near the sidelines on cornerback Brandon Carr while keeping his feet in bounds to make it count. Williams finished the night with three catches for 44 yards.

The Bad - I have seen enough of Derrick Ward. At this point, unless he has a phenomenal 3rd and 4th preseason game performance, I can't see how a roster spot can be wasted on him. One can only use the same words so many times. Slow, tentative, no burst, lacking vision, unsure, those are the words to describe Ward this offseason and during the first two preseason games. Last week after the Dolphins game, Ward whined to the media about having to run in that mud and made excuses for his horrible performance even though Cadillac Williams and Kareem Huggins performed admirably in the same conditions. He followed up those excuses with a guarantee to perform better against the Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium Saturday night. Following his terrible game against the Dolphins, Ward put up a dismal 5 carries for 12 yards(2.2 avg) in the box score.


The Ugly - Ugly? Yes ugly. Why? Well, besides Doug Williams for a short window in the late 70's and early 80's Tampa has never been able to stake claim to having a franchise QB. Some teams have had multiple franchise QB's. Hell, San Fransisco had two back to back Hall of Famers at the QB position. Of course that makes it even more painful to know that Steve Young was a Buccaneer and we let him get away. For a fan base that has been starving for a franchise QB for so long, it goes without saying the amount of excitement and hope surrounding Josh Freeman. With expectations at an all time high coupled with a great first preseason game, it was a crushing blow to learn that Josh had exited the game early Saturday night early not because Raheem Morris wanted to spare his QB a chance to become injured, but that he in fact was injured. When I first heard that he had fractured his thumb, it felt like I had gotten kicked in the gut. Still it is unsettling to know that he will be unable to throw for the next 2 plus weeks, but optimism is abound at the prognosis. Josh should be back for Week 1. Let's hope he's not too rusty after 2 weeks off.

Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC

Freeman Breaks Thumb vs. Chiefs

Thumbs down for Freeman!

Josh Freeman's second season as the uncontested started for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started out perfect. With one of the knocks on Josh's game coming out of college being his accuracy, his 2010 campaign started out 6/6. Len Dawson, Chiefs' Hall of Fame QB and current radio commentator joked after Freeman completing his second pass that, "Josh Freeman's next incomplete pass will be his first of 2010." However, that ill fated 7th pass on 2nd and 5 from Kansas City's 13 yard line, Josh dropped back to pass and attempted to deliver the ball to tight end John Gilmore. Josh's thumb banged into Tamba Hali's helmet during the follow through of his throwing motion, and sustained a small fracture to the tip of his thumb. Freeman showed no signs of being hurt that were able to be noticed on the television broadcast, but on the following play Josh attempted another pass to wide receiver Sammie Stroughter that was way off it's mark and fell incomplete. "It was the next play, I couldn't really grab the ball," Freeman said, when asked about the loss of  strength in his thumb.

Freeman is expected to miss the rest of the preseason practices and exhibition games. He is supposed to be ready and able to practice the week of Tampa's first scheduled regular season game against the Cleveland Browns. How much this injury will set Josh back in his preparation for the 2010 season is unknown. What is known however is that his unquestionable work ethic and study habits displayed this offseason have him ahead of the anticipated progress curve. After a promising rookie seasons where Josh showed flashes of brilliance mixed among his expected rookie mistakes, the buzz was at an all time high throughout Buccaneer Nation. Freeman has been showing vast improvement during offseason workouts and training camp, and it showed on the field for his first six passes of 2010. Now we play the waiting and hoping game. Waiting until he heals, and hoping he has no set backs. Get well soon Josh.

Go Buccs!!!

ABuccsFan/JJC

Gout Sidelines Clifton Smith

"The Devil himself gnawing on your foot."

Clifton Smith has been absent of late, and for the Dolphins game he was listed as having a hamstring injury. For the Chiefs game, no explanation was given other than "inactive." TBO.com reported Saturday evening after the Chiefs game that Clifton Smith has had a Gout flare up. Gout is a condition caused by the body not ridding itself of Uric Acid properly. The levels of Uric Acid increase in the blood stream, and tiny sharp crystals form that settle in the lower joints and stab or irritate the nerve endings and tissue around joints. It most commonly affects the joint of the big toe, but has been known to attack the entire foot, the ankle and the knees. It is rare, but has been known to affect the upper extremities as well.

As a long sufferer of Gout, I can attest to it's grueling pain. At times it is so unbearable you wish someone would cut your foot off. It's constant and there are no positions of comfort like a bad ankle sprain. The weight of a simple bed sheet on top of your foot can feel like a 20 ton truck crushing it beneath it's wheels. I have had rotator cuff surgery, throat and naso septal surgery and stomach surgery. They were extremely painful but couldn't compare to the pain of a severe Gout attack. I would gladly trade having each of those surgeries again in return to never have a Gout flare up again.

In addition to severe pain, the affected area gets red and hot to the touch and extremely swollen. Some patients have experienced tearing of the skin due to swelling beyond the skins capacity to stretch. A British Caricaturist by the name of James Gillray attempted to describe to those who have never suffered from Gout, by painting a picture depicting what Gout felt like to him, which I have displayed above. He described it as the "Devil himself gnawing on your foot." In the picture you can see the depiction of the Devil sinking his teeth and claws into the red swollen skin of the big toe joint, and the flames breathing out his nose showing the constant burning sensation.

Get well soon Clifton.


Go Buccs!!!
ABuccsFan/JJC