Well, well, well, Tampa Bay has a shot at an 11-5 mark. We enter San Francisco in cold conditions, with THEIR old QB, as they limp in with a third stringer. Numbers won’t matter much as I expect Tampa to pound the rock and a return home to finish off the season against a Carolina team in dissaray. One has to feel optimistic that we can take on a mediocre Manning in a early playoff game, and hang with a Cowboys team who’s young QB is injured ( the thumb of all things). If we see Green Bay, I’m afraid Favre won’t allow us to spoil his dream season, but a passing team, doesn’t have a very good chance of beating our defense. Our DBs and Safeties have proven to be one of the best in the league this year. Yes, we ran through a week division this year, but isn’t it possible we gained valuable momentum and ‘geled’ well as a team, enough so, that we could continue to succeed through the playoffs?

I remember the the last time the Bucs played in SF. It too was a late afternoon game on a cold and murky looking day out there. The Bucs were favored by a TD and we lost 15-10.
The 49rs just ran the ball at us the whole game. A records check shows that the last and only time the bucs won in that stadium was in 1980. 24-23 score. I remember watching it on TV.
Another “Bad Omen” as I see it is that Bucs Hater Brian Baldinger is part of the FOX Broadcast crew for this contest. We seem to lose most games when he is part of the broadcast and he always seems to give rave reviews during those games of whoever our opponent is while being unevenly critical of the Bucs.
Still, heres hoping for a Bucs Win on Sunday.

bucster79 - 22 December 2007 09:55 AM

I remember the the last time the Bucs played in SF. It too was a late afternoon game on a cold and murky looking day out there. The Bucs were favored by a TD and we lost 15-10.
The 49rs just ran the ball at us the whole game. A records check shows that the last and only time the bucs won in that stadium was in 1980. 24-23 score. I remember watching it on TV.
Another “Bad Omen” as I see it is that Bucs Hater Brian Baldinger is part of the FOX Broadcast crew for this contest. We seem to lose most games when he is part of the broadcast and he always seems to give rave reviews during those games of whoever our opponent is while being unevenly critical of the Bucs.
Still, heres hoping for a Bucs Win on Sunday.

Yes, remember the game.. in a snake bitten way, that was the game that Simeon Rice decided not to show up until too late - and was given a plane ticket home without ever seeing the field.  They could have used his help that day, as he may have been worth a 5 point difference.

The Trib did a good article of the Bucs history there.  A horrendous 1-11, the one win back in 1980 with a last second Garo Yeppermin (anyone remember him?) field goal.  I hate to say it, but this team has a horrendous time in the place that used to be called Candlestick park.  I hope they win, but it will not surprise me a bit if they don’t - history (even recent) does not support it. 

Put it this way, the two most successful coaches in franchise history (Dungy, Gruden) still have not won there.

Missed it by THHHHAAAT much.

All In All 2007 has been a very good year for the Bucs. Besides the obvious achievements such as the Division Title and returning the very first kick off for a TD, through injuries,the Buccaneershave found that they have real talented depth at most positions on the roster.
Even with a tougher schedule Tampa Bay is in a pretty good position talent wise for the next few seasons at least.

All In All 2007 has been a very good year for the Bucs. Besides the obvious achievements such as the Division Title and returning the very first kick off for a TD, through injuries,the Buccaneers have found that they have real talented depth at most positions on the roster.
Even with a tougher schedule Tampa Bay is in a pretty good position talent wise for the next few seasons at least.

I remember patrolling these boards early in the season and a lot of the complaints were Gruden, Garcia being too old, then Caddy going down and the ‘season is over’, Ronde and Brooks are too old, the O’Line is weak, and we have no pressure off the defensive front. There were some questions about Ruud ( RUUUUUUUUUD!), Gaines Adams, Earnest Graham, Donald Penn, Philip Buchanon, AND Tanard Jackson. Welll LOOK AT THEM ALL NOW! I’m really excited about this years team and I’ve heard some whispers about Gruden being in the top choices for coach of the year. Wonderful, exceptional, TREMENDOUS job done by that entire coaching staff, including, Rick Bassacia, the special teams coach. The NYG looked good last night and the mismatches of Burriss’ and Brandon Jacobs sizes scare me, not to mention the Giants tough defense, we are in for a difficult game. That’s not to say that Eli Manning won’t hand us a few outs. One good thing about Eli is he’s not consistent and he used his ‘good game’ card this week verse the Pats. I’m off to watch Vinnie finish his career back at ‘home’. Go Bucs! Happy New YEAR!

Well, pass rush was and perhaps still is a legitimate complaint. It’s improved but it could stand to continue to improve.

I thought as many people celebrated as morned when cathy got hurt again. Luke Petisomething going down was a much larger concern. DP has stepped it up, but he’s not great. He might not even be good just yet. Serviceable is about the best marks I can give him. The oline is better then weak, but it’s not great.  I give them a chance to put it together and block the giants dline, but there’s a bigger chance they don’t.  Think we might need Eli to throw us the ball.

Hovan needs to grab some grass and hold the line! 

Rick Bassakwards gets no luv for the special team.

jvnootz, I think the comment on Garcia being too old was a durability question, not a question that he could play.  He proved that in eight games with the Eagles last year. He failed the durablity question as he was out a few weeks. This is why Gruden wanted Jake Plummer - to have a solid, established backup who can win games if Garcia goes down.

Lacking Plummer, Gruden did the next best thing - he tried to have Simms, McCown, and Gradkowski ready to step in if Garcia went down.  As we all know, Simms never really made it back from the injury this year, and Gradkowski proved once again he is not the answer in his one game where he almost lost it singlehandedly. The saving grace is the continued development of Luke McCown.  Without him, the Bucs might not have made the playoffs this year. At least the Bucs would have had no chance against the Saints the second time (can you imagine, Gradkowski trying 10 yard or less passes against the terrible New Orleans secondary - good luck!)

Gruden is no dummy, he knows that although Garcia can still play and win games, the odds of him lasting a full 16 games at 38 has the odds stacked against him, especially with his gambling scramblilng style of play. For this year, the only insurance policy the Bucs have is Luke McCown. Whether or not he is a long term answer remains to be seen, but at least with him I would think every fan has to believe there is some hope for the future past Garcia. Realisitically, Garcia has perhaps one more year in him since 40+ year old QBs don’t tend to do well.  Just ask Warren Moon, Steve DeBerg, and the guy at 44 set an NFL record for starting and winning a game this past season, Vinny Testaverde. If Luke does not develop into a starter soon then the Bucs will rapidly decline in the near future unless the team can pick up another QB.  Gruden likes picking up older QBs, so perhaps we see Donavan McNabb come to town next year if the Eagles give up on him? I don’t see that happening but I am not sure what other older QB would interest Gruden if he wanted an insurance policy for McCown.

I can’t for even an instant think McNabb will ever be here.  He’s going to outlast Garcia and/or be willing to be his back-up?

McNabb’s an interesting choice. He’s got a decent 5 years left in him and his style is similar to Garcia’s (he’s got a better arm tho). I wonder if we could get him at a discount with his recent injuries. I’m still holding my breathe for a rookie. I’d love to have another shot at a Steve Young or Doug Williams AND HOLD ONTO HIM THIS TIME. A career Buc QB who can make the difference. Too bad Colt Brennan just (pooped) hisself on national television. I was interested in him. He may drop now, and a QB of his caliber at 20th pick isn’t too shabby. A legit back up is key though, as evident by Washington’s arrival in the playoffs. The changed play of the Bills and Tennessee.

I am surprised but a new name came up today as potentially available - JP Losman of the Bills. The guy had better stats than his replacement, in 2006 his QB rating was a respectable 89, and this year with less support it was a less than stellar 76. Maybe that would get Gruden’s heart pumping? He is going into the last year of his contract and he publically stated today he wants out of Buffalo. Just check the AP wire.

I say this as it has been Gruden’s philosophy every year to bring in a number of QBs. I don’t see that changing this offseason since Garcia is not getting any younger, and there is yet no certainity that McCown will develop beyond a good backup QB position (he still needs to learn not to make the big mistake - although he was improving on that each game it seemed). Losman is a potentially good relatively young QB to pick up with the right training, do well in a west coast offense.

Actually, QBs that may become available this year:
McNabb - doubtful, becuase Andy Reed has not given indication he has given up on him yet
Chad Pennington - will want out of the NY Jets after what happened, and his replacement was worse than he was. His big knock is not a strong arm - but look what Garcia does without a strong arm.
JP Losman - wants out of Buffalo, may be cheap to get (but a new GM needs to be hired first in Buffalo since Marv Levy quit).
Either Cleveland QB - Quinn is young and unproven.  Anderson is a one season wonder. One may become available since resigning Anderson is going to be expensive, and Quinn is also expensive.

I think that is it for what will become available this year. What I see in Gruden is a guy who makes QBs who make few mistakes win (if they can learn his West Coast Offense). People say it is the system - I think the system enables QBs to do well, but it is the accurate execution of it that makes them a winner. Just think Brad Johnson - a journeyman QB at best but in the West Coast offense, won a Super Bowl with a fantastic defense.

Looking into the year in review, we can take some time to look at some of the answers to our early questions:

Gaines Adams, while he started slow, starting creating pressure and seemed like he was a step too late on a lot of his missed sacks. THIS IS A POSITIVE. No, he’s not Jevon Kearse( not a freak THE FREAK) but he still made an impact late in the season. Some fun numbers to look at (courtesty of pro-football-reference.com) ...

+In his limited playing time, Gaines got 6 sacks and two forced fumbles.
+Warren Sapp in starting half the year had 3 sacks his first year.
+Michael Strahan had a combined 13 sacks in his first 3 seasons. 1 in his first year and 4.5 in his second (he started 15 games that year)It took him 5 years to excel.
+Bruce Smith had 6.5 sacks in his first year and he started 13 games

Gaines is going to be just fine.

As for our boy Garcia I looked at his numbers and he is 10th out of active QB’s in passer rating
Donovan McNabb, who entered the league when Jeff Garcia did (99) has been sacked nearly twice as many times as garcia ( 299-158 )

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/pass_rating_active.htm

Joey Galloway is 7th in active receiving yards.

Last fun stat, once again for Jeff Garcia

Rank Player (age), Int Years Teams
1. Brett Favre (38) 288 1991-2007 2TM
2. Vinny Testaverde (44) 267 1987-2007 7TM
3. Kerry Collins (35) 172 1995-2007 5TM
4. Peyton Manning (31) 153 1998-2007 clt
5. Jon Kitna (35) 146 1997-2007 3TM
6. Trent Dilfer (35) 129 1994-2007 5TM
7. Steve McNair (34) 119 1995-2007 2TM
8. Brad Johnson (39) 117 1994-2007 4TM
9. Trent Green (37) 108 1997-2007 4TM
10. Kurt Warner (36) 100 1998-2007 3TM
11. Daunte Culpepper (30) 94 1999-2007 3TM
12. Brian Griese (32) 92 1998-2007 4TM
13. Gus Frerotte (36) 91 1994-2007 7TM
14. Tom Brady (30) 86 2000-2007 nwe
15. Joey Harrington (29) 85 2002-2007 3TM
16. Matt Hasselbeck (32) 84 1999-2007 2TM
17. Drew Brees (28) 82 2001-2007 2TM
18. Donovan McNabb (31) 79 1999-2007 phi
19. Jeff Garcia (37) 77 1999-2007 5TM
20. Marc Bulger (30) 74 2002-2007 ram
21. David Carr (28) 70 2002-2007 2TM
22. Jake Delhomme (32) 64 1999-2007 2TM
Eli Manning (26)