The Buccaneers

Alstott to Return?

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:53:18 GMT

According to the Pewter Report, Mike Alstott plans to return in 2007. I think this is great news for all Bucs fans! I just hope that if the Bucs DO resign The A Train, that Chucky uses him to his full potential instead of just having him ride the bench.

From The Pewter Report:

Although he hasn’t made a final decision yet, Tampa Bay fullback Mike Alstott is leaning toward playing in 2007. Alstott, 33, has contemplated retirement for the past two years. Although he wants to return, the Bucs’ interest in re-signing him will play a key role in determining whether or not he plays again this season.

After contemplating retirement for the first part of the offseason, the “A-Train” appears to be onboard for the 2007 season.

Tampa Bay fullback Mike Alstott, who has flirted with retirement for the past two years, is leaning toward putting off retirement and returning to the football field this season.

“Mike is giving serious consideration to playing in ’07,” Alstott’s agent Jim Steiner told PewterReport.com.

Alstott, 33, originally entered the NFL in 1996 as a second-round draft pick out of Purdue. He immediately became a fan favorite en route to producing 5,088 career rushing yards, which ranks second best in team history. He has also hauled in 305 career receptions.

The “A-Train’s” 71 career touchdowns and 58 rushing touchdowns rank first in Tampa Bay history.

Although his role as a ball carrier has been limited under Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden, who views the “A-Train” as more of a fullback, Alstott hopes to return for his 12th season with the Buccaneers.

In fact, Alstott’s final decision regarding his future weighs heavily on the Bucs’ interest level in re-signing him.

Alstott is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Mar. 2. He was in a similar situation during the 2006 offseason, but wound up signing a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with the Bucs.

“He just needs to take a look at the landscape with the Buccaneers,” Steiner said of Alstott. “We haven’t had any conversations with [the Bucs] yet. Mike just needs to see how it all shakes out before he makes any final decisions.”

Tampa Bay is approximately $24 million under the NFL-mandated salary cap of $109 million. Steiner told Pewter Report that he anticipates talking with Bucs general manager Bruce Allen in the next few weeks.

All I can say is “C’mon Gruden, do the right thing!”

Observations from The Super Bowl

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 15:30:07 GMT

With the Buccaneers season over there hasn’t been a whole lot to write about, hence my absense. The biggest news at One Buc Place is probably the resigning of David Boston who was released last year due to there being some doubt about his recovering knee. The Rumor Mill however, says it had more to do with his failing the NFL substance use test. Whatever.

I would also like to share some comments from my favorite Buccaneers message board.

“This game would probably have been a blow out had the conditions not been so bad. The rain clearly effected the Colts ability to go down field and they ran a ball control offense and let their defense win the game. It was similar to the way the Bucs played although the Bucs never had a Peyton Manning or Dungy would have won Super Bowls with Bucs.

CBS’s coverage was terrible, bad and unacceptable. Yes they are the AFC network but they anointed the Colts champions before the game was played and all that was discussed was Peyton Manning. Its a disgrace for a national network to be so blatantly biased to one team and to discuss one individual from a team as much as they did. I don’t know what it is about Dan Marino but his commenting doesn’t do anything for me.   Him doing that interview with Manning was  like sending your worst English student to Oxford. He can’t talk and his questions were trite, Manning clearly wasn’t pleased when Dan asked him “how many more commercials are you going to do”?

Shannon Sharpe is awful  He and Marino just aren’t up to Super Bowl professionalism. Phil Simms is an ex-athlete who has become a fine commentator, you can see he has worked at it.

Fox clearly is a far superior broadcaster for the NFL. CBS is second rate in comparison. Give me Jimmy Johnson, Troy Aikman, Howie Long, Mike Ditka, John Madden, but please keep Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe away from doing Super Bowls. What a weak broadcasting team that was except for Phil Simms. Jim Nantz, ok, he was alright.

Dungy was all class and I love his humility and strong ethics. I do have some issues with some of his religious statements.

In my opinion I felt his religious comments were more appropriate for a church gathering amongst his flock. He mentioned that the Lord helped him and his team and I took those comments as him downplaying his contributions to his team and his players and as a nod to the Higher Power . He also mentioned he is a Christian coach. Nothing wrong with being a Christian, but isn’t that a personal belief that is his own? What if a Muslim coach won, what if an atheist won, what if a Jewish coach one, what if a Buddhist coach won? Would it have been appropriate to mention if a Muslim coach won that it was Allah that was motivating the coach? How offended would the average American been if that was the situation?

As a religious person myself, I feel such comments are  personal and should be kept within yourself as those feeling are your own and others may have different beliefs. I think Dungy and his team and their organization won the game. God may have inspired them but Human Free will and Human strength from the players won that game, not God. Dungy did give credit to his team and his organization and it is they that deserve the credit, not God.  God didn’t coach the Colts, God didn’t make any interceptions, those were manmade deeds..  Tony’s beliefs may have driven him to accomplish his goals but it was the jobs done by humans and the work that was done by Tony, his staff and his players. I believe it would have been more appropriate to leave the religious stuff out of the public eye.

I love Dungy and his dedication to his beliefs but I’m also a believer that your spiritualism is your own and to try and evangelize your religious beliefs on a podium like the Super Bowl isn’t the proper time and place. I can however see that in his moment of excitement and exhilaration that he was in he probably could not control his personal feelings. Not a misspeak or a bad thing, just football isn’t the right stage for spiritualism, its entertainment and a way for people to take their minds off of the hard realities of life. Please Tony, save your prayers for the people that need it, the weak, the sick, the poor, your family. Religion belongs to you and your family and but there are other Christian sects, Jews, Moslems, Hindu’s, Buddhists and many other religion’s that enjoy their own spiritualism. Its bad enough religion is being distorted in the Middle East for violence and being used by many for political gain and repression. Please lets keep religion out of football, its caused enough problems over the past 5,000 years in terms of people not being able to get together because they are of different religions and cultures. Football brings many of us together on Sundays.so lets leave the religious stuff to churches, mosques, temples, and other places of worship.

On the other hand I felt his comments on him being the first Afro American coach were very appropriate. He mentioned those coaches before him that weren’t given the chance because of their color and that they had paved the way for him. I really though those were great comments and agreed with him. There have been many people of color that could have been coaches in years past had the NFL establishment not been racist and its an honor that Dungy mentioned that as well as a disgrace that the National Football League wouldn’t also mention those coaches that were held back because of racism. Its the same with black quarterbacks. How many years did the NFL establishment hold back the black quarterback. You can say what you want about baseball but there were black pitchers in the major leagues in the 40’s yet it took until the 1980’s for black to start getting the opportunity to play in the NFL. Shame on the NFL for that.”

Thanks and a tip of the Buccaneer helmet to ECO for his astute observations!

A Stunning Upset -- Well, Almost

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 05:22:36 GMT

The Bucs nearly came back to beat the Bears on the road. Had it not been for a not reviewed play, the Bucs may very well have beaten the Bears.

That’s right — the NFL didn’t choose to review a play in OT that resulted in allowing the Bears to kick the game winning FG in OT. Perhaps if they’d reviewed the play, they would have seen that the ball hit the ground first. I saw the tape, replayed it several times. Perhaps the NFL will admit their mistake sometime this week — but that makes up for nothing.

So much for parity in the No Fun League.

Like the Bucs being penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct because a receiver tossed the ball over his shoulder, and it just happened to hit the defender. WTF is it with this league?

I’m proud of how the Bucs played today against Chicago in the second half. Now maybe Gruden will get off his high horse and start Rattay.

Interesting Website

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 04:50:57 GMT

From: http://www.givemiketheball.com/

Attention Mike Alstott fans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans, and all fans of the game of football! Mike Alstott has expressed his desire to retire after this football season. This is terrible news for all of us who have loved watching Mike play these many years. But as much as this is probably happening, we still have a precious few games to enjoy.

The problem: A head coach, namely Jon Gruden, who for whatever the reasons has not used this talented player. After playing a significant role in winning the Super Bowl in 2002, Jon Gruden as given Mike the ball less and less and this year has all but benched him. The reasons for this are unclear and as fans we should deal with the coach himself at a later time, but for now we have a mission. On December 31st, Mike will more than likely be playing his last game in the NFL.

We cannot change the last few years of neglect from the coach. We cannot change the fact that Mike could have gone to another team and had a wonderful finish to his career, but his loyalty to his teammates, Tampa and his fans has kept him here. We cannot change that the coach has single-handedly taken Mike out of Hall of Fame contention. But we as fans of Mike and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can demand that on December 31st, playing at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa against the Seattle Seahawks, that Jon Gruden put his ego aside and GIVE MIKE THE BALL!

Why should we do this?

1. The team is currently 3-10, and they are out of the playoff picture.
2. No player can be successful on every play, but the overwhelming majority of the times that Mike is given the ball he makes things happen.
3. We as fans, deserve to see our favorite player have one more game where he is allowed to do what he does best.
4. Mike deserves to end his career in front of his city and his team on a high note.
5. He just might help win the game!

What can we do?

1. At the game, wear your number 40 jersey.
2. At the game, the first time the offense takes the field, we should blow our A-Train whistles until the beginning of the first formation.
3. We should chant “Give Mike The Ball!” loud and often.
4. At halftime, if Mike has not been used much or at all (and we as fans are not stupid, we know if the situation dictates when he should get the ball), during the next offensive possession we should chant “Fire Jon Gruden!”
5. Call the Buccaneers and let them know how you feel.
6. Sign the online petition below, that will be delivered to the Glazers and to the Buccaneers, the day before the game.We the fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, would like to see our favorite player, Mike Alstott, get the ball in the final game December 31st against the Seattle Seahawks. We believe that with the playoffs for the most part out of the picture, there is no reason not to give Mike the ball. We believe that giving him the ball will only increase the chances of winning the game. We are fans of the whole team, but we would like to see Mike have one more game before he retires. Please dothis for him, for us fans, and fans of real football everywhere.

Please visit the website if you want to sign the petition.

From Grueling To Brutal For Bucs

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 15:24:20 GMT

For those of you who missed my column, I was away on an extended vacation in the Caribbean, and had a wonderful time. The Bucs on the other hand, have had a miserable time with one exception — beating Washington. I did manage to catch the debacle on Thanksgiving despite being in Cozumal Mexico. I wasn’t sure if I should have thanked the cruise ship or cursed them for that one.

I said last and this year that the Bucs age was going to catch up with them — and it has. The Bucs D-Line is OLD!

Consider: In the last few years, how many D-Linesmen have the Bucs drafted? One? Two? Gruden has been so into his “Offensive Offense” that he’s completely neglected the Defense. And while not defensive players, the Bucs had on their roster over the summer Boston and Fonoti who IMO could have made a difference, yet were let go. Fonoti is now in Miami making holes for Dolphins RBs to go through, something the Bucs STILL sorely need.

A good article from the Tampa Tribune, November 25, 2006:

TAMPA — The hard part is done. It really is. It just doesn’t seem like it, because life doesn’t get a whole lot easier for the Bucs the next few weeks.

Though their grueling stretch of three games in 11 days is done, the next task for the Bucs (3-8) is a Dec. 3 game against the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers (4-6) in Pittsburgh.

Then, between a home game against the Falcons (5-5) and the season finale against the defending NFC champion Seahawks (6-4) at Raymond James Stadium, the Bucs have road games at Chicago (9-1) and Cleveland (3-7).

Sound brutal? It is - especially when you’ve already lost four starters to season-ending injuries and you’re facing the likelihood of playing the stretch run without a fifth.

Left guard Dan Buenning’s right knee is a wreck. Like Chris Simms, Brian Kelly, Kenyatta Walker and Simeon Rice before him, his season appears to be done - just when the Bucs were starting to run the ball well again.

Such has been the Bucs’ plight this year. It has been a season when all that seemingly could go wrong has gone wrong.

Take Thursday, when the Bucs lost 38-10 to the Cowboys.

They started off well, running the ball almost at will and producing two 10-play scoring drives in the first half. It wasn’t long, though, before the Bucs made first-year starting quarterback Tony Romo look like Troy Aikman.

That’s no exaggeration. By throwing five touchdown passes, Romo matched a Cowboys record that Aikman shared. It was a remarkable performance, but even Romo’s coach seemed to suggest Romo had help recording it.

“I could have thrown those first two [touchdown passes],” Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said, referring to plays in which the Bucs’ coverage in the deep secondary simply fell apart.

That’s what happens, though, when you’re decimated by injuries. And there’s no denying the Bucs are decimated. They went into the game missing four defensive starters, and one of the replacements, cornerback Juran Bolden, was playing hurt.

Now comes that game against Pittsburgh and those games at Chicago and Cleveland. The only good news is the Bucs have three days to rest before they have to start preparing for the stretch run. It’s time needed.

“I don’t want to make it sound like it’s all bleak, but we need a couple days here to get some men healthy enough to play,” said Bucs coach Jon Gruden, who plans to spend the time wisely.

Though he may put the Bucs through a light walk-through Monday, Gruden has no plans to run his team through a full-scale practice until Wednesday, hoping he’ll get some players healthy for that difficult stretch run.

Of course, even if players such as Bolden, under tackle Ellis Wyms and middle linebacker Shelton Quarles do regain their health, they’ll still be part of a lineup laden with young players.

On the offensive side, the Bucs still figure to have rookie Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback and rookies Jeremy Trueblood and Davin Joseph manning the right side of their line.

And on the defensive side, the Bucs still will have Dewayne White playing regularly in place of Simeon Rice at right end, Torrie Cox playing regularly at cornerback and Will Allen playing regularly at safety.

The latter two were among those who got torched by Romo on Thursday, but Gruden seems eager to see how they respond to the challenges that await them down the stretch.

“Every snap we line up for is a chance for somebody to get better,” Gruden said. “We need a lot of these young players to take advantage of this playing time.

“And we need them to never forget what they’re going through right now because, I’m telling you, this is a tough way to learn.”

Ronde Barber learned this way. And like the young players he’s surrounded by now, he struggled learning that way. But he also got better as a result of the difficult times. He expects the same to happen this time.

“A lot of young guys are going to benefit from the experience they’re going to get now,” Barber said. “It’s not going to be easy but it’s going to be interesting to see how these guys play the next five weeks.”

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979

Loss Puts Bucs In Race For Their Own Brady

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:12:23 GMT

A “lovely” article from the Orlando Sentinel, November 6, 2006
TAMPA — Cheer up, Bucs fans. All is not lost. On the contrary, something was found Sunday. Tampa Bay unofficially entered the Brady Quinn Sweepstakes.

There is no official way to enter the race for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft. But dropping to 2-6 while almost boring the opponent into submission is a good place to start.

You want crimes against viewing humanity? Saddam Hussein reportedly chose hanging over watching tape of the Bucs’ offense after his verdict was read.

“I make only one apology, and that’s to our fans,” Jon Gruden said.

That would be appropriate in a normal world. But after losing 31-14 to New Orleans, fans should stop viewing this season in the usual ways.

One reason is it will keep them from jumping off the Howard Frankland Bridge. Another is now the Bucs really do have something to play for.

The worst record in the NFL is theirs for the tanking. Heck, they don’t even have to tank games. Just keep playing the way they have and they’ll have less chance of winning than Katherine Harris.

“I definitely want to say that we were flat,” Cadillac Williams said.

Flat is Tampa Bay’s middle name. Either that or Three-and-Out.

The Bucs have scored one first-quarter touchdown all season. The standard gameplan calls for three plays and a punt.

It happened the first six times that Tampa Bay had the ball on Sunday. If you didn’t know better you’d swear Gruden is in a fantasy punting league and gets a bonus every time Fox announcers say, “Josh Bidwell.”

“All I can say is to fall behind against a team that leads our division at home 17-0 is not what we are about,” Gruden said.

He’s kind of half-right. The Bucs have fallen behind 17-0 only three times this season. The fourth time they trailed 17-3.

It’s time to stop kidding ourselves. This is not a classically atrocious outfit by Tampa Bay standards, but it’s starting to smell like 1977. If not for a reversed call and a 62-yard field goal, the Bucs would be winless.

“We are trying, you know,” Gruden said.

Their strategy apparently has become to get the other team so overconfident it suffers narcolepsy. That’s the only explanation for the Bucs’ 14-point second-quarter explosion. The Saints coaches brought in smelling salts at halftime and the rout resumed.

“I don’t know what we need,” Williams said, “or how we need to change.”

Don’t change a thing, Cadillac. The Bucs need to keep on not doing what they’re not doing, even if it means Bidwell will need a leg transplant before Christmas.

You could stick pins in your Chucky doll. You could wonder why the vaunted Two-Deep Defense has become a No-Deep Defense. You could look at the glass as two-eighths empty instead of one-quarter full.

But why get down? Cheer for the Bucs to go 2-14.

The schedule says it’s possible. Cleveland could be a real test, but it’s on Christmas Eve in lovely Ohio. You can just imagine how psyched the boys will be for that one.

Granted, Quinn is not the NFL version of LeBron James. But just having the top pick would pump a lot of fun and frivolity into the off-season.

Ah, to have Mel Kiper Jr. whispering sweet nothings in your ear all spring.

Are the Bucs down to the challenge?

“The Lord is giving us eight more opportunities,” Gruden said, “and we’re going to try to take advantage of those eight.”

Please God, don’t change a thing.

Bucs / Saints

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 15:16:46 GMT

The Bucs drop another one, 31-14. Gezzz. About the only positive I can see from this game was that Gradkowski and Galloway finally hooked up, not once but twice.

Gradkowski hit Galloway in stride, leading him with the ball on the first connection, and then in the endzone throwing to where ONLY Galloway could catch it between two Saints defenders. Gradkowski finished the game with a QR of 96.8, 185 yds, no INTs.

One very classy move by the Saints was not running up the score. With the ball on the Bucs seven and less then two minutes to play, the Saints took four knees, leaving 30 seconds on the clock. The could have punched it in, or at least kicked a FG, but they didn’t. The Bucs tried to run the ball during the remaining seconds, getting out to around the 15 as time expired.

Truthfully I think the thing to do would have been to take a knee.

Bucs / Giants

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 05:39:09 GMT

Swirling winds or not ... We "officially" suck.

Just In Case You Missed It

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 04:51:07 GMT

Just in case you missed the kick ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iBrQoT7nTM&mode=related&search=

Bucs Beat Eagles With A 62-Yard Field Goal

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 13:44:00 GMT

In what can only be called typical, I watched as the Bucs squandered a huge lead over the Eagles only to win 23-21 on Matt Bryant’s 62-yard field goal as time expired. The 62-yarder was the second longest game-winner in NFL history.

There were Eagles fans everywhere, who were quiet for most of the game. One couple who sat close to us were rather rude for the majority of the game, but we kept them in line. Of course all the trash talking started in the forth when the Eagles started their comeback. I thought they were going to blow a gasket when the Eagles went up 21-20 with almost no time left. My neighbor Mike, who I took to the game, was ready to leave by then. “It’s over Man, it’s over” he said. “Let’s get out of here.” I was like “No Way! Wait - just wait. We’re not leaving until the clock runs out.” He was glad we did wait.

Of course, the Zebras had to try their usual … trying to give the Eagles an edge early on in the game. Fortunately Gruden challanged an obvious bad call and won, allowing the Bucs to keep the ball on what had looked like a fumble — the man was down by contact when the ball came out. Had Gruden not seen it on the Jumbotron, he might have let the Zebras have their way. Man did it get loud when they replayed that! If we could see it from the stands (even before they replayed it), how can they NOT see it as close as they are? I think the Zebras should be fined when they make obvious bad calls. The Zebras also whistled a play dead early on (a fumble recovery) that would have allowed the Bucs to score. I won’t know exactly what happened until after I get to see the tape of the game.

Ronde Barber again showed exactly why he’s one of the best players in the League, intercepting McNabb in the second AND in the third, taking it to the house both times — giving the Bucs a 17-0 lead. Bucs fans will remember it was Barber who sealed the Eagles fate with a 92-yard run back of a McNabb interception in the NFC Championship game four years ago, sending the Bucs to the Super Bowl. I wonder if McNabb slept well, or if he’s having nightmares of Ronde again?

I’ve heard Gradkowski refered to as Bruce Allmighty. Well, Allmighty he wasn’t as he had a rather mediocre day, 13 of 26, for 104 yards. He threw no interceptions but was sacked twice, once after tripping over his own feet. Cadillac Williams ran for 82-yards on 23 carries.

Thankfully, the Bucs also won the turnover battle — Zero (Bucs) to five (Eagles).

McNabb rallied the Eagles in the forth, making two TD passes and Westbrook made a VERY improbable run to the endzone on a 52-yard catch making it 21-20 with 33 seconds left on the clock.

Of course, you know the rest of the story.

GO BUCS!