Game night on the Bucs Beat

We're a few minutes away from kickoff here at Raymond James Stadium.

Got a few observations before we get started. That was a nice introduction of Mike Alstott after the starting offense was introduced. He got what might prove to be the loudest cheer of the night. And how about David Boston in the starting lineup. Have to admit, I didn't see that one coming. Our best guess up here in the press box is that Jon Gruden is trying to keep Maurice Stovall and Michael Clayton humble. Not a bad move, I suppose.

Now, for the rest of the night, I'll be updating this post with comments below. Feel free to chime in and add your own or ask a question or two. Talk to ya soon.

(Above right: Paris Warren. Times photo - James Borchuck. Above left: Kenneth Darby. Times photo - Brian Cassella. Click to enlarge.)

Comments

[Stephen_Holder]

Garcia had a chance to make good on Gruden's first use of the shotgun in, um, forever. That was a bad throw there. Had Ike wide open. And let's keep an eye on Davin Joseph. He got used like a revolving door on the previous play. Not a good way to start.

[Stephen_Holder]

Not sure what to make of this, but just saw Cato June come off the field in the nickel package. Our best guess up to now was that he would stay on the field in that lineup given his coverage skills, but an interesting move by the Bucs. Ryan Nece, who is starting for injured Barrett Ruud at MLB, stayed on the field when nickel cornerback Phillip Buchanon came on.

[Stephen_Holder]

Heads up... Gaines Adams is in.

[Stephen_Holder]

Gotta tell ya... Looks like a lot of what I heard about Adams is true. Many people who are better football authorities than I have said he is a very unimpressive practice player, but turns it on when the game starts. Not a great habit to have, I suppose, but maybe that's the case.

[Stephen_Holder]

Stone-hands Brooks does it again! Not to kill the guy, but he doesn't have the best hands. Still, nice hustle play by a vet in a preseason game. And how about the starting defense playing three series. Maybe Gruden has had a change of heart regarding playing time in the preseason.

[Stephen_Holder]

Big fourth down here. If you're the starting defense, you have to get a stop on this one.

[Stephen_Holder]

Something about that drive just seemed a little too easy. The Patriots are winning handily up front, where the Bucs had their biggest defensive weakness last year. They used different lineups and combinations and still, they were being gashed. Patriots were getting quite a push at the line of scrimmage.

[Stephen_Holder]

See Mark Jones is back to return this kickoff. Gruden emphasized this week the need to have one guy return punts AND kickoffs. In the past, Jones has done only punts. His best bet to make the final roster is to show he can do both. And, I'm not so sure he shouldn't have tried to bring that kick out of the end zone. He had a couple lanes that potentially have been exploited.

[Stephen_Holder]

Offensive lineup is still mostly starters with the exception of quarterback (Garcia), running back (Cadillac) and split end (Galloway). They've got the entire starting offensive line still in there. They probably could use the reps, to be honest.

[Stephen_Holder]

The right side of the offensive line isn't having a stellar night. Youngsters Davin Joseph and Jeremy Trueblood have sprung a couple leaks in the last couple of series. Luke McCown barely had a chance and was sacked twice in a row. They have to protect better and McCown has to react better.

[Stephen_Holder]

By the way, I neglected to mention during the first quarter that Michael Pittman took a couple snaps at fullback. Maybe that's a glimpse of things to come in the post-Alstott era.

[Stephen_Holder]

Nice couple of plays by Paris Warren. And, truth be told, he needs some good film. Right now, I've got him on the outside looking in with the receiver lineup practically set. The only way he sticks, at least based on what we've seen so far in camp, is if the Bucs keep more than five full-time receivers. We're not counting a guy like Mark Jones, who is pretty much exclusively special teams.

[Matt Pipes]

While the 2nd string Patriots defense is not equal to the 1st string, I'm impressed with Luke McCown. The offensive line doesn't appear to be giving him much time and yet he's finding the open man. Now a touchdown!!!! Maybe he's the QB of the future?

[Stephen_Holder]

Bruce Gradkowski just entered the game. Better be ready for anything now.

[Stephen_Holder]

I agree with the take on McCown above. The guy does seem to fit this offense better than Chris Simms, who Gruden apparently has fallen out of love with. And McCown is an above-average athlete, too, which helps when it comes to moving in the pocket or scrambling.

[Stephen_Holder]

Gates is a guy who has had a strong camp from my perspective, and he'll get a lot of reps here tonight. But seems as though he's still a long shot to make the team when you consider the competition: Cadillac, Pittman and Earnest Graham.

[Stephen_Holder]

Okay, maybe I jumped the gun. That fumble is gonna hurt Gates' cause. A guy that far down in the pecking order can't afford a hiccup like that.

[Stephen_Holder]

Nice job by Adams coming to make the stop there on that run by Evans. For all Simeon Rice's greatness, he was never accused of playing run defense. If Adams can learn to be effective against the run, maybe he has a chance to become a complete player.

[Stephen_Holder]

Ryan Sims is getting some decent penetration up front against the middle of that Patriots' line. That's something the Bucs will welcome if he can get it together. He's a big body and gives the Bucs something they've been missing at the under tackle position since Sapp left: size.

[Stephen_Holder]

Kenneth Darby is a guy I was curious to see tonight. He is quick, that's for sure. If he keeps running like this, he'll earn more reps and maybe -- just maybe -- put a little heat on Earnest Graham. What Graham has going for him, of course, is his versatility and special-teams ability. Those things can't be overstated.

[Stephen_Holder]

I know he's playing against guys who aren't worth a darn, but I like Darby's running style. Very quick and agile. The kind of guy who will find a whole and hit it -- fast. I'd like to see him get some reps earlier in games as the preseason rolls on. We'll see.

[Barbara69]

Can't believe how fast sptimes had the final score posted!

[Trevor]

I didn't get to see the first couple of series. I think the D missed Ruud.

The O, I'm not as worried because I think Galloway and Stovall will start and think that's the best combo to keep the chains moving and defenses honest.

I am very impressed with Darby as I thought I'd be. He could give Caddy a run for his money. He looked fast and ran with authority (accelerating to and through holes as opposed to dancing into them and falling down).

Gaines played well like I thought he would. He'll be a fine NFL player for a long time (a al Jason Taylor).

[Tom]

With everything that has gone on this week, isn't it time this franchise retired some numbers? What is it going to to take? A #40 in the backfield? A #99 on the defensive front? or a #47 in the secondary? I cringed tonight seeing a #74 on the offensive line (no offense to the player) but he is no Paul Gruber just like there will never be another Mike Alstott or John Lynch so come on fans, its time we take a stand! I saw this week the first sign of a ownership group that understood the significanse of a older player, if anyone thinks that #40 is coming back next year there is something wrong, we all can dream but it is not happening, Mike was put on IR so he was paid the 1.5 million he deserves from the Buccaneers, nothing more nothing less, he deserves this! And the Glaziers came through as good owners because they knew they couldn't afford to be the bad guy one more time, it is time the ownership stood up and recognized the players brought in by the former regimes (Yes, I said regimes) look it up Dungy didn't draft Sapp, Dunn, etc... Give some credit to Wyche! We need history in this franchise, I will never forget the one and only time I met coach Gruden and I told him I bled Orange and he said "Orange"!? Like I was smoking crack! and gave me his scowl and never looked back (After I bought him a beer I may add) I was done with that guy then, if he cannot back our history (Which is proven he cannot) get rid of him like I did my season tickets!

Tom

[Stephen_Holder]

Gotta admit: I was a little skeptical when asked by the boss to multi-task by blogging and watching the game and taking notes, etc, all at the same time. But this was kinda cool. As the games start to mean more, there will be more to talk about, too. We'll update you tomorrow if Gruden decides to do a day-after chat with reporters.

[Trevor]

Nice job, Stephen.

Remember, for the demo, 18-54, especially towards the mid-lower of that range, more is better in terms of content online.

[Bob]

OK, who's Stephen Holder anyway? I was under the impression that he was a St. Pete Times sports writer. I hope I'm wrong, because he's making some statements that are either inaccurate or indicative of a complete lack of understanding of the game of football.

"Stone hands Brooks"?

The offensive line sprung a couple leaks tonight, but over all I was very impressed!! All 3 QB's had if not plenty then sufficient time to execute the play or dump off or throw it away.

Quote:

I know he's playing against guys who aren't worth a darn, but I like Darby's running style. Very quick and agile. The kind of guy who will find a whole and hit it -- fast. I'd like to see him get some reps earlier in games as the preseason rolls on. We'll see.

A 'whole'??

Please, check your spelling and grammar before posting, at least to make yourself understood!

Overall, not over all.

Practice what you preach if you want to be such a nitpicker.

[Jason De La Torre]

Oh for crying out loud, give Stephen a break. He's trying to do five things at once, he's allowed a few grammatical screw ups here and there.

Besides, blogging is just quick posting of your thoughts, it isn't a newspaper article that checked by several editors.

As for the "stone hands" comment, I know its difficult to take off the Pewter-colored glasses, but DB has had stone hands the three years. Players get older, there skills erode. DB has lost a step and his hands aren't what they used to be. Deal with it.

[indigo196]

Hey Jason:

You raised the bar for quality posting by visiting this place.

Stephen:

Not sure if the blog format is working for ya man, but this was a fairly good effort for those of us that do not have the game... what will you do when the dedicated fans can actually watch on TV though?

[Stephen_Holder]

Hello all...

Thanks for the comments, both positive and negative. For those of you who have engaged in mature conversation, we are particularly thankful for your participation. This blog in general and the gameday running blog is really a work in progress. We may or may not tweak some things as we go forward. But whatever we end up doing, we want to provide some insight, spark conversation and promote interaction with us here at the Times.

If you have some suggestions, I can handle constructive criticism. I'm a big boy. We want to give you what you want because this is, after all, for you. So, fire away. You can even drop me an email at sholder@sptimes.com if you have some specific questions that you haven't seen addressed here or in the paper. We'll be back at training camp when practice begins again tomorrow and we're going to try to give you more of what you've been asking for during practices.

Whatever you do, thanks for stopping by and please continue to do so while telling us your thoughts on the Bucs.

Later

[Dave]

Who's idea was it to can the Bucs forum in lieu of this crap?

BRILLIANT!!!

[Jonathan Bell]

Jason,
Are you the old Jason of the Tower from the old Times forum? The one that played Madden and had a Madden website? If so, how ya doin', man?

Not sure if you care or not but most of the gang is all over at our new home BucsChat.com. We are still trying to wrangle in some of the old-timers. We'd love to have you!

P.S. Shp is still at it but he's toned it down quite a bit.

Go Bucs!

[CALBuccaneer]

We loyal Buccaneer fans need to remember that, just like the stock market, our team will have up and down cycles. We had a decade of excellence. In fact, if we had better play out of the QB position (hi Trent and Shaun), we may have won three Super Bowls instead of one. Right now, we are in the midst of a down cycle and this year will only be marginally better than 4-12.

We know Jeff Garcia is not the answer. He's 37 for goodness sake. Maurice Stovall...hmmm... seven catches for his career so far. He is the reason that we did not move up and draft Calvin Johnson ( a sure to be stud for the next 12 years)? Our team has more question marks than the Riddler's outfit in the old Batman TV show.

The Bucs don't have a young nucleus of playmakers at the key offensive positions. That's glaringly obvious. We may have addressed some defensive needs (remains to be seen) this year. But, as our old favorite Warren Sapp used to say, "They can't win if they can't score." Unfortunately, that applies to OUR offense since 2003.

I'm happy to see Ken Darby do well in preseason but we all know that he will third string at best when the real show starts. Paris Warren looks fine in August but he won't even be on the Bucs after the 53 man roster is announced. Luke McCown, arguably the most impressive Buc of the night, is fine in preseason but our record will be 4-12 again if he starts all 16 games.

We need difference makers on offense. We needed a Calvin Johnson, we needed an Adrian Petersen....

New England goes out and gets Adalius Thomas, Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, AND Wes Walker... and we stay put with a useless Clayton and and a washed up Boston?? Thats why they have more rings than us.

I am expecting 6-10 or 7-9 this year. Anything more would shock me. We need serious playmakers on offense. Look at the Super Bowl teams...

Manning, Harrison, Wayne, Addai

Brady, Dillon, Brown, Branch

Aikman, Smith, Irvin

Montana, Craig, Rice

Kelly, Thomas, Reed

Warner, Faulk, Holt, Bruce

We have to be patient and wait for that kind of talent at our skill positions.

37 year old Garcia, often-injured Williams, and an aging Galloway are not the triad that will lead us to the promised land.

I still love the Bucs but I am looking at them realistically. We are a long ways away still.

[Jason De La Torre]

Hey Jonathan, yes...its the one and only Jason Ofthetower! :-)

I've been hanging out at the PR website and occasionally Buccaneers.com. I'll check out Bucschat whenever I get a chance. I miss the old SP Times messageboard.

Hey indigo...thanks! Although I noticed in my post that I used "there" instead of "their" at one point. I'm surprised the grammar police weren't all over me for that one!

Stephen, I liked your initial outing. I think you should definitely continue to run with the feature.

[trevor]

how can the bucs beat the patriots thats like North Texas beating the Gators

[tylar manzi]

i didnt get to see the game who won