Big gains for Adams

Just one thought to leave you with.

Nice showing by Gaines Adams. He didn't put up numbers, but he sure made his presence felt. Just ask Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who was decked twice by the rookie defensive end.

Adams was in the backfield a lot today in making his first start, and I suspect we'll start to see more of that if his coaches continue to let him play through his ups and downs.

He is not going to be perfect. You need to know that he is still suspect against the run, and no less an authority than defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin was clear on that point when he and I spoke earlier. But Adams made a big jump today because the Cardinals were a team bent on throwing the ball, so Adams was able to concentrate on his pass rush. With his ears pinned back, he was a force.

Another good sign: time of possession. The Bucs set a team record for a regulation game with 43:07 of possession to Arizona's 16:53. That's about as lopsided a statistic as you'll ever see in this league of parity. Unfortunately for the Bucs, they still don't find enough ways to capitalize on their good fortune. If you have the ball that long, I think it's fair to say you need to score more than 17 points. But we'll see whether they find a way to finish drives after the bye week.

A not-so-good trend continued in this one: the defense giving up the late score. This defense simply can't seem to play wire to wire. I don't know what it is, but it sure is getting old. The Bucs jump out 17-3 and let the Cardinals march 80 yards in 11 plays to make it 17-10 and give themselves a chance with seven minutes left. When a team is on the ropes, good teams finish the deal. That's all I'm saying.

Another thing to keep an eye on (literally): the New Orleans Saints. Those guys are starting to wake up. They are now 4-4 after winning four straight. And their next three games are against the Rams, Texans and Panthers, teams with a combined record of 7-17. I'd pay close attention because this thing is going to get real interesting before it's over with. The Bucs better win games in bunches over the next several weeks, because something tells me that those thoughts many of you had of 9-7 winning this division by a mile might not actually come to pass. If nothing else, it should be fun to watch.

Anyone notice anything else of interest in the game? Ask your questions or comment and I'll try to check in tonight and/or Monday morning.

For now....Peace.

Comments

[Pete]

Stupid Jaguars. A week after the Bucs handed them a win at Ray Jay, the Jags go into New Orleans and lay an egg. Just like I thought they would. And of the sudden, those Saints are marching all right.

That said, good win by the Bucs. Didn't matter how they did it, but they absolutely needed a win ... and they got it.

Now, let's get healthy, hit the bye week, and come back ready to go for the stretch run.

[Tom]

What a great dominating performance by the Bucs players and the coaching staff. Being able to shut out Warner, James, Fitzgerald and Boldin is absolutely amazing. To control the clock for over 3 quarters is one of the best coaching jobs I've seen. The play that Smith dropped in the end zone was a great design. It had everyone fooled. I guess we should blame Gruden for the drop. Or according to DR, blame Gruden for drafting him and having him on the team.

Do you Gruden-haters still think he's a bad coach? What do you have to say now John P?

[Trotter]

John P. won't be happy until the bucs are in the playoff's. That is his dog, let him walk it. It was great to see the D play well again, get some rest Bucs, and get healthy. Every game is important, there will be no widcard team from the NFCS. Oh yea, F the Cowboys, and their bandwagon fans.

[aaron]

yes i still think gruden is a bad coach. i will give him credit for the past two games they were well coached. but to control the clock for over three quarters has more to do with our defense doing their job and getting off after three plays and our o-line and rb's doing their jobs. if the o-line wasnt effective then graham wouldnt have been. but they were very effective and we controlled the clock.

[BuccanBobby]

It seems that Donald Penn is stepping in nicely for Pettigout. His name was not called out one time yesterday, and that's a "good thing"...kudos to the O-ine for hanging tough and giving #34 a chance to shine

[D.M. Dunkle]

When is Chucky Gruden going to trust his young offense (and the majority on it are young) like he did his Oakland Raider O back when they creamed us 40-something to 0?? That's with the great D Tony D and Monte were building here, too. Remember?

[Tom]

Aaron, what's your beef with our head coach. He's no Belichick, but he's no slouch either. I just don't understand why some fans have such a beef with him. He's coached some really bad games and made some really bad personnel moves, but who hasn't? I can't type long enough the bonehead moves that Dungy/McKay made. And I love Dungy also.

Look, the 19 play drive was a thing of beauty. We have a 37 y/o, brand new QB on our team, a 3rd string, RB, a practice squad LT, a rookie LG and two 2nd year RG and RT. If you can compete with that type of lineup, you're a damn good coach. Don't you think? Do I think Cowher may be a better coach? Heck yeah! But I'm not ready to tear down what we have right now. Neither should any of you!

[Tom]

The best part of our defense yesterday was the fact they only had to be on the field for 16 min. Our offense held the ball for almost 3 quarters!! That is amazing! I guess it wasn't Gruden who called the plays, right, John P?

Like I've said all season, Tanard Jackson is playing at an All-Pro level. This team will be even better when Sabby gets back. You guys don't know yet, but Sabby is a BEAST!! Ran the fastest shuttle at the combines!! And a ball hawk! Give credit to the college scouts for picking studs, Sears, Piscitelli and Jackson. Gaines played a better yesterday so I didn't cry as much when I saw A.P. ran for 296 yards!!

[T.L.]

It's always about making the playoffs that should be the goal every year. Now as to Gruden he studies game tapes and works on the game plan for 16 to 20 hours a day and has been able to be just one team that is over .500. if you have to study that hard and long for that average result no matter what you do your average.Now for the defence you were only on the feild for 17 min. what is with giving up another late td and letting a team that was dead have life.

[DR]

You are actually impressed with the game yesterday?
A TD on a pass that should have been easily intercepted and a horrible INT call at the end of the game to close it out. Not that I thought ARI would come back and score but I hate to see a team, any team, get cheated out of an opportunity because a sideline judge can't make an obvious call in front of him.
Tampa did get beat by some unfortunate plays against Detroit and JAX but those plays were on their side this game. I still wonder why Fitz ran out of bounds like he did on that big play. He breaks a tackle there and he scores. Instead, they settled for a FG.
I called for Gruden's head last year, and still have not changed my mind. Another coach may have taken AP, but of course another coach may have taken Ginn Jr. like that moron in Miami.

[DR]

F the Cowboys? TFS, you're too funny. I gotta give you credit for admitting to being severely jealous.
Tom, I think Gruden may have a restraining order against you.

[aaron]

i have a huge beef with our current HC for a # of reasons. i will name just a few...first i want to thank him for the SB, yes he did get us over the top and i give him props for that. now to the beef since that year he has put us in a steady decline. he has consistently screwed up the draft. bad picks, let me list a few: marques walker, travis stephens, tim wansley, tracy winstrom, zach quaccia, marquis cooper, will allen, nate lawrie, casey cramer, lenny williams, lance nimmo, alan zematis, tj williams, bruce gradkowski, justin phenissee, tim massaquoi, chris colmer, larry brakins, anthony bryant, hazma abdullah, rick razanno, jr russell. not good picks at all my friend. we did have some good guys in those drafts that played well for us then we let walk, like sean mahan and dewayne white. more bad moves. then there are the good picks we had and gruden and his staff just cant develop to make it to the next level. we know these people have the talent but gruden and his staff dont have the teaching capabilities. this list includes but is not limited to: chris simms, michael clayton, maurice stovall, caddy.

[aaron]

i am not done with my reasons why i dislike gruden. now on to the free agents he has signed...derrick deese, charlie garner, zack crockett, luke pettigout, juaron bolden, jerald sowell,doug jolley, ricky dudley, tim brown,todd steussie, matt stincomb, mario edwards, greg comella, matt odwyer, jason whittle all of these signings are horrible and a waste of money. i am sure i am leaving off a few. now on to the people that he ran off... john lynch, warren sapp, simeon rice, joe jurevivous and for all intents and pruposes mike alstott. this past off season is the biggest show that he is not serious about the future, only the here and now. we signed 37yr old garcia. he is a band aid and it isnt fixing the wound. we signed simms to starter money. he should be our starter. simms almost gave his life for gruden and the bucs and this is what he gets. gruden is two faced and we all know it. simms got screwed. if we werent going w/ simms, why not draft brady quinn. he was nfl ready when he came out. could have been the qb of the future. but our coach went with a band aid. who are we developing for our future? gradkowski? if not for gruden he wouldnt be in the nfl.

[aaron]

i do appreciate the super bowl, i do. but what has he done for us lately? what do we have to look foward to in the future? stovall and clayton have potential but can gruden help them reach it? who is our qb? after galloway retires who will be our speed wr? who is our center of the future? who is our future left tackle? just about every team has gone to a two back system. after caddy went down we had pittman and graham. dont get me wrong i like them both, pittman will do anything to help the team win and graham has the heart of a lion. maybe we should have kept D. White and drafted adrian peterson... who knows hind sight is 20/20. but the fact is he hasnt been able to get it done. he got done what tony could not. and i appreciate that. he had just enough offensive knowledge to get us to the top. but now these past few years have been his teams and look what we have. this is the house that gruden built. it is time to burn it to the ground and hire a new builder.

[aaron]

i hope i answered you question tom.

[Tom]

I respect your opinion and agree with you on some of your points. However, I disagree with you on a lot of what you're saying.

1.) Busted draft picks

Every team has a boat load of guys that never pan out in the NFL. In fact, just look at the first rounders every year that are busts. The majority of guys you mentioned were late rounders anyhow. These are all project players. Dungy/McKay had their share of bad drafts, too. Moving up to get Kenyatta, Jacquez, Reidel, Odom, Wunsch, etc. As far as Clayton and Cadillac, they were runner up and ROY respectively. That's pretty damn impressive, agree? Clayton has problems dropping balls but do you expect Gruden to catch balls for him, too? Cadillac is injury prone. He never was injury prone in college so who knew?

2.) Free agent signings
Yeah, we bombed with Deese and Garner. But we also scored big with Jurevicius, McCardell, Pittman, Hovan, Galloway!!, Hilliard, Buchannon, etc. We were also had no draft picks after the trade for Keyshawn and Gruden. And we were in salary cap purgatory with the bad signings of Marcus Jones and Chidi. So our choice was try to stop the bleeding and put in veteran players. It didn't quite work out.

3.) I don't know what you're trying to say about Garcia. That has been one of the best free agent picks ever. You really think Simms should be the starter? You must be joking! Yeah, Garcia is towards the end of his career, but so what? He's winning games now. Who else could we have in here that could win games for us now? Name one QB available that could've been better!

Quinn could've been good. But he can't beat out Derek Anderson. There were a lot of teams that passed on Quinn also. However, I can say that not picking A. Peterson is the biggest mistake for six teams that passed on him.

Every team has burning questions and holes, except for the Patriots and Colts. It's a problem for every team, every year. If not, we'd win a SB every year. Look at the Packers, they are 7-1 and they have no running game. Don't you think they're worried? The Cowboys have secondary issues. The Saints have a terrible defense. I don't understand why you're jumping ship so early.

We're at the top of the division, albeit a weak one. We went from 4-12 to probably making the playoffs. How can you want to burn the house down now? That would be at least two more years of learning a new system and losing. This fan base could not take that. If we make the playoffs, keep Gruden and staff and keep building. We are about 20 million under the cap. That's the great news. And a lot of good young players.

If we don't make the playoffs and suck it up the rest of the year, fire Gruden.

[aaron]

you are right, that everybody has a boat load of pick who never pan out. we just have more than others under gruden/allen. only barrett ruud and tanard jackson have really panned out. the others joseph, trueblood and other the jury is still out on. that is the difference between us and other teams, under gruden RARELY has one panned out.

caddy and clayton had great rookie years and that is it. head coaches and their position coaches are there to help develop these players. no further development of these players has taken place. you can throw stovall in there too. and joseph. and trueblood. they need to progress if we are to get better. and so far in the gruden era development hasnt happened.

you say who knew caddy wouldnt hold up being a feature back? alot of people knew. he stayed fresh at auburn because he had ronnie brown to help shoulder the load. he is not a big back to begin with. why would you or anybody else think he could be a feature back. he has talent but he never was an everydown back. that is not breaking news.

free agent under gruden has been a joke and you are kidding youself if you think he has done good. with Joe we used him then spit him out. he is still producing for the browns. why did we let him go? hovan has played decent. i would say he has torn the house down, though.

what i am saying about garcia is that gruden has sacrificed the future for the present. he did this to save his own a**. this move will set us back at least 3 years or more. who is our future qb? who are we developing? if it is the Grad-man then we are in a world of trouble. Quinn would have beaten out anderson but he showed up late to camp. i am an anderson fan, tom. he went to my school, OSU. but in all honesty anderson didnt light the world on fire in the preseason. quinn would have beat him out.

i am not jumping ship, i just realize what needs to be done for the health of our franchise. gruden's term has run its course. it has become stagnant and there has been no growth, except on the defensive side of the ball, thanks to monte. it is time for us to go our seperate ways. it would be better for him and for us. gruden is not building anything, he is usind duct tape and band-aids to patch this thing together.

[Tom]

I really don't know what point you're trying to make with Garcia. You say that the only reason why we got Garcia was to save Gruden's @$$? Think about what you're saying. We got a QB that we could win with right now? What's wrong with that? Even if we got Quinn, he wouldn't be starting now anyways. Our pass rush was a major problem last season and that's why they went with supposedly the best pass rusher in the draft. I was hoping for A. Peterson even though we had Caddy.

What other QB could we have gotten? Garcia has been phenomenal! I just can't believe you think that getting Garcia was a bad idea. You lose a lot of credibility by making such a statement. If we drafted a QB last year, he'd be on the bench or at least a year so we still need Garcia. The fact that you say Simms should be the future. I am dumbfounded!!

Like many fans, you seem to think that the head coach makes personnel decisions. There are college scouts, pro scouts and then the GM that make the ultimate decision. There aren't many GM/Coach out there. Gruden may asks for certain players, but it is really up to the GM.

[DR]

Tom, aaron never said anything about Garcia being a bad idea. His pooint is clearly made. I don't know why you don't understand. Garcia is a band-aid. You're the one saying that the Bucs are rebuilding. If they are, you start with a 37 year old QB? I would bring him in and have a future QB in the waiting and they don't. I agree, Simms is terrible as well. The question between Simms and Grad is who sucks worse. Sort of like voting for the president- bad choice either way. They have to have some young talent and the talent you saw almost win ROYs is gone-WHY? Usually, you get better the more you play and the ex ROY candidates have gotten worse. That should say something about the coaching, especially when you say Gruden is an "offensive genious".

[Tom]

Aaron said that getting Garcia "will set us back at least 3 years" and that it was a move to save Gruden's butt. I know what you're saying about having a QB for the future. But who can we get? Quinn? Maybe. But he'd be on the bench and would take him at least 2-3 years to learn this offense. You know that the organization wants to win now. Our bandwagon fan base has a short attention span. If we lose this year, ticket sales will drop so fast unlike in cities like Green Bay, Denver or Buffalo. So to say that the draft was solely to save Gruden's job is just plain ignorant.

Gruden has never liked young QBs. That's his philosphy. He has taken guys that were journeymen and turned them into MVP's. Garcia is having one of his best years ever. He was great with SF and terrible at Cleveland and Detroit.

Gannon was a career journeymen before Gruden turned him into 4 pro bowls, LEAGUE MVP and Super Bowl QB. Brad Johnson went to the SB. Griese had one of his best years in Tampa. Simms won a division.

If there is a great QB that is available right now or was in the draft, please inform about twenty teams that are looking for that guy. You guys make it sound so easy to go out and find a "QB of the future."

[Tom]

Aaron, you are making blanketed statements like we have more players than any other team that don't pan out from the draft. Where did you get this statistic? Or did you make it up because of your disdain for Gruden? It's that type of unjustified criticism that irks me.

I criticize Gruden for signing Deese and Garner to big contracts. For letting Thomas Jones go. For listening to the doctors that said Lynch is done. For not drafting A. Peterson instead of Gaines Adams. For getting outcoached last year during the Ravens game. For letting the Falcons run over 300 yards with the spread option, a freakin college play!

So I have plenty of criticism but I am looking at this objectively. We are top of the division with a real chance to win it. Get home field advantage on our first game and we can win against a wild card team like the Lions, Saints or Cowboys. That's a pretty damn successful season if you ask me.

[DR]

Hahaha. C'mon Tom! You're just trying to jerk my chain, i'm not falling for it. You can't be happy with a 5-4 record. The Bucs are on thin ice. They made the playoffs with Simms and look at their performance. That should have told you something. To have 11 wins and put up a performance like that at home is inexcusable. Then follow it up with a first place shedule and go 4-12, a couple of feet away from 3-13. They have a last place shedule this year so you should be worried. If they make the playoffs, which will mean they won the division, there won't be 2 teams from the South, they'll have a home game and embarass themselves. If they do that, will you say Gruden should be fired?
The playoffs in the NFC will be under God's watch.

[Tom]

DR, you know we were a few plays from winning that game against the Skins. Greg Williams made the Redskins one of the top defenses that year so it was a grind. We dominated their offense but lost due to a fumble by Caddy.

Even though we had a ton of injuries last year, I blame last year due to poor coaching. We stunk it up before Simms got hurt. We win the division and beat the Cowboys in the first game. Because you know the Giants are going to win the East. The Bucs will expose the Cowboys' weak secondary. Then we go to probably Green Bay and narrowly lose in a tight game. Gruden comes back next year.

One thing to watch out for next year. Jared Allen is a unrestricted free agent next year and he has Tampa ties. If he doesn't get franchised, he would be a great fit in Tampa!!

[DR]

Thats a clever statement Tom. Any team can say a few plays cost us the game. You guys were only 5 plays away from beating the Cowboys last year. If Romo didn't throw 5 TD passes it wouldn't have been a slaughter.
The fact is winners make the plays, losers don't. You lost to a team that had 120 yds of total offense. Keep dreaming about your playoffs, if the Bucs don't improve, they have no shot. Although, there is still the possibilty of a 7-9 team coming out of the South.

[Daniel]

DR, Look at the remaining games. Falcons twice, Redskins, Saints, Texans, 49ers, and Panthers. Where are the loses coming from? Lets say the Skins and Saints, do you think the Texans, 49ers or Falcons beats us? The last game at home, The Panthers, should be a Buc win too. The question is, how do the Saints finish? They have the Rams, Texans, Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, Cardinals, Eagles and Bears. Where are their loses coming from? They could possibly run the table. A 7-9 record winning the South? DR, sometimes you sound like you know what you are talking about, this time you sound like a fool.

[aaron]

tom, at least in our division we have more people who dont pan out.in the past few years the saints have drafted: marques colston, devery henderson, roman harper, reggie bush, jamal brown, jon stinchconb and charles grant. thats pretty good...
the panthers: kerry colbert, deshaun foster, chris gamble, ryan kalil, julius peppers and deangleo williams. not too shabby...
the falsons: jamal anderson, jonathan babineaux, deangelo hall, michael jenkins and jeriuos norwood. decent there too...
the bucs: barrett ruud, tanard jackson, and it is hard to put joseph and trueblood in this category of picks that worked out becasue these two still struggle quite a bit in pass protection. they are not fully developed, not where we want them to be. (see my comments about developing picks from my earlier comment)

so really tom we have sucked in the draft since gruden got here. and you are ignorant if you think gruden isnt the personnel man in tampa. we ALL know bruce allen is the money man. he strictly handles money and he is a great penny pincher. but gruden handles the personnel decisions.

[aaron]

i am sorry that what i say irks you. i am a die hard tampa fan and i want the best for my team. i, as long as many other buc fans have endured a lot of losing seasons and sh*t from other fans about my team over the years. we made it to the top and that is where i expect to stay. not in the middle to the bottom of the pack. that is where we have been every year since the SB year. this is where gruden has taken us. and it is not a pleasant ride. we have owners that are willing to put the money out there to get winning teams, unlike years before. my comment about having garcia puts us back about 3 more yrs is easy to understand. we have a 37 yr old qb. we dont have any body behind him who we can take over this team if garcia goes down or when he moves on. no one is being developed. mc cown grad-man, come on tom you are fooling yourself. gruden picked a band-aid to win now. he is not thinking about the future, never really has. if we had garcia and say maybe drafted brady quinn. then i would say maybe he is thinking about the future. but when garcia goes who do we have? if we draft someone this year who will it be? colt brennan, andre woodson, we are not bad enough to get brian brohm, he will go too high. any of those qb will take a couple years to get up to speed. and those qb's really arent sure things in the nfl. if we took quinn, he could have watched this year and jumped in next year. he is almost nfl ready. but we didnt take hime and we have grad and mc cown. we all now simms will probably be gone next year. and that is unfortunate. they started to develop him and gave up after he almost gave his life. nice loyalty gruden. anyways that is how we are set back a few year at qb.

[DR]

Daniel, you're right, I went overboard with the 7-9 record thing. I think you're right about the Saints, they could run the table and finish 12-4.
I can't give the Bucs any game though. They had a match up with a one dimensional running team with a 3rd string QB starting his first game and lost. Yes Tom, a few plays could have gone their way and changed the outcome but they didn't and you can't change that. A 1 pt loss is the same as a 30 pt loss in the record book. If the Bucs were a better team, they wouldn't be a few plays away from winning games against "inferior" teams.

[Tom]

Aaron, if you think that the head coach hand picks guys in the late rounds you really don't know what you're talking about. Do you think that Gruden has time to scout Lance Nimmo out of college? I know a few guys on this team, players and scouts, so they tell me how things work. So you're the one who is ignorant.

If you're going to mention mediocre names like devery henderson, keary colbert, michael jenkins (are you kidding?), babineaux (what??) and charles grant (the guy has been the biggest underachiever except last year) and not mention names like Michael Clayton, Cadillac, Sears, Joseph, Buenning and Trueblood then you are very confused.

Julius Peppers has been a complete disaster this year. Are you not paying attention? He has 1.5 sacks this year. Should John Fox be blamed for his performance?

If we drafted Quinn last year and didn't address the pass rush, guys like you would scream that we didn't do enough for the future of the defense, which is the foundation of this team. You can never win with cry baby fans. That's why coaches don't read the paper and listen to arm chair QBs like you. Read the article today about how great it is to stability at the QB position.

As far as Simms, you may be the only one in the milky way galaxy that thinks he should be the starter. He does not fit this system. Even shoe shine boy, DR, knows that. He throws a great deep ball but has no mobility, can't throw the slant (staple of the West Coast offense) and struggles with the 3 step drop. This is why Garcia is so successful in this system. Do you understand? If Gruden were to stick with Simms, you would cry that he doesn't find a QB of the future that can fit in our system.

You apparently have a hatred for Gruden without any real argument. You spin your facts without looking at other situtations around the league. Look down the list of teams in the NFL. Miami, Jets, Ravens, Panthers, Chiefs and Falconns have QB issues. We have a winning QB who happens to be 37 y/o but plays like he's 27. Get over it. We're competitive! Stop whining!

[Skylar]

Aaron, Tom and DR: you need to get on the Maury Povich show and air your grievances there. I'm pretty sure none of you have a real life. The Bucs are doing a better job than most teams at rebuilding their franchise as they are in every game and are above .500 in essentially their 3rd year of rebuilding (no impact draft picks first 2 years - which is why they had to bring in so many questionable free agents.) Anybody with a reasonable mind would see what was going on, but you guys like to see your words in print more than actually backing up what you say with logic and statistics. As the offense matures they will be a formidable foe with the way the defense is getting back to its old ways. Saying that the Saints will go 12-4 is like saying Graham is a crappy player (oh, that's right, you did say that DR.) Anyway, lighten up guys: Gruden's record speaks for itself 83-62 in 8 1/2 seasons. 5 division titles, 3 conference championship appearances and 1 SB win. If he wins the division this year, that will be 3 of 5 in Tampa. It's really just elementary to say he is a good coach; just plain stupid really to say he's bad. I know one of you will come back and go off on a tangent and not ever address my points, so I look forward to not addressing this issue again here. Hate is an unhealthy thing boys.

[Tom]

Skylar, I guess you're not reading my blog. I am not the one who is hating on Gruden. I think he's done the best any coach could do given the circumstances. For Pete's sake, we were stuck with Tim Brown and Schroeder as are starting WRs at one time. And the cynics will say, "It's Gruden's fault for not drafting stud WRs." As if we could get every player we wanted..

If Gruden is fired, which I don't believe he will or should be at this point, then I think we should take a real good look at Raheem Morris as head coach. This guy is awesome!! He's a Mike Tomlin clone. I sit in the west club and can see him getting guys fired up, doing chest bumps!! You guys may laugh at my suggestion but you'll see he will be a head coach somewhere someday.

[Daniel]

Skylar, I don't think DR is totaly out of line saying the Saints could run the table. I said they could POSSIBLY run the table myself in an earlier post. The Earnest Graham analogy is just plain stupid, as he has nothing to do with the Saints. By the way, you want logic and stats, lets look at the Saints remaining scheduale: Rams, Texans, Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, Cardinals, Eagles and Bears. The Bucs are the toughest test for the Saints remaining, everyone else on their scheduale is weak. Seriously, who else has a realistic shot at beating them? A 10-6 record may not be enough for the Bucs to win the South with the Saints EASY scheduale.

[DR]

Tom, what do you know about the scouting process?
Skylar,look up the word possibly and come back with an actual argument. You guys say a player is an all star after he has one good game. You really shouldn't judge a player until he has played at least 10 games. For Gruden players, you may want to hold back comments until they've been in the league for 3 years. You guys had HOF dreams for Caddy and Clayton and look at them now. Caddy got hurt, and a terrible injury on top of that, but he hasn't made a name in the NFL. He was just an average RB.
We're talking about Gruden as a Bucs coach. What's his record now? .500. 3 out of the last 4 seasons were losing seasons. Know your facts.
You would have to believe that the Bucs gave up 2 1st round picks for Gruden because they believed he would continue winning and that he would be able to evaluate talent and bring in players to do so. He has failed. He can't evaluate talent and he cannot develop these players who do have potential.

[Skylar]

He said 12-4 which means they win 12 games straight. Not likely. I do recall them losing 4 straight, which was by no freak accident. Their defense is pourous (sp?) and I believe they will lose a couple more. I'm not saying that they are playing bad, I just think that's quite a reach to think a team that started 0-4 will go 12-0 to finish, seem logical? To be really logical, we have an easier remaining schedule, so I like our chances and with the way our defense played Sunday with BK back, I'm not afraid of anyone in our division. And I hate to break it to you, but the W-L stats also logically say that the Saints will lose 1 of those games and be tight in 4 and easily win only 2. Remember, they are only 4-4.

E Graham does have everything to do with DR making stupid comments just like you're inability to drawing inferences to the reasoning behind my original statement, but I'm sorry as I can't paint pictures on the blog for challenged individuals.

Tom, I read your blog and I understand your plight, I just think you are wasting your time going into a battle of witts with those who are unarmed. Go do something productive and don't worry about ignorance as it is bliss.

PS - I think Raheem needs a few more years, but he has done wonders for our secondary. It's funny, but all of those "Dungy" coaches actually have gone through Kiffin. Oh well, I like Dungy too. Peace.

[Skylar]

So, if you shouldn't judge a player until after 10 games, why did you say Graham was so crappy a couple of weeks ago and use some 2 yds per carry bogus stat? 15-4, 5-11, 11-6, 4-12, 5-4 - That's 40-37, 2 division titles, 1 SB win and 2 of his last 4 seasons being losing one's. Oh, I'm sorry, those are the facts. Your facts are never very good which is why I like b@@tchslapping you so much DR. The team is gettin better and you know it. It's very young and it's going to be a powerhouse in another year or two. Go blog on some Cowgirls or Tony Romo's ribshack site. And don't forget to bring me my pizza on time tonight b@@tch!

[Kurt]

damn skylar, you're all over these fools. i bet you're an independent being all informed and accurate like that:)

[Tom]

I don't even bother arguing with shoe shine box boy, DR, anymore. He's ALWAYS contradicting himself. It's Aaron, I'm a little worried about. I think he's a true fan but he has some agenda against Gruden. I'm just trying to get him to see it from another angle.

DR, I have lots of friends in the business of pro sports. I pick their brains a lot and talk shop. I don't know a whole lot sometimes, but I do know that Gruden doesn't go to every college and scout every player in the country. There are guys like Mark Dominick, who is Director of Pro Personnel, and Dennis Hickey who is Director of College Scouting, that does all the grunt work.

[Skylar]

It's tough love Kurt. I actually find their lack of insight amusing, and yes registered Independent, Non-Grazer since I was 18. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we all know how unpredictable the NFL can be, but let's stop hating one another and back up our feeble opinions with some facts. GO BUCS!!!

[Daniel]

Skylar, I know you are a knowlegable fan as you and I are frequently on the same page, especially regarding Gruden and the Bucs. I just don't see how saying "the Saints will go 12-4 is like saying Graham is a crappy player" is a coherant analogy regardless of your witty comeback. The two are totaly unrelated. I am not interested in how many games a team has to win in a row as much as I am just interested in who the teams are. Again they are Rams, Texans, Panthers, Bucs, Falcons, Cardinals, Eagles and Bears. Who do the Saints lose too besides POSSIBLY the Bucs? Look at their game againt the Jags and the Bucs game against the Jags. I know their D has been weak the first four weeks, but their O has really turned it around. What team on their scheduale keeps up? The Saints were 12-4 last year and SEEM to have regained their form. I hope you are right as I am a die hard Bucs fan, but if they avoid the injury bug the rest of the year, those teams on their scheduale will have a hard time beating them.

[DR]

Skylar, you say the Bucs are improving like no other team is in the league. The Saints are improving and they are a more talented team. They actually have young players that are great and getting greater.
Tom, of course no coach has the time to scout players. Teams usually have at least 3 scouts make observations on pretty much every player. Of course, the star players get more attention than others. They actually take pictures of the players from the front, side, and back and make judgements on their physique. I've seen a fat lineman from a big school with comments that said he was a fat slob with no future-DO NOT DRAFT! I also read HUGE mistakes by 2 scouts about Rice and last year's Colston. They wrote things about Rice like he had a bad work ethic, didn't run crisp enough routes. Draft comments were maybe second round. Colston had comments about his speed and size. Of course the test is a laugh fest. They should give these tests to the NCAA and you can tell who isn't taking classes.

[Tom]

Daniel, the Saints offense is looking great again, but I'm not a believer just yet. Their defense is absolutely terrible. We made them look like a high school team. I know they've improved since then but the holes they have on defense will be their downfall as it is every year. Fred Thomas is still on the field for crying out loud. He can't even cover DR.

Correction, Daniel.. The Saints were 10-6 during the regular season last year.

I've predicted their downfall since the end of last year. They have done nothing to address their defense and without Deuce, they lack power. I predicted the Saints to be no better than 8-8 and I appear to be correct.

Here is where I think the Saints could lose.

Rams - gotta win sometime and matches up well against the Saints. Coming off a bye and they still have Jackson, Holt and Bulger. Not a definate win!

@Houston - Andre Johnson is coming back and will score against a poor Saints defense. Count this as a loss.

Tampa Bay - duh? call me homer.

@ Chicago - in the cold against Chicago. Mark that as a definate loss.

I can easily see them going 4-4 in the second half of the season. Losable games are against the Panthers and Eagles.

[Daniel]

Tom, I stand corrected, the Saints were 10-6 last year. I'm also not a Saints fan and couldn't care less if they lost all of their games. I'm a realist however and just because the Rams are winnless, doesn't mean they break through against the Saints. The Panthers are a shell of themselves and have problems at QB. The Eagles are in disaray and the local Philly papers are calling for Mcnabb to be benched, they stink as Dallas dismantled them last game. The Bears are a joke, I don't care if they playied the game on the north pole, their defense has more holes than swiss cheese and their biggest weapon is their kick returner. The Bucs lost to the Jags by a point, the Saints CRUSHED them, yet you think Houston beats them and we beat Houston? Like I said earlier, their toughest remaining game is against the Bucs, that one is a toss up. We could go back and forth on this forever, but that is why they play the games, I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I hope you are right and I am wrong on this or we don't make the playoffs.

[Skylar]

All right; last blog on this one and then let's move on. Daniel, they are both just unrealistic and ingnorant statements, that's all. Now on to the important stuff: I don't think that the Bucs are improving better than any other team in the league right now (Browns) as we continue to make pre-snap mistakes and have a lot of growing up to do on the offensive and defensive lines. However, I believe our defense is poised (barring injuries) to be top 5 again (with all those GruAllen draft picks) and I think that the offense is on the verge of scoring effectively and keeping the defense fresh (with all those GruAllen draft picks.)

I think the Saints are very good and I believe this is a 3 team race for the division (as we should not just think that the Panthers are going to throw in the towel.) I see the Bucs, Texans, Panthers and Bears as all viable losses for the Saints though as they match up well and have similar records. I personally believe we are more talented than the Saints in almost every position (barring RB) and, more importantly, I think our strengths match up well against theirs (no power run and not very good on defense.) I think 10-6 is going to win this division this year and I think it will be the Bucs. Now those are all opinions and I really don't need to see any retorts as everyone has said their piece by now.

Let's hope for a productive and healthy second half of the season that allows us to keep our team and coaching staff together so that they continue to grow and get better in years to come. Isn't that what a true fan should wish for? We have a good nucleus of players and a really good coaching staff, regardless of what any of you might think. Have a good night gentlemen, and DR, you're late with my pizza again b@@tch!! :)

[Daniel]

Skylar, as usual, well said. No retorts from me, as I am wishing for a healthy second half of the year as well. I too like the direction of the team, especially on defense, I also beleive our O-line will be a strength sooner than most think with our young players jelling quicker than most beleive. See you guys at the games!!!

[DR]

Skylar, I gave you a chance and you failed. You are a Gruden fan and don't even know how long he has been here. Were you in a coma for a year? 15-4, 7-9, 5-11, 11-6, 4-12, 5-4...47-46, just above .500. Take away his first year and he's been 32-42, thats fantastic! Gruden has had 3 losing seasons out of 5 and this season isn't over yet. 5-11 to 11-5 and then back to 4-12 and you guys are happy about that? Can't blame the Simms injury because he and the Bucs sucked before that.

[Skylar]

Damn DR, you finally got one right. As for failure, you always are so melodramatic with your wording. I mean really, how many times have I b@@tchslapped you so hard my hand hurt all the way through the internet? Still, his record is over .500 which proves the original point anyway. Overall he has a solid winning percentage (.568) considering the couple of years without quality draft picks and his short career. He is turning this team around. I'm not sure if you realize this DR, but the best coaches of all-time winning percentages (barring any coach with under 200 games) is under .690. That's 1 or 2 wins more a year. We're talking Lambeau, Halas & Shula here. Let me ask you something...why would you take away his first season? Was he not the coach? Or maybe you should give him the record from the team that he left that he had built in Oakland - it'd be a wash. We've gone over this so many times it's ridiculous. Let me put it another way so that you can understand: Is Bill Parcells a bad coach because he couldn't get the Cowboys to turn the corner the whole time he was in Dallas? If your answer is yes, then you truly are just not grasping the concepts here. If you say no, then you agree the point that even good coaches go through rough times when rebuilding a franchise. These kinds of things didn't happen to Halas and P Brown and V Lombardi and J Madden. They lived in a free agency free world back then. I'm not saying he's the best coach that ever walked by any means, but I think he's a good one and he definitely puts in the effort. We've steadily improved and now that we are gaining a little depth, the injuries are less traumatic than over the past couple of years. Say what you want DR, but he'll be here and we'll be winning for years to come. If not, he'll be coaching in Dallas because Bum isn't Philips father's name for no reason and the apple don't fall far from the tree.

[Skylar]

BTW - DR - What is Wade Philips record as a head coach anyway?

[DR]

First off Skylar, to compare Gruden to greats like you did shows how much football knowledge you have- NONE. You are obviously not grasping the concepts either. Ever since the Super Bowl, when Gruden took over an already GREAT team, he has dismantled this same GREAT team and they have been a bad team since. What HOF coaches have done that? You bring up Bill Parcells and the Cowboys, which is funny because of your lack of football knowledge,the Cowboys have a better record than the Bucs the last 5 years. Gruden really can't touch Phillips. Phillips has a 55-40 record as Head Coach, thats a .727 winning percentage. 1 losing season (7-9) in 5 full years of coaching. Gruden has 3 losing seasons in the last 4 (7-9, 5-11, 4-12). If that is what you think a great coach does than you have low standards. Sam Wyche must be in the HOF. Your hand hurts from slapping yourself, moron. Was that you at the circus wearing a clown suit?

[DR]

Your judgement is a joke. You base your comments about Wade because of his father? What was Gruden's father, a cook at Hooters? So Gruden shouldn't even be in the league as a coach. The Bucs would be better off if he wasn't.

[Skylar]

I'm not really sure where you got the idea that I thought Gruden was great as I clearly stated that "I'm not saying he's the best coach that ever walked by any means, but think he is a good one" in the previous blog? But hey, that's you DR; never getting the story straight and basically making crap up so you can have an ignorant argument. Of course and as usual, you're information is also incorrect (go figure) concerning Wade Phillips and Jon Gruden's father, as Mr. Phillips has had numerous stints as a coach, of which: New Orleans; 1-3, Denver Broncos; 16-17, Buffalo Bills 29-21; Atlanta Falcons 2-1 and now Dallas; 7-1. That's 55-43 or a .561 winning percentage (I figured I'd do the math for you since you apparently failed that class as 55-40 is still a .611 winning percentage; not .727 - duh.) (B@@tchslap #1) That's is actually very respectable and it totally backs up my point soundly - thank you.

Secondly, Gruden's father was a pro-scout for the Bucs and, other than that, I don't know much about him, except that he didn't work at Hooter's as that was Jon himself. (B@@tchslap #2)

On another b@@tchslapping note, Bill Parcells was 34-30 (.531) as the Cowboys head coach and lost both of his appearances in the playoffs in the Wild Card game. His overall regular season winning percentage is .569. Hmmm, that looks eerily similar to Grudens overall winning percentage. Furthermore, the winning percentage through the rebuilding years is even more eerily similar. In 19 years as a head coach, he won 2 Superbowls, 1 more than Gruden did in his first 4. Well, by your account, I guess Bill Parcells was a crappy coach. Or maybe, Gruden isn't as bad as you spout. (B@@tchslap #3)

As far as inhereting a GREAT team, as you put it and dismantling it; let's take a closer look shall we? First of all, important pieces like, K McCardell, M Pittman and J Jurevicius were added to the team before the SB season by Gruden and his staff. Without those people, it's doubtful we would have had the firepower to make it through on offense as they were key contributors. Secondly, that GREAT team, as you put it, went 9-7 the year before. That doesn't seem so great. But there you go again, embellishing the facts so that you're pitiful argument sounds realistic. (B@@tchslap #4) Shall I go on?

I mean, really DR, when are you going to get some real information going on? I know I give you a hard time, but it's because you make s@@t up. Jerry Jones is an a@@hole and everybody in the NFL knows that. Hell, I used to like the Cowboys when they had some dignity. And then Jerry came to town and classlessly kicked out two of the most respectable football icons in NFL history (Schramm & Landry.) They were thrown out of town like they were scrubs or something, but you don't want to acknowledge that do you? And you think the Cowgirls have class and treat their personnel with dignity? Do you think "Steroids and Firearms" Barry Switzer is a class act? Do you think any other team in the NFL would even have considered that trash for their football franchise? That just shows your ignorance DR and I'm done wasting my time with you. You are a full-fledged mental midget and we all wish you would go away to your pizza delivery job forever because you are not a Bucs fan and this is a Bucs blog for Bucs fans! If you're going to rag the team and it's coaches, come up with some facts that stick instead of having my dork rubbed in your face all of the time. And for God's sake would you please bring me my pizza?!!!