Archive for March, 2007



Marquise Walker Needs Money, Dignity

Published: March 19th, 2007
By Bucstats.com weblog

Ever wonder what happened to Marquise Walker? He was the first draft pick of the McKay/Gruden era, a wide receiver from Michigan who the Bucs traded to Arizona for Thomas Jones after the 2002 season because he really sucked. Then Cincinnati gave him a shot for about a week. These days he chews stuff as a human guinea pig for medical research. And that doesn't pay as well as you'd think, so he's hawking the one thing that every NFL player works his entire career for: his Super Bowl XXXVII ring.

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June Bolsters Bucs’ Cover-2 and More NFL Notes

Published: March 19th, 2007
By Brian DeLucia's Blog

Cato June fits the Tampa Bay scheme since he played in the same scheme with the Colts, but won’t be playing the weakside spot while Derrick Brooks remains a Buccaneer.  We’ll trust Monte Kiffin to fit June into his defense in the same mode of Sheldon Quarles.

June is a very good athlete who covers a lot of ground and makes a lot of plays, especially in pass coverage.  He’s not going to fill gaps and will miss a few tackles, leading to mixed reviews from most scouts and ultimately kept him out of the initial free agent hoopla since most evaluators view June as a system player.    

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LB Cato June Signs

Published: March 18th, 2007
By Buccaneer Harbour
In another shrewd move by Allen, Cato June, Pro-Bowl LB from Indy, was signed to a deal similar to that of Ian Gold a couple of years ago, allowing the Bucs a chance to see if they can upgrade their LB corps without breaking the bank. If he elevates his tackling, and continues to play with the same speed and tenacity he has for Indy, then the Bucs will have themselves another top notch LB. June will battle it out for the Sam spot. Between him and Winborn, one of the two is likely to become Brooks' successor, while the other will become a dominate force at the Sam spot, should both be deemed valuable enough to keep long term.

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Eagles Land Curtis

Published: March 16th, 2007
By Brian DeLucia's Blog

The question weighed here is whether the Eagles come out ahead with Kevin Curtis after allowing Donte’ Stallworth to sign elsewhere.

The Eagles look at both sides of the scale. 

There’s no question about Stallworth’s ability to create matchup problems downfield and the upside he still possesses at his age.  If Stallworth can shake off injury problems, he could be an ascending player over the next few years with his size and playmaking ability.  At the same time, he’s not an overly polished receiver and will drop some balls.  There are a lot of dependability concerns here.   That doesn't play well inside Andy Reid's Regime. 

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What’s Bruce Gradkowski up to?

Published: March 16th, 2007
By Bucstats.com weblog

Bruce Gradkowski was in Bradenton yesterday to throw the first pitch in an exhibition game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds. The pitch fell several feet short of the batter's box.

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Candy Man Signs/Grant Next?

Published: March 16th, 2007
By Buccaneer Harbour
Well, the Bucs made a signing, bringing in former first round CB Sammy Davis. This is another solid pick-up of a player who fell out of favor, and who sounds an awful lot like Buchannon did before he earned a starting spot over Bolden last year. Needless to say, the Bucs want to make sure that they have great depth at CB this year, and this signing will, one way or the other, help insure that.

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To bench Pacman is good public relations

Published: March 13th, 2007
By NFL_Czar's Blog

I am sure that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is tempted to suspend Pacman Jones for the entire 2007 season and make an example out of him. Pacman has always thought of himself as the next Deion Sanders, however, devoid of any good sense.

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Stallworth Bolsters Patriots’ Attack

Published: March 11th, 2007
By Brian DeLucia's Blog

Bill Belichick wanted an impact player with size and he found that in Donte’ Stallworth.  At his best, Stallworth does an excellent job stretching the field and making plays.

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Edwards Returns To Kansas City

Published: March 11th, 2007
By Brian DeLucia's Blog

Donnie Edwards brings diversity to the Cheifs’ defense next season including excellent leadership ability.   Edwards makes a lot of plays in the run game with his range and hustle, but his biggest impact will be against the pass.  Edwards is an extremely smart pass defender who fits Herman Edwards’ cover-2 scheme. 

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Hood Joins Cardinals

Published: March 11th, 2007
By Brian DeLucia's Blog

The Cardinals made a solid move by adding former Eagles’ cornerback Roderick Hood.  Hood is a good athlete who can run with most second and third receivers and is effective in zone coverage.  Hood is also fairly tough and is a willing tackler in run support. 

Hood would provide an upgrade in the same nickel role he filled for Philadelphia the past few seasons, but will also compete with Eric Green for a starting spot.  Green is a very good athlete, but is too inconsistent and lacks ball awareness.  Green must improve his approach to the game this off-season. 

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