Dark Skies Ahead

Articles in the past week from Fox Sports and the St Pete Times cast dreary skies ahead for the Bucs. If either forecast is anywhere near correct, look for Jon Gruden to change employers next January.

Bruce Allen’s fate will be linked to Jon Gruden’s fate or this draft, depending on how much of the decision making process is actually Allen’s and the Personnel Department staff.

Fox Sports, using Mike Tanier of FootballOutsiders.com, takes a look at the free agent  signings of the NFC South.  Click Here

Tanier is not too complimentary on any of the Bucs free agent signings, a sad dilemma since the Bucs have been the most active NFL team in the free agent market.

QB Jeff Garcia:
Garcia is now the object in Chris Simms’ rearview mirror, a player good enough to compete with Simms for the starting job but old enough to play the role of sagacious backup if he lands on the bench. Garcia is a Gruden-type of quarterback (small, fast, weak-armed veteran), and he’s streaky, so anything can happen in camp next year. But the Bucs will eventually learn that they purchased the 2004 (Browns) or 2005 (Lions) Garcia, not the 2006 Eagles model. For evidence, just check out the Bucs’ offensive roster, particularly the line. The Bucs look a lot more like the Lions or Browns than the Eagles, don’t they?

DE Kevin Carter:
The 33-year-old Carter still has some tread on his tires; he made 35 stops on rushing plays last season, the second best total on the Dolphins line. Despite 5.5 sacks, Carter isn’t much of a pass rusher anymore, as many of his sacks came on clean-up detail.

LB Cato June:
June’s raw tackle stats (96 solos, 45 assists) are pretty impressive, but tackle stats can be misleading.  The game tape shows that June gets blocked too easily and sometimes hesitates to fit the hole, with many of his tackles occurring 12 yards downfield.

FB Mike Alstott-B.J. Askew:
Alstott is, in short, a big minus on the field. Off the field, he provides grit, moxie, leadership, and all that other stuff that Garcia is supposedly bringing with him from Philly. After inking Alstott, the Bucs acquired Askew, another pass-catching fullback with delusions of halfbackdom. Askew is a better player than Alstott right now and can be an asset as a lead blocker. The Bucs are now the deepest team in the league at fullback, for what it’s worth.

OT Luke Petitgout:
Petitgout is a solid-if-unspectacular left tackle who will keep his quarterback upright when he isn’t injured or jumping offsides.

CB Philip Buchanon–Sammy Davis:
There must have been a two-for-one sale for bad cornerbacks somewhere. Ronde Barber, please don’t get any ideas from that twin brother of yours.

Last Wednesday the NFL released the 2007 schedule.  The Bucs received a schedule similar to those 1985 – 1996 when double digit losses were the norm. The St. Petersburg Times writer Tom Jones takes a look at the schedule week-by-week.  2007 Looks Bleak Jones predicts a 2007 final record of 5-10-1.  The biggest insult comes with his tie prediction.

Jones has the Bucs winning these five games.
The Rams:
Because they always do well against the Rams … well, except for that little NFC title game that had they won, Tony Dungy might still be in Tampa Bay.

The Lions:
For all you Bucs fans tired of Bruce Allen calling the shots, count your blessings. You could be stuck with Lions head cheese Matt Millen.

The Jaguars:
No one did because no one cares about what the Jaguars do. Quick history lesson. They are good. Then bad. Then good. Then so-so. Kinda like seasons of The Sopranos.

The Cardinals:
Making fun of the Cardinals is like fishing with dynamite. It’s too easy. Then again, we like easy. How many Cards does it take to change a tire? One, unless it’s a blowout and then they all show up.

And the Panthers:
Last game of the year. Maybe the last game of the Gruden Era.  Maybe the last game for Derrick Brooks and Mike Alstott. By this point, either Carolina will have wrapped up a playoff spot or Keyshawn Johnson will have turned the whole thing into a circus. Either way, the Bucs go out with a bang. Bucs 33-3.

And how about this vote of confidence with this tie outcome?
Dec. 9 at Houston
How to kill a franchise: Re-sign your unproven starting QB (David Carr) to another year. With the No. 1 draft pick, pass on a hometown hero (QB Vince Young) and a stud RB (Reggie Bush). Take a defensive end (Mario Williams). Then get rid of your unproven starting QB (Carr) and trade for another team’s backup (Matt Schaub). That’s like re-signing a QB with no spleen, signing a free-agent QB and trading for one who wants to retire. Yeesh. Tie 0-0.