The Entry Where I Am Goaded Into Actually Writing Content

I was called out the other day by Ski, who after authoring two posts in two days has doubled his previous month's production. See, homeboy liked that I called out Bucky Brooks (something we can all agree on) for his analysis [sic] of the Bucs, but said the article fell short.

What Scott failed to do was offer up 3 challenges of his own, which is just pure laziness on his part.

You mean lazy like not reading the whole article?

Currently, the center position is among the weakest on the team. John Wade is running on vapors and Dan Buenning is just learning the position. Maybe the only position on the team guaranteed to touch the ball on every offensive play would be a good one to look at, Bucky? Booger McFarland was traded midseason in 2006, leaving the under tackle spot to the newly-arrived 33-year old Kevin Carter and a bunch of guys no one knows. Seems important, don't you think? How about all the big plays the Bucs gave up last year and the fact that they still brought back the two starting safeties to compete with two rookies.

If Ski ever gets tired of his day job, there's a seat waiting for him at FanNation. But, seriously, who could ever get tired of being a manwhore? Since he lives in D.C., I think they call them "lobbyists" there, but the distinction is academic.

But, in the interest of completeness, I will offer up a more thorough look at what I think are the three biggest challenges the Bucs face. The suggestions I gave above were just to demonstrate that there were a lot of angles Brooks could have taken. I actually think the safety position will be much improved with the two rookies and with Raheem Morris coming back to the team. Center is definitely weak, but between Wade, Buenning and Matt Lehr, they'll work it out. Under tackle is still a major concern.

1) DEPTH AT LEFT TACKLE: Luke Petitgout will be the starter at left tackle this year, mostly because the team doesn't have anyone else. Anthony Davis did so well at the position last year that Gruce went out and got Petitgout and shifted Davis to compete at left guard. Donald Penn is an undrafted free agent the team pulled off the Vikings' practice squad last year, Dennis Roland is another undrafted free agent that was cut by the Cowboys and Chris Denman is one of this year's seventh round draft picks. They're not all going to land with the team by the way, so the best one of those three probably makes it. Let's say they have a starting lineup of Petitgout, Davis, Buenning, Davin Joseph and Jeremy Trueblood. Arron Sears is definitely landing with the team as a guard, Lehr will probably win a backup job and so will one cheap guy... let's say Denman. Petitgout has had a history of injuries for the last couple years (back problems and broken leg), so it's not so crazy to think that he's going to be out at some point. You've really got to shift a lot of guys around to compensate for him, making players work positions that they haven't really trained for in practice. Davis would probably go back to LT and Lehr could play guard, or you could put Lehr at center and move Buenning to guard if you wanted. There are a few possibilities, but none that inspire confidence. It would be nice if there was a natural left tackle on the roster with a couple years experience that could just be plugged in if/when Petitgout goes down.

2) CONSISTENCY AT UNDER TACKLE: My guess is that the defensive line is going to shift around a lot with different guys rotating in to keep the starters fresh and to come in on special alignments. It's a great idea, but the base of the defensive is still the Tampa 2, which requires a playmaker at under tackle. Maybe that guy is Kevin Carter, but he practiced a lot at end, too, so Monte Kiffin may have other ideas in mind for him. Who's next? Jovan Haye? I thought he did a fine job after McFarland was traded, but is he "the" guy? The newly-signed Greg Peterson has potential, but do you want a rookie fifth-rounder as one of your key playmakers? Depth isn't the problem here; there are a lot of guys with talent that can do the job adequately. But I would prefer to see one guy own the position because I think it serves this style of defense better. The Patriots can get away with shifting guys all over their defensive line and not worrying too much about it. I don't know that the Bucs can.

3) IMPROVEMENT AT BACKUP QUARTERBACK: If Jeff Garcia gets hurt, who would you put in at quarterback? Bruce Gradkowski started off the season all right but quickly deteriorated. Luke McCown hasn't taken a pro snap in years and is coming off an ACL injury. And Chris Simms is admittedly throwing the ball terribly and may not even make the team in September. Jon Gruden and Paul Hackett need to work relentlessly with their backup quarterbacks and get at least one of them in shape for the regular season. They need lots of practice snaps and lots of work with the first team. Garcia is 37 years old -- he knows what to do and doesn't need to be ridden so hard in camp and during the season in practice. The team needs to give those reps to their #2 guy, whoever it is, and almost treat him like a starter. Every team needs a backup quarterback who can manage the game adequately. He doesn't have to set the stats on fire... just not lose. I don't think as it stands today that any of those guys fit that description.