Friday, September 3, 2010

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Final Roster Projections



There are a few questions I have about how the numbers will break down by position but I am just going to guess at it and make my projections for who will make the active roster this year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Without further ado

Quarterbacks

-Josh Freeman

-Josh Johnson

-Rudy Carpenter

Running Backs

-Caddilac Williams

-Kareem Huggins

-Earnest Graham

-Chris Pressley

Offensive Linemen

Donald Penn

Keydrick Vincent

Jeff Faine

Davin Joseph

Jeremy Trueblood

James Lee

Jeremy Zuttah

Donovan Raiola

Demar Dotson

Wide Recievers

Mike Williams

Maurice Stovall

Sammie Stroughter

Arrelious Benn

Reggie Brown

Michael Spurlock

Tight Ends

-Kellen Winslow

-Jerramy Stevens

-Ryan Purvis

Defensive Line

-Kyle Moore

-Gerald McCoy

-Roy Miller

-Stylez G. White

-Tim Crowder

-Ryan Sims

-Brian Price

-Michael Bennett

-Erik Lorig

Linebackers

-Quincy Black

-Barrett Ruud

-Geno Hayes

-Dekoda Watson

-Adam Hayward

-Niko Koutouvides

-Lee Robinson

Cornerbacks

-Aqib Talib

-Ronde Barber

-Myron Lewis

-E.J. Biggers

-Elbert Mack

Safeties

-Tanard Jackson

-Sean Jones

-Cody Grim

-Corey Lynch


Special Teams

-Brent Bowden

-Connor Barth

-Andrew Economos 


A few notes.  Before sitting down to write this up I kind of assumed Sabby Piscitelli was safe.  But then when I went back through the games last year for most of the year we only carried 3 safeties on the active roster.  I list Cody Grim as making the roster because he is the primary backup to Tanard Jackson and has played well in the preseason.  And even with Grim it was a toss up between he and Corey Lynch because of what Lynch brings on special teams and because he also played well this preseason.  Taking it all in I felt like the Bucs will probably carry both and just keep one less cornerback.  So even with them keeping one more safety than last year I still have Sabby being the odd man out.  Now it may not play out that way but I thought long and hard about this and I have a hard time seeing it going another way.  I can't see us carrying 5 safeties especially with Aqib Talib being suspended the first game.

Also I've heard that the Bucs wanted to keep 4 tight ends.  After watching some of the games I could see why they might want to.  But I couldn't get the numbers to workout.  The one obvious place where they could have opened up a roster space is quarterback where a lot of teams are now only carrying two guys on the active roster.  However with Josh Freeman still trying to get his thumb ready for the first game I feel like that would be a dangerous game to play potentially only having one healthy quarterback going against the Browns.  So I kept the tight end number at 3 and although I like John Gilmore, Ryan Purvis has shown a bit more potential this preseason.  He can block at least as well as Gilmore but he also can get open and make catches.  Considering how bad our tight ends were at blocking down linemen last year Purvis is going to have to play a major role in the running game this season.

I had to choose between Rico McCoy, a guy who played at my alma mater of Tennessee, and Lee Robinson for that final linebacker slot.  I ended up going with Robinson because it appears to me that the coaches are more comfortable with him in the lineup.  I've noticed that he tends to get into the game before McCoy and he has made some pretty nice plays in the preseason.  Hopefully Rico can stick around on the practice squad at least though.

At running back I had to choose between Chris Pressley and Clifton Smith.  I just can't believe that the Bucs would go into a season where they say they want to run the ball with only one fullback who really is a tweener anyway.  Besides that we are going to need someone to give our defense a look when we go against teams that have a true thumper type fullback.  With Clifton he would have basically been a luxury this year as he isn't likely to get a lot of snaps at running back and with Sammie Stroughter and Michael Spurlock on the team we don't really need him for the return game.

I expect that come tomorrow I might be wrong on one or two guys just because of how the numbers end up working out but I'll be willing to bet that I won't get any more than two wrong.  Who do you see making it that I don't have listed?  Who do you see getting cut that I have listed as making it?  Let me know in the comments section.



13 comments:

  1. A few notes: turns out they can actually keep 54 for the first week as Talib doesn't count against the 53-man roster, so keeping Sabby isn't a problem - they can keep him and Mack, and then cut Mack after week 1.

    I also don't think they'll cutting Peanut to keep Pressley, but it could go either way really.

    Lastly, do they really want to keep 7 linebackers? The first 6 you listed are probably locks, but has Robinson done anything to earn a spot?

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  2. Nice roster.

    My only objection is that I see them only keeping 6LBs.

    With the extra spot maybe they hang on to Sabby or Clifton Smith?

    Also, I could definitely see Lorig being demoted to the practice squad, although I'm not sure who they would keep in his place.

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  3. Here's the thing though, last year we had 6 corners and only 3 safeties. Im being generous right now with 5 corners and 4 safeties. I don't think there's a chance in hell they only go with four corners and five safeties. And if they keep Sabby for the first game he's guaranteed his salary because he's a veteran.

    As for 7 or 6 linebackers last year they kept 7 so I stuck with that. Plus Niko was hurt last night but I don't know to what extent. And your LBs usually makes up a large part of your special teams.

    Good points though, didn't know about the fact they could keep 54 instead of 53

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  4. I really think you are close on this one. Obviously you know a lot more about foorball than I do, but I think they find a way to keep Clifton Smith around. I do think they will only keep 2 qb's unless they are not comfortable with Freeman's health.

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  5. I have a soft spot for little guys who try real hard, so I'm rooting for Peanut but the odds just aren't in his favour. The fumbling thing really feels like what pushes him over the edge, if just barely. I'd like to think he'd clear waivers and we could sign him to our practise squad, but I think in the right system he's a solid change-of-pace guy for half the teams in the league, and if he ever finds a jar of stick-em I could see him as a #2 for just the right team. But as I said, I have a rooting bias here.

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  6. I just have a problem with people who cut people who are really good at one thing.

    As far as I'm concerned, Smith is an excellent kick returner. If that's all he ever does for us, fine. That's worth a roster spot for me.

    Same with Lynch and Grimm: they appear to be excellent on special teams. Lynch has the added bonus of having a knack for blocking kicks. 1-2 blocked kicks per year + an excellent special teams player is worth a roster spot for me.

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  7. If the Bucs were not satisfied with the blocking of the TE's last year, why would Stevens make the roster over Gilmore?

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  8. Steve,

    I was thinking Rico McCoy may have a great shot. as reported earlier, Haywood/Robinson have been around but have not proven to be of "starter quality yet"
    I attributed the "PT" to them was to determine which one they would keep.

    As for McCoy I like him a lot: aggressive-smart and Hungry! Not to mention:"the Price Is Right", he's a keeper.imho

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  9. Why keep Stevens?

    I suspect because his atheticism gives Greg Olsen a woody. The guy really can be a mismatch for us in the passing game if we ever decided to use him as such, especially in the redzone. And his blocking did improve some this preseason. The problem with Gilmore is he is one dimensional. We have to have somebody who can be a threat in the passing game should K2 go down. Stevens can do that and so can Purvis but we haven't really seen Gilmore catch any passes.

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  10. Seems like someone would give us a draft pick for Peanut. There is a lot of teams that need a pro-bowl caliber return man.

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  11. Doesn't Dotson give us another blocking option at Tight End? I think Rah will not give up his Peanut. I can't see him letting that one go. I agree that Pics & Clayton get cut. I think Robinson gives up the spot for Peanut. My last one is Preston Parker. I also think Lorig may get pushed to practice squad. They could also keep Parker if they let Peanut go. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of these guys get cut after they pick up some leftovers from other teams, 3 or 4 possibly.

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  12. Damn, most of what I said came true. They kept 6 LBs and held on to Sabby and Smith.

    I actually thought of saying maybe we should get rid of Raiola, but was like, 'Nah, that would be stupid'. Still think it might be ;)

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  13. I also don't think they'll cutting Peanut to keep Pressley, but it could go either way really and You have a very good blog that the main thing a lot of interesting and useful! Bridging Tampa Bay , thanks

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