Training Camp Report

Cross Posted at joebucsfan

I had the opportunity to watch the Buccaneers practice today at their facility and here's my report.

The first thing I want to talk about is tempo. Or rather the lack thereof. Now this was admittedly my first time visiting the Bucs' training camp since I played here but the tempo, in my opinion, wasn't up to par today. I know it was hot, very hot. And I know it was the 3rd day in pads. But the one thing we prided ourselves on back in the day, especially on defense, was how hard we practiced every single day.

I was reminded today of a situation back when I was playing where we signed a veteran linebacker one offseason to back up the starters. Well during training camp we run what's called a "pursuit" drill where the whole defense has to sprint 40 or so yards down the field through the goalline. If one person in your group doesn't bust his tail all the way through the whole group has to do it again.

Well this guy happened to be in a group that had to go back twice. And I BS you not, this guy was so gassed that he retired pretty much on the spot. That's the kind of effort that used to be asked of us no matter what the conditions and I just didn't see that today.

Now its just one day, and again maybe this is the norm now. Still it just didn't sit right with me.

On the defensive line there were some guys who were going balls to the wall, most notably in my opinion was Roy Miller, but as a group they just looked like they were going at about 3/4 ths speed. Or at least 3/4s the speed I'm used to seeing.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of position specific drill work for the D Line. Again it was just one day, and I wasn't there for the two preceding days of practice. But they didn't do the bags today and the drills they did do were more akin to linebacker drills.

Why does that matter?

Well we have two second year guys and two rookies who are going to play a LOT for us this season on the defensive line. And those guys need to get as much drill work as possible so the team work comes easier for them.

The thing about Rod Marinelli is that he put us through 15 to 20 minutes of hell to start off every practice. Along with going through the bags, we had to do a bunch of change of direction drills, get offs, and quick hands work. This had a kind of Mr Meyaggi effect where you did it over and over and over again and then when you got to team work you reacted basically off instinct. You didn't have to think to turn your hips on a pass rush you just did it. You didn't have to concentrate to knock an offensive lineman's hands down, it was just second nature.

Now I am not about to make a judgement after seeing just one practice, I'm just making some observations.

One guy who could definitely benefit from change of direction drills everyday is Gerald McCoy. I had heard that he had been up and down so far in the first two days of practice and I immediately could see why. Two things I noticed about him today. One his stance is kind of elongated instead of compact which makes it a little harder to get off. It would help if he had his feet under him a little more and he bent his legs more. That would give him a more spring loaded action out of his stance.

The second thing I noticed was he was taking too long of a step on the snap. When that happens guys lose their gaps because they aren't able to react to the guard's block while their foot is out of the ground. By the time he got his step down he was playing catch up whether it was a reach block (outside) or a slip block (inside). He did ok when it was a pass but even then he got caught a couple of times with a punch before his foot came down and that made it easier to get him off balance.

Roy Miller, in addition to being a ball of energy today, also was solid when I saw him. He is good keeping his ground at the point of attack on a double team. And he is slippery with his pass rush.

I had heard reports that Brian Price was tearing it up in camp so I was looking forward to watching him work. Its true that he is dominant against our second team offensive line. Unfortunately that's not saying much. He is very quick off the ball but at times it appeared that he wasn't sure where he was supposed to go and at other times his effort wasn't consistent. He does use his hands well and when he understands the effort level needed play in and play out he looks like he will be more than ready to handle his own. Still I didn't exactly see the "beast" that everybody else described.

The first team defensive line today consisted of Kyle Moore, Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller, and Stylez G. White. They held their own most of practice today but neither Moore nor White made a whole lot of plays. Some of that is because of the plays run against them but you would like to see your starting ends show up a little more, even in practice.

Something that caught my eye was on the second team D Line however where Michael Bennett was backing up Moore on the left side and Tim Crowder was backing up White on the right. Now I don't know if this has been consistent all camp but it was still curious to me. I mean I like Bennett's potential and everything, but Crowder in my opinion has a better chance of pushing Moore for that starting left end spot. If they have really moved Crowder to the right side backing up White for all of camp then to me its a sign that the Bucs have handed Moore the starting spot on a silver platter.

Don't get me wrong, I predicted this after the season was over. But still I thought there would at least be a competition. I think Crowder pushing Moore for that spot would only make both guys better and whomever ended up on top would be better for having gone through the competition. I don't necessarily think Moore won't give it his all if that's not the case, but its hard to understand the move if only because Crowder showed that he could play well there last season.

I also noticed that they have Sims running as the undertackle with the second team. I'm sure that's mostly to make sure Price gets enough reps at nose tackle to develop, but to put it bluntly Sims just isn't an undertackle. I don't know what that says about his future with the team but it will be interesting to see how he performs there during the preseason games.

I thought the linebackers practiced well today. Quincy Black had an outstanding pass breakup sliding underneath what appeared to be an out route to knock the ball down. Barrett Ruud and Geno Hayes were both physical against the run and really flew to the ball when it was thrown to the short routes. Hayes had a good PBU himself being physical with a guy to get the ball out.

The backups were ok but nobody particularly stood out. I did see Rico McCoy make a couple of plays and Dekoda Watson looked good in blitz period.

It was hard to focus on the secondary and the front seven at the same time but everyone seemed to hold their own. The offense scored on a few red zone passes but for most of the day the secondary kept everything in front of them.

I will say that a lot was made of a catch Mike Williams made on Ronde Barber in 1 on 1s. I should say first off that the drill is one of the most unrealistic in all of football practice. The receiver has the ability to run any route they want with the knowledge that there is no rush to make the quarterback hurry the throw and there is no underneath coverage to impede their progress down the field. Williams put a double move on Ronde and admittedly made him look bad. But the thing about double moves is that they usually take a long time to develop. That's why you don't see a lot of successful double moves in the actual games. So in my opinion it was much ado about not a lot. But too Ronde's credit he came back and made a beautiful interception right along the side lines and kept both feet in.

I thought our offensive line did well today. Keydrick Vincent ran with the starters today and I didn't personally see a lot of Jeremy Zuttah. Vincent is a powerful blocker and he is really good on double teams. Donald Penn looked as good as I have seen him both in pass and run blocking. The right side of the line with Jeremy Trueblood, Davin Joseph looked solid all day. There were refs at practice today and although there were a few jumps during blitz period, for the most part the guys held their water during the later team periods.

As for the backups....

All I can say is that we all should be praying that our starters on the offensive line stay healthy.  Like I said before Price showed flashes of dominance against the second team offensive line but I think my old behind could get out there and give those guys fits.  They just don't seem to be very physical nor athletic.

One of the things I noticed about the offense was that they ran a lot more split bellys and counter plays today. Translated that means a lot of down hill runs which is what I think fits our personnel best. Cadillac Williams sat out at running back but Derrick Ward and the rest of the guys took up the slack. Kareem Huggins looks just as explosive as advertised both as a runner and as a receiver. I really like the kid and I think he has an excellent chance of making the final roster if he stays healthy and keeps it up. His primary competition for a roster spot, Clifton "Peanut" Smith, is quick but he doesn't seem to possess the power Huggins has and that will make a difference when either guy actually has to break a tackle. Of course Smith is also a former Pro Bowler on special teams so its wayyyy too early to count him out.

Kellen Winslow sat out practice this morning and I didn't see a lot out of the other tight ends, but Jerramy Stevens did catch a touchdown on a rollout from Josh Freeman that was pretty impressive. I still didn't see the physicality out of them as a group that I think we need to run the ball effectively.

At quarterback I had seen reports where Josh Freeman had been off the first two days of practice. Well he seemed to practice well today. He didn't throw a lot of deep balls but he was sharp taking what the defense gave him and hitting the underneath routes.

The one thing he has to realize is that he now has some guys who can make things happen after the catch. Arrelious Benn, Mike Williams, Sammie Stroughter, Kellen Winslow and plenty of other guys can turn a short pass into a pretty good gain. So every pass doesn't have to be past the first down marker. Sometimes you just have to deliver it to those guys in space and let them work and Freeman seems to be starting to understand that concept.

I didn't get to see all of his throws but by my count he was 5 out of 7 or 8 during 7 on 7 and as I referenced before he had a really nice touchdown throw to Stevens on a bootleg play.

Josh Johnson was ok but not great. He throws a somewhat flat ball without a lot of air underneath it but it seemed to get where it needed to more often than not. He also had what appeared to be a touchdown on a quarterback draw during the redzone portion of practice.

Rudy Carpenter fumbled the snap and didn't look great overall, but he did have a nice touchdown throw on a slant to Benn.

Overall I would say it was a good practice and the stands were full even in the heat.

Bad Timing

Funny thing about emergencies, they never happen at a good time do they? Well I have been dealing with some things and evidently the world didn't stop in my absence. So I'm very sorry that I missed weighing in on the Bucs signing both Donald Penn and Gerald McCoy in time for the first practice but I don't think Bucs fans could have asked for better news. I said all along that if anybody was going to give in the Penn situation it would probably have to be the team and having McCoy on day 1 will help his development tremendously. Of course I'm sure the conspiracy theorists are having a field day with the fact that it wasn't until the Bucs knew how much they were going to have to spend on McCoy that they offered Penn a deal with $20 million guaranteed lol. Either way all that matters is that Penn is here to be Josh Freeman's bodyguard on the blind side and I bet nobody is happier about that than Freeman himself.

I don't have a lot of time so that's it for now but I wanted to let you know that I will be at the Bucs practice tomorrow morning as a fan just like everyone else so if you see me be sure to come by and say hi. I should be back up full go starting early this week with my blogging so hang on to your hats!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pre Camp Predictions: Defense

Yesterday I took a look at the camp battles on the offensive side of the ball for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today I want to take a look at the defensive side of the ball where there is probably a lot more volatility at every position.

Before we get started though I want to state unequivocally that I believe the defense will take a major jump forward this year. The combination of Coach Morris making the calls and most of the guys having played in the system for part of the season last year and having practiced in it all offseason is going to pay major dividends in my opinion. The camp battles are going to be what they are but if we stay healthy this season on defense we are going to give people major headaches.

Now lets go ahead and break this down position by position.

Defensive Line

I considered breaking this up into defensive tackles/defense ends but the truth is the defensive line has to play as a unit in order to be successful. That is one of the major deficiencies I saw last year was that while certainly some guys played better than others, I rarely saw the kind of coordination that it takes to really put the pressure on the opposing offensive linemen and quarterbacks. Aside from the Green Bay Packers game, which was a beautiful thing to behold, it appeared that there was just four guys doing their own thing instead of one group fighting for the same goals. That is going to have to change and I think it will.

Obviously there are at least two guys whose names you can write in pen on the roster for the defensive line right now. That would be our 1st and 2nd round picks, Gerald McCoy and Brian Price respectively. McCoy almost assuredly will be our starting undertackle and it would appear that Price will be given every opportunity to start at nose tackle. Now I have written before why it would probably be a mistake to expect too much from either guy this season but I know some folks won't listen. But for me my biggest hope for them is that they stay healthy for all 16 games this year. If they can do that it will mean that they will be gaining experience week after week after week and presumably they with that experience they will get better along the way.

Last year we carried nine defensive linemen on the roster to open the season. Four defensive tackles and five defensive ends. Well to be clear one of those defensive ends, Kyle Moore, had double duty as a tackle as well. So after the two rookies Roy Miller is probably a safe bet to make the team if not start. I know that there will be a push to get Price into the starting line up but I liked what I saw from Roy most of last year. He is quick off the ball, stout, and he has a knack for rushing against a double team. As for the fourth defensive tackle, it goes against conventional wisdom but I have this sneaking suspicion that the starter from last year, Ryan Sims, will make a push to make the team.

I can't be sure of that until the bullets start flying but as I look at the guys he will be competing against I don't see anyone who he isn't obviously better than. I also thought he was more suited to be a nose tackle in our regular "Tampa 2" defense last year and when the scheme reverted back he played a helluva lot better. Still not world beating good, but he did give center's fits at times. If he is motivated and humble enough to accept a back up role, I think a spot on the team is right there for him.

But there is a conundrum if you read this analysis closely. Only one guy out of the top 4 right now is going to be groomed as an undertackle and that's McCoy. That's not to say that Price or Miller couldn't also play undertackle, but they are going to be in a steel cage death match trying to win the starting job at nosetackle so learning and working on playing undertackle is probably going to be secondary to both of them. Even though Sims has played undertackle in previous seasons he is better suited to play nose.

This the primary reason I questioned the Bucs taking Price in the second round after having taken McCoy in the first. On paper the best use of our talent would be to have both Price and McCoy vying for the under tackle position. But because of his draft positioning McCoy HAS to play. And Price can't really ride the bench either as a high 2nd round pick. And the only way they both play is if they don't play the same position. Its going to be interesting seeing how this rotation works out. I have a strong feelign it won't be near as easy as the Buccaneers brass has tried to let on.

With the defensive ends I'd say Stylez G. White is also a safe bet to make the team. He was, by far, our best and most consistent pass rusher last year. As I have said previously, he just has to get into the best shape of his life so that he doesn't have to come out of the game and if he stays healthy double digit sacks is not only attainable, its likely.

I believe that when its all said and done the guy backing him up, at least on paper, will be Michael Bennett. Bennett was plucked off the Seahawks' practice squad last year and he showed me some flashes last year. He had one of the best get offs on the defensive line and he has really good functional strength. Its unfortunate that the Bucs primarily played him on the left side last year and then right when they changed defenses and he may have had more of an opportunity to show what he can do, he got hurt. I think at his size and with his tools he is much more of a right end who can spell White whenever he needs a blow.

At left defensive end you can get your popcorn ready for an all out battle royal. I predicted after the season ended that the Bucs would practically hand Kyle Moore the job and they have. Yes I have heard all the stories about him getting in better shape and looking good in OTAs but unless Tim Crowder fell off the map you would have to say that on the merits he deserved first dibs at the position. After all for most of last year he was the primary backup to starter Jimmy Wilkerson and he even started a couple games. But it is what it is and Moore being a 5th round draft pick gives him a leg up.

But you have to remember that Crowder himself was a former 2nd round pick and he is still a young guy. I can't foresee a scenario where he just concedes that position to Moore. And to be honest I'm definitely not sure that Moore is the better player at the moment. Barring injury I think this battle will go all the way down to the wire with both guys sticking on the team.

That leaves one open roster spot. I wish I could say for sure who will get it but with three rookies and an under achiever amongst the guys left over fighting for it, I just don't have a clue. I think the late draft pick Erik Lorig may have a head start if he can be a guy who plays both inside and out. If not then that is the kind of guy who I would bet money on. Last year that guy was Moore, but if he is the starter he can't really be that kind of "swing" guy. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Linebackers

The three starters at linebackers are pretty entrenched right now. It appears that Coach Morris has big plans for Quincy Black as the starting Sam linebacker, Barrett Ruud is primed to have a career year, and Geno Hayes in his second year as a starter may be on the cusp of big things. I like all three players and I think Hayes in particular may have a break out year. But after those guys there are a lot of question marks.

Adam Heyward is probably the most versatile of the backups and a guy the Bucs actually would trust if he were pressed into action. But while he is physical he doesn't have the kind of size nor speed that you look for in a starting NFL linebacker. Then you have Jon Alston and Niko Koutouvides who will probably get first dibs on the other two backup linebacker spots but neither guy is anything special. I know a lot of people are high on late draft pick Dekoda Watson but I am not sold on how quickly he will transition from the college game. Instead I think he along with fellow rookie Rico McCoy will have opportunities to make their name on special teams this year.

Last year we kept seven linebackers and at the moment we have nine on the roster. Only two guys are going to be cut but at this point that could be anybody not named Black, Ruud, or Hayes. What we have to hope however is that our starters stay healthy because I just don't trust anyone one else to play a lot for us.

Secondary

This group has the potential to be the strongest on the whole team. You have two guys with Pro Bowl potential in cornerback Aqib Talib and free safety Tanard Jackson. You have a potential Hall of Famer in corner Ronde Barber and you have a third round pick in Myron Lewis who is tall and physical and will likely be the starting nickelback.

But there is one position that could be the weakest link and that is the strong safety position. At this point there's no need to sugarcoat it, I felt that Sabby Piscitelli was our Achilles Heel against both the run and the pass last year. You would like for your strong safety to be both a physical presence when he is in the box against the run and a guy with the ball skills to be able to have the corner's back on deep balls in Cover 2. At the least you would want them to be strong at one or the other. But instead Sabby sucked at both for much of the year.

Now there is no law that says he can't get better. However its my opinion that he will not get that much better this fast to be a positive factor for our defense. Thankfully one of the only free agents the Bucs brought in this year was Strong Safety Sean Jones formerly of the Eagles. He is a guy who has had a knack for coming up with interceptions but he will also lay the wood in the running game. For whatever reason he didn't fit into the Eagles' plans anymore but one team's trash can be another team's treasure.

But here's the deal, I don't think either guy is necessarily a "game changer". So for me I don't really have a favorite. What I believe is that whomever gets the starting job will have to play so well to beat out the other that whomever it is will not be the weakest link. And that's good enough for me for this year.

After the starters there is some talent but nobody that I think is going to push for playing time. Corey Lynch and Cody Grimm are going to make or not make the team on special teams. Elbert Mack is a guy I like because of his heart but his propensity for getting toasted on the deep ball last year was no bueno. E. J. Biggers had some buzz once upon a time but we just haven't seen enough of him at this point. And then you have some other guys that I will be honest in saying I have never heard of.

Last year we kept nine defensive backs and I see no reason for that number to change. Odds are if I didn't mention one of the guys by name, they are going to be a long shot to make it.

At the end of the day one thing worth remembering is this.  While our defense finished at our near the bottom in a lot of categories, most notably against the run, our passinig defense was in the top ten in the NFL.  Yes the whole getting the ball run down our throats thing played into that, but we also had two guys with 5 interceptions a piece.  The potential is there and if we can get our run defense better there really is no limit on how good this defense can be this year.  That's not happy talk, that's a fact.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pre Camp Predictions: Offense

Going into the second year of Coach Raheem Morris' tenure, the Buccaneers now have more stability on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. We know there won't be any coordinators fired this year during the preseason so players should feel more comfortable in they systems and therefore be able to play faster instead of having to think too much. With camp starting here shortly I just wanted to give my assessment of the roster, which guys I expect to be around after the final cuts and what roster battles fans should pay attention to.

Today I want to talk offense. First lets go position by position.

Wide Receiver

Last year we kept 5 wide receivers on the roster for our first game. This year we are heading into camp with 11. If precedent holds 7 or 8 of those guys won't make it. Instead of going through the list of guys who are fighting that uphill battle Id rather focus on the 5 or 6 guys I think will make the team.

Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams have the advantage of being 2nd and 4th round picks respectively. For that reason both are pretty much assured roster spots. The question is how much will either guy contribute as a rookie. Here are the top rookie receivers for the past 5 years and their numbers in catches-yards-touchdowns

2009 Percy Harvin 60-790-6
2008 Eddie Royal 91-980-5
2007 Dewayne Bowe 70-995-5
2006 Marques Colston 70-1038-8
2005 Reggie Brown 43-571-4

One good thing to note is every guy on the list isn't a high first round pick. That doesn't mean that we can expect Benn or Williams to put up comparable numbers. But it does mean that its not out of the realm of possibility. There is no rule that says rookie wide receivers can't set the world on fire right off the bat. Even though his follow up campaigns weren't nearly as impressive, you can look to Michael Clayton's rookie year to validate that.

I believe that before the year is over both guys will start although in my opinion only Williams starts the first game. I envision a starting lineup against the Cleveland Browns where Maurice Stovall lines up at Flanker, Mike Williams lines up at Split End and Sammie Stroughter is the slot receiver. Eventually I would expect Benn to supplant Stovall at Flanker by midseason or so.

After the those four guys I think Reggie Brown sticks for his special teams play as much as anything else and if the Bucs decide to carry 6 receivers instead of 5 I would bet it will be because rookie Preston Parker has shown a lot of potential in the return game.

This group may not rate high on most folks radar but the potential is there. Williams was one of the most impressive wide receivers I have seen in college football in the last few years before he quit in the middle of their season. Stovall has all the physical tools you like but I think playing special teams will slow him down a bit. Stroughter showed last year that he is a play maker who will go up in traffic and get the ball. Benn is a big, physical, run after the catch guy who will look a lot more impressive in pads than he has in shorts. As a unit they may end up shocking a lot of people.

Running Backs

I know that publicly at least the Bucs are saying the starting tailback position is still up for grabs, but I'm not buying that. Even though Derrick Ward was a big free agent pick up last year, I would be shocked if Cadillac Williams isn't the starter barring injury. It not necessarily that I think Caddy is that much of a better back. Ward is hands down the better receiver out of the back field in my opinion. But Caddy runs with a style and intensity that is inspirational to anybody that plays with him. When you see a guy that size looking for contact, bouncing off defenders and refusing to go down easily, it gets you hyped man. And this team is going to have to draw on all the inspiration it can muster because many times the will face teams that are more talented.

Not looking to knock Ward but you just don't get the same vibe watching him work. He is talented in his own right but I think for this team and for this year he works better as the backup.

An interesting case is that of Earnest Graham. Now you can count me among the Graham fans in the Tampa Bay area but the problem is Earnest is never going to wow you in OTAs. Graham is a running back who needs to be in pads behind the first team line to show what he can do. He is not the fastest nor quickest running back you have ever seen but he's one of the slipperiest. He doesn't make the huge highlight cuts but he still finds a way to make people miss. He doesn't steam roll guys but he finds a way to run through arm tackles. Its amazing how many times you see him make a run where it looks like a defender has him dead to rights and he still squirts by them.

Unfortunately at the moment he is listed at fullback AND he is one of the major contributor on special teams. That means that he won't get many opportunities to showcase his talents in the preseason. It also means that he will have to compete with a guy who really IS a natural fullback in Chris Pressley to start at the position.

Now I for one thought Graham did a helluva job as a lead back last year when he was thrown into the position because of injury. But Pressley is the classic throw back "thumper" type fullback whom flattens linebackers rather than just blocking them. Graham can definitely catch the ball better out of the backfield but if Pressley can close some ground in that area can the Bucs really afford to keep him on the bench?

Assuming the Bucs keep both Graham and Pressley that gets you up to four running backs whereas last year they had 5 on the roster for the first game. So who gets that last roster spot?

I think it may end up being the roster fight of the preseason. Clifton "Peanut" Smith has been a Pro Bowl special teams guy for the Bucs primarily because of his return abilities. But after he was injured last year several other Bucs showed that they could take up the slack in the return game. Then there is the factor of Smith's fumbling problems. Huggins on the other hand is untested but brings a speed factor sorely lacking on our offense. No matter which guy makes the team its doubtful that either would play extensively on offense but if you were going to give a guy a few reps a game wouldn't you want it to be a home run threat?

Advantage Huggins.

Tight Ends

Kellen Winslow is the starter unless he has a setback with the rehab on his knee. The battle over who backs him up however could get quite interesting.

The last few years Jerramy Stevens has been a fixture on offense. Last year however he might as well have been a hood ornament. On the one hand I lay blame at the feet of offensive coordinator Greg Olsen who rarely used Stevens as a pass catching option, even in obvious situations near the goal line where he could have used his size and athleticism to out jump the defender. But on the other hand his blocking was piss poor. I mean it was frustrating to watch him get dominated game after game by defensive ends who weren't much bigger than he was. I said it last year and I stand by it, the biggest problem with our running game wasn't our offensive line, but instead it was our tight ends. Unfortunately Winslow is who he is, he ain't gonna turn into a road grater over night. That means whomever backs him up is going to have to assume that role.

Maybe Stevens will come out with a better attitude this year and commit to being a dominant blocker. If he does that's great. If not then its time to move on and let the next guy get a shot. I like John Gilmore but his technique was all screwed up last year. He obviously had the will to block but not the way. I think Ryan Purvis also has some potential as an inline blocker. I don't really care who wins the job but SOMEBODY is going to have to be willing to put their face on people if we intend on running the ball this year.  Last year we kept three and I personally would rather the two after Winslow be big time blockers and good special teams guys.

Quarterbacks

This one is really simple, Josh Freeman is the guy and the team will sink or swim for the most part this year based on how far he comes in his second year. In my opinion however that won't be measured in just how many yards he throws for our how many touchdown passes he tosses. To me the big question mark with Freeman is his decision making ability. Several times last year he threw interceptions that weren't just bad balls, but also horrible decisions. He threw into triple coverage at least twice when no matter how well the ball was thrown his receiver had a very low possibility of coming down with it. And these were throws not made on 3rd down out of desperation, but instead throws made on early downs where he could have either dumped it off or thrown it away and tried again the next play.

Our defense is going to be young and pretty talented but depth is going to be a problem. So the more our offense can possess the ball for long drives even if they don't score, the better chances our defense will have of staying fresh and preforming well. Freeman will have a lot to say about that with his ball security. And that includes holding onto the ball when he is sacked and anticipating that contact. Aside from his cannon of an arm his ability to escape out of the pocket is probably his 2nd greatest quality but he has to make sure its a plus for his team and doesn't become a liability by laying the ball on the turf.

If he can not lose us the game consistently then odds are we will have quite a bit of success this year. That's not to say I don't want to see him be aggressive. When there are one on one matchups or Winslow has a linebacker on him I expect Freeman to torch their asses. But the trick is recognizing when the grand slam  isn't there and shooting for a base hit instead.

Behind Freeman is a guy I like a lot and don't mind saying so. Josh Johnson is a guy with tremendous speed, quickness and a pretty decent arm as well. It was unfortunate that his only game time last year consisted of being thrown to the wolves while our starting center was out and the guy who replaced him couldn't block my aunt. He still showed some flashes of brilliance but with guys hanging off him almost every play anybody would look horrible.

Realistically though he is still young and his only experience was those handful of games so while I feel comfortable with him as Freeman's primary backup there is still some uncertainty of just how well he will perform if called upon again. We all hope that he isn't forced into action at any time this year but if so you would have to say its still a bit of a question mark. One of the most curious situations on this team this year was their refusal to pursue a veteran backup. Its a decision that could definitely come back to bite them.

Rudy Carpenter and rookie Jevan Snead will fight it out to be the third quarterback but if either guy has to see action this year, we are in big big trouble.

Offensive Line

Lets cut to the chase, all the rest of this analysis is just fluff if our offensive line doesn't show up this year. And to be even more blunt, we are going to suck if Donald Penn isn't in the lineup in week one. From my perspective that means they need to pay the man. His resume is definitely worthy. But it really doesn't matter if its a new contract that does the trick or he decides against holding out, the Buccaneers NEED Donald Penn to be successful this year.  He is the bell cow of the group and he also is Freeman's personal body guard.  His blocking enables Greg Olsen to draw up passing plays where all five eligibles are allowed to go out on routes.  He also has the kind of controlled anger that you want to see in your offensive linemen.  Something has to give.

In addition the health of Jeff Faine will be of particular interest. Last year when he went down everything went to shambles. The Bucs ended up rehiring a guy they had recently cut and to call it a disaster would be disrespectful to the word. What is scary is the fact that the Bucs did nothing of note to shore up the backup center position this off season. So if Faine goes down again...

There is a quiet battle that I will be watching during camp and that is between Jeremy Trueblood and Xavier Fulton. I didn't watch any OTA practices but something piqued my interest. While Penn held out this spring the Bucs put Demar Dotson out there in his spot. What that stood out to me is that the year before they spent a 5th round pick on Xavier Fulton who actually played offensive tackle in college where as Dotson was a rookie free agent.

This could be interpreted in a variety of ways. Fulton could potentially suck so bad that the Bucs already recognize they wasted a draft pick on him so they will just try to hide him as a backup the next few years until they can get rid of him. Another way to look at it however could be that because the Bucs believe Penn will eventually come to camp and be the left tackle, they didn't want to move Fulton and have him miss out on developing as a right tackle.

If its the latter, which I suspect it might be, that could be interpreted as a sign that the Bucs are fed up with all of the penalties and bone headed play from Trueblood. Trueblood is a very good player 95% of the time but the other 5% of the time he does the kinds of things that get you beat at the wrong times. That is unacceptable and I was hoping they benched him last year if for no other reason than to teach him a lesson. Now this is purely speculation but it is very curious to me that the Bucs didn't give their 5th round pick from the year before the opportunity to vie for the job protecting their franchise quarterback's blind side while Penn was out. I realize that the Bucs have a lot of time and money invested in Trueblood and that he and Davin Joseph seem to have good chemistry on the right side, but you can't let one guy keep putting your team behind the eight ball. Its not fair to the rest of the team.

Maybe, I'm reading too much into this. Maybe not. I guess we shall see.

The last impactful camp battle on offense will be between incumbent starting left guard Jeremy Zuttah and late free agent pickup Keydrick Vincent who most recently started for a Carolina Panthers offensive line that gave our defense the blues running the ball. The obvious advantage Vincent has is that he is a bigger, more physical run blocker than Zuttah. However Zuttah in my opinion got better as the season went on and he showed a lot of athleticism in getting up to linebackers on running blocking and in his pass blocking. Overall I would give the edge to Zuttah but there have been random anonymous reports that he hasn't been giving it all he's got this spring. I have no idea if its true or not but I am betting we will see his absolute best once camp opens and Vincent is breathing down his neck.

I will restate my opinion that Vincent may also give the Buccaneers more options should Penn hold out long term. The prospect of having Dotson protecting Freeman's blindside when he never even played offensive tackle in college HAS to be scaring the hell out of the Bucs brass. Zuttah may not be that great of an offensive tackle judging from his limited time there last season, but at the least he has had a year of starting experience and he knows the offense at this point. If Dotson starts in the preseason and gets treated like a revolving door I expect the Zuttah as left tackle experiment to start on the spot.

As for roster spots its not even worth delving too hard with this group. Last year the Bucs carried 9 offensive linemen on the roster on opening day. Once you get past the top 9 offensive linemen on our roster at the moment things start getting pretty sad anyway.

Well that's my pre-camp analysis of the offense. Be on the lookout for my defensive installment in the next day or so.