Brandon Marshall To The Bucs?

This may just be a pipe dream and I certainly haven't heard anything to make me think the Buccaneer brass is considering this, but imagine for a moment that the Bucs ended up trading for Brandon Marshall. Here is a big, physical wide receiver with great hands and speed and he is still young. He is a proven commodity and a Pro Bowler. AND his after the antics of his head coach in Denver, Josh McDaniels this past week, its likely that we could get him from less than fair market value.

I happened to catch Coach Morris' press conference today and he referenced several times how building the team around our quarterback, Josh Freeman, was the highest priority this off season. You couldn't help him any more than by providing him with the kind of weapon that Marshall is. Here is a guy who catches passes that aren't always perfect. A guy who blocks. And a guy who has shown he can perform in more than one type of offense.

Imagine for a moment that the Bucs finally give Antonio Bryant his long term deal as well. You would have Bryant and Marshall on the outside creating havoc for defensive coordinators and Kellen Winslow as well as Sammie Stroughter inside working the seams. That my friends would be an lineup that would be feared, especially with a big armed quarterback like Freeman who can push the ball down the field. There would be defensive coordinators in Atlanta, New Orleans and Carolina losing sleep over trying to come up with a way to defend those guys. That's before you even get to our running game.

I know people will point out Marshall's past problems and I don't necessarily dismiss them out of hand. But I will say that at least some of those same kinds of criticisms were lobbed at Winslow before he got here, but the balled out this year on the field.

I don't pretend to know the mindset of the brass over at One Buc, or if this is even in their realm of possibilities. But I will say this, it certainly seems as if just the potential of getting a guy like Marshall should warrant at least a phone call to the Broncos to gauge their interest. We have the luxury of an extra 2nd round pick this year from the Gaines Adams trade and maybe we can package that together with some later picks to get Marshall for less than market value. Hell who knows, maybe we could even get him for a 3rd round pick, you really never know unless you ask. And hell we have 5 picks in the first 99, I would think we can spare one of those for him (other than the first rounder).

I saw Ira Kaufman on my twitter feed say earlier today that the Bucs need to find 4 starters in this draft. Well I would say this would be one way to ensure that we parlayed a draft pick into a starter. And then some!

If they Glazers want to get Bucs fans excited again, this is definitely one way to get the job done.

And that, my friends, is real talk.

Live Blogging The Bucs Vs Falcons #2 Week 17

Bush League

If there is one thing I hate, its when a coach, especially one who never played the game or didn't play it on a high level, questions one of his player's toughness who has been one of his key contributors all year, because the guy gets injured.

You have to understand that there isn't much more disrespectful for a football player than to have some asshole who probably has never ever experience the kind of pain in their life that you walk around with daily during the season try to call you out for not being tough. Especially if you are a guy who has played through injury time and time again and has helped said asshole through your efforts, attain some notoriety.



Today's asshole is Denver's rookie head Josh McDaniels, a guy who seems to be panicking before his game Sunday which will determine if his team gets into the playoffs or not. His target today was his Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall, pretty low hanging fruit I must say. I mean after all Marshall has been accused of being a head case in the past, has been in trouble with the law in the past and was suspended in the preseason just earlier this year.

But you see here is the problem, Brandon Marshall put up big numbers this year, numbers good enough to get him voted to the Pro Bowl even after all the drama to start the year, and but for him the Broncos likely would have stunk up the joint. He was damn near the only big play option on offense for them and he took big hits and bounced up all year to make more plays. But now because McDaniels has decided that in addition to be a coach he is a trainer and a doctor and doesn't think Marshall's injury is all that bad, he comes out and questions the guy's toughness?

Seriously?

There is also another tell about McDaniels. In addition to Brandon Marshall, he also chose to bench tight end Tony Scheffler because of his "attitude". So this coach who is going into maybe the biggest game of his short career as a head coach so far decides to publicly humiliate one of his best players who wasn't going to play anyway and hasn't had any issues with since the season started and in fact played so well that he was voted in to the Pro Bowl, and he decides to bench another major contributor on offense because of his "attitude". Yeah I can't wait to see how that works out for you coach.

Thing of it is, McDaniels will probably get cover on this one from the media. They won't think to ask themselves if another coach has ever pulled this kind of ridiculous shit before a big game. Nor will most of them probably give Marshall the benefit of a doubt. Instead they will likely talk about how much "guts" it takes for McDaniels to make this kind of decision. But remember, the only decision McDaniels really made was to come out and embarrass his player. Marshall was already not likely to play because of his hamstring so benching him was really a moot point. I would hope some sports pundits would point that out, but I am not holding my breath.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the Broncos play for their asshole coach on Sunday. I am pretty sure that there are guys on that team respect what Marshall has done for them all year and might not take too kindly to McDaniels' antics. Especially because if there is one thing football players know its that what is done to one guy can definitely be done to you too. Really I will also be watching McDaniels closely because I have a feeling that if he is freaking out like this now before the game then its likely he will have a full blown meltdown during the game if things don't go their way early.

If and when he does you can best believe I will be sure to point it out too. Lets see how he likes being the one getting called out.

A Zone Blitz Wrinkle For The Bucs

For years and years since Coach Dungy and Coach Kiffin arrived in Tampa our defense has been running a certain zone blitz where we send 3 people strong and drop the backside end. The blitz is still effective and I have seen Coach Morris use it a couple of times since he took over the role of defensive coordinator. However there is one thing that offenses learned to do in pass protection over the years to block this blitz which made it harder to get pressure on the quarterback and generally gave him a nice window in which to look downfield and deliver the football. I would like to propose a wrinkle in this scheme for this week, just as a change up.

No matter which Falcons quarterback starts against the Bucs this weekend, we know none of them are particularly fleet of foot. So in my opinion what we want is quick pressure in his face and if we can't get him on the ground initially then we make flush them out of the pocket where they aren't as comfortable. The wrinkle I am suggesting is that instead of having the Sam Linebacker or nickle corner rush from the outside and the Mike Linebacker rush inside in the B gap, that we switch their responsibilities. The bottom diagram shows the blocking scheme that most teams are going to in order to block up this blitz when they want to pass. By blocking down with the tackle and having the running back block out on the outside blitzer they create a lane with a big gap between the tackle's outside shoulder and the running back's inside shoulder. Further they put the outside rusher on an island where if they make an inside move and miss the quarterback then contain is lost and the quarterback will have nothing but green grass in front of him.

With the Mike Linebacker and outside rusher switching responsibilities, you alleviate that problem against that particular blocking scheme. Your outside rusher takes a step or two upfield and then comes screaming inside. If its our Sam linebacker, ie Quincy Black, he can even get a quick shove on the offensive tackle's back who is blocking down to ensure he isn't able to step back out and try to get to the Mike. When its performed correctly what you end up having is a double team on the running back with the outside rusher who is now coming inside and the Mike who is now rushing outside for contain. He will have to pick someone to block and either way he is going to be wrong. As long as both guys maintain their given lane outside or inside then its going to be a win for the defense. And because the Mike will be a little late outside, which is fine considering Barrett Ruud's closing speed, then he should be able to discern if its a screen pass by then if the back doesn't block the Sam or nickleback.

I gave the illustration on top of the offensive line blocking out just to give a picture of what the Sam or nickle back should do if the offensive tackle actually block out to them which is take a couple steps up field then rip inside. Trust me, it won't be an easy block for the offensive tackle and they shouldn't have any guard help inside because of the end coming inside to the A gap. It also may confuse the back as to who he is supposed to block and give the Mike an opening on his outside rush.

This should be an especially effective blitz against the Falcons because they like to flex their hall of fame tight end, Tony Gonzales, out in the slot which means you won't have to worry about him staying in to block. I don't mean to infer that the Bucs haven't thought about using this wrinkle on their own, but regardless it sure would be nice to see them use it a time or two this Sunday.

Just sayin...

I Almost Forgot

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong

Evidently Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton decided they were going to bust a cap in each other's ass over a gambling debt that reportedly Arenas refused to pay. What in the name of fuckery is this? Two rich dumbasses who play a game for an obscene amount of money are now going to shoot each other over what I am sure was relatively chump change for both of them? And not just anywhere, but in Washington DC where the gun laws don't play. And did I mention this was over GAMBLING? What, did these cats listen to a little too much Tupac that day or watch Menace to Society just one to many times? I have heard of studio gangstas, but locker room ganstas?!

C'mon son, get the fuck outta here wit dat bullshit.

I know its late in the year and other people were surely deserving up till now, but this pair just earned my Dumbass Of The Year award. I hope part of their prize is being cut and suspended without pay for at least a year.

Gotta pay the stupid tax.

Now That's Just Mean!

I love watching MMA not only because of the level of skill involved but also because every once in awhile you will get matches with guys who really and truly don't like each other and when that happens you can expect major fireworks. Well last night there was a match between Shinya Aoki and Mizuto Hirota which turned out to be one of those instances. Now I have to warn you before you watch the clip that there is a nasty nasty submission hold involved, a broken or dislocated bone, and some very poor sportsmanship. If you think you can stomach all that then push play.





Now over on Yahoo they are debating whether or not this will hurt Aoki, the guy who rearranged his opponents anatomy and then turned around and insulted him for good measure, and his American promotor in getting him some fights here in the US. Further they are debating whether or not this would hurt MMA in general stateside had the match been shown here.

Well maybe something is wrong with me but by God, I while I was shocked at Aoki's behavior, some part of me loved it too. Now I don't imagine most folks think like me, but I have a sneaky suspicion that a lot of MMA fans do. Its like any other sport for me, when you make a big play in football or basketball or even sometimes baseball you want to both celebrate and also to make the point to your opponent that you are their better. While the one finger salute is crass, to me its not much worse than a player saying "In your face!". I have a sneaky suspicion that if boxers didn't wear gloves we would have seen some of them giving their fallen opponent the finger a LONG time ago. It is what it is.

On the other hand I am sure that for folks who don't like MMA and use words like "barbaric" to describe it, yeah they probably didn't care for the display at all. But who the hell cares what they think? Those are the same people who will NEVER like MMA and will never see it for what it is, a sport. Spending time worrying about if you are going to offend them does nothing more than kill time and energy better used on other topics. For all of the faux outrage after Brock Lesnar flipped off the crowd and his opponent after his dominating win over fan favorite Frank Mir, do you REALLY think that made MMA less popular? I don't. If anything it gave people more of a reason to watch because now they had a bonafide villain. Some of the fans would root against him, many would root for him but it never hurts to have a black hat as a contrast in any sport you can think of.

I don't think MMA would survive if this was the kind of behavior you saw after each and every match. But I don't think it hurts at all to see this every once in awhile. I can tell you this, I will definitely be checking Aoki's next match out. And somehow I bet I won't be alone.