Points of Interest:Faine in pain, Clayton impresses & I told you so moment

Center Jeff Faine to miss time
The Buccaneers will have to do without center Jeff Faine for the next four to six weeks. Faine, who is the vocal leader of a very talented and young offensive line suffered a possible tear in his left triceps muscle during the season opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The offensive line is a bright spot for the Buccaneers this season. Faine is a gritty and tough, prototypical center that reminds me of Steelers great Mike Webster. Guards Davin Joseph and Jeremy Zuttah are up and coming stars in the league. Throw the massive Jeremy Trueblood into the mix at tackle, and the Bucs have an impressive line that could be the glue for the offense for many years to come.

The loss of Faine this early in the season could be catastrophic not only to the offensive line, but to the entire team.

“I don’t want to understate the value of Jeff Faine,” said offensive coordinator Greg Olson. “That was a critical, big, big loss for the Buccaneers, both for the overall team and the offense. He could arguably be considered one of the best players on our offense. It’s a big loss. We have Compas and Mahan. Both those players will rep this week and we’ll make a decision in terms of who we’re going to start on Sunday.”

The team acted quickly in resigning Sean Mahan to replace Faine. Mahan, who has 52 career starts, was released after the presason in a cost cutting move. Mahan was slated to make 3 million dollars this season–way too much money for back up center. He was released in favor of rookie Johnathan Compas.

My thoughts on this–I think the team will be fine. Quarterback Byron Leftwich and Faine have not played together that long, so their should not be much adjustment in the snap exchange between Leftwich and Mahan. Yes, loosing Faine will hurt, but it will not be as visible as losing someone like Antonio Bryant. The casual fan will not notice a difference in the offensive line play, and Mahan is a smart player who is good enough to be a starter in this league.

He’s back!
I made three predictions going into the game against Dallas last Sunday, and 1 4/5 of them came true.

1. I said via Twitter, that the Bucs would win 27-20. Obviously, I was wrong. (but to justify it, my overall point total was only off by 8 points)
2. I said that Cadillac Williams would rush for 100 yards. He got 97. If they team did not have to play catch up, he would have got that extra three yards. I was hoping that Raheem Morris would put him in for one last carry so it would put me over the top, but it didn’t happen. Lame.
3. I proclaimed Michael Clayton would lead the team in receptions–and he came through in the clutch for me.

Clayton is back, and hopefully better than ever. After an explosive rookie season in 2004 where he caught 80 passes for 1,193 yards. Ever since then, he has caught no more than 38 passes in a season, for no more than 484 yards.

I have a feeling those mediocre numbers will change this year. Here is why…

There are more than a few things that play to Clayton’s advantage this season.

• With the added weapons of Derrick Ward, Kellen Winslow & Sammie Stroughter, the focus can not be concentrated on Clayton.
• Teams will be worried about stopping Bryant from besting his career season last year.
• Leftwich is quite possibly the most physically talented quarterback the team has put on the field since Clayton was drafted in 2004.

If Clayton keeps up the same pace from his 5 catch 93 yard performance last week, he will end the year with 80 grabs for 1,488 yards. That may be a bit high. I expect 70-75 catches for slightly more than 1,000 yards.

You can take that to the bank.

Somewhere, Matt Bryant is smiling

I know my last post said to cut our young kicker Mike Nugent some slack. Apparently, the coaching staff does not think the same way. In a few reports I have read online today, the team seems to think Nugent is on the hot seat.

What a “I told you so” moment Matt Bryant will have if the team brings him back.

Anyone know what Michael Husted or Martin Gramatica is up to these days? Maybe Donald Igwebuike?

I would take any of these former Bucs kickers over Bryant.

The guy openly bashed a teammate this off season. The Bucs will likely have enough problems this season without having to deal with an average kicker with an attitude problem.

Comments, questions, concerns? Talk it up! Leave a comment below or contact me at thomas.gemkow@tampabayraysfan.com and as always, follow me on Twitter @ThomasGemkow