Been a while…

Wow, it feels good to be back on WhatTheBucs.com and ready to post!

Before I jump into the goings on of the last couple weeks with our beloved Buccaneers, let me tell you why I have been absent from the site.

I recently resigned my post as Operations Manager at Best Buy, and took a job with a company working on some internet marketing stuff.

So, this means two things…one, I had to move, and two, I will have more time to dedicate to WhatTheBucs.com and ThomasGemkow.com.

So THAT is a good thing.

Now, enough about me, and onto the Bucs.

Some big things happened the last few weeks, yet winning was not one of them.

The team is still 0-7 and it really does not appear that will change anytime soon. The Bucs have a bear of a schedule this season. They play in the very tough NFC South–so they will be facing New Orleans, Atlanta and Carolina each two times this season.

Throw into the mix that they had to play the Giants, Bills, Cowboys, Patriots and Packers…and the Bucs are in a word…screwed.

This is by far the worst team they have put on the field in the last decade, and their have been few bright spots.

So, let’s take a look at the low lights, and then try and find a silver lining.

• Josh Johnson turned out to be no where ready as a starting QB…clearing the way for Josh Freeman to get his first start this week against Green Bay. To me, this is a mistake. This kid was a raw prospect coming out of Kansas State, and now we are putting him–at 21 years of age–on the field with a line that is just okay and with receivers that have combined for more dropped passes than a T-Mobile phone would have dropped calls at the top of a mountain. This is bad news. The QB of the future should continue to hold a clipboard all year, and let Johnson go down with the ship that is this seasons team.
• Our pass defense has been torched several times this year, when going into the season it was figured to be the strength of the team. Aqib Talib & Ronde Barber have been above average, but safeties Sabby Piscitelli, Tanard Jackson & Will Allen have been horrid, continually being burnt with passes over the middle. I still am a believer that Piscitelli will be a great player in the NFL one day, but Allen is no more than a dime back/special teams gunner at best, and Jackson needs to go after this season.
• Derrick Ward has been heard grumbling that he is unhappy with the 3 back rotation the Bucs have been going with so far this season, and he is not the only one. Fans have gripped all year about the idea of this…I for one, think the idea is good, but being executed poorly by the offensive coordinator Greg Olson. I say, priority one going into the off season (that can’t come soon enough if this team doesn’t start playing competitively) need to be shoring up the offensive line, and spending some money to bring in a Pro Bowl caliber back. Cadillac Williams COULD have been that, but not after shredding his knee twice. Ward is best used as a complimentary guy–he can’t carry the full load, and Earnest Graham is small, slow and over rated.
• Finally–the injury bug. B.J. Askew is out for the year following injuries related to a car accident. Jermaine Phillips had a freak injury that put him on the IR. Jeff Faine has missed time due to a torn triceps muscle. Graham, Ward and Williams have been gimped up all year. Antonio Bryant has been no where near full strength. Angelo Crowell never ever saw time in the regular season before his season was over…the list goes on…but you get the idea. Several key guys have missed time this year for the Bucs. This is not a good thing.

I am not even going to begin to talk about Raheem Morris and his inabillity to talk to the media, but bottom line…I think this guy will be a great head coach some day. The deck was stacked against him to start the season, and fans needs to understand we are in a rebuilding process.

Now, so I am not a total negative nancy in my first post back, let’s talk about the silver lining to this otherwise very dark cloud that has been the 2009 campaign for the Bucs thus far:

• Sammie Stroughter returned a kick for a touchdown–only the second time this has happened in team history. This kid is going to be good, and I think we stole him as a late round pick. Off the field trouble caused him to drop off many teams first day draft boards, but I think he will be special.  The guy has 16 catches for 214 yards and 6 kick returns for 195 yards including a 97 yard touchdown. Keep an eye on him as the season progresses. Freeman to Stroughter could be a combo we hear for years to come.
• Aqib Talib started the season rocky with some off the field troubles, but has had a great year–statistically–so far. The guy has 25 tackles and 4 interceptions (three of which came against Washington). I figure this guy–as flighty as he may be–to be a corner that is capable of big things in the future. Keep and eye on him also.
• Jimmy Wilkerson has 6 sacks in 7 games which is a pretty decent number, but this guy would be better used as a 3rd or 4th man in the d-line rotation. Once we get him some help, he could concentrate more on being a pass rush specialist.
• Kellen Winslow Jr. is leading the team in receiving with 31 catches for 295 yards and has been a consistent threat in the red zone, snaring four touchdown passes so far.

So that is it so far in this young season. The Buccaneers will certainly have their work cut out for them as the season carries on.

I will be back to my normal posting schedule starting on Friday, so check out our fantasy update that day!