Bucs Friday Morning News
By Patrik Nohe
Plenty of good reading on this Friday morning. We’ll jump right in with Yahoo Sports who has a good piece on EJ Biggers stepping into the starting role to replace Aqib Talib. Biggers is excited for the opportunity and clearly seems poised to try and make a big impression over the last four games of the season. Biggers was taken out of Western Michigan in the 7th round last season. The article details the Bucs’ secondary problems this season and Biggers’ personal turmoil having missed his entire rookie season. It seems he made the most of his lost season though, and it caught the eyes of coach Raheem Morris.
"“I really didn’t want to talk too much about Biggers this summer, but I felt this thing coming with E.J.,” Raheem Morris said. “He worked so hard in the offseason and he kind of redefined what a player on I.R. should do. He’s also been smart enough to absolutely live behind Ronde.”"
Sounds like a smart guy, and incredibly opportunistic. Good qualities in a corner. Biggers could take over for Ronde when the 35 year-old ironman corner finally does call it quits.
Freeman Gets Fined
Josh Freeman was fined five big for clobbering Brent Grimes out of bounds in the Buccaneers loss to the Falcons last weekend. It’s kind of weird seeing a quarterback get popped for hitting someone else, but when you consider Freeman is 6’6 250 and Grimes is slightly bigger than a smurf, I can understand how the NFL might have cared. Frankly, that’s more of a size mismatch than when James Harrison killed those Cleveland Browns a couple months ago. Incidentally, does anyone else thinks that maybe the Steelers should stop while they’re ahead? The commissioner uncharacteristically reduces the suspension of their serial sex offender quarterback after his indiscretions in a bathroom in Georgia with a college girl, and they have the audacity to claim the NFL is targeting them when they’re stopping just short of decapitating quarterbacks and a slot receivers!? I shouldn’t have gotten started…
Bucs Schedule
The St. Pete Times talks about the strength of the Bucs schedule in comparison to the rest of the NFC contenders. I mentioned this a couple of days ago, the Bucs are really in a position to control their own destiny if they can just keep winning. It’s not going to be easy beating the Saints, but games against the Redskins, Lions and Seahawks are all winnable and the Bucs could be 10-5 with an 8-3 NFC record heading into their week 17 match-up in New Orleans. At that point the Bucs could even make it in with a loss and a 10-6 (8-4) record if they have a little help, but if they win out they will be 11-5 (9-3) and that WILL get them into the dance.