Buc-etology, Part 4: Predicting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 53-Man Roster
By Leo Howell
August 29, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Morgan (15) runs with the ball as Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Sean Baker (33) chases in the second quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
As we get ready for the NFL season, it’s easy to sit around and speculate on which players will make the roster, and which will fall short. It’s fun to pick through depth charts to find players on the rise, and players whose stock has fallen.
So in the weeks leading up to the naming of the Buccaneers’ roster for week 1 against the New York Jets, we present Buc-etology, a Bracketology style prediction of the Buccaneers’ roster, including last four in, last four out, and players whose names are rising up or falling down the depth chart.
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD | FOURTH |
| WR | Vincent Jackson | Kevin Ogletree | ||
| LT | Donald Penn | |||
| LG | Carl Nicks | |||
| C | Jeremy Zuttah | Ted Larsen | ||
| RG | Davin Joseph | Jamon Meredith | ||
| RT | Demar Dotson | Gabe Carimi | ||
| TE | Luke Stocker | Tom Crabtree | Nate Byham | |
| WR | Mike Williams | Tiquan Underwood | Eric Page | |
| QB | Josh Freeman | Mike Glennon | Dan Orlovsky | |
| RB | Doug Martin | Brian Leonard | Mike James | |
| FB | Erik Lorig | |||
| LDE | Da’Quan Bowers | Daniel Te’o-Nesheim | William Gholston | |
| DT | Gerald McCoy | Derek Landri | ||
| DT | Akeem Spence | Gary Gibson | ||
| RDE | Adrian Clayborn | Steven Means | Trevor Scott | |
| SLB | Dekoda Watson | Jonathan Casillas | ||
| MLB | Mason Foster | Najee Goode | ||
| WLB | Lavonte David | Adam Hayward | ||
| LCB | Darrelle Revis | Danny Gorrer | Rashaan Melvin | Deveron Carr |
| RCB | Johnthan Banks | Leonard Johnson | Michael Adams | |
| SS | Mark Barron | Sean Baker | ||
| FS | Dashon Goldson | Ahmad Black | ||
| P | Michael Koenen | |||
| K | Derek Dimke | |||
| LS | Andrew Economos | |||
| KR/PR | Eric Page |
Last Four In:
- Deveron Carr, Sean Baker, Najee Goode, Trevor Scott
Last Four Out:
- Danny Noble, Cody Grimm, Keith Tandy, Chris Owusu
Stock Up
- Akeem Spence – If there was any doubt that he’d win the starting nose tackle, he proved himself worthy on Saturday night. Spence gave up his gap early in the game, but then dominated the rest of the way, breaking into the backfield and making big plays on numerous occasions
- Trevor Scott – Many players will get signed during the preseason and get cut shortly thereafter. Veterans will take any chance they can get to catch on with an NFL roster. So that’s why Scott stands out, because he truly impressed in his first appearance, and might have made the roster with his pass rush ability.
- Sean Baker – The Buccaneers’ backup safety just seems to know where the ball is during the preseason. After an impressive performance last year at this time, Baker reappeared on Saturday night with a big fumble recovery which he returned for a game-winning score.
Stock Down
- Deveron Carr – The injury to Danny Gorrer and Anthony Gaitor’s unfortunate move to the IR make it more likely that Carr will get his chance on an NFL roster, but he hasn’t stood out at all this preseason. He has the tools to be good, but he has work to do to be a contributor in the NFL.
- Ahmad Black – The Buccaneers went with a traditional nickel corner against the Dolphins by using Michael Adams. This means that the “big nickel” package with three safeties was not the first look, and didn’t appear very often. This likely doesn’t speak highly for Black.
- Nate Byham – The Buccaneers’ blocking specialist at tight end gave up a brutal sack during the third preseason game. He needs to prove himself in the final preseason game, or he could lose out to Danny Noble for the final roster spot at tight end.