Empty seats are a recent phenomenon at Raymond James. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-US PRESSWIRE

Aside from being unfair, that’s completely unfounded.

No other major metropolitan area is as stressed out as Tampa Bay when it comes to the combined factors of a rough job market, tight credit, household budget constraints, lower net worth and, most significantly, a lousy housing market.

That’s according to the quarterly Consumer Distress Index released Wednesday by the nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility.

Out of the top 25 metros, Tampa Bay was not only most financially distressed, but it also was the only major metro in the bottom-rung category of “Emergency Crisis.” Detroit, the second-most-distressed city, just barely landed one category higher: “Distressed Unstable.”

That’s an unfortunate distinction to hold, but it also helps to shed some light on some of the poor attendance numbers that the Tampa Bay area is faulted for.

It’s very easy to see empty seats at a game in Tampa and criticize the fans. After all, most non-Floridians’ image of Florida is pretty much South Beach. Case in point, my college roommate got off the plane from Boston having never actually visited Florida State in Tallahassee, but expecting a dorm with a beach view.

With that perception of Florida come some implications. And it’s understandable. If you conceive of Florida as I mentioned before, and then you come vacation here and see that side of things but also the considerable expense, it’s easy to assume you must be doing well financially to live there.

‘It’s a rich, tropical paradise where everyone lives on the beach and money grows on the freaking trees.’

Ergo, there’s no excuse not to attend sporting events, especially for good teams. I understand how people arrive at the opinion. The problem is, it’s just wrong.

Yes, there are rich people in Tampa, just like there are in Cleveland and Detroit, but the entire bay area has also been nailed by the economic woes that have swept across the country since 2007. For the sake of the aforementioned study, the Tampa Bay area, Clearwater, St. Pete and Tampa were considered the city of Tampa Bay.

The Bay area is the only “city” in the country currently classified as being in an Emergency Crisis.

Now let’s consider some other things that get overlooked in faulting sports fans in the Bay Area. Aside from lacking disposable income, attending a sporting event in the Bay Area is a little different than in other metropolitan areas.

As the economy went down, so did the ticket sales...

The Bay Area is extremely spread out, there is no densely populated epicenter, very few high-rises, there are just miles and miles of urban sprawl. Miles and miles divided by water and with no public transit. I grew up in the Bay Area, but was still a full hour from Raymond James and 45 minutes from the Trop. I don’t really know what hockey is, but I know the Ice Palace wasn’t close either.

Whereas, you can hop on the Subway anywhere in New York and end up at Citi Park or Yankee Stadium for the price of one subway fare, In the Bay area it’s an ordeal. You have to pack up the car, probably fill it with gas, go and pay for parking and then in addition to the added cost, you have to absorb the regular cost of the sporting event (tickets, concessions, etc…) and then fight traffic and drive however long back home. No where is that more of an issue than Tropicana Field.

But here’s the rub, when things are good financially in Tampa the people do come…

The Trop being an exception, because it’s a soul-less dump of a dome in a down-trodden part of St. Pete that is central to no one, the Bucs and Lightning both used to enjoy great attendance.

There was a time when I was in high school where you could be on the waiting list for Bucs season tickets for a decade and never get a shot at them. Bucs games were THE ticket in Tampa on Sundays. Attendance didn’t become an issue at Raymond James until the economy fell…

The Lightning have lead the NHL in attendance in the past. New ownership is bringing them back but a strike and a bad economy can do a number on any team’s attendance.

It’s time for people to start calling the national pundits on their BS. Tampa is not a bad sports city, it doesn’t have bad fans and the criticism has become downright unfair. Everybody is more than willing to excuse Detroit, but Tampa doesn’t get a pass because people romanticize the beach more than the great lakes?

Tampa is a city in crisis, but make no mistake about it, they love their sports teams. When the money is there, so too are the fans.

But money doesn’t grow on trees.

Tampa Bay is the Most Economically Distressed City in the US - The Pewter Plank - The Pewter Plank - A Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

Oct. 3, 2011; Tampa Bay FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (93) celebrates a tackle against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers defeated the Colts 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stamey-US PRESSWIRE

Last year was not necessarily the best indication of what the team was capable of defensively, but for as many excuses as you can make for the 2011 Bucs, the facts remain they were just lousy on that side of the ball last year.

The front seven was abysmal, the secondary was regularly victimized and the entire identity of the team was thrown into disarray when the defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense couldn’t start fast enough.

With the bulk of the off-season transactions now in the book, and with a clearer idea of what Greg Schiano is planning for next year, let’s take stock of the Bucs defense and try to take an objective look at just where this unit stands as it heads into the OTA period of the NFL year.

Have the Bucs done enough to improve the defense?

Here’s the rub, despite painting things as bleak, they really aren’t in Tampa.The Bucs could actually have a pretty solid defensive unit in 2012, even without a major overhaul this off-season.

It all just hangs on the health of one man.

Gerald McCoy is the most crucial element on the Buccaneers defense, bar none. Think I’m kidding? With a healthy McCoy last season the same Bucs team that finished a hapless 4-12 and ranked dead last in defense was at one point 4-2 with impressive victories over Atlanta and New Orleans to speak of.

Do you remember that team? It seems like two seasons ago now, but there was a point in 2011 where the Bucs looked like a legitimate NFC contender. There was a game where Tampa smashed Atlanta in its mouth and held Michael Turner to 20 yards on the ground. There was confidence and strength in that defense back then.

Then Gerald McCoy got hurt and the effects were obvious.

Oct 9, 2011; San Francisco, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (93) holds his left leg after an injury on the field against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Talk about a trickle-down impact, every level of the defense got worse when McCoy went out last year. Mason Foster and the linebackers became a lot less effective when they were spending the start of most plays fighting off blockers at the second level. We talked about the importance of the front four in a 4-3 during the draft, McCoy is a great illustration of that.

Mason Foster looked like two different players last season, he was exciting with a great nose for the ball early on. But then I’ve heard some fans go as far as to say he disappeared in the second half. He didn’t disappear, he just got covered up because none of the guys up front could occupy blockers at the point and keep them from bothering the backers.

When McCoy is out there, the entire line is better. Offenses have to focus on the middle of the Bucs line, giving your edge rushers better chances at one-on-ones and keeping additional guys off your linebackers and safeties. The gap integrity improves with McCoy in the middle, helping the run defense play more effectively and the coverage improves because the pressure is better when you have a guy who can collapse the pocket from the middle.

Essentially, Gerald McCoy catches a bad rep because he hasn’t been as flashy as Ndamukong Suh, but in the context of his role on his respective defense he may be even more essential to his team than Suh is.

When Suh is gone the Lions (as they have shown) can still win and play decent defense. The Bucs defense went from a middle of the pack defense to cellar-dwellars without McCoy last season. It was night and day.

For Tampa to succeed this season, McCoy has to stay healthy all year. Aside from being the highest paid guy on the roster, he may also be the most indispensable.

Greg Schiano can fix the locker-room culture, he can add leaders and talk all he wants about the Buccaneer way. What he can’t do is produce an elite NFL defensive tackle from thin air.

In Tampa, as Gerald McCoy goes, so too does the Bucs defense.

As Gerald McCoy Goes, So Goes the Buccaneers Defense - The Pewter Plank - The Pewter Plank - A Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

December 17, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber (20) tackles Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones (28) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Barber is well past prime as an NFL corner, he wins now on his intelligence and instincts, but his athleticism is not what it once was. Moving him to safety allows the Bucs to keep his football IQ in the secondary, but alleviates some of the liability that comes with lining him up as a boundary or field corner (he’s still solid in the nickel).

Right now, the move seems to be more related to the Bucs’ needs than Barber’s skill-set though. With the exception of the oft-injured Cody Grimm, there are no safeties returning next season and the team is desperate to find a capable player to team with first round pick Mark Barron.

“If we need to make a move to pull Ronde back from safety and down to corner, we can do that in a heartbeat,” Dominik told the Tampa Tribune.

The team still needs to make a decision on Aqib Talib, but given their depth right now and the lack of corners that they added in the draft, I can’t see them making the decision to part with Talib lightly. Personally, I think they’ll cut ties with the troubled corner when his contract expires, but until then they need him in their secondary.

Either way, look for Barber to be lining up somewhere new next season…

WWM: Ronde Barber Moving to Safety - The Pewter Plank - The Pewter Plank - A Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.