The only time major trades happen in the top of round 1 is for teams to acquire QB’s.  It happened last year with Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman. There are a few teams that value their board so much (rightfully so) that if they think they are about to drop down a tier of player, they will make the necessary move to trade up and acquire the guy they have been targeting.

I personally am just not seeing too many teams that are in dire need of a QB that would see us a trade partner to move up with.  Sam Bradford is clearly the number one QB prospect at this point, and being as though we are not going to draft him at 3, why trade with us?  Same goes for the Lions, so the one potential trading partner would seemingly have to be the Rams.

Oakland, Cleveland, Carolina, would be the only teams in my eyes that have glaring QB issues, and as mentioned before, I’m just not seeing why any of those teams would see us as the logical trading partner.  Carolina doesn’t even have a first round pick, so we can immediately rule them out, and Cleveland and Oakland pick in the top 10 themselves.  If one of those two teams thought that they had to move up to 3 to take Jimmy Clausen and beat out the other team, then that makes us a viable option, but I am just not seeing that possibility arising.  Oakland couldn’t stomach the money it would take to pay out Clausen and Fat Boy Jamarcus Russell at the same time, so you can pretty much rule them out from trading up to 3.  So that leaves the Rams and the Browns as teams that need a QB that have the ammo to get one, and the Rams pick first themselves.  There was some reports that came out yesterday that the Browns had talked to the Rams about moving up to 1 to take Sam Bradford but once again, I’m not seeing how we are in that equation.

While acquiring as many picks as possible is important for a team that is in dire need of multiple impact guys, the potential that our biggest position of need could be filled by a guy many people view as the best player in the draft at the number 3 spot, coupled with a lack of potential trade partners, in my eyes, takes us out of the trade world come draft day.

All player Scouting Reports will come from WalterFootball.com.  This site is one of the best come draft time, so please check it out if you haven’t already.   

Target 1

QB Josh Freeman – I’m not sure whether our continued interest in Freeman is purely a smokescreen to try and get a team to trade up, which is entirely plausible or a true interest from the Bucs organization.   I could see the Niners, Browns, Seahawks, Lions or Jaguars attempting to trade back into round 1 if Freeman is still available with our pick, especially if were giving off the impression that we have interest in him.  It has been rumored in Tampa for at least two weeks that the Bucs are interested in trading out of Round 1 or at least down in the round, and showing interest in Freeman is a good way to accomplish that.  

If we do have interest in the guy, I’m a little disheartened because of my thinking that we have much bigger needs, and I have made a few posts lately expressing that fact.  Freeman is a giant at almost 6’6″ and 250 lbs.  He put up some nice numbers at KSU and has some definite physical skills that are unteachable, namely, giganticness.  I tend to agree with Walter Football though in that he reminds me of Jamarcus Russell a player I’m not exactly enamored with. 

Strengths: Elite frame with excellent height and in great condition … No questions about arm strength; shows elite arm strength on 15- to 20-yard stick throws (outs, posts) … Uses nice touch and throws a catchable ball … Can throw the ball on the run … Very low interception percentage from sophomore to junior year; Solid decision maker … Nice footwork and has a quick drop … Outstanding feel for the pass rush … Great mobility and can gain yardage with his feet … Extremely high upside. 

Weaknesses: Accuracy was abysmal in junior year … Locks on to receivers and shows below-average field vision … Wildly inconsistent; runs hot and cold … Questionable leadership … Intangibles will go under the microscope by pro scouts who can talk to KSU players and coaches. 

Summary: Freeman’s physical tools makes him a near lock for the first day of the NFL Draft, because of his physical tools, with first-round potential. Personally, I would have to know more about Josh Freeman the person (character, work ethic, leadership) to give a more accurate grade. Freeman is a classic example of a Boom or Bust prospect. 

Player Comparison: JaMarcus Russell.Russell had questionable intangibles coming out of LSU with a cannon for a right arm (Freeman’s arm is not as strong as Russell’s). His accuracy in the NFL is horrendous, but he still shows amazing upside. 

Note: I am not saying Freeman is the next Jamarcus Russell (as far as a bust in the NFL so just that they are very comparable as prospects. 

Target 2 will come to you tommorow afternoon.

I have made no secret throughout the two years that Jeff Garcia has been our QB of my disdain for him.    He has a general propensity to not move efficiently through all of his reads, and look mostly to check downs.  He also tends to move his feet to much in the pocket, anticipating rushing defenses that the majority of time, tend to not even be in his general vicinity.  The main problem with Mr. Garcia is his general lack of arm strength.  I said at the start of the year that there was no way the Bucs could be Super Bowl Champs with Jeff Garcia, no matter how much it hurt me to say so.  He is a guy that can get a team to a 9-7 record (which we’ve had the two years that he has been the QB) but not much more.  

Garcia’s full season statistics:

244 of 376 for 2,712 yards and 7.2 yds per pass

12 touchdowns and 6 interceptions

35 runs for 148 yards and 1 touchdown to go along with 7 fumbles

For a guy who is supposed to be great because of what he can do with his legs, 148 yards in 12 games isn’t exactly mind boggling.   That’s an average of 12.3 yards per game, a number that flat footed QB’s all over the league could strive to attain.  He had 4 games where he rushed for over 10 yards, and 3 of them were in losses, so maybe his running isn’t exactly beneficial to the team. 

People always point to his QB rating as the true indicator of the effectiveness of Jeff Garcia.  5 of his 12 starts he had a QB rating under 75.  The QB’s in the league with sub 80 QB ratings for the year:  Kyle Orton, Jamarcus Russell, Tyler Thigpen, Gus Frerotte, Dan Orlovsky, Marc Bulger, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Derek Anderson.  I don’t think I need to inform anyone reading this site of the quality of the aforementioned guys. 

He had 5 games of plus 100 QB rating as well, one of which was against Detroit, and of which was against Seattle.  His largest game of the year was the one against Detroit (137.5 rating).   That game should be thrown out, because well….it’s the damned Lions.  That gives him two 100+ QB rating games over Carolina, and one over Minnesota.  That left Jeff Garcia with 1, count it, 1 road game with a 100+ QB rating (if you take away the lowly Lions game). 

Some other interesting stats:

On 20 yds or more plays – 22^nd in the league

On 40 yds or more plays – 19^th in the league

Total Yards – 22^nd in the league

A stat that is widely used in baseball, VORP, has now been formulated for use with NFL players, DPAR, at footballoutsiders.com a premier website for NFL stats that are little different than your standard NFL stats.   Jeff Garcia was ranked 18th, ahead of Seneca Wallace, Tavaris Jackson, Dan Orlovsky and Shaun Hill to name a few. 

 Interception and sack master Brian Griese started 4 games for the Bucs.  He was only solid in 1 of those games, against the Falcons in week 2 of the season.  We would have won that game with Dan Orlovsky at QB though as the defense dominated the young Falcons in that game.  His other 3 games he through more picks than td’s and was sacked 7 times. 

 This is the most important position heading into the offseason.  We are flush with cap space, and there should be a few starting caliber QB’s available on the free agent/trade market.  We cannot go into another season with Jeff Garcia or Brian Griese as the signal caller for this team.  If we do, suicide is in the mix for me. 

 Grade – D-