Nece was always known as a real Tony Dungy type of player as far as community involvement was concerned, and his latest act shows why.  Last month, Nece gathered 40 people from around the Bay Area, handed them envelopes with $55 in them, and told them to “Pay It Forward.”  For those who haven’t seen the movie that this refers to, please do, Kevin Spacey once again is brilliant, but the premise of the movie is someone does something nice for you, you do something nice to someone else, and before you know it, everyone is doing nice things for everyone.  Simple concept, if people were to actually do it.

Some examples of what happened from Nece’s site, RyanNece.Com.

Once I had the $55 in my hand I posed a challenge to myself. How can I affect the most amount of people with the least amount of money? I figured this would be my marketing strategy for spreading the good word. I know this didn’t change anyone’s life per say, but this random act of kindness might have shown some how simple, and inexpensive, it can be to pay it forward. With .25¢ and a little leg work we were able to leave a personal touch on 60 people and hopefully brighten their day while saving them $30.

With $15 in quarters on hand, Hannah, our Intern, and I hit the streets of Downtown Tampa. Our first order of business was to find an unsuspecting Meter Man. Seeing the direction he was headed we made sure to stay a few cars ahead of him. Any meter that had 5 minuets or less received a quarter, along with a note on their window shield explaining the concept. It was quite the experience to say the least. We learned a few things along the way. If you ever want to have the same fun pay close attention! First, handicap patrons do not have to pay the meter. Not to worry, we only spent .75¢ before we figured this out. Two, there are pre-paid parking meter hang tags as well as ticket stubs for the dash board. It got better because this only took .50¢ to realize. Either way, even though these meters didn’t need our quarters, I’m sure they appreciated our efforts J Finally, and most important, it’s against city ordinance. Opps! We were unaware of this and kept out of sight once the Meter Man made this apparent to us. Without condoning being unlawful I would say…..let your conscience be your guide.

Going a step further, the $15 in quarters was actually worth more. Let me explain:

60 quarters (1 for each meter) x $30 (price of a parking ticket) = $1,800!

As they say, time is of the essence. Whether it is with the parking meter or in life, I hope you find this true and are able to make the most of not only your time but others.

Remember, it’s not the size of the gift.

Nina Lopez

Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend.  I just returned from a business trip to beautiful Denver, and was feeling a bit under the weather.  I will try and get you updated as much as possible. 

• Joey Galloway (still), Jeff Garcia, and Jovan Haye did not practice all weekend.  Antonio Bryant returned from missing Sunday’s practice to Monday’s morning session. 
• Monday’s afternoon session was cancelled, as the players went to see the Dark Knight.
• Backup QB Luke McCown fumbled two snaps, to the ire of HC Jon Gruden:

“Well, Luke McCown had [two fumbled snaps],” Gruden said. “We don’t get out here early every day all year and get the center-quarterback exchanges for any other reason. That’s the fundamental in this game. At this point in time, it’s ridiculous.

• McCown appears to be flashing signs of brilliance every day, but also continues to make stupid mistakes (fumbles, picks).  Gruden will not tolerate said mistakes. 
• On the backup QB situation:

“I really feel good with the way Brian Griese is moving this football team right now,” Gruden said. “He’s making a lot of throws, really good decisions and he’s handling the no-huddle offense extremely well. I like the flash that Luke McCown has. He’s got some real flash playmaking ability. We’ve just got to harness it a little bit better. We’ve got to do a bit better job coaching.”

• On the improvement of DE Gaines Adams:

“I see a lot of what I saw last year in the second half of the season,” Gruden said. “I see a guy that not only can rush the passer and has speed to get the corner, but he’s also becoming a much more complete player. We’re running the ball left in our 9-on-7 drills more than we ever had, just to try to get him ready for the regular season and obviously we want to try to become a better running team, left and right, inside and out. He’s a more complete player and he’s got great upside.”

• Mike Alstott will be honored at halftime of the Seahawks game on October 19th.  According to PewterReport, the game will have a special commemorative ticket, a Mike Alstott commemorative gate giveaway, and there will be the halftime ceremony for Alstott.
• Monday’s training camp summary from BucsStats.com:

Jeremy Zuttah is probably as far along now as Arron Sears was after a few regular season games. I think Sears is still a lock to start at left guard, but he better watch out.

Aqib Talib had another good day in practice. He’s still inconsistent, but when he’s on, he’s really on.

Charles Bennett had to leave practice because of dehydration.

• Sunday’s training camp summary from BucsStats.com

Ryan Sims‘s size makes him an excellent partner for Chris Hovan. They were nearly unblockable today.

Ryan Nece is doing everything possible to stick around by excelling in special teams drills. Nece is clearly on the bubble because of linebacker depth, but he refuses to go quietly. It’s kind of inspiring.
Gruden punished some penalties and missed assignments by making them run sprints (or “gassers”) across the width of the field.
Gruden singled out Brian Griese as having a particularly good day in the blitz pickup department.

Ben Troupe played some H-back today, lining up in the backfield and blocking as a fullback.

• Saturday’s training camp summary from BucsStats.com

With Jovan Haye out with a groin strain, Ryan Sims has been getting a lot of action at starting under tackle and is really doing a nice job. He’s not as quick as Haye or Dre Moore, but he’s got a nice blend of functional speed and power.

The dropped passes didn’t stop when Brian Griese finally took over. Really, just about every receiver that was thrown to had a dropped pass.

Gaines Adams nearly took Warrick Dunn‘s head off when he got stuffed on a running play. Not in a bad way, though. Adams has the chance to be one of the elite pass rushers in the league if he keeps up progress like this.

• Did we draft Dexter Jackson to be Devin Hester or to replace Joey Galloway:

“If he’s doing his job as a returner, that’s what he was brought here to do,” receivers coach Richard Mann said. “So, whatever else we get, that stuff is gravy. I think with the juice that he’s got, when (coach Jon) Gruden goes back to his little laboratory, he’ll come up with some creative ways to get him the ball.”

• A nice piece from The St Pete Times dealing with the 5 most impressive players of the first week.

Those players are Brian Griese, Michael Clayton, Jeremy Zuttah, Aqib Talib and Michael Spurlock. 

Currently on the Roster – Cato June, Ryan Nece, Charles Bennett, Quincy Black

Gauranteed Roster Spots – Cato June, Quincy Black

As I stated previously I think the coaching staff has high hopes for Quincy Black.  Would our defense be much worse if Cato moved to the WLB spot and Quincy Black won the SLB spot outright in camp.  DB could still get 20 snaps a game on defense, and his leadership is still top notch.     This should be a great camp battle in my opinion. 

No Chance – All have a chance to make the roster

Battling for Spots – Ryan Nece, Charles Bennet

Ryan Nece would make the perfect 5th LB on a corp that consisted of Ruud, DB, Quincy Black and Cato June.  Nece has the ability to play all 3 spots on our LB corps.  Former Clemson LB Charles Bennett, a 7th round draft pick of the Bucs in ’06 is battling Nece for the 5th LB spot.  He brings some versatility to the table ala Ryan Nece.  He was on the IR last season with a knee injury so he will have to prove to the Bucs that he is healthy and able to supplant a guy in Nece where we know what he is capable of bringing to the table.