Today’s piece on the Bucs though is quite different, “Tampa Bay Buccaneers have bigger needs than at quarterback.”  Stroud is spot on in this short piece.  The Bucs have much bigger needs, especially on the defensive side of the ball than the QB position.  I understand, and Stroud obviously does too, that without a permanent fixture at QB, that a bad cycle develops in that regard.  My thinking though is that the Bucs have to see what Luke McCown is capable of.  We traded a pick for the guy, invested a lot of time into his development, and resigned him this offseason.  He is a QB who has all the physical tools to get the job done (arm, legs, size) and if we draft a QB in round 1 and Luke McCown does perform, than we have a predicament.  We don’t want to be forced to play a guy because of a contract, and disregard the skills of the guy who previously played in front of him.  

As I just mentioned, besides lettting Luke play, we need defensive help.  DT’s and DE’s that fit Jim Bates scheme do not currently exist on our roster.  

“We’ve got obvious needs,” Raheem Morris said. “We want some defensive tackles. We addressed a lot of our needs, obviously, in (free agency) on offense. We feel good about some of those positions. But in the draft, you’re thinking D-tackles, you want to add corners, you want to add some players at those positions.

I like Raheem’s thinking.  I’ve always been of the mindset that DT’s, OLineman, DE’s, CB’s are the most valuable players to draft at an early time.  They are the scarcest in the league as far as quality is concerned so high picks should generally be spent on those positions.  

Stroud bring up a point that I talked to a friend about this morning, trading down.  I know this is the craze for all teams right now, and most of the time the rumors are about trades in the top 10, but generally trading out of the top 10 is impossible.  Trading out of the 18-32 area though is something that happens every draft day.  If Peria Jerry from Ole Miss is too small to fit our scheme, than trading back into round 2 and drafting a Ron Brace type might be the better option for the Bucs.  

Regardless of what position defensively we draft, drafting a QB is something I don’t want to see the Bucs do.

 This is a man who has blown relationships with local writers, national writers (all will name unmentioned) and supposedly got into a fistfight with a local (very big) writer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and a respected member in the Tampa Bay community.  This is the same man who openly campaigned for the release of TE Jerramy Stevens due to his past transgressions, than subsequently was arrested weeks later for an alleged DUI, cue the “all people mentioned in this post charged with crimes are guilty until proven innocent” line.  HIS THIRD INVOLVEMENT WITH FREAKING DUI’S!  Duemig also was the same genius who broke the story about the Buccaneers being moved to Los Angeles in 2000, about Phil Mickelson’s alleged gambling debts, and in all of these scenarios, his “unnamed sources” always take the fall for his preposterous musings.  

There is one thing I’m sure of…he has had it out for Jon Gruden since the day he replaced Tony Dungy.  The only time in which this stance was not apparent was when interviewing Gruden, he would act like he liked him (coward), but with no Gruden around he made no bones about hating the man. No matter the results on the football field, the campaign remained strong…to run Jon Gruden out of town.  Well, apparently his venom finally got him his wish.  

It is being reported now from the St Pete Times, unabashed Gruden haters as well, that the Glazers not only sought the advice of a few players on the football team, but also sought the advice of the fans.  

“We talked to a lot of people, but we not only talked to the players, but (also) out in the community getting a feel for the team,” co-owner Bryan Glazer told the Times today at the Super Bowl media center in Tampa, Fla. “We get opinions and we mix them all together. We just took our time making that decision.”

“Our fans are our stockholders. They’re what we play for — the people in our stadium and the ones that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about: winning and how they feel about the team. If they don’t feel good about the team, then there’s something wrong. . . I think you all know the sense that’s out there. It was time for a change.”

“I THINK YOU ALL KNOW THE SENSE THAT’S OUT THERE!” –   That is classic.  The funny thing to me, is I’ll give the man credit for the first time in my life.  Although he helped me personally propel a cause I had undertaken (the ouster of ex-Rays owner Vince Naimoli via Oust Naimoli) to a national stage, by allowing me to talk about Oust Naimoli on the air, I never liked the guy, and never will.   He did accomplish his goal though, Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen are gone, let’s see how long he gives the new regime before calling for their heads for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

“His status is not going to change in terms of the game on Sunday,” coach Jon Gruden said. “We’ll have to let you know when we get to the stadium…I’d say that (Brooks) is working harder than any guy I’ve ever seen. He’s day to day. If there is any way he can play, then he’ll play. The best way I can put it right now is he didn’t practice today. We need to get this hamstring right, and we’ll update you in the next 48 hours.”

Our other two injured players, Maurice Stovall and Jeff Garcia were also limited in practive yesterday as well.  We all know at this point that Garcia is being benched in favor of Brian Griese.