Midweek Gameplan
The Buccaneers’ Most Recent
Last year the Buccaneers finished 8th in the league in rushing and 17th in passing. It was one of the better offensive performances over a season for the Bucs. The problem is that they finished 20th in points per game with an average of 21.3 points per game. That means that they moved the ball well, but failed to put points on the board. Too often they ended up with field goals. This kept too many opponents in games (Detroit), and the two Atlanta games would have definitely been different.
In order to improve on last year and really become a contender, the Bucs will need to put points on the board. It is not good enough to move the ball up and down the field to then settle for good field position, or a field goal. With the emphasis on offense in the NFL over the past decade, it is important to get touchdowns. Even the rules favor the offense, and it is hard for defenses to keep the opponents under thirteen points a game like the great defenses of the late 90s and early 2000s did.
Injury Updates and Commentary
Once again, no new injuries to report from last week. Luckily, no one has a reality show, and most ACLs are safe for the week.
NFL Matters
Two quarterbacks are being mentioned with different teams this next season, Kevin Kolb, and Vince Young. In Kolb’s case, he is reported to be on the trading block once the CBA is ratified. Young is out in Tennessee and will be looking for a new team to compete for a job. The issue is that I don’t know if either one has the potential to be a good starting quarterback. Kolb has been highly touted since last season, but got hurt and Michael Vick excelled in his place. If you look at Kolb’s numbers from last season (7 starts, 7 TDs, 7 Int), he really wasn’t outstanding, and that is on a very potent offense with a good line. I just get the feeling that he is getting more hype than he deserves at this point.
As for Young, it is hard for me to envision him winning back a team very quickly as he quit on his last team and it was well publicized. Young has great talent, but he does not command a team and will them to victory. He has been criticized for making poor decisions. I think one reason he has not lived up to his talent is that he doesn’t play his game. He tries too much to be a pocket NFL passer, and he needs to use his athleticism to make plays. I think that he has the ability to make it back on the field, but I think it will take time (and more than one year), and some more maturity.
Fantasy Focus
This week we will look at Kellen Winslow. He is a very good tight end and has been productive throughout his career when healthy. I alluded to him potentially having a big year if his knees are healthy previously, but does that make him a good fantasy tight end?
Tight end is a very tough position in fantasy as it is very hard to find a consistent one. There are a few really good ones in the league, but after the top handful, the drop-off becomes quite steep. Last year, Winslow had a fairly good year, but was still unable to put up consistent numbers from week to week, and did not have very many touchdowns.
Therefore, Winslow is a viable option for a low end starting tight end in a larger league or a bye week replacement. Thus, he is probably only worth taking in the later rounds if you spent the rest of your picks solidifying other positions and rolling the dice on a tight end. If you are in a smaller league, you may just want to keep an eye on him on the waiver wire if your starting tight end is injury prone.
At The End of the Day
I turned on the TV this weekend and the American Century Championship was on NBC. This is a charity golf event composed mostly of athletes that is played every year. I didn’t watch much of it, but was surprised when the announcer started talking about the approach shot for … Ronde Barber. I didn’t even know he was in the tournament and it turns out he is not a bad golfer. He finished 32nd in the tournament out of 83 competitors. He even finished ahead of former Bucs quarterback Vinny Testaverde. In addition, another former Bucs quarterback, Trent Dilfer, finished 31st. I guess playing football in Florida has its advantages.
Until next week, “You’ll get nothing and like it” (Judge Smails)