Looking back at two and a half years of Tampa Bay Buccaneers blogging

December of 2018 would have been three years of blogging about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for me. These past two and a half years have been the most fruitful for me, and I appreciate all of you who have been here through it all.

For a long time, I’ve been a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I haven’t always been someone who wanted to dip my toe into the media landscape surrounding the team though. This decision and effort didn’t begin until sometime in 2014.

Since getting real about this, it’s been a whirlwind journey and every moment has been an exciting one.

I was originally offered a position as an expert for the site but couldn’t commit the time it would take to do so. And honestly, I didn’t feel like I was ready for such a position.

However, I did commit to becoming a contributor to the site and was immediately excited to get started in December of 2015.

My first post was about William Gholston. The defensive end was part of a top-ranked rushing defense and was one of the leaders in tackles at the time. His stats lined up with guys like Michael Bennett and Cameron Heyward.

This was before he was re-signed to his current deal, and I expressed my opinion of Gholston being a part of the Bucs future, especially if he continued the growth he’d experienced during the 2015 NFL Season.

To say he hasn’t quite reached those expectations would be an understatement, but I stand by what I saw then. It just didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped.

That first post really boils down what I love about what we’ve done here at the Pewter Plank. It’s not about being right all the time. It’s about getting the thoughts, opinions and analysis out there and sparking conversation.

I don’t know that I was the first to talk about Gholston and consider his future, but it soon became a topic of discussion around Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan circles, and for good reason.

My final post – not counting this one – is about the future as well. J.R. Sweezy being released is something many of us have talked about.

Nothing against the person, he just hasn’t panned out since coming to Tampa from Seattle. This time, unfortunately, I was right.

In a roster recap post ahead of the 2016 NFL Regular season, I questioned the ability of a player to come back from back injuries. Not Sweezy specifically, but people in general. The back is a bad place to get an injury.

His latest injury wasn’t back related, but one could argue the extra weight and pressure put on the legs to compensate for a compromised back could have led to the injury.

This time I was right. Sweezy simply didn’t pan out for the offensive line. Again, it’s not about being right all the time. I wish I could’ve been wrong here.

However, it’s always about the future. What team is next, which draft pick is next, which (fill in the blank) is next?

For me, part of what’s next is Bucs Nation. SB Nation is where I’ll be for the foreseeable future. This, along with my recently announced participation with Pro Football Focus and the Locked on Bucs podcast will be filling my time and affording me the continued opportunity to talk and write about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers every week.

Next: Sweezy's Exit Opens Doors

To the contributors and experts of the Pewter Plank. I genuinely appreciate everything we did together. We didn’t always get great reader reactions – I’m talking to you Sean Eck – but we had fun and did it the right way.

I’m proud of all my endeavors and what has been achieved through them. This is one I will always look back on fondly. And it’s because of your work and camaraderie.

I hope to interact with all of you in the future. Either as a reader, listener, commenter, tweeter, whatever you choose. I appreciate the last two and half years and look forward to what’s next.

Go Bucs!

Home/Bucs News