Tampa Bay Sports Blog

I have to admit I was a little surprised to learn that the Gruden/Allen era came to an end on Friday, but was happy I was at work when I heard it. My immediate reaction was laughing and jumping for joy, but as I let it settle in I tried to put things into perspective. When Gruden first arrived in Tampa I was as excited as anyone else with the thought that he would be bringing his high powered offense to the Bucs. Matching that offense with the defense we had in place, I thought we were looking at least one Super Bowl victory, but had thoughts of a couple in my head.

After winning the Super Bowl in his first season with the team I couldn’t have been happier. Since then the team has been up and down and things have slowly gone downhill. All of the excuses we’ve heard made for Gruden are partially true. The injuries, salary cap, draft picks and what not, but it all comes down to the fact that the team has no direction. The spats with players, the lack of major free agents being brought in and the botched draft picks sealed Gruden’s fate. 

I think this is the best thing that could’ve happened for the Bucs and Jon Gruden. Gruden will get another job and, if he learns from his mistakes here,  will do a much better job than he did here. I have not been a fan of Gruden’s for many reasons, but he’s very young by coaching standards and has a long time left to re-establish himself in the NFL. Jon will most likely take the ‘09 season off and jump back into the ranks the following year. He should work with kids in his time off so he can learn some patience with younger players, QB’s namely, as that is the biggest knock on him there is.

One thing directed at Jon Gruden directly here. Please Jon, DO NOT BECOME A COLLEGE COACH! You are an NFL coach and do not need to torture teenagers and their parents at the college level. I am a lifelong Notre Dame fan (stop laughing!) and have heard the rumors over and over again about Gruden coaching Notre Dame. While I think he would be one of the best on-field coaches Notre Dame could employ, I don’t want to see him cussing out any kids on the sideline in college.

Moving on to Bruce Allen now. I’m glad he’s gone and think he needs to choose a new career path. Allen seemed to bring this area nothing but trouble and mediocrity. He was touted as a capologist and the team is well under the cap, but it’s easy to stay under the cap when you don’t sign any big name free agents or refuse to negotiate with current players when they deserve it. If Gruden gets away from this guy his coaching career will improve because of it. Good riddance to Bruce Allen.

Knowing now that Raheem Morris and Mark Dominik have replaced Gruden and Allen I’m excited at the thought of the team going in a new direction. I think that this will be a good move. Morris seems to carry much respect from the players and coaches and looks like he will be a good figure at the top. We all need to see his decision making on the field still so I’ll reserve judgement on him til then.

In capping this whole thing off I would like to re-state something I’ve said in the past. The Super Bowl we won here is Gruden’s, not Dungy’s. Jon Gruden won that Super Bowl and did something Tony Dungy didn’t here, so beg all of you out there that continue to say “it was Dungy’s team” to stop it. Give the man his credit. You all know that I’m no fan of Jon Gruden, but I give the man his due. He’s a Super Bowl winning coach and he will not be out of work for too long. I wish him the best of luck and hope he has learned from his missteps here and takes the next step in making his career a successful one. I won’t miss Gruden, but I’m happy with the Championship he brought to us.

Technorati Tags: Bruce Allen, Jon Gruden, Mark Dominik, Notre Dame, Raheem Morris, Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony Dungy

• Full Name: Derrick Dewan Brooks
• Birthplace: Pensacola, FL
• Born: 04/18/1973
• Position: OLB
• How Acquired: 1st round draft pick (28th overall) in 1995

What we know: Derrick went to Florida State University and was a four year letterman standout in college. While at FSU he was part of the 1993 National Championship team (bs by the way, no offense Derrick) and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in business communications, which he followed up with a masters degree later on. Derrick was one of the core members of the Dungy/Kiffin defense that would wreak havoc through the NFL for over a decade, capped off with a Super Bowl in 2003. Under the defensive prowess of Dungy and Kiffin, and alongside John Lynch and Warren sapp, Brooks was a core piece in the innovative and much copied “Tampa Two” defense that has become a staple of nearly every teams defensive schemes from High School to the NFL. Derrick is as celebrated for his charity work in the community off the field as he is for his defensive dominance on the field. He is one of the most decorated athletes in the NFL receiving multiple awards throughout his career, topped off with his Defensive Player of the Year award in 2002.

What we think: As an absolute Hall of Famer, it’s hard to find anything negative to say about Derrick Brooks. While his career is winding down, he is still a great performer on the field and a great teammate. Brooks came up as a speedy, undersized linebacker that flew around the field and punished anyone in his line of fire. He has performed at an elite level for over ten years and even though he has lost a step, still makes his presense felt. As the Bucs vaunted defense was picked on in the 2008 season, Derrick included, one thing early on really made an impression on me. Derrick was sharing large chunks of time for the first time in his career, and no one noticed because he kept his mouth shut. In a time where it seems like every athlete complains about playing time and older players clinging on to the death, even if it’s detrimental, Derrick shared time with Geno Hayes and did nothing but perform and tutor his teammate in a professional manner. Mister Derrick Brooks may be on his last leg, but I can’t think of an athlete that has made more of an impact on me, or the Buccaneers for that matter, than him.

For stats click here.

Technorati Tags: Derrick Brooks, Florida State University, John Lynch, Monte Kiffin, National Championship, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony Dungy, Warren Sapp

I’ve got a lot on my mind right now within the sports world and in trying to kick off the new year with more posts I just wanted to comment on a few things I thought about over the weekend.

• The playoff games I watched this weekend were pretty good for the most part. The Ravens showed everyone who the real Chad Pennington was and Ed Reed proved that he is the sickest defensive ballhawk we’ve seen since Deion Sanders and you could even make an argument that he might be better.

• Tony Dungy may have coached his last game with the Colts and I would find it pretty sad if it was his last game ever coached. I do get the feeling that he wants a little time away from the game and if anyone deserves it, it’s Tony Dungy. I would like to think though that Tony would jump back into the coaching ranks after a few years of sitting home with the family. He’s only 53 and he would still be fairly young by coaching standards if he jumped back in five years from now. I hope it’s not over for Tony Dungy.

• The Patriots are supposedly going to put the franchise tag on Matt Cassel and that’s a very smart move (not shocking from the Pats). I will say though that I don’t see a better fit for Cassel than with the Vikings. That game would’ve been different had the Vikings had a real QB. I don’t know how many picks the Vikings have, but if the Patriots are confident enough in Tom Brady coming back healthy that they do shop Cassel, Minnesota should be first in line to snatch him up. Imagine the Vikes pulling that off and signing a good WR, say Antonio Bryant, and that team would be set up for a nice run at the Super Bowl next year. I could also see the Vikings looking at Jeff Garcia as a starter or backup this offseason.

• The Celtics and Cavs both lost yesterday which further proves that the Magic belong in the discussion with them, even though the Magic lost also.

That’s all for now, more later on.

Technorati Tags: Antonio Bryant, Baltimore Ravens, Boston Celtics, Chad Pennington, Cleveland Cavaliers, Deion Sanders, Ed Reed, Indianapolis Colts, Jeff Garcia, Matt Cassel, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, NFL Playoffs, Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady, Tony Dungy

Well, it was as ugly as it could possibly be. Not only did they drop the final four games of the season and miss the playoffs, but they did it in old school orange Buccaneer fashion. I think we all took the Carolina loss fairly well, it was on the road against a tough team and the Bucs were banged up. The Atlanta game was tough to swallow, but it was another tough road game and we could all understand it a little. The San Diego game was an absolute disaster and no one wanted to believe that it actually happened. It all could have been salvaged though with a win against an awful Oakland team and a Cowboy loss. The Cowboys did their part by taking an absolutely laughable beating at the hands of the Eagles, but it was too little too late. The Bucs had already lost to the second most dysfunctional team in the NFL, and it wasn’t as close as the 31-24 score would lead one to believe. This monumental collapse has left me wondering, who do we blame for this? Let’s try to figure it out.

• The offense? Jon Gruden’s offense has never really taken off in Tampa Bay and this season seemed to showcase all the problems we’ve had offensively in the Gruden era. Joey Galloway was the once favored WR who all of a sudden vanished. Warrick Dunn was the aging RB who emptied his tank yet didn’t have enough to carry them. The QB madness continued on with Garcia, Griese and McCown. The offensive line was up and down, mostly down. Any of this sound familiar? As bad as it seemed, this wasn’t the problem.
• Injuries? There is no doubt that the Bucs lost more than their fair share of guys to injuries and that always plays a factor, but this team has been allegedly avoiding big name free agents to build depth. Where was the depth? Again though, this wasn’t the problem.
• The players? Now I’ve got to admit, I’m going to put a lot of this on the players, especially in the playoff stretch. The stars in Brooks, Barber, Galloway and Garcia are all close to the end and their skills have diminished noticeably. That being said, I expected a lot more out of the defense, especially since Monte Kiffin announced his intent to depart to Tennessee, but they didn’t step up. I thought we might see that one last charge of Kiffin and his boys toward greatness, but they didn’t even achieve averageness (is that a word?). I put much of the demise on the players, but not all of it.
• Monte Kiffin? I do not put this one Monte Kiffin. As bad as the defense was in the final quarter season and as equally bad the timing was on the announcement of his decision to leave, I don’t blame Monte. He has shown us that he’s nothing if he’s not prepared and professional. I guarantee you Monte had the scheme’s in place to beat every last one of the teams the Bucs played throughout the entire season. He can’t force guys to not miss assignments or actually tackle someone that they are close to. This is not on Monte Kiffin.
• The defense? I will lump this one in with the players. Ronde Barber has been exposed as an aging corner, Derrick Brooks was in on less plays than in any season I could remember and there still isn’t enough of a rush being put on by the front four. The defense had enough physical impairments that the schemes couldn’t overcome. Barrett Ruud went from all-world to all-ok late in the season. Gaines Adams I’m officially calling a bust. Phillip Buchanon looked like he was still a Raider and the rest of everyone on the team basically filled in where they could. I think Monte saw this and that helped him make his decision to leave easier. Trying to find replacements for Brooks and company will be tough and I think he wants to spend his golden years having a little more fun than that. Defense is lumped in with the players so that’s not it either.
• Gruden/Allen?I think we all know where I was headed with this. I put it on Gruden and Allen.

Now it’s hard to put a late season meltdown on Bruce Allen, but he’s Jon Gruden’s do boy, so he takes it on the chin there. Bruce Allen has not done a good job of enticing quality free agents to come here and the drafting has been questionable at best. The draft’s have gotten somewhat better, but not much. This all still leads to Jon Gruden though.

Gruden has been the man here, especially since Allen arrived, and all things get fixed on his shoulders. The drafting of offensive talent, particularly the skill positions, has been bad. The management of talent on the field has been questionable at best and the lies have become more abundant in the process. Galloway is hurt, oh wait no he isn’t. Jeff Garcia is hurt, oh wait he isn’t. How bout this one, hey Luke McCown, if Garcia is hurt this week, you will start so I’ll have you take a majority of the snaps this week to get ready. Sunday comes and Brian Griese starts? Now I’m going to try and come at this from a different angle for all those Gruden defenders and everyone else who thinks Gruden should keep his job. The “core” of this team is still on defense and is getting on in years. Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber don’t have time on their side. The offensive core is really questionable. This is an offensive coach who’s core right now are an aging QB in Garcia he can’t get along with, an offensive line that is still a work in progress, a WR in Galloway that watched the season from the bench, another WR in Bryant who is going to get big money and doesn’t seem all that happy here, a RB group that includes an aging Warrick Dunn and a broken Cadillac Williams (whose career is now in jeapordy) and TE’s that are seldom utilized or productive. I think the time has come for all us fans to realize that the run is over.

It’s time, especially with Kiffin’s departure, to lovingly let go of the old and bring in the new. We all loved Gruden in the Super Bowl season and we all have loved the run of the defense under Kiffin that gave us Brooks, Barber, Sapp, Lynch, Nickerson, Quarles and so on. I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life as we all will as fans. But we now must look at turning the page and starting over. We have tons of cap room and great ownership who let’s football guys do their jobs so when, if not now, will it be time to turn the page? It’s hard to do, but don’t you think you’ll be excited when the new wave comes through? I was excited with what I saw from Ruud and Talib this season and there could be more than that if we start looking toward the future now instead of holding on to the past. I hear people saying “who would we get better than Gruden if we fired him?” I don’t know, but do you think no one is better than him, seriously?

Look at what Mike Smith did in Atlanta this year. Look at what Tony Dungy did here when he was an unknown. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Gruden basher or a Garcia basher or whatever, it’s time for us to let the past go and embrace the future. I’m not saying that Gruden can’t build it from scratch here, but I would bet against it. How’s his track record with young players? Do you think that Matt Ryan would play that well under Gruden? I think not. Gruden’s success has always been with veterans and I haven’t seen any veteran players beating down the door to play here other than Jeff Garcia and we see how that’s going. Let’s all let it go and Gruden/Allen with it. Let’s take a chance on one of those up and coming coordinators and see what happens. Maybe it will work out again.

Technorati Tags: Antonio Bryant, Aqib Talib, Atlanta Falcons, Barrett Ruud, Brian Griese, Bruce Allen, Cadillac Williams, Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, Derrick Brooks, Earnest Graham, Gaines Adams, Hardy Nickerson, Jeff Garcia, Joey Galloway, John Lynch, Luke McCown, Matt Ryan, Mike Smith, Monte Kiffin, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Phillip Buchanon, Ronde Barber, San Diego Chargers, Shelton Quarles, Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Volunteers, Tony Dungy, Warren Sapp, Warrick Dunn

This is why I tell everyone not to get too far ahead of themselves when they talk about the Bucs and the playoffs. Carolina came out mean and aggressive at home as they set out to try to win out and the Bucs were the first opponent to feel the wrath of what this team can do. In a somewhat surprising twist in this game it was the defense that let us down. The offense played decent against a good defense with no turnovers and moved the ball well enough to win in most any other game. The defense looked very small last night in getting man handled up front as they gave up nearly 300 yards rushing. This is something our defense has always been susceptible to given that we have smallish interior defensive linemen. Monte Kiffin can usually game plan well enough to overcome these things, but not last night. The game was tied at 17 going into the fourth quarter and it looked like it was going to be one of those games where it would be decided in the final two minutes, but no such luck. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams went off and started running through the line however they felt and it was over soon after. On the positive side of things Antonio Bryant was an animal last night with a 9 catch 200 yard performance.  Ronde Barber said after the game that they ran a handful of different plays and that they just executed better. Maybe that’s what Tony Dungy was talking about way back then huh? Anyway, the season isn’t over and we still look good for the playoffs if we can knock off Atlanta at home. This game in Atlanta has now become the biggest game of the year because if we can win here, it all but clinches the playoffs for this team with bad Charger and Raider teams coming here to finish off the season. Hope it goes better in Atlanta this week.

Technorati Tags: Antonio Bryant, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, DeAngelo Williams, Johnathan Stewart, Monte Kiffin, Oakland Raiders, Ronde Barber, San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony Dungy

   Let’s not get too excited about the victory the Bucs got yesterday in Detroit. They obviously fell behind quick and that was enough to bash them. But I’m not gonna harp on that. It’s time for people to stop defending Jon Gruden for his shortcomings. The Bucs got out of Detroit with a 38-20 victory and are ready to take Carolina to the wire for the NFC South title. But here’s the problem with what I watch on Sunday’s with this team. Every week Gruden challenges the defense to score points. How bout challenging the offense Jon? If it weren’t for Clifton Smith and Monte Kiffin this season, the Bucs would be .500 at best. This holds true for other seasons as well and I’m tired of listening to people proclaim Mr. Gruden as one of the best coaches in the NFL. He’s not! It’s a mystery to me what these people see in this guy to call him great. He feuds with players, changes QB’s like underwear and lies to anyone who’ll listen. It’s like saying that a drug addicted, jobless wife is great if she doesn’t cheat on you. There’s more to this than wins and losses. If you go by winning percentage by the way, Gruden is at .523 right now and that doesn’t scream great either. His offenses have never ranked higher than tenth since his arrival (even though they’re ranked ninth right now) and that doesn’t scream great either. Now I’m not saying he hasn’t been useful, he won the Super Bowl here and not Tony Dungy. I can’t stand those people either. It wasn’t Dungy’s team that won the Super Bowl, it was Gruden/Kiffin’s team that won. Monte Kiffin has been the glue that has held this whole thing together for years and at least Gruden has recognized that and hasn’t forced Kiffin to go elsewhere. His faces aren’t funny, they’re fake. His offense is average. His player relationship skills are awful and his talent evaluation is even worse. This is the world of the NFL and change is inevitable. There are people out there who praise and admire Gruden on a daily basis and I can’t help but wonder what they’re being given to say these things. I don’t hate Jon Gruden, I hate the statements made about him being “great”. I could swallow it better if people said he was good or doing well, not great. Monte Kiffin is a great defensive coach, it doesn’t mean he would be a great head coach and there’s nothing wrong with that. There are great coaches around the league, Bill Belichick, Tom Moore, etc.. They’re not all head coaches and they’re not going to be on top every season, but you know they’ll bounce back when they’re down. Now to finish off my point with this whole thing. I’m not saying we need to fire Gruden. I’m saying SHUT UP! Shut up about the “greatness” of Jon Gruden. Stop rolling out the red carpet for his Hall of Fame induction and stop getting mad at people like me who actually recognize the flaws that this guy has. I hate the way he treats players. I hate the way he calls out the defense and not the offense. I hate his love affair with himself. I hate his play calling. There’s a lot that I hate, but not enough to want to wash him away just yet. I liked the way Dungy conducted himself and treated everyone, but I don’t miss him coaching this team. Gruden is helping keep the team competitive so we have to deal with him dissing Mark, uh I mean Mike Alstott and loving Jerramy Stevens, but not forever.

Technorati Tags: Bill Belichick, Clifton Smith, Detroit Lions, Jerramy Stevens, Jon Gruden, Mike Alstott, Monte Kiffin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Moore, Tony Dungy