BucsBay Offseason Plan

[BucsBay]

Re-Sign - Demar Dotson, Roy Miller, EJ Biggers, Ronde Barber


I know my Free Agent list is going to poo-pooed a bit because of the age of a couple the players, but I think the Bucs are in situation because of the extreme youth of the talent on the team that some players coming to the end of their careers, but who still bring something special, could be a good thing. Their contracts won't be blockbusters, and even what they will earn could be off the books within a few years when hopefully some new blue chip players have completely earned the contracts from the Bucs.

1. Wes Welker WR - Best slot WR in the game. Give Freeman a offseason to work on the underneath passing game. If Welker can't help get Freeman to around a 60% passer and really help us improve on 3rd down then I too may start to come off the bandwagon, but he needs a real chance to succeed before you can call him a failure.

2. Dwight Freeney - Yes he's old, and injuries limited him to 4 sacks in 2012 but 3 of the 4 came over the last 3 games of the season. He would give us the one thing our defensive line is dying for, someone who can speed rush off the edge. I hate to let Michael Bennett walk, but signing him to a contract means probably not resigning either Bowers or Clayborn in a couple years.   

3. Dominique Rodger Cromartie - Cromartie is not a great tackler, and has been inconsistent, but he has the ability to play the best man to  man of any Free Agent CB out there, and the last time we saw him he played a great game here in Tampa.

4. Mike Jenkins - Jenkins could be very excited about the prospect of coming back to Tampa. His play in Dallas has been underrated.

5. Reggie Bush - Showed a lot of heart in Miami, but maybe realizing his best role is not as an everydown back. Would be a great supplement to Martin.

My mock draft to follow up that free agency would be.

1. Barkevious Mingo - IMO Mingo is very underrated going into the draft. Great speed, first step, and spin move. Better ability taking on blocks than he gets credit for. He and Freeney would give us 2 guys capable of getting quick pressure, and along with with Clayborn and Bowers one of the deepest DE units in the league. Obviously there is a chance he won't be there, but I'd be happy with Ansah or maybe even Dion Jordan (although I'm not quite sure how I feel about him yet). Even Jarvis Jones could be an option.
 
2. Tavon Austin- I know there is a lot of talk about Austin as a 1st rounder, and I could definitely see him in New England to replace Welker, but maybe they'll figure they don't need to invest such a high pick and maybe his combine numbers will push him into the 2nd. I've come around to thinking that we should try to get 2 CBs in Free Agency so we can keep our options open at the top of the 2nd.

3. Jordan Reed- Very good receiver, Flex TE to give us what we were hoping to get from Clark.

4. Jonathan Brown - OLB Illinois

4. Kyle Long OT Oregon

5. Brandon McGee CB Miami

6. DC Jefferson TE Rutgers

7. Collin Klein QB K-State

[baybuc35]

If that happened I would think we would be the team to beat next year.. Not sure how I feel about the first round pick though

[Boid Fink]

Not a chance.

[McCoy93]

you really think Bush would take a backseat to Martin?

[Boid Fink]

I thought Bush was a solid runner LAST year. I think he resigns in Miami, or goes to a team like New England. A place that would benefit incredibly from having Bush in a Welker/Woodhead role. He would be a BEAST with Brady.

[McCoy93]

The only guy i could see the bucs landing on that FA list is Cromartie and i still give that a slim chance. I don't think we go on a mega spending spree like last offseason. I think we are gonna start focusing on locking down some of our key players such as mike williams, Gerald McCoy, ETC

[The Anti-Java]

The Bucs are a young team, I don't see them adding those oldie but goldie free agents.  But who knows, we will find out starting March 12th.

[TampaBucks05]

No way we pass on Bennett and pay more money for a player who's passed his prime, just for the sake of his last name.

[PewterG@tor]

Mingo's going to be garbage in the NFL. The team that picks him and Sam Montgomery in the first round will no doubt regret it. The free agency pick ups of DRC and Mike Jenkins I liked however

[BucsBay]

No way we pass on Bennett and pay more money for a player who's passed his prime, just for the sake of his last name.

Bennett is going to get paid a lot, more than Freeney, because of his age and overall production.

[dexmonkey]

im not gonna sugarcoat this. I utterly hate that mock. if we drafted that way id puke. the only pick there I think is decent is kyle long. we are ignoring needs at CB. I don't really like either of those FA signings and id rather have fresh players to mold than guys who have washed out elsewhere.

[BucsFan18]

I agree with dexmonkey but I'm not that harsh, the mock isn't great for our needs and Mingo isn't even worth that much. I would much rather draft a couple CBs and sign a couple as well but I don't want to sign old guys I want to sign players like Derek Cox or Sean Smith both of whom are young and underrated. Let's say we signed Sean Smith and Derek Cox then CB wouldn't be a HUGE need anymore so we can potentially draft either Sheldon richardson or Johnathan Hankins and then in the 2nd and 3rd Rounds we can draft somepne like Logan Ryan and Desmond Trufant. So our DL and CB deth charts would look a little like this:

CB:
1.Sean Smith
2.Logan Ryan
3.Desmond Trufant
4.Derek Cox
5.Leonard Johnson
6.E.J Biggers

DT:
1.Gerald Mccoy
2.Seldon Richardson
3.Roy Miller
4.Gary Gibson

DE:
1.Michael Bennett
2.Adrian Clayborn
3.Da'Quan Bowers
4.Daniel Te'O Nesheim

That is a whole lot better then last year and can instantly push us into contender status.

[BucsBay]

im not gonna sugarcoat this. I utterly hate that mock. if we drafted that way id puke. the only pick there I think is decent is kyle long. we are ignoring needs at CB. I don't really like either of those FA signings and id rather have fresh players to mold than guys who have washed out elsewhere.

Sorry I didn't have you're all Florida State draft you're pulling for.

[BucsBay]

Sean Smith isn't going to get free agency. A bad team isn't going to let one of their few really good players just walk away.

[dexmonkey]

im not gonna sugarcoat this. I utterly hate that mock. if we drafted that way id puke. the only pick there I think is decent is kyle long. we are ignoring needs at CB. I don't really like either of those FA signings and id rather have fresh players to mold than guys who have washed out elsewhere.

Sorry I didn't have you're all Florida State draft you're pulling for.

don't get pissy because I don't like your mock. and don't make ludicrous claims that I want an all FSU draft. ive already got an all FSU team, its called FSU. I am only concerned with making the Bucs better. that draft doesn't do anything for me and doesn't address our needs in long term fashion.

freeney is in his mid 30s and on his last legs

welker is in his 30s and commands a massive contract. his success is definitely driven by playing with tom brady and I think wed be getting a lesser player on a huge contract who will underperform with freeman as his qb

mike Jenkins has had 1 good year in dallas and a bunch of mediocre to terrible years. weve already got mediocre and terrible corners on this team. we don't need more

Rodgers-cromartie sucks. I don't want him for the same reason that I don't want Jenkins. dude plays lazy and has a big contract number. no thanks

reggie bush wont play second fiddle to doug martin. too much ego and I don't think the dolphins will let him go anyway since hes been solid the last couple years.

you are betting the farm on over age and overrated players. no thank. id rather start over with corners like banks,rhodes, milliner, poyer, and ryan. this draft is heavy on passrushers that are 11 years younger than freeney.

im not taking personal shots at you, just pointing out that this is not a good plan to make the team better. im far from the only one that thinks this is the case.