Buccaneer Blitz

[alldaway]

He was not blasting Scott he was just saying sometimes his opinion is a little far fetched but again in no way was he upset

DB is always calm and composed, but clearly he was making his feelings known as to how he feels about who reports on the Bucs.  Specifically Scott as he did mention his name.  While is wasn't belligerent or anything you could hear that he was not pleased by some of the banter going on about the draft in the middle of the season...

True but he is a football player and he believes in winning football games.  And Derrick is an optimistic person so he believes that if the Bucs keep working hard that eventually things will come together.  I do not think Derrick is the type to throw in the towel.  To be honest if this is something that will fire up Derrick I am eager to see the results on the field. 

[cheveliar]

He was not blasting Scott he was just saying sometimes his opinion is a little far fetched but again in no way was he upset

DB is always calm and composed, but clearly he was making his feelings known as to how he feels about who reports on the Bucs. Specifically Scott as he did mention his name. While is wasn't belligerent or anything you could hear that he was not pleased by some of the banter going on about the draft in the middle of the season...

True but he is a football player and he believes in winning football games. And Derrick is an optimistic person so he believes that if the Bucs keep working hard that eventually things will come together. I do not think Derrick is the type to throw in the towel. To be honest if this is something that will fire up Derrick I am eager to see the results on the field.

I thought DB was about one sentence from going off!  Maybe I'm reading something into it.  But I know his voice and his inflection and his temperament.  I listen to the show religiously and he was not happy yesterday with the notion that the season was over for the Buccaneers.  You basically have two camps and the message board supposts that.  You have those that are holding out hope against hope (member of that group and self proclaimed president) and you have those who have thrown dirt on those boys and they are, in reality, still wiggling.  I see his side and understand his frustration.  I also understand that from what we've seen it's easy to say the season is over.  It's all in how you go about your season be it player, fan, or media.  You can't forget, take away, or take mulligans on the first qtr.  Neither can you fold your tent and go home, IMO. 

SR, great milk carton reference...

[PewterReportSR]

A caller during the Derrick Brooks show, which follows the PewterReport.com Buccaneer Blitz on Wednesdays, asked Derrick about something I had mentioned in the last few minutes of my show in the previous hour. I had fielded a call in which a Bucs fan asked me about my thoughts on free agency and the draft for 2007, to which I responded that I thought the Bucs would draft defense heavy and also go after defensive players in free agency. You know us at Pewter Report – we focus on what the Bucs ARE doing now and what they WILL BE doing in the future, so I don't mind talking draft and free agency right now because that's an area of our expertise.

However, NFL coaches and players have tunnel vision. They are only concerned with playing one game at a time. To get a player to comment on playing the Steelers in December would definitely get some raised eyebrows. The last thing Derrick Brooks or any player wants to talk about in the middle of a season is next year's draft. I think Derrick kind of scoffed at that notion and it probably rubbed him the wrong way that I engaged in discussing it with a caller during my show, but it's my job to give my listeners answers to their questions. I didn't bring up free agency and the draft – a caller did.

Derrick said that sometimes I'm "a little out there" – in referring to either my radio commentary or my reporting in PR and on PR.com (or both), but I certainly appreciate the fact that he said that he respected me and knows that I have a job to do. We're not out to have players, coaches and the front office like everything Pewter Report reports. We just want their respect, and I'm pretty confident that we have that from One Buc Place. We know we ruffle some feathers sometimes by being critical, but at the end of the day, PR has earned the respect of the coaches, players and front office.

Derrick admitted that he knows very little about the draft anyways – hardly any NFL players really pay attention to it, and none do during the season. Truth be told, most players have such tunnel vision during the season that they don't read, watch or listen to the media, and they certainly don't know what their front office is plotting for next season. Yet the Bucs have a whole front office full of folks who are already planning 2007 out from a personnel (FA and draft) and cap perspective, led by Bruce Allen. Derrick laughed and said that I don't know – and nobody knows – which way we are going to draft right now, which is true, but it's a safe bet that it will be a defensive-oriented draft after three years of heavy offensive drafts.

The case in point about front office awareness was the Booger McFarland trade. Several of the players I spoke with the night Booger was traded to Indy expressed shock. Ellis Wyms said it came as a complete surprise, so did Anthony Davis. Ronde Barber, perhaps the most media savvy member of the Bucs, had heard rumors, but didn't think it would really happen. Yet, in the McFarland case, the media was certainly not surprised (heck, we were calling for it!) and neither were the fans. The shock was the fact that Allen could actually get a second-round pick for McFarland. So that's a perfect case where the fans and the media actually knew more than the players. It happens from time to time – specifically with front office matters.

To a player, some of Pewter Report's reporting might seem "a little out there" at times when we talk front office matters, but I've had several Bucs players call me and ask me what I'm hearing from the front office in regards to their contract situation, or bringing other players in, etc. A good number of them actually subscribe to Pewter Report and the Pewter Insider, too.

[watson]

He was not blasting Scott he was just saying sometimes his opinion is a little far fetched but again in no way was he upset

DB is always calm and composed, but clearly he was making his feelings known as to how he feels about who reports on the Bucs. Specifically Scott as he did mention his name. While is wasn't belligerent or anything you could hear that he was not pleased by some of the banter going on about the draft in the middle of the season...

True but he is a football player and he believes in winning football games. And Derrick is an optimistic person so he believes that if the Bucs keep working hard that eventually things will come together. I do not think Derrick is the type to throw in the towel. To be honest if this is something that will fire up Derrick I am eager to see the results on the field.

I thought DB was about one sentence from going off!  Maybe I'm reading something into it.  But I know his voice and his inflection and his temperament.  I listen to the show religiously and he was not happy yesterday with the notion that the season was over for the Buccaneers.  You basically have two camps and the message board supposts that.  You have those that are holding out hope against hope (member of that group and self proclaimed president) and you have those who have thrown dirt on those boys and they are, in reality, still wiggling.  I see his side and understand his frustration.  I also understand that from what we've seen it's easy to say the season is over.  It's all in how you go about your season be it player, fan, or media.  You can't forget, take away, or take mulligans on the first qtr.  Neither can you fold your tent and go home, IMO.

SR, great milk carton reference...

Chev,
If you are the president, I want to be a member of your cabinet.  I too see lots to like about this team and think they are on the right track.

[TURBO]

thanks a ton for the insight SR!!!

[rocko23]

you go SR, keep doing what you do baby!

[Itchalot]

Its good if players back up their coach. You know what we call players who don't back up their coach to the public?  Simeon Rice.  So I'm glad that players are focusing on doing their jobs and not playing the blame game in the press.

However, I don't think this takes the heat of Gruden for the game plan, which I think was more the problem than the play calling.  It was a classic case of Gruden out thinking himself. He wants to exploit defensive weaknesses, but didn't account for his own offensive strengths weaknesses.

Thanks for the info, SR.  I think that alot of the time, players are WILLFULLY ignorant of the situations that the FO is dealing with.  McFarland had to be dealt with.

As for DB, who can blame him?  He's not excited about the draft talk in week 8, and I wouldn't expect him to be.

[Boid Fink]

The only problem with DB and Simeon is that both of these guys have come out and FLAT OUT said they were embarrased at their own effort, and the level of their play.  They said the team was resilient, and would not throw in the towel.  Yet, they are out there missing tackles still, taking bad angles, looking slower.

I don't even pay attention to what those guys say anymore, they just need to shut up and make some things happen.  In this case, actions speak louder than words, and there words have been very loud in the past.  It is time to pay out on their talk.

May sound harsh, but hey, make a play.

[keeponbucn]

The only problem with DB and Simeon is that both of these guys have come out and FLAT OUT said they were embarrased at their own effort, and the level of their play. They said the team was resilient, and would not throw in the towel. Yet, they are out there missing tackles still, taking bad angles, looking slower.

I don't even pay attention to what those guys say anymore, they just need to shut up and make some things happen. In this case, actions speak louder than words, and there words have been very loud in the past. It is time to pay out on their talk.

May sound harsh, but hey, make a play.

That's the problem and shows these guys are done. Before when they'd talk smack it would be backed up on Sunday. Now, it's all words from D Brooks.....scary really.

[Boid Fink]

The only problem with DB and Simeon is that both of these guys have come out and FLAT OUT said they were embarrased at their own effort, and the level of their play. They said the team was resilient, and would not throw in the towel. Yet, they are out there missing tackles still, taking bad angles, looking slower.

I don't even pay attention to what those guys say anymore, they just need to shut up and make some things happen. In this case, actions speak louder than words, and there words have been very loud in the past. It is time to pay out on their talk.

May sound harsh, but hey, make a play.

That's the problem and shows these guys are done. Before when they'd talk smack it would be backed up on Sunday. Now, it's all words from D Brooks.....scary really.

Exactly.

I am waiting for the big plays to start.

Brooks had one erased by a BAD call from a ref (phantom hold versus ATL).

Simeon had a great, late second half versus Carolina.  And that was it.

Hell, every dog has its day.  Doesn't speak well on their behalf when the production is just so limited. 

When you take into account that the G-men have a woeful secondary then the mindset to throw the ball is obvious.  However, the balance falt out sucked.  We just can't have Caddy only getting 8 to 10 touches.  Not sure how to fix that, but it's got to happen...

I do agree.  Overall this season, Caddy hasn't had that game where we commit to him as our guy.  Remember what he did in the fourth quarter in games last year?  He won games for us.  We don't feed him the ball to get him in a position to do that anymore.

It wouldn't hurt if Grads had a big game here.........we'll see. (I say this in every post now...might as well be my sig)

[TURBO]

Caddy owned the packers at GB last year, I was at that game, gave me goosebumps...

[mjs020294]

Caddy owned the packers at GB last year, I was at that game, gave me goosebumps...

Caddy needs a good blocking FB that is also a receiving threat in the backfield to help him out a little. IMO