Buccaneers Mid-Season Report

[creekchub00]

When a team is 2-6, it is easy to start thinking about next year. And as Buccaneer fans, we know what it is like to look forward to next year. The hopes of a good draft, a good free agent pick up, a good coaching change. However, 2-6 is not the end of the world. There is hope on the horizon for the Ol’ Pirate Ship, in the forms of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good:

There is nothing wrong with a 2 and 6 team that a 5 game winning streak cannot fix. With a weak NFC and a balanced division, a 6-6 or 7-6 record is right in the thick of things. The Buc’s have the talent, with former Rookie of the Year Cadillac Williams, who is still averaging almost 4 yards a carry, and on 2nd down and more than 6 to go, Caddy is averaging over 6 yards per carry! Getting him back into the offense, or using Mike Pittman or Earnest Graham, or even the greatest running fullback in recent history, Mike Alstott, would really shake up this team and get things going. And don’t forget, Carnell was a 2nd half specialist last year, breaking of his biggest runs in the last two quarters of games, and closing the door on opponents, and he is continuing that trend this year. Caddy averages under 3 yards each time he takes a handoff in the first half, but in the second half, he gets almost 5 per, including his only touchdown of the season.
Before this year, if someone asked you “At the halfway point, who will be the top 4 rushers on the Buc’s?� you might think Caddy, Pittman, Alstott, and Graham. And boy would you be wrong. Caddy is of course our leading rusher, but our second leading rusher is none other than the elusive Bruce Gradkowski. “Fine,� you say to yourself “Pittman has to be next, then Alstott.� Well, yes and no. Pitt is the third leading rusher on the team, yet the fourth leading rusher is Mike Clayton. A possession receiver is our 4th leading rusher, when you have the most powerful running fullback in years on the bench?? I’m sorry, I know I am not a coach, but give me a break! Get the A-Train ready to go and pound the rock, as it has been said.
Now you may be thinking, where is the good here? The good is, the Buc’s can win if we only start to run the football. Think back into the past few Super Bowl Champions, and tell me which ones made it there without the help of a solid running back. Well, the Patriots went with a no-name back or two, but they have Tom Brady. And you may say the Rams were a passing team and they made it, but if you are going to tell me Marshall Faulk wasn’t a big time player for that team, I am going to recommend you get your eyes checked. Even the Ravens had Jamal Lewis, and the Steelers of course had Willie Parker and the Bus. And we have talent in the backfield equal to that. Caddy is an explosive runner, and Pittman and Alstott can grind away at defenses, and yet we aren’t doing that. However, against a weak Carolina rush-D this week, I expect to see the beginning of a new trend.

Read More at the Link Below
http://thecaptainsdeck.net/index.php?page=31

[alldaway]

The Bucs in quarter one went 0-4 and in quarter two went 2-2.  For them to have a shot they have to go 4-0 in this quarter with a 3 game stretch that is simply brutal and limited in time and rest.  If they can pull it off it would be an amazing feat.   If they do not I would not be dissapointed though.  Starting Monday night their first test is in front of them and I want to see how the Bucs come out?  Do they come out flat? Or are they fired up? 

[DBrooksIsMyDaddy]

Fired up!  And hopefully Carolina will be complacent, sure of a win.  I think a Brooks interception is about due............
edited for typo

[creekchub00]

We are all hoping for fired up of course, but tomorrow night will truly tell! I find it vitrutally impossible that we can make the playoffs but hopefully we can make a little run down the stretch and begin gaining some confidence in the younger players before next year goes to waste as well. There is alot left in this season to start finding an identity.