Yasinskas: Bucs are very capable of going 0-16

[cyberdude557]

Bucs: Will they go winless?

Analysis: This isn’t meant to be gallows humor. I’m entirely serious when I say I haven’t seen anything out of the Bucs that leads me to believe they’re not very capable of going 0-16. They truly don’t have anything positive going for them right now, and they’re bad in virtually every area. Maybe rookie quarterback Josh Freeman will provide a spark now that he’s been named the starter. But the Bucs gladly would have turned things over to Freeman much earlier if they thought he was ready, and it’s a stretch to say the light is suddenly going to come on just because he’s getting the bye week to get some first-team reps. Freeman has more physical talent than predecessors Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson, and there is some individual talent on this roster. Problem is, that individual talent hasn’t been playing anywhere close to its ability.

Best chance for a win: A close look at Tampa Bay’s schedule doesn’t change my thinking that this team has a very real shot at going 0-16. The Bucs have to play the Saints and Falcons twice each and they’re making a cross-continent trip to Seattle, which is just about as long as the London trip they already made. If there’s one game where I think the hope for the Bucs is strongest, it’s the Dec. 6 game in Carolina. The Bucs played the Panthers close in Tampa. With last week’s loss to Buffalo, the Panthers appear headed for a free fall. By December, there’s a chance John Fox could be in his final days with the Panthers and might not be getting a lot of effort from his team. If the Panthers can’t win in Carolina, they better hope that Atlanta comes to town on Jan. 3 with a playoff seed already locked up. If the Falcons are resting their starters, the Bucs might have a chance.

Bucs remaining schedule
Nov. 8: Green Bay
Nov. 15: @Miami
Nov. 22: New Orleans
Nov. 29: @Atlanta
Dec. 6: @Carolina
Dec. 13: NY Jets
Dec. 20: @Seattle
Dec. 27: @New Orleans
Jan. 3: Atlanta

Repercussions: Contrary to popular opinion in the Tampa Bay area, the Bucs did not hire coach Raheem Morris to come in for one year and then replace him with one of the available big-name coaches. They hired Morris to tear down an aging team and rebuild it with youth. He’s done a fine job of tearing down the team. But he needs to show some signs he’s building it back up and he needs Freeman to create some hope for the future. Most important, he needs some wins. No coach is going to survive a 0-16 season.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/4469/bucs-will-they-go-winless

[Boid Fink]

Schrager had him beat by months.

[Draper]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

[dmajik85]

He shouldn't have wasted his time... he's not scooping anyone with this article... even the casual fan or basic national writer knows this team is fully capable of not winning.

[Hate]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

not really!!

[JasonOfthetower]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

Actually, the angrier I get at Jon Gruden for drafting horribly the last few seasons. Heck, the only players doing anything for us are the guys Dom and Rah signed/drafted.

[cyberdude557]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

Actually, the angrier I get at Jon Gruden for drafting horribly the last few seasons. Heck, the only players doing anything for us are the guys Dom and Rah signed/drafted.

Cadillac is certainly a heck of a lot better than Ward.

[Bash]

Hey, at least the Bucs are very capable of accomplishing something...

[warrenfb12]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

Actually, the angrier I get at Jon Gruden for drafting horribly the last few seasons. Heck, the only players doing anything for us are the guys Dom and Rah signed/drafted.

Cadillac is certainly a heck of a lot better than Ward.

ehhh...I am not sure about that.

[Bucfanut]

Ward is talented but when healthy,I'll take Caddy...plus Caddy is a better teammate. Ward's acted like a primadonna where Caddy has worked his butt off just to get back.

[burger40]

i love caddy cuz of how he runs and his heart for coming back twice. the guy also seems like a terrific person. Ward isn't bad he's had some good runs but yeah i'll take Caddy over him. but Ward wasn't a bad pickup at all, who knew Caddy would be so durable...i was hopeful but you had to be conservative and assume he might not last the season.

we've definitely blown our fair share of picks during Gruden/Allen....it is tough to compare them to Dom cuz Dom only had one partial off-season but i liked his draft so far.

Unfortunately for Gruden he lacked 2 1st rders and 2 2nd rders due to his dowry owed to the Raiders. Even if only half of those picks panned out that would be two guys still making significant contributions to this team.

[BucFan9720]

The Bucs this year are just as bad as the Lions were last year.

[CurtR1995]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

not really!!

Exactly, quite the opposite actually.  RM learned the NFL under Gruden.  Gruden and Allen were responsible for brining in the current "talent" on the field and in some cases the coaching staff.

Gruden and especially Allen have only themselves to blame for being kicked out of OBP.  Even an armchair GM would have had the Bucs with a backfield of Rodgers and S. Jackson/ T Jones/ AP.  Their strategy of drafting and whiffing on non premium portions left the team without play makers across the board. 

It's ok to like Gruden the person and the coach, but the blame for his departure is squarely on this shoulders. 

[TheShadow]

But not the blame for this abyssmal season. That's on the shoulders of those who are here.

[dbucfan]

the worse this team performs, the better Gruden looks.

Actually, the angrier I get at Jon Gruden for drafting horribly the last few seasons. Heck, the only players doing anything for us are the guys Dom and Rah signed/drafted.

That isn't very accurate, and you normally are..  At this point it is one bad season.  Let's see where the off season and draft take the team, and there is the rest of the practice season schedule to play.

Oh yea, by the way - it appears to me the buccaneers are in position to threaten the Lions single season loss record.  Damn it.