Thats not a bad way to finish.
LETS GO BUCS!!!

What, exactly, was accomplished today?!?

Love this pick. All he does is produce... Will make the team and could be an effective slot receiver.

He could be better than Dexter! Hope he is. I think the bucs draft ranks around a C plus. hope I'm wrong time will tell

C+ ? This draft has produced absolutely nothing. Which of these players will possibly see the field this year? None!!! This draft is a total faailure, Most of the guys we took would have most likely gone undrafted, why even bother. Raheem, Dominik, been nice knowing you. Mr. Cowher to the podium please.
Draft Grade - F
Season record - 3 - 13

What was accomplished??? A DT to help fill a need, a DE to help fill a need, an OT to upgrade our tackle depth, a CB to compete for depth at CB. and a receiver to come and battle for a roster spot. I see nothing wrong with todays picks. They drafted to fill needs! Damn, I'm sick of the freaking whine about this draft. If you want to analyze a Bucs draft, then look at the 2005 draft this year. For God Sake, why are so many people writing these guys off already. We haven't played a down of football yet!

What was accomplished??? A DT to help fill a need, a DE to help fill a need, an OT to upgrade our tackle depth, a CB to compete for depth at CB. and a receiver to come and battle for a roster spot. I see nothing wrong with todays picks. They drafted to fill needs! Damn, I'm sick of the freaking whine about this draft. If you want to analyze a Bucs draft, then look at the 2005 draft this year. For God Sake, why are so many people writing these guys off already. We haven't played a down of football yet!

I give the Bucs a D grade overall.

I liked the DT selection but nothing else.

The rest of the defensive picks appear to be guys that stand a good chance at not making the team.

I think we'll easily be drafting inside the top 10 next season and staring at another D-lineman pick, which makes me scratch my head alittle at DE Kyle Moore. Not sure he makes the team either.

The last two seventh round picks IMO will be hard-pressed to make this roster. They may play somewhere in the NFL, but I'm not sure what Stroughter will bring to the table that Cortez Hankton can't...Not sure I like that selection either...But, we'll wait and see.

With the Freeman addition, this class will certainly not get a fair grade until he proves success or total failure. I hope for his sake the defense improves over the next three seasons, because they're gonna have to call somebody this season.

BF47, just a guess, but you're not an optimist are you? LOL

Stroughter looks a lot like Hilliard - even in number.
http://draftguys.com/index.php/articles/dgtv_1/sammie_stroughter_video1/

I give them a C+ for now. Let's see how they pan out.

wasted opportunities...wasted draft. At best, Bucs filled a couple of holes on D-line.

With fans like this, we have no need for trolls.

stroughter is a freakin steal,dexter jackson just lost his spot

Stroughter is a steal, yet he made it to the 7th round of the draft?

No player is a steal in the 7th round of the draft. Everyone knows about them, they just dont' think they'll be anymore than average on the field. He's being drafted to compete at the slot spot, which I think he will have a hard time beating out Cortez Hankton.

the detroit lions who went 0-16 last season had an awesome draft from top to bottom..i wouldnt called that one...the bucs at least drafted a player from usc and texas two big time programs...gruden seemed to always want the sleeper instead of just draft best available...we filled needs today and i think the freeman pick came from the glazers they wanted a face for the franchise like manning and big ben...who knows maybe it works...the stroughter pick was a steal if his head is on he makes the team hands down...the de from usc in this defensive system will flourish...the cb with 4.3 speed i hope he was a better pick than the ciny kid..he went to the cowboys...

1bucfanjeff - Yes. I am an optimist. I'm a realist also, and being realistic about this draft has me giving us a D grade.

And that's not too bad if you really think about it. Other guys are giving them a C-, so that's not too far off.

The biggest issue I have is the Freeman selection. The face of the franchise needs to come when your team is ready to compete, not the other way around. Our defense got neglected IMO in the beginning of the draft when the team passed on Freeman, and the LB's were saved by the DT Miller in the 3rd.

For all intensive purposes, the team felt like a future prospect was worth the risk at this point in time. I've never agreed with drafting for the future, and I never will.

The Titans took a chance on Vince Young but there team was very, very good without him. The Steelers took a chance on Big Ben and the team was competiting for SuperBowls before that happened. The Denver Broncos were up-and-down before they drafted Cutler, and struggled to win games despite his unbelievable ability.

My point is the TEAM must be ready to win games before you get the franchise guy. That's where I disagree with the decision. I think you can get a guy that's probably going to be as good if not better than him as a PRO next year.

Let's be honest, they WILL be picking in the top 10 of the draft no question, possibly top 5. It's hard to see them winning more than 4-5 games with the help this defense got through the draft.

It's too hard to be positive with this..Really. I don't care that I've not seen him play that much. I really don't. I know without watching him except for one game that he's not consistent enough for the type of system he ran at K.State. Period.

You don't draft a QB that high IMO unless they are proven. He's far from that, despite the praise from the FO.

I feel like the only guy who got a positive buzz out of these picks. Given the picks we had to work with I give this draft an A-. We got a player at every single positional area of need. If we had kept out 3rd 7th rounder I would like to have seen a backup safety or WLB, but oh well.

We have our QB of the future! Even if he doesn't become a pro bowler, he'll likely be better than any other QB we had. We got a DT that will likely take over as a starter in 2010.

We got a run stuffing DE who likely won't become a starter, but can be a 1st and 2nd downer or a 3rd and short guy.

We got a backup OT who perfectly fits our new zone-blocking system.

We got a CB and WR who were productive and both have a 50/50 shot of making the team due to the lack of depth we have those positions.

The only thing we could've used was a WLB, but this wasn't a good class of 4-3 WLB's. Let's just hope Geno Hayes can fill the gap until 2010.

In short, great draft...GO BUCS!!

Buc's have good fans - we buy tickets and even take the bad seats so we can give them to Pal teams. We buy the over priced merchandise. And like street gangs wear the colors.
Does not mean we didnt care when they let Sap go, Lynch go or cheered when Brooks was sent down the road. We'll give the new guy a chance because the Glazers want it that way.
We have the right, NO we have the duty to question the methods and intentions of the people who are spending our money - In government or sports.

Dont tell me not to think this was an ill conceived draft.

I STAND BEHINDTHE BUCS COMPLETELY!!! all others that claim to be fans that wanna be negative need to find a next team please. We dont need any negativity!!

I agree with bucfan47 on Freeman. He will need extensive coaching and time to "get it", if he ever gets it at all. The draft is a D+ because we might get four good years out of Winslow, a contribution out of the defensive tackle and a diamond in the rough out of Stroughter.

B+ Moore and Miller will start and Freeman will be a star.

I am a little disappointed about the lack of drafting on defense. Not sure why we took a OT when we have some depth at that position when we have holes on defense.

I like Josh Freeman and I hope he pans out but, again, not sure why we drafted him when we more need elsewhere. I would not have minded trading down for a second round pick and maybe a 6th round pick. We needed picks to fill holes, not another QB to compete for the starting job.

I am glad we picked picked up a DT, DE and CB. I'm sure if they were the best pick available at the time of the picks. I do like Miller. I can't complain about the last pick of the draft. We have need for another WR. Between Stroughter, Warren, Jackson and the others, one may very well break out and be a lot help on this team.

Before the draft, I would have given Tampa 7 wins. Now I find this hard to do since we did not draft anyone until the third round that could be an immediate impact on the team. I hop I am wrong and that there will some fast rising stars but, right now, I defense may be in serious trouble.

It will be interesting to find out how things unfold. GO BUCS!

Calm down guys. I'd love your opinions on the following train of thought:

THE BUCS WERE NOT GOING TO WIN THE SUPER BOWL THIS SEASON REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY DRAFTED.

So why not plan for the future?

I agree with the sentiment that none of the players drafted this year will be starters. Agreed. Hell, I didn't want them to draft Freeman either. But factor in these numbers.

7-9, 5-11, 11-5, 4-12, 9-7. 9-7. Zero Playoff wins.

Those are the Bucs numbers for the last 6 years. The very definition of mediocrity. The menatlity of the Bucs in those years was to go after quick fixes to plug in holes and in the later rounds grab"projects" to develop. That simply did not work.

Successful franchises always plan for the future while competing in the present. We have the potential to have a fantastic QB trio this season. McCown and/or Leftwich are more than capable to hold the fort while Freeman develops. While that's happening, our offensive line is gelling further - other needs are being filled by the front office - so that when Freeman does step in, he has every chance at success.

I was against drafting Freeman. If you read any of my past posts, they all suggested trading back into the top of Round 2 where they could have landed Brace and a solid DE with their 2 second round picks.

But they still would have not won the Super Bowl.

I love the guys they picked in round 3,4 and the WR in 7. These are not projects to develop. They are guys from winning programs who performed big in the spotlight.

The Bucs are going to see what they have on the roster this year in G. Hayes, Black, Heyward, D. Moore, Petersen, E. Mack, and all the guys they drafted. That is the smart way to assess the talent pool in an organization. Without question, this team will know exactly where they stand at each position nxt offseason and be able to start adding the final pieces of the puzzle.

Everyone plays on teams like New England and Pittsburgh. Everyone. The Bucs are doing the same this season. In my opinion, that is the right thing to do.

The Bucs draft has potential but hugh risk. No one knows how any draft pick will fare in the pro's but their is an ascending level of the risk factor. The Bucs are high on the scale. A B-.

Well the draft has finally ended and the recruitment of priority free-agents that will fill in the rest of the roster will begin.Now we and the publications can give out grades.

Remember, our 1995 draft was given a C+. Two Hall of Famers gets a C+? That's a heck of a grading curve. The 2007 draft that netted four starters and two more potential starters and two others still on the team only garners a C+. But then again the 2004 draft that produced one starter and one special teams player also gets a C+. Today's grade mean absolutely nothing.

I could have predicted Friday how some of you posters would react knowing your response would have little to do with the Bucs selections and everything to do with the bias that is so often displayed here.

I have enough sense to realize that you don't grade a test before the results are in and you don't pre-judge the result based on your like or dislike of the "inexperienced" persons taking the exam.

It's odd that some of you actually seem to wish for failure then choose to profess, what you convince yourself to be your superior knowledge, by doing nothing more than finding fault. You're like the guy at work who points out everyone else' flaws to the boss because he thinks it makes him think better of him. It doesn't.

Let me make a Bucfan47-like comment, "those priority free agents will be almost as hard-pressed to make the team as the two 7th rounders. Duh! But as fans shouldn't we hope that a Clifton Smith emerges even though it is improbable.

The comments, both positive and negative, from people whose knowledge of a player is, for the most part , limited to what they read in a Mel Kiper type book, hear from a TV commentator or see on some website, are really humorous. You probably didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn last night but have insight that is beyond belief.

If NFL teams, who employ staffs of people to specifically research players they are about to invest millions of dollars on don't always get it right; how is it possible that we fans have the ego to think we know more than any of them do? You don't love or hate the pick for any reason other than the words you read. Go back a few years and see how accurate it was.

"He will have to be viewed as a long term project. It will be interesting to see how he holds up"-Derrick Brooks

"They will be able to take advantage of his exceptional pass-rush skills"-Mike Mamula

Some are criticizing the selection of a QB about whom they have practically zero knowledge. They profess psychic abilities about the potential success or failure of a player with such conviction that it's a wonder Bill Parcels doesn't seek their advice when he goes shopping for groceries.

Fans seem to understand the logic of taking the best player then get upset when the team doesn't take a position of perceived need. Why is that?

Guys, we didn't draft a QB in the 1st round because we have a star-studded stable of signal callers on the roster. Which one of those guys, if traded to another team would earn a starting job?

You have to at least be rational enough to realize that the success or failure of a player is not determined two seconds after his name is announced by the commissioner.

How about we wait to judge after a play or two?

when can the bucs start signing some of the undrafted players? and when is mini camp?

Again scu - I'm not saying Freeman will not be good. Judging by his numbers at K.State, I don't have to watch a down to realize he's a reach at #17. What you get from PR and the Bucs FO is all the good things.

I don't have a problem with him panning out to be a good player. All I'm saying is that it doesn't make any sense for us to go up and grab a player that's not ready to play NOW, when we have many holes everywhere else.

I've never understood coaches that draft for the future in the NFL. The future is always NOW in the NFL, and you only reach on players when you're already talented across the board. The Patriots and Steelers can reach on a few players if they want too every now and then (even though they usually don't) because they have talent everywhere.

We don't.

That's my only argument with the draft. I think they wil regret not plugging the middle with Jerry and to me Freeman was too much of a risk for Dominik and Morris this early in the game.

Fans want to give the new coaches a pass but the bottomline is this upcoming season goes on their resume and no playoffs = Strike 1.

How many strikes will they get before they're dismissed if Freeman doesn't pan out? What if Freeman does pan out and turns out to be above average but the team overall sucks, like Denver last season, even though they had Cutler?

To me it was a huge risk when they had already brought Leftwich onboard.

Had they gone DT Peria Jerry at #19, they could have drafted WR Mike Wallace round #3, who ended up falling to the Steelers, which was an easy pick for them.

Plus the team would have kept their #6 round pick to boot.

If's and But's I know, but there are so many other positive ways I could have seen this draft shake out for the team.

lmao one of my favorite things in the world when "bloggers" grade our draft the day of the draft. Makes me very jealous that all these people can see into the future to know how every pick in our draft will pan out in the NFL.....the money I could make with your abilities to see into the future..... Again give it a rest people and lets see how these kids pan out in the pros before we declare them not fit to be on our TV's

1sparkybuc

"With fans like this, we have no need for trolls."



- haha, nice!

It usually takes about 2-3 years before we can completely evaluate a team's draft. For all you negative fans out there, don't you have any confidence in the coaching staff''s ability to coach? I do! I am glad none of you Mr. Negatives are my friends. You all would be a downers to hang out with.
Go Bucs!!! The future is bright!!!

bucfan47

"Stroughter is a steal, yet he made it to the 7th round of the draft?

No player is a steal in the 7th round of the draft. Everyone knows about them, they just dont' think they'll be anymore than average on the field. He's being drafted to compete at the slot spot, which I think he will have a hard time beating out Cortez Hankton."

with that logic, you must not think Tom Brady was a steal in the 6th

next year we'll get mccoy the DT from oklahoma...BEAST!!!!

scubog, thank you for saying everything i was thinking.

For every Marques Colston there are about 10 Larry Brakin's

I totally disagree with you bucfan47 about not having to watch a down to to realize that Freeman is a reach in the NFL. You do have to watch game films to see why things unfolded the way they did. If as stated in one of the Pewter Report articles, Freeman through a lot of catchable passes that were dropped. He did not have receivers to throw the ball to. Some QB's have better protection than others. Stats alone can be meaningless when you don't have the whole story.

Barret Rude lead the NFL in tackles a couple of years ago and even though heremained pretty consistant the rest of the year, his numbers dropped quite a bit because our offense was dominating on time of possession keeping outr defense off the field.

People thought Donte Culpepper was going to be a Hall of Fame QB until he no longer had Carter and Moss to throw to.

Injuries on the team have to be looked at too. Derrick Brooks looked horrible against the Raiders last year playing injured as well as other players and this affected the whole defensive unit but, this does mean that Brooks was getting bad or the Defense was a bad unit.
You can't just look at stats alone. I don't see any reason why Freeman can't be a great QB for this franchise and I won't say that he is not worth a 17th overall pick. Even Stafford and Sanches are risky pick at this point ass well has any other player in the draft. I did not feel that we should have picked Freeman in the first round either but , I will not dismiss him as a bad pick.

You do have to look at game film and can not look at stats alone.

Some of you are just sickening. I'm behind Freeman and all of the rest of the guys we drafted because they're Bucs now and I believe any pick we make is innocent until proven guilty. I always reserve judgement until after they've performed.

I hate Griese as a player because I've seen him play as a Buc. I felt the same way about Pittman, K. Walker, C. Simms, M. Cooper, Mahan...the list goes on. But I waited until they played for us before I passed judgement.

You guys are taking the cowards way out. By being negative you win both ways. If these guys fail, you win. If they succeed and the Bucs win, you win. I refuse to take any level of satisfaction in the Bucs losing, even if that means I was right in predicting it.

You guys are losers and are already preparing to lose. It may hurt me more when we lose than you, but that's because I'm a winner and that's the only outcome I take comfort in for my Bucs.

scubog... I like you more and more every day.

though, I really think (and have said here for WEEKS) that Freeman will be a great QB. Do I know for sure? Of course not. We shall see.

I'd rather look hopefully at the new year instead of painfully. Where's the fun in that??

Oh, and just so all of you know... it's a game. None of your lives are (or should be) linked to the success or failure of the team. Enjoy the ride and you'll live a happier life -- whether it's a 16-0 ride or an 0-16 ride.

Bucfan47 - if Peria is clearly not an ideal fit for the Bucs. scheme, then wouldn't drafting him be a reach as well? The truth is - Miller may be a better fit for this team, meaning it was wise to wait.

And you cannot judge a guy by the round he was drafted. Colston was a Saints 7th round receiver in 2007. He produced in college - but was disregarded because of his measurables and the school he went to. Stroughter is eerily similar in my opinion. Great pick. I live in Los angeles and actually saw a few of his games live. A true playmaker. Very fiery. A leader.

Scubog - you are absolutely right in your assessment.

Bucs Grade this offseason : O for "O yeah!"

scubog: That was a well stated opinion and nugget of insight.
Bucfan47...there is no crying in football. lol

Nowthen, Freeman has a real shot at winning the job this year, and I'm ok with on-the-job training this season. Lets face it - no matter who is behind center is gonna be "learning" Jagz new offense. I'm certainly not concerned about Freemans confidence! The kid sounds like a gamer! By the way, have you seen his rollout? What's not to like?

I just don't understand what the point is of being a fan if all you're going to do is whine and complain before even giving the new GM, coach, and players a chance...

It looks to me that they have 2 immediate contributors on the D-line... a slot receiver in Straughter... and a potential nickel corner in Biggers... and more OL depth... What's the problem?

i liked the dratf they picked 2 players from my mock draft, i excited but also prepared to be embarressed alot this season

PPL HATING ON THIS PICK MUST NOT WATCH college football clairvoyantent1, they dont know sammie consistently got in usc's as
think of roscoe parrish

ufcguy - You're missing my point. My argument is that I'm assuming Freeman WILL be a good QB. Let's get that straight. None of us can predict whether he will or not, but I'm choosing to look at the bright side of this and assume he WILL be good.

The concern I have is WILL he be good enough by the time the hour glass runs out on this new coaching staff? That's the question. There are all kinds of examples of coaches taking these risks and not panning out. At this point in time with our franchise, I'm really shocked that they went in this direction.

I assumed they knew just how behind the defense really is at this point but they chose to ignore it in the first round because of how much they liked Freeman. That's fine but again, it's their jobs on the line, not yours or mine. I think I'm correct in saying that most experienced coaches don't make that move there. It's a major risk, and that selection changed the entire draft for our team.

I think they could have addressed the D-Line with better players than they did overall. I REALLY liked Mike Wallace and I know the Bucs did as well but they chose Miller because they were forced into the decision due to the selection of Freeman in the 1st. They had to address the D-Line with that pick...

Some of you have proposed that Peria Jerry doesn't fit our scheme. According to PR, that's not correct. He may have fit the Tampa 2 scheme better, but they were still very high on him and after reading PR's articles, there's no doubt he was a notch below Freeman on the chart.

Our team gets a project at QB while Atlanta gets a force that can step in and reak havoc from Day 1.

The Freeman selection totally changed our draft from top-to-bottom. If they chose Jerry @19, they could have nabbed WR Mike Wallace in the 3rd instead of Miller, and we still would have kept our 6th in which there should be no doubt, there were quality players still on the board.

Some of you have ranted and raved about our two 7th round picks like they're the next coming of Champ Bailey and Jerry Rice. They're is a reason they were available in the 7th and there's a strong possibility they DO NOT make the team.

I just hope these new guys don't keep some of these players around too long if they're indeed not worthy of a roster spot, just to somehow convince the fanbase our draft was better than years past.

Our team is coming off winning seasons 3 out of the last 4 years, so it's rightfully hard to stomach this rebuilding mode. It makes you sick to your stomach really, knowing that they have no chance of winning more than 5-6 games.

You'll find a hard time winning that argument buddah with the number of sacks Abraham generated alone. He almost had half the sacks our entire team did in 09. Plus their Special teams were #1 in the NFL.

And remember, there are always exceptions to the rule...Doesn't make it a rule...

No chance of winning more than 5 or 6 games? gee, I thought you had to play the games on the field. The Las Vegas over/under on Atlanta last year was 6 and on Baltimore was 6.5. Atlanta's defensive personnel last year were far worse than what we'll be putting on the field. Their wide receiivers has already been labeled "busts." But they did have a coach for whom they wanted to play.

Ready to compete this year????Puhlease kill that noise already!!! Atlanta WAS NOT READY TO COMPETE LAST YEAR WITH A ROOKIE HEAD COACH / NEW COACHING STAFF/SCHEME& NO STARTING QB but went out got a potentially good RB who couldn't beat out LT but played great and drafted a franchise ROOKIE QB who played better than a lot of veterans! Who woulda seen that? They went to the play offs! Why can't the same happen to the Bucs? We got a great line , excellent #1 receiver , pro bowl caliber TE , solid RBs & McKown is a huge improvement over Garcia! This team is not as bad as you optimistic pessimists realize. We do need to be realistic though this defense slipped the last 4 games last year & realistically we didn't do a whole lot to improve it! I don't care about the Haynseworth deal , I wouldn't gaurantee a future 1 hit wonder that much dough either, but we let some other good pick ups go elsewhere when we had all the money in the league! If we go atleast 8-8 will you doom & gloomers be happy? I won't but willbecause it will mean we aren't that far off like some of you think we are!

bucfan47 you do make valid points but do you really think Morris & Dominik want to be fired for the same reason as Gruden & Allen were.......not drafting a franchise qb??? They had two good chances but didn't pull the trigger! I see why you like Gruden so much because you both have the win now attitude. He was hard headed & didn't want to develop a qb not even a first rounder! After so many poor drafts before last year it is time to rebuild because he & Allen are POOR evaluators of talent ie Tavis Stephens ,Marquise Walker and others. As far as defense is concerned they must have deemed the talent there @ that pick wasn't worth passing up a potential franchise qb for. How many years do you want us to keep trying with journey men & lower draft picks for the most important position on the team? Besides, Morris coached the same team Freeman played for and his defense went up against him at practice so who do you think has a more intimate knowledge of him Mel Kiper????

bucdiesel - Look, you're missing my point. You don't take a QB at #19, and you sure don't GIVE AWAY another pick (6th round) to move up TWO spots to still draft the kid.

You just DON'T DO IT.

When you are rebuilding, you start within the trenches. If you don't have the ability to make it happen within the trenches, you DON'T draft a QB.

What makes this worse, it REALLY appears the organization had no plan heading into the draft. Really. Let me ask you this...Do you really think if the Bucs had a plan they would have picked up Bryon Leftwich LATE in free agency?

What about all this hype about Luke McCown?

I've tried my best to read what these guys are doing and between them, Oakland, Denver....honestly bucdiesel, I got nothing.

I wonder if some of the posters have jobs...

Whether or not you agree with 1st round pick, we addressed needs with the rest of the draft. After reading some, and I mean some of the post, i see that the regulars think these guys will not even make the team. I find that interesting as the experts that some of you often refer to have the three guys we got second day listed in the tlop 15 of players left on the second day. I have a football nut, who studies players like most of the so called experts and have the DT, DE and OT we drafted graded out well. I believe we did well on the second day. I am coming to the conclusion that some of you have BAD home lives as the negativity is down right rediculous. Only time will tell how well this draft went.

On another note... I have put in some extra time looking at tape of Josh Freeman and he is NOT AT ALL as bad as some suggest. This kid has an UNBELIEVABLE ARM and does make plays. When he is given the opportunity, that is what he has done. And to those who state that K STATE has not played anybody.. get real.. he beat some damn good football teams. OK, TX as examples and while they were ranked... State facts.. please to some of you and to the Media. Freeman is not a bad pick. he is a project.. yes.. but a good one.

Bucfan47...

giving up a 6th round pick is not the end of the world. how many 6th round picks that you know of make a team. if the bucs really feel he is the guy, it was a good move...

and if you feel strongly about a QB, you take him.. period.

the leftwhich signing was to bring in another veteran QB to compete. the bucs could not be certain freeman was going to be available. even with the freeman pick, leftwhich is a good signing.. Griese is NOT a fit for this style of offense. HE WILL BE RELEASED!! mark my words.

Don't you guys see the continuing hidden message in all of NotreallyaBucfan47's posts? It's still all about Morris replacing Gruden. He already has him fired for goodness sakes. I'm starting to wonder why BF47 has such a vendetta against him. Let's hope it's not racist.

Teams shouldn't draft for the future huh? What do you think the draft is about? Here's an idea, dig up George Allen and his "future is now" philosophy and see how that works. I don't see anyone else following that logic.

I don't know how well or poorly Josh Freeman will play when he gets an opportunity and neither does anyone else. But I have no problem taking a chance on a player at #17 who could become our QB year after year and stop the revolving door to the quarterback room at One Buc Place. I know I'm tired of that.

It happens every year. Publications put out their mock drafts and fans become so enamored that they think if they don't draft those players it's a failure. Jerry might be a good player someday, maybe not. A few years ago ( 2007) people wanted the Bucs to draft a defensive tackle named Amobi Okoye. How's he doing?

Proclaiming that late round draft choices and priority free agents will have trouble making the team is not exactly profound. Truth is, probably 25% of the 1st round selections won't pan out like expected.

I will agree with scu's last sentence, 2nd day draft picks don't have a great chance of succeeding in the NFL, statistically speaking. The current players on the roster just don't lay down and quit playing because someone has been drafted. It's very hard for those guys to make the roster.

With this team however, I don't think it's a far stretch for most of them to make though. We aren't as talented and deep as many other teams in the league. So right now it's as good a time as ever for new guys to come in and land a roster spot.

And scu - Would love to have Amobi Okoye on our team. He had a great season in 2007 with nearly six sacks and has helped draw attention so Mario Williams can be freed up for one-on-one situations. He did and had a great year in the sack column. They also made a move this off-season to bring in another pass rusher in Smith to take the pressure back off from Okoye, and look for him to have a much better year in the sack column this season.

It also doesn't help that they have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, which equates to the D being on the field more, but man I'm telling you, the Texans are about to arrive in this league. I love that team and roster and I love how they are building their franchise.

Nothing to knock though on Amobi Okoye.

I give this draft a C. We will see what happens. Nobody really knows what our draft grade is until 2012.
we failed to draft anyone that can start this year so we get an average draft grade.
I like the Freeman pick.
I love what the Packers drafted.