Well, now that our beloved losers have officially checked out it's time to start the offseason talk.There are some pretty good, well-thought threads popping up already. Mine is boring in contrast, and purposely so. One important assumption... Lovie's not going anywhere. Something unnatural would have to happen for him to be gone by the time next season rolls around. We're going to end up 6 - 10 after the Panthers' backups monkey stomp us. Numbers are fungible. You can be an optimist and say we had a 300% increase in wins, woo hoo! Or, you can be a pessimist and say that we had such a crap SOS it basically balances out.We have many weaknesses, probably more than our record indicates. Here are the core weaknesses as I see them going into the offseason:- Coaching. This is the no-s#$@ one. I choose to believe our staff as a whole is not irredeemable, but unquestionably a weakness still.- Defensive personnel. Secondary is obviously tops, but when you factor in depth every position is hurting - to include LB. I don't believe a high end pass rush will be enough to save the secondary as some have posted; for example, the Bears would've still had success today if we had a top 10 pass rush. That's part scheme/part personnel.- WR corps. A lot of people seem to think we're in good shape once Kenny Bell is in the mix and Sexy Mocha, aka VJax, is healthy. I actually think we're in trouble there. It's taken as a given that VJax will be back and ready to dominate as a high end #2. But, there's a 50-50 chance he's in a different uniform next year; asking an aging star to take a pay cut is always touchy. There's a good chance the FO and he can't see eye to eye and he walks. Assume he comes back. He's shown he can no longer be relied upon as a sure fire #2 with his health. Dye shouldn't be on a 53 man roster. Humphries belongs as a #5 at most, or a PS better yet where he can develop and one day reach his ceiling, which is something like Cole Beasley. Shep may as well be an offensive guard or safety based on his production; just assume he's only a ST'er. IMO Evans is an elite WR. Assume the drops will get better. But, even still, to me he's not a #1 that you build the entire offense around ala Julio Jones, if that makes sense. Not yet at least. While he can and does dominate physically, emotionally he's not a guy that can carry the WR corps. If VJax walks it will be a problem for that reason. He'll still be 22 to start next year IIRC.THE PLANNow for the boring part. I can already hear the anger and anguish. It would be a mild shock if the Bucs are players for any of the high priced Free Agents. Wilkerson will be a popular "want" come March. Not that I want him to begin with, but I'd be very surprised if the team makes a run at a premier pass rusher. The guess here is many of the "Lovie Special" players will be gone, i.e. the Bears castoffs that suck. So I'd make another run at getting good second/third tier talent to fill in the holes left over. I'd also make a run at one, maybe two good veteran WR. I've seen Mohammed Sanu as an option but frankly think he may get into the lower tier 1 range. It won't be super popular because of his age, but Roddy White would be a good example of what could be brought in. He's got system experience, and is a good 2B or 3 vet. This is only assuming VJax returns and not as a replacement; if VJax leaves the FO will be forced to deviate and grab a quality young veteran. I'd also target a mid-tier OT that fits Warhop's specs. In Licht's last interview/piece Jeff Darlington did, I got the impression he (Licht) and the FO have forecast all along that they'd need to have a defense-heavy draft this year. Of course that's born out. My confidence in he, Robinson, and the rest of the personnel staff is sky high. Hence why I'm good with another "boring" offseason. I don't have any names to assign yet, but if we're able to pull 3 starters - 1 x each DE, safety, and CB - we'll be in great shape. It's not really reasonable to expect the same kind of success we had this year w/ Smith/Marpet/Kwon. So at least one premium pass rusher to start opposite Gholston is the requirement. We'll also need another WR. I don't know if Kenny Bell has given the staff confidence behind the scenes, but for all the reasons I stated above it's obvious we need to get at least one more quality WR in here, preferably in rounds 2-4. Coaching... ah, the topic du jour. As pissed as I am with Lovie's s%$^ show I'm still in agreement with keeping him around another year. Some have poo poo'ed the notion of keeping him here for the sake of stability. While I agree it's not fire-and-forget reason to keep him, it's still very important. From the sounds of Licht's interview there's been an organization-wide plan for the get go that appears to be long-term in nature, i.e. at least three years. So the change I want to see is something akin to what SR recently suggested. The Glazers should AT LEAST demand Lovie give up his play calling duties in the offseason. I don't know if Leslie Frazier is part of the solution or not. Lovie is famously stubborn, and I don't expect any great introspection from him on his own accord. So I'd also want to see the Glazers some how ask him to have a formal look at his own practices. It may not make a huge difference and I don't know what form it would take, but the result should be an answer back to them with specific reasons WHY they should continue to not only run the Tampa 2 but invest so heavily (picks/FA) in players to fit it. They're not only investing going forward, but in effect invested their 12/13 drafts as well since Barron was jettisoned and Banks looks to be going that way because they're not scheme fits.Last but not least, the offseason needs to include some kind of semi-formal plan for Winston. The only reason we're not all selling all our Bucs memorabilia and buying another team's jersey is because of Winston. I've expect every point from last year's draft to the end of this season to be easy for him off the field. The part I've worried about is what happens when he's gone through the whirl wind and finally gets a second to breath and unwind. I'm sure they've thought about this as an organization and I trust Winston. But damn, talk about the quickest way to f%$^ up the offseason... seeing Winston busted for something, or even attached to something negative.Go Bucs. -Dmajik
