Happy New Year to my fellow Buc fans. The offseason is here, but the sting of the debacle that they call a 2-14 season still stings, so let the venting begin.RIP BUCS1. The Winston vs. Marriotta debate is a heated one for Bucs fans. It's a good debate, but we need to all calm down a little bit because I honestly don't think many of us can take four months of this. This reminds me of a political debate amongst democrats and republicans. You have to either be on one side or the other, nowhere in the middle. Winston haters are already tiring of the political ads that have been coming in the form of stories and columns from PR and other media pundits, while those same articles come across to Winston supporters like MSNBC does for President Obama supporters. PR claims it is well established in the NFL and they seem to have lots of sources, so I don't doubt they are getting info from sources that is persuading them to ram Winston down our throats. If you're a Winston hater, you can only hope that these are the same sources that told convinced PR to keep writing pro Mark Dominick and Josh Freeman articles. I still remember when Scott Reynolds wrote how the Bucs needed to sign both Dom and Freeman to contract extensions just to have both of them fall on their face and be out of the NFL less than a year later. Just because PR says it doesn't make it true. But if what they are reporting is accurate and Winston is practically a slam dunk pick for the Bucs, then don't shoot the messenger man.Regardless of what side you're on, or if you're undecided, take a deep breath and exhale in May.2. Anyone else see the sick and twisted irony in Jameis Winston, an accused rapist, being drafted by a NFL team that has a pirate for a mascot? If he is in fact drafted by the Bucs, hopefully he will not be raping and pillaging as a pirate in Tampa. I digress. Here's my take on the debate. If the Bucs draft Winston they will have themselves one hell of a QB prospect. He is the best QB and probably the best player in the 2015 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he also might be the biggest A-hole in the draft as well, which calls into question his character. And please don't tell us to "put the rape allegations aside for a moment" because you simply can't do that. It's a very serious accusation. I don't need a choir boy on our football team, but rape allegations are pretty damn serious, and it's offensive for people to blow them off so quickly or easily. Speaking as someone that manages people for a living, if the Bucs draft Winston, that's fine. But if he acts up or proves to be a problem child, the Bucs deserve every bit of criticism they get because they knew who he was before they drafted him and still decided to draft him. They should be held accountable in the form of pink slips if they draft him and he fails do to a lack of character or maturity. Marriotta is good and his athleticism/mobility makes him intriguing, but will his game translate to the NFL like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, or will he struggle like RG3 and Johnny Manziel? That's what the Bucs, not all of us, have to figure out. 3. One interesting aspect that no one is talking about in the Winston vs. Marriotta debate is the civil suit, which seems to be looming. If the accuser does in fact file a civil suit against Winston, it could be like a case of Herpes -- following he and the Bucs around no matter where he goes or what he does. And the flare ups will affect Winston and the Bucs. Maybe Winston could rebuild his image if the accuser is not awarded anything, which would help support Winston's innocence. Or maybe he'll dig himself a deep hole when he's forced to testify (all defendants in civil suits are forced to testify under oath). And if he loses a civil suit, would Roger Goodell suspend him? All things the Bucs have to consider.While Winston is the best passer and NFL-ready QB in this draft, will the Glazers take recent horror stories into account when deciding whether to draft him? For example, Josh Freeman and Aqib Talib, both former first-round picks that flamed out in Tampa due to character issues. They should.We should keep the debate going because it can be a good one. But let me ask you this: is it the worst thing in the world that we are debating which Heisman Trophy and productive college QB the Bucs should take at No. 1 overall? Could be worse, right? 4. If I'm the Bucs I'm seriously considering releasing or trading Vincent Jackson to free up cap room to sign Cowboys WR Dez Bryant. I don't care for Bryant's arrogance, but we could use some confidence on the offensive side of the ball. And we could certainly use his playmaking ability along side Mike Evans. Our new offensive coordinator was largely successful in part because of having two great receivers in Atlanta. And our rookie QB certainly would benefit from a duo of Bryant and Evans in Tampa Bay. Just a matter of whether Lovie Smith thinks he could keep Bryant's hot head issues in check. 5. I know we were bad, but did the Bucs really go winless at home in 2014? When you're tying records from the 1976 Bucs team you are asking to be fired. We better show improvement in 2015. Otherwise, the Glazers could be attempting to lure Jim Harbaugh from Michigan after his first season with the Wolverines. 6. Speaking of improvement, how much do you need to see in order for Lovie Smith and Jason Licht to earn your confidence/stick around? I'm saying 8-8, but that may be a lofty expectation seeing as we have so many holes and will have a rookie QB. Good news is we have the worst division in football (NFC South) twice and Jacksonville, Tennessee and Washington on our schedule next season. Bad news is we have the likes of Indy, Philly and Dallas. 7. Anyone else still blowing off steam over Mark Dominick's decision to draft Mark Barron over Luke Kuechly in the top 10 a few years ago? That has to be one of the worst draft day blunders of all time. And Dominick has several of them. Unfortunately, that particular bust is coming back to haunt us as middle linebacker is deemed a void we need to fill this offseason. 8. Dominick was terrible, but Lovie and Licht have contributed mightily to this mess. They managed to make a bad offensive line even worse. And we still need to address tight end one year after they invested a high draft pick in ASJ. The tight end position will be even more important to fill since we'll have a rookie QB throwing the ball, and he could use a reliable check down option at the TE position. 9. The Bucs' regular season record since the Glazers started investing in Manchester United in 2003: 75-11710. Worst Regular Season Records in the NFL since 20091. Jacksonville: 29-672. Tampa Bay: 30-663. Cleveland: 30-664. St. Louis: 30-65-15. Oakland: 32-646. Washington: 32-64
