Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair's shooting death was a homicide, police said Sunday, but authorities stopped short of saying it was a murder-suicide committed by the 20-year-old girlfriend found dead by his side.

There will be two basic elements to Bucs players and coaches this season.

TAMPA – There will be two basic elements to Tampa Bay Buccaneers players and coaches this season. A chip on their shoulders and something to prove.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Derrick Brooks expressed he still can play football in the NFL today this season during an interview on ESPN Radio St. Louis.

Brooks spoke with former teammate and NFL player D’Marco Farr on Wednesday about his carrer, the former…

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have spent the least amount of money on player costs between 2004 and 2008, according to an article posted last week on NFL.com

Jason La Canfora reported that Tampa Bay $449 million, which includes gross totals spent on salaries and bonuses, over the past five seasons.…

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Ryan Nece will hold the second annual Mind & Body Clinic for teen athletes 13-17 years old at Jefferson High School on July 9. The clinic is from 8 a.m.- 1 p.m., with registration starting at 7:30 a.m.

According…

Two months after drafting Josh Freeman as their quarterback of the future, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not ruling out the prospect of him earning the starting job much sooner than expected.

As part of NFL Network's 32 teams in 32 days series, NFL.com takes a look at a key question facing each NFL team. Jamie Dukes and former NFL GM Charley Casserly discuss the quarterback situation of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After a futile attempt to accelerate progress toward a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, linebacker Barrett Ruud is back on the practice field with his teammates.

Buc ‘Em has a short piece on all the Bucs with Twitter accounts.  Twitter seems to be blowing up by the day so if you enjoy following your favorite players, check this link out. John Romano of the St Pete Times lays into the ownership of the Bucs because of their lack of spending.  He quotes [...]

I had to make the picture huge, just for all those that forgot what our uni’s used to look like when we were the Yucks, or the Sucks, or the Yuckaneers or the worst, the Suckaneers.  They were creamsicle, we know!!! Most people around the country hate them, and always seem to mention them as [...]

Rick Stroud of the St Petersburg Times was just featured on ESPN’s NFL Live and was quoted as saying that Josh Freeman is now the QB to beat going into training camp. I’m not sure whether this says how good he has looked thusfar in OTA’s and Mini-Camps or how average both Byron Leftwich and Luke [...]

Only a couple of hours after firing Jon Gruden, the Bucs organization has underminded him by hiring his former defensive backs coach, Raheem Morris, as his replacement. This is a move that puzzles me. Morris is a great coach, but he's never even been a defensive coordinator, which is the job he briefly inherited from Monte Kiffin. Either he blew them away in interviews, or they grabbed the first guy available. I'm glad that they're staying within the organization, but I can't help but feel that this is a slap in the face for Gruden. Mark Dominik will inherit the GM position, and the Bucs will need to find a defensive coordinator, unless Morris wants double duty. With Gruden gone, they will need an offensive coordinator. This is just still too much for me. Its been a long freaking day. There will be more to come tomorrow.

On a side note, Shaun King needs to shut the f%^$ up. He said that it was about time that Gruden got fired. Shut up Shaun. You suck. You have no room to talk. You're a failure. Deal with it. The same goes for Michael Clayton. You're a failure too. Deal with it you little whiny bastard.

What an offseason this is going to be.

When I heard the news, my heart just dropped. Everyone was so shocked, and it was such breaking news that ESPN even devoted time to it, something they never do for the Bucs. Head Coach Jon Gruden and General Manager Bruce Allen have been fired. As of this moment, that son of a bitch Joel Glazer has yet to speak. I just can't comprehend this.

What the fuck where the Buccaneers thinking?

Jon Gruden went 60-57 in 7 seasons with the Bucs (including playoffs), and is the winningest head coach in Tampa history. He led them to their only Super Bowl, and has won 3 division titles in 7 years. He is the only coach in NFC South history to have back-to-back winning seasons. Everyone is going to point to the collapse at the end of the season, but give him more credit than that. He has had enough success in Tampa to be forgiven for one little collapse. Let's just say that nobody saw this coming.

Bruce Allen has done a great job in his time with the Bucs. Allen has drafted some great players, and has brought in great players (Jeff Garcia, Cato June, Antonio Bryant). Quite frankly, I can't see why he lost his job.

I'm so pissed off over this whole ordeal, and quite frankly, my anger has lead me near tears. Neither man deserved this fate. Who is going to come in and do the job that these men did? While I'll try not to hold any animosity towards the new hires, it will take me a while to get over this. The Glazers better have a damn good reason, and I better not hear one word about the collapse.

Good luck to both men. I'll always hold a special place in my heart for Gruden. After all, I didn't think that the Bucs would be making a head coaching change for a long time.

In the final game of the season, the Buccaneers will face off against the team that they beat in Super Bowl XXXVII. Ironically, the game will take place at the site of this year's Super Bowl. We all know what needs to go down. The Cowboys need to lose, and the Bucs need to win in order to get into the playoffs. The Bucs will play the early game, while the Cowboys play the late game. The Bucs will have to watch and see if Philadelphia can pull out a victory. If Dallas wins, it's over. This week's game is a seemingly sure-fire win, but not everything is as it seems. Aside from winning, there is really nothing else that the Bucs can do. Right now, they hold their fate in their hands. After their game, it will be Philadelphia who will hold the Bucs fate in their hands.

The Oakland Raiders have turned themselves around from last season, and won't finish at the bottom of their division. They've lost 3 of their last 4 games, but they looked good in last weeks victory. Their team is led by second year man JaMarcus Russell, who ranks dead last (32nd) in passing. They have a pretty potent rushing game, which is ranked 10th in the nation, and is led by Justin Fargas and rookie Darren McFadden. Russell's top target is Zach Miller, who leads the team in receiving yards by over 400 yards. Combined, their offense ranks 30th in points per game, and 29th in total yards. Their defense is ranked 26th in points allowed per game, 27th in total yards, 31st in rushing yards per game, and 9th against the pass.

Key Matchup:
Buccaneers vs. Cowboys
Oakland doesn't really have one standout player, one difference maker. Therefore, I believe that the one thing the Bucs have to watch out for is the Cowboys. Their season hinges on what the Cowboys can do. The Cowboys beat the Eagles earlier in the season, and the Eagles are coming off of a loss. The Cowboys haven't looked fantastic in recent weeks, as they've had their struggles and controversies. This week there has been more whining and complaining from the Cowboys and their management. The Eagles are a good team, but if anything is going to stop Dallas, it will be their own troubles. The controversy didn't keep them from winning a couple of weeks ago, but they lost this past week. The Bucs need to rely on the Cowboys to lose, and it appears a self-destruction would be the only way for the 'Boys to lose.
The only thing the Bucs can do this week is win. They will have to rely on Philadelphia to do the rest, so that part is out of their hands. Oakland is not that good of a team, so the Bucs should really have no problem dispatching them. Of course, the team that they have to worry about first is Oakland. If they can't beat them, than the season is over. The outcome of the Dallas game is important, but Oakland comes first and foremost. The Bucs need to focus on what is ahead of them before worrying about what comes after that.

This week could be the last week for a couple of Buccaneers, as they are going to become free agents at the end of the season. This could be the last game as a Buc for Jeff Garcia, Michael Clayton, Jerramy Stevens, and Antonio Bryant. If it is, than let's just hope they go out on top. The offense hasn't been looking great, and their rankings show it. They are ranked 18th in the league in points per game, 14th in total yards, 15th in rushing yards, and 12th in passing yards. They also rank 9th in total rushing plays, 6th in total passing plays, 6th in fourth down conversions, and 4th in total offensive plays. The defense was embarrassed last week, but they are still pretty strong. They are ranked 7th in the league in points allowed per game, 9th in total yards allowed, 18th in rushing yards allowed, and 5th in passing yards allowed. Their defense is ranked 4th in defensive touchdowns and 4th in interceptions.

If the Bucs win tomorrow, they will improve on their 9-7 season last year. Even if they don't make the playoffs, this season will be considered an improvement. This could very well be the last game for Monte Kiffin, who will move on to Tennessee after the season. If the Bucs don't advance, this will be his last game. It was announced on Thursday that Raheem Morris, the defensive backs coach, will be his replacement next season. If this is Monte's last game, than nothing would be better than a 49-0 blowout. That would be nice either way, but especially if this is Kiffin's last game. The Bucs might also be keeping an eye on the Detroit Lions, who, if they lose, will join the 1976 Buccaneers as the only two teams in NFL history to go winless throughout an entire season. But most importantly, the Bucs will focus on a victory, and pray for a Dallas Cowboys loss.

There’s still one name free agent defensive player on the market, and that is long-time Buccaneer linebacker Derrick Brooks. His name has not been mentioned by a lot of teams as of late, even though Brooks has been rather outspoken about wanting to play in 2009. The Tampa Tribune Blog today had some interesting comments [...]

The Bucs are not exactly breaking the bank on spending this offseason, and GM Mark Dominik took that to task in the Tampa Tribune, saying that the team is spending wisely: Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik believes his team has spent its money wisely over the past five years. The Bucs have spent the [...]

The big talk in Tampa Bay right now is still the QB spot, and if rookie Josh Freeman is going to do enough to impress the coaches into giving him the starting job from day one. General manager Mark Dominik spoke out about Freeman in the St.Petersburg Times, giving his own take on the [...]