Forum: Talk Bucs | Official Site: Bucpower.com

Putting together a Buccaneer highlight reel

Posted Dec 17, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Dec 17, 2010 at 03:24 AM

How many times have you watched a highlights clip? OK how many times have you REALLY watched one? As in, think for a moment about all the work that goes into putting one together.

And I am not just talking about the touchdown highlight reels, but the ones of big hits, big runs, great catches etc. How do you think these get put together?

Welcome to the world of the VT editor. The person who has to go through a three-hour programme and find the key plays and moments that will make future highlight clips.

The first step is to chart a game. I did this for Sky a couple of times where you mark down the time of a key play so an editor can quickly search for the clip and extract it. Even on a small level such as I did for the Browns’ game to open this season, you are looking for any key play and seeing if the replay shows better images than the original wide-angle shot.

On my level, the clips will have the Fox or CBS logos on the screen, together with whatever scrolling score images were shown at the time. Replays have less of these but you are still limited to these images and whatever commentary was going at the time.

For the true professionals out there and that most definitely includes Bucs UK Hall of Fame member Adam Ryan of NFL Films in that category, they will have three or four camera angles and pure footage without any overlaying images. They would also have the option of Gene and Dave’s Buc radio commentary which they could match up to the images.

The Cleveland game left me with 25 different highlight sections that I have pulled into WMV format for future use. There are the touchdowns to Mike Williams and Micheal Spurlock, but there are also one or two big hits and good runs. And this took me the best part of an evening to do. Multiply this by 16 games and you start to see the idea of the project of increased video footage on BUCPOWER.COM.

One day I would like to have a video clip for every player in Buccaneer history in the way I have action pictures for 90% of them. Mel Carver’s two touchdown runs, Dave Warnke’s legendary fieldgoal attempt or even Sabby Piscitelli making a tackle. The raw data is there if I can find the time to try and pull them together.

I was intending to try and get a complilation of all of Michael Clayton’s dropped passes or Rod Jones’ blown coverages in the 1980s but ran out of storage space on my PC.

But next time you watch even a brief compilation clip on ESPN, NFL.com or even Buccaneers.com, take a minute to think how many different games and scenes were put together to make it happen. And the time involved to pull it all together. And then you have an idea of the job done by the people behind the scenes who you never see in the coverage of this great sport.

NFC game watching
NFL Redzone airs on British TV this weekend which has the added bonus of three hours’ less of Nick Halling. But I am the one person who really has no interest in this as outside of the Bucs, I watch no other live football at all.

But this does not mean that I won’t be scoreboard watching this weekend as events in other games over the next three weeks will have a true bearing on the Bucs’ playoff chances. OK so the Falcons may be out of range now and they are only up against the Seahawks but there are four other key games that all Tampa fans should be looking out for.

The Eagles and Giants go head-to-head for the NFC East title and the loser is of course right in the wild card battle. Both are 9-4 so one will be tied with the Bucs come Sunday night assuming things go right against the Lions.

The Bears are 9-4 too and are in Minnesota college stadium to say goodbye to Brett Favre. Time there to be a purple fan as to be become a Patriots fan as the all-conquering Bostonians entertain Green Bay who sit 8-5. The Packers have QB problems with Aaron Rodgers’ concussion so New England could well do the Bucs a favour too with an expected win Sunday.

New Orleans have the hardest game on paper with a road trip to Baltimore and we can only hope for the Falcons to beat up on Seattle so much that the Seahawks are wounded birds by the time they fly across to Tampa on Boxing Day.

The Jets’ special teams coach
The clip of the Jets’ coach tripping up the Dolphins’ gunner last weekend might have been funny to some people but in my eyes is the worst thing I have seen in the sport in 30 years. It was downright cheating and unacceptable.

If it had been in the likes of The Replacements or the Waterboy, fine. But this was in the NFL and was just plain wrong. The coach should be barred from the NFL for life and the Jets seriously fined either financially or with draft picks to ensure it never ever happens again.

You’ve been great, enjoy Madness.

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And so the roller coaster continues - Bucs win 17-16

Posted Dec 12, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Dec 12, 2010 at 06:07 PM

Good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose. Almost as basic NFL as the off-tackle run, student body left in the college game and not knowing that counting to five in Washington goes 1-2-3-4-4.

So the Bucs today are 8-5. I don’t know how, I don’t really know why, all I know is that they are. And isn’t it great?

30 years of following the Buccaneers has seen enough highs and lows. All too many lows of course tempered by the incredible high in San Diego in January 2003. But have you ever seen a rollercoaster season like the one Tampa Bay is experiencing now?

The lows of blowout losses to Pittsburgh and New Orleans. Or the gut-wrenching narrow defeats to the Falcons The highs of the narrow wins in Cincinnati and over the Rams.

The lows of the injuries to Jeff Faine, Davin Joseph, Aqib Talib and Cory Grimm. The highs of the emergence of new heroes every week, some so young they don’t even know the true meaning of what they are involved in right now.

And so they go marching on. Or marching back to a half-full Raymond James Stadium next Sunday to take on the lowly Lions who of course did the Bucs a favour by beating playoff rivals Green Bay this past weekend. If people in Tampa don’t want to start watching this plucky young team, the hell with them. The real fans will be there and the ones who cannot get to the New Sombrero in any shape or form will be on line behind them all the way.

Everyone right now is pencilling in two wins the next two weeks over Detroit and Seattle. They are looking at the records, that those two will be on the road and just assuming Raheem’s dreams will be 10-5 going to the Bayou on the final weekend of the regular season. Well didn’t the game in Washington teach you that nothing can be assumed?

Any Given Sunday became any given play at the end. Was it a 5th down or not? And then when all seemed not to be won, it was won. 11 years ago former Buc Dan Turk sent down a bad snap to future Buc Brad Johnson and Tony Dungy’s team won a 1999 playoff game over the Redskins. Deja vu all over again as Yogi Berra would say.

The resilience shown by the 2010 Buccaneers is something to truly behold. Totally wiped out in the first quarter, run over like a possum on the freeway. Somehow only 10-3 down at the half when the game could have been over with 30 minutes to play.

But good teams find a way to win and bad teams find a way to lose. And ladies and gentlemen, the 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are proving to be a very good team.

You’ve been great, enjoy T’Pau.

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Bucs and NFL update - Week 14

Posted Dec 9, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Dec 9, 2010 at 08:07 AM

Firing a coach in mid-season
This has become all the rage in the NFL this season as first Wade Phillips, then Brad Childress (who I swear is Tony Kornheiser’s twin brother) and now Josh McDaniels, all got their marching orders mid-way through a season.

There is a school of thought that this is not a wise move for a franchise as all the assistant coaches see themselves as lame ducks with no employment guaranteed going into the following year. This of course depending on whether the interim head coach becomes the permanent one (which is usually unlikely).

The Buccaneers have only once removed a head coach midway through a season, Ray Perkins in 1990 and even that was done going into a very late bye-week. Richard Williamson took over and even won his first game in charge.

But he only got the job in January 1991 on a permanent basis because he was cheap (this was Hugh Culverhouse making the decision remember) and only after the latter had spoken to various other potential options including Buddy Ryan.

Mid-season changes have worked so far in Dallas and Minnesota although I still would not put money on either former Buc QB Jason Garrett, nor Leslie Frazier getting their gigs full-time in January. And Denver is such a mess right now, it looks like choosing McDaniels over some guy called Raheem really looks a stunner now for Denver owner Pat Bowlen.

Every other Buccaneer coaching change has happened at the end of a season. John McKay announced his retirement in November 1984 but it was only effective at the end of that year.

Wow does Greg Olson roll the dice
If you are faced with a 3rd and 1, you only have two options. Make it and continue the drive, or fail and get second-guessed by every Monday morning QB with access to a message board. “You should have sneaked it”, “Just run Blount up the middle”, “Why didn’t he give it to Earnest”. Greg can’t win really.

So this is why he has really been opening up the playbook in these situation. Rolling Josh out and going for the big play twice in Baltimore, once last week (which would have worked if Cadillac hadn’t slipped) and then the outrageous WR reverse with Arrelious Benn getting a first down.

The life of an offensive co-ordinator is to be accepted if you get the call right, and castigated if you don’t. Normally by people who have no idea about defensive alignments, whether players have executed properly, or without understanding the bigger picture involved.

Whatever the call, Olson has done an amazing job this season. Just take one look at the provisional depth chart from August to what he has to play with now in terms of a decimated line, rookie explosion and a quaterback with less than 20 starts. Without a doubt, the best offensive co-ordinator this franchise has EVER had.

Big Gay Al
OK so Albert Haynesworth isn’t gay but he’s been about as effective in Washington as the South Park character would have been. All those message board posters who called the Bucs cheap for not seriously going after the $100 million man have gone real quiet recently. And once again Dan Snyder winning a Super Bowl in March turns out to be about 10 months too early,

The Bucs’ Week 1 offensive line
Penn Vincent Faine Joseph Trueblood

The Bucs’ offensive line now
Penn Larsen Zuttah Hardman Lee

The Bucs’ 1984 Week 1 offensive line
Sanders Jackson Wilson Farrell Thomas

The Bucs’ 1984 Week 16 offensive line
Kaplan Courson Grimes Farrell Heller

Stat of the week
I passed this one along to Scott Smith for him to use in his Buccaneer Insider clip this week. The Bucs will finish this year with four different starters on the offensive line to the ones who began the year. The only time this has ever happened in franchise history was in 1984.

Jon Gruden watch
Only ever shows 3.17am. Sorry, very cheap and easy gag. But the “Gruden to ....” stories continue to abound with each and every coaching vacancy that appears.

He has already been linked with the University of Miami job, is supposed to take over in Dallas, and naturally is associated with the Minnesota and Denver openings. Apparently even Chris Houghton was allegedly being replaced at Newcastle United by him.

A new NFL record was set this season
By the fans of the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow. Most money spent on one player’s merchandise in relation to his actual performance in a season.

Another amazing statistic
This week saw fans of the TV show 24 make it into the Guiness Book of Records as three Jack Bauer devotees sat through over 80 hours of non-stop showings to win a contest in Hollywood without falling asleep. This equates to Tampa fans sitting though 15 minutes of the Ron and Ian Show on WDAE 620.

You’ve been great, enjoy the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. And to quote PTI’s Michael Wilbon, “same time next week knuckleheads”.

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Bucs - Falcons - the aftermath - Now they stand at the crossroads

Posted Dec 6, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Dec 6, 2010 at 05:35 AM

They were close. That long-awaited first really huge win. Come on face it, you were already imagining the comments on the likes of “Around the Horn” and by Peter King about the Bucs being truly for real weren’t you?

And then it all went wrong over 102 yards. A lot can happen in that distance. Linford Christie and Carl Lewis probably don’t win so many medals over that additional yardage, Tiger Woods usually gets up and down from there, and Eric Weems broke Buccaneer hearts too.

You can talk about replay interceptions, overturned decisions, huge penalties all you want. What you do have is a 7-5 Tampa Bay team now standing at the edge of their season looking over at the drop.

The next three games are all truly winnable, on the road agains Snyder’s Self-Imploders in Washington, then home to Detroit and Seattle. And they are all now must win games too if these plucky young Buccaneers are going to continue their unlikely run into the playoffs.

But just how long can they take these body blows from key injuries and now tough losses? Two more starters went out Sunday against the Falcons and both Jeff Faine and Aqib Talib are huge parts of this turnaround from the 3-13 campaign in 2009.

Yes the line stepped up, yes the defensive backfield played beyond itself when all looked lost early in the game against Atlanta. But eventually all these body shots are going to take their effect and the day will come when it all takes it toll and the Bucs lose a game really badly. You just have to hope it is not next weekend in Washington.

Which is why we find ourselves at the crossroads right now. Win in Washington and all becomes right with the world again. A loss in DC, a 7-6 mark and a three-game losing streak, and it all starts going downhill fast and all the incredible good work done so far in 2010 will be quickly forgotten.

Outside of the decision time faced by Raheem Morris’ team, what a game! Those 60 minutes had everything from big plays, controversial decisions, massive momemtum swings and tough hard-nosed football. The NFL must have loved their decision to flex the game back to a late start, and how British TV must have regretted going with the Oakland v San Diego game in its place.

And just how much more is in Greg Olson’s playbook? Another half-a-dozen pieces of trickery against the Falcons, all of which worked a treat. You wonder what this mad professor of offense is going to come up with next?

There is so much to be proud of from our creamsicle this week, pewter next week warriors. No-one thought the P word was part of the 2010 equation but here we are watching other scores and working out the permutations. It is just that next Sunday could be the go/no go decision as NASA used to call it.

You’ve been great, enjoy Dire Straits

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The best and worst of the throwbacks

Posted Dec 2, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Dec 2, 2010 at 03:42 PM

You can blame the NFL for this whole “change your colours once a season” thing. It was part of the NFL’s 75th anniversary celebrations in 1994 that each team (Weeks 3 and 4) had a home game with an old school colour change.

The Bucs wore their 1977 all-white uniforms in a home game with the Saints and a Green Bay road game and this being Sam Wyche’s team, naturally went 0-2 in the process. At least Raheem has a better record in creamsicles for the time being.

I was always against Tampa Bay going back to orange jerseys because of the negative images connected with the old days. But having been at the Green Bay game last season and seen the whole spirit and atmosphere around the change, even an old fogey like me can change their minds occasionally.

The best throwbacks
The really good ones are of course San Diego’s powder blue uniforms from the 60s, and the two original green jerseys for the Eagles and Jets. The Titans using the Houston Oiler blue jerseys are good too, as are the Colts and Bears’ much older colours.

Seattle would fit here simply because their current uniforms are so bad, as one could also say for the Falcons. And if Denver could just wear their 1980s colours instead of those horrible 1960s outfits, then they would go top of the class as well.

The bad throwbacks
Dallas for starters simply because Jerry Jones only brought out his third Thanksgiving jersey to make more money and was so blatant about it. For true bad jerseys, the 1930s colours of the Packers and Steelers take prime residence in the doghouse.

And any team that wears black third jerseys fit in here and Arizona and Baltimore, that means you. The Bucs are now 1-1 against teams doing this outside of Atlanta’s regular black colours.

Throwbacks, what are throwbacks?
Some of the newer teams such as Carolina, Houston and Jacksonville don’t even have any kind of historical jersey. And the likes of Miami, New Orleans and San Francisco don’t really have manjor changes to their uniforms just like the Bucs didn’t when the NFL brought this idea in back in 1994.

No nepotism here
So Andre Johnson lands more punches in 10 seconds in one fight with Tennessee’s Courtland Finnegan than Audley Harrison did in his World title fight. Actually then again, so did I.

What does concern me is how the heck do the two of them not get a suspension for that fight? Surely it couldn’t have anything to do with Johnson playing in this week’s Thursday NFL Network game against Philadelphia could it? Nah. And the Pope isn’t Catholic and FIFA representatives don’t take bribes.

One last throwback note
Why is whenever I see the Patriots play in their 1980s red, white and blue colours, I immediately think of “The Replacements” and Keanu Reaves quarterbacking the Washington Sentinels?  But Gene Hackman was a heck of a more photogenic coach that Bill Belicheat and I really want to see those replacement cheerleaders make it into the NFL.

The interview that should have happened when Sabby Piscitelli was cut this week
Interviewer: How will it feel not to be with the Bucs?
Sabby: I’ll miss them.
Interviewer: And your team-mates?
Sabby: I’ll miss them too.
Interviewer: And the other NFL players?
Sabby: I won’t miss them.
Interviewer: That will be a first. 

You’ve been great, enjoy Bad News.

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The 10 Buccaneer shutouts

Posted Nov 25, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Nov 25, 2010 at 04:27 PM

Last Sunday was the 10th shutout in franchise history. Well not including the six in pre-season that is, three of which have come against the Atlanta Falcons.

The 10 have been spread evenly, five on the road and five in Tampa, but their circumstances and potential implications are varied to say the least.

The first was the dramatic finale to the 1979 regular season, the 3-0 win in the rainstorm against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs had lost three in a row needing just one win for their first playoff appearance but had to rely on a 19-yard fieldgoal by Neil O’Donoghue in the fourth quarter as the defense kept the shutout intact.

It would be another six years until the opposing scoreboard operators were not troubled again, a 16-0 win against the then-St.Louis Cardinals that was Leeman Bennett’s first win of the 1985 season after an 0-9 start. The following week the defense would allow 62 to the Jets, a two-game disparity that will probably never ever be broken in NFL history.

Coaches came and went in Tampa until December 1998, a season finale again, when Tony Dungy got the first road shutout and third overall, a 35-0 laugher against a totally dispirited and broken (some things never change) Bengal team. I remember that one as Mike Alstott’s third TD late on cost me a fantasy league championship.

The home opener in 2000 was a 41-0 hammering of the Bears, still the biggest margin of victory in franchise history. Then again, this one should not count as Cade McNown was the Chicago quarterback that day.

Sunday’s opponents, Baltimore, were the victims in early 2002 as Derrick Brooks preserved a 25-0 shutout with a 95-yard interception return score in the fourth quarter.

Technically, the Bucs have had two consecutive shutouts. The season finale in the Super Bowl season was a 15-0 win in Champaign, Illinois against a Bear team that couldn’t even find anyone as good as McNown (Cory Sauter anyone?).

And the season opener in 2003 was the opening of Philadelphia’s new stadium when the defending Super Bowl champions shut out Rocky Balboa and the Eagles on Monday Night Football.

The Cowboys were held scoreless by the great Buccaneer defense in October 2003, as were Michael Vick’s Falcons a year later at Raymond James Stadium. But then it was six long years until the next one, the 21-0 win by Raheem’s boys in San Francisco last Sunday.

Remember this past baseball seasons how perfect games suddenly become a little more than rarities like Halley’s Comet? Perhaps the Bucs can do the same this Sunday in Raven land.

You’ve been great, enjoy Pat and Mick .

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Forget Flower Power, how about Buc Power!

Posted Nov 22, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Nov 22, 2010 at 12:17 PM

“If you’re going to San Francisco…. Don’t allow a touchdown on the ground or in the air”

So with apologies to Scott McKenzie, his iconic 1967 hit about flower power and the West Coast culture does need to be re-written today.

Because it was getting on for that long ago since the 49ers were shutout at home. Yes that’s right, a shutout. By the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And by the defense before you ask.

If you talk about a Tampa Bay shutout, it would normally be a story about Mike Smith stopping a bunch of shots for the Lightning. Or Matt Garza pitching the lights out for the Rays. But the Bucs?

OK so I know the apologists will start on about it “only being San Francisco” but your very own Buccaneers are now 7-3. That is one game away from the best record in the NFL. That’s one game better than Peyton Manning’s Colts. And way more that four games better than they finished last season because “stats are for losers” as Raheem keeps telling us.

Breakout
And continuing on the musical theme, time to move into the 1980s as Gerald McCoy got his first NFL sack. Along with most of the defensive line as Troy Smith found out what his namesake Alex has for the past four seasons - life in the NFL ain’t easy son.

McCoy was everywhere again and Frank Gore will be seeing him in his sleep the rest of the week. And he got some help from his friends on the line Sunday as the Buccaneers pitched their 10th career shutout, and fifth all-time on the road.

Stat alert
The other road shutouts were 1998 in Cincinnati (35-0), 2002 in Baltimore (25-0), 2002 in Chicago (15-0) and 2003 in Philadelphia (17-0). The home ones were against the Chiefs (1979), Cardinals (1985), Bears (2000

< Cowboys (2003 and Falcons (2004).

We’ve been spoilt
The past two weeks, Fox have given the Bucs the magnificent Brian Billick on commentary duties. This game though was definitely as the bottom of the network’s pecking order as although Chris Myers did an OK job on the play-by-play, Kurt Warner was frankly appalling with no real useful analysis, inane observations and erroneous comments. Stick to dancing Kurt.

You’ve been great, enjoy Swing Out Sister

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A tale of two classes

Posted Nov 18, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Nov 18, 2010 at 11:01 AM

Not quite Charles Dickens but definitely better than Charles McRae when it comes to looking at Buccaneer rookies.

There is little doubt that the 2010 draft class is shaping up to be one of the best in franchise history, perhaps even to rival the number of starters that the 1987 class did under Ray Perkins. Of course that one was tempered by the fact that Perkins was like Old Mother Hubbard when he inherited a bare cupboard of talent from his predecessor Leeman Bennett.

But when you compare the current rookie class to the one from three years ago, that is when you really see the reason for not just the dramatic improvement in the fortunes of the Buccaneers this year, but also the reason for its decline in the two years before.

The top pick in 2007 was of course the late Gaines Adams. The 4th overall selection who regressed through his career into a complete draft bust but did eventually bring a 2nd round pick from the Bears before he passed away earlier this year from a heart disorder.

The two second round picks (thanks to the Colts taking Booger McFarland off our hands in 2006) were Arron Sears and Sabby Piscitelli. Arron of course is out of football and has had mental issues that led to his arrest in Tampa earlier this week. And where would the Bucs be without Sabby missing tackles in the secondary and occasionally downing a punt inside the opponents’ 5-yard line?

Tanard Jackson was the 4th round pick and is currently suspended by the NFL for falling foul of their substance abuse program. So it is just Quincy Black and Adam Hayward who remain contributing at the linebacker spot and neither have really set the world on fire so far.

Now fast forward three years to the 2010 class. Nine players, only one of whom (punter Brent Bowden) failed to make the final roster and all bar two of whom have started games so far this season. And this doesn’t even include undrafted free agent LeGarrette Blount.

Gerald McCoy is showing signs of why he was selected third overall and spent more time in the Panther backfield last weekend than Jimmy Clausen. Every Buc fan knows about Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams starting at receiver and the rest of the NFL is beginning to take notice of them too.

Throw in Cody the Grimm Reaper at free safety, Dekoda Watson at linebacker last weekend alongside FB (and converted DE) Erik Lorig, and you have six starters in their first NFL seasons. Brian Price is on IR instead of the defensive line and only Myron Lewis is missing out having been the last defensive back on the roster most of this season.

Actually that is nothing to be afraid of either Buccaneer fans. The last third round pick the Bucs had in the defensive secondary who was inactive most of his rookie season was a guy named Barber. Ronde Barber.

Now what none of us have is a crystal ball to indicate where our current rookies will be in three years’ time. Both Gaines Adams and Tanard Jackson looked pretty good at the end of their rookie seasons too.

But what the Buccaneers do have right now is a young nucleus of talented rookies to build around. You can throw blame for the 2007 disasters anywhere you want but any NFL team in the last decade could point to a particularly bad draft year.

This small three-year comparison really does indicate though that we are watching one of the best Tampa Bay draft classes of all time.

You’ve been great, enjoy Mica Paris.

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Bucs review from the UK - the Monday morning option passer

Posted Nov 15, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Nov 15, 2010 at 07:59 AM

Well if Peter King of Sports Illustrated is the official Monday morning quarterback, then the best I can be is something less than that. But at least I didn’t predict a 2-14 season for the Buccaneers eh Peter?

Which brings me nicely on to the main subject today - how many more excuses can the haters come up with for not jumping on the Tampa Bay bandwagon?

You can take your pick from losing badly to two decent teams, not being able to stop the run, not selling out home games and only doing well against really naff quarterbacks. The latest classic after the game yesterday was that a third of the Bucs’ wins have come against the 1-8 Panthers. Oh puhleeeze ...

Let’s face it, no-one expected Raheem Morris to be a coaching a 6-3 team right now and pretty much everybody thought that six wins was the tops for the entire season. The haters out there were predicting a team even worse that the one that went 0-for-the-first-half in 2009 and saw nothing but a total train wreck coming. Well have the Bucs had news for you.

There are two things you can do when you have been proven totally wrong. You can carry on spouting more and more ridiculous arguments for your original decision (blueprint, T.Blair, London 1997-2007) or you can just run away and hide and not face the music in the media or on message boards (take your pick here).

The Bucs are 6-3. Fact. And they are in the playoff hunt. Fact. The only choice you have left now is to carry on burying your heads in the sand like an ostrich, or get on board the Buccaneer bandwagon where most have us have been for some time. You might even enjoy the view.

Around the NFL
John Fox probably coached his final Panther game in Tampa on Sunday. At 1-8, he is officially a dead-man walking now with no contract beyond the end of this season. Other similar coaches taking the Green Mile right now are Brad Childress (and doesn’t he look like Tony Kornheiser from ESPN?), Marvin Lewis and anyone left in Dallas once Jerry Jones has spoken officially to Jon Gruden.

Talking of look-a-likes, has anyone else noticed how Micheal Spurlock looks like comedian Chris Rock?

Talking of dead-men walking, anyone else think Maurice Stovall remains on the roster past the end of this season?

I loved the news out of Miami that their new starting quarterback, Chad Pennington, lasted one play before getting hurt again and giving way to the previous incumbent, Chad Henne. Going back to my nursery rhyme days at school. does the phrase “Henne, Penny, the sky is falling in” ring true?

The Vikings managed to implode again on Sunday and they are officially toast now for 2010. I really have mixed feelings about the Purple Lotus Eaters as one of my best friends is the most die-hard Minnesota fans in the world and flies from the UK for every Viking home game. So I want them to win for Geoff but I really hope they lose every damn game for that self-centered idiot of a quarterback of theirs.

When was the last time Peyton Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass? Probably the last time I picked him for my fantasy team. The QB curse of the Borg strikes again. Time to pick Troy Smith for next Sunday.

Brett Favre apparently called a press conference last week to announce that 2010 was “definitely his final season”. Until his next press conference that is.

Who wants to be the first person today to call up Ian Beckles on the “Dumb and Dumber” Show on WDAE-620 and ask him about his alma mater giving up 83 points to Wisconsin?  And that’s football boys and girls, not basketball.

You’ve been great, enjoy Jan Hammer

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Enhancing your support for the Buccaneers

Posted Nov 11, 2010 by Paul Stewart

Updated Nov 11, 2010 at 07:36 AM

So how big a Tampa Bay Bucs fan are you?

That’s a real $64,000 question to open up with but an interesting one all the same. I guess you have the painted face, 30 player jerseys and decorate your whole house in Bucs stuff is one end of the scale. And at the other, hey “we” won yesterday, wonder who played quarterback for us.

But whatever level of fan you are (and even I’m not quite at the first level at my age), there are a few ways you can enhance your support in just a small way.

Do you have a Buccaneer wallpaper on your laptop or PC? We have 20 really good pictures in our multimedia section on BUCPOWER.COM that we have found from various sources. When you live 4,000 miles away from Tampa as members of the Bucs UK do, then any picture of Raymond James Stadium and the Bucs will bring back nice warm memories.

How about a NFL or Buccaneer-related ringtone for your phone? There have been three Buc songs over the years, with two old school 1970s songs and the infamous Mike Alstott version of the Shrek intro performed by Bubba the Love Sponge. Perhaps each of those is a little over the top.

But at the same link, we also have the Fox, CBS and Monday Night Football themes. I have the latter on my phone and it rang whilst Gary Shelton was doing his interview with me last year before the Wembley game. He couldn’t decide if it was really cool or really sad.

The Buccaneers do several radio shows that you can listen to on line, hosted by a good friend of the Bucs UK, TJ Rives. Raheem Morris does one, Gerald McCoy does another as does Josh Freeman, along with several other players doing guest spots. They are excellent for more in-depth analysis on the most recent game.

And also on the Buccaneers’ site, Bucs UK Hall of Famer Scott Smith presents an “Insider” section in which he does his very best ESPN impression. The latest news, player interviews, action clips - it’s quick, punchy and well worth checking out each day.

How much do you know of the history of the Buccaneers? BUCPOWER.COM has every season reviewed, every game featured with stats, pictures and game reports. Why not pick a year and spend an hour or so re-living that season, getting to know the players, the stories behind the results? I did something similar on a F1 site the other day reivisiting the 1980s when I first got into the sport.

NFL Fact of the week
Wade Phillips was of course fired as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys this week. But did you know his replacement, Jason Garrett, is the third former Buccaneer player to become a head coach in the NFL? Garrett was the Bucs’ third string QB for two games in 2004 but never threw a pass.

The other two were also former Buc QBs, Steve Spurrier (1976) and Jim Zorn (1987) who both had unsuccessful stints coaching the Washington Redskins.

You’ve been great, enjoy the Reynolds Girls.

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