Posted by  Shawn Golan, Los Angeles, CA on 05/15  at  11:30 AM

Graham needed to get his a$$ to the OTAs.  Maybe I missed something, but did Graham become some kind of pro bowler?  Did I miss that announcement?  I don’t think I did, which is why its so hard for me to understand how this kid believes that he’s earned the right to skip team functions.  I’m willing to admit that he did enough for a new contract, and a small raise, but one year of “solid” [not great] play does not make you a $4M RB, I hope he and his agent realize that.  Graham needs to take a page from Garcia - show up, practice, be with your team...show management that you’re committed and they’ll take care of you.  I hope someone lets EG know that before he goes burning all his bridges.

Posted by  Mitch R, NYC on 05/15  at  11:02 AM

Skylar, I apologize 10000 times over, I must’ve missed some key words in your post and thus didn’t realize you were bashing Kinzer’s idiotic comments (as all on this blog must do).  Upon reading your post again, it is very clear that you were sarcastic and thus didn’t deserve my comments.  Sorry again.

Posted by  WilliamL, Tampa on 05/15  at  09:00 AM

Let Graham put together another nice season and at least break 1000 yards before giving in to a holdout. Remember Errict Rhett?  He sat himself right out of a job and a career.  At least Rhett ran for 1000 yards.

Posted by  David, Hawaii on 05/15  at  08:22 AM

If E.G. wants to sit out, bring in Pitman. I think he still needs a team.

Posted by  Skylar,  on 05/15  at  07:37 AM

To Mitch and Dan: apparently you didn’t notice the hint of sarcasm in my writing. Therefore, not only are you incapable of spelling properly, you have difficulty with reading comprehension. Read the third sentence where I state that his rhetoric is complete and utter nonsense. Now I’m responding to your ignorant comments when we’re on the same side. Please stop blogging as you make the IQ of the website drop a few notches when you post. GO BUCS!!!

Posted by  JVand, Nashville on 05/15  at  06:36 AM

Hey Bruce Allen,

This is what happens when for a pair of years you cry hamstrung by the cap, then all last year you boast about how much cap space you have to bring in playmakers, and then don’t bring anyone in.

Well, its going to be difficult to bring others in if you show that you don’t take care of your own.

Say that Graham was a prior special teamer, that Greg White was an Arena guy, and that Garcia is old. Players see that you made Brian Kelly buy out of his contract instead of cutting him (when you had plenty of cap space to resign him). The message is clear.

Posted by  steve, tampa on 05/15  at  05:18 AM

you cant give this guy millions, hes not worth it.  He was a #3 who got to play beacause of injuries. if he starts all year and produces sure but not until then.  i agree with a little more money, or just in incentives if he reaches certain stats.  he may not be a starter this year with all the competition.

Posted by  Ronald Joseph Irish, Fort Walton Beach, FL on 05/15  at  03:14 AM

Grahm’s performance last season is well deserving of a raise. If Drew Rosenhaus doesn’t accept an offer for a 2 year incentive based starter money contract, He should try to find a team that will give him what he wants for Grahm. I don’t think a running back in his mid 20’s that touches the ball 20-25 times a game should risk his health for a special teams contributor salary. We have 2 veteran proven backs practicing right now. To say Dunn and Bennett will carry the load and stay healthy like Grahm did last season is impossible to predict. Can Cadillac return better than ever? We won’t know till he takes hits in pads. Why doesn’t Bruce Allen offer Grahm the exact same deal as Dunn, like how he handled QBs Garcia and Simms last year.

Posted by  John Klopfer, Ocala, Florida on 05/14  at  11:03 PM

Hey Dan,

No offense but when you say that Kinzer isn’t “to brite,” you would sound more intelligent if you spelled it “too bright.” If you are going to voice opinions...they become more credible if you spell the words correctly. A hint…write (not rite) your comment on Microsoft Word, then cut and paste. Most educated people will think more of your comments if they are grammatically correct.

As for Graham, he is under contract…he should be at practice.

Posted by  James R. Kinzer, 351 Winfield Ave. Winfield WV 25213 on 05/14  at  09:34 PM

Hi Dan;

I think that I could match you with education without trying very hard!!  Your spelling of bright and probably are both wrong and it’s not their, it’s they are!!  Oh, we don’t have a pro team here, but WVU went to a BCS game last year and kicked the s*#t out of Ok..  In the last 3 years, WVU is the only team to beat the SEC’s best (Georgia)!!  The year after that, WVU beat the ACC’s best, GA.Tech!! I was very fortunate though, I did live in Tampa for 15 yrs and I loved it and the Bucs!!

Posted by  Dan, Titusville,FL on 05/14  at  08:28 PM

Mitch, you are right I don’t think Kinzer and skylar are to brite. Your probly going to have to forgive them because look their from WV, they don’t
even have a football team. Give them a break.

Posted by  Mitch R, NYC on 05/14  at  08:10 PM

Kinzer is an idiot and Skylar has just joined the club by agreeing.  We signed a ton of very good free agents that will add depth and compete for starting positions.  We do take care of our players too, why else would Brooks and Allstot have stayed.  You guys look for all the negatives and non of the positives.  We won the division last year and all I heard was Kinzer bitching.  We’ve had a great offseason and all I hear is Kinzer bitching.  When will it end James?

Posted by  Rerun,  on 05/14  at  07:25 PM

Hey James, ever think that those players may not make the roster if they’re not giving 100%? I guess that’s way too obvious for you to see huh? If they’re holding out, they’re not playing and if they got a new contract, they’ll be happy, so your point is mute. Sorry.

Posted by  Skylar,  on 05/14  at  07:13 PM

You’re right James; all the free agents we’ve signed are crappy. None have gone to pro-bowls and none are worthy of a football team other than the lowly Bucs. That’s just plain nonsense and no-one with a semblance of intelligence agrees with you. As I’ve said before; there’s no reason to get these deals done until after training camp. It just makes fiscal sense. Stop crying and start thinking logically.

Posted by  James R. Kinzer, 351 Winfield Ave. Winfield WV 25213 on 05/14  at  07:07 PM

The attitude of the team cannot be very good come training camp.  A team with players not giving 100%, is usually a losing team.  Would you give your employer 100% if other workers made more money than you and you out produced them??  These veterans that produced so well last year deserve to earn more money, especially Haye and Graham.  Veteran treatment like this is one of the reasons why GOOD free agents don’t want to come to Tampa and play for Gruden and Allen !!

Posted by  Robert A. Ries, Valrico on 05/14  at  05:43 PM

Mitch, I agree with some of your points.However, why not give him an incentive laden contract with additional year options. If as I said he does have a good year it will cost us more to keep him. Whose to say. He could be another Clayton. I am just tired of the analogy of the real world workforce and Pro sports.

Posted by  Skylar,  on 05/14  at  05:40 PM

Robert, I agree with you in some ways, but to say that we don’t pay for these salaries is, well, at best inaccurate. Where do you think the money comes from? Anyway, I think the babysitter is absolutely right and Garcia better watch out because the last time Greise was the starter, our team was lights-out! Randall Man, Caddy was well on his way to 1000 yards too when he got hurt, so don’t make silly presumtions like everybody know Graham was great or something. We’re all glad he played well and we all support him, but he was not on anybody’s radar to supplant Caddy.

Posted by  Mitch R, NYC on 05/14  at  05:39 PM

Robert, again, don’t be naive, if we pay Graham this year and he gets 1,400 yards and 15 TDs next year, you better believe he will be holding out for more money next year too.  It’s a shame in the NFL that contacts aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.  Teams throw them out when players make too much and players hold out when the want a new one.  It’s a shame cause the fan pays the price in the long run.

Posted by  Mitch R, NYC on 05/14  at  05:37 PM

And Robert, we do pay for it, in cable bills, satellite bills, stadium seats, concessions ($12 for a beer, come on), apparel, DVD’s, etc.  It all goes into the pot and divvy’d out to the teams to take care pay for salaries.

Posted by  Robert A. Ries, Valrico on 05/14  at  05:36 PM

GRIESE!, He got benched for Rex Grossman twice.Dunn u r right. He may come in here and blow them away. Once again the analogy of the real world where we work and the NFL dont compare.If they dont give Graham the money and he comes out and runs for 1000+ it will cost them way more next year. Right now they could lock him down for a bargain.

Posted by  Mitch R, NYC on 05/14  at  05:34 PM

Robert, agreed, but the players of the 60’s and 70’s made absolutely no money, played in horrible conditions with horrible training and no offseason programs, thus they are really hurting for cash and their bodies are in bad shape.  You cannot compare them to the prima-donna’s of today who sign deals and then threaten to hold out if they have 1 good year.  Again, they wont offer to give money back if they don’t perform.  Let them play for the contract they sign and then in their Free Agency years, make their money.  Someone like EG should suck it up and play.  He did have a great year, but come on, he was a nothing and should be thanking his lucky stars that a no-one can make a $600,000 salary. Stop defending them.

Posted by  The Babysitter, Tampa on 05/14  at  05:27 PM

Granted,Graham deserves a raise more than his naggy quarterback, but this is just another case of “i want mo money”. It’s like paying someone to paint 3 houses as part of an agreement, for a certain price. After painting the first 2 houses, does the painter come back and say “yknow..i did a good job painting the first two houses. I want way more money for painting the 3rd house, even though it was part of the agreement.”
Way to screw up the season before it even starts, crybabies! At least Brian Kelly sucked it up and did it the right way. Thank God we got Griese, Dunn, and Bennett. Hey Graham and Garcia: why don’t you call up Keenan McCardell and see how that whole thing worked out for him.

Posted by  Robert A. Ries, Valrico on 05/14  at  05:16 PM

If I hear one more person compare how hard they work making $10.00 - $15.00 per hour to a NFL player I am going to scream. There is no comparison. Look at the former NFL players from the 60’s,70’s and before. They cant walk and the NFLPA wont even take care of their medical expenses. Let these guys get their market value while they can. YOU are not paying for it. There are approximately 1500 guys on active rosters in the league. Look at the ratio compared to the population. They work their whole life to get to where they are. If the market value for a roofer for one year was 6 million I bet you would want it, but nobody comes to watch roofers. We do need them though, DONT BE A HATER!!!!

Posted by  Randall Man, Plant City on 05/14  at  04:59 PM

The only reason he has been sitting on the bench is Gruden’s stubborness that he is right. The people who know football know that Cadillac was the third best running back on this team, before he got hurt, yet Gruden insisted on playing him as the one. Good for Graham, he has been wasted the last several years and he deserves to be compensated for it.

Posted by  Skylar,  on 05/14  at  04:53 PM

What ever happened to incentive-laden contracts? You get a raise if you produce a 1000 yards or go to the pro-bowl, etc. If you don’t reach expectations, then you don’t get more money. It seems simple to me, but apparently I’m missing something...oh yah, these guys are premadonnas. Graham should be happy he got a chance to showcase his talents (and he is talented,) and Garcia should be happy he’s gotten another chance in the NFL period.