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And it was finally called exactly that, the draft.  None of this “NFL Annual Selection Meeting” rubbish that Paul Tagliabue always started proceedings with.  Tags was a good Commissioner but he was a lawyer at heart and hence a stickler for accuracy, Roger Goodell always seems to come across as one of the lads and hence the atmosphere seemed a lot more relaxed from the outset.

And the 10 minute limit on picks helped to improve things still further.  I mean, most Jet fans were only slighty pissed by the time their pick came around this year instead of being complete inebriated. 

The NFL Network team were excellent as always with Rich Eisen doing as good a job as Chris Berman ever did, albeit with slightly less humour but the same amount (of lack of it) of hair.  His comment of “Let the masses rejoice” when the Jets made a good pick was a classic.

But the star of the show was Mike Mayock.  Spot on with every piece of analysis, calling seemingly every pick, and doing it without any of the self-promotion that Mel Kiper always engaged in.  Even Roger Goodell was giving Mayock credit during his time on the set on the second day.

A few random thoughts from my living room

I always enjoy the part when the draft pick is wheeled out on stage to hold up a team shirt.  And I loved the touch this year when Jake Long held up a Dolphins’ No.1 jersey to signify how many games they won last season.

Serious bling award goes to LSU tackle Glenn Dorsey.  That wasn’t a watch he was wearing - it was a diamond encrusted transporter bracelet from Blake’s Seven.  And how come no-one drafted his mother?  She looked tough and ugly enough to play defensive tackle herself.

Detroit are on the clock and Matt Millen is heard to comment “what do you mean, we’re not taking a wide receiver?”

It’s just as well that Jets only has four letters otherwise their fans would never be able to do their “J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets” chant.  This must also be why Giants’ fans cannot do this for their team as six letter spellings are beyond the comprehension of most New Yorkers.

The Bucaneer selections
I love the way “so-called Buccaneer experts” are all over message board passing comment on Aqib Talib’s selection.  Just because you subscribe to a so-called “inside source” does not make you even remotely qualified to second guess the Buccaneer front office.  They do this scouting thing for a living.  You have a lap-top and a job at McDonalds.

So the first day ended with the Bucs getting the corner and receiver that we all expected them to do.  No real judgement can be passed on any draft’s success for around three seasons. I mean, five years ago today, Buc fans were excited over the selection of Marquise “get your arse in the huddle” Walker.

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And so thankfully the day that brings a merciful end to Mel Kiper’s airtime, and the virus outbreak of mock drafts arrives at last. Perhaps we should call it the Matt Ryan guess-a-thon as apparently despite approximately 17 teams being in love with him, said player has been projected anywhere between the 3rd and 23rd selection – we will see. I’ve not sat through an entire first round of a draft for some time and I’d forgotten what an endurance test it is for the fan, especially given our pick is well into the shindig at number 20.

Fist up is the Jake Long the suspense killing pick, having been confirmed about 72 hours ago – spoilsport that Bill Parcells. This being a prelude to a mini Long-a-thon with Howie’s lad following as the next pick, a player I’m sure Monte Kiffin would love to have in our squad, and who I would have picked first if I was The Dolphins GM.

Speaking of love it transpires Gaines Adams will be chasing after Matt Ryan for the next few years, who is after all the apple of the Falcons eye, a logical pick but one that comes with a ton of pressure given the Michael Vick cloud that hangs over them. Oh well, only another 16 picks until we are up. Wonder what Lito Sheppard is up to?

A quick cut to the Raiders table reveals a group that looks like a luncheon club meeting at an old folks home; good job they are picking 4th as they’d all be asleep by the end of round 1. Thankfully they go for speed and character issues – a prerequisite for being a Raider player over their history. You can hear the groan of around 50,000 Jets fans as their dream pick disappears to the west coast.

Strangely all the Jets faithful actually cheer their first going pick – the beer for sale at Radio City must be going down well. That point marked the best 6 players straight off the board, with no supposed reaches at the top.

Finally some trades do liven things up, maybe they even kept the Raiders table awake? First The Cheats trade backwards, as subsequently do The Ravens electing to either garner extra picks, or save money on the cap depending on how you look at it. NFL Network coverage is as usual a little over the top, with only Marshall Faulk deigning not to put every pick on a Hall of Fame pedestal of hype before the guy has played a down in the NFL. I would note I find Mike Mayock a good analyst and a lot less condescending than Hairgel Mel.

Ten picks in and all the Cornerbacks and Wide Receivers remained on the board, a real plus for the Bucs given these are our key areas of need, and the draft panned out quite well for us at that point. Meanwhile the time for me to boo repeatedly at the tv (Jets fan style) arrived at 16.27 ET when The Twits selection came along; their pick of Johnathan Stewart gives me a new guy to instantly dislike.

Interesting interview with Bill Belichick during the first round too; the cynic in me thinks he volunteered for this segment to try to repair his fractured reputation, rather than of any great favour to the media. But his pained expression makes it look like he’s been tied to the chair, probably with his contraband tapes of other peoples signals just to teach him a lesson.

Meanwhile nearly 2 hours into the draft and my beverage intake, and bathroom visits began rising in unison, due to the nerves as the Bucs pick approached.  After what seems an age our turn comes and we have our pick of either the CB Monte craves, or any WR as all are still on the board – rangy Kansas CB AqibTalib is our man leacing some of the analysts slightly aghast, not a Davin Joseph level of surprise but still not the guy they anticipated - good size, speed and “excellent skill set” says Mike Mayock – whatever the hell that means. Time will tell if the Mr Talib can play or not but he fills a need, fits our system and highlights how much our supposed love for USF’s Mike Jenkins was a smokescreen. More importantly I think he’s one of the few players we haven’t been predicted to select in this spot which tells you all you need to know about the accuracy of the mock draft phenomenon.

Surely a WR must follow for us in the 2nd round though or I fear we have completely forgotten the position exists. Unless the Bucs know something about Antonio Bryant that they are keeping from us, its now the direst of dire needs.

Finally after 31 picks and an outlandish 8 trades, the Giants to a close to the new “swift” format first round after 3 and a half hours. My relief is tangible given the time difference over here, and over exposure to Deion Sanders which has left me somewhat dazed and detached from the real world I’m about to return to.

With eight offensive lineman going off the board, most since 1996 and some probably panic picks, we learn that OL is the in-vogue pivotal position in the NFL conscience. Add in the aforementioned trades as well and it certainly wasn’t without incident; I pray that I wake up tomorrow with a brand new WR courtesy of Mr Gruden and Mr Allen in round 2.

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So who are the Buccaneers going to pick with the 20th choice in the “NFL’s annual selection meeting”?

When you consider that everyone and their dog has done a mock draft over the past month (nice work though there Fido), the range of choices for the Bucs has gone from a CB or WR, to the 46th quarterback of the future on the roster.

And every mock draft has had every combination of Long, Long, Dorsey, Ellis, Gholston and Ryan (that well-known Boston legal partnership) in the first six.  So if the alleged experts cannot even get the top six right, what chance to do they have of projecting right down to the 20th selection?

So what are the Buccaneers’ biggest needs?  Wide receiver, cornerback and a new blonde cheerleader for the North endzone.  I have no problem with solving the first two needs in either of the first two rounds, just as long as we get some help there and quickly.

When you consider that the current upside on the Buc receiving corps is “Michael Clayton might return to his rookie form” and “Paris Warren is coming back from injury”, then you know that we need some new fast talent outside.  Anything along the lines of Dwayne Bowe’s rookie production for Kansas City in 2007 would make a massive improvement to the 2008 Buccaneers.

And cornerback - right now it’s Barber and Buchanon, with some Sammy Davis and Eugene Wilson thrown in.  Not really that palatable is it?  Most mocks that have Tampa Bay going cornerback in the first round mention Aqib Talib or Mike Jenkins.  Either would be fine with me as I know nothing about either!

If I had to make a prediction, I’ll go corner and then receiver.  Just so long as we don’t draft any more quarterbacks!

Elsewhere in the NFL, the latest word has the top QB, Matt Ryan going to Kansas City because “they need a quarterback bad”.  Unlike last season when they just had a bad quarterback.

The draft kicks off at 8pm UK time and is live on one of our satellite stations over here.  So we get Rich “Smooth” Eisen, Mel “Helmet Hair” Kiper and Steve “nearly a Bucs coach” Mariucci.  All of them make the whole saga more palatable which is a lot more than it ever was with Joe Theismann involved.

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Quite a few mock drafts have the Bucs selecting a running back at their 20th selection point and the NFL Network even went along with the same thought during a recent “State of the franchise” piece. Why would you do that with the arrival of Warrick Dunn, re-signing of Michael Bennett, return of Carnell Williams, and existence of Earnest Graham?

Similarly, some mocks have the Bucs going after a quarterback in the first round, if not Matt Ryan (who will not last past Kansas City at No.5), then a Joe Flacco from Delaware or Brian Brohm from Louisville. And all these sites have a reason along the lines of “QB for the future”, “best available athlete” or “Jon Gruden loves young passers”.

For all those people, here is another thought - “Hogwash”.

The Bucs finished the 2007 season with a great triumverate of Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski. All have starting experience in the NFL and at the least the first two have actually a chance of starting again.

The Bucs of course also have Chris Simms on their roster and then also traded for Brian Griese. Which makes five not even including Jake Plummer in Denver.

So please tell me why they would add yet another passer to this stable of throwers? This is not the major leagues where you can never have enough pitching. This is the NFL where teams keep three QBs and sometimes one rookie (of which none of the above are) on the developmental roster.

Jeff Garcia is the starter. Yes he is 38 years old but we are looking at 2008 right now and that means No.7 behind center. If Jon Gruden was totally sold on Luke McCown, he would not have traded for Brian Griese in March, but you can see a situation where these two are No.2 and No.3 on the depth chart.

Chris Simms is plainly the odd man out and will be somewhere else in the NFL come September. A team could of course wait until then to sign him, but would then be pretty much unable to use him for the season because of learning their offense. But if they trade for him now (and the expected asking price is a 3rd or 4th rounder), then they get a strong-armed lefty for next season.

Even Jon Gruden has pretty much given up on Jake Plummer coming back so he can simply pay back the rest of his signing bonus (hey Jake, don’t sign the contract and take the money if you are going to do a runner before it’s over). And Bruce Gradkowski? That’s the Arena League on Line 2 for you.

So with desperate needs for rookie talent at cornerback and wide receiver, why would the Bucs spend their top pick on another passer? 

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So we are less than a month from the NFL draft.  Which means only one thing.  Everyone and their dog produces a mock draft.

The over/under on mock drafts in 2007 was equal to the national debt of Ghana.  The number of people who got the first 10 actually correct was equal to the number of Super Bowls held in Ghana.  But does that stop everybody producing one?

The self-styled king of the mock drafts of course is Mel Kiper.  Apart from sharing a hairstyle with Jimmy Johnson (come to think of it, have they ever been seen together?), Kiper is one guy you really would not want to be stuck in an elevator with.  Well OK him and Piers Morgan then.

Kiper produces mock drafts by the week, charges people (gullible suckers) by the thousand to pay to read them, and then announces on draft day how accurate he was.  Time for a little insight into how he does it.

Each week, he produces a slightly different version of the top 20 picks thereby covering most permutations.  Then of course, he can claim a 85% or 90% success rate by looking at all his different options. 

And then to cap it all, the day after the draft, he produces his first mock for the following April.  That isn’t being detailed - it’s called being sad.

So far the Bucs have been lined up to pick a running back, six different receivers, two defensive lineman and a cornerback.  And it’s not even the end of March yet.  Someone of course will be right, will be on various message boards about 3.4 seconds after the pick is announced to brag on their accuracy, and no-one outside of their living room will actually care.

But it does pass the time until Roger Goodell walks on to the podium to announce the first pick.  But to liven even that moment up, how about each team at the draft has to down a shot for every hour of the draft?  I mean, by the time the Raiders come to pick in the 5th round, they would be so inebriated that they might even make a decent selection.

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GM Bruce Allen promised Buc fans some “Tiger Woods free agents”.  What we got was Ian Poulter.

OK, maybe that is a bit harsh because the talent out there in free agency this year has been more like the Nationwide Tour than the PGA, and the few decent players making an appearance on the list were so over-paid it was ridiculous. $30M for Donte Stallworth?  There is a reason this guy has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus guys.

But to listen to the bleating of some Buc fans, one would think that the Tampa Bay front office has not spent a red cent on anyone.  Center is not the most exciting position on the team but the Bucs needed an upgrade from John Wade and got it in Jef Faine.  The clock had just turned midnight and Cinderella’s coach was still changing back into a pumpkin when Faine became a Buccaneer.

The other moves were filling small needs on the team - veteran back-up (Griese), linebacker depth (Lehman and McCoy) and over-the-hill RB who has a good character to provide some feel-good
stories for the media (Dunn).  Don’t get me wrong, I think Warrick Dunn is a tremendous individual and was a great back for the Bucs.  In 2001.  And the key word is “was”. 

So perhaps to help with the need for receivers we could go for Mark Carrier.  Or has anyone got Kevin House’s number?  I even read one idiot fan suggesting we bring back John Lynch too.  He is a
bigger liability in the air than an Kazakhstan budget airline (yes I know I’ve done that joke before but it was a good one).

It is all too easy in free agency to be drawn in by the name and not the actual talent.  Just because you played Madden 2003 with Lynch as an All-Pro safety, does not mean the March 2008 version that
actually would take the field is as good.  Or half as good. 

Same with Warren Sapp, same with Warrick Dunn and same with any other former Buc who was good once.  That was then.  This is now. 

So OK there are no massive big-name splurges and wild press conferences at One Buc with new acquisitions.  But when you look at the playing field on which Bruce Allen had to operate, can you really
blame him?

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Of all the countdowns we have done on BUCPOWER.COM, this is the most ambitious and time-consuming. And hopefully the most appreciated too.

We have done the best players in Buc history, the worst (eh Kenyatta!), the best and worst trades and even the Ugliest Bucs. Now comes a feature on the defining moments of the 32-year history of the franchise.

Like each countdown, the general order is very subjective. There is no way you can determine between a play at 73 in the order and the ones at 72 or 74. But what we can do is come up with a definitive Top 10 in a specific order.

For this, we approached the people who really know the history of the Buccaneers including the likes of Joey Johnston and Nick Pugliese of The Tampa Tribune, From the combined selections, we have a Top 10 that we are happy with.

Selecting the actual 100 plays was interesting, as we wanted to incorporate every year from 1976. We also wanted a combination of memorable plays, historic victories, bloopers and trick plays. And not just ones that were good for the Buccaneers so the likes of the Ricky Proehl TD in the 1999 play-offs will qualify.

There are a couple of potential plays that I could not get hold of and therefore will not be included. Vinny Testaverde’s 48-yard TD run against the Vikings in 1990 was one of those, as was the alleged one decent Bruce Gradkowski pass of more than 20 yards.

So February 1st was when it started and the countdown will run daily from there. And there will be some background to each of the clips on the site that will remain there for posterity, as there will be many that you may not have seen before or heard of.

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OK, the latest state of play is:-

Alastair Kirkwood - NFL UK Managing Director was on Sky Sports coverage, the show I used to present back in the day.  The two teams have definitely been confirmed and they do know who they are.  Roger Goodell will announce on the Friday before the Super Bowl and there will be a press conference after that with the two teams and the UK representatives.

The location will be either Wembley, Murrayfield in Scotland (used for NFL Europe) or the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.  This will also be announced at that time. The home team will be either the Bucs, Saints, Chiefs or Seahawks.  Kirkwood then let on that it will be an inter-conference game.  This narrows it down to only eight possible match-ups.

Bucs v Raiders.
Bucs v Chargers.
Saints v Raiders.
Saints v Chargers.
Chiefs v Bucs.
Chiefs v Saints.
Seahawks v Patriots.
Seahawks v Jets.

The Sky guys tried to push him on the subject and even put up a graphic at one point with those eight games listed.  Which led him to leave the set shortly afterwards! Whereas all the hundreds of Buccaneer fans in the UK would love to see the team play in the UK, realistically it is not going to happen for the following reasons:-

1.  There are still a few idiot protestors complaing about the Glazer family ownership of Manchester United.  David Gill, the CEO of United, had his house vandalised only last week in the continuing protest.  Why would the NFL take the chance on any kind of negative publicity?

2.  The Bucs have sold out every home game since 1998.  Why would they give up a home date at this stage when the Chiefs and Saints are not in that position?

The NFL will want “a big name” team involved in the game in some form.  Here in the UK, a “big name” team is Washington, Dallas, Miami, Tampa Bay and Oakland, based on the fan support over the past 25 years.

So if I had to hazard a guess right now, I would go for the Saints playing the Raiders.

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Once the season ends, attention immediately turns to the draft (three months away) and free agency (two).  And aside from everyone having a potential shopping list of free agents that they would like to see in a Buc uniform (message to all these people - there are 31 other teams who have the same idea), time to have a look at the players the Bucs might have to sign first.

Unrestricted free agents
Mike Alstott - it is a virtual certainty that the A-Train will officially announce his retirement in the next month.

Michael Bennett - acquired in the mid-season trade as a safety net for the injuries in the backfield.  Showed some nice touches but failed to pick up the playbook to an extent where he warranted more playing time.  Has shown enough to be offered a contract by someone in the NFL but it might not be the Bucs.  But I am sure most Buc fans would welcome him back if he wanted to be in Tampa.

Sammy Davis - spent the year as the No.4 cornerback playing in the nickel when injuries forced Brian Kelly out of the line-up.  Defensive backs of his level are two-a-penny in the NFL and again, would be OK to come back if he wanted to be in Tampa.

Mark Jones - had put up some decent kick and punt return numbers when he got hurt in Detroit.  If Devin Hester’s twin is not available, then re-signing Jones would be an acceptable substititute.

Matt Lehr - was nothing more than an offensive line back-up and blocker on special teams.  No real urgency to break the bank to sign a player like this.

Ryan Sims - did OK in a limited role as part of the defensive rotation but if the coaching staff was high on him, then it didn’t show during 2007.  Same as Lehr and Davis.

Jerramy Stevens - his play in December proved to the NFL that he can still be productive and that he seems to have cleaned up his act.  Again like Bennett, someone will offer him a deal and if it was the Bucs, then all the better.

Jeremiah Trotter - was signed to provide cover for Barrett Ruud in the event that No.51 was not up to starting.  Defensive Player of the Month for September proved that.  Trotter was a positive force on the sideline but he is too big and slow to play extensively in the Tampa-2 defense as was proven in the season finale against the Panthers.  Not likely to be back.

Restricted free agents

Jovan Haye - started every game last season and was a real surprise.  The Bucs will offer him a contract tender meaning any team that went after Haye would have to give the Bucs a chance to match the offer, or take a draft pick in compensation.  If the coaching staff is as high on him as we all think, he will get an offer here in Tampa first.

Antoine Cash - missed the entire 2007 season through injury but was only a special teamer the year before.

Kalvin Pearson - one of the mainstays of the special teams but unlikely to ever become more than that.  So if another team does make an offer that breaks the bank, then good luck to him.  Otherwise, welcome back.

Under contract but believed to have options to become free agents

Anthony Becht - already has Drew Rosenhaus spouting rubbish about his abilities to other teams.  Apparently he has claimed that the reason Becht only had five receptions in 2007 were that the Bucs had so many other excellent receivers.  Oh yeah?  Anyone else notice them last season?

Brian Kelly - he is not going to get the money he wants.  He has now played 10 seasons and has had two major injuries.  He knows the Tampa-2 system so expect him to wind up somewhere like Detroit who play the same scheme.

Michael Pittman - knows the Tampa system and knows his role.  Then again, so do all the other NFL teams who need a decent receiving back.

John Wade - the veteran part of the Buc line and rated highly by his team-mates but not by the fans.  This could be an interesting decision by the coaching staff

Extending existing deals
But before you all jump to conclusions about how much money the Bucs have to spend on free agents, please remember that the likes of Barrett Ruud, Cadillac Williams, Michael Clayton and Jeff Garcia are all approaching the end of their existing deals, and in the case of Ruud, signing them to a long-term extension is a priority over all others.

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If you take a look round the various Buccaneer-related message boards, there are a number of things that need to urgently be done to improve the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their 2007 season ended last Sunday against the New York Giants.

1.  Fire Jon Gruden came the call on many threads - after all, Tony Dungy was fired after losing two consecutive play-off games so it stands to reason that Gruden should go too.

2.  Fire Monte Kiffin - after all, the Bucs gave up a 92-yard drive to Eli Manning of all people and someone has to take the blame for that.

3.  Fire Jeff Garcia - he’s 37 years old and coudn’t lead the Bucs to a play-off victory. Therefore it stands to reason that he isn’t needed either.

4.  Fire Joey Galloway - he only had one reception for 8 yards last Sunday.  The Bucs need more than that from their top receiver so he can go as well.

5.  Fire the cannons - sorry, that was me just getting carried away.  A bit like all of these suggested postings.

Everyone with an opinion (and a keyboard and a network connection), has been posting their comments on the Bucs’ demise.  And you can think back three months when the trading deadline was approaching, and most people had the Bucs mortgaging their futures by sending 1st round picks, other players and the coaches’ first born sons to the likes of San Diego for RB Michael Turner.

Forgive me for pointing this out again, but the Bucs running game looked pretty good the rest of 2007 with Earnest Graham, Michael Pittman and the occasional infusion of Michael Bennett who cost a lot less than Turner would have done (even if the Chargers had been willing to do any kind of deal).

So I have this really way-out and completely off-the-wall idea for the Bucs - why don’t we leave it to the likes of Joel Glazer, Bruce Allen and Jon Gruden to decide on how to improve the team’s performance going forward?

I know, it’s just out there but there are 20 other NFL teams who wish they had been playing at home to the Giants last Sunday and none of the so-called pundits at the start of the season had the Bucs down to win the NFC South Division. 

So maybe, just maybe, these guys know what they are doing.  So why not leave them to it instead of panicking and doing something that only the likes of Leeman Bennett or Hugh Culverhouse would have done in the past.

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One and done - another post-season venture ends at the first hurdle for the Buccaneers but what was the over-riding story of the game?

Quite simply, the New York Giants were a better team than the Bucs were.

It didn’t come down to who was rested and who wasn’t.  It was not a case of who had momentum and who didn’t.  If that had been the case, why did the Bucs dominate the first quarter so much that the Giants’ equipment men were preparing the white towels for throwing in later in the game?

When you get to the playoffs, there are no bad teams.  They are part of the 20 that finished their seasons last week.  The Giants adjusted better than any team the Bucs have played this year, and took over the game in the second and third quarters.  They made the big plays and the Bucs did not.

So no fault to any part of the Buccaneer team, not the offense, not the defense and definitely not the coaching staff.  Any Buc fan would have bitten your hand off if you had offered them a playoff berth and division title back in September.  This was simply a bridge too far for the 2007 Buccaneers.

So no post-mortems here, no coulda, woulda, shouldas at this point in time.  We have days, weeks and months ahead for that.  For now, thank you to the 2007 Buccaneers for giving us a ride further than we could ever have expected this season.  We all quite simply came to the end of the road.

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Looking around the NFL last week, a number of other coaches took the same “rest over rust” philosophy that Jon Gruden did against the Panthers.  Peyton Manning hasn’t played the second half of a Week 17 game in nearly a decade and the likes of Tony Romo, Brett Favre and Matt Hasselbeck all spent time posing in baseball caps like Jeff Garcia, rather than taking meaningful snaps.

Take the other view of Sergeant Major Tom Coughlin with his Giants.  He wanted the personal glory of knocking off the 15-0 Patriots and hence left his full squad out there on the field in the Meadowlands.  Three injured starters and a 16-0 record later.  Not that the Bucs are complaining about the likes of Sean O’Hara being out though.

See fans and pundits want it all ways.  Rest the starters and you get criticised. But when one gets injured, and those same people are bleating like sheep about the starters being out there unnecessarily.  Who’d want to be an NFL coach (well, Brian Billick now for one).

Back to the Giants.  We had them over here in London in October for the regular season game with the Dolphins played at Wembley Stadium.  It was a chance to see Tom Coughlin close up and find out if he really is the unfriendlly person everyone thinks he is.  Yes, and more so with it.  I have never come across a more grumpy unhelpful sports coach anywhere in 25 years of reporting.

One piece of news I and all the other British Buccaneer fans were happy about, was the timing of the game for 1pm Tampa time Sunday.  That is a 6pm start time here in the UK which is a lot more reasonable than the potential Saturday 8pm Tampa time that had been discussed.  I’ve done live playoff games for British TV over here that didn’t finish until 4am in the morning, and by that point, you end up saying almost anything with potentially disastrous consequences!

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The Bucs have a meaningless game this weekend.  Aside from making the obvious gag about every season finale during the 1980s and early 1990s being the same, the one defining irrelevant game in Tampa history was the 2001 game with the Eagles.  The two teams were going to play the following week in the Wild Card game, so the nationally televised Week 16 match-up became the most inane game in NFL history.  And to think I stayed up until 5.15am here in the UK to watch it all live.

My colleague Roy Cummings has made enough of a case for at least one Buc defender to have made the Pro Bowl team in his latest midweek analysis.  But every team has players who believe they should have been selected for the Hawaii party.  The one thing I cannot understand on the selection process is that 11 (yes eleven) Cowboys were selected and no Bucs or Jaguars.  Anyone would think it was a popularity contest based on the most televised teams

One thing to savour about the Patriots’ bid for immortality against the Giants this week - can you imagine all the unopened champagne in the houses of the 1972 Dolphins’ players when they realise their annual 15 minutes of fame has gone out of the window forever.  Belichick might be a cheat but this Patriots’ team is the best I have ever seen and that includes the 1985 Bears.

It is always nice at this time of the year, to look back at everyone’s predictions that were made four months ago.  Like “Jeff Garcia is a bust”, “Gaines Adams is a bust”, “Donald Penn will be a disaster” - all of which were heard by Ian Beckles’ ever-decreasing audience on WDAE620 (memo to Ian, try sticking to an opinion for more than two days in the future - otherwise you just look ridiculous).

A few Pro Football Weekly writers had the Bucs down to win the NFC South by taking advantage of the relatively easy schedule and Jeff Garcia’s experience.  And associate editor Nolan Nawrocki was seriously using his crystal ball when he came out with “Bobby Petrino may be looking for ways to pull a Saban by season end”. 

I would go on record on saying how accurate I was but I had the Bucs down for 5-11.  Oh well, we all make mistakes as R2-D2 said climbing off the trash can.

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Ah here come all the second guessers.  Jon Gruden should not have played his starters.  Jon Gruden should have tried to win like it was a normal game.  Jon Gruden should have given all the kids exactly what they wanted for Christmas.

OK all you Monday morning quarterbacks, picture this scenario.  Bucs are tied late in the fourth quarter with the Niners and Patrick Willis levels Jeff Garcia on a scramble for a winning fieldgoal. Garcia leaves the field on a cart and is out for the rest of the season.  Cue every headline writer and fan on the case asking why he was still in a game that had no meaning.

Any one can say what should have happened after the event.  Heck the captain of the Titanic might have avoided that iceberg and Dustin Hoffman never would have made “Ishtar”.  But Jon Gruden is paid the big bucks to make the decisions at the time and this was the right one.

All the fans and hysterical morning radio show hosts (Diaz and Beckles, I’m talking to you here) were grudgingly complimentary when Jon made the gutsy 4th down call in New Orleans. Imagine if that one had gone wrong?  Now give him the respect he is due with this decision.  It’s why he is on the sidelines coaching and you all are not.

But aside from that, a few sloppy mistakes that need to be cleaned up before the playoffs is what we should be concerned with from the game at Monster Park.  You can expect more of the same next week against Carolina but hopefully a more slick performance all round, by all the 45 active players that day.

And with that, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

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So what do the Bucs have to play for this Sunday in San Francisco?  Neither team has anything on the line although across in New England, the Patriots would love a Tampa Bay victory as they own the Niners’ top draft pick.

On the statistical front, Earnest Graham needs 123 yards to reach 1,000 on the season, and Joey Galloway is only 15 away from his own four figure mark.  Greg White is on eight sacks, Javon Haye four fumble recoveries, and Micheal Spurlock is one short of setting a new franchise record for kick-off return touchdowns in a season with two (he currently holds the record with one).

Starting with our Ernie, he would become the seventh Buccaneer back to exceed 1,000 yards rushing.  Ricky Bell started the ball rolling in 1979, followed by James Wilder (twice), Reggie Cobb, Errict Rhett and Warrick Dunn (twice each) and most recently, Cadillac Williams in 2005.  No-one has come close to Wilder’s 1,544 yards in 1984, simply the finest Buccaneer backfield season ever when you throw in his 85 receptions.

There have also been seven Buc receivers to go over 1,000 yards, with Galloway having done it the past two seasons.  Before him, the Bucs had a four year run of it happening with Michael Clayton, Keenan McCardell and Keyshawn Johnson (twice) reaching the plateau.  Further back in history, Mark Carrier, Bruce Hill and Kevin House (twice) have hit the milestone.

Double-figure sack seasons have been the property of three Bucs over the years, Simeon Rice (five), Warrep Sapp (three) and a guy named after a local Tampa restaurant called Lee Roy Selmon.  Greg White can join the club also populated by Marcus Jones, Chidi Ahanotu, Santana Dotson and BroderickThomas.

And then there is Jovan Haye who needs one more fumble recovery to tie Bill Kollar’s franchise record of five.  Kollar went on to become a long-time NFL defensive line coach after retiring in 1981, and spent some time coaching the Buc pass rushers.

One last point on the game in San Francisco and that’s to do with the game time.  Over here in the UK, we are all very glad it’s been brought forward. Although it means we have to listen on the internet instead of watching the game live, at least it will finish at a reasonable time.  The original late kick-off would have been 1.15am over here. You try going to work on the Monday having had about two hours of sleep!

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