Bucs Report - Tools - from TBO.com Blogs

Most Recent Entries

Monthly Archives

Allen To Pursue Free Agents
Posted Jan 10, 2008 at 01:31 PM
Updated Jan 10, 2008 at 02:11 PM

Bucs GM Bruce Allen said his team was around $23 million under the salary cap and intended to pursue “Tiger Woods-like” free agents that would make Tampa Bay better in 2008.

Allen spoke with the media around noon on Thursday and believed this season was successful enough for coach Jon Gruden to at least finish off the final year of his contract in Tampa Bay. He also did say Tampa Bay has resigned assistant coaches Bill Muir (offensive coordinator/offensive line), Richard Bisaccia (special teams coordinator) and Richard Mann (wide receivers)

Here are some of the subjects Allen addressed on Thursday:

On resigning defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin
“Monte is probably the mayor of — I don’t know where Redington Beach is. Is that St. Pete or Clearwater? He really is a fixture and an important part of the Buccaneers and he has said he wants to come back. Coach (Jon Gruden) has said he wants him to come back. So we’ll let him work on his timetable.”

On a Gruden extension helping to lure free agents
“I think our coaches are very confident of the plan we have in place here. Actually free agents aren’t supposed to be calling us until March 1, even though our phone number is published so they can find it. I don’t see that as an obstacle whatsoever, but at the right time we’ll deal with it. The team is really excited about where we are right now and there’s players that got some valuable experience this year from games one through 16 and are excited about the chance to come back. The players and young guys on this team know what is expected of team in an offseason program. They know what’s expected of them in the classroom. The best way we can improve our team is to get those 14 guys from the injured reserved list healthy again. Because that would be the greatest increase in talent. We finished the season with 53 men on our roster but we also had the 14 injured reserve players who we’re looking at as a new group of free agents. We got to get them back into they system, healthy again competing for starting playing time and special teams playing time in order to improve this team. If you add that type of quality to a 53-man roster, that’s a great leg up on free agency.”

On chasing higher priced free agents
“We got the opportunity to go after anybody that is available. We look at things a little bit differently. There are values we put on someone and some other teams could put a different value on that player. The amount of money you receive doesn’t make you a better player, and circumstances sometimes dictate that if you line up next to someone you can be a better player in that system. I think Cato June could have received more money to go somewhere else. The fact that he wanted to come here and play alongside the linebackers we have in our system made him the perfect fit for us. There’s no limit to who we can go after, which is a nice feeling entering into free agency.”

On Mike Alstott’s future
“Mike is contemplating his situation. We get together at this time each year. We’ll discus it. I don’t think there’s any hurry in making a decision. After Mike and I get together I’m sure we’ll let you know what we decide.”

On the quarterback situation
“Jeff as you all saw is a tremendous competitor, which is what we ere looking for when we brought him in and he delivered. Once again Luke McCown, I really believe showed some special skills that show promise for the future. Chris Simms we’re hoping is healthy and can play this year and compete. There’s someone in a Montana or is Idaho mountain right now that we hope he honors his contract. And Bruce Gradkowski gives us more competition and depth at the quarterback position. As of right now we feel good and as you looked around the league this year that is the story. I don’t think you’ve seen as many backup quarterbacks forced into playing football this year in a starting role, and teams that really went through four quarterbacks has to be near an NFL record. And the play of some quarterback in this league really hurt some franchises badly this year.”

On ever getting Jake Plummer
“I’m a really hopeful guy. That I am. He got to see what we were doing this year and he has a contact and we expect him to honor it.”

On giving RB Earnest Graham a new deal (he has one year remaining on his contract)
“We have several players who would be in the last year, someone mentioned Jeff Garcia, and Earnest is one and I’ve already had a conversation with his representative and we’ll set up a meeting later on to talk about it.”

On having a playmaker at wide receiver or needing to sign somebody?
“I think Joey Galloway has been one of the most dominant receivers in the NFL with the Buccaneers. Talk about somebody who changes all of the formulas of how you’re supposed to evaluate players when you put consideration into age. He is the fastest player on our team. I have a feeling he’s going to be the fastest player on the Buccaneers four or five years from now because we didn’t play anybody faster or more explosive than Joey Galloway the entire year. Can we help out and add to our receiving core? Absolutely we can, but when you talk about dominate player, Joey Galloway’s numbers are dominant in this league. Now, we don’t throw the ball 45 times a game. At least we don’t want to go into the game throwing the ball 45 times a game. If you put him in some of these other offensive that do throw the ball 50 times a game, Joey Galloway could be a 2,000 yard receiver. We’re proud of what we have and what Joey’s accomplished. Can we add to every position? Absolutely, including receiver.

On why Michael Clayton had not gotten back to his rookie year?
“When you look at his rookie year and then he got banged around for a couple of years. Michael Clayton did come back for us this year in a very strong way. I’m actually very proud of the comeback that he did. He was an important part of the special teams and an important part of our offense. He sets a tone that you don’t see in a lot of wide receivers in the NFL. I think the playoff, he made some nice grabs in the playoff game. I don’t look at it so much as like he had, whatever he had, 30 catches and Ike had 50 catches and Stovall had 20 catches. Those are all Buccaneer receptions. If you can work within our mix and be a good teammate and not give a darn if you caught the ball or your teammate caught the ball, but you can free up an extra reception yard … that is the type of guys we want. I think Michael made a good comeback from his injuries and I think his future is still in front of him.”

Send Us Your Comments

Posted by Greg M, tampa, fl on 01/11 at 02:22 PM

This is easy - immediate needs:

1. wide receiver
2. defensive tackle

the bucs are fine at tight end and are already loaded at defensive end.

the bucs also need to draft for depth at cornerback, linebacker, and a left tackle would be nice.

Posted by Scott, New York on 01/11 at 09:33 AM

Needs:

--Big Time Reciever in Free agency- Moss or Chad Johnon or someone of that caliber...if we win they will be happy, look at T.O. and Moss this year.
--Tight End in Free Agency who makes big plays.
--Cornerback in Free Agency
--Tenacious Linebacker in Free Agendy who can rush the passer.
--I would say veteren QB in free agency, but there is not much out there this year.
--1st Round draft pick on a Pass Rushing Defensive end or Tackle
--2nd Round draft pick on a Reciever
--Then Get all of your depth through the healing of current injured players.

I think that this team can definately improve. Just a little more fire power (big play / sack ability on defense) and big play making ability in the passing game on offense. 11-5 next year!!

Posted by Chuck King, Palm Beach Co. Fl on 01/11 at 08:01 AM

We need to pull the swimmies off of Clayton’s arms as he has been given ample opportunity to swim in our pool & continually sinks to the bottom. Who needs a reciever that can’t catch? I understand Allen’s double talk; a GM needs to do just what he is doing. You can’t talk to much about any given player/position other than - oh yeah, were looking at upgrading this spot because - the position that you are upgrading may not have a player available better than the one you already have & you may need to resign him. So as a GM you need to be careful what you say. We must remember these guys think of themselves as athletes (even though we might not agree)& they are a tempermental bunch. But pls. let Clayton GO and make Monte stay!

Posted by Michael Harris, Tampa, FL on 01/11 at 07:31 AM

Hey Duane Davis, don’t understand your comment about Muir. He’s done a great job “developing” this young OL. I agree with you about Mann; but he hasn’t had much to work with. If one looks at the type of players that Gruden prefers at WR, they are the more physical type posession receivers ala Hillyard, Stovall and Clayton. He doesn’t seem to like the burners and feels one burner is enough. Galloway is long in the tooth like Petitgout. I think their needs are the following: 1. Offensive Left Tackle 2. DF Under Tackle 3. WR Speedster. 4. PASS RUSH. If they do those 4 things, they’ll be better.

Posted by (Slow Joe) Joe Simmons, Cape Coral, FL, USA on 01/11 at 12:18 AM

4.The wide receivers are actually in good shape, but we HAVE to find a speed merchant as Galloway won’t play forever.

5.I love the idea of a Cadillac/Graham running back-by-committee approach. We would then get Graham’s toughness and Cadillac’s explosiveness without exposing Caddy as much, since he appears to be easily injured.

Posted by (Slow Joe) Joe Simmons, Cape Coral, FL, USA on 01/11 at 12:18 AM

1.We have an immediate need for a better pass rush from up the middle. Too bad Glenn Dorsey won’t be around when we draft. We need to address undertackle, whether it’s Haye improving or us finding a more talented UT. Hovan is doing fine as the NT.

2.CBs are a need for the draft, but a “shutdown” CB is wasted in our defense since we run so much zone. We need to find young smart CBs that play well in space.

3.I love the potential of our OL. Three young studs! But we need to address the left tackle position. Luke Petigout was playing excellent before he got hurt. Hopefully he comes back healthy, but we need to find another potential stud to compete with him.

Posted by Duane Davis, Sarasota, Fl on 01/10 at 10:11 PM

I smell sumthing about next year. First off, Richard Mann hasn’t helped develop any receivers so why keep him and ditto Bill Muir.
Secondly. not that I was a fan of his, but I believe Les Steckel’s offense was the highest ranked the Bucs have had in the last ten years.
We need no TE’s or DE’s, we have plenty of both. A good defensive tackle to replace an aging and average Chris Hovan is needed much more. Chad Johnson? R u kidding? Here is a guy who showboats when his team is 4-9 and has a bigger ego than MeShawn. DT, WR, and C are the biggest needs on this team. Get those in FA and we’ll be fine. Then add to your depth throught the draft. Forget drafting a QB, this town doesn’t have the patience for one to develop.

Posted by Jason, texas on 01/10 at 09:13 PM

1. Top 5 TightEnd (I think Alge Crumpler is available this year)
2. Big name O-lineman
3. Big Time Wide Reciever (Chad Johnson?)
4. Shutdown Speed CB (Just not Pacman Jones or the punk from Atlanta)
5. Dominant defensive end to go with Gaines Adams.

Posted by Jason, texas on 01/10 at 09:13 PM

I think we need to get some big name O-lineman and wide recievers. If any of the top 5 tight ends are available this year, it would be a great pick up for Gruden’s offense too.

As far as QB, i say stick with Garcia for now. There is noone great on our roster, and noone great in the draft worth trading up for. Derek Anderson will most likely be available from the browns, but one good year doesn’t make you great. I say we wait for a great QB in the draft and go for it next year or the year after. Eventually we need to pay big bucks to a QB in the top m5 of the draft. Otherwise Tampa will never have a Peyton Manning or John Elway.
In order I think we need:

Posted by Jason, texas on 01/10 at 09:10 PM

I think we have alot of young talent on defense now. Other than picking up depth and maybe a young talented CB, I think we are pretty set on D. Young guys like Tanard Jackson, Barrett Ruud, Jovan Hayes, Gaines Adams and Greg White stepping up this year is what we realiy needed.

Posted by charles stone, saint petersburg on 01/10 at 08:54 PM

When will the owners sons step up and make those in charge pay for having a worst offense then when Les Steckle was Dungy’s OC? Enought is enought Glazers!!

Posted by Cody Ubben, Cedar Falls, IA on 01/10 at 08:18 PM

I wanna see us go after D.J. Hackett WR from Seatle. I think he runs great routes and fits Gruden’s system better than alot of the other free agent WR’s. Think we should take Kentwan Balmer 6’5” 295 lbs. DT from UNC with our first pick then take the best corner available with our second pick.

Posted by TRAVIS KAMANN, MN on 01/10 at 06:53 PM

KIFFIN ENOUGH SAID!!!!!

Posted by Mike Smith, Orlando on 01/10 at 04:49 PM

Bruce Allen is notorius for skirting the issues and being evasive. He just needs to go out in the free agent market and find the best players for the money and Gruden needs to ensure the best men play. Sure you are looking for receivers, d-linemen, d-backs, an O-lineman and definitely a Quarterback.

Posted by Mike, Tampa, Florida on 01/10 at 04:25 PM

They need another receiver to compliment Joey Galloway and eventually take over his spot.

CHAD JOHNSON YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR AGENT CALL BRUCE ALLEN_ $$$$$$

LOVE YA BUCS!!

Posted by James R. Kinzer, 351 Winfield Ave. Winfield WV 25213 on 01/10 at 03:44 PM

One good year, three bad years and he still can’t catch and is fumble prone, when do you give up on Clayton and admit that he was and is a BUST????????????? I don’t know of any other team that would have him around!!!!

Posted by RICHARD T KINDER, LUTZ, FL. on 01/10 at 03:31 PM

BRUCE ALLEN HIRED BILL MUIR AGAIN.CAN’T BELIEVE IT! THE MAN HAS BEEN HERE SIX YEARS AND WE STILL DON’T HAVE A OFFENSIVE LINE.WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING AT WHEN THEY WATCH THE TAPES OF THE GAMES.DON’T THEY SEE CHRIS SIMMS , JEFF GARCIA RUNNING FOR THEIR LIFE !!. YES! WE NEED ANOTHER WR THAT CAN TAKE SOME OF THE DOUBLE COVERAGE OFF GALLOWAY, CAN’T SEE THAT EITHER ?

Posted by Eric Guenette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL on 01/10 at 03:13 PM

Hopefully, they focus on resigning the young talent we have now for the long term and then worry about who is available out there… We’ve let go of too much young talent in recent years and have instead thrown money at apparent quick fixes… and let’s get Monte nailed down!
e