:/

Going 11-5 is hard enough. Going 11-4 is more difficult.

Every loss is a nail in the coffin for this team.

Hawaiian and Eric are right on the money.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but aside frrom a relative few, one month ago most of you were saying how good Dominick is in the draft, right? And didn’t you say preseason doesn’t matter as well?

Now, after only ONE GAME, you people are throwing him, McCoy, Price and everyone else under the bus…even Freeman.

NEWSFLASH
In the past 10 years, as I pointed out elsewhere, the Bucs have lost 7 of 10 opening games…including the superbowl year.

And even though only 24% of the teams that loose their opening games actually made it to the playoffs since 1992, the Bucs hav done it 3 times. (With Dungy 1x, With Gruden 2x).

I swear…I’m beginning to think 99% of the Buccaneers market are bandwagoners. Certainly, most of you guys are with the exception of a few.

Get over yourselves. Boo hoo, the Bucs lost. Boo hoo, they once again looked bad on their opening day (as they have for 7 of the last 10 years). Boo hoo, no money was spent in free agency. Boo hoo Caddy and Ruud are gone. Boo Hoo the concessions messed up. Boo hoo the sun is hot at the games.

Just how many whiney excuses are you people going to drum up to hate on the team??? The only valid compaint I saw above was ONE of Brad’s points:

I know we won 6 games on the road last year which is a great feat but personally as a season ticket holder that means I had to sit thru 4 losses at home and it really pisses a person off when you have to walk out of your own stadium listening to the opposing fans jeer you and your team.

That is a valid point and something the Bucs must address, but as to the rest? Boo hoo.

Have you not been watching this team for the past decade? This is how they operate and it gets results. If you want different, go elsewhere. I’m sure as soon as the team starts winning youi’ll be back on the wagon again…only to jump off with the next loss.

Yesterday, someone made the statement that the entire league thinks Tampa has the worse fans. He was told he was wrong, that other fans don’t even think about Tampa fans.

He wasn’t wrong. While it’s true other team fans don’t think much about Tampa fans (when was the last time you thought about the fans of another team…like Colts fans, Skins fans or Browns fans?), the media makes it a point to make us look bad…and why not? We make it easy for media like BSPN who has a grudge against Tampa.

The media MAKES other fans think of us…just like it made us think of Jags fans when their team was getting blacked out.

When are you guys going to realize your behavior is reflected upon this team?

And you know what? As SOON as the Bucs win against the Vikings (which they likely will), you will all change your tunes (except for guys like Thomas who only knows one tune). On again, off again.

HERE’S A CHALLENGE, PEOPLE
While the Bucs focus on becoming a better team, why don’t you all focus on becoming better fans? Previous generations must be shaking their heads in disgust at you guys right now. Heck…my father is probably rolling over in his grave!

You are being tested…and you are failing the test…again.

You know what? I can’t go to the games. I live a decent distance away and even if I lived closer, with the state of my health I can’t go anyway. But STILL I buy a ticket from official channels. Why? Because NO ONE is going to say I don’t do my part.

Until you people start rebuilding your fandom, things are always going to seem bleak to you.

Hate on me if you like. I would rather you do that than hate on the team.

There are things the Bucs need to address. Year after year they see weaknesses exposed in the first couple games. And year after year they deal with them…even in Morris’s first year (they took steps to make things better eventually, remember?).

If you guys can’t see the positive aspects of this team, then you are not true fans. You are “thrill me now” viewers of games and that’s it.

We’re witnessing something special in Tampa, and half of you don’t even realize it. Back when Brooks, Lynch and Sapp were drafted, what if we had fore-knowledge of the future?

Well, we have it with this generation, people. Who cares even if it takes another year or two? The team is going to eventually be one of hte best in the NFL with this generation of players. Instead of whining the whole time, you should be enjoying the stories as they unfold.

Things that need to be addressed:
1) Offensive Line
2) Freeman’s timing
3) Running Game
4) Stop the run
5) Adapt to the quicker offenses
6) Give the young d-line and MLB time to develop

See? I can acknowledge weaknesses without screaming like a child. I’m not calling for the head of Dominick I’m not calling players busts. I’m in touch with reality and it reduces my stress levels. I knew the team would struggle at first.

Heck…I hate to tell you guys this…but its entirely possible the team WILL struggle all year. 3-4 rookies up front on the dline. If it were just one player, you would all be saying it takes 2-3 years for a rookie to develop.

But now, because its a group of young players, you are calling them all busts? Grow up!!!!

The reason fans are feeling panicky is pretty obvious. We have the same problems this year as last year, plus two new ones. Our O-line still can’t run block or pass protect. They never have. The line sucked for eight games last year. Then we replaced the center, RG,RT. Suddenly, Caddys average per carry doubles, and Blount gets a thousand yds.
Faine , Joseph, And Trueblood are bad linemen. Always have been. We are sick of watching them fail. This should have been fixed.

Black and Hayes picked up where they left off. Invisible. Neither should be starting. We will never stop the run until we get LBers who play the run. Black also looked terrible in pass coverage Sunday. Shallow middle was open all day. Quincy was no where to be seen.

We have nobody -NOBODY!- behind Blount. They let Caddy go, with no plan on how to deal with the lose.- that’s rediculious!

Anyone wanting Ruud gone should be eating Humble pie today. He wasn’t an intimidating hitter. But he set the defense, didn’t mods tackles, and covered the middle of the field like a Tarp. His Lose will cost us more games this year. I honestly believe that Dominick made a popular choice, not an intelligent choice. Ruuds absence yesterday was painfully obvious!

That’s why the disgust- not panick. The team did absolutely nothing to improve, and actually got worse.

Not what a very young, talented team should do!