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Connor Barth is a darn good kicker, but he’ll be kicking for another team in 2014.
Per WDAE-AM 620, the Buccaneers’ flagship station, Barth has gotten the boot from the roster.
It seems undrafted, inexperienced Patrick Murray won the job — or Jason Licht has a move in store. [read more]
Cornerback Mike Jenkins has been roaming around Bucs practice and game sidelines for 30 days with a floppy fat instead of a helmet.
Amazingly, Lovie Smith is still super high on him and said so today at One Buc Palace. [read more]
Preparation for the Carolina Panthers is in full swing, but it seems like it’s happening without offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. [read more]
Updated: 2:29 p.m. Highlighting this latest round of slicing is one of the chosen three, Jamon Meredith, one of only three unrestricted free agents the Bucs re-signed this offseason. Another was Danny Gorrer, who was released with an injury settlement earlier this week. [read more]
It’s great to know Richie Incognito has multiple personalities. That can come in handy on a job interview.
Last night, Bucs general manager Jason Licht told Bucs fans how Incognito “impressed” him this week during their meeting. And earlier, a Bucs rookie shared his tender offseason moments with Incognito. [read more]
Ronde Barber gives a reference
Lovie Smith signed inconsistent veteran cornerback Mike Jenkins this offseason and has never once wavered on the importance of Jenkins, who was atop Lovie’s cornerbacks depth chart all summer.
But the problem is Jenkins hasn’t been on a field since July because of an undisclosed leg injury. [read more]
Lovie Smith weighs in
Well, that sieve of an offensive line sure got fixed in a hurry, didn’t it? With the trade for Logan Mankins, it is clear who will be the starting left guard when the Bucs host the Stinking Panthers a week from Sunday.
But what about right guard? Some believe Patrick Omameh is the default starter. He couldn’t be worse than Oneil Cousins, could he? [read more]
Louis Murphy didn’t return after a nasty hit last night. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Wide receiver Louis Murphy took an ugly hit on the sidelines in the second half of last night’s game. He didn’t return and was classified as having a lower back injury.
That probably locked up a roster spot for Chris Owusu, and possibly another receiver. [read more]
Bucs coach Lovie Smith is not happy with his stable of linebackers.
Joe thinks he can go on record saying the Bucs’ first-team defense is strong. From the day Lovie took over, Joe has not been concerned about the defense.
But, like many football teams, you are only as strong as your bench. When injuries mount — and there will be injuries — a stinky bench is exposed pretty damned quickly. [read more]
It’s going to be awfully hard to keep linebacker Danny Lansanah off the final 53-man roster. The bell tolls at 4 p.m. Saturday, but that may not stop the Bucs from releasing guys as early as Friday.
Whenever Lansanah is on the field, he doesn’t just make plays, he makes big plays, whether it is a crushing tackle or forcing takeaways, a fetish of Bucs coach Lovie Smith. [read more]
RB Jeff Demps (32) takes a handoff from Mike Kafka in the second half Thursday. Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.
Before the preseason began, the Bucs pounded their chests that they helped coerce Olympic track star and part-time football player Jeff Demps to give up track and play football full-time.
Specifically, play football for the Bucs full-time. [read more]
Jorvorskie Lane gets high praise
The fullback position has become a dinosaur in the NFL. Perhaps the Bucs should nickname Jorvorskie Lane “Stegosaurus.”
Lane seems an absolute lock for the 53-man roster. [read more]
Offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford had some sort of medical procedure following Saturday’s preseason game in Buffalo. Since then, the Bucs have provided little information on Tedford’s condition and timetable for return.
General manager Jason Licht offered a hazy but positive update during tonight’s TV broadcast of the preseason finale against the Redskins. [read more]
Yes, Joe wanted to stick his tongue out at tonight’s fourth preseason game. It was awful. The vast majority of players who logged time in the second half hope to land a job with Gene Simmons’ arena league team next week.
It was barely the second quarter and Joe, fighting a very minor sickness and running on about five hours of sleep, found it nearly impossible to focus on the Bucs’ fourth and (thankfully) last preseason game of the season.
(It might surprise you how many locals were watching the Texas A&M-South Carolina game and completely and totally ignored the Bucs. It was as if the Bucs game was background noise or static on the radio to these folks.) [read more]
What’s to say about this mess of a game? It might have been the worst preseason game Joe can remember.
Kudos to wide receiver/returner Solomon Patton for a nice catch and score from Mike Kafka, who Joe sure hopes never sees a real game.
A couple of picks by bottom-of-the-roster guys Nate Askew and Keith Lewis, and that’s a your highlight reel. New guard Rishaw Johnson didn’t show much at all.
Did Jeff Demps do enough to make the team? It sure didn’t sound that way listening to general manager Jason Licht during the broadcast.
Stick with Joe for plenty more out of this game and the locker room.
Embattled out of work NFL guard Richie Incognito appears to be very much on the minds of the Bucs front office.
General manager Jason Licht joined the WFLA-TV broadcast in the fourth quarter of tonight’s game and shed the first real light on his and Lovie Smith’s meeting with Incognito this week. [read more]
The newest Buccaneer, All-Pro guard Logan Mankins, arrived in Tampa this morning and looked like he was still in a bit of shock this evening at the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway.
Joe’s got video. [read more]
OK boys and girls. Time for the final preseason game of the year and frankly, Joe can’t wait for this game to be over. Only two “starters” are starting, guards Patrick Omameh and fan favorite Oneil Cousins..
Notice Joe used the word “starters” in quotation marks. [read more]
A shell-shocked Logan Mankins, with much of his trademark burly beard gone, took to a podium set up in a VIP room in the bowels of the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway two hours before kickoff this evening. He met with assembled members of the Tampa Bay pen and mic club and bartenders shocked since they had yet to pour a drink.
Mankins, an All-Pro guard from New England, was swapped in a bombshell trade to the Bucs earlier this week. It was Mankins’ first meeting with the local fourth estate. [read more]
One of the NFL’s sleaziest characters, embattled Richie Incognito, is a guy many Bucs fans believe should be plucked from his couch immediately so he can start at right guard and help lead the Bucs to an opening-day victory.
Never mind that high-mileage, 31-year-old players who have been out of football for 9 1/2 months don’t always fare too well, especially under the extreme scrutiny awaits Incognito. [read more]
