The subject of the Bucs quarterbacks came up late Wednesday morning on Sirius NFL Radio and naturally Joe was there to hear it.
Co-host of “The Blitz,” Adam Schein, said Raheem the Dream picking Leftwich was a no-brainer and a move Schein said he himself predicted months ago.
Schein’s co-host, former NFL quarterback Jim Miller, agreed it was the right choice and he came out firing at Leftwich’s former coach with the Jags.
“Every since Jack Del Rio took over [in Jacksonville] Leftwich’s career went south,” Miller said in a not-so-veiled hint that Del Rio derailed Leftwich’s career. The Bucs offense “fits his skills. They will focus on the running game and take shots downfield, taking advantage of Leftwich’s big arm.
“Luke McCown has more versatility but you can’t disagree with why Tampa went in this direction. I believe Byron is very motivated to make his mark on the NFL again as a starter.”
That’s right. Kareem The Dream, aka Bucs running back Kareem Huggins, the treasured hometown adopted son of Raheem The Dream.
Stuck at No. 5 in the Bucs running back depth chart, his work ethic, toughness and talent haven’t gone unnoticed. The Daily Record of New Jersey is following their homegrown product.
“We knew he could run. We didn’t know how tough he was,” said Tampa Bay director of pro personnel Doug Williams of Huggins. “(Against Tennessee) he ran well. (Against Jacksonville) he came back and made some moves that we hadn’t seen. He can shake and bake.”
The Bucs also like Kareem The Dream’s versatility.
[Earnest] Graham remembers well what fighting for a position meant and has reached out to help Huggins.
“We’ve all been in that position. I have been in that position before,” Graham said. “He’s a good back, a really good back. He has a natural feel for running the football. He can definitely play in this league.”
In Joe’s eyes, Kareem The Dream is at least a lock for the practice squad.
Maybe some readers will recognize the author’s name?
Joe hates to be a downer. But Joe couldn’t resist sticking in a public service message after finding this government link by chance.
Joe personally knew quite well the 36-year-old man who was Pinellas County’s first official death from swine flu just a few weeks ago. Despite media reports of this man having an underlying health condition, this was a very healthy young dude.
It was an extraordinarily sad situation, compounded by the man being of modest income and leaving behind a wife and toddler twins. This year, flu is likely to be serious business. You can click on the image below for safety information.
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Joe apologizes for being a bit late to the table with this nugget, but apparently all the stories we heard about Chucky being a tyrant with the Bucs may not be true.
No less an authority than former Bucs great Warren Sapp says so.
In a recent chat on NFL.com, NFL Network analyst Sapp was asked an unusual question, and he had an unusual answer.
Mike , San Diego
Warren, what was harder to get through, the 1st training camp with Gruden or getting ready for Dancing with the Stars?
Warren Sapp, NFL Network
Dancing with the Stars. Gruden was a push-over. He didn’t bother us big dawgs.
Interesting. Was Sapp then suggesting that Meshawn Johnson was a little dog?
For some odd reason, this comment from Sapp leaves Joe with an image of Chucky waltzing with Rachel Watson at the Cuban Club in Ybor City, with Rachel wearing some slinky, skin-baring number.
Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King has served up his two cents on how to develop Josh Freeman.
Joe has great respect for the opinions of former Bucs quarterbacks, even if they work for BSPN, like King and Trent Dilfer do.
King offered strong opinions on Freeman’s development in an interview with Anwar Richardson, of TBO.com. King thinks putting the rookie in the No. 3 quarterback slot is a big mistake.
“When I was a [starter], I did all of the first-team stuff for the most part,” King said. “When I was a [No.] 2, I did most of the scout team because I had to stay ready in case I have to play. When I was a [No.] 3, you go through individuals [drills] in practice, but for the most part, that’s about it. You basically turn into a workout warrior.
“You’re just working out in practice, and at the same time, it’s hard to stay after practice and throw because all of the starting receivers are saving their legs for the game, while all the other receivers have been working so hard because they got all the scout team reps and they got all the special teams reps and they are tired.”
King said he could not remember a first-round quarterback who spent his rookie season on the third team and started in year two, plus added that he believes Freeman’s progress could be hindered if Tampa Bay does give him enough live practice reps.
“Unless they [Bucs] come up with a precise full-season plan for Josh Freeman, then it’s detrimental if he’s the [third quarterback] because he’s not going to get better,” King said. “You don’t get better from watching. If you watch every game, that doesn’t make you a better quarterback. You get better by playing.
“It’s very difficult as a [third quarterback] to get better because you’re not doing anything but pretty much standing around for the majority of practice every day.”
While reading King’s quotes, Joe can’t help but wonder how Josh Johnson could possibly progress being the No. 4 quarterback. But it seems like he did just that in Chucky’s laboratory and under Greg Olson’s tutelage.
Joe believes Freeman is just fine holding a clipboard for a while, easing into the No. 2 role and then taking the reins if the Bucs fall out of the playoff chase in 2009 or at the start of 2010.
Joe has finally found the most negative, down-on-the-2009-season Bucs fan on the planet. His name is Brad Culpepper, the former Bucs defensive tackle turned local ambulance chaser.
Now Joe talks Bucs football with many fans, and he hasn’t met one who dropped a prognostication like “starting 2-10,” as Culpepper did while speaking on 620 WDAE-AM today.
Culpepper, with his usual I’m-smarter-than-you attitude, said he knows Bucs fans are liking what they’re seeing in the preseason but “it could be a bloodbath this year.”
Joe wonders whether the Bucs bedfellows with the colorful magazine will allow Culpepper to spew such negativity in his column for their outdated print publication.
Leftwich has that quarterback swagger. I just haven’t seen it from Luke.
Maybe that’s why Leftwich was brought in. Maybe that’s why Leftwich had the lead the day he walked into camp. Head Coach Raheem Morris said as much. To quote: ” Leftwich had the early lead coming into camp.”
Heading into the Dallas game, it’s Leftwich, McCown, Freeman. Your opening day trifecta. Josh Johnson might still be stands when the team counts down to 53. He should be.
Joe isn’t as confident as Korun that Johnson will be buying a ticket to watch the Dallass game. Joe seems to be inclined to believe it is McCown who will be brokering a ticket deal outside of the CITS .
Adam Hayward is one reason why the Bucs are deep at linebacker.
Much has been made in the offseason about the Bucs linebackers, or lack thereof. Joe mocked the Bucs openly for trying out a 30-year old player at that position which, in the end, Joe was correct.
Jermaine Phillips moved back to strong safety.
But Raheem the Dream, in this Buccaneers.com video from Scott Smith, echoes a statement that general manager Mark Dominik said earlier in the year that the linebackers are deep.
Just the bickering between fans is enough to tell Joe that the Bucs don’t have a solid quarterback. As the old saying goes, if you have two (three?) quarterbacks, you have none.
The Bucs may have four, which is to say, the Bucs may have none. Initially.
Pat Kirwan of NFL.com breaks down all the quarterback tandems in the NFL and he has the Bucs at No. 28 and on the brink of disaster early.
If the Buccaneers struggle with Byron Leftwich as the starter, they will turn over the quarterback reins to Luke McCown or rookie Josh Freeman, who isn’t close to being ready to play. This situation could get ugly fast.
This could get really ugly if Freeman goes down in the first 10 weeks. The Bucs schedule is ugly enough. If Luke McCown plays early, he will be running for his life. If Josh Freeman plays early, he could be ruined for his career.
Despite the fact that linebacker strong safety Jermaine Phillips has officially returned to his roots, don’t look for him to be the Bucs starting strong safety, so writes Dan Parr of ProFootballWeekly.com.
Parr writes that Raheem the Dream is solidly in the corner of Will Allen, which may be why Raheem the Dream was so devout in his effort to transform Phillips, 30, into a linebacker.
Morris has a decision to make regarding how to shuffle personnel to make up for Jackson’s absence, but no options are ideal. We hear the team’s first choice is likely to promote special-teams captain Will Allen, who hasn’t made a start since Jackson was drafted, into the starting lineup. Word is Morris is a big supporter of Allen, but the sixth-year veteran will need to show he can play tough vs. the run, which has been a weakness of his.
Parr also goes on to say that the linebackers have played so well, that Raheem the Dream relented, allowing Phillips to return to linebacker strong safety.
Joe just knew this was a bad move from the word “go.”
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There are a lot of things brewing in our little corner of the sports world today and as can be expected, the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig, will have it covered on his show this afternoon broadcast from 3-6:30 p.m. on WDAE-AM 620.
Charles Davis
Duemig is expected to have quite a few guests amid the Rays-Blowsox chatter. Per The Big Dog’s producer, Jerry Petuck, the newest member of the Bolts, left wing Alex Tanguay, is scheduled for 3:55 p.m. Then, NFL Network’s college football analyst (yes, the network also covers college football) Charles Davis drops by at 4:35 p.m.
If that’s not enough, The Big Dog will welcome to his pen the great Mike Florio, the creator, curator and overall guru of ProFootballTalk.com, at 5 p.m.
Joe also suspects Duemig will weigh in on the breaking news stories today concerning Lighting ownership, which one can also read about on JoeBoltsFan.com.
Those near a computer can listen to the “The Big Dog Show” streamed from WDAE’s website.
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Marty Schottenheimer, speaking on Sirius NFL Radio, said the Bucs should not trade any of their running backs.
If the Bucs are deep at any position, it’s at running back. In theory, the Bucs have three potential starters (Derrick Ward, Earnest Graham, Cadillac Williams) and a pair of backs who appear to be talented enough to start for someone (Clifton Smith and Kareem Huggins).
Joe has wondered if maybe the Bucs might work out a trade, swapping a running back for a player at another position where the Bucs need depth.
It appears Joe isn’t the only one who thought such a thing.
As Joe is wont to do, he was listening to Sirius NFL Radio early Monday afternoon when a Bucs fan called “The Red Zone” with Marty Schottenheimer and Solomon Wilcots, asking if the Bucs might try to trade one of their many running backs for possibly a wide receiver.
Schottenheimer flatly said he wouldn’t; at least not now. Schottenheimer said that the Bucs may very well need all of their running backs.
“They made the decision to go with [Byron] Leftwich and I think that is the right decision,” Schottenheimer said. “Now they have to find a way to get complimentary [running backs] playing time. You don’t want to give up these guys, especially entering the season. It’s one thing to trade a player when you are 30 to 60 days away from the draft. But entering the season, you are one injury away from needing that player.”
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Former Bucs quarterback Jeff Carlson writes the weekly QB Blast column here at JoeBucsFan.com. Joe is ecstatic to have him firing away. Carlson has sports radio and TV gigs in the Bay area and trains quarterbacks of all ages via his company, America’s Best Quarterback.
When the FOX-TV sideline reporter asks the head coach, “Why don’t you name the quarterback already? We all know it’s Leftwich,” it is a bit too obvious that the final conclusion had been reached before the “competition” was extended an extra week.
Most of us were pretty sure Byron Leftwich was the choice back in June, so the final decision for Leftwich isn’t a problem for me, but something doesn’t add up in the overall scheme of things.
In the week leading up to the Dolphins game, the Bucs went public with their willingness to trade any of their QBs except Josh Freeman.
Raheem Morris went into detail explaining that he never wanted to start Freeman early in the 2009 season (and Freeman never pushed the envelope). But if they trade either of their experienced passers and the starter gets hurt in the first game (e.g. Tom Brady, 2008), then they would be starting him before he was ready and without the need to put him or themselves in that bad position.
Morris also says of the Leftwich choice that he knows he has to clean up his sloppy footwork.
Sorry Ra, after an offseason and a training camp and seven years of NFL experience, those mechanics ain’t gettin’ any better, so you better not get your hopes up on that one.
Yes, Joe knows this is a Bucs blog. But Joe isn’t a one-trick pony.
Seems as though one of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s co-owners is in some very serious financial if not legal trouble, which could impact the Bolts. Find out which owner and what the allegations are by checking out JoeBoltsFan.com.
Studying the players actually playing in preseason games and agonizing over the quarterback “competition” left Joe forgetting about Antonio Bryant, arguably the surprise story of the NFL last year.
Bryant and his can barely get by on my$10 million contract was back on the field yesterday following knee surgery, and he’s on track to start on opening day.
” I don’t know what percent he is right now, but he’s getting close, getting real close. And he made it through a whole practice,” Raheem The Dream said in his post-practice news conference Monday.
Upon hearing the news, Joe cracked a smile, exhaled and felt like he had just savored an El Capitan Maduro.
Bryant is a such a major piece of the Bucs ‘offense, it’s almost scary. Joe doesn’t count on Michael Clayton to perform at a high level. And the No. 3 receiver will be an unproven peformer no matter who wins the job.
A huge game for Bryant against Dallas would be incredible for his confidence and the success of the offense.
It’s really no surprise to Joe that Matt Bryant may be out of a job. The guy’s been hurt and Mike Nugent, who the Bucs signed in the offseason to compete with Bryant, had done nothing to suggest he’s not worthy of the job.
If Bryant is not playing and his hurt, it’s easy to see him unemployed. The Mad Twitterer of the St. Petersburg Times, Rick Stroud, reports that Bryant has all but resigned himself to the fact that he will be cut and seems to be inclined to want to be cut.
But Bryant says he needs another week for the injured hamstring on his right kicking leg to completely heal.
Rather than jeopardize his career, Bryant said Monday that his release by the Bucs might be better than rushing back into a competition with free agent Mike Nugent.
The Mad Twitter also details how Raheem the Dream told Bryant that if he’s not practicing this week his days as the Bucs kicker are over. It’s hard to kick, much less kick well, when you have a bum kicking leg.
Since Byron Leftwich was named the Bucs starting quarterback, a number of Bucs fans have told Joe that Luke McCown, who lost the job that was his to lose, should be traded.
Who exactly would trade for him and why? Chucky is the only one crazy enough to pull off such a move and he’s in the broadcast booth, not coaching. A team would have to lose all three of its quarterbacks to want to trade for McCown.
Vacation Man of BSPN.com seems to be of the same mind. He even goes so far as to suggest the Bucs will keep McCown because no one else is desperate enough (yet) to want McCown.
Well, don’t get too caught up in all those trade rumors. Sure, the Bucs gladly would listen to any offer for McCown. But let’s be realistic, what could they really get in return for a guy who didn’t exactly put out a highlight reel of film as he finished second in this race?
Not much. Maybe a seventh-round pick. A sixth-round choice at absolute best. Maybe nothing at all because there probably will be better backup quarterbacks available elsewhere.
I still think McCown will stay with the Bucs. Think about it. They don’t want Josh Freeman playing anytime soon. If they trade McCown, Freeman would be the backup and only a Leftwich injury away from playing.
Joe has a hunch — no one has told him this — that the Bucs are comfortable enough with how Josh Freeman has performed in training camp and preseason that Raheem the Dream wouldn’t be opposed to Freeman being the No. 2 quarterback. After all, Freeman is Raheem the Dream’s baby.
The Ivy-Leaguer in the Bucs’ secondary with an economics degree from Columbia University has a growing fan base.
Some jumped on the Steve Cargile bandwagon after he turned in some good hits and tackles in the Bucs’ last two preseason games. Others, like Bucs icon John Lynch, have been fans for a while.
Lynch told the WFLA-TV audience how much he respected Cargile, who backed him up on the Denver Broncos.
He had a chance to transfer to Ohio State after his freshman season, but Columbia and New York had opened his eyes to a world beyond Ohio, and he was hooked. When he switched from wide receiver to safety his senior year, the NFL took notice.
Dallas signed him as a free agent out of school in 2004 and he spent most of that season on the Cowboys practice squad before being cut in the spring of ’05.
Joe has liked what he’s seen from Cargile. Although, he’s surely a long shot to make the team.
Mostly, Joe would like to be a fly on the wall when Cargile chats with Aqib Talib. Joe suspects they don’t have much in common.
One of the last photos taken of Dexter Jackson returning kicks.
Nice knowing you, Dexter Jackson.
Thanks for coming out.
If it weren’t for your colossal bust of a rookie season last year, the Bucs wouldn’t have Clifton Smith to be excited about.
Jackson was among the premier draft mistakes of the Bruce Almighty-Chucky era. The second-round wide receiver came out of Appalachian State afraid to get hit and apparently incompetent as a wideout.
To start Year 2, he got a shot and did nothing with it.
Joe hopes somehow, some way, Chucky is asked about Jackson tonight on Monday Night Football. It’s unlikely, but we can always hope for another painfully long lightning delay.
Joe’s not going to bore you with a bunch of details about rows, seats and prices.
But Joe has scoured Ticketmaster this morning and feels very confident the Bucs’ home opener against the Dallas Cowboys will not be blacked out.
Keep in mind unsold club seats do not count toward the blackout rules, which require all seats to be soldout 72 hours before kickoff, otherwise home games are not televised in the local market. And the Bucs have a huge number of club seats in the C.I.T.S.
The Washington Post published a story about NFL blackouts over the weekend. The Bucs are not mentioned as a team in trouble. Of course, that itself means nothing.
But given the tickets sold/distributed figure announced by the Bucs on Thursday (63,000+), and the limited number of ticket pairs available for opening day, Joe’s feeling good about the massses getting to watch the Bucs’ stout new run defense on Sept. 13.
The subject of the Bucs quarterbacks came up late Wednesday morning on Sirius NFL Radio and naturally Joe was there to hear it.
Kareem The Dream is turning heads.
Former Bucs quarterback Shaun King has served up his two cents on how to develop Josh Freeman.
By JEFF CARLSON
Studying the players actually playing in preseason games and agonizing over the quarterback “competition” left Joe forgetting about Antonio Bryant, arguably the surprise story of the NFL last year.
The Ivy-Leaguer in the Bucs’ secondary with an economics degree from Columbia University has a growing fan base.
Joe’s not going to bore you with a bunch of details about rows, seats and prices.
Look for the Bucs to deal Luke McCown, says the Tampa Bay market’s resident Hall of Fame voter, eye -RAH! Kaufman, of the Tampa Tribune.
