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An Orlando Magic dancer displays groin range of motion to inspire the ailing Joey Galloway
As Joe prepares to give you a full analysis of Sunday’s Bucs game, he’d like to take a moment to thank the Orlando Sentinel for its engaging pictorial of dancer tryouts for the Magic. It’s important to keep things in perspective.
Makes you want Jameer Nelson to call timeout right now.
Scrap the hurricane reports. We got a game in the Superdome on Sunday.
New Orleans Saints ownership announced this afternoon that Sunday’s season opener against the Bucs will be played at the Superdome, according to the Associated Press.
Most New Orleans hurricane evacuees are not permitted to return to their homes until Thursday, according to the Times Picayune, but gameday is expected to be smooth.
Joe is glad for New Orleans and its fans. Now it’s back to talking football.
Kickoff in 119 hours.
The more news that seeps out of New Orleans, the more likely it seems the Bucs will open the season against the Saints at the Superdome Sunday as scheduled.
While there hasn’t been a definitive word released, it’s looking better and better for the Bucs to open the season as scheduled in New Orleans.
At the Superdome.
Forbes.com moved a story earlier today with (moderately) updated information on the possibility of playing the game at the Superdome. While questions remain to be answered before the game can be played, nothing has yet diminished the hope of the season kicking off in the Big Easy in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.
Monday evening, Thornton consulted with the city’s infrastructure managers, police chief and other business leaders to determine whether it was realistic to host a game on Sunday. The decision came more quickly than Thornton anticipated. “We were fortunate that we didn’t have a more devastating event here, but so far, our process has worked,” he said.
But for the game to be played, various goals have to be met. Thornton and Forbes explained:
“To a casual observer, it would seem that well, the dome’s not damaged, so we can restart out operations,” Thornton said. But what most fail to see are the complicated logistics like moving concession food to an offsite refrigerated storage facility, rounding up 2,500 full-time and part-time workers after they’ve just been evacuated, ensuring that subcontractors that handle waste management will be available and securing the presence of the New Orleans Police Department for security and traffic control.
Derrick Brooks is growing so old that a local kid who grew up idolizing him is now his teammate.
When Julius Wilson grew up in Bradenton he adored the Bucs. Specifically, Wilson worshipped Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks. So much so that one of Wilson’s treasured possessions is Brooks’ autograph. He also has a Brooks No. 55 Bucs jersey.
So imagine the emotions that ran through the offensive tackle’s head when, on his first day as a member of the Bucs practice squad, Wilson had to lay out and block Brooks, putting the future Hall of Famer on the ground. Wilson eagerly told Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald about the incident.
“I was like, ‘Derrick, my bad,’ ” Wilson said.
Joe is always happy to see a homegrown player get to play on his hometown team, even if it is only the practice squad.
B.J. Askew suggests the Bucs offense will hum even though key players misssed significant practice time. If not, then the Bucs players are not pros.
Jeff Garcia’s scant playing time in those awful preseason games (and it showed) and the fact that Joey Galloway has been so limited in practice Chucky referred to him as a “White Tiger,” has disturbed Joe.
Joe believes to have an offense run like a well-oiled machine one must oil the machine. Or, in football terms, the team must practice together. However, Bucs fullback B.J. Askew apparently considers this nonsense.
Askew, who also was limited in preseason with an ankle injury, told Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune that the Bucs can flip the proverbial switch and all will be well.
“You turn that switch on. That’s why we’re professionals. That’s what we do,” Askew said. “You see it throughout the league, players miss time and they come back and do what they have to do.
“This is our livelihood. This is how we make our money and you’re telling me because you missed some time that you’re going to come back and not be ready? No way.”
Joe will remember those words. If the Bucs come out against the Saints Sunday (wherever the game may be held) and stink the joint up as if Jeff Bowden is coaching the team, then Joe will know the Bucs aren’t pros.
Despite Chucky's positive comments about Matt Bryant, the Bucs have worked out other kickers recently.
Remember last week when Chucky basically gave high praise to kicker Matt Bryant, basically saying his kicking issues in the preseason were a temporary glitch? Well, as usual, always be wary of what comes out of Chucky’s mouth.
Seems as though the Bucs were working out kickers at the same time Chucky was spewing his standard ca-ca. Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times reported the Bucs had worked out former Dolphins kicker Jay Feely “several days ago.”
Feely, 32, would certainly be an interesting choice. He converted 91.3 percent of his attempts with the Dolphins last season and has converted 80.8 percent in his career. The Bucs would be attractive to Feely because he has roots in the area.
Holder reported the Bucs did not tender a contract to Feely.
Joe doesn’t mind this. He actually likes to see competition. But why must Chucky lie so often? What’s the big deal about admitting, “Yeah, we checked out Jay Feely?”
The Glazer family is too smart and savvy to let the NFL steamroll them into screwing up the Bucs' schedule.
The NFL should not force the Bucs into hosting Sunday’s season opener against the New Orleans Saints and moving the November Bucs-Saints game to New Orleans. That just ain’t right. It’s not a fair swap.
Despite the possible backlash, Bucs management should put up a major stink and not be pushed into the change, as it would give the Bucs four consecutive road games in November.
Don’t tell me that after the destruction of Katrina in 2005, New Orleans has no contingency plan to relocate a cancelled game to a neutral field or another site in Louisiana. That would be plain stupid, irresponsible, and any other negative adjective one can muster.
Move the game to another field in Louisiana, or to a neutral site in Arkansas, or somewhere else. Don’t force the Bucs to cover for the Saints lack of foresight and preparation.
This is the NFL. Big business. There’s a reason the league never schedules four consecutive road games. It’s a major negative for a team. And that shouldn’t be thrust on the Bucs because the Saints didn’t make a plan.
THE PESSIMIST is betting his paycheck that Sunday’s game is not in Tampa. Or if it is, it will be classified as a Saints home game and the Bucs will play them in Tampa again in November.
Jason Horowitz and Clark Judge of CBSSports.com preview the NFC South. Give it a look. (Hint: They don’t like the Dixie Chicks.)
It's looking like the Bucs may open the season in New Orleans as planned, but it's not written in stone quite yet.
[UPDATE: 12:02 a.m. Bob Holtzman of ESPN reports if the Superdome cannot be used Sunday, the Bucs-Saints game will be switched to Tampa. Holtzman noted that the Superdome uses a gameday staff of 2,500.]
From the first reports out of New Orleans on the wrath of Hurricane Gustav, it appears the Bucs season opener at New Orleans is a green light.
However, there are still obstacles. First, the levees in the Big Easy have to hold. Whether they can or not won’t be known for another day, maybe two. Then there are logistics concerns, as Doug Thornton, the regional vice president of SMG, the company that manages the Superdome, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune this morning, “We can’t play a game if we don’t have staff and supplies.”
The city was successfully evacuated in recent days as Gustav made its way up the Gulf of Mexico. If residents, some of which are stadium workers, can’t return to the city in enough time, there won’t be proper staff to go ahead with the game as planned. But Thornton did tell the Times-Picayune:
It is “my gut feeling is we’re going to play a football game (in the Superdome) Sunday.”
Thornton noted that there are five elements that will decide if the game will go on as scheduled. They all must be assessed on Tuesday.
1) Structural damage, if any, to the Superdome.
2) The ability to get food products transported to the facility this week.
3) Employee staffing.
4) Security staffing.
5) Fan availability.
Finally, the dome must have appropriate electricity. It might not go over so well if surrounding neighborhoods were without power while city officials worked feverishly to make sure the Superdome was juiced for a game.
In his current Monday Morning Quarterback column on SI.com, Peter King hinted that if the game cannot be played at the Superdome, the NFL likely would move the game to Raymond James Stadium and the scheduled Saints-Bucs game at Tampa Nov. 30 would be played in New Orleans.
Earlier this evening the NFL Network reported that’s exactly what the NFL would do if New Orleans officials deem the game unplayable at the Superdome, though NFL spokesman Greg Aiello didn’t go as far in speaking to the Times-Picayune.
Neither the Saints nor the NFL have revealed any contingency plans for where the game might be played if the Superdome is not available. But NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is “continuing to monitor the situation in close coordination with the Saints.”
“Our focus today is on the brave people of the Gulf Coast,” Aiello said. “We have great admiration for them and for the public safety and emergency personnel who are tirelessly working to protect lives and property in that region.”
King wrote that if the Bucs carped about having to play four consecutive road games, which is what would happen if the games are flipped; it would appear grossly shallow and likely be met with scorn.
Shaun King, annointed an expert by ESPN, says the Bucs will miss the playoffs and finish 8-8.
The onslaught of season predictions are coming this week, and they largely are nothing more than the pointless ramblings of blowhard, front-running commentators.
The NFC South picks of Shaun King, who at least knows the Bucs well, were all over BSPN today. King, who started every game at quarterback for the Bucs in 2000, and was the backup on the Super Bowl winning team, has emerged as one the top NFL analysts on ESPN.
King’s 2008 picks: New Orleans 11-5; Carolina 10-6 (and a wild card berth); Bucs 8-8; Atlanta 4-12.
Joe isn’t busting out his predictions yet. But he will say that King clearly hasn’t learned the value of a good defense. The Bucs’ D is hands down the best in this division, even if they’re slightly less dominant than last season.
This past Sunday marked the last time we will be without NFL football on Sundays until February. This makes Joe happy.
In the meantime, how about a peek at the past of a memorable Bucs season
Rod Marinelli keeps adding ex-Bucs to his defense.
Lions coach Rod Marinelli continues to add ex-Bucs to his defense. Ryan Nece signed with Detroit today, hours after the Bucs cut him.
Nece, 29, who won a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay, joins ex-Bucs Brian Kelly, Dewayne White and a few others. This is why the Lions don’t have much of a defense.
Try to form your own identity, Rod. Who’s next, Rick Mahorn?
Lynch was cut Saturday by the Patriots. Maybe Derrick Brooks has a suggestion.
The Bucs are trying desperately to sell tickets, and future Hall of Famer John Lynch was cut by the Patriots on Saturday.
Would a Lynch return to Tampa fire up demand for tickets?
You could sure argue that Lynch would be more valuable on the field than rookie quarterback Josh Johnson, No. 4 on the depth chart. (We all know he won’t take a meaningful snap.)
Joe’s sources say Lynch doesn’t like Gruden. But maybe some prodding from Monte Kiffin and Derrick Brooks would lure him to Tampa?
If the Glazers are serious about selling tickets, then Mr. Lynch might get the phones ringing.
The season opener between the Bucs and Saints is still scheduled for New Orleans... for now.
updated 8/31, 7:20 p.m.
Joe has been surfing trying to find out where the Bucs will be playing their season opener with the Saints with Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast. From what Joe can tell, the game will be played at New Orleans, according to the Times Picayune.
Here’s what Joe does know:
The Superdome will not be used as a hurricane shelter. Three years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit, the dome was used as a hurricane shelter. Even if the roof of the facility wasn’t damaged by the storm, those who escaped the storm in the Superdome trashed the interior of the facility so badly that there was no way any games could have been played there, part of the reason the Saints became road warriors that season.
(The damage to the interior was so complete, that the Sugar Bowl four months later couldn’t be played at the Superdome. It was moved to Atlanta.)
Hurricane Gustav could hit the Gulf Coast as a Category-5 storm, the strongest hurricane measured.
Not sure if the Superdome can be used if the roof is damaged similar to what happened during Katrina, also near Category 5 intensity.
The Saints have temporarily relocated to Indianapolis and released an abbreviated practice schedule there. They plan to return to New Orleans Friday.
The easiest solution would be to simply swap the games with the Bucs, playing the season opener in Tampa. Of course, this would leave the Bucs with four straight road games in late-November and early-December: at Detroit, at New Orleans, at Carolina and at Atlanta.
Initially, Joe learned the NFL would decide by Sunday where to hold the game. Well, today is Sunday.
Is rookie guard Jeremy Zuttah, who will start for Davin Joseph next Sunday, so good he doesn't need practice?
Lost in the roster cuts and the preseason mess that is Matt Bryant is the fact Jeremy Zuttah, who last week started for injured right guard Davin Joseph, didn’t play a single snap in the Bucs final preseason game at Houston.
Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune noted that Chucky likes to give his starters the night off in the final preseason game.
Is this guy that good or is Chucky, once again, playing games?
Zuttah is a rookie. He has played less than three preseason games. And the guy tagged to start the season opener at right guard against New Orleans is such a polished player that he didn’t need to see any playing time in the final glorified practice game, not one single snap?
Sigmund Freud would have a field day with Chucky. And some people think Nick Saban is nuts.
Ryan Nece's six-year Bucs career is over.
The Bucs made their roster cuts this evening to get down to the mandatory 53 and there were two moderate surprises.
Linebacker Ryan Nece and running back Kenneth Darby were two of the casualties and neither were really a surprise.
The Bucs had hinted that Nece might be expendable. The son of Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott, Nece’s six year Bucs career is now over. Nece was a standout on special teams and had filled in admirably at times as a starting linebacker.
Darby’s release was not a shock either. Once the Bucs signed Warrick Dunn, it was all but certain, barring an injury, that Darby was gone. The man has some skills and is very likely to be picked up by some running back-starved squad.
Wide receiver Michael Spurlock, who last year returned the first kickoff return for a touchdown in franchise history, also was cut. But Joe smelled that move coming some time ago.
Not unexpected, quarterback Chris Simms was cut by the Bucs today.
Josh Johnson? Really, Chucky?
I understand you have a fetish for quarterbacks; we all have our quirks. But if you are going to keep four quarterbacks, what exactly has Josh Johnson done that merits keeping him over Chris Simms?
Simms was cut as the Bucs got down to the mandatory roster limit of 53.
Joe just can’t understand Chucky’s madness at times. Here’s a guy who gave a spleen for Chucky, led the Bucs to the playoffs (not son of Bob) and has done everything asked of him short of playing without a body organ.
And Chucky throws him on the scrap heap like yesterday’s newspaper (then again, when in the age of the Internet, doesn’t a newspaper print yesterday’s news?).
Best wishes to Chris Simms. A truly upstanding guy. You deserve better, Chris.
The Saints and the city of New Orleans are preparing for the worst.
The Saints are moving forward with plans to evacuate to Indianapolis this weekend, in hopes of normalizing their game preparation for the Sept. 7 opener against the Bucs at the SuperDome, according to the Times Picayune.
Hurricane Gustav currently is a Category 4 storm likely to severely affect the New Orleans area on Monday.
No word yet on relocating or rescheduling opening day. Joe’s sources say a decision will come on Sunday. Joe says an alternate site, not Tampa, will play host to the game.
Hurricane Gustav will determine where the Bucs play their season opener
As of now, the Bucs-Saints game to open the season will take place in the Big Easy.
However, Hurricane Gustav will have the final say.
The Saints have said that if the storm remains on its current track to hit New Orleans, they will spend the coming week in Indianapolis practicing for the Bucs. Unless something catastrophic happens, that game will be at the Louisiana Superdome Sept. 7 as originally planned.
From Mike Triplett of the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
The Saints will practice at Indianapolis’ new Lucas Oil Stadium, because the Colts’ old stadium, the RCA Dome, is being reconstructed on the inside. The Colts have their own separate practice facility so there won’t be a conflict between the teams.
Joe is quite fond of spending considerable time into the wee hours of the morning in the French Quarter. The nightlife, the music, the clubs, the food, the 24/7 flow of adult beverages… it’s Joe’s kind of place. Let’s all hope for the sake of New Orleans citizens that they are spared what took place three years ago.
As much as Joe likes partying and football, believe it or not, there are priorities.
Godspeed New Orleans.
The way Matt Bryant has kicked in the preseason, he may be carried out of One Buc Palace... by security guards.
Joe is not a stat geek. Rather, Joe is a results geek.
For example, 7 of 12 can mean far different things. In baseball, if a hitter has seven hits in 12 at-bats, why, he’s the next Albert Pujols. In hockey, if a goalie lets seven pucks past him in 12 shots, he’s the next John Grahame and deserves to be run out of town.
Those same set of numbers aren’t exactly great for kickers either. Yet that’s exactly what Matt Bryant’s stats were this preseason: He made seven field goals in 12 attempts.
In short, that’s unacceptable.
Matt Bryant has been good for the Bucs. Very good. He’s even Gene Deckerhoff’s hero. And if you believe Bryant, he had his best training camp of his career.
But unless Bryant quickly snaps out of his slump, he won’t be wearing Pewter and Red much longer. Bryant seems to be aware of this and told Stephen F. Holder of the St. Petersburg Times the new season is time to turn the page.
“It still seems to be giving me fits for whatever reason,” Bryant, 33, said. “Starting with the New Orleans game (season opener), I’m back to 0-for-0. This has been the best camp of my career, minus these couple of games. I almost wish I hadn’t done so good in camp. But I’ll be fine and help this team any way I can.”
Chucky doesn’t seem too concerned, but are his quotes the kiss of death?
“I don’t know if I was disappointed or just shocked because Matt doesn’t miss field goals and I just feel it’s unbelievable, so I was shocked and I was disappointed,” Gruden said after the game. “But again, I was happy to see him bang those last three field goals through the uprights and hopefully that catapults him into another great season.”
Are we witnessing the final few days of Bryant on the Bucs, or he is just going through a short slump?
In an effort not to be a complete worry wart, how about some happier times for Bucs fans and Bryant?
Joe doesn't believe having depth at receiver like Maurice Stovall is an asset.
Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune writes that the Bucs consider their wide receiver corps to be an asset, not a liability, because of what they perceive to be a deep position.
Joe believes this to be nonsense.
Are the Bucs deep at receiver? Sure. But if the receivers are a bunch of underperformers, over-the-hill graybeards or guys who seem to be more hurt than healthy. What good are they?
In blunt terms, the Bucs are rich with garbage at receiver.
Look, Joe loves Joey Galloway. But let’s be honest here: The guy is nearly 37 and has a bum groin (so Joe is told). When healthy, he is clearly the Bucs best receiver, but he’s one instant away from going down with another muscle pull, which, sadly, he has a bad habit of doing.
Antonio Bryant could be a stud, but he’s a head case. Do you really want to bank a playoff run on a guy that has proven over the years to be less than stable?
Ike Hilliard (32) is OK. At best he’s average.
Michael Clayton has tried his best over the years to play himself out of a job. Sure he runs great routes and is a good blocker. But if you can’t haul the ball in, what good is the route? And you can pull a guy off the street that can be a good blocking receiver.
Maurice Stovall, given Clayton’s continued struggles, can’t unseat Clayton. What does that tell you?
Sure the Bucs may be deep at receiver. Deep in ca-ca. Sort of like what continues to come out of Chucky’s mouth.
Meanwhile, enjoy some of Galloway’s top plays from last year, courtesy of the NFL Network.
