Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Daniel Shirey – USA Today Sports Images Along with two other teams in the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the 2012 NFL season with a record of only 7-9 and outside the picture for the postseason. They were hoping for a breakout season as a franchise, but instead enjoyed more of an individual breakout season from their rookie running back, Doug Martin, who tore through the competition in his first season in the league. Now there’s another rookie on the Bucs roster that is looking to make some noise and to have a breakout season for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers drafted quarterback Mike Glennon in the third round of this year’s draft and he already seems poised to become a player that is going to make serious noise in Tampa. Reports from earlier this week said that Glennon was already threatening to take the starting job from incumbent starter Josh Freeman, but those reports have been dispelled by the coaching staff. However, the early reports do indicate that Glennon has been impressive thus far in rookie camp and is looking like someone who can do some damage. This means that Freeman will likely have a much shorter leash this season. Last year has to be characterized as a disappointment for Freeman. After coming on strong in 2010 and at the end of the 2011 season, he submitted a relative stinker in 2012. He completed just 54.8 percent of his passes, the lowest mark since his rookie season, and threw 17 INTs. He did throw for 4,065 yards and 27 touchdowns, but he wasn’t nearly as impressive as many projected him to be. He’s going to have to play up to expectations this coming year, though, or his starting job may not be his much longer. This is a league that has time and again shown the value of having a franchise quarterback. Based on last season when he was supposed to make the leap, Freeman may not be that guy. If he doesn’t show the organization otherwise, Glennon may very likely get the chance to show if he’s their franchise guy. Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.

Just a few years ago, Josh Freeman was seen as a rising star and a top 10 quarterback. That came after his amazing 2010 season, a year dominated by scrambles and plays outside of structure that are mostly random and fell the right way for Freeman. But it was also a year in which Freeman produced several fourth-quarter comebacks, dominated on third down and genuinely played some good football. He just wasn't a finished product. Three seasons later, and Freeman still isn't a finished product. The entire team fell apart in 2011 and Josh Freeman was no exception, but he wasn't helped by awful skill position play and the lack of a consistent running game. Those reasons disappeared in 2012 and Freeman's play immediately improved -- but inconsistency remained and with it, questions about his future. Is Freeman a rising star who just needs a second year in a very complicated offense, or is he an inconsistent player whose 2010 season was just a mirage? That's the question he'll have to answer this year. He will get the opportunity to do so, and by season's end we'll likely know whether his future lies with the Buccaneers or elsewhere. Popular opinion on the quarterback doesn't appear to be great, however. A quarterback controversy has been manufactured out of (mostly) thin air, while NFL.com's Marc Sessler just ranked him 25th under the "How can I trust you?" category. That, to me, is a little ridiculous. Sure, Freeman struggled at the end of the season -- but we're awfully quick to forget that he looked stellar during a seven-game midseason stretch. How can you rank Philip Rivers, Sam Bradford, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith and Andy Dalton ahead of Freeman, when all of them have significant questions they need to answer before you can trust them? But at least he's ahead of Mark Sanchez, right? Read more: Mike Glennon competes, or something Dwight Freeney signs with the Chargers Training camp preview: tight ends

On the roster: Luke Stocker, Tom Crabtree, Danny Noble, Nate Byham, Zach Miller, Evan Landi This may be the weakest spot on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' roster. As is the case at many positions, the Bucs lack quality depth. But the tight end position has a unique feature this year: it also lacks top-end quality. The Buccaneers don't necessarily place a large emphasis on the tight end as a pass-catcher, but they still use him and he's essential in their running game. With Dallas Clark leaving, the Bucs have signed Crabtree as a replacement. Who will be the starter? Last season, Luke Stocker was the starter. This season, Luke Stocker will also be the starter barring the unexpected emergence of a training camp player. Stocker has a problem, though: he's an adequate blocker, and an adequate receiver, but he's not much more than that. The Buccaneers have better blockers on the roster and they have better receivers on the roster, but Stocker's the only one who has the physical skill to be both. The problem is that he hasn't been overwhelming as a blocker, and has 28 catches for 257 yards and a dismal 9.2 yards per catch on his career. One upside for Stocker: he ballooned up to 275 lbs this year according to Mark Dominik, whereas he was listed at 253 lbs before. Presumably all of it is muscle, and he'll be a better blocker. I can't imagine that size helping him as a pass catcher, though. A few other players may beat him out as the starter, if they do well in training camp. Tom Crabtree doesn't have the physical stature to take on defensive ends, but Nate Byham is a devastating blocker who has offered little (but not nothing) as a receiver. That then makes him better than Stocker, really. Zach Miller was an okay player for the Jacksonville Jaguars for a few years, and he may be able to do something but probably lacks the size to take on defensive ends. The same is true for Evan Landi, unless he puts on a lot of weight in an NFL weight room. Catches? Who needs catches? The Buccaneers don't emphasize the tight end in their passing game, or they didn't last year at least, but they still use him. Dallas Clark still registered 47 catches last year and became a valuable producer of steady first downs late in the season. Clark almost without fail found himself in the slot on passing downs, and having a quality receiving tight end for that role can only help. The Bucs appear to think that Tom Crabtree can be that guy in a bit of an H-back role. Crabtree was a core special teams player, a quality blocker on the move without the size to take on defensive linemen, and the speed to do some damage as a receiver. He registered 8 catches for 203 yards and three touchdowns last season, but really hasn't been a factor in Green Bay, in part because of the presence of Jermichael Finley and D.J. Williams. Crabtree, obviously, is no sure thing -- but he has some of the physical traits to allow him to be a productive receiver. He isn't huge, but he has speed and agility and has flashed some skills. Of course, the fact that the Packers weren't even willing to match the Bucs' rather pitiful two-year $1.6 million contract may say something about his abilities, too. Fun fact: Crabtree has the biggest cap hit and average per year salary of all tight ends on the Bucs' roster. Two players may get that passing role, too. Stocker isn't much of a threat, though he may develop into a decent pass-catcher who can force some first downs with his size. Danny Noble, Zach Miller and Evan Landi are more likely to do some damage, though. Miller produced two 200+ yard seasons with the Jaguars and their stable of regular-people-pretending-to-be-quarterbacks a few years ago. Evan Landi, meanwhile, put up over 800 yards in his college career with worse quarterback play than even the Jaguars. Finally, Danny Noble has the physical traits to be an intriguing player, but has to really develop his skills to make an impact after spending his first year mostly on the inact

Pass-rusher extraordinaire Dwight Freeney has signed with the San Diego Chargers, who contracted him to replace 2012 first-round draft pick Melvin Ingram who suffered a knee injury earlier this week. Freeney will receive a two-year, $8.5 million that could balloon up to $13.35 million with incentives, according to Pro Football Talk. While the first waves of free agency have long since passed and not many talented players are left on the street, a few veterans are still available. The best available veterans are now starting to come off the market, too, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't appear to be interested in pass-rushers, despite posting one of the league's worst sack totals last season. There's some logic to that approach, however, as the Buccaneers do have a lot invested in the defensive line. Their first two picks from 2011 are on the roster and have seen their careers so far limited by injuries, but the Buccaneers are expecting big things out of Adrian Clayborn and Da'Quan Bowers. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim is an okay backup, while the Bucs added another two pass-rusher in the draft with fourth-rounder William Gholston and fifth-rounder Steven Means. That amounts to a lot of youth and talent, but not a lot of production in the NFL so far. While the Bucs could conceivably post a very good pass rush this season, they may find that players that have disappointed for various reasons will continue to disappoint. The Bucs are again one injury away from starting Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, who simply isn't good enough to start in this league. On the other hand, signing someone like John Abraham or Dwight Freeney would have meant giving the players on the roster far fewer chances to develop and impact games. With Freeney commanding at least $5.25 million in guaranteed money this season the Buccaneers could not justify signing him and then using him as a pass-rush specialist only. While the Bucs have some $19 million in cap space and could afford that hit this year, they have bigger cap hits coming as they try to re-sign Mike Williams and need to save space to roll over to next season when they'll start to feel the effects of their spending spree of the past two seasons. Of course, Tampa Bay may change its approach if one of its star defensive ends suffers an injury during training camp and a player like John Abraham is available. Read more: Mike Glennon competes, or something Bucs on Twitter Revis falls way down the NFL Top 100 Buccaneers waive Moseley

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports The NFL has begun the announcement of their top 100 players of 2013, and I noted yesterday, I already disagree strongly with the ranking of Darrelle Revis. So I wanted to see if our friends in the NFC South agreed with these rankings, and we all decided to rank the NFC South separately and come up with our top players in the division. Chris Roling of our New Orleans Saints blog Who Dat Dish, and Ken Dye of Cat Crave (our Carolina Panthers site) both took the time to rank their top 13 players in the division, and I combined them with my rankings to provide to top 13 consensus rankings. Why 13? The NFC South is 1/8 of the NFL, and 13 is approximately 1/8 of 100, so this is cutting out all the other divisions and focusing the rankings on the teams in the NFC South only. Without any further introduction, here’s the list: 1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints 2. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons 3. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons 4. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons 5. Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6. Darrelle Revis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers 8. tie: Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers and Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons 10. tie: Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints 12. Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers 13. Charles Johnson, Carolina Panthers Honorable mention: William Moore, Atlanta Falcons; Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers So what are my three biggest takeaways from this list? The Falcons are an extremely top-heavy team. An injury to a key player would be devastating to the Falcons, who seem to have woven a strong core in the passing game that might be ruined with one piece missing. Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez combine to form a dangerous passing attack, but if Ryan or Jones were to miss time, it would decrease the value of the others in a major way. The Buccaneers are the only team without a quarterback on the list. That’s not surprising, but it does show the uphill battle it will be for Tampa Bay to succeed in this division. I was the lowest on Matt Ryan, as I don’t believe he is an elite NFL QB, but I agree that the three other QBs in the division are ahead of Josh Freeman at this moment. Freeman has a chance to change that in 2013… Darrelle Revis is still underrated. I have him as the second best player in the division, behind only Drew Brees, but my fellow NFC South bloggers ranked him lower than I did, dragging down his ranking. I understand that Revis is coming off an injury, and I have had my doubts about him, but every indication I have seen leads me to believe that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting the real Darrelle Revis in 2013 and beyond. The Darrelle Revis of 2011 is one of the five best players in the NFL, and might even be more important to his team than Drew Brees is. So I’m not ready to count him out just yet. So what do you think, Bucs fans? What players do you feel should be higher? Which ones should be lower? Who is missing from the list? Let us know in the comments below.

The Blueprint: Geno Smith's plan for the NFL - SBNation.comGood stuff on Geno Smith and how he's approaching his career. Eagles TE Zach Ertz sheds light on 'Taco Tuesday' flap - SBNation.comHah. WHEEL ROUTES: Taco Tuesdays, Titus Young and concussions - SBNation.comGood fun. Jets offer David Garrard coaching internship - SBNation.comCool, good for them. Donte Stallworth injury: Wide receiver cleared for football activities - SBNation.comWonder whether he'll stick somewhere. Jets' Mike Goodson arrested for drug possession, weapons charges, according to report - SBNation.comWell, that's bad. TBS orders pilot for 'Cheeseheads,' a show that finally pays attention to Packers fans - SBNation.comThat should be fun. NFL news roundup: RG3 throwing, Rob Gronkowski may need more surgery and more - SBNation.comRoundup. Rob Gronkowski injury: Patriots TE needs 4th arm surgery, per report - SBNation.comAnd he could need back surgery. FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: Lane Johnson and D.J. FlukerThe problems of slow feet and lowering your head. Longest Streaks without a 1,000-yard rusherHuh, the Bucs aren't on that list. Bruce Irvin suspended 4 games for PED violation - Field GullsWhelp.

Anyone know how long it will take to get to the Tampa airport after a game? Could we make it for a 6:45 departure from Tampa airport after a 1:00 start game? It's the San Fran game on December 15. Just wondering if anyone out there has flown out straight after a game, I know the airport is close by but with traffic and people leaving not sure if we will make it out...thx any advice is appreciated. Anyone know how long it will take to get to the Tampa airport after a game? Could we make it for a 6:45 departure from Tampa airport after a 1:00 start game? It's the San Fran game on December 15. Just wondering if anyone out there has flown out straight after a game, I know the airport is close by but with traffic and people leaving not sure if we will make it out...thx any advice is appreciated.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports The NFL Network is well underway announcing their top 100 players for 2013, a list of the best players in the NFL as judged by the players. The Buccaneers already have three players on the list, as Gerald McCoy, Dashon Goldson, and Darrelle Revis have all made the top 100 ranking. McCoy and Goldson are probably both deserving of borderline top 100 rankings… But Darrelle Revis has no business as the 67th best player in the NFL. He should be much, much higher. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports Last season, Revis ranked 5th on the list, and his injury has plummeted him down the list, as his peers obviously feel he’s unable to return to his previously dominant form. In fact, they ranked him below Earl Thomas of the Seahawks, and Chris Johnson of the Titans. So why is this so ridiculous? As Robbie pointed out on this site a while ago, Darrelle Revis is an absolutely unique corner able of dominating in a way very few players are able to dominate at their respective positions. And according to Football Outsiders, despite not being heavily targeted, Darrelle Revis has been near the top of the league at getting stops and preventing big plays for his entire career. He shuts down half of the field and completely changes defenses, something no other corner in the NFL can do. Darrelle Revis may be coming off of a major knee injury, and so there is reason to be concerned that he may not be the fifth best player in the NFL as a result. But even the most pessimistic projections should view 90% of Darrelle Revis as being a top 3 cornerback in this league (alongside Richard Sherman and Patrick Peterson), and deserving of being rated higher than Big Ben and Stephen Tulloch. Not to mention, all indications are that Darrelle Revis is progressing very well from his knee injury, well enough to have the confidence to start a Twitter war with Richard Sherman. Revis is ready to get back on the football field and prove himself, because younger players like Sherman and Peterson are threatening to overtake him as the best corner in the NFL. And despite the ridiculous amount of speculation that Revis is not a team player because of his holdouts, his Jets teammates said he was a locker room leader, and that he would be missed. In other words, there is nothing to indicate that Darrelle has not been working hard to get back to football at 100% for this season. So where do you think Darrelle Revis should rank among NFL players? Do you think his ranking in this NFL poll is fair considering his circumstances? Let us know in the comments below.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have waived linebacker Willie Moseley, per the NFL transaction wire. Moseley played alongside Bucs fifth-round pick Steven Means at Buffalo as a pass-rushing outside linebacker, while Means mostly lined up as a 3-4 defensive end in his final season. Moseley was competing for a linebacker spot, but has apparently failed to impress during rookie workouts so far. No new player was listed for the Buccaneers, who now have a roster spot to fill on their 90-man roster. OTAs start on Monday, so we'll likely see the new player then. According to Jenna Laine, the Buccaneers are rumored to be interested in linebacker Dom Decicco, who was released by the Chicago Bears five days ago. Decicco played for new Buccaneers special teams coordinator in college at Pittsburgh and went undrafted in 2011. He has played 20 NFL games as a special teamer only. But his signing is little more than a rumor at this point. Read more: Glennon competes, or something Bucs on Twitter Revis falls way down the NFL Top 100 Freeman is the Bucs' starting quarterback