Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I'm curious to hear from other Buc Fans what position do you find as a weakness and how you plan on solving this problem. Now from your perspective you make say there are multiple problems ( which is fine ), but more specifically I want you to choose one free agent that you think would help this team improve. Defense Line The defense line still has huge question mark regarding each player (Yes each player)! Lets start off with Clayborn who had an a pretty solid rookie season with 7 sacks but unfortunately he got hurt early in the season of 2012. Coming off a torn ligament we won't know how this will affect his play in 2013. Next up is Akeem Spence/Gibson/Landri or whoever will be playing the nose tilt position. Can they play up too Roy Millers capabilities or better? I don't know but that leaves another question mark. Gerald Mccoy is an outstanding player who was finally able to play a full season but that leaves him currently 1 for 3 in seasons playing. It will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy once again! Lastly, Da'quan Bowers who suffered a torn achilles last year and has yet to play a full season since entering the league. Not only do we trust him playing this year but he will become a starting defense end and will be playing a large amount of the snaps. Yes we received some late round draft picks that are supposed to help out with the pass rush but that is just going to lead to more question marks regarding the defensive line. Defense End Personally I feel that Israel Idonije will be the best fit into the Tampa Bay scheme. He comes from a dominating defense Chicago Bears, which he will bring great veteran leadership along the defensive line. Yes he is currently 32 but he still produced 7.5 sacks last year. Hes great against the run, would be a good weapon as a third down pass rusher, and bringing great depth/competition along the line. I am not big on the media attention that Tampa gets but I guarantee so many more heads would turn around at Tampa if a move such as this would be made. Israel Idonije is my free agent pick up, who is yours? I'm curious to hear from other Buc Fans what position do you find as a weakness and how you plan on solving this problem. Now from your perspective you make say there are multiple problems ( which is fine ), but more specifically I want you to choose one free agent that you think would help this team improve. Defense Line The defense line still has huge question mark regarding each player (Yes each player)! Lets start off with Clayborn who had an a pretty solid rookie season with 7 sacks but unfortunately he got hurt early in the season of 2012. Coming off a torn ligament we won't know how this will affect his play in 2013. Next up is Akeem Spence/Gibson/Landri or whoever will be playing the nose tilt position. Can they play up too Roy Millers capabilities or better? I don't know but that leaves another question mark. Gerald Mccoy is an outstanding player who was finally able to play a full season but that leaves him currently 1 for 3 in seasons playing. It will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy once again! Lastly, Da'quan Bowers who suffered a torn achilles last year and has yet to play a full season since entering the league. Not only do we trust him playing this year but he will become a starting defense end and will be playing a large amount of the snaps. Yes we received some late round draft picks that are supposed to help out with the pass rush but that is just going to lead to more question marks regarding the defensive line. Defense End Personally I feel that Israel Idonije will be the best fit into the Tampa Bay scheme. He comes from a dominating defense Chicago Bears, which he will bring great veteran leadership along the defensive line. Yes he is currently 32 but he still produced 7.5 sacks last year. Hes great against the run, would be a good weapon as a third down pass r

Special Teams Coordinator Dave Wannstedt talks about his reasons for joining Greg Schiano's staff and taking on yet another challenge in his long and impressive coaching career.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were inconsistent last season, and part of that seemed to be caused by adjusting to a new offense. A complicated offense, that relies heavily on route adjustments during the play. This means receiver and quarterback both must see exactly the same thing, and it seemed like too often last season there were instances of miscommunication and hesitance. And now, Mike WIlliams confirms that to the Tampa Tribune. "We know when to break off routes and what zone to read. It's a knowing instead of reacting to something. Josh Freeman's got this offense down pat. The big problem last year was we couldn't get on the same page, knowing when to break our routes off." Here's the problem with this strategy: it is hard to learn. And anything that is hard to learn is hard to internalize -- which makes it hard to play fast. Simplicity can be a coach's best friend. In fact, that was what the vaunted Tampa 2 defense was based on. It was a simple defense, one that was easy to teach and easy to play in. The consequence Many college offenses work on the same principle. There are a lot of intricacies in many different offenses -- but playcalls are simple, and plays are not overly diverse. It's how Chip Kelly can communicate his plays to his players using nothing but a few pictures on a piece of cardboard. The Bucs, though, want to beat opponents through complicated schemes. Blitzes and route adjustments are symptoms of this obsession. And when it works, it can work beautifully. The New England Patriots and the New York Giants both rely on in-route adjustments, and it has given them prolific offenses. Meanwhile, teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets have run complicated defensive schemes with great success. The problem is that it can take players a long time to internalize these schemes, to play fast and to play correctly. We saw plenty of evidence of that last year, with a defense that suffered many breakdowns in coverage and an offense that was inconsistent, with many instances of miscommunication. This year, those players have a second year in the system. That should make them better -- but it may continue to be a problem. That depends on how effective the coaches are at teaching their system, and adjusting it to what the players can do. Last year seemed to be a failure in both of those aspects. So, what about year two? Read more: Revis paid $50,000 for no. 24 Is Freeman's 2012 season overrated? Grade the offseason Training camp preview: defensive ends

The Buccaneers signed seventh-year CB Michael Adams on Wednesday and released rookie G Jeremy Lewis, marking the second player they have added following a two-day tryout during last week's mini-camp

Familiarity breeds confidence for Bucs | TBO.comGood. Buccaneers donate Sapp items for Hall of Fame display | TBO.comHurray. Pre Snap Read’s Tier 1 Cornerback Rankings/Roundup | Pre Snap ReadsGood stuff on cornerbacks here. Picking the best of the NFL's third-stringers. | SportsonEarth.com : Mike Tanier ArticleAll third-string team? Okay then. Where the running back battles stand: NFC - NFL.comThere's no battle to be the starter in Tampa, at least. Mike Lombardi Cracks the Code to Winning in the NFLHahahahaha. Aaron Hernandez questioned by police investigating possible homicide - SBNation.comErrr....this seems bad. Which NFL veterans could be surprise training camp causalities? - SBNation.comA lot of them. NFL news roundup: Steve Gleason responds to radio hosts, Stankonia Dome approved - SBNation.comRoundup. NFL Debrief: The end of football? - SBNation.comQuick thoughts. Uffsides: Hines Ward on playing dirty, Super Bowls, and training for the Ironman triathlon - SBNation.comHines Ward speaks. Kenny Britt, Derrick Morgan shine in Titans minicamp - SBNation.comOh. 2013 NFL Rookie Symposium to feature speakers on sexual orientation - SBNation.comHeh. The Stankonia Dome is happening: Atlanta Falcons approve new stadium concept - SBNation.comThis thing looks insane. Dan on Fire: Tim Tebow replacing Bill Belichick as Patriots coach - SBNation.comTroll Tuesday. SB Nation NFL Huddle: Desmond Bishop is free, Von Miller speaks and more - SBNation.comMore links. NFC South Roundup, Offseason Break Edition | Buccaneers.comRivals.

Hey Bucs Nation! While we wait for the season to being I've got a question for you guys: what will next year's trap game be? I feel every year the Bucs always beat a team they shouldn't have and / or lose against a team they shouldn't have. Each team will be judged by their record from the previous year compared to the Bucs record (7-9). To make things easier I took away division rivals so you can't pick the Saints, Falcons, or Panthers. For the purposes of this topic Miami and the teams we lost to last year but still ended with a worse record than the Bucs are in the losing team category. So who do you think it'll be? Which Team With A Winning Record Will We Upset? @NE (12-4) SF (11-4-1) @SEA (11-5) @STL (7-8-1) Which Team With A Losing Record Will We Be Upset By? MIA (7-9) @NYJ (6-10) BUF (6-10) ARI (5-11) DET (4-12) PHI (4-12) For the losing record team, I feel like Arizona will be the team. Their defense is underrated with them finishing fifth in passing yards allowed (though they did suck against the run) and with the addition of Palmer, Fitzgerald has someone who knows how to throw the ball. Though Palmer is on the downward slope of his career, he still put up over 4000 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. I'm sure Revis will be all over Fitzgerald but I can see this being the one we let slip away. For the winning record team, the easy answer is St Louis. It's hard to win in Seattle plus I don't like East Coast teams traveling to play on the West Coast. Though on paper, the pass defense is much improved I don't think we can stop Brady and Belichick in New England. San Francisco at home? We would need a lot of things to go our away with their dominant defense and one of last year's phenom in Colin Kaepernick. I would add a poll but it would have to be two polls and I don't think this page allows that. Hey Bucs Nation! While we wait for the season to being I've got a question for you guys: what will next year's trap game be? I feel every year the Bucs always beat a team they shouldn't have and / or lose against a team they shouldn't have. Each team will be judged by their record from the previous year compared to the Bucs record (7-9). To make things easier I took away division rivals so you can't pick the Saints, Falcons, or Panthers. For the purposes of this topic Miami and the teams we lost to last year but still ended with a worse record than the Bucs are in the losing team category. So who do you think it'll be? Which Team With A Winning Record Will We Upset? @NE (12-4) SF (11-4-1) @SEA (11-5) @STL (7-8-1) Which Team With A Losing Record Will We Be Upset By? MIA (7-9) @NYJ (6-10) BUF (6-10) ARI (5-11) DET (4-12) PHI (4-12) For the losing record team, I feel like Arizona will be the team. Their defense is underrated with them finishing fifth in passing yards allowed (though they did suck against the run) and with the addition of Palmer, Fitzgerald has someone who knows how to throw the ball. Though Palmer is on the downward slope of his career, he still put up over 4000 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. I'm sure Revis will be all over Fitzgerald but I can see this being the one we let slip away. For the winning record team, the easy answer is St Louis. It's hard to win in Seattle plus I don't like East Coast teams traveling to play on the West Coast. Though on paper, the pass defense is much improved I don't think we can stop Brady and Belichick in New England. San Francisco at home? We would need a lot of things to go our away with their dominant defense and one of last year's phenom in Colin Kaepernick. I would add a poll but it would have to be two polls and I don't think this page allows that.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports The offseason is a long, boring time with no football to watch. So to help pass the time, and to get a bit of insight as to the successes and failures of the 2012 Buccaneers, I broke down film of every Josh Freeman touchdown and interception in 2012. But I didn’t stop there. I took the time to watch all twelve of Doug Martin’s scores, as well, and I have the breakdown for you here. Have an idea for another feature like this that you’d like to see? Leave a note in the comments. Let’s start with Dough Martin’s first NFL touchdown… Touchdown 1, Week Two versus the New York Giants Martin’s first score was a great look into what made him such a dynamic runner in his first NFL season. The Buccaneers came out lined up in an obvious run formation, with a heavy focus on blocking to the right, with tight ends and the fullback shaded to that side. The play was intended to be run off the right guard, closer to the middle of the defense, but the Giants got a great push and prevented a running lane from opening. But Martin was not going to settle for a short loss or a play of no gain, and spun away from the collapsing middle of the Buccaneer offensive line, and found himself in open space, as the Giants failed to keep contain on the short side of the field, where the Buccaneers had much less blocking. Martin always seemed to fight for more yards, regardless of the situation, and in this situation it paid off with six points from six yards out. Touchdown 2, Week Seven versus the New Orleans Saints This score was just a bit longer than the last one. The Buccaneers came out in a fairly basic formation, with blockers loaded to the left side of the offense. The call was a delayed handoff, something the Buccaneers went with often in 2012. The delay on the handoff gave the line plenty of time to open up a lane for Martin to run through, and he did just that, bursting through a gap in the defense and getting to the second level. He had to shrug off the attempted tackle of a defensive back, and then was off to the races, and there was no on who could catch him. The play was made possible by a pair of blocks from Erik Lorig and Carl Nicks, who blocked the right and left side of the running lane respectively to allow Martin a path to gain speed and momentum. Touchdown 3, Week 8 versus the Minnesota Vikings In the game that most view as Martin’s breakout performance, the Bucs’ rookie runner got on the scoreboard with a long screen pass that showed his ability to quickly make decisions and shed attempted tackles. Carl Nicks got out ahead of Doug and paved the way, allowing Martin a chance to get up to speed. Martin then had to deflect a tackle attempt from Chad Greenway, and got to the next level of the defense. Here he was aided by a Jeremy Zuttah block, which he used well and slipped past more tacklers on his way to daylight. The long screen pass was proof of the versatility of the Boise State rookie. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Touchdown 4, Week 8 versus the Minnesota Vikings This one was a bit easier for Martin, but was further proof of his versatility. The Buccaneers lined up in a jumbo formation, stacked to the left. The play is a run off of the left guard, and Martin has some space to plunge ahead. He winds up hitting the back of Vikings’ defensive end Jared Allen, and churns his legs and gets enough forward momentum to break the plane of the goal line. Touchdown 5, Week 9 versus the Oakland Raiders If the week before was Martin’s breakout performance, this week was his career defining moment. The first of Martin’s four scores came from 46 yards out, on a delayed handoff. The offensive line had set up a cutback lane from right to left, and Martin used the delay on the handoff to diagnose the running lane. The center and left guard had sealed off their defenders to the right, meaning that Martin could cut be

The Pewter and Read has more Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ news and opinions for you. Ready for another edition? Here we go… We’ll start with a couple of articles that come across as a bit negative about the Buccaneers. The first comes courtesy of NFL Spin Zone, a sister site to The Pewter Plank that covers the NFL in general. They did a “very early” version of “In or Out” for the NFC in regards to the playoff picture, and they have the Buccaneers on the outside looking in. The main reason cited is the play of Josh Freeman, in which the author obviously does not have much faith. I think most Bucs’ fans agree with that sentiment. but there is certainly a scenario in which Josh Freeman does about as well as he did in 2012, and the Buccaneers still make the playoffs. How well they do once they reach the playoffs is the concern in that scenario. The next article is a bit more inflammatory. Bleacher Report’s Michael Schottey put together power rankings of every NFL team’s roster at the midpoint of the offseason, and ranked the Buccaneers 23rd, behind the Lions, Chargers, and Dolphins, just to name a few.  He claims that the Buccaneers should have a good team on paper, but then ranks them in the bottom 10 in the NFL. I take issue with the Buccaneers being behind the Chargers, who don’t have a position on the field where they can claim a clear advantage over the Buccaneers. I also take issue with the idea that the Lions are better, as they simply have more top-end talent with Megatron and Suh providing elite talent at their respective positions. And if Josh Freeman is the reason the Buccaneers are ranked so low, they should at least be ahead of the Ryan Tannehill led Dolphins! I feel like the Buccaneers still have a lot to prove, but I am sure no one minds being the underdog heading into 2013. Ever wonder how much a number is worth? Darrelle Revis proved it can be worth quite a bit of money. The former Jet wanted to keep his usual jersey number of 24, which was held by Mark Barron in Tampa Bay, so he reportedly paid the Alabama product $50,000 for the jersey number, according to Yahoo! Sports. Barron is not the most well paid player on the Buccaneer defense by any means, so this kind of paycheck was definitely a strong incentive to relinquish the number to the All-Pro newcomer. As for Revis, the 50k is a drop in the ocean compared to the 16 million dollars he’ll make every year in Tampa, not to mention the off-the-field revenue streams for endorsements and product lines he puts his name behind. And for some news that will hopefully turn out to be positive, new defensive backs coach Tony Oden took some time for an interview with Pewter Report, and had an interesting comment about the Bucs’ defense in 2013, especially as it pertains to his DB’s and the impact they can have on the front seven’s ability to get after the quarterback. Go check it out and get to know a bit about the thought process behind the Bucs’ new coach who gets to work with Darrelle Revis and company this season. That’s it for today. Stop back tomorrow for another batch of Bucs’ news and notes!

One of the distinguishing features of our site is the ability to write your own articles and quick thoughts in the form of FanPosts and FanShots. It's a great way to interact with everyone and get your own ideas and analysis of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out there for discussion. So, I thought I'd post a little guide with information needed to get started. Here it is! Most of the content here was cribbed from Arrowhead Pride, because their guide was quite excellent. Making an account Before we get to that, let me remind everyone about some of the basics of creating an account and posting on Bucs Nation. If you're ready to start posting, you have to create a free user account. Do that here if you haven't already. The benefits of creating an account with Bucs Nation (and subsequently SB Nation) are pretty awesome. You can: Comment, of course; Recommend and flag comments from other users; Keep track of read and unread comments on each post (This is huge, people); Post your own FanPosts and FanShots; Join other SB Nation blogs and participate there; and, Win friends and influence people. Writing your own FanPosts So you've made a few comments, now you're ready to do your first FanPost, which is essentially a place on this site where you can have your own blog and write your own posts. You can start writing a FanPost in two places. The first place is from the BucsNation.com home page. Create a free account with us first and then click the "Write FanPost" on the right side of the home page. The second place is on the FanPost hub page, which is located here. On that page, you can start writing a FanPost by clicking this link in the upper right side of the page. Got it? Good. Here are a few tips on writing good FanPosts: Make the topic interesting. Put some thought into what you're writing. We have a character minimum (300 I think) which means that you can't just throw out one line (unless it's really long). You'll be rewarded with a good stream of comments if you make the effort to proofread and fill it with good info. Do not post entire articles from other sites. A link, which is always necessary to any article mention, and a snippet of the article is the max you can do. We can get in trouble for reposting entire pieces. Always link to an article or source you mention. Like I said above. It's part etiquette and part requirement. Entertain questions from commenters and follow up on what they say. Defend your new turf with vigor but while still following our commenting guidelines. Quick version: Don't insult anyone. Utilize the formatting buttons above the text box. Use paragraphs. The quotes are for highlighting text and converting to a nice shaded background blockquote. The picture frame is for images, which are always nice. Never write a FanPost or comment in ALL CAPS or without formatting paragraphs. You may have just written a great post but if it's a huge block of text with no formatting, nobody is going to read it. Plus, ALL CAPS makes it look like you're shouting. Finally, once you're done writing a FanPost, you'll see Show Editor Help on the bottom left of the text box. Click that and up pops a great users guide that goes into much more depth than I am now. Here are a few more tips about FanPosts: Browse the FanPosts already written to see if you are covering a topic that's already been posted about. Do your best not to duplicate topics in the FanPosts. Unless you have a unique angle on the subject, join in the current conversation on another post. Try harder than "Here are 8 one liners about what I think about the Bucs" without any thought or analysis behind them. You'll generate more conversation and it will benefit everyone. How else are we supposed to kill time at work? Use the "Rec" feature which is on every front page post, FanPost and FanShot right above the begining of the comments. If you like what you're reading, hit the "Rec" button. Once that FanPost or FanShot goes over a certa