Buccaneers still seeking height up front

The Buccaneers have continued to seek out one specific trait more than others in offensive linemen: height. This offseason is no different as there are four rookie offensive linemen on the practice fields at One Buccaneer place 6'5" or taller, with three measuring 6'7"!

For comparison, the World Champion New York Giants have two offensive linemen listed at 6'7". The other Super Bowl team, the New England Patriots, have four offensive linemen listed at 6'7" or 6'8". The Buccaneers appear to be taking it to the next level with five players currently listed at 6'7" or higher.

Here are the measurables for the offensive linemen currently on the Tampa Bay Buccaneer offense:

Pos	Name	Ht	Wt	Yrs
C	Economos, Andrew	6'1"	250	7
C	Petrus, Moe	6'2"	302	0
C	Larsen, Ted	6'2"	305	3
G	Joseph, Davin	6'3"	313	7
G	Zuttah, Jeremy	6'4"	308	5
G	Wynn, Desmond	6'5"	295	0
G	Nicks, Carl	6'5"	343	5
T	Meredith, Jamon	6'5"	312	4
T	Penn, Donald	6'5"	305	7
T	Hardman, Derek	6'6"	300	3
T	Sowell, Bradley	6'7"	320	0
T	Hardrick, Jermarcus	6'7"	320	0
G	VanDerMeulen, Mike	6'7"	304	0
T	Trueblood, Jeremy	6'8"	320	7
T	Dotson, Demar	6'9"	315	4

Is this a new trend in the NFL? Possibly, but more likely it's a tactical maneuver. Big and heavy has been around for a while. For example, Carl Nicks is 6'5" and a whopping 340+ lbs, plenty big to stop a bull rush with good technique. But what about a speed rush? It's difficult to get in front of a guy who's legs are just as long as yours but 30 lbs lighter, and that is how defensive ends have been making a living for the past few years. Defensive ends run forward, offensive linemen backpedal; if you have to be bigger than a defensive end to stop a bull rush, how do you find an advantage against speed? The answer is genetics, specifically height. Longer legs cover more ground in the same number of steps; longer arms impede speed by forcing the defensive end to take a wider track to the quarterback.

Tampa Bay is looking for players who are heavier than most NFL Defensive Ends (to counter a bull rush) and who have long legs (to counter a speed rush). Apparently the Buccaneers are not having much trouble finding them.

2012 Summer of Change: The Departed

What an offseason, and we're still over a month away from training camps opening!

The Buccaneers have been as active this offseason as any in recent memory. There have been dozens of transactions including free agent signings, draft picks, college free agents, waiver pickups, and even street signings. Where is all this going and why? What can we determine are points of emphasis of Head Coach Greg Shiano and the new coaching staff? What can we find out about the current thoughts in the head of General Manager Mark Dominik? And finally, what can we see which shows us progress away from a repeat of last season?

Today we start with a list of who's gone. In order of occurrence:

The Departed

2012.01.02 - Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris, Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson, and the entire coaching staff are dismissed.
This included everything, all the way to strength and conditioning coaches and their staff. It was, truly, a purge of nearly everything related to regular season execution at One Buccaneer Place. All that remained was the regular season roster of players. It was a powerful statement by the executives of the organization that performances like 2011 will not be tolerated. Remember, this was shortly after watching the team cap the season by starting off down 21-0 to Atlanta after the first quarter.

2012.02.15 - Albert Haynesworth released.
While not a surprise considering the locker-room baggage which has been hung on Haynesworth since leaving the Titans, I have since heard indirectly from a couple sources Albert's time in the weight room was not exactly impressive, both from a conduct and an effort standpoint. As such, it's doubtful his on-field play would have improved next season and he has not played a 16 game season in several years. This one was probably just a matter of time, and General Manager Mark Dominik and newly hired Head Coach Greg Schiano probably figured better sooner than later applied.

2012.03.13 - Free Agency Begins.
The following players became free agents and have not been resigned by the Buccaneers:

Earnest Graham - A longtime performer in the Buccaneers' backfield, Graham has had a solid career and may show up elsewhere this fall, but now is probably a long shot to return to Tampa Bay.
Kregg Lumpkin - Lumpkin was starting to come on as a third down back after coming to Tampa Bay from the Packers via the waiver wire a couple seasons ago. This season's draft, however, may mean the team does not require his services at this time. Certainly young enough to get a chance somewhere else this fall.
Geno Hayes - Hayes was picked up by the Chicago Bears on a one-year contract on April 19th. We'll dive deeper here another day.
Sean Jones, Corey Lynch, Elbert Mack - There has been big change in the defensive backfield this offseason. This is a big pile of experience to lose. More on this upcoming.
Micheal Spurlock - Spurlock was the veteran of the receivers group last season and was a solid return man. But the amount of youth behind him means he'll probably have to look for work elsewhere.
James Lee - The big offensive tackle made the starting lineup during the injury plagued 2010 campaign but could not hold on. We'll dive deeper here another day as well.
Josh Johnson - When the NFL and Players Union decided to remove the "third QB" rule in the new CBA, Johnson's value skyrocketed to the rest of the NFL. He's been a solid backup, and now he'll get to compete in San Francisco for his college coach Jim Harbaugh.
Jovan Haye - Haye left Tampa Bay for the Titans a few years ago. His return was mostly as a known commodity to fill injury holes. He may get a chance to get into training camp if recently signed vets along the defensive line do not work out. I would not count on it.

2012.03.14 - Jeff Faine released.
While this looked to be due to the signing of free agent G Carl Nick as far as timing, this is probably more about just plain old time. Faine has been outstanding for a long, long time. He has had a couple serious injuries the past two years plus the Buccaneers have been grooming Jeremy Zuttah for a while. This is probably the natural NFL process of where two players cross. In one aspect, it's good when the pipeline works. In another aspect, there is no way to know the value of Faine until the first game of the regular season (which is commonly known as "risk") and it will be an important position to watch all preseason.

2012.03.22 - Tim Crowder, Nick Reed released.
Crowder, a DE pulled from the Broncos waiver wire in 2009, was part of the early rebuilding of the DE squad by GM Mark Dominik. He played in 40 of 47 games for Tampa Bay (including 13 starts) and scored three or more sacks in 2009 and 2012. Only a fifth year player, Crowder may find it rough to return to the youthful Buccaneers squad. DE Reed signed in December as injury insurance; since being release he has signed with Minnesota.

2012.04.04 - Rudy Carpenter released.
Carpenter was the #3 guy on a team which is no longer planning on keeping three quarterbacks on the roster. The young undrafted college free agent (2009) showed occasional promise in very limited play but is not likely to return to Tampa Bay.

2012.04.10 - Tanard Jackson released.
This is the third safety released (see 2012.03.13 above) this offseason. With the youth on this team, his inability to stay out of the Commissioners office, and draft picks spent at the safety position the past two drafts, Jackson was facing an uphill battle.

2012.05.04 - John McCargo and Raymond Webber released.
DT John McCargo had a bizzarre Tampa Bay experience. The day after he signed (11/8) as a replacement for the injured Gerald McCoy he was cut to create a roster spot for Albert Haynesworth. The following week, McCargo was signed again after DE George Johnson was placed on IR. Around a month later, McCargo himself went on IR. It's worth noting he played in all four games he was on the roster but as a sixth year player he probably did not have a roster spot with all the youth Tampa Bay has playing in the defensive interior. McCargo has since signed with the Chicago Bears.
WR Raymond Webber was an undrafted college free agent last summer but spent the year on the disabled list after an injury in camp. He led the NCAA in receiving yardage his senior year at Arkansas -Pine Bluff.

2012.05.21 - Kellen Winslow traded to Seattle.
This could be the most unexpected event of the summer (so far).  Since signing one of the most lucrative Tight End contracts in NFL History, Winslow has been a favorite target of young QB Josh Freeman.  He gained over 725 yards per season and caught more than 65 passes each year.  Now he's gone, and in his place is a different veteran, Dallas Clark, the longtime target of Peyton Manning.  Former Head Coach Raheem Morris treated Winslow very differently from the rest of the team; could it be new Head Coach Greg Schiano was not willing to soft shoe with Winslow?  Regardless of the reason, this is another strong Schiano fingerprint on the roster.

The rookie mini camp on May 7th generated a large number of signings, leading into more typical offseason roster churn.  As the mini camp and OTAs start to show the coaches what they have and what they are missing there will continue to be a rotation of players in and out of One Buccaneer Place. Those are stories for another day. The players listed above represent a remarkable amount of talent and production for a team to release (mostly) prior to draft day.

How much change has occurred?  Today, exactly half the offseason roster of 90 players were not with the team last season.

It is going to be a very different looking Buccaneers team this fall.

Avoiding a repeat of 2011 may depend on Coach Sullivan

Acknowledgement: This article inspired by the passion of #bucnation, particularly a conversation with @BillBeck27. Join us on Twitter!

Coming off a 10-6 season in 2010 where the team nearly made the playoffs, no Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan was ready for the disappointment of the 4-12 season in 2011. A 4-2 start to the season seemed very promising -- then nothing went right the rest of the season. How could this happen? How can a team compete with the best of the best in 2010, but look so lost the next season with a large number of the same players in place with an additional year of experience?

For football stats geeks, you go to the numbers. And I've been raking through the past two years until I actually started dreaming about them (then I took a break -- no need to go insane). Finally, I think I have a decent grip on the problem. And I feel very good about how it's being addressed.

In short, I think this is still a team with double-digit win talent. I believe in 2011 the problem was not the players, it was the game plan, and those responsible have already been replaced.

It is said that pictures are worth 1,000 words, and I agree. But for number hackers, a table is evenbetter. Here are what I believe to be the key numbers regarding the Tampa Bay 2011 season:

2011 (4-12)
Opponent	Run Plays	Pass Plays	Total Plays	Run %	Pass %	Result
Detroit	16	46	62	25.8%	74.2%	L
Minnesota	19	31	50	38.0%	62.0%	W
Atlanta	36	32	68	52.9%	47.1%	W
Indianapolis	36	39	75	48.0%	52.0%	W
San Francisco	23	33	56	41.1%	58.9%	L
New Orleans	25	41	66	37.9%	62.1%	W
Chicago	11	52	63	17.5%	82.5%	L
New Orleans	20	37	57	35.1%	64.9%	L
Houston	18	35	53	34.0%	66.0%	L
Green Bay	20	38	58	34.5%	65.5%	L
Tennessee	25	33	58	43.1%	56.9%	L
Carolina	27	27	54	50.0%	50.0%	L
Jacksonville	24	32	56	42.9%	57.1%	L
Dallas	13	27	40	32.5%	67.5%	L
Carolina	19	38	57	33.3%	66.7%	L
Atlanta	14	45	59	23.7%	76.3%	L
Season Avg:	21.6	36.6	58.3	37.1%	62.9%

The red marks are not losses. Those are the games where the Buccaneers passed on 55% or more of their offensive plays. Look at all that red, and remember this was a 4-12 season.

Now the same information for the 2010 season:

2010 (10-6)
Opponent	Run Plays	Pass Plays	Total Plays	Run %	Pass %	Result
Cleveland	30	28	58	51.7%	48.3%	W
Carolina	34	25	59	57.6%	42.4%	W
Pittsburgh	21	31	52	40.4%	59.6%	L
Cincinnati	22	33	55	40.0%	60.0%	W
New Orleans	18	43	61	29.5%	70.5%	L
Saint Louis	21	40	61	34.4%	65.6%	W
Arizona	30	25	55	54.5%	45.5%	W
Atlanta	27	22	49	55.1%	44.9%	L
Carolina	30	24	54	55.6%	44.4%	W
San Francisco	42	22	64	65.6%	34.4%	W
Baltimore	23	37	60	38.3%	61.7%	L
Atlanta	29	39	68	42.6%	57.4%	L
Washington	26	25	51	51.0%	49.0%	W
Detroit	28	32	60	46.7%	53.3%	L
Seattle	26	26	52	50.0%	50.0%	W
New Orleans	24	26	50	48.0%	52.0%	W
Season Avg:	26.9	29.9	56.8	47.4%	52.6%

And hopefully you can see where I'm going here. Over the past two seasons, when the Buccaneers pass the ball more than 55% of their offensive plays, they are a miserable 4-15. However, when the Buccaneers pass the ball less than 55% of their offensive plays, they are an amazing 10-3. Said another way: when the Buccaneers play balanced offense or emphasize the running game, they win much more often than they lose. Period.

When General Manager Mark Dominik and then Head Coach Raheem Morris were introduced as the new leadership team in 2009, they talked about the kind of team they were looking to create. They stated they would be building a physical, powerful, team emphasizing defense and the running game. In 2009, the roster was retooled in many ways. In 2010, the plan started to show itself, with the Buccaneers finishing in the top 10 in the NFL in two significant statistics: rushing yards per game and defensive points allowed.

Then the 2011 season came along and the Buccaneers went pass happy. In my opinion, then OC Greg Olson returned to his Saint Louis mindset and the offensive approach of former head coach John Gruden, which somewhat resembles a West Coast offense but with some "Gruden original" formations (the bunch formation and others). In other words, he believed he had a group which would flourish in such a system. But he was wrong: it worked for six games, then the NFL adjusted to it, and from then on it did not work. Head Coach Raheem Morris did not step in and put the team back on track with the formula which worked in 2010. And things seemed to accelerate in the wrong direction as the season went on, with quarterback Josh Freeman regressing in his development.

I have met Coach Morris in person, and I like that guy an awful lot. I have a lot of respect for a person who can take one of the youngest rosters in the NFL and go 10-6 in his second year as head coach. I believe he should get a fair share of the credit for the 2010 season. But, unfortunately, he gets the lions share of the blame for 2011 for not making the corrections I would expect a head coach to make. I believe that is the reason why, after the season was over, he and his entire staff had to be released.

The release of the coaching staff after last season is why I believe the Buccaneers will get back on track in 2012. Not only is new Offensive Coordinator Mike Sullivan coming from a team with an offense which has demonstrated good balance and effectively runs the ball, so does new Head Coach Greg Schiano. Also, the front office has provided Coach Sullivan a run-game guru in Jimmy Raye to help develop the punishing ground game the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are built for. This could be the single key factor in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers success next season.

In 2010, with a ball control offense, the Buccaneers Defense finished in the Top 10 in the NFL for least points allowed. I believe the defense can be improved this offseason. But I do not believe it is broken.

I have confidence the correct moves have been made in response to the disappointing season which was 2011. I have great hope that the 2012 NFL season will have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back on the right track. How quickly the team can mentally shake the collapse of 2011 off their shoulders and move on will be something to watch closely as the season unfolds.

Will the Buccaneers return to the NFL playoffs next season? Many factors are in play, but if they utilize their offense in line with the vision with which it was assembled they could find themselves in another playoff hunt in 2012.

 

Buccaneers wrap up TE position before draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to have the Tight End position wrapped up for the next few seasons.

With the signing of Chase Coffman late last month, Tampa Bay now has a squad of five tight ends already set for the 2012 training camp. Depending on how new Head Coach Greg Schiano wants the offense to run, up to four of these men could be on the roster when the regular season starts.  What Tampa Bay needs is someone to emerge behind Kellen Winslow as the next-in-line when Winslow (entering his 9th season) decides to hang it up.  Tampa Bay also needs quality depth at this position, plus the opportunities provided by two tight end sets.

Kellen Winslow (6'4", 240 lbs)
- drafted by Cleveland in Round 1 (#6 overall) in 2003 from Miami
- acquired via free agency from Cleveland

Chase Coffman (6'6", 250 lbs)
- drafted by Cincinnati in Round 3 (#98 overall) in 2007 from Missouri
- acquired via free agency from Cincinnati

Luke Stocker (6'5", 253 lbs)
- drafted by Tampa Bay in Round 4 (#104 overall) in 2011 from Tennessee

Collin Franklin (6'6", 256 lbs)
- undrafted from Iowa State in 2011
- acquired via waiver (Jets) on August 8th, 2011

Zack Pianalto (6'4", 250 lbs)
- undrafted from North Carolina) in 2011
- acquired via waiver (Buffalo) on September 5th, 2011

Coffman and Stocker, strictly by the fact they were drafted players, will be expected to lead the competition this offseason.  Stocker not only gets the benefit of being at One Buccaneer Place since getting drafted last year, he appeared in 14 games (starting 9) and gathering 12 receptions for 92 yards.  Coffman, once expected to be the long term answer for the Bengals, arrives with a grand total of 3 career catches for 30 yards since being drafted in 2007.

Franklin was released after training camp last season.  A week later, Pianalto was claimed from waivers and was on the active roster throughout 2011, appearing in 13 games and snaring 4 passes for 40 yards.

With this set of players, the Buccaneers can ignore this position during the 2012 NFL Draft and let the competition play out.  Having these men in the fold already provides additional flexibility to seek the best players available when the Buccaneers are on the clock.

Is Butch Davis The Turk for Tampa Bay?

There is one thing and one thing only at the top of the list of Bad Things in the minds of all Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans about the 2011 season:  the team played worse going down the stretch.  This is completely unacceptable for paying fans watching professional football players.

There is no doubt the downward spiral played a large choice in the firing . . . no, housecleaning . . . of the coaching staff at the end of last year.

I do not expect the changes to end there; Albert Haynesworth is the first to go (consider the timing, before any Organized Team Activity sessions).

Which brings me to thoughts I had watching the Butch Davis press conference last week.  Butch Davis was brought in to assist new Head Coach Greg Schiano as he gets his program installed.  But I think there is another possible role for Davis to play this offseason.

Put yourself in the General Manager's chair: your team softened down the stretch, clearly not responding to your coaching staff anymore.  Perhaps you have that sick feeling in your gut some players actually gave up on the team, the season, and the fans.  And you have the youngest roster in the NFL, so you don't want this to become a part of the fabric of the team.  You clean out the coaching staff because you see the relationship has gone toxic.  So you're sitting at One Buccaneer place with a solid young coach and some experienced position coaches making the transition to coordinators.

But there is still that sick feeling in your gut.  You've got to cut the rot from the roster after it stunk up the State of Florida last season.

You and your rookie coach can go through the film.  You can be pretty sure you know who needs to go.  But you want to be sure, absolutely sure.  And you want your new coach to have the respect of the players so there better be reasons the veterans on the team understand.

Enter experienced NFL coach Butch Davis. Davis spoke at his introductory press conference about his extensive experience in talent evaluation.  Remember, Davis has a couple rings from time with the Dallas Cowboys as coordinator under Jimmy Johnson, so this is a guy who knows what championship players are all about. You want a rubber stamp on who did and who did not give up last season?  Roll tape with your Pro Personnel Director Shelton Quarles, your new Head Coach, your new coordinators, and Butch Davis.  Now you have a room which can give you a bright light on the harsh decisions needed.

Make no mistake, Dominik will find many ways to make it perfectly clear to his team that last season was unacceptable.  He has to, and there is no doubt he knew it before the season ended.  Coach Schiano has already talked about T.B.A. (Trust, Belief, Accountability) and his plans to instill these core beliefs in the roster (press conference, 3:30 in).  Any player which "gave up" last season does not and will not fit this mold.  Those players have to go.

Butch Davis will help find them.

Possible free agent CB targets for Buccaneers

Why wait until the draft?

The first major milestone of the offseason will be when teams declare if they will use their franchise tag on February 20th.  Many of the top free agent players will be unable to negotiate with other teams because they will receive the franchise tag.

The top identified need for the Buccaneers this offseason (both by myself and within One Buccaneer Place) is cornerback.  There is a long list of potential free agent corners, but if we follow the philosophy of Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik, we are looking for a young player to grow with the rest of the youth on the Tampa Bay Roster.  I limited myself to the Top 20 available corners and ignored any player more than 27 years old.  This created a list of 8 prospects which I would consider the highest value targets fot the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A solid, young corner is a valuable prospect in the NFL, so don't expect the current teams of these players to just let them walk.  In fact, the franchise tag could eliminate any of them.  What are the chances of one of them being franchised?  It depends on the other free agents on their team.

To analyse this I have listed each of the eight potential candidates and the other free agents (unrestricted unless noted by RFA) on their teams.  If these teams can't reach agreements with certain free agents they may use a franchise tag to avoid losing a solid performer. Each team gets one franchise tag, so will they use it on these young corners?  Let's check it out from youngest to oldest.

CB Lardarius Webb, Age 25, Ravens
Other free agents for the Ravens include RB Ray Rice, G Ben Grubbs, C Scott Birks, C Andre Gurode, DE Cory Redding, OLB Jarret Johnson, and ILB Jameel McClain.  Certainly Rice is worth a franchise tag.  Birks and Gurode are also starters up front.
   
CB Brandon Carr, Age 26, Chiefs
Other Chiefs free agents include QB Kyle Orton, RB Jackie Battle, RB Thomas Jones, RB LeRon McClain, WR Dwayne Bowe, TE Leonard Pope, and C Casey Wiegmann.  Bowe is the likely franchise tag recipient here unless the Chiefs can get an agreement in place.
   
CB Tracy Porter, Age 26, Saints
Other free agents for New Orleans include QB Drew Brees, QB Chase Daniel (RFA), WR Marques Colston, WR Robert Meacham, and G Carl Nicks.  Not only do the Saints have a lot of talented free agents this offseason, the Buccaneers can damage a division foe if they snare Porter.

CB William Middleton, Age 26, Jaguars
Free agents on the Jaguars this offseason include TE Zach Potter, DE Jeremy Mincey, OLB Matt Roth,     OLB Russell Allen (RFA), and FS Dwight Lowery.  The Jaguars had a rough season and are a team undergoing a serious rebuilding.  Keeping young talent is rule #1 for them this offseason, so it would not surprise me if Middleton gets the franchise tag.
   
CB Richard Marshall, Age 27, Cardinals
The Cardinals also have free agents OT Brandon Keith and DE Calais Campbell.  Campbell is widely considered to be the top DE prospect among the 2012 free agent crop.  If the Cardinals can get him under contact, Marshall is likely to get the franchise tag.
   
CB Terrell Thomas, Age 27, Giants
Other Giants free agents include WR Mario Manningham, OT Kareem McKenzie, G Stacy Andrews, ILB Chase Blackburn, and S Deon Grant.  As good as Manningham is, the Giants have a great defense in place and may use their franchise tag to hold onto the youngster Thomas.

CB William Gay, Age 27, Steelers
Steelers free agents include QB Dennis Dixon, QB Charlie Batch, QB Byron Leftwich, RB Mewelde Moore, WR Mike Wallace (RFA), WR Jerricho Cotchery, OT Max Starks, and G Ramon Foster (RFA).  The Steelers have significant cap issues to deal with before next year; they may not even use their franchise tag to avoid the costs which go with it.
   
CB Corey Graham, Age 27, Bears
Free agents on the Bears this offseason include QB Josh McCown, RB Matt Forte, RB Kahlil Bell, TE Kellen Davis, DE Israel Idonije, and DT Amobi Okoye.  Forte is a franchise candidate here; after that it could be Graham.

Looking at these lists, it appears the players the Buccaneers will most likely get a shot to bid for are Webb, Carr, Porter, and Gay.  Any of these young players would be a fantastic addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive backfield.

Is Haynesworth done?

By the time Week 9 of the 2011 NFL season was in the books (a Tampa Bay loss at New Orleans), the Buccaneers were up against an interior defense thinned by the loss of DT Gerald McCoy.  General Manager Mark Dominik elected to claim from waivers a player he had been seeking since ascending to the top spot in 2009: Albert Haynesworth.  In fact, Dominik outbid the team Haynesworth signed with that year but the All-Pro defensive tackle went elsewhere.  By Week 9 of 2011, Haynesworth was back on the waiver wire after disappointing stints in Washington and New England.  This time, Dominik was alone in the quest for Haynesworth and brought him to Tampa Bay.  Now Dominik has to decide if he wants to keep Albert Haynesworth on his roster.

Upon arriving, Tampa Bay immediately gave Haynesworth his first start since the 2009 season.  Of the remaining eight games in 2011, Haynesworth played in seven and started six, recording 18 tackles and 2 assists (no sacks) which surpassed his output with the Redskins in 2010 and with the Patriots for the first half of 2011 combined. He did miss the week 16 game completely and did not start for the final game of the season.  From an output perspective, Haynesworth appeared to step up for Dominik and Tampa Bay.  A odd tidbit to consider: after the waiver wire Tampa Bay did not win a game with Haynesworth, while the Patriots did not lose a game without Haynesworth.

One drawback to signing Haynesworth up for additional service is the number of draft picks the Buccaneers have used on the defensive interior recently (three since 2009). All three have been productive players, along with free agent pickups John McCargo and Frank Okam:

	Total	Solo	Asst	Sacks	2011 Games
Roy Miller	36	20	16	0	16
Brian Price	24	20	4	3	15
Albert Haynesworth	20	18	2	0	7
Frank Okam	16	15	1	0	9
Gerald McCoy	11	10	1	1	6
John McCargo	5	3	2	0	4

This brings us to the first Big IF for resigning Haynesworth:  IF his production over the seven games he played in can be sustained over a 16 game season, he would record around 45 tackles, which would make him one of the 10 most productive Defensive Tackles in the NFL (based on league-wide stats for 2011). On the other hand, Tampa Bay is in the middle of rebuilding their team from the ground up, so every snap taken by Haynesworth is a snap lost by one of the young players.  Should Tampa Bay keep Haynesworth and bring the youngsters along more slowly?  Or is it likely that Haynesworth, having spent 10 seasons in the middle of trenches, cannot be highly productive over a 16 game season?

The second Big IF is Haynesworth's cost to the team.  The league minimum for a player with 10+ years experience in 2012 is $925,000.  That's not much more than the $700K or so the Buccaneers paid for half a year's service this year.  Would Haynesworth be willing to go year-to-year?  If not, how long?  And what price would he demand? And what expense to the salary cap can the team afford, with Josh Freeman, Roy Miller, and others coming up for contract renewal next year?

These are the decisions which try the soul of the NFL GM, and Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik has a lot to consider, particularly with a new coaching staff.

In the end, I do not see a roster spot available this fall for Haynesworth.  He could surprise everyone and show up to OTAs 30-40 pounds slimmer and agree to play for reasonable to discounted price but I doubt it.  A man with his career can leave the game with his head high, and I suspect that's just what Albert Haynesworth will do.

The Senior Bowl Is Not A Deadline

The next big front office milestone for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is rapidly approaching.

The senior bowl is an important chance for front office personnel to get their first good look at the talent which will be available in the 2012 NFL draft. It is also a place teeming with NFL coaching talent, and a great place for a new head coach to round out their staff.

Tampa Bay is running short on time to have a coach in place for this off-season milestone. But is it critical to wrap up the search for a head coach by then?

General manager Mark Dominik has come up on a bit of a fork in the road: you can either spend the Senior bowl week observing young talent to use on his upcoming fifth pick in the NFL draft, or he can spend a week interviewing a long line of possible coordinators and assistant coaches with his new head coach.

It is no secret that Dominik believes that building through the draft is the correct way to get Tampa Bay to the Super Bowl. So I suspect this deadline is artificial to the Bucs coaching search. If all the potential candidates have been interviewed and the right decision can be made before the senior bowl, that makes sense. However, if there are candidates on the remaining 4 NFL teams still playing in the playoffs or if the list is simply too long to get through before the Senior bowl week, it may make sense for Dominik to just go ahead and proceed as normal for the next week or so. The coaching search can resume after the senior bowl.

 So while some may think that the deadline is important, the countdown timer on the Senior Bowl homepage is not nearly as important as continuing to add talant to a roster where 7th round draft picks have been able to reach the 53 man roster each of the last 3 years.