Author Archives: Scott Smith

2013 Opponents Becoming Clearer

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As we discussed a little over a week ago in the Captain’s Blog, the Buccaneers have known most of their 2013 list of opponents for quite some time.  Fourteen of the 16 games are decided well in advance by intra-division play and a rotation of AFC and NFC divisional matchups.  The final two games, however, are determined by the standings.

Things are much clearer now, with only one weekend of play left.  However, there are still a handful of possibilities depending upon h a couple of Week 17 outcomes.  Surprisingly, the Bucs game in Atlanta has little to do with it, however. Continue reading →

Pro Bowl Would Be a Thrill for Rookie Martin

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Doug Martin isn’t a Pro Bowler…yet.

There’s a good chance the Buccaneers rookie will be officially an all-star before he even starts his second NFL season.  While Martin was not one of the three running backs named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad on Wednesday, he was identified as the first alternate behind a trio of established veterans – Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch and Frank Gore.  Should any one of those three (or more than one) be unavailable on pro Bowl weekend, either due to health concerns or their teams still being alive in the playoffs, Martin would be the first back to get the call to Hawaii.

On Thursday, Martin called that alternate selection “a great honor,” and he’s right.  It’s relatively rare for a rookie to make enough of an impact to vault him ahead of the many veterans with more established Pro Bowl pedigrees.  There are only two rookies on this year’s Pro Bowl teams so far, in fact: Washington QB Robert Griffin III and Minnesota K Blair Walsh, both of the NFC. Continue reading →

Miller Thrilled for His Pro Bowl Teammate

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The NFL world found out on Wednesday that Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy is a Pro Bowler.  Roy Miller, McCoy’s fellow starter in the middle of Tampa Bay’s line, has known it for years.

Miller was drafted by the Buccaneers in 2009, one year before the team brought in McCoy with the third overall pick.  Both players have had career years in 2012, forming the immovable wall in the middle of the line that has been so critical to the league’s best run defense.  Both players have appeared in all 15 games so far, which was a victory in itself for McCoy, who missed 13 games in his first two seasons due to a pair of freak arm injuries. Continue reading →

Thursday Injury Report: Improvement for Bucs

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The most significant news regarding the Buccaneers’ injury report on Wednesday was that CB E.J. Biggers and G Jeremy Zuttah, two starters who sustained injuries in the Week 16 game against St. Louis, were not on the practice field.  Similarly, the key development on Thursday was that both Biggers (hip) and Zuttah (ankle) returned to action.

In fact, both players were full participants in the week’s second practice, as were TEs Dallas Clark and Nate Byham, who sat out on Wednesday due to illness.  The only Buccaneers who did not practice on Thursday were G Roger Allen (groin) and T Donald Penn (not injury related).

The Falcons’ injury report did not change at all from Wednesday to Thursday, with starters DE Jonathan Babineaux (ribs), S William Moore (hamstring), and WR Roddy White (knee) all sitting out another day.  Atlanta Head Coach Mike Smith has already said that Moore, who has missed the last three games as well, is unlikely to play on Sunday.

Here are the full Thursday injury reports for both teams:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Player Injury Practice Status
G Roger Allen Groin Did Not Participate
CB E.J. Biggers Hip Full Participation
DE Da’Quan Bowers Hamstring Full Participation
TE Nate Byham Illness Full Participation
TE Dallas Clark Illness Full Participation
CB LeQuan Lewis Knee Full Participation
T Donald Penn Not Injury Related Did Not Participate
G Jeremy Zuttah Ankle Full Participation

 

Atlanta Falcons

Player Injury Practice Status
DE Jonathan Babineaux Ribs Limited Participation
DE Cliff Matthews Hamstring Did Not Participate
S William Moore Hamstring Did Not Participate
CB Christopher Owens Hamstring Did Not Participate
DT Corey Peters Knee Limited Participation
WR Roddy White Knee Did Not Participate

 

Pro Bowl Just the Beginning for McCoy

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At the end of his third NFL season, and his first complete pro campaign, Gerald McCoy made the Pro Bowl.  In his mind, that is just the launching point of his career…and that isn’t a reference to any future Pro Bowls or other individual honors that may come along.

McCoy intends to be even better in 2014, but with a different sort of postseason action in mind. Continue reading →

Wednesday Injury Report: Zuttah, Biggers Sit Out

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Head Coach Greg Schiano said on Monday that he was hopeful that two of his starters, left guard Jeremy Zuttah and left cornerback E.J. Biggers, would be able to return from recent injuries to play in the season finale at Atlanta.  On Wednesday, neither player practiced.

Zuttah (ankle) and Biggers (hip) were among five players held out of the week-opening workout, but they are obviously the top concerns.  Tight ends Dallas Clark and Nate Byham both missed the practice due to illness and left tackle Donald Penn was out for a non-injury related reason, but they are not likely to be serious issues for Sunday.

The Falcons held out four players, as well, and considering the fact that they have already clinched the top seed in the NFC playoffs, one might expect them to play it cautiously with their banged-up starters.  Those who missed practice on Wednesday included starting safety William Moore (hamstring) and starting wide receiver Roddy White (knee).

Here are the full Wednesday injury reports for both teams:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Player Injury Practice Status
G Roger Allen Groin Limited Participation
CB E.J. Biggers Hip Did Not Participate
DE Da’Quan Bowers Hamstring Full Participation
TE Nate Byham Illness Did Not Participate
TE Dallas Clark Illness Did Not Participate
CB LeQuan Lewis Knee Full Participation
T Donald Penn Not Injury Related Did Not Participate
G Jeremy Zuttah Ankle Did Not Participate

 

Atlanta Falcons

Player Injury Practice Status
DT Jonathan Babineaux Ribs Limited Participation
DE Cliff Matthews Hamstring Did Not Participate
S William Moore Hamstring Did Not Participate
CB Christopher Owens Hamstring Did Not Participate
DT Corey Peters Knee Limited Participation
WR Roddy White Knee Did Not Participate

 

Point/Counterpoint: Who are the Buccaneers’ offensive and defensive MVPs in 2012?

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Well, we’re going to find out about the Pro Bowl later on Wednesday, and we all hope there are a couple Buccaneers in the mix.  After the season, we should see Doug Martin and Lavonte David at least in the running for Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, respectively.  Hall of Fame voting will continue, too, and we’ll have our fingers crossed for John Lynch and Warren Sapp in the Class of 2013.

There is at least one honor that we know will go to a Buccaneer, however, and that would be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ MVP for the 2012 season.  If you find that logic impressive, hang on, because we’re just getting started.

That’s because I propose this topic to be our weekly Point/Counterpoint dust-up, Andrew: Who is the team’s Most Valuable Player this year?  Actually, to make it a little more fun and give us a chance to involve a few more deserving players, let’s take a page from the rookie awards and name both an Offensive and a Defensive MVP? Continue reading →

Who’s Hitting the Mark?

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With only one game left in the season we no longer have to worry about paces and extrapolations when discussing certain Buccaneers and the milestones they could reach.  Now it’s simply a matter of “will they?” or “won’t they?”  Michael Bennett will be the team’s first 10-sack player since Simeon Rice if he gets at least one Sunday in Atlanta; if he doesn’t, he won’t.  Josh Freeman has one more game to hit 4,000 passing yards, Vincent Jackson one more to break the team’s single-season receiving record.

So…will they or won’t they?

Here’s our list of eight potential team records or significant milestones that Buccaneer players may reach on Sunday in the season finale, ranked in terms of how likely we believe they are to be fulfilled.  Watch the game Sunday and see if we’re right. Continue reading →

Bucs Add Rookie Safety Saenz

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On Wednesday morning, the Buccaneers announced the signing of S Nick Saenz to their practice squad.  The team had an open spot on that eight-man crew since promoting DE Markus White to the active roster last Saturday.

Saenz, who played his college ball at Houston, went north to make his initial entry into the NFL, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Bills in May.  He was released by Buffalo during the final roster cuts after recording 10 tackles and one forced fumble during the preseason, and later spent several weeks in October with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL.

The 6-1, 190-pound Saenz played in 52 games for the Cougars, racking up 248 tackles, five interceptions, 17 passes defensed and three forced fumbles.  He capped his collegiate career with a two-interception outing in the 2012 TicketCity Bowl, helping Houston defeat Penn State, 30-14.  Saenz then ran an impressive 4.46 in the 40-yard dash at the Cougars’ Pro Day in March, helping to earn him the tryout in Buffalo.

Though there is just one week – and three practices – left in the Buccaneers’ 2012 season, Saenz signing isn’t necessarily a brief commitment for the young player or the team.  All NFL practice squad players automatically become free agents as soon as their teams’ seasons are over, whether that be this coming Monday or later in the playoffs.  However, it is not uncommon for the specific players who end a season on a team’s practice squad to quickly re-sign with that same team for the next offseason, agreeing to what is commonly called a “futures” contract that takes effect in March.

For instance, early this past January the Buccaneers re-signed five players that had finished 2011 on their practice squad, including TE Collin Franklin and QB Brett Ratliff.  Days after the end of the 2010 season, all eight players that ended that campaign on the practice squad – including DE E.J. Wilson and WR Ed Gant – promptly re-signed with the Bucs.

David a Top Contender for Defensive ROTY

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Since 1987, 19 of the 25 NFL Most Valuable Players (or co-MVPs), as awarded by the Associated Press have been quarterbacks.  The other six years?  Running backs.  One year – 1997 – the award was split between a quarterback (Brett Favre) and a running back (Barry Sanders).  The last player who wasn’t a quarterback or a running back to win the league’s MVP award was Giants LB Lawrence Taylor in 1986.

So, yeah, say hello to your 2012 NFL MVP – almost certainly Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson or Arian Foster.

The QB-RB MVP bias is what it is.  Fortunately, NFL rookies enjoy a more open playing field when it comes to their big awards, because the AP awards both an Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year award.  That’s good news for Buccaneers LB Lavonte David. Continue reading →