NFL Hot Stove: What are the Bucs Doing? Edition

It's now a foregone conclusion that the NFL is the most popular sport on the planet (excluding that silly soccer of course) because this year the league's winter signing period has overshadowed spring training baseball, stretch-run NHL hockey & NBA basketball and so far even March Madness as far as headline-grabbing fan interest goes.

Of the many teams making multiple, roster-altering moves (New England, Denver, San Fran...) none have made as many mind-boggling alterations than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The sheer ridiculousness (word?) of the deals would make it appear as if the comedy act known as Chucky & Brucie is actually trying to get themselves fired so they can sit back for a year, get paid, and eye their next cushy head coach/GM gig. Because they way the Bucs braintrust have botched this free agency period has many in the Bay Area questioning not only the football business acumen of the duo, but their sanity as well.


How has Chuckie and Brucie (mis)managed to debilitate an already disastrously constructed team in just four days time? Let me count the ways:

1.) Traded for a quarterback who didn't want to play here
When word leaked out that the Bucs were trading for Jake Plummer, many in the Bay Area screamed "why? He's old, unpredictable, and has never been able to win a big game (no, I'm not counting the 2006 playoff game against New England- the Pats lost that one.) Then when Plummer announced he would retire rather than play anywhere other than Denver, everyone exhaled, thinking Tampa Bay had avoided making a big mistake.

But wait. A day later the teams announced the trade had been revised to make it a deal for Plummer's rights for a conditional draft pick, the condition being Denver would get a pick if Plummer suits up with the Bucs. Say what? Why would they even bother to trade for a guy who doesn't want to play? To trade his rights later, perhaps. But is it really worth the gamesmanship when you consider the pressing needs the team has right now, quarterback NOT being one of them?

Then, to make matters worse...

2.)...they signed a 37-year-old midget QB to compete with Chris Simms
Nothing like a little healthy QB competition, right Chucky? Way to stick with one direction, dude. I thought Simms was the man for the near future and beyond that Gradkowski was your boy, but you just dropped him for your old West Coast buddy Jeff Garcia, huh? Ah these romances never, last do they?

3.) Let defensive end Dewayne White leave
Saddled with high expectations ever since the sack king left Louisville a year early and was selected 64th by Tampa Bay in the 2003 draft, DE Dewayne White never realized his potential with the Bucs. In four seasons the speedy pass rusher amassed 111 tackles, 14 sacks and 5 forced fumbles; not exactly eye-popping stats, yet White was always stuck behind guys like Simeon Rice and Greg Spires on the depth chart, Pro Bowlers who weren't ready to cede their position to the new kid.

So when former Tampa D-line coach and current Detroit head man Rod Marinelli saw the opportunity to grab White, he did so. Now White is reunited with two of his earliest mentors, Marinelli and former Bucs linebackers coach Joe Barry, who is now Detroit's defensive coordinator, and the fit looks like a match made in heaven. White should blossom in Marinelli & Barry's defense, and Barry is thrilled to be getting a young, hungry defensive stud:

“We needed a guy – a speed guy,” said Barry. “We needed to upgrade the speed; the edge of our defense. Quite frankly, we put a premium on pass rush. To run this system, to run this scheme, we’ve got to be able to rush the passer – bottom line. We put a premium on that and Dewayne White – he brings an element of speed and pass rush to us.”

Translated: White is ready to explode with a double-digit sack season, and the Bucs will rue the day they let him slip away for monetary reasons, especially when...

4.)...they answer by signing aging veteran Kevin Carter to a 4-year deal
Don't get me wrong, Carter is one of the greatest, most durable pass rushers of the last 20 years, as his 97.5 career sacks (4th among active players) can attest to. But the 12-year vet is definitely on the downside of his career; of his 4 double-digit sack seasons, 3 of them came in a row (1998-2000) and he hasn't had one since 2002, when he had exactly 10.

But I thought the Bucs were trying to go younger, especially on the lines? Why let White go only to sign the 34-year-old Carter for nearly the same money you could've paid the 27-year-old?

That's almost as messed up as...

5.)...signing 30-year-old Luke Petitgout coming off an injury-marred season
If the 9-year vet out of Notre Dame can stay healthy then his versatility (he can play both guard and/or tackle) and leadership will be great assets to a team that is very young along the O-line. But if the injuries start to pile up following the stress-fracture in his leg last season that caused him to miss 7 games, then this signing could go down as another Derrick Deese/Todd Steussie-type debacle.

There's a few things off the top of my head that are causing local talk show callers to flip out and giving the local media fodder to speculate how a man who was perceived to be a "football genius" when he arrived can resemble a colossal clueless clown right now.

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NFL Hot Stove

There has been so much action over these first few days of free agency it reminds me of the NBA All Star Game, minus the strip club shooting and ready availability of hookers. As soon as you go to do a story on the latest deals, a whole new wave of signings & trades washes over the sportscape and litters the shore with myriad new agreements between overrated, overpaid players and overmonied teams.

Yes folks, the NFL is "making it rain" for its entire stable of, ahem, free agents.

In fact the action has been so fast & furious in my last NFL Hot Stove post I forgot to mention one deal that went down on Saturday. It was an easy oversight on my part; there was so much going on that day that you can understand how I could miss what just happened to be the biggest deal of all time involving a defensive player: Bills CB Nate Clements' 8-year, $80 million mega-deal from the San Franciso 49ers.

"I'm rich, beeyotch!"

Let's step back a second and examine what's going on here. The NFL has a surplus of cash due to the enormous popularity of its product, which is reflected in record merchandise, ticket and advertisement sales, not to mention the revenue generated by numerous 10-figure television contracts. All of this excess wealth has gone directly into the pockets of owners, with the intention being the owners will spend the extra cache on improving their teams.

In order to ensure the teams did spend more on improving their teams and not just their country club memberships the powers-that-be raised teams' salary cap figure to a record-high $109 million for next season. It doesn't take Mel Kiper to figure out that a surplus of cash plus a sky-high spending ceiling= a multitude of players who happen to be in the right place (free agency) at the right time (when the league is wallowing money.)

Thus the end result is you get a decent player (Clements had 2 tackles, 3 INTs and 20 passes defensed in 2006), who's not even the best at his own position receiving the biggest contract ever for a defender. Clements even pinpointed this year on his personal calendar, signing a one-year deal last season with Buffalo in hopes of breaking fellow cornerback Champ Bailey's 7-year, $63 million pact he inked with the Broncos in 2004. BTW, Bailey had 86 tackles, a league-leading 10 INTs and 21 passes defensed. And Clements just got $20 mil more than him (on paper.) Crazy.

You also get crazy situations where a boatload of guards, formerly the lunch ladies of the league (i.e. doing the slop work for minimal pay), signing deals that promise running back money. It started last year when Steve Hutchinson agreed to a then-mammoth 7-year, $49 million deal with the Vikings, and that ripple effect hit hard this season as Eric Steinbach (Cleveland, 7 years), Derrick Dockery (Buffalo, 7 years), and Kris Dielman (San Diego, 6 years) all reaped the benefits of Hutchinson's breakthrough contract.

Other signings that have taken place in the last 48 hours include:

-Green Bay running back Ahman Green signed a 5-year, $25 million deal with the Texans.

-The Cowboys signed massive offensive lineman Leonard Davis a massive contract- -years, $49.6 mil with $18 mil guaranteed to lure the 6-year vet away from Arizona.

-Denver quickly recovered from trading away leading rusher Tatum Bell by signing former Titan tailback Travis Henry to a 5-year, $22.5 million deal, making him the next in line at Running Back U- to be let go. (Denver has allowed its past 4 rushing leaders leave the following season: Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Rueben Droughns, and Bell.)

-Former Falcons DE Patrick Kearney agreed to a 6-year, $39 million deal ($19 mil guaranteed) to rush the passer for the sack-lacking Seahawks.

-The NFC Champion Bears alleviated their crowded backfield problem by dealing away disgruntled starter Thomas Jones to the Jets, paving the way for Cedric Just Gimme the Nights Benson to take over carrying the rock in Chi-Town. The deal also involved a swap of draft picks in April, with New York obtaining Chicago's #63rd pick in exchange for its #37. The move also allows New York to move past the Curtis Martin era by replacing the Hall of Fame-bound workhorse with another tough-nosed, hard runner.

-38-year-old Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson signed a 3-year deal with Dallas to become Tony Romo's backup after Johnson was unceremoniously dumped one year after making Duante Culpepper expendable in Minnesota. Fitting that one immobile, overage former starter turned clipboard holder replaces another in Big D.

-Wide receiver Wes Welker became a member of the Patriots when the Pats and Dolphins decided to forgo the offer sheet and just trade the 3-year vet. New England surrendered a 2nd & 7th round pick this year to Miami in order to obtain the promising receiver's services.

Miami was busy shedding players Monday; including Welker the Fins let RB Sammie Morris flee to New England, too, and released QB Joey Harrington and TE Randy McMichael. New coach, new players, same results for Miami in 2007?

I think that about covers everything, but I'm sure I missed something or another deal went down in the time it took me to type this outro. If so I'll cover that in tomorrows installment.

Perhaps a good way to sum up the wacky, wild world of the NFL off season, 2007, is to end on this rumor: New England is reportedly interested in bringing WR Randy Moss to Foxborough.

When it rains it pours.

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NFL Hot Stove

Now that spring training has begun, and considering the fact that the NFL is a bigger enterprise with more fans, it seems only fitting that there be an MLB-like hot stove offseason for the NFL, chock full of signings, trades and draft-related minutiae (hey, did you know Steve Young's cat had a higher Wonderlic score than Chris leak?!)

Therefore I bring you my first installment of the Pigskin Hot Stove.

-Bucs sign two quarterbacks, one of which might actually play in Tampa Bay
Only Chucky & the Bucs can produce a story like this. Yesterday word came over the wire that the Bucs were about to complete a trade with the Broncos for devastatingly mediocre quarterback Jake The Fake Plummer. The deal was held up when it was discovered Jake really didn't want to leave the greater Denver area, which was quickly realized after Jake declared that he would rather retire than play anywhere other than Denver. He must really love LoDo.

Alrighty then. The trade's off, right? Well, it was, temporarily. After a night of thinking things over, the Bucs decided to go ahead and make the trade anyway, dealing a conditional pick to Denver, with the condition being if they can convince Jake to suit up in scarlet & pewter the Broncos would receive an as-yet-to-be-determined 2008 pick. Ah, okay.

Meanwhile the Bucs aren't content to have four quarterbacks with NFL experience on the roster-Simms, Gradkowski, Luke McCown and potentially Plummer- they decided they should add a fourth to the mix, so they signed Jeff Garcia to a 1-year, $5 million dollar deal.

The free agent was recently let go by Philly after he guided the Eagles to a 5-1 record and playoff berth after starting QB Donovan McNabb went down for the season with an injury. His release by the Eagles was partially expected when the team announced McNabb would regain his starting position next season, and many teams were believed to be in the hunt for the 37-year-old veteran's services.

I just find it odd that his services would be headed to Tampa Bay, especially after the Bucs just signed incumbent starter and recent splenectomy patient Chris Simms to a 2-year, $10 million extension in December. Garcia obviously feels pretty secure in the knowledge that he will be given every chance to unseat Simms, especially given Gruden's penchant for favoring Pro Bowl veterans over unproven youngsters. But if Plummer didn't want to come here before the Garcia signing, imagine how he feels now.

The way I see it shaking out is this: Gradkowski carries a clipboard for the entire season, McCown rides the pine or becomes the practice squad QB, Plummer takes his grizzly beard, porn 'stache and inability to win a big game and moves to a secluded mountain hideaway, while Simms and Garcia wage a classic battle of tug of war for Chucky's affections and the starting QB position.

Should be an interesting mini-camp at One Buc Place this summer.

-Pats beef up LB corps with addition of Pro Bowler Thomas

With their linebacking department depleted in recent years due to free agency (Willie McGinest), retirement (Ted Johnson) and injury (Tedy Bruschi), New England took a huge step towards shoring up what was becoming a weakness on the defensive side of the ball by signing free agent linebacker Adalius Thomas away from the Baltimore Ravens.

Thomas is a 6-year vet and 2-time Pro Bowler who made it to Honolulu last month where he played for the Hooded Genius, and has recorded 28 1/2 sacks over the last three seasons, including a career-high 11 in 2006. The 29-year-old specimen out of Southern Miss is both big (6'3", 270) and quick, so much so that he played a variety of defensive positions for Brian Billick in Baltimore, including lineman and cornerback. By all accounts he is a fierce competitor, versatile enough to be moved around and impressive enough to make a difference wherever he plays on the field.

In other words he'll be a perfect addition to the Patriot family.

New England also inked 35-year-old tight end Kyle Brady to a deal, ostensibly as a replacement for the soon-to-be-departed free agent Daniel Graham. Brady is a 12-year vet, the last 8 with Jacksonville, and he will primarily be a blocker in the Pats' two-tight end sets, with stud Ben Watson serving as the primary offensive target for Tommy Boy.

Oh yeah, plus they signed Dolphin WR Wes Welker to an offer sheet; New England reportedly offered $1.3 million for one year to the 3-year vet, and Miami has one week to decide whether to match the offer or not. Welker is considered an up & coming pass catcher in the league, and the 25-year-old out of Texas Tech caught 67 balls last year in his second season as a regular wideout. If Miami doesn't match the offer they will receive a 2nd round draft pick as compensation, something many insiders consider to be a steal for a player with Welker's potential.

These signings should prove to be very solid acquisitions for a team that knows it needed to replace some shaky parts in order to get back to the winner's circle.

-Other free agency news:

Dallas resigned WR Terry Glenn to a one-year deal...Houston resigned their only offensive threat, WR Andre Johnson, to a 6-year, $60 million deal...the Broncos continued their tradin' ways by dealing a 6th round pick this year to Miami for former #1 pick Big Daddy Wilkinson, who to my amazement is still in the league...guard Eric Steinbach was the first non-glamour player to reap the rewards of Steve Hutchinson's mega-deal of 2006 when he signed a 7-year, $49.5 million deal, $15 million in guaranteed money, from cash-happy Cleveland...WR Drew Bennett agreed to leave the Titans for the Rams when St. Louis offered him 6 years and $30 mil, $10 mil guaranteed...and the Titans also released RB Travis Henry when the team refused to pick up an $8.3 million bonus owed the tiny tailback on Monday. Henry rushed for 1200+ yards and 7 touchdowns last year and will certainly fond another home quickly.

Whew. That's a lot of movement.

And plenty enough kindling to keep the Pigskin Hot Stove burning.

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NFL cut day marked by a surprising addition

The day before free agency begins and roster bonuses kick in the National Football league brought out the sharp edged implement, went out to the gridiron and did some chopping.

When the dust settled no fewer than four big name vets were told they were free to sign with another team, some surprising (Pittsburgh LB Joey Porter), others not so (Dallas QB Drew Bledsoe.)

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all came here in Tampa, and I'm not talking about the Bucs releasing Kenyatta False Start Walker, a move that was at least two seasons overdue.

No, the shockwaves of surprise rippled throughout the Bay area when the team announced the A-Train will be rumbling through Ray Jay for at least one more season. Long thought to be a goner due to Alstott's less-than-chummy relationship with Chucky Gruden (as we know, you're either one of Chucky's boys or you're not, and Alstott, for whatever reason, has NEVER been one of Chucky's boys) and the decline in production from the bruising fullback, the Bucs announced that Alstott would suit up for one more season, his 12th in a Buccaneer uni.

The A-Train has never been afraid to run over obstacles in its path

Despite declining numbers, advancing age and a frosty coach-player relationship, the resigning of one of the all-time fan favorites was really a no-brainer. He is only going to make about a million and a half, and his value as a blocker and short yardage/goal line specialist only increases as his playing time decreases, saving wear and tear on his already damaged body.

Three toots on the commemorative train whistle for the return of the A-Train.


Other players aren't doing much celebrating today, though, and the list is dotted with guys who were stars on their respective teams just a season or two ago:


-Steelers LB Joey Porter
-Cowboys QB Drew Bledsoe
-Saints WR Joe Horn
-Vikes CB Fred Smoot
-Vikes QB Brad Johnson (Wed)
-49ers WR Antonio Bryant
-Chargers LB Steve Foley
-Chargers WR Keenan McCardell
-Colts WR Brandon Stokley
-Ravens RB Jamal Lewis


Throw in the release of Philly QB Jeff Garcia and you've got a pretty decent caliber of players out there for the taking; old, overpaid with an overinflated sense of self (ahem, Drew) players, yet most of these guys will find new homes quickly. For others it could be the end of the line (ahem, ahem Drew.)


More fun tomorrow when the free agency feeding frenzy officially gets under way.

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