The season is over, but the Offseason is now kicking into high gear here on Bucstop.com! So lets just dive right into it!
BUCS 2010 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Josh Freeman
What do you need to say about Josh Franchise? Is there any debate anymore over who was the best QB taken during the 2009 draft along with Mathew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. The Jets QB who was considered to be the Best overall of the three, has 17 TDs on the year to go with 13 interceptions, not bad for a sophomore thrower. But Josh Freeman threw 25 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions, solid numbers for a 5th year veteran. Josh Freeman has established himself as the undisputed leader on this team, coming into the off-season determined to play unlike the 2nd year starter he was; Job well done Josh.
2010 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Mike Williams
This one could be the biggest showdown of any two players, but you have to give it to the player that broke not only the rookie record for his position,but the franchise record as well. That’s right, no one in Bucs history has ever caught more than 10 TD passes, and that was Joey Galloway. But now the record belongs to Mike Williams with 11, also breaking the rookie record of 7 by Michael Clayton in 2004.
2010 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LEGARRETTE BLOUNT
Yes Josh Freeman Tossed 25 TD passes, and 11 of them went to Mike Williams, but a lot of that passing attack would not be possible without the emergence of the running attack featuring LeGarrette Blount. Not even on the roster when the season started, Bucs coaches let go of Derrick Ward for reporting to camp out of shape, but Cadillac Williams was unable to handle the load on his own. He was averaging 2.5 yards per carry which wasn’t getting the job done, and the Bucs picked up LeGarrette Blount and Kregg Lumpkin, and in week three gave Blount a carry. He smashed through the Pittsburgh Steelers line for 12 yards and within a few weeks he was getting carries regularly. With only about 10 games to his resume, Blount finished the season with a 1,007 yards, and a 5.2 yards per carry average, a key ingredient in the Bucs offense.
2010 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
RONDE BARBER
There have been several players who could qualify for this, but the defense was hit hard by injuries, and this award should go to the defensive player that consistency played a big part in. Well in week 16 he read Drew Brees mind more than Drew, and in week 1 he stepped in front of a Jake Delhome pass and ran it down to the one yard line, preventing Cleveland from going up 21-3, and instead helping the Bucs to a 14-10 deficit that was overcome-able in the second half. In between, Barber was a model of consistency, what it means to be a starter on the Bucs. Whether or not 2010 is the last year for Ronde Barber,and many believe he will be back for a few more years, no one can say he played on his name alone.
2010 SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CONNOR BARTH
With all the injuries, many Bucs had to swap themselves in and out during the year, yet still led the league in many special teams catagories. But no one had the kind of year Connor Barth did; kicking 23 of 28 field goals, with 2 of those misses coming on blocks! Even the other misses swooshed right by the right or left uprights, none of them missing by much. Barth had one of the most accurate years of any for a Bucs kicker, and Tampa Bay should now consider itself set at place kicker for the foreseeable future.
2010 OPPORTUNIST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JERREMY ZUTTAH
The guy was basically demoted when the Bucs went out and got Keydrick Vincent to play left guard. Managment felt Zuttah was more valuable as a reserve. Well they were right, they just had no idea how right! Jeff Faine, Center, went down (Again), and Zuttah was listed as his backup. Then something happened we havnt seen in a long time in Tampa Bay, a back up Center playing as good as possible considering. More than that, the Bucs are thinking of keeping Zuttah at Center and moving Faine, something unthinkable a year ago.
2010 SURPRISE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
CODY GRIMM
Lets face it, when you heard Tanard Jackson was suspended for a year, you said to yourself “Well it was nice while it lasted” because we had no safety to replace him.
Wrong, we had 2, and neither of them were named Sabby either, who was miffed at not being considered for the job when Jackson went down. Instead it went to Cody Grimm, son of Hall of Famer Russ Grim. The Genes paid off! It wasn’t automatic though…he played scary in his first game against the Steelers when he let a Pittsburgh WR score a TD while his back was turned to the ball. Then a funny thing happened, Grimm starting hitting runners in the box, and teams stopped getting 100 yard rushers on us!
Grimm wouldn’t last the whole season, as an ankle injury cost him his rookie year, but he will be back next year and looks to be the new starting Safety.
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