No, its not going to be a blank page! There were some bright spots for the Bucs this year, just not that many. But there are reasons to be optimistic for the future based on some things we saw this season.
Kicking game is as solid as its ever been. Just as the Defense is the worst ever, the kicking game is the best ever! Connor Barth broke Steve Christie’s record for 85% success by kicking at a 92.9% rate! That means he never misses pretty much! His only two misses on the year (he went 26 of 28) came from the 40s and 50s range, and they barely missed! Bucs fans who were sore over the release of Matt Bryant need not worry any more, Barth has kicked 15 FGs in a row, and going into next year that record which is the longest current streak in the NFL will continue until he finally misses; IF he misses!! Barth was tied for best in the NFL this season with only Matt Bryant at his 93% average, but we’ll put Bryant ahead because he was 27 of 29. Min of 5 kicks required for grading. Bryant was 2-2 from 50+ while Barth was 2 of 3 from same. But while Bryant was 5 of 7 in the 40-49 range, Barth was a whopping 13 of 14 from 40-49! That is absolutely amazing, best in the NFL actually in that range with min. of 5 kicks to count.
Michael Koenen, the Bucs only Free Agent pickup this year was awesome at punting, and his kickoffs always sailed right through the end zone. Koenen was 19th punting with net avg of 45.1, but his net average was 8th at 40.3, and thats courtesy of good Bucs special teams. That means there is talent on the roster, because special teams are made up of backup players. Koenen’s numbers on kickoffs are skewed because the more kickoffs you get the better your stats, but you only get kickoffs when Bucs score. Only 28% of his kickoffs were returned, and of course he gave up one TD this year.
Last year Mike Williams had 11 TDs, but this year it was Dezmon Briscoe who led the team, with 6 touchdowns on the year. Not bad for a NO.4 WR! Briscoe has good hands, runs good routes, and has a heads up on a roster spot next year thanks to his good play. Briscoe was 33rd of all NFL WRs with his 6 TDs. Mike Williams is also 33rd in the NFL in receptions with 65, but hes behind Kellen Winslow Jr who is 21st in NFL with his 75 catches. I may be wrong about the Bucs need to jettison the TE.
The numnuts who want to replace Josh Freeman are hillarious. Never mind that anyone from college is going to be the same age he is…how quick we forget last years 25 TDs and 6 INTs. Its not like a team such as the Bucs wins 10 games and you can say “those games were against poor teams” but it doesnt matter. Freeman engieneerd 9 4th quarter comebacks, most in Bucs history. Now he threw for 3,592 yards, most yardage for Freeman, so he improved there too, and its good enough for 2nd best yardage in Bucs history behind Brad Johnson’s 3811 in 2003. But Brad didnt miss a game that year, Freeman missed one game this year, and w
as hurt for several.
This is also the first time ANY BUCS QB threw for 3500 yards two seasons in a row. And you want to replace him and start over? Are you that stupid?? If he has a bad season next year, I will say you have grounds to be concerned, thats it. The guy is 24!!
Speaking of Winslow, he has a 92 consecutive game streak of catching a pass, which is 3rd longest among Tight Ends, and 7th overall. K2 is now the 1st and 3rd most yards by a TE in Bucs history, with Ring of Honor Jimmy Giles at no.2.
As bad as the Bucs defense is, we returned a few INTs for TDs this year, and the Bucs now have 39 defensive TDs since 2000, third most in the NFL during that Span. Baltimore and Green Bay have 42 each.
Should the Glazers decide to open the pocket books, and by god they really need to if they want to save face, no team has what the Bucs have to offer new players….
- 40 million in cap room
- best training facilities in the NFL
- great weather during season, no snow, cold.
- Good Stadium Environment- fans dont turn on team, even non sellout fans get very loud
- Florida has no State Sales Tax, make more money playing for Jacksonville, Miami or Tampa Bay.
- Few current stars means your jersey could stand out in months, not years.
Bucs have the No.4 or No.5 draft pick based on NFL tiebreaking proceedures- a coin toss! Bucs will toss a coin with Cleveland, and who ever gets the 4th pick in first round will get the 5th pick in the second round and so on… This has been confirmed. This means Bucs will get two of the best 36 players from college football, including one of the 5 best.
Next years schedule is not as tough as this years. YEs we play the NFC East, but remember, the NFC East is not what it once was. The Giants won the division with a 9-7 record. Bucs also play the AFC West, where the division winner has an 8-8 record. Then we have two games against last place teams, the Rams at home, and Vikings on the road. Nothing to say “OMG thats horrible” over. Add to the fact there probably wont be any national TV games, so its doubtful the Bucs will have to prepare for any team with a short week.
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