Nothing sums up the difference between the ’10 and ’11 Bucs than LeGarrette Blount and the game at San Francisco.The Bucs finished a strong tail end to the 2010 season and we all know what the final result was: A tie-breaking miss out of the Playoffs with the Green Bay Packers. Just so happens those Packers went on to win the SuperBowl, as If the Bucs had even that option on the table.
I did it, you did it, and clearly the Bucs did it too. They looked back at 10-6 and just said “That was a playoff year”, because the franchise, most teams in the NFL that is, make the playoffs at 10-6. Instead they should have reiterated that they accomplished NOTHING! They sat home when other teams were fighting it out for Super Bowl rights, and THAT should have been their calling card. On how they LOST the right to be in the playoffs because they didn’t take Detroit serious enough, or how they allowed the Saints and Steelers to dominate them, at home mind you.
Bill Parcells said it best, you are what you are; yes the Bucs were 10-6, easy schedule and all, but that was year, and no one could really accept that when 2011 started. We took all the following for granted:
The Wide Receivers would continue to grow, and that NO ONE would have a sophomore slip-up. Mike Williams and Arreious Benn have been major disappointments, although Williams is catching more lately, but Benn is hardly getting targets anymore.
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That Cadillac Williams was expendable- He was not. The Bucs had to know they needed to IMPROVE upon Cadillac Williams, not just get rid of him. The Bucs did nothing to replace him with a player capable of his pass receiving and blocking ability. Earnest Graham was getting up in age, fresh for how old he is, but still up in numbers. Graham went down, and Kregg Lumpkin can’t hold Cadillac’s jock strap. For goodness sake Sunday he did a spin move a full two yards BEFORE contact then spun right into the tackle. If it wasn’t so sad, it would be comical and up all over the Internet going viral.
Geno Hayes and Quincy Black would continue to grow into their linebacker roles. They have not; they have become more consistent however, consistently bad. It’s absolutely no wonder the Glazers don’t want to spend money on Free Agency, after giving Black a free agent contract they may not give money to another one again! But they are going to have to next year if they want to fix up areas that are broken on the Bucs defense.
Injured Bucs would heal in time- some did, but with the lack of an offseason, there was no way to fully monitor the damage. Gerald McCoy, Brian Price, Arrelious Benn, Cody Grimm have all seemed to suffer from their bugs at some time during the preseason.
And then there is Josh Freeman, who said he feels like he’s playing better than he did last year. Of course he feels that way, just like 40-year-old athletes say they feel faster than they’ve ever been. I’m sure he means every word he says, but the numbers don’t support it. He clearly missed the offseason OTAs where he learned SO MUCH last year.
There it goes, that “Last Year” word again. Funny how many times were going to end up talking about it, makes you wonder if the Packers use the phrase as often as we do. You remember, those 10-6 Packers…
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