Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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January 4th, 2009 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fantasy Football Preview

The Bucs completely fell apart down the stretch in 2008 culminating with a devastating 31-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders at home on the last week of the season to miss the playoffs. Were there some strong ramifications after the loss? You bet as Tampa fired Head Coach and former Raider Head Coach Jon Gruden who led the team to unthinkable heights in 2002 when the Buc's destroyed the Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII. Replacing Gruden will be 32 year old Raheem Morris who takes the position after coaching the Bucs DB's. I like Morris but he will have growing pains as all other rookie coaches and players that step into the NFL. The Bucs also made some noise in the draft by selecting Kansas State QB Josh Freeman in the first round. Freeman is rumored to be putting up quite a battle for the starting job. However, I am here to talk fantasy people and now I'll examine the Bucs fantasy prospects heading into 2009.

Along with Freeman Tampa has veterans Luke McCown, and Byron Leftwich heading to camp making for a 3 headed QB battle coming to Florida's Gulf Coast in a few short weeks. Regardless of who wins this job none are worth drafting in August and represent only waiver wire emergency options as the season goes on. Well, I take that back if Leftwich wins the job he would have the most fantasy potential out of the three by far. A true gutsy veteran, Leftwich has always had a cannon arm and is a proven leader. McCown has had some fine moments in the NFL but needless to say there are far better options even at the number 2 QB position than McCown. Freeman is a rookie and 99% of rookie QB's struggle as Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco are the exceptions rather than the rule. Keep on eye on this battle in training camp and hey this is the NFL where anything can happen and I could be completely wrong but I would strongly advise against resting your fantasy hopes on any of the Buc's QB.

Free agent pick up Derrick Ward acquired via the NY Giants this off season figures to be the Buc's best fantasy player along with another newbie TE Kellen Winslow who Tampa traded for from the Cleveland Browns in part of the "Mangenious" house sale that took place when the former Belichek disciple came aboard. Ward gets his chance to shine now as he is Tampa's number one option at RB with Earnest Graham moving to FB though who knows how long that will last as Graham has some definite running abilities. For years Ward has been in the shadow of Brandon Jacobs and has still been pretty productive. Last year witnessed Ward eclipse the 1000 yard mark for the first time in his career finishing with 1025 yards and 2 TD's. Ward represents a player that has plenty of upside and is well worth taking a shot on after the top 2 tiers of RB's are gone. Ward has been going consistently around the same time as rookie Knowshon Moreno, Lendale White, Willie Parker, Larry Johnson, and Cedric Benson and out of this group I like Ward and Benson the best. Keep and eye on Ward and if you can snag him around the 6th round you are committing grand larceny. Graham seems appeased to be back at FB but don't kid yourself folks he will get some reps and certainly will see some goal line carries which equates to TD's and fantasy production. Again keep an eye on Graham as some of the mock's I have been doing he has fallen to the 12th round and beyond and he would be a great value at that position.

The Bucs receiving corps has been lacking for years and that is one of the main reasons Winslow was brought in. Although, listed as a TE Winslow when healthy provides more big play ability that all of Tampa's WR's with maybe the exception of Antonio Bryant who had a career year in 2008. Bryant caught 83 passes for 1248 yards and 7 TD's but I am skeptical of him posting similar numbers this year for a couple reasons. First, Bryant has historically underachieved and has had numerous run in's with the law for a variety of offenses. With Commissioner Roger Goodel laying the hammer down regarding the leagues new personally conduct policy Bryant is just one mishap away from a suspension. Furthermore, as mentioned I believe the Bucs do not possess a reliable enough QB to get Bryant the ball consistently like Jeff Garcia did last year. Right now treat Bryant as a number 3 WR or a Flex option but don't reach for him.

The Bucs have been waiting for Michael Clayton to show his true potential for the last 6 years and are still waiting and quite frankly I cannot believe this slug hasn’t been cut yet. I mean this is the team that fired Gruden and released long time Pro Bowl LB Derrick Brooks correct? Clayton has underachieved since day one and don't expect anything different in '09. The former LSU standout and NFL dud should be considered only in 16 team leagues. No other Buc WR warrants any draft consideration at this time.

Getting back to Winslow it will be interesting to see how he readjusts back to life in Florida. The former Miami product clearly wore out his welcome with the Browns and is looking to rejuvenate his career in Tampa. If Winslow can stay healthy he could be a steal for fantasy owners this year as he has been going in the neighborhood of the 10th-12th rounds in CBS mocks. If you miss the on the high end TE's and are still hoping to get a playmaker at the position then Winslow is your guy.

The Bucs DST is clearly not the same unit that dominated the late 90's to the mid 2000's. Gone are mainstays Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Simeon Rice. Furthermore, although still around Rhonde Barber is aging and the defense as a whole pretty much shut it down last year when it was announced the longtime Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin would be leaving to assist his son and former Raider Head Coach Lane at the University of Tennessee. The defensive lapse was no more evident than on the final week of the regular season whey Tampa gave up 177 yards and 2 TD's to Michael Bush in a game the team needed to make the playoffs. Moreover, The Bucs young talent to this point has been disappointing especially Gaines Adams and surely Morris will try to get more out of the former Clemson standout than Gruden did. The Bucs DST will more than likely go undrafted so keep an eye on them to see how they do early on. If they surprise they could represent a nice waiver options as the season goes on. Well that concludes my fantasy examination of the Bucs. Next up: The New Orleans Saints.

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