Kevin_ODonnell's Blog

Bruce Allen finally address Brett Favre.

Q: How extensive were the talks with the Green Bay Packers?

Allen: I wouldn’t classify ‘em as extensive at all. They had talked to just about every team in the league. By reading your stuff and the people covering it closely it was clear they didn’t want to send him from the beginning to a team in the NFC.
There was no negotiation. There was never any substantive talk about what they would take to trade him. All of that was speculation. From the beginning it was clear that it was a bad situation in Green Bay and they had to deal with it in anyway they could.

Q: So you had no negotiations whatsoever about getting Brett Favre?

Allen: No. It never got that far.

Q: How far did it get?

Allen: They were looking for a place to send Brett, and they found it with the Jets.

Q: How interested in acquiring Brett Favre were you?

Allen: It really never got to that. We always look at any type of scenario we can find that can help the Buccaneers. That is our No.1 priority - helping this team. Whether it’s a double trade, a triple trade or in any form that can help the Bucs. We will always listen.

Q: So why let the speculation go on this long if you had no interest in Favre?

Allen: I can’t control speculation. There is rumor on top of rumor. Somebody said the wrong thing, I have no control over that. I think I had two conversations with Ted Thompson over the last two months and so, we had a very good understanding of what took place.

Q: How much interest did Brett Favre have in coming to Tampa Bay?

Allen: There are quite a few players in the league that have an interest to come to Tampa Bay. Without getting into the tampering rules of the league, I think that’s a credit to what we’re doing. This system would fit a lot of players.

Q: Again, How much interest did Brett have in playing for the Bucs?

Allen: I’ll let him talk about his situation. I think there were about 18 teams that had permission to talk to him. The fact that he did want to play here, we considered that.

Q: How did you try to sell him on the Buccaneers?

any form that can help the Bucs. We will always listen.

Q: So why let the speculation go on this long if you had no interest in Favre?

Allen: I can’t control speculation. There is rumor on top of rumor. Somebody said the wrong thing, I have no control over that. I think I had two conversations with Ted Thompson over the last two months and so, we had a very good understanding of what took place.

Q: Again, How much interest did Brett have in playing for the Bucs?

Allen: I’ll let him talk about his situation. I think there were about 18 teams that had permission to talk to him. The fact that he did want to play here, we considered that.

Q: How did you try to sell him on the Buccaneers?

Allen: Really, it never got to any of that. He wasn’t a free agent. We never really believed they were going to release him. They were clear from the beginning that that wasn’t their intention. It wasn’t that type of process.

Q: Bruce, are you saying you made no trade offer to the Packers for Brett Favre?

Allen: Green Bay never told us what they were interested in trading him for.

Q: Did you tell them what you were interested in giving? Did you make an offer to them

Allen: No.

Q: How did Jeff Garcia handle this

Allen: In our league, you have to deal with whether you’re going to draft somebody in the first round, and if it’s a running back, how is that going to affect the players on the team. They are all professionals. They understand the business. If you look at every quote from the coaching staff through the organization it’s all been quite positive on Jeff ever since we acquired him.
It’s really a situation where, this is a very popular player in our country. It’s a very difficult situation that Green Bay might be over now. Hopefully everybody can move forward. What we’ve been concentrating on is our team and getting our team ready.

Q: Why did you never do anything to eliminate or minimize the speculation?

Allen: I think you’ve all talked to our players in the last few weeks and if you see their quotes you can see everybody was positive about Jeff. They said we have no control over it and I think if you went to our dining room you’d see a lot of people laughing about the speculation. It won’t affect him [Garcia].

Q: Why didn’t you just say Jeff is our QB and end it?

Allen: I think if you look at the quotes over the last year or two years, In fact, when Coach Gruden named him the starter at that Chamber of Commerce meeting a year ago, it was why are you going to name him the starter. Coach Gruden and Jeff’s relationship goes back a ways. We’re going to compete on the football field. There are 80 guys competing to make the football team. The American way is competition. I don’t think any outside forces are going to affect our football team.

Q: If Garcia was your quarterback, why did you continue talking to Green Bay?

Allen: I’m not going to get into specifics. I think it was a difficult situation to begin with.

Q: If you knew from the beginning Green Bay wasn’t going to trade Brett to an NFC team, why did you ask permission to talk to him and ask Jon Gruden to talk with him?

Allen: First of all, I said earlier, I think it was 18 teams were interested in Brett Favre. When this all started, we had never talked to him. I can’t control the speculation. We can’t control rumors and in this situation there were rumors coming out of six different markets.

Q: But Brett Favre and [his agent] Bus Cook said the Buccaneers were specifically part of the deal. Were they lying?

Allen: The fact that a player wants to play for us, once again, I think is a compliment to this organization. I’ve not ever turned my back on people who want to come to the Buccaneers.

Q: Do you expect Jeff Garcia to believe what you’re saying, that you had no interested in Brett Favre and that he was never going to be part of the team?

Allen: We said we never believed they were going to trade him to the Buccaneers.

Q: So you did have interest in acquiring him?

Allen: No. We have interest in anything that can help this football team.

Q: If you never believed they were going to trade him, why even talk to Green Bay? Eighteen teams did not talk to Brett Favre.

Allen: Are you sure?

Q: Yes. So Why talk to Brett Favre if you had no inkling whatsoever that the Packers were going to him to nothing other than an AFC team?

Allen We’re going to listen and see if there is a way it can benefit the Buccaneers. We’re going to keep our ears open.

Q: Were you sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if something fell apart with Jets?

Allen: There are so many things you can try to interrupt.

Q: How do you get Jeff’ mind right to lead this team?

Allen: Jeff is a great competitor. His No.1 attribute is his competitive spirit. Right now, we want to get Jeff healthy, get him back on the practice field. Nothing will change the competitive nature of Jeff Garcia.

 

 

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For the first time since begin carted off the field with a calf injury last Thursday, Jeff Garcia made an appearance at practice Tuesday. After undergoing therapy on his leg, Garcia walked on to the field with about a half an hour of practice left.

With his return still unknown, Garcia all but ruled himself out for Saturday's preseason opener down in Miami.

“I don’t think I’ve been ruled out, but I think it’s highly unlikely,” said Garcia. "It’s just one of those things. I haven’t practiced in a few days and I’m sure coach wouldn’t want to throw me out there not having practiced."

“Also it’s preseason,” he added. “It’s not a sense of getting ready for this one, but making sure I’m ready for the opener of the season.”

With Garcia relegated to watching from the sidelines. Luke McCown and Brian Griese took advantage of the extra reps. The two combined, completing the first 19 of 20 attempts during the 7-on-7 drills. During the morning practice in pads, the offense went turnover-free, thanks to five drops by the Bucs linebackers. For the second day in a row, McCown earned praise from his head coach.

"He’s got flash playmaking ability. He’s also, as I said, there’s too many lightning strikes around me,” Gruden said. “We had a couple fumbled exchanges, we had a forced ball turnover in the red zone yesterday, he threw an interception in the move-the-ball period. The highs are high and the lows are low. I just look for a little more consistent ride. I don’t like a bumpy ride, but I’m pleased with him.”

In all, six Bucs starters were unable to practice. Joining Garica were B.J. Askew (ankle), Antonio Bryant (knee), Jovan Haye (groin), Sammy Davis (hip), and Joey Galloway (groin).

The Bucs spent the afternoon with the pads off, in shorts.

The team is scheduled for two more full days of practice on Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

After getting punished for poor play on Sunday, the Bucs bounce back on Monday morning with improved play. It wasn't perfect, but Jon Gruden will take it knowing that his players are starting to wear down mentally as they hit the halfway point in camp.

"I saw some improvement [today]," Gruden said. "The guys are practicing hard. It’s very competitive. Every time the defense stuffs the offense, you want to be mad if you’re an offensive coach. When we get a big explosive play offensively, you want to be mad if you’re a defensive coach.

"But when you go back to your room to look at the tape, there are some very good things that we can build off of. When you’re playing your backup quarterbacks and some other backups at fullback and at wide receiver, it can be a difficult test. That’s why we’re out here. There are going to be some growing pains, but I really like the progress that we’re making and I’ll leave it at that."

Running the first unit for the injured Jeff Garica, Luke McCown stood out. McCown, who today was listed as the second string quarterback on the team's deepth chart kept a strong hold on his spot going 7 for 9 during the first set of 9-on-9 drills inside the redzone. In one span he tossed perfect 2 td's in the matter of 3 passes with one pick in between. The interception came from an incredible effort by rookie Elbert Mack.

"I’ll say this, the two [touchdowns] that he made were great throws, big time plays," Gruden said. "The interception that was thrown, it was a great play by the right corner. What we need to do with this young quarterback is continue to work with him. He has 10 or 12 outstanding plays a day, explosive plays. But he’s got four or five times where lightning strikes too close to me.

The Bucs earn another break from Jon Gruden with an afternoon at the movies, to see "Dark Knight". It replaces a scheduled "walkthrough".

Of the teams 22 starters, 4 remain on the sidelines with injuries. Jeff Garica didn't even come to practice. Joey Galloway worked on strength and conditioning, running with a weighted flack jacket. Cadillac Williams stepped up his workouts practicing cutting moves for the first time. It showed that he's not ready to return to full action yet and Joyan Haye still is recovering from his injury.

The Bucs have two full practiced planned for Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 am-11:10 am and 2:45 pm to 4:30pm.

Trying to avoid the shadow of Brett Favre's drama, the Bucs get tossed back into the turmoil after watching Jeff Garcia go down with an injured leg. But before you head out to Tampa International to welcome the Green Bay castoff. Jon Gruden says Garcia's leg is a minor issue.

"I don't believe it's serious," Gruden said. "We're going to get the information. He might not have much at all. Right now, until we evaluate it further, we really can't say much else."

The Bucs are calling Garcia's injury a strained calf muscle. It occurred while he was rolling out during a scramble drill with the Bucs other quarterbacks.

"I think it was just a freak thing," Gruden said. "He was dropping back and took off as he always does, changed directions and felt a little pull in there."

"He got hurt last year in training camp and missed close to a week with, I believe, a groin strain. He'll be okay. He's very sharp mentally. I don't know how many training camps he's been through, but he'll be okay and in the time being it will give us a chance to look at your youngster [Josh Johnson] and get Chris Simms more acclimated. We've got plenty of quarterbacks in camp to pick up the slack, I know that."

Garcia was carted off the field and had a difficult time walking into the lockeroom. Gruden right now is calling this a "day to day" injury.

Garcia wasn't alone in the training room. Starting defensive tackle Joyan Haye strained a groin muscle in the morning practice, Sabby Piscitelli is also out with a knee. Joey Galloway who has missed all practices with a groin injury is expected back tomorrow.

On a positive note, the Bucs wide-receivers continue to shine. Michael Clayton has been the most consistent and Parris Warren, who galvanized the team after breaking his leg in the preseason last year is making a tremendous comeback.

"Well, not many people talked about him, said Gruden Carnell [Williams] is doing great with his rehab, but Paris Warren, he scored five touchdowns for us in the four preseason games. He made the football team, basically, with a game-winning catch against Houston, and he got hurt, ended his season. He's doing good and I think he's gaining confidence and gaining momentum right now in terms of his overall play and his stamina. But I'm really impressed with him. He's a good football player that will show up for us."

Barry Melrose finally has the job he's been trying to land since 1997. Melrose first interviewed for it with then Lightning General Manger Phil Esposito. Melrose was passed over along with Terry Murray after Jacques Demers undermined both efforts by telling the Lightning he'd take the job for less money. Demers got the job angering Melrose and Murray.

Melrose went directly into the TV booth at ESPN where he grew into an NHL icon as the networks top analyst. Why give up the security for a team that finished last in the league? Because this is the job he's always coveted. Melrose is also inheriting a team thats far more talented than the one he would have taken over 11 years ago.

Can he win after being away from the bench for 13 years? Wayne Gretzky thinks so.. The Great One knows first hand he played for him in LA, where he saw Melrose lead the Kings to the franchises only Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Kings lost to, ironically Demers's Montreal Canadians in five games in 1993.

There are many reasons Melrose has chosen now to make his return to the league. First of all he's known the Lightning's new owner Len Barrie since Barrie was 17.

"I wanted the challenge again. I wanted to find out if I can still do it," Melrose said during a news conference. "I miss it. I've missed it since I left. I miss, the term I use is having a dog in a fight. I'm not a bystander. I've never been a bystander in my life. I hate to be a guy on the outside looking in. I want to be on the inside again."

The Lightnings other majority owner Oren Koules said the reason he made the coaching change is to change the culture within the team.

"Seven years with the same message is a long, said Koules. Seven years is a really long shelf life for an NHL head coach. Listen, he won a cup, he got to the Holy Grail, he did an amazing job and he'll be a great coach with another team."

Firing John Tortorella was the right decision, now it's up to Barry Melrose to prove he was the right person to replace him.

Tampa--Bucs Jeff Garcia has two demands. Respect and a new contract. Garcia is so unhaappy with the lack of progress towards a new deal that he's considering not showing up for future workouts.

"There might come a time when I might have to stand up,'' Garcia said. "I hate to do that to jeopardize my teammates because they're out here, and I don't want to let them down in any sort of way. But at some point you just want to see the respect from up top.''

Garcia, 38, has just one year remaining on his 2-year deal that averages $3.5 million, but he feels he has earned a payday that is more in line with the league average for starting quarterbacks which is $7 million per season.

"I don't think anyone here is trying to break the bank in any sort of way, said Garcia. I think it's about what your peers around the league are making. It's about being appreciated and respected. I understand he (Bruce Allen) has us in a tough situation because we are under contract. It just makes it a real difficult thing to overcome when you think about your emotional and mental approach every single day. You can become very negative and almost counter productive as to what the focus of the team is because your caught up in the negative situations that are going on above you."

Garcia has never staged a holdout in his career and right now he's planning on reporting July 25 when the team checks in at the Celebration Hotel for training camp.

The Bucs policy is not to comment publically on players contract situation.

Bruce Allen normally doesn't enter into discussions about new deals when players are under contract. He has made exception for players entering the last year of their contracts, as he did with Ronde Barber. Given that the Glazers recently extended Allen and Jon Gruden's contracts the time is now for Allen to share the wealth.

 

For the second week in a row, the score doesn't paint the pre-season picture. Jon Gruden wanted to accomplish two things in Jacksonville, get Jeff Garcia on track and turn up the front-four pressure. He got both in the first quarter, which is all you should really care about.

What the Bucs proved in J-ville is that Garcia gives the Bucs something that Gruden hasn't had in his first 5 years here, a QB that can create plays with his legs. His lone TD toss to David Boston was amazing. Garcia bought time and threw a dart with no more room to run. He finished the night 6-for-6 for 43 yards with the one TD. What little the backup QB's did doesn't concern me, because if the Bucs lose Garcia to injury, their season is over.

Defensively, the starting unit picked their pace. Kevin Carter came up with first sack of the night, but it shows that even after 12 years in the league, he's still has some gas in the tank. The second team defensive unit was just awful, giving up 24 straight points on 4 possessions. The tackling coupled with players being out of their gaps were inexcusable.

The good news is that this is just pre-season, but it shows the Bucs aren't ready for Seattle yet.

 Training Camp is essentially over for the Bucs. The team held their final 2-a-day practices at Camp Disney. After handing out 18 IV's to players yesterday, Jon Gruden lightened the load taking the team inside Disney's Milkhouse (basketball arena) for the morning session. Jeff Garcia told me that mental practice can't be overlooked. Given Gruden's enormous playbook I'd have to agree. Gruden didn't reveal the quarterback rotation for Saturday's game in Jacksonville, other than to say Jeff Garcia should get a few more plays than the six that he got against New England. The focus remains on determining which 53 players will make up this roster.

The Bucs received a surprise visit from Governor Charlie Christ at the end of the morning session. Christ, a long time Bucs fan couldn't pass on the opportunity to give a few words of encouragement. He came to Disney to shoot a Public Service Announcement on child obesity. This also gave him a chance to talk with Derrick Brooks, who he named to his Council on Physical Fitness. Brooks will work with Shaquille O'Neal and other athletes in the state to encourage children to get in shape. Before leaving I asked the Governor for a prediction on the season and his political response is that the Bucs are going to have a winning season. I have to mention that Derrick Brooks was standing over his shoulder. I passed the good news on to Jon Gruden and he said," I told you I like that guy."

As happy as Gruden was to see the Governor, every player and coach was happy to get through this final full day. Even Gruden told me he's excited about heading back to Tampa tomorrow. He said after 3-weeks he can't wait to see his family and sleep in his own bed.

Here are a few quotes from Gruden after the morning session on Chris Simm's situation:

“I’m tired about talking about it. Everyday you see him. He’s out here practicing. He’s healthy. Why the hell would he go on I.R.? I don’t understand why [he would go on I.R.], he’s practicing.  I’m not trying to mislead anyone. We have cleared him to practice. If he were injured, he wouldn’t be practicing and throwing 125 balls a day. It’s the performance that needs to improve. I’m confident in time it will. He has been inactive for a long period of time. That’s all I’m going to say. It’s a work in progress. Right now he’s behind and knows that and we’ll adjust accordingly.”

I asked Gruden if Simm's is in jeopardy of makking the team.

“There is jeopardy for everybody, coaches and players if the performance level isn’t good. I’m not going to stir headlines up here. He’s a great kid, and he had played a lot of football here. He had a serious injury. We’re moving on right now with the preseason. When Chris is ready to go, you will see him. Hopefully a little bit Saturday night in Jacksonville, but right now, it’s a work in progress. He’s clearly behind, but he can catch up.”

 

 

The Bucs win the game, but lose praise from their head coach. Jon Gruden calls out the defense after the starters surrender a 10-play 65-yard TD drive to the Patriots backups. For Gruden the lack of pressure continues to be a problem.

"Our pressure's not good enough," Gruden said. "I'm not going to come out of here being negative. But if that's good enough, then hell, let's give them a lollipop sucker. It ain't good enough. We've got to get better pressure. I don't want to rely on blitzes. I want to be able to use a four-man rush like we've done historically here."

The long awaited debut of Jeff Garcia doesn't match the hype. The Bucs new QB completes just one out of four passes for 4 yards. The plan was for Garcia to be on the field for 12 plays, but after back-to-back three and outs Garcia's day was over.

"I think when you come into a situation like this ... you're excited. You want to do well," Garcia said. "You are probably moving through reads and progressions a little faster than normal because you want to get the ball in your receivers' hands and allow them to make some plays."

The two bright spots both came on offense. Luke McCown tightened his grip on the backup role. In his first game action in two years, McCown turned in a perfect performance, 7 out of 7 for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Kenneth Darby, this year's 7th-round pick led the team on the ground with 15 carries for 84 yards, 31 of those yards came on the final drive that produced Matt Bryant's game winning kick.

The Bucs will take the win, but if this team is going to find victories in the regular season, it's going to take a far superior effort than what they showed last night.

Injuries on offense continue to pile up. Mike Alstott is derailed for the second straight day with what Jon Gruden is calling soreness. It's serious enough that the A-train will likely miss Friday's pre-season opener against the Patriots. Alstott's age and experience are reasons enough to keep him out until he's healthy.

Michael Clayton leaves the morning practice halfway through due to a pulled muscle. This is the second time in the last 5-days that Clayton has been hurt. He missed Saturday with a sore back. Speaking of sore backs, Luke Petitgout missed his 9th day of workouts. He will not play Friday and when asked if he has a herniated disc, Gruden says he doesn't know what his injury is other than it's a sore back like many players in the league have. Gruden says look for Petitgout to come to practice sometime next week.

First-round pick Gaines Adams put together arguably his best workout to date. He looked particularly strong in one-on-on drills. Expect to see a lot of Gaines against the Patriots. Gruden is still not revealing his plans for New England. I talked with Jeff Garcia after practice and he says he's not even sure, but he doesn't expect to play more than two-series. Garica says with all his years in the league preseason doesn't mean a whole lot to him.

Cadillac Williams, who got only a handful of carries in the pre-season last year, wants more. But he's not going to get any according to Gruden. Gruden told me that Cadillac is sending him cyrptic messages, but he wants to see 7th-round pick Kenneth Darby and other backs. Gruden knows what Cadillac can do and it sounds like he doesn't want to take a chance given Caddy's durability record.

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TRAINING CAMP DAY 12: Jon Gruden finally released the teams "First Edition" of their deepth chart. It confirms what we first reported two months ago that Chris Simms is third string. The biggest change on the chart, Michael Clayton is second team behind Maurice Stovall. First round pick Gaines Adams is also running with the second team behind Patrick Chukwuarah. But this is subject to change and will many times before the Bucs kickoff the season against Seattle.

Day 12 was easy work as Gruden softens the physical work and picks up the pace on the mental game. The morning session in pads was replaced with a "posh practice" inside the Omni's 4-star resort at Champions Gate. The team walked through plays that they will use against the Patriots. It gave the Bucs a break from the heat and allowed players a chance to rest their legs. The Bucs have just 4 more 2-a-days before checking out next Thursday. Their afternoon session was not in pads.

Don't expect ct to see the starters too long against the Patriots. The could be on the field for just one series, maybe two. Gruden wants to gage the young guys too see how much quality he has.

Trainging Camp Day 11 The Bucs hit the halfway point of training camp and right now this team isn't showing many signs of being better than last year. Injuries to starters have mared this camp, Jon Gruden is trying to cut down on them by giving guys days off here and there. But if you look at the overall camp, there has already been a ton of time off due to rain, trips to the movies and family day. Gruden's camp will never be mistaken for a Ray Perkin's camp, but I am not seeing a lot of tough physical work. This has been one of the coolest camps on record and in terms of toughness, this camp is soft. Monte Kiffin is tinkering with his front four, which makes you really wonder if they are missing Simon Rice. Today Gaines Adams got some work at undertackle and left end, while Greg Spires and Grew White moved to the right side. I don't this is a panick move rather than it's getting guys a few reps at differnent positions, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Offensively, there were a few hilights. Garica hit Joey Galloway and a long td toss during 11 on 11's. But the shotgun was mis-firing and Cadillac Williams for the second day was dropping passes. On defense the play of the day was Cato June lightning up wide-receiver Chaz Gessner. Gessner's response was spiking the ball at June. June has been a standout almost every practice and he's showing us that he's going to be fun to watch. Great addition!

The sun finally shines on the Bucs. After a week of the wet stuff, Jon Gruden is able to get two full practices in. They put on the pads in the morning and worked mainly on situational plays. Chris Simm's arm soreness is gone. He looked better, but admittedly says his recovery from spleen surgery is a slow process. All quarterbacks were airing it out. The highlight of the morning was Michael Clayton holding onto to a "Hail Mary" pass from Jeff Garcia from 50 yards out. It helped that the defense wasn't on the field, but it was still a nice catch.

Gaines Adams returned in a limited capacity, he's still nursing a tricep strain that Gruden says is somewhat serious. Still he's expected to practice tomorrow. Same goes for Offensive Lineman Luke Petitgout, who, for the 4th day missed workouts.

Cornerback Phillip Buchanon got his first taste of offense. Gruden has been hinting that he would use him. Buchanon made one catch during 11 on 11's. Buchanon also is be tested out as a punt returner. After practice Gruden says he plans on using the former first round pick of the Raiders a lot.

 "You're going to see more of Buchanon on offense," Gruden said. "He's going to play some offense for us. We'll get him involved in the kicking game. There will be some things that we get to here later in camp."

"He's a really athletic guy who can make plays. He's fast, and he's got creativity after the catch, so there will be some things that we continue to look at with Phillip."

The Bucs have just one practice tomorrow in the morning from 8:30 to 11:00. They have the afternoon off for "Family Day".

The Bucs don't want Simeon Rice serving up sacks in Tampa, but there are plenty of other teams in the league that do. The Giants will be Rice's first stop on what could be a coast to coast tour this week. With Michael Strahan threatening retirement, Rice has been called to Giants camp in Albany, New York for a meeting on Monday. The Jets are also claiming they are interested, so it would make sense for Simeon to stop there next. Tennessee wants to bring Rice in for a physical, but no arraignments have been made. Simeon told me on Friday that we is going to sit back and evaluate the teams before making any decision. He still plans to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder to remove bone spurs as early as this week. Rice says it's a minor issue that is the result of over working during his rehabilitation. Rice's team of choice right now is the Carolina Panthers. He said he would look forward to showing the Bucs what the are missing. He said he would love nothing more that to give the Bucs a double serving since Tampa Bay plays their division rivals twice

Every training camp starts with most eye's zeroing in on Jon Gruden's Offense. Jeff Garcia is Gruden's newest QB toy, but success this season will be measured by the defense. Tampa Bay's first goal is and has to be restoring their defensive reputation. In just one year the Monte Kiffin's Krewe fell from the best in the league to 17th. The main reason for it starts up front. The Bucs defensive line couldn't supply consistent pressure. They ranked 30th in the league in sacks which impacted the secondary. Tampa Bay came away with a meager 11 interceptions, 27th in the league.

The key for a return to prominence lies in the interior line... The outside is covered with Simeon Rice, Gaines Adams and Greg Spires, but who wins the job next to Chris Hovan will dictate if the Bucs win the defensive battle. Ellis Wyms hasn't shown the ability to stay healthy and Jovan Haye is unproven. If the Bucs can't generate atleast 40 sacks this season, an improvement of 15 from a year ago. This season will likely reflect last year's finish of 4-12. That would ultimately mean the end of Jon Gruden.