Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 2006 NFL Preview

2005 Record: 11-5 (1st in NFC South). Lost to Washington, 17-10, in NFC Wild Card playoff game.

2005 Rankings
Offense: 23rd (24th pass; 14th run)
Defense: 1st (6th pass; 6th run)

Head Coach: Jon Gruden (73-55, 5-3 in post-season); Entering 9th season as NFL Head Coach (1998-2001 w/Oakland, 2002-present w/Tampa Bay), and won Super Bowl XXXVII in his 1st season with Tampa Bay.  

2006 Draft Class

1.23 – G, Davin Joseph (Oklahoma)
2.59 – T, Jeremy Trueblood (Boston College)
3.90 – WR, Maurice Stovall (Notre Dame)
4.122 – CB, Alan Zemaitis (Penn State)
5.156 – DE, Julian Jenkins (Stanford)
6.194 – QB, Bruce Gradkowski (Toledo)
6.202 – TE, TJ Williams (NC State)
7.235 – DB, Justin Phinisee (Oregon)
7.241 – LB, Charles Bennett (Clemson)
7.244 – TE, Tim Massaquoi (Michigan)

Arrivals

David Boston, WR (Miami)
Tonio Fonoti, OG (Minnesota)
Torrin Tucker, OT (Dallas)
Jamie Winborn, LB (Jacksonville)

Departures

Rod Marinelli, defensive assistant (Detroit – Head Coach)
Jameel Cook, FB (Houston)
Brian Griese, QB (Chicago)
Dexter Jackson, S (Cincinnati)
Todd Steussie, OT (St. Louis)


Team Overview

When starting quarterback Brian Griese was forced out of the lineup in Week 6, many predicted that the 4-1 Buccaneers would fold like a cheap suit. After all, how farcould rookie Cadillac Williams and “laissez-faire” QB Chris Simms take this team? The answer, as the NFL would soon find out, was the playoffs.

While Brian Griese is fighting for a starter’s job in Chicago, Chris Simms is firmly entrenched as the Buccaneers starter. The numbers don’t lie: Simms still has a way to go in order for him to take Gruden’s offense to where it was under Rich Gannon during Gruden’s coaching days in Oakland, but all signs point to him being able to get it done.  

Cadillac Williams (who did get banged up and crashed squarely into the “rookie wall”) was the talk of the league last September, as the Bucs rode their 1st round pick to a 4-0 start. Williams inevitably got hurt, hit the rookie wall, and his production fluctuated down the stretch. One game he’d have 100 yards and the next week he was lucky to have 50. They’ll need more consistent production out of Williams, and getting that may depend greatly on Chris Simms and the Bucs receivers (Joey Galloway and Michael Clayton) elevating the passing game. Tampa adds free agent David Boston and rookie Maurice Stovall, two big, physical wideouts, to the passing attack. 2nd-year tight end AJ Smith was a huge surprise in 2005, hauling in 41 receptions and a pair of touchdowns.

The strength in Tampa, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, is the defense. The last time a Tampa Bay defense finished lower than 12th was back in 1995, when Sam Wyche was coaching the orange-and-white clad Buccaneers. All of that success can be attributed to excellent personnel, and one Monte Kiffin. If you look around the NFL, you’ll see a pair of head coaches (Herm Edwards, Rod Marinelli) that were spawned from the defense-oriented Bucs teams of the Tony Dungy era.

While many of the players (Warren Sapp, John Lynch) have moved on, the Buccaneers always do a good job of bringing in replacements. Like Denver’s running attack, it’s all about the system in Tampa. This year, much of last year’s #1-ranked unit returns. Greg Spires, Booger McFarland, Chris Hovan and Simeon Rice are a veteran group up front, and Rice is coming off his 5th consecutive season of double-digit sacks. Rice enters his 12th NFL season with 119 career sacks, and another 10+-sack season will elevate Rice into the Top 10 among the NFL’s all-time sack leaders.

Derrick Brooks, whose gone to 9 straight Pro Bowls, leads the linebackers (Ryan Nece, Shelton Quarles) and Ronde Barber, whose gone to back-to-back Pro Bowls, leads a secondary of Brian Kelly, Jermaine Phillips and Will Allen.

Tampa, like Atlanta and Carolina, play a tough 2006 schedule. The defense is good enough to keep them in every game they’ll play, but they’ll need the offense to play much better if they hope to win another NFC South crown.



Three & Out

- The Buccaneers won’t be “giving Thanks” to the NFL schedule makers, who have scheduled 3 games in 10 days before Thanksgiving. Tampa goes to Carolina for a Monday night game on November 13th before hosting the tough Washington Redskins. Four days later, Tampa heads into Dallas to play on Thanksgiving. The bright side is, they get 10 days off before having to travel to Pittsburgh, the defending Super Bowl champs.

- Joey Galloway returned from an injury-plagued 2004 season to have a career year in 2005. Galloway had 83 receptions, 1287 yards and his first 10 TD season since 1998. How many other WRs entering their 12th NFL season could have a season like that?

- None of them are expected to start in 2006, but after years of less-than-stellar offensive line play, the Bucs brought in some Grade A talent this off-season. Toniu Fonoti is a massive guard, and the team used their first two draft picks on guard Davin Joseph and tackle Jeremy Trueblood. It won’t be long before these three are protecting Simms and paving paths for Cadillac Williams.

Fantasy Island

How can you not love Cadillac Williams? Ok, so he isn’t much of a receiver, but Williams had a very impressive rookie season, and with the expected maturation of Chris Simms, expect a better season this year from Cadillac.