FantasySharks.com

There is increasing speculation among personnel men that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to make a run at trading up from No. 4 overall to the top pick in the NFL draft in an effort to get Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

"I definitely get the feeling that's where the Bucs are going," an executive from another NFL team said this week.

Three weeks ago, Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen said he had been in contact with Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.

"Al talked to me about what he wants to do, but I'm not sharing that with you," Allen said with a smile. There was speculation that the Bucs had already offered Oakland all four of their picks in the first three rounds (Nos. 4, 35, 64 and 68 overall) to move up. The Bucs received the No. 64 overall pick after trading defensive tackle Anthony McFarland to the Indianapolis Colts last season.

However, that trade offer involving Tampa Bay and Oakland seems premature to observers.

"I don't think you play your hand that much right now. That's the type of thing that you wait until the week before the draft to start doing," an NFL source said.

Tampa Bay met with Johnson in Atlanta on Friday and agent Bus Cook said the meeting went very well.

"Calvin was impressed with them and he got the feeling they were very interested in him," Cook said.

The Bucs also met with quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell of LSU and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame, which many outsiders believe is simply a diversion to conceal their strong interest in Johnson. Bucs coach Jon Gruden has been effusive in his praise of both Russell and Quinn.

"Gruden isn't taking a quarterback," the general manager of another NFL team said. "He doesn't like young quarterbacks. He already tried that route with [Chris] Simms and he couldn't stand it. And he has to win now."

There is a strong belief around the NFL that Gruden, who has gone to the playoffs once in the four seasons since leading the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl title, is under pressure to win this season. Given that, the 6-foot-5, 239-pound Johnson is considered the most NFL-ready player at this point.

Johnson ran a stunning 4.37 at the NFL scouting combine in February, was a unanimous All-American selection and was the ACC Player of the Year last season.

hallooooooooo is anyone in here ?

_________________

i don't think anyone cares.

_________________

May I have your attention please? So will the real Bucs fans, please stand up...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Chris Simms knows how determined Jon Gruden is to fix the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After all, the fifth-year pro has started 15 games at quarterback since 2004 and spent countless hours with the coach since entering the NFL the season after the Bucs won their only Super Bowl title.

Simms is so confident Gruden's on the verge of getting things right after missing the playoffs three of the past four seasons that he passed on an opportunity to test his worth in free agency. Simms accepted a contract extension for what he described as `` starter's money.''

Two months later, the 26-year-old watched Gruden sign free agent Jeff Garcia and complete a trade for another expensive veteran quarterback, Jake Plummer, on successive days.

``It didn't surprise me. I knew that coach was going to sign a veteran quarterback at some point. He's done that ever since I've been here,'' Simms said.

Plummer has said he intends to retire, but Gruden remains hopeful he'll change his mind.

``Like I've said, you need two quarterbacks in this league now with the way it is,'' Simms said. ``Guys are real big on defense, real fast, and quarterbacks are getting hurt around the league. You need someone to come in and keep the team rolling.''

The Bucs learned the hard way last season after miscalculating what it would take to retain veteran Brian Griese to compete with Simms for the starting job.

When Simms went down in Week 3 with a ruptured spleen, Tampa Bay was left to finish the year with rookie Bruce Gradkowski running the offense for the remainder of a 4-12 season that exposed weaknesses in a number of other areas, too.

The club entered free agency with about $25 million in salary cap space and has used some of it to sign Garcia, linebacker Cato June, offensive tackle Luke Petitgout, defensive end Kevin Carter, cornerback Sammy Davis and linebacker/defensive end Patrick Chukwurah.

With three selections in the first two rounds of next weekend's draft, the Bucs expect to add more players capable of making an immediate impact.

Barring a trade, Tampa Bay will have the fourth pick, as well as the 35th and 64th selections overall. The team also has the fourth pick in the third round.

For weeks, speculation has centered on Gruden's interest in Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson and whether the Bucs could swing a deal to ensure getting the player generally regarded as the best athlete in the draft.

``Moving up is an option. Moving back is certainly an option, and staying right there is not a bad option, either,'' Gruden said.

With help needed on the offensive and defensive lines, Wisconsin's Joe Thomas and Clemson's Gaines Adams, Arkansas' Jamaal Anderson and Louisville's Amobi Okoye might be attractive to Tampa Bay, too.

One possibility that doesn't seem likely would be selecting a quarterback, even though Gruden spoke glowingly about LSU's JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn at last month's NFL owners meetings.

The coach also talked-up Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, although picking him wouldn't seem to make sense considering Tampa Bay took Carnell ``Cadillac'' Williams fifth overall two years ago.

Gruden doesn't see how the Bucs could go wrong. He scoffed at the notion that picking early in the first round is more challenging than selecting in the bottom five.

``I'd rather pick No. 1 and do whatever I want,'' he said. ``Why would it be harder?''

Regardless of what the Bucs wind up doing, this draft class will be scrutinized closely.

Tampa Bay has posted losing records three of the four seasons since winning the Super Bowl, and Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen have cited salary-cap constraints and a lack of high draft picks as the main reasons for the team's decline.

Now, with a full complement of draft picks, as well as salary cap space to take on contracts in trade and compete in free agency, Gruden is under pressure to get the team back on track in a hurry.

Simms senses the coach is raring to go.

``It's a big year for a lot of people in this organization, no doubt about it,'' the quarterback said. ``The NFL these days is a what have you done for me lately business. We have a lot of guys who have a lot of things to prove this year.''

draft grade via yahoo...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ten total picks is a good haul, particularly with seven choices devoted to rebuilding an aging defense. Defensive end Gaines Adams is one of the most explosive playmakers out there and should be the prospect Tampa Bay can build around. Although he's a tad small, he could end up being a speed-and-moves guy like Dwight Freeney. Second-round guard Arron Sears could team with Davin Joseph and really shore up the interior of the offensive line. Like Joseph, Sears has some bruising nastiness to him. Safety Sabby Piscitelli was an interesting choice in Round 2 because many scouting reports didn't have him as a fit for a Cover 2. Meanwhile, fourth-round defensive back Tanard Jackson seems like a perfect fit for the scheme.
Grade: B

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't finished seeking help for an aging defense.

Determined to get younger and better in 2007, the Bucs used seven of 10 picks in last weekend draft to select defensive players. On Tuesday, they acquired defensive tackle Ryan Sims, the sixth overall pick in 2002, who was a huge disappointment in five seasons with Kansas City.

The Chiefs received an undisclosed future draft pick.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Sims was often overweight and injured in Kansas City. He appeared in 59 games with 36 starts. Over that span, he had 149 tackles - 79 unassisted - with five sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

He played in 17 games last season, including the Chiefs' first-round playoff loss at Indianapolis. His best season was 2003, when made a career-high 16 starts and had three sacks, one interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

With the Bucs, Sims will compete for a job on a line expected to be bolstered by first-round draft pick Gaines Adams. Chris Hovan and Ellis Wyms are the incumbent starters at tackle, and the Bucs signed free agent end Kevin Carter with intentions of taking a look at him at tackle, too.

The Bucs slipped to 17th in total defense in 2006 after ranking in the Top 10 for 10 consecutive seasons.

The theme of the offseason in Tampa Bay was to acquire quarterbacks, but Bruce Gradkowski remains optimistic.

"I think you have to understand when you come into the NFL, you're going to have competition year in and year out," Gradkowski said. "With the record we had, we had to make changes and look at different things. Nothing is going to be given away around here."


Source: Orlando Sentinel

Gradkowski is delusional if he thinks he has a shot.

_________________
QB: Romo, Cassel
RB: ADP, Westbrook
WR: R.Wayne, OchoCino, B.Edwards, S.Holmes
TE: CCooley, J Carlson
K: Longwell
ST: (insert weekly matchup here)

Kinda like how no one cares about how analysts predict the Panthers to be a playoff team but always come up short.

_________________
QB: Romo, Cassel
RB: ADP, Westbrook
WR: R.Wayne, OchoCino, B.Edwards, S.Holmes
TE: CCooley, J Carlson
K: Longwell
ST: (insert weekly matchup here)

The draft has been over for 6 weeks and I still haven't recovered from the Bucs not getting Calvin Johnson!!

TB - RB Williams Trying To Strengthen Feet

Source: Roy Cummings, Tampa Tribune

In an effort to strengthen the muscles in his feet and improve his overall balance, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had RB Cadillac Williams running in tennis shoes and sometimes with no shoes at all. The change comes as a result of the problems Williams has had avoiding foot injuries, which have cost him playing time in each of his first two seasons. "It's a little different, but it's helping me to get a good feel in my feet," Williams said of the footwear change. "The bottom line is I think it's helping me a lot."

_________________
DISCLAIMER

TB - QB Simms Falls To Third On Depth Chart

Source: Katherine Smith, Tampa Tribune

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wrapped up their OTAs on Thursday, the plight of QB Chris Simms got worse. He apparently has been passed up by second-year pro Bruce Gradkowski as the backup to starting QB Jeff Garcia. Gradkowski worked with the second string offense and Simms with the third unit. QB Luke McCown was running fourth.

_________________
DISCLAIMER

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Derrick Brooks recalled the day he told his mother about an off-the-field endeavor he planned to pursue with the same passion that's helped him become one of the best linebackers in the NFL.

Opening a high school with a rigorous curriculum to prepare students for college would be as challenging as anything the 10-time Pro Bowl selection has accomplished on the field. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star was confident he could make it a reality.

``When I first told her I was going after this, she being my mother, she warned me about having too much on my plate already,'' said Brooks, now 34.

``But at the same time, she knew my compassion for education. She heard me talk about it more and more and she really stepped up and challenged me. It's kind of like she went from warning me to now she wanted to make sure I was in it for the right reasons and that I was going to finish the job.''

Geraldine Brooks-Mitchell, who instilled the importance of education in her son while he was growing up in Pensacola, died last month after a lengthy fight with breast cancer.

The Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School, a joint venture with the family that built the San Francisco 49ers into Super Bowl champions, will open in August for 300 students in grades nine to 11. The 12th grade will be added to the charter school next year.

For Brooks, a high school honor student who graduated from Florida State in 3 1/2 years and later returned to earn a master's degree, it's a dream come true.

``My mother first and foremost let me know academics was ahead of athletics. I've told the story many times about getting whipped in the fifth grade and taken off the football team,'' said Brooks, who was appointed to FSU's board of trustees in 2003.

``That message was given to me then about it's more important how you treat people than what you do in sports. ... I remember making a 2.8 my freshman year and she threatened to take my scholarship, even though she couldn't. She was not happy with me having a C-plus average because she knew that wasn't me. That's the last time, to be honest with you, that my mother said anything to me about my grades because I got the message.''

Brooks-DeBartolo's core curriculum will include advanced placement courses and dual enrollment classes students will take at Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida.

One thing the school won't have is an athletic program.

Brooks, president of the school's governing board, stressed he is interested in educating children - not creating a sports academy.

``That's one message I want to get across to the kids,'' he said, adding that 15 or 20 years ago he essentially was the same person as most of the students who will attend Brooks-DeBartolo this fall.

``Just wanted to go to college and be an insurance man. Insurance men back then collected money and wore nice suits and drove a nice car. So, that's all I wanted to be. I share that with them. Obviously, the Lord's plan was bigger with me participating in the NFL.''

Although Brooks has been actively involved in putting the high school together, his role will diminish in coming weeks as he begins to focus on trying to help Tampa Bay rebound from a 4-12 finish last season.

The Bucs begin a three-day mandatory mini-camp Tuesday and report to training camp on July 26.

``I've been blessed to have my priorities in order. The school opening won't be a distraction for me whatsoever. It should be an exciting time, to be honest with you,'' Brooks said.

The linebacker also is excited about the challenge of revamping a defense that struggled in 2006 after ranking among the NFL's best for a decade. He's healthy and senses a hunger for improvement among his teammates.

At the same time, this has been an offseason like no other for him. His mother was his biggest fan.

Brooks said Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud, whose mother died last year, has offered help. Receiver Maurice Stovall and former teammate Anthony McFarland, now with Indianapolis, also lost their mothers in 2006.

``At some point, I'll probably lean on them in dealing with the healing process,'' Brooks said. ``Right now, I just take it day by day and really try to be there for my brother and my sisters. It's going to be tough, but we'll get through it one day at a time.''

Bucs coach Jon Gruden continues to gush over QB Jeff Garcia, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't mind Jake Plummer paying the team a visit.

The former Denver Broncos starting quarterback missed Tuesday's first day of the mandatory minicamp and is subject to a fine. Plummer routinely has claimed he's retired but has yet to file the appropriate papers with the league office.

While they wait, the Bucs continue to hold out hope the quarterback they traded a 2008 draft pick for shows up.

"We'll reserve a spot for the 'Snake' for a little while longer," Gruden said. "If it was Jake Jones or Jake Johnson or Jake Gruden, we'd probably bypass the holding pattern that we're in right now. This is one heck of a football player that has accomplished a great deal. At this point, he's retired and hopefully at some point he changes his mind or reconsiders."

Source: Tampa Tribune