WalterFootball slams the Buccaneers.

Wow! Will the Buccaneers player, coach or staff member that stole the girlfriend, kicked the dog, smacked the mom or disrespected the sister of WalterFootball.com please apologize to the man. I have read a great deal of haters-hate articles during my days as a Buccaneers fan. After all, our Buccaneers have left quite a path of ammunition for haters to fire away. But the latest article, 2012 NFL Offseason:Tampa Bay Buccaneers, posted at WalterFootball.com takes hating to a whole new level.

WalterFootball.com has been in existence for a great deal of time. They carry a database that is highly respected when it comes to the NFL draft.  I would love to give individual credit to the author of the piece but there is no name attached. So WalterFootball.com it is. 


So let's see. The article is said to be an inside look at "Draft Grades, Season Previews, Offseason Needs, Free Agents". According to the writer, the Buccaneers were an off-season failure and "There's little doubt that Tampa Bay will be the last-place team in the NFC South."


In the writer's opinion "The Buccaneers did make two positive offensive acquisitions." No, it was not the fact that the Buccaneers went out and got the number one available wide receiver in free agency with Vincent Jackson. According to the writer, "If Jackson wanted to have the best pro career possible, he would have stayed in San Diego or signed with a team that has an established, top-tier quarterback." "And how great is Jackson anyway?" "He was the 61st pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, so it's not like he was really highly regarded when he came into the league." It was not the fact that the Buccaneers got rid of a player that did not participate in practices, only participated in 1/3 of actual plays and was a bad influence on Freeman's decision making in cutting Kellen Winslow Jr.. In the writer's opinion, "A player who was a high pick was Kellen Winslow Jr., but he's gone because head coach Greg Schiano didn't want to deal with him. Winslow was a declining player anyway, but the Buccaneers somehow managed to downgrade him by signing Dallas Clark, who looked like he was running in quicksand last year. It's quite possible that Clark won't even make the team".


The only two positive off-season moves for the offense were "Doug Martin, whom Tampa moved ahead of the Giants for in the 2012 NFL Draft." and "Carl Nicks, arguably the top guard in the NFL".

Now let's look at the defensive side of the team. We all know that the defense extremely under-performed last year. We all watched as a great deal of the players appeared to quit on their coach. But according to the writer the quit was not the problem. "Several of the players mailed it in, but don't take that to believe there's not a lack of talent on the roster. There definitely is."

"The Buccaneers have jettisoned some of the bad apples. In addition to Kellen Winslow offensively, they let go of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and safety Tanard Jackson. The only poor-character individual still remaining is Aqib Talib, who is facing a possible suspension for an arrest. He may be sidelined for 4-8 games."  Now according to the writer the only reason the Buccaneers did not cut Aqib Talib is because he is "because of the dubious situation it has at cornerback. It's just Talib and no one else." I know what your thinking, what about Eric Wright? GM Mark Dominik went out and grabbed the corner during the off-season. "He'll probably be inserted into the starting lineup eventually because of his ridiculous salary, but he'll quickly be demoted because he can't cover anyone."

How about the Buccaneers idea of moving Ronde Barber to safety? "Ronde Barber used to be a starting corner, but he has moved to free safety - a move that has occurred a year too late based on how brutally he was torched in 2011. Unfortunately, he's 37, so it's unlikely that he'll have much success in his new position."

What about Dominik and Schiano getting the player they secretly targeted with the 7th pick over-all in the draft?  "strong safety Mark Barron has no NFL experience. He was chosen No. 7 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. There's no question that he was a reach; he was pushed up because of the alarming lack of safety prospects."

So the writer's final:  "2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Analysis: The Buccaneers will be much more competitive than they were last year, as long as they don't quit on their head coach again. Assuming Josh Freeman is able to fully concentrate on football, the offense should be pretty solid. The defense, however, will make it extremely difficult for this team to win football games. There's little doubt that Tampa Bay will be the last-place team in the NFC South."

I, as a Buccaneers fan that bleeds red and pewter, have a pretty good understanding that I see our team through red colored glasses with pewter frames. I know that I may see a little more positive in some of the acquisitions than what may actually come to fruition. But, as a man who has watched, played and been around the game of football for well over 40 years, I do have a decent grasp of what may or may not be a positive move for a team. Adding Vincent Jackson, Carl Nicks, Doug Martin, Eric Wright, LaVonte David, and Dallas Clark are absolutely positive moves. Getting rid of a declining, sometimes player that badly influences Freeman's decisions in Winslow is absolutely a positive move. Moving Ronde Barber to safety will eliminate the questions of declining speed and optimize his game knowledge and instincts. Positive move.  Am I saying that all of these decisions will absolutely pan out 100%? No, I'm not. But I certainly am not believing all the negative banter that the writer has posted either.