Hi everyone.  Been a long time since anyone’s posted anything here, but I feel it necessary to bring some points up at the halfway point of the season. 

Firstly, and most importantly, what a marked improvement from last year!  The Buccaneers are 5-4 and could have easily been 7-2 if it wasn’t for that game in Detroit where they shot themselves in the foot or for that very winnable Jacksonville game at home.  I was optimistic at the beginning of the year that this was going to be an improved team from that ’06 squad, but I had no idea just how much of an impact that Jeff Garcia would have.  You got to give that guy credit!  Without him, the Buccaneers record would undoubtedly be different then it is now.  I’d venture to say that the rest of the season and – if they get there – that the postseason will hinge on his ability to make plays when he needs to.  Other then that, you got to love the guy’s efficiency.  It’s nothing really too flashy, but downright efficient … and the Bucs are in the driver’s seat because of him. 

Well … they are also in the driver’s seat because of the Defense.  I think that it’s safe to say that they have (re)found their identity again.  And that is exactly what fans have been screaming for the past two years at least.  With the emergence of the Jermaine Philips and Tanard Jackson duo, I think that this team has two of hardest hitting safeties in the league.  I swear that I have never seen hits as hard as those guys have on unsuspecting receivers (and tight ends) – ever.  Dallas Clark is a big tight end who plays for Indy.  I swear to God that I have never seen a hit as hard as Jackson threw on that guy.  And it seems as though all that energy is rubbing off on the rest of the boys.  Major props to Monte for getting them back to where we want to be.  It feels good to be able to identify with these guys.  Buccaneers football has always been defined by defense. 

Of course injuries are a big story this year, but I don’t want to harp about it.  Good teams find ways to win and I am going to give Gruden ALL the proper respect that he deserves for finding ways to win games despite a nasty epidemic if players out for weeks at a time and for those who are on IR.  Very simply put:  good teams find ways to win despite tough circumstances.  The Bucs are doing a good job …  

To the fans: support this team …get loud when our defense takes the field. 

To some of you sports writers who disrespected the Buccaneers at the beginning of the year and are now “on the wagon”:  EFF YOU. 

To the team and the organization:  thanks for making Bucs football fun to watch again. 

To my tailgate compadres:  see you on 11/25 for the Washington game … I’ll be there early. 

As always, GO BUCCANEERS!  Beat the crap out of Atlanta!

 

Rob

The Bucs play their first game of the 2007 season tonight, but the bigger news is bad news.  Mike Alstott, with Bruce Allen by his side, announced yesterday that he had sustained another injury to his neck and wouldn’t play the 2007 season.  He has subsequently been placed on injured reserve and although he is still a Buccaneer, speculation over his official retirement has commenced.   

As a fan, it’s really difficult to articulate all my feelings into words.  It saddens me to realize that we probably will never see Mike again doing his thing, but I get goose bumps remembering how his style of play helped to define the Buccaneers as a smash mouth – punch you in the face type team.  I remember his first year in 1996 and how he made an immediate impact on the team.  I remember sitting in the stands with Tiffeny for the Saints game in fact, and remarking back then that this guy was something special.  It was awesome reading or listening to defenders’ post game comments about Mike.  Most were to the tune of – that fullback they have is unstoppable.    Do any of you remember how you started to feel a bit more prideful when telling people that you were a Buccaneers fan?  I did and I give credit to Mike before any other factors. 

Fast forward through 11 seasons, 71 touchdowns, 5,088 rushing yards, and countless battered bodies and you have a career that is nothing short of stellar.  But Mike’s popularity has never been defined by numbers themselves.  Granted, the above numbers are impressive, but Mike has always been a fan favorite because of the way he played the game.  I have often wondered what it was exactly that has made him so wildly popular, and I think that it was his grit that Bucs fans appreciated the most.  Our identity was built around him on offense as a team that was coming at you with a freight train …and good luck stopping it.  It may have been vanilla and predictable, but it was Buccaneers football.  Rich McKay’s quote in today’s St. Pete Times says it the best:  “A lot of these (players) are really tough guys.  But with Mike, you can see that and people really appreciate it.  He was a big part of our success because of the way that he closed out games.  Teams knew it.  They knew if it was going into the third or fourth quarter, they were in deep trouble.”  I can’t think of a statement that defines Alstott’s contributions better then this. 

Whether or not he will return in 2008 is yet to be seen, but most people consider it to be unlikely.  So if we have indeed seen the last of Mike’s days on the playing field it should be known that I feel privileged to have witnessed 11 remarkable seasons and countless bruising runs.  I’m thankful for all of the contributions that Mike has made on the field and though I am fully aware that other players await their turn at filling his position, I guarantee that we will never – ever – see another player like Alstott was.  And that thought makes me both happy … and sad …

 

Thanks for everything Mike.  Go Bucs!

 

Rob