1) Mike Clayton will be cut. The Buccaneers drafted two receivers in the first four rounds of the Draft for a reason. Benn and Williams will start with Stroughter at the slot. Brown and Stovall will be rotational receivers, but 4th and 5th on the depth chart respectively. Preston Parker and Mario Urrutia will be on the practice squad on make occasional appearances due to injury.
2) Josh Freeman will throw more touchdowns than interceptions this season. The entire offseason with his coaches and teammates will greatly benefit him. He also has a whole season under his belt. Just remember... Two of his three wins came against the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints and the playoff-bound Green Bay Packers.
3) The Buccaneers will win the first game of the season. It's not that bold of a prediction. The Browns are still the Browns after all.
4) The McCoy-Price-Miller DT rotation will boost the Buccaneers back into the top 15 rush defenses.The Panthers and Steelers will be huge, early tests to gauge this. Don't count out that you may see all three on the line at the same time.
5) Donald Penn will gain at least 30 pounds during the season. Dude, put down the fork and get yourself the contract you deserve. I would offer "6 years/$40 Million/$15 MIllion guaranteed" with escalators for keeping his weight down. LOL... Just kidding.
6) Sabby Piscitelli will be cut. He has shown that he was a poor draft choice by the previous regime and needs to go. He misses tackles by taking horrible angles. Strong safeties should be able to step up to the line scrimmage on occasion and help in run support. He might be a special teamer somewhere.
7) The Buccaneers will win "8" games this year. This is a little bold for my own tastes, but I have faith. Carolina's defense will suffer greatly this year will the loss of Julius Peppers. Atlanta's secondary doesn't strike fear into anyone. Dunta Robinson can't do it all by himself. Pittsburgh is a possible win Big Ben being gone, but it's kind of a long shot with how good their defense always is. Plus, we got Detroit and St. Louis on the schedule.
8) Barrett Ruud will play out his mind this year. Think about it. Everything is in his favor. He has two new toys in the middle of the defensive line (McCoy and Price). He won't be learning a new defense, but be sticking with the familiar Tampa 2 style. He has solid players all around him. Plus, he will be playing for a new contract. Hopefully, the Buccaneers don't let it get all the way to free agency. "5 years/ $35 Million/$15 Million guaranteed" has a good ring to it. Do not give him "Patrick Willis" money.
9) My cut list... (Notables)
S Sabby Piscitelli
DT Dre Moore (practice squad)
WR Mike Clayton "the blocking icon"
LB Rod Wilson (practice squad)
LB Adam Hayward (practice squad)
DE Michael Bennett
DE Tim Crowder (practice squad)
WR Mark Bradley (practice squad)
WR Mario Urrutia (practice squad)
WR Preston Parker (practice squad)
TE John Gilmore
QB Rudy Carpenter (practice squad)
OL James Lee (practice squad)
WR Terrance Nunn (practice squad)
10) My 53-Man Depth Chart going into the year...
Offense
QB - J. Freeman / J. Johnson / J. Snead
RB - C. Williams / D. Ward / K. Huggins / C. Smith
FB - E. Graham / R. Taylor
WR - M. Williams / A. Benn / S. Stroughter / R. Brown / M. Stovall
TE - K. Winslow / J. Stevens / R. Purvis
LT - D. Penn / X. Fulton
LG - J. Zuttah / M. Dile / X. Fulton
C - J. Faine / J. Compas
RG - D. Joseph / M. Dile
RT - J. Trueblood / D. Dotson
Defense
LE - M. Evans / K. Moore
UT - G. McCoy / R. Miller / R. Sims
NT - B. Price / R. Miller / R. Sims
RE - S. White / E. Lorig
WLB - G. Hayes / A. Crowell
MLB - B. Ruud / N. Koutouvides
SLB - Q. Black / J. Alston / D. Watson
LCB - A. Talib / E.J. Biggers / E. Mack
RCB - R. Barber / M. Lewis / E. Mack
FS - T. Jackson / C. Lynch
SS - S. Jones / C. Grimm
Special Teams
K - H. Lawrence
P - B. Bowden
LS - A. Economos
KR - C. Smith
PR - S. Stroughter
These are just my thoughts. Feedback?
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