Hope you and yours had a fantastic Christmas yesterday. Obviously some big news on the Bucs front yesterday with Raheem Morris being named the new defensive coordinator, effective at the conclusion of this season. I like having a guy who knows the ins and outs of an effective defensive system already in place, who is also knowledgeable of division opponents, energetic, and is well liked by his players. I think Coach Morris is going to do a fantastic job.
In other news, Michael Clayton is not feeling the love from the team, claiming his talents "have not been utilized completely". The LOLicopter is taking off on that comment. Really, that's quite a statement from a guy who stunk it up since the end of the 2005 season and has dropped way too many passes and pretty much just failed to mature as a player. He plans to test the free agent market in the offseason. Good luck with that, man.
Jeff Garcia publicly stated his desire to return to the team, but acknowledged that it may be his last game. With the maelstrom between him and Gruden, I can't imagine he'd want to come back if he could go to another team close to getting over their respective division hump without the weekly headbutting with the coach, like the Bears or maybe even the 49ers. If they've patched things up a bit, then maybe he'll try to work something out here, but who's to say they wouldn't clash again?
Derrick Brooks missed his second consecutive day of practice with a sore hammy. Although that's a tough injury to play through, with the Bucs on a maddening 3 game losing streak and with a playoff spot on the line, I expect to see a fiery competitor like Brooks take the field on Sunday.