After reeling in what many believe and hope will be a haul of young talent, the Buccaneers will finally get their first look of that crop (plus several other UDFA's and unsigned free agents) at the team's rookie camp, beginning today. Just as curious as I am to see what kind of havoc our new toys can wreak on the interior of the defensive line, I'm curious to see not only how well the receivers can catch the ball, but also how well UDFA signee QB Jevan Snead can get them the ball. Don't sleep on him as a viable insurance policy at the quarterback position down the line. Some blogosphere and web Buccaneer musings.......
Add another quarterback to the list....at least to the Bucs' rookie minicamp roster. USF QB Matt Groethe will attend rookie minicamp looking to draw enough attention to merit consideration for a free agent contract. The Buccaneers just signed the aforementionedSnead to a free agent contract, giving them four quarterbacks under contract, so Groethe's attempt to crack the top 4 (and thus arguably secure at least a practice squad spot) might not be so easy, at least in Tampa. Obviously I don't happen to be very high on Groethe, but maybe he will surprise.
The Times takes an early stab at the 2010 starters. I happen to disagree with a few of their selections, namely Kyle Moore over Tim Crowder at LDE and Sabby over Sean Jones at SS. It's way too early and anything can happen. Fun to talk about, though.
Ira Kaufman gives out his draft grades for all 32 teams....including a grade of B for the Buccaneers. Grades of "C" for the Raiders, Niners, and Jets? C'mon Ira.....lighten up a bit!
Stephen Holder of the Times held a chat this week, in which he answered questions regarding, among many things, the issue of Bucs' re-signing LT Donald Penn and MLB Barrett Ruud. He sees re-signing both as a high priority for the team, with Penn having a higher priority. I tend to agree....both with that and with his later comment that Penn is better than many LT's in the league. I'm hopeful a deal gets done before training camp, as the price will go way up if they wait until the season starts or later to re-sign him....barring an awful performance (in which case he'd be allowed to walk anyways). His reported diet and new training regimen can't hurt the chances of a deal getting done.