As we're all looking forward to the Bucs battling the New Orleans Saints later today for a shot at the NFL Playoffs, I've got a bunch of links from the past weeks for your perusal. Enjoy these until the game starts, and then come cheer for the Bucs!
We'll start off on a depressing note: blackouts. While the general feeling seems to be that the blackouts will go away as the economy and the team get better, Jeff Carlson over at Joe Bucs Fan has a different view. He believes blackouts are here to stay as the home viewing experience has overtaken the stadium viewing experience in terms of quality and cost.
And on another sad note, it appears that Cadillac Williams will test the free agency waters first before talking about a contract extension with the Bucs, according to Pewter Report. While Cadillac feels the team has treated him well and he loves being a Buc, he can't turn down free agency and the possibility of a bigger role in an offense as well as more money. The Bucs may need to find themselves another third-down back this offseason.
Of course, there have been plenty of positive articles as well. One of the many websites covering the Seattle Seahawks, Sportspress Northwest, was so impressed with the Bucs' rebuilding efforts that they wrote an article about that effort and what the Seahawks should take away from the Bucs' experience.
Albert Breer over at NFL.com also wrote about the rebuilding efforts in a rather lengthy column covering many different subjects. Mark Dominik's 'second draft' of picking up free agent and waived rookies during the season is highlighted as a key aspect of the Bucs' personnel approach. And Elliot Harrison for the same outlet has also written about the Young Bucs. That includes an extensive look at the pieces in place for the future, but it also includes a video from NFL Network's Playbook on Josh Freeman's play.
And finally, there's some hardcore Bucs analysis. First, there are two Bull Rush columns by Steve White on the Bucs D-line: one for week 14, one for week 15. And from the other side of the ball, former O-lineman Ben Muth of Football Outsidders wrote about the Skins great day rushing against our Bucs defense. While that
That's it for today. Hopefully this will help bridge the gap till the game starts, when we can all watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers try to take it to the New Orleans Saints in the season finale.