Thursday, January 28, 2010

If I were the GM- Tampa Bay

The Bucs are certainly a team in flux.  Coach Raheem Morris seemed a little overmatched in the beginning of last season, as he fired his offensive coordinator.  Then, as the season progressed, he fired his defensive coordinator.  Since, Morris is so young, and wasn't a defensive coordinator, I'll cut him some slack, since he was learning on the job, and can grow into a good head coach.
Tampa Bay has an underrated quarterback situation.  Josh Freeman, who to some seemed to be a reach in the first round in the previous draft, sparked the offense, and led them to an upset of Green Bay.  His backup Josh Johnson was solid in his limited opportunities last season.  Running back Cadillac Williams was pleasant surprise, considering the disappointing season from free agent signee Derrick Ward.  Kellen Winslow Jr. is solid at the tight end position, and his back up Jerremy Stevens is not bad for a number two tight end.
Their weaknesses were in moving the ball, yards allowed, the red zone on both sides of the ball, creating pressure, and protecting the ball.  They were good at creating turnovers.  However, they took a lot of risks to create those turnovers, which led to a lot of big plays against them.  Their biggest needs are along the defensive line, wide receiver- they may lose Antonio Bryant in free agency, defensive backfield- Ronde Barber is getting long in the tooth, outside linebacker, and offensive line- their line is middle of the road.
Their top priority should be to move to number one to acquire Suh.  Getting someone to clog up the middle, and creating havoc at the quarterback's feet should limit the amount of risk the Bucs take on defense, thus allowing fewer big plays.  They do have an extra second round pick to use as bait for the Rams, so they can grab Suh.  If they don't succeed in trading up, they should stay put and take the best player available, either Eric Berry or Russell Okung.  Personally, I'd prefer Okung- the best lineman in the draft.  Though, I understand why someone would take Berry, and his amazing athletic ability.  In the second round, they could address the defensive line, defensive back, and or wide receiver, with the number 35 and 46 picks.  Another option is to trade back.  Perhaps, a team like San Francisco with two middle first rounders would want to move up to take Okung or Berry.  The Bucs could stockpile picks, say the number 13, a third and a fifth.  At 13, the Bucs could take Carlos Dunlap, Jason Pierre-Paul for help at the defensive end spot, Joe Hadden or Taylor Mays for the secondary, or Dez Bryant for the wide receiver spot.

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