Around the Pirate Ship Welcome to a popular regular weekly feature on BUCPOWER.COM. Each week, I will ask some of the regular correspondents of the Bucs UK, what they think about a particular situation affecting the Buccaneers. And in the style of ESPN's superb "Around the Horn" program, you'll get their differing opinions. And each week, we will open the question and discussion up on the message board to hear what everyone else thinks ... HORN! And this week's question is:- What do you think of the Bucs' lack of action in the early stages of free agency? John Davies Disappointing, but expected. I wouldn't overpay for some of the high profile free agents currently hawking their services, but in light of the number of trades that have been completed since last week, I would definitely have liked to see us more proactive in that area. I would always prefer to show the money to a player who has walked the NFL walk, as opposed to an unproven rookie. For example, the Ravens have obtained a Pro Bowl receiver and team leader for effectively, a little more than a third rounder, while paying him $28m over four years. Although moneywise $10m is guaranteed, we trousered that much to Bryant last season to catch 39 balls. So, considering we gave Clayton a $23m deal last spring, $5m extra for a proper receiver would seem like a pretty good move, while not in any way breaking the bank. A 6th rounder for Brown is a safe signing, however Rotoworld commented yesterday that he 'might have 2010 fantasy value .... as a WR5' Gary Woollard I really am sitting on the fence over free agency & can’t make my mid up if the situation is good or bad, the lack of a collective bargaining agreement has changed the landscape massively. Of course we would all love to see the owners “flash the cash” & bring in some big names to bolster the ranks, through free agency or via trade, but those rumors you keep hearing about the owners struggling to keep up the huge interest payments on loaned secured to buy Manchester United are probably true, the situation has probably not been helped by the worldwide recession, the empty seat count at the Ray Jay is not down to poor Buccaneer performances alone, this whole financial situation must have had an adverse affect on bringing in new faces. Let's not forget however spending big money does not guarantee a successful introduction of a player or successes on the field, Albert Hainsworth’s move to the Skins last off season is evidence of this in a big way, the Washington fans must be wondering if all that top dollar has been invested wisely, picking a big name player out of one system & dropping him into another is fraught with pitfalls & can backfire in a big way. Also remember the player must fit the clubs own system as well as bring a positive influence to the dressing room T O would be an upgrade ability wise as would Moss or Ocho Wanko, but at what cost? Haynesworth might still come good but he could be more trouble than he’s worth; he could also have been and very nearly was a Buccaneer! So it looks like a draft building initiative by Morris & the front office so lets hope it’s a good one , we have plenty of top picks surely we are due a vintage year, they do happen from time to time, luck will play its part as well as skillful drafting. I feel that now its been made clear the Raheem Morris is being given another year we must back his & the Glazers judgment, things don’t look to bright at the moment but with a late flutter F A signings as more players get released & a fair draft, all could change. PS: The Buccaneer Super–bowl, bandwagon fans, got off at the last stop, we need to stay firmly onboard. this is proper Tampa Bay football as most of us know it ! Steve Garget Build through the draft or splash the cash on some big name free agents? I must admit to being torn between the two sides of the debate but I would feel a lot more comfortable if I had any confidence in the Coach and the GM. They seem to know the direction in which they want to go and with a wealth of picks in this years draft they have the chance to put their mark on the team, but there’s something missing and I’m struggling to put my finger on it. I don’t have a problem with a youth policy but the franchise can’t be successful in the short term on youth alone and I don’t think the paying public have the patience to wait 3, 4 or 5 years for the draft to bear fruit. The locker room doesn’t have too many old heads at the moment (Ronde but who else) so we have no choice but to make some moves in free agency. I‘m certainly not in favour of shelling out $50/60 million contracts for the quality of free agent that is currently available so we need to look at those that can be signed for sensible money. I don’t have a problem with the signing of Reggie Wayne but would have rather seen them go after Chris Chambers. As for other potential signings, I’m not going to offer any names as there is nobody I’m particularly crazy about but let’s see how it pans out. Apologies for sitting on the fence but that only reflects how indifferent I feel about the situation. Jan de Kok Free agency is always nice to follow, there are a lot of transactions of players every year. Every year I look forward to the new signings of the Bucs. Last year we were 3-13 and that was the signal for a new era in Tampa. The Bucs have released several veteran players in the last two years. The most players on the roster haven’t much experience in professional football right now. That sounds not very good at the moment, in my opinion Tampa has to do something. The board have announced they will be quiet on the market. My question to the board is why? They want to draft a lot of young players, but I think that’s not the solution for our problems right now. We can’t only trust on rookies. In my opinion you need a mix of veterans, young players and rookies. If we don’t, I expect we lose a lot of games in 2010 to. In the past we were very successful in free agency. The addition of Joe Jurevicius, Keenan McCardell and Antonio Bryant were great! If you are smart, you can get a few sleepers. It’s always worth to try it! At the moment we have needs in different positions. This years draft class is maybe good for our defense, but we need more. We need to test the market. In that case I hope the Bucs will be active as soon as possible. The regular Bucs UK panelists are:- Andrew Battye, Gary Botteley, Nathan Cartmel, Andy Coish, Ryan Collings, Mike Davidson, John "Jay Mariotti" Davies, Paul Davison, Jan de Kok, Steve Garget, Wayne Hough, Alex Howells, Dan Money, Graeme Reid, Steve Turner and Gary Woollard.