The Pessimistic View on the Release of Antonio Bryant Welcome to Tampa, Eric Yarber. We just released one of our most dangerous offensive weapons and now Michael “Hot Hands” Clayton (for all of you fans of the movie Little Giants) is the head honcho in the receiver meetings and drills. I understand that Antonio Bryant is not Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson. However, for a team that has a young quarterback and lack of depth at the WR position, Antonio Bryant is a tremendous loss for this football team. The debate on the message board convinced me to write this article, but I also felt compelled after the following happened last night: I was writing a paper and became interrupted by an unusual sound. I later realize that it is the sound of my leaking ceiling as a result of the torrential rain that Boston has been battered with lately. It became so bothersome that I yelled, “WHAT’S WITH ALL OF THESE DROPS!”. As I took a break from writing and read about Bryant being released, I realized that what I had said about numerous drops might be something I should get used to saying come this fall as a result of the departure of Bryant. Don’t get me wrong. I despise players in the mold of Bryant who think they can say whatever they want and call out coaches and players when interviewed. As a person, he is not a stalwart. However, we’re not talking about Terrell Owens or Adam “Pacman” Jones. His character wasn’t intolerable! Given his effort on the field, I think it could be tolerated. Yes, he was hurt most of last season, but think about the games he did play. When #5 (I’ve decided to start referring to Freeman as this as well until Morris starts referring to him by name) was struggling, there seemed to be a stretch of games where he’d throw some balls up towards Bryant…and Bryant came down with most of those too. It’s no secret that Morris and Dominik are looking to build the entire team through the draft; in fact, that was mentioned when Morris was asked about the release of Bryant. I too believe that the core of a team should be acquired through the draft, but I also believe that it should be SUPPLEMENTED WITH OTHER FREAKING PLAYERS. Why don’t we release Winslow, Ward, and Faine while we’re at it. Think about the value that Winslow, Ward, Faine, and Bryant have given us compared to Piscitelli, Trueblood, and Clayton. The bottom line is that there needs to be somewhat of a balance. Morris claimed that Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne came up together in addition to Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin. However, you could sense a hesitation when Morris tried to connect that to the Bucs; he even said Freeman and “whoever”. There isn’t one way of doing things. A good player is a good player is a good player. Is there a chance we’ll draft a decent WR or pick one up in free agency? Of course. But why not add this player to an arsenal of weapons (i.e. this player + Bryant) that will aid #5 as opposed to this new player + “Hot Hands” Clayton. I understand there is a business and money side to everything, this release of Bryant included. However, I think that we should have paid him his price since the top priority is develop your young quarterback and give him legitimate options. Bryant has game-changing ability, and he has the skills to stretch the field vertically too. Despite any money issues the Glazers may have, how about this idea: Winning will help make money. Winning will fill the seats, sell hot dogs, and excite the people of Tampa Bay again. I’m not suggesting the release of Antonio Bryant is mind-blowing and will be the ultimate downfall of the Bucs this season. I’m suggesting that it is no way a step in the right direction. Morris and Dominik claim that they want to build long-term. What about now? Win now. We have an easy schedule next year. Win now. Don’t accept defeat like this release of Bryant is making it look like. Let’s start being proactive and keep players who the team will benefit from, regardless of if he is acquired through the draft or not. Let’s stop shooting ourselves in the foot and trying to make positives out of it. Let’s win, and let’s keep the pieces that will achieve these ends. Chris Bruno, March 2010