Bucs Fail Giant Test, Head for Lengthy Vacation The jolt of reality we all got last Sunday, which kicked in for me somewhere around the latter stages of the 3rd quarter, was a bitter pill to swallow. As the game slowly slipped away I searched for answers in my tiny, totally Bucs biased mind, but sadly kept coming back to the same conclusion – we just weren’t plain good enough to win that game. The Giants advanced because in short, they were better than us in all phases, Offense, Defense and Special Teams. You know it’s never a good sign when you can make Eli Manning look poised but so it came to pass. Things looked to be going oh so well in quarter number 1, with Earnest Graham finding holes in both the ground game and as a receiver, and Jeff Garcia giving us an initial spark. The defense meanwhile flashed its teeth and got in Eli’s face, with Gaines Adams and Jovan Haye in particular making their presence felt – heck even Chris Hovan dropped a runner for a loss to show you how on top we were. And then ……, well and then it all went flat very fast. The Giants found their feet and put together a lengthy drive and in effect we never generated any significant pressure again all day as a defensive unit. On offense we mysteriously forgot about Earnest Graham and committing to the run and instead produced zip in the way points or any meaningful drives. I’m sure if Chucky had his time again he’d change a few of the things he called in that momentum turning 2nd quarter, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. A few things I think 1. I think the glaring hole in our roster is at the Wide Receiver spot. Joey G is neutralised and our offense goes with him. The Giants loaded the box daring us to beat them with the deep ball and we just couldn’t do it. Finding help, and quality at WR should be a primary off-season objective. 2. Sticking on a similar subject Ive seen Chad Johnsons name thrown around in a few quarters this past week. In a word, no no no no and no. The guys an attention seeking diva, with his better days in the rear view mirror who would get along with Gruden about as well as his cousin did. 3. Two names this season will be remembered for, neither of which anybody could have predicted at the start of the year – Earnest Graham and Michael Spurlock. Their surprise rise to fame mirrored the Bucs worst to first title run. Indeed you need only mention the name “Spurlock” in order to bring a smile to any Buc fans face – its now an official entry as a Noun in the dictionary. 4. I think I expect Derrick Brooks to be back though I’m not as yet certain this is a good thing. Granted he’s not the player he was five years ago, but its difficult trying to ascertain when a warrior and a legend should get a tap on the shoulder. That moment is very near though I wouldn’t want to be the man who had to do it. 5. Lee’s controversial thought for the day – I’d probably look for a new starting QB, or consider re-installing Chris Simms if he can cut the mustard. Jeff Garcia is 38 and he isn’t going to get any better. Just my $0.02 but Im not sure pinning another season on the hat of a 38 year old QB with a gimpy back is a sensible policy. Where are we heading long term with this and can anybody out there see the Bucs winning a Superbowl with Jeff at the elm in the next two years, honestly? Ill await the bricks in my direction for this line of thinking but I just feel we need to be looking ahead rather than treading water. 6. Over the next three months in the lead up to the 2008 draft you’ll read all sorts of opinions as to where we should go with the 20th pick. More importantly you’ll also hear we got the steal of the 2007 draft in the 4th round – his name is Tanard Jackson and he will be your starting at Safety for us for the next 10 years. 7. If that was the last game Monte Kiffin coached for us can I be the first to salute a Buc legend. How could we ever manage without him? 8. Well all is said and done and The Patriots have won the Superbowl – sadly they will much as it guts me to admit it, and Ill be rooting against them for here on out – we can still happily recall a Division winning team than none of us dared to dream about back in July. Crucially in those key moments we allowed Eli Manning to get in rhythmn, and repeatedly find Amani Toomer in various open spots; Toomer indeed was a guy we never got to grips with throughout the day and his savvy in getting open and keeping drives alive was just the sort of job we had hoped Ike Hilliard might be doing for us; sadly that never materialised. Offensively, by the end of the 3rd quarter we were effectively in the tank with Garcia throwing a horrible interception as our desperation to find Joey Galloway reached a nadir, and as Joey slipped from focus so did our play-off lives. Once the dust had settled on the game I found myself at different emotions, at one point raging over another play-off flameout in our own house, whilst at others simply appreciative at the fact we’d probably overachieved to get to the damn post-season itself. The Bucs had not been blessed with great depth this season, and Joey Galloway’s injury and non-factor in the game was a pivotal event for us, and a key indicator as to why our offense was so ineffectual. When you factor in the losses of Cato June and Tanard Jackson it was just too much for this team to overcome. Over the season the players and the coaches played their tails off for the large part, and effort wise you just couldn’t fault them as a group. In reality any Super Bowl hopes were purely a pipe dream and I’m guessing as time goes by we will look at the 2007 season with more fondness than regret. Allied to the fact we are in a healthy cap situation and all our key players will be back in 2008, things bode well for our future success with an ownership that is committed to winning and a head coach with more zest than the average custodian. Now is the time for reflection and analysis, before we plan to end the NFC South division champion hoodoo that has dogged this division for the past few years. Maybe we are the team to put a stop to that little streak, after all we have won the darn thing three times in its first six years – more than any of the others; a nice positive note to take into the off-season, which I think on final analysis this Buc team deserves. Nod of Acknowledgement to - Eli Manning He took all the flak that was thrown his way prior to last Sunday, and promptly came up with the game of his NFL career so far. For that he deserves some credit even from his doubters, myself among them. Get in the Real World Award - Todd Collins Looks like his moment in the sun was only 4 weeks long and the Seahawks made this years play-off darling come crashing back down to earth in the 4th quarter of last saturdays game. Sports News Story that I liked Nice touch by the Redskins listing Sean Taylor as their starting safety for their play-off game. Classy and a lasting momento to a fallen player. Head on the Block Time Last week 2-2 (season 165-94 ) - Lock of the week is 9-2 Hmmm, some of those games last week caught me out, but keeping faith with the system its time to predict another home sweep. This weeks receivers of the OBE’s from Her Majesty are … Cheats, Cheese (lock of the week), Peyton and his Friends and Romo’s.