Time to Reflect After entering the play-offs on the crest of a wave of optimism and hope we all settled down into our comfy chairs, or seats if you were at The Ray Jay last Saturday, and were ready to cheer The Bucs on in a titanic battle and yet by the end of that catastrophic first quarter we were 14-0 down and the die was already cast, though we didn’t know it at the time. The Bucs are not a team built for big comebacks and so it sadly proved, and though we lost in probably the most gallant way possible it turned out to be no consolation. What left us all so frustrated was the fact that we dominated the game in virtually every facet except for scoreboard – sadly that remains the most vital statistic of all. Getting it down to bare facts we lost for three principal reasons - we turned the ball over, we couldn’t run the ball, and despite being in tying position and having 4 decent opportunities in the 3rd and 4th quarter we couldn’t get the bloody thing in the end zone. Only Buc fans will remember the monumental defensive effort in a losing play-off cause, seen previously in St Louis in January 2000 and Tampa in 1980, whilst others will focus on the back breaking drop by Edell Shepherd who just has to make that catch – he didn’t, the call was correct and the moment and opportunity was lost, enough said. A few random things I think 1. As good as he has been Mike Alstott must wonder what role remains for him in the Buc offense, or what he has left to prove. He came back from injury to be a vital contributor this season which he wanted, he’s got the Super Bowl ring and umpteen Pro Bowl ones as well so the biggest question he must ask himself is what is left for him to do? My gut reaction is this Buc legend will retire – if he does he’s left a legacy to be proud of. 2. I think I can’t stress how much we need to strengthen at the Receiver spot, even allowing for the possibility of a Michael Clayton renaissance. Joey spent the season effectively on his Jack Jones out there, and we need someone else as well as Mr Clayton, to support him. Time for some free agency action methinks. 3. I think Edell Shepherd may be playing his football elsewhere next season. 4. Is it me or does Michael Pittman look like a modern day baseball slugger with those pumped up arms. It’s pity those very same arms didn’t get a decent swing in at Sean Taylor in the 3rd quarter. 5. Conundrum – who was the bigger tit(s) last Saturday? a. Nick Halling for making up a fictional dominating Dolphins victory over our Bucs this year – funny that Nick, as we kicked their backsides from where I was sat b. Joe Theisman for his assassination of the officiating crew after ejecting Sean Taylor, and yet despite learning of the facts we got no apology or back track. Remember he also guaranteed Joe Gibbs would change punt returner in the game to Santana Moss (he didn’t), and also praised Jon Gruden for putting the game in the hands of Chris Simms…err duh, when the score is 14-3 against you what the hell is Gruden supposed to do, hand off to the full-back? c. Ryan Nece and Jermaine Phillips for those stupid hats? d. Any of the Miami alumn players for referring to Miami as “The U” – the player intro’s showed that for some NFL players, if you give them an ounce of freedom, it’s akin to handing responsibility to the average high school class My vote? Theisman by a surgically enhanced nose. 6. I think Chris Simms will be our starter in 2006 – he’s five years younger, is more mobile and has a better arm, and that my friends makes him Gruden’s guy. If your memory is intact you’ll recall Gruden has a penchant for the mobile quarterback hence his love affair with Rich Gannon, and failed pursuits of Jeff Garcia and Mark Bruenell. This no knock on Brian Griese who I also think is a quality player, and must lead the NFL in the bad luck category at present. The salary cap means only one bona fide starter on their market values can be retained; Tim Rattay’s presence rubber stamps the departure. 7. I think when all is said and done Jon Gruden has re-established himself in the upper echelon of NFL coaches with his 2005 effort. The confidence has been restored and the swagger is back. When you lose a game directly as a result of your own cock-ups, it’s easy to focus on the negative and point the figure – heck, I’ve just done it with Edell Shepherd – but if we get down to brass tacks, we didn’t get the job done. Putting only 10 points on the board will not win many games, whilst giving up 14 on turnovers in the first 10 minutes means we didn’t play well enough to win. No grudge against The Redskins, they took their opportunities when they came along and we spurned ours. Twice we had loose balls on the floor but just couldn’t fall on them. At the end of what has been an eventful and uplifting Buccaneer season it’s perhaps best to find some positives out of last Saturday. For a start Chris Simms looked like he gives us something to work with – most of his throws were decent ones, save for the tipped balls which were a killer but that’s a rectifiable error when a player stands 6ft 4 inches. He showed poise under pressure and has an arm that I suspect Gruden has fallen in love with. We now have a home run threat in the backfield, a tight end keeper for years to come in Alex Smith and some much needed youth and cohesion on the offensive line. On Defense it was just like the days of old – limiting a team to 120 yards in total offense in a game is like pitching men against boys; Portis and Santana Moss were snuffed out, Simeon made Chris Samuels look like a goon and Mark Brunell could do nothing to stop the juggernaut that he was facing. Pleasingly, news of the demise of the Bucs defensive demise has been greatly exaggerated, and with Monte back next year you can be confident that once again this will be the cornerstone of our team. Nutball that he is, Simeon certainly comes to play in the big games and I do actually hope he is retained though what hat entails for our cap implications I’m not sure. The rest of the defensive lineman are still youthful, whilst emerging players like Jermaine Phillips, Will Allen, Barret Ruud and Ryan Nece also bode well. A BIG dilemma comes in Derrick Brooks and his incredible salary cap hit of $11m – clearly we cannot retain him at that amount, but could we really consider the possibility of number 55 wearing a different uniform? A compromise must be reached to retain a Buc legend who can still play, and leads the Bucs all-time in the intangibles category of how he prepares for a game, leads his team and conducts his life. Brooks is the best defensive player ever to wear our uniform in my humble opinion and I’ll be gutted if he does depart – I pray it doesn’t come to that, but in the modern day NFL you just never know. So the play-offs rumble on without us but there’s still so much we can take as a positive from 2005. We now are stocked at quarterback, we’ve found a quality every down running back, we have youth on the offensive line and our defense remains better than most; that alone gives us the building blocks for next season and beyond and reasons to be hopeful. Nod of Acknowledgement to……. The Buccaneer Defense. What an effort guys, you did all you could. Get in the Real World Award …….The ESPN/ABC Announcing Crew …. Maguire sounds like that nutty old village idiot who plonks himself down next to you in a bar and warbles his own opinion to you, regardless of your ambivalence; Patrick (the pick of a poor bunch) goes totally overboard and ejaculates at the sight of even the most routine two-yard plunge by the fullback, whilst Theisman is so full of shite it’s oozing out of his mouth every time he opens it, to impart his fundamentalist opinions on those unfortunate enough to be in earshot. This TV crew three are the best advert for live radio or the mute button that I’ve ever heard.