Reasons to be Cheerful Once you get to the stage of being a Sam Wyche like “2 dash 7” and your NFL Season is down the crapper, you start to look for the positives. If you’re a Buc fan pre-1997 you’ll know exactly what I’m on about here as before The Glazers rolled into town we had plenty of practice at this dubious art. So what can we look for? I’m sure our resident draft expert Wayne Maw already has in his mind several players who may be available to us in what will certainly be a top six selection come April 2007. Alternatively a more agreeable salary cap position could make us major players in free agency though I am yet to be convinced of the merits of paying major dosh for marginal players – see Givens, David, or Randle El, Antwaan for recent examples. What I’d like to see in the final weeks of this season is the bench emptied a little bit more and a few auditions for some of the marginal players on our roster, to actively see if there is any future for them in the NFL. A few things I think 1) A sure sign our once vaunted Defense is no more is clearly illustrated by the amount of big plays we give up. Yes yes, I know Ronde tripped but this just didn’t used to happen, and back in the day we could defend the run consistently as well (cue Hovis Ad music and grainy Black and White film clip of Warren Sapp squashing a ball-carrier). 2) What the hell is a group demonstration? Just what the hell was that penalty all about? Utter bollocks. 3) I think Id like to see Bruce Gradkowski put a bit more velocity on the ball, especially on some of his deeper throws. Gotta get it there fast kid if your going to hang around at this level. 4) I’ve decided to punish my three-year old daughter for recent bad behaviour and take her along to see City with me this weekend. Yes I know it borders on child cruelty but if I have to go through another 0-0 then so should she – no chance of any “group demonstrations” by City players these days. 5) Good luck to Big Blue this weekend in Columbus against the dingles from Ohio State. 6) I think I genuinely don’t give a shit that Emmitt Smith won Dance with the whatsits. 7) I think I hope the Bucs can find a more graceful exit for Mike Alstott. Its sorry to see a career Buc go out so meekly in what is surely his final season. If Gruden is too scared to blood them then maybe they shouldn’t be on the roster anyway, and I see no benefit to Messrs Stovall, Zemaitis, Pearson and maybe even McCown spending the last seven weeks gathering splinters in their backsides when we have naff all on the line. It’s not as if the incumbents have sparkled through the first nine weeks either is it. Monday’s defeat summed up the season quite concisely really. We actually carved out several opportunities for ourselves to establish a solid hold on the game but due to poor play-calling (what was that long pass all about at the end of the 2nd quarter), player ineptitude or simply comedy store officiating we were unable to take advantage and let another game slip well away from us. The antics of Keyshawn the fraudulent Twit and some of his other bozo mates on that team irked me a little, but I rest easy in the knowledge that they aren’t going anywhere in the long term. Indeed what does amuse me is then when the self-anointed world’s greatest wide receiver sits down at the end of his non-Hall of Fame career, the only real success he can reflect upon in the play-offs comes courtesy of the Bucs and Jon Gruden, who blatantly kicked his ass out of town – this makes me chuckle. This week we move on to face the Redskins in a match-up of back-up quarterbacks and underachieving teams. The last time we crossed swords came with the backdrop of the play-offs, but there’s no such significance attached to this one which has the general appeal of a schedule filler. Our upcoming murderous road trip to Dallas means we need this game to avoid going into a Leeman Bennett 2-9 scenario and so bizarrely I think we will be up for it. Its very noble of Chucky to trot out the blame me party line for this seasons fall from grace, but what we need to see are remedies to repeat errors and holes in our performances. This week I expect us to focus on running the ball, so I see a commitment to Cadillac and a 100 yard game from him to restore our faith in his future as an NFL runner. Bucs 19-13 in a game watched by the true diehards. Nod of Acknowledgement to – Willie Parker Great game last Sunday and a man who is personally carrying the running game for my fantasy team – keep it up fast boy. Get in the Real World Award – The Boston Red Sox The franchise that is willing to part with a mere $5M just for the rights to even negotiate with a guy who has never pitched outside Japan. Doesn’t at all smack of desperation does it. US Sports Story That Bores Me Senseless – the decline of the Patriots. Jesus how much more can we stomach – yes they’ve been very good for the past six years but please stop the harping on and on and on and on and on about what might be ailing them – they’ve been the darlings of the NFL media for too long and I don’t give a monkeys if they’ve lost a game or two, boo bloody hoo. How could you tell the mood up there anyway as Belichick has a permanent expression of a man sucking on a lemon.