It's an End Zone – Don’t be Frightened Of It Well we began this year similar to last, registering zero touchdowns, killing any lingering optimism from the pre-season and leaving the watching Buccaneer nation wondering where the next TD is coming from. Granted losing your starting QB for two series and your fragile tailback for the game in the second half didn’t help, but the signs were not so good once Mike Holmgren made the necessary adjustments after the first quarter. The Bucs slow decline in the game did indeed drive me to alcohol but I’m sad to report that this tactic didn’t make us sound or play any better though that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the idea. What does worry me is our habitually anaemic offense under a supposed offensive genius; our lack of depth at wide receiver is frightening, though I don’t think we will “miss” David Boston as he’s never contributed anything to our team of any significance anyway. Instead he can join Bruce Allen’s roll of honour in acquisitions and legal troubles; Jerramy Stevens is next who now faces a certain jail term for driving whilst completely blitzed after an early spring jolly in Scottsdale, Arizona – is it at all possible for us to generate a positive headline these days? Anyways I digress, back to the Bucs offense or lack thereof and particularly the passing game, or shall we call it Joey Galloway as that’s effectively what it is. If Garcia does go down for any lengthy spell we are truly in the proverbial brown smelly stuff, as with a QB option of Luke McCown we are staring 3-13 straight in the face. Tellingly the Seahawk defenders openly stated how easier things got when Garcia went down which says it all about our rumoured QB depth. We may not yet have seen the last of Bruce Gradkowski – now there’s a thought to send a chill down your spine. A few things I think 1) It's clear the relationship between The GM and the local media is broken beyond repair. The press conferences are now painful to watch and the relationship will end in a separation shortly – the reporters won’t be going anywhere so we know what that means. A series of bad signings who have come back to haunt him look to have finally caught up with Bruce, with messrs Boston and Stevens legal woes this week adding the cherry on the sundae. 2) If you were to handpick a list of players we just cannot afford to lose to injury, Cadillac and Brian Kelly would be in the top five. Without them we are in major trouble on both sides of the ball. 3) Nice heads up to Sky this past week. UK TV viewers had the chance to watch eight of the 16 games in the opening week. Could we ever of imagined we would have it so good? To make it even better the Bucs are featured this Week 2, though I think the game is on more because of Reggie Bush and Drew Brees than our own cast of characters. 4) So Sammy Davis has been resigned by the Bucs this past week – warning cheap rat pack joke ahead – I wonder if Dean Martin could help at wideout, or Frank himself could solve our organisational woes. 5) I see Bill “free pass from the media” Belichick’s has been caught blatantly stealing defensive signals this past week. For such a notable and legendary coach the guy seems short of a brain cell on some things, especially when the issue of truth and honesty comes to light. He should have been carpeted years ago for the way he takes the pi$$ out of the injury report but it will be interesting to see if Mr Goodell does practice what he preaches and comes down hard with a sledgehammer punishment, as he did with transgressing players like Tank Johnson, Pacman and the Dog Fighter from Virginia. 6) Thank god a new FFL season is underway. Sunday nights just wouldn’t be the same without frantically checking how many yards your number six receiver has racked up in garbage time in Minnesota would it guys? Or am I the only one that obsessed with the game. 7) The NFC South does not make good reading this week with only the soap dodgers registering a flukey win in St Louis. I bet them big bad ass pick-up trucks were revved to their max in celebration on Sunday night down in Hicksville. Why do I picture a large portion of Twits fans like Bobby Bouche’s inner circle in The Waterboy? 8) Major benefit of being the interactive game this Sunday number 26 – it lessens the chance of Nick Halling commenting on us and therefore annoying me further during the course of the evening. 9) I think we all wish Kevin Everett all the luck in the world. His injury was a stark reminder to us all how violent this great game is, and how quickly it can all be taken away. We are rooting for him. Playing Seattle in their own backyard straight off the bat was a big ask, and we acquitted ourselves well until Bobby Engram’s catch of Matt Hasselbeck’s heave seemed to knock the wind out of us. Throw in Cadillac’s collision with the ball and departure sent our lingering hopes down the tubes, and it seemed to tail off very quickly after such a promising opening stanza. We need our key back fit and playing as soon as we can, and if he can maintain five yards a pop running the ball throughout the year, that will be a good thing and indicate progress amongst the young core of our front five. However we need to present more of a threat to score than simply looking for Joey G down the field as our most potent weapon is coming up for his pension in NFL terms, and can’t be expected to carry on lumping the passing game around on his back for the next four months. Is it the end zone itself that we are allergic to, as we seem so frightened of it. It took us three weeks last year to get into it and we reacted so badly the QB coughed up his spleen. More seriously we aren’t going to start beating anybody until we can put more points on the board, and looking at the Saints weapons on offense, and comparing them to our defense means we need to register at least 20 on the board this week to get in the win column. Can we do it? Unlikely but you just never know in a home opener. The crowd will be amped and we are the underdog which will suit us. The Colts proved without doubt the fallability of the Saints on defense and if we can run the ball and use the old Bill Parcells trick of keeping them off the field we mighty just be able to keep this one close. I’m building up to tipping the Bucs to win here and almost did so, but reality has just kicked in – Saints 24-20 in a game as close as it sounds. Nod of Acknowledgement to - Steve Grant Fellow Bucs UK member and the man responsible for getting me and a few other Bucs UK members a ticket for the NFL game at Wembley in October. Thanks fella. Get in the Real World Award - Cleveland Browns fans Five minutes into the new season they began calling for Brady Quinn, a rookie who heldout for an extended time, and their latest saviour du jour whom they now want to throw the dogs (pardon the pun) with the utmost haste, just like they did with Tim Couch and that worked out so well didn’t it! Sports News Story I No Longer Give a Toss About – Jamarcus Russell holdout/signing Now he’s finally got that big fat contract that rookies typically trouser, despite never having done anything in the NFL, he’s got the football world watching on and waiting to see which way this thing is going to go. In that offense and with that team he has his work cut out. Head on the Block Time ……. A Dr Z like and rather pathetic 9-7 last week. Memo to self, must do better. This weeks entrants to the winners circle will be (cue drum roll) Jags, Pittsburgh, Cincy, Giants, Houston (of course), Colts, Saints (agghhh), Rams, Dolphins, Lions, Seahawks, Da Bears, Ravens, Broncos, Pats and Iggles.