Bucs Open Training Camp Today, trying to get ready for their GOY on Oct 6

[TheGeneral+]

The defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs open training camp today for the 2003 NFL season at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

The Bucs did lose Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson to Arizona but a majority of the team that won it all last year returns this year.

A big question mark looms at running back where Michael Pittman is in trouble with the law, causing his status to be uncertain for the year. Tampa Bay traded for Thomas Jones, a former first round pick of Arizona, but he has never performed to expectations.

Former Gator Jacquez Green is back for his second tour of the duty with the team, and the Bucs also have former Gator Kenyatta Walker on the offensive line.

Go Horse

 

[HacheMan]

General, the loss of Dexter Jackson is not a big deal at all. He had the biggest game of his career by far in that Super Bowl, and now the Cardinals have just added to their history of notorious "blunders".

 

[Fishhead]

BUCS PACKERS COLTS

These are your top THREE title contenders. Believe me.

 

[bcoogda1]

please get the packers off that list.
they don't have a chance of getting by tampa.
they might not even take the division!

 

[TheGeneral+]

10/6 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8:00 PM

 

[PatrickMcIrish]

Bucs will not repeat. I realize odds are in my favor to say that but I live here and do not like what I am hearing about them. Running back situation is iffy at best. Still have no speed outside (addition of Green will help) and question marks all around the offensive line. The line struggled a large part of last year.

Lastly and most important is they got a career year out of Brad Johnson but if he gets hurt we are left to Shaun King, at last right now we are. In fact if Brad stays healthy I doubt he will have the same type of year again. Defensive coordinators are not stupid. We have no speed on offense and potentially no running game. Together with all this you are a marked man as SuperBowl champs. Every team in the league will be lying in wait for you. I see the Bucs going 8-8 this year.

 

[Journeyman]

One guy forgotten......

Warick Dunn

 

[PatrickMcIrish]

I liked Dunn but I wouldn't have paid him what the Falcons paid him last year. Unreal.

And no Alstott isn't the answer. I like him a lot and he can cause huge problems for the right teams but he is not a feature back in my opinion.

 

[Journeyman]

DUNN was the poor Bucs offense for quite a few years..He may be the last to laugh still, on the carpet in Atlanta with Vick and the speedsters they have it could be the Falcons year.

 

[PatrickMcIrish]

Yep you could be right. It was unreal what the Bucs defense did to Vick last year. No one else even came close to shutting him down TWICE like we did. Doubt it will happen again this year though.

 

[PatrickMcIrish]

Also Carolina will be better in the division, almost played them in a futures bet for wins. Very good defense that will only get better this year....

Not sure about the Saints.

 

[Journeyman]

The Bucs very similar to Baltimore , with that defense they could get back very easily IMO...The Ravens lost Jamaal Lewis in August and that was pretty much it, no running game killed the Ravens defense as much as anything that follwing season.. Ancient Terry Allen wasn`t the answer...What a fun defense to watch dominate though...Sapp may be the 5 best defensive player on that team in reality,lol!

 

[HacheMan]

Journey, sorry to disagree with you about Sapp, but that's where most people are wrong, when they say Sapp is overrated. Sapp is double~teamed almost every play, one of the reasons Simeon Rice had such a big year. Simeon is still a fierce pass rusher, but Sapp opens things up for the rest of those guys. I've seen Sapp haters in the past post about the stat lines, how he didnt have any sacks or hardly any tackles for a game, but it used not to be that way until teams finally realized one man couldnt block him. Sapp is an amazing athlete, years ago, in his rookie or second year, he ran circles around all of the other top defensive lineman in that lineman contest, similar to the QB contest, in almost every category. McIrish, I live in the area also, all of my life, and although I dont agree on everything you mentioned, I also dont believe they will win over 10 games this year.

 

[TheGeneral+]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Patrick McIrish:
Also Carolina will be better in the division, almost played them in a futures bet for wins. Very good defense that will only get better this year....

Not sure about the Saints.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good call on Carolina Patrick.

Tonight is like the Superbowl in October

 

[PatrickMcIrish]

Thanks General, sort of. LOL. This almost pisses me off as I was going to take a nice sized position on the Panthers to go over for the year in wins. If they got any sort of offense it was a no-brainer. I talked myself out of it and didn't bet so of course here they are undefeated.....