You have got to be kidding me

It is kind of funny, when one says one thing and does the exact opposite of that, I question the move because it makes no real sense other then adding more depth to an overly crowded qb position. I just dont see a true direction this off-season by the front office at this point. It is getting harder and harder to keep trying to look at what little positives this regime has done since winning a superbowl in 2002.

It is like they a grasping at straws at this point.

I just dont see a future with any of these moves thus far this off-season other then the Jeff Faine signing, It is like we are going backwards rather then moving forward.

This must signal the end of Sims and Gradkowski. Will Sims be traded to the Jets?

I hope your right DLS5492 about this being the end of Simms and Gradkowski.

great job suckaneers....Its hard being a bucs fan-it seems to be the only team that loves taking steps backwards.we have a flock of aged players and we keep getting older.gruden is supposed to be an offensive guru-i think he's selling us snake oil.we should be getting younger,not older.we need play makers not space fillers.our offense is one of the most boring to watch in this league and find myself always hoping the defense will pull off the win.players have problems learning an over complicated offense that doesn't produce.lets sign culpepper and whatever left over vets there are-or give another hugh contract to a so so player.way to go fellas!!

somebody put me out of my misery and shoot me, this is stupid and what the bucs are doing his stupid

we better have not given up any draft picks to get this shlub back-we should have waited another week or two and we could of had him for the price of a mcdonalds hamburger.the greisman blows!!-worst that grossman !!

SF/JF please give us some insight on why the Bucs made this move..

this is a joke right

Just a couple of points about some of the comments above:

First, the qb position is not overly crowded - Plummer may never play again, Simms is probably on his way out and Grads should be. Remember - there are a ton of passes being thrown in the off season and training camp and Garcia's arm is not 24 years old any more.

Second, when Garcia went down against Washington - Grads was awful and we won because of the defense and inspite of Grads. He is probably our fourth option at this point and will most likely be inactivated on Sundays if he is still on this team by then.

When Simms was healthy - he threw seven picks and one TD. So really what do we have here: Garcia, McCown, Griese (who is familiar with the offense and terminology) Simms gone, Grads gone, Plummer never was.

Let me ask you all this - who else is out there ? Do we wait for the second round of the draft and hope Flacco is there ? How long before he gets up to speed ? We will most likely draft RB, WR and CB anyway. Griese is simply insurance - he came cheap - probably for a sixth or seventh round pick at best. It's not like he will start and considering evrything - not a bad move.

This is no the free agency of my dreams , this is a nightmare

I'm going to be ticked if it's higher than a fourth rounder. This is not what I had in mind. I promise to shut up completely if they sign Javon Walker and draft a CB in the first. I still think having every washed up QB in the NFL on our roster is insane! 6 QB's...really. I know Plummer is retired but why did we trade for him last year? Why do we keep doing this? He's a good fit here too bad he won't play till he's 35. Please sign a WR!

You took the words right out of my mouth hwaii50. I'll say the same thing I thought when the Bucs picked up J. Stevens. Can you think of a better player who is available who is willing to take less money to be our 3rd stringer? Didn't think so.

Stevens turned out to be worth what we paid for him which was the minimum. Giving up what was likely a 7th rounder for a starting calibur QB is a good move. Not great, but good.

I totally agree with Hwaii50. What this permits the Bucs to do is cut Grads, trade Sims for tanother draft pick. in short it costs us nothing. My question is what options do we have to get the 7 million bucks back from Plummer? Does thin have to be handled in the NFL or can we go after him legally?

Personally I see this as a positive. When Griese was healthy he helped us. I sure think this is a better option than Grads (sorry man) and probably better than Simms. Seems like every pass Simms threw was batted down. On the other hand we do NEED RECEIVERS badly. Joey is great but we need more!!!!! A big TE who can catch would be nice. I do like the Garcia, Greise, McGown threesome. All can throw the ball and all can do some scrambling if needed. All I do know is we NEED to score TD'S not feildgoals to win the big games. I usually go to AWAY games since I live in Ky, and I really need to be able to hold my head up and cheer. Especially in ATL those fans are not very freindly to us BUCS folks.

Thank you Kysteve and Hwaii50 for keeeping your heads on your shoulders and thinking this through. What you have said make sense and looks like is part of a plan. The Bucs can still get value by trading Simms. The Bucs will be OK.

I agree with KYSteve. I see this as a positive as long as we didn't give up more than a 6th rounder in 2009. If the Bears would have released him it is unfair to say the Bucs would have been able to just sign him. He could've decided to go elsewhere like any other free agent. Remember Bucs Fans, while he was here he was a solid/productive starter. I think the Bucs realize Garcia is 38 and God forbid he goes down they are not ready to hand the keys of the franchise to McCown just yet, especially without another veteran backup on the roster. Not only that but I think they don't see Gradkowski becoming more than a 3rd QB and they know Simms just doesn't fit. I feel more comfortable with Garcia/Griese/McCown than I do with Garcia/McCown/Gradkowski or Simms.

This is a solid move. Brian showed before that he could run Coach's offense. Garcia is so intense that his playing style is dangerous to his health. I feel good knowing that Brian is backing up Jeff.

Grads can't throw the deep ball and thus is not a Pro QB. Can you say Arena League MVP!

I can see them drafting a QB to understudy behind the 2 veterans.

I doubt they gave up more than a 6th round pick in '09 for Brian.

Good Move.

Great move. Griese went 5-1 with an inferior cast of supporting characters, knows this system and gives us a better chance to win than Luke "THROW IT ALREADY - No, to OUR guy!!!!" McCown if Garcia gets hurt. I love the people on this board saying we should have flung $20 million at Devery Henderson and kicked Brooks out the door by bringing Lance Briggs in. Weren't you the same guys who spent the last three years bitching about John Lynch, even though he couldn't play cover 2 anymore and was essentially a linebacker in an eight-man-front for Denver? We're getting the guys we need, not the guys the casual fan wants at lunatic prices, and I think this team is very close to a hell of a season next year.

I hope this was a 7th Rd Pick in 2009? Griese would have been released anyway from Chicago after Grossman was signed. Maybe we can send them Simms and Gradkowaski instead? This is neither a good or a bad thing; just posturing in case Plummer does report (PLEASE DON'T REPORT JAKE we can't afford to waste this years 4th Rd pick pick on you) and we don't pick up a QB in the first 3 Rounds.
Go Bucs

this is the stupidest thing i have ever witnessed by gruden.oh, all you people who think it is good look at his stats from last time he threw ints like they were going out of style, no deep ball few td passes, remember the jets game int for td we lost there also was another int-td before he got hurt from forcing the ball, the only bear we needed was briggs, i live and die with the bucs, but we are old and slow and i haven't seen anything except faine we are defintely going backwards

stone1: I know it is tough to put a positive spin on this one since we released Griese before because we were sold on Sims. I can't figure this one out, either, but no one is perfect and I think the Bucs blew this one, but at least it doesn't cost us that much.
Go Bucs

I’m sorry, I just could not take it anymore – after Turner signed and a couple of these other latest signings, I broke down and wrote an open letter. I doubt it will get past the gatekeepers, but this is a nightmare…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

March, 3rd, 2008

Joel Glazer, Vice President
Bruce Allen, General Manager
One Buccaneer Place
Tampa, FL 33607


Overnight via FedEx
Ref; Open Letter / Buccaneers Free Agency


Dear Sirs,

I’ve been one of the strongest supporters of this regime (Allen/Gruden) and the Bucs organization over the last many years. I have fought tooth and nail with the local media over their negative bias and treatment of coach Gruden, the Buccaneer organization in general, and yourself. But I am so disgusted with this free agency period that I’ve decided to not purchase our company’s season tickets in 2008.

Although there is still time left in this free agency period, I believe the initiative and opportunity has already been lost for the Buccaneers.

WR: The Bucs needed a playmaker or two (2) at WR and we have watched Berrian, Stallworth, Davis, Porter, Henderson, and probably Moss (soon) already sign contracts.

DL: The Bucs needed to upgrade the defense line at DE & DT – specifically adding more pass rush pressure and we have watched J. Smith, Kelly, Laboy, McCary with the SAINTS!, C. Williams, Starks, Sopoaga, and others already sign with different teams.

RB: The Bucs needed to upgrade the RB position – specifically adding more speed and explosiveness, and we have watched Turner sign with the FALCONS!, Moore, Fargas, Foster, Stecker, and others already sign with different teams while we sign Bennett and consider bringing back an over-the-hill Dunn ?

CB: The Bucs needed to add a solid CB with Kelly leaving – specifically adding a younger corner that can help us transition as Barber retires and we have watched Samuel, Gay with the SAINTS!, Florence, Reeves, and others already sign with different teams.

We’ve also stood by while players that could have helped our team like Crumpler and Briggs have been taken off the market while you bring in Wilkerson and Griese ? …and we watch teams in our division retool - literally in front of our eyes.

The team with the most cap room in the league has not registered the signing of a top impact player or made a significant trade ? You’ve embarrassed us nationally.

We have a solid base of talent and only needed to spend on a limited number of positions, but we DID need to spend and the players were there to meet our requirements. We could have elevated this franchise into the top tier of teams in terms of talent and consistent playoff contention.

But you guys have completely and utterly dropped the ball. In conjunction with your ticket price increase, I must say that the situation is pathetic and I’m done defending you guys – period.


Regards,



Mark G. Urbanski
Managing Partner
Sarasota Venture Group, LLC
15 Paradise Plaza
Suite 108
Sarasota, FL 34239

There is no reason to bring Brian Greise in here period. I'm going to have to go puke. He'll be a third string guy at best. What a slap in the face. This has turned into a circus at the fan's expense. It is becoming painfully obvious that we have turned into a cheap team by picking up wayward players at bargain prices. My payment is due for tickets and I'm getting sicker by the day.
We really missed a deal on Crumpler. He would have been a serious weapon here. I'm not buying the news that he is done. After he weighed the decision, he did not want to come here.

Jesus christ with all the whining. We haven't spent any worth while money on any players except Faine who will be a starter. All of you crying for Henderson, Stallworth, ect.? Are you kidding me? There is a reason the pats went with a 5 year older moss, and the eagles let stallworth go. There is a reason Henderson couldn't start over a 6th round draft pick for new orleans. Berrian, nothing better then occassional deep threat but never a consistent starter. These guys are not STUDS like you arer claiming them to be. Turner is good but unproven over a 16 game season, and demanded a huge salary. We were in salary cap hell because of Rich McKay and now "casual" or "ignorant" bucs fans are screaming their heads off because the Bucs didn't sign every FA available in the first 3 days. Every GM and team that worked out Crumpler says his knees are shot and can no longer perform at a high level.

As for the morons claiming we keep getting older, I guess gruden doesn't get credit for the entire revamping of teh defense. We have gotten young very fast on the D side as well as the O-line. I agree we need to add a Good WR in FA, and possibly another TE like Troupe. However, the QB makes sense it costs us nothing but a useless pick to ahve a proven starter as a back up or 3rd string. SImms and Grad won't make it out of training camp. The whining has got to stop, make valid points or be upset all you want but this GRUDEN IS THE WORST EVER, I'm TAKING MY TICKETS AND GOING HOME CRAP. Get the sand out of your vaginas, act like real football fans and realize we have lots of FA time left and a Draft to come. Oh by the way we also won the division last year with a team many of these same people claimed Gruden couldn't win 4 games with.

I don't get the front office mentality here. We have $40mil to essentially blow on FAs and we're making 3rd string QB a priority...

I'd understand these moves in the normal FA period where we have no money to spend, but this is silly. Our division keeps getting better and we continue to ignore our needs.

Bruc Allen promised us a "big time play maker" at the start of this, see any scheduled to come in on the Free Agent tracker?

another big move to go along with Gilmore, Wilkerson and Joe. . . . what a joke

Sabotage: I agree completely with you.
I am puzzled about Griese.though. If we didn't like what we saw before in Griese, why now? There has to be something going on that we don't know about yet. I sure hope I don't have to eat my words on this.
Go Bucs

All you people bitching about Griese- Since you feel so passionate about the bad decisions being made tell the rest of us what the hell we should do in the event Garcia gets hurt. Luke is unproven for a full season. Look at his int/TD ratio. Tell us who should back up Garcia? There is something to be said about people who whine and complain but offer no solutions. I myself would like to read you intuitive solution.

Well put dbuk. I understand the message, but I am very surprised that we gave Chicago a 6th Rd pick in 2009.
What's wrong with Quentin Gray out of the Jacksonville organization? I many of us wonder why on earth did we spend a 6th Rd on Griese when in the pass the organization said we cut him because his release was slow and he didn't have enough velocity on his passes. I just think (which isn't worse much) we could have tried someone else for 6th Rd pick.