NFC South
Midseason Report - TB
By Dennis Lee
Nov 10, 2007, 04:53

Nine games are down, and for some strange reason the Bucs are still in the NFC hunt. They lost their stud sophomore RB, Cadillac Williams. Their WR corps is led by a couple geezers. Their OL is still a shambles. Their defense is still older than dirt. And they're led by Jeff Garcia? Puhleeeeze.

But those are the facts. The Bucs are in the thick of things.

Jeff Garcia has been a Godsend to Jon Gruden, thought to be on the hot seat this season after a string of not-so-much success. He fits the Gruden system just fine and has meshed with Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard and whoever gets plugged in at RB (at the moment it's Ernest Graham and Michael Bennett) and the patchwork and mostly young OL. The defense is plugging along, with rookie Gaines Adams filling in capably for the departed Simeon Rice and rookie Tanard Jackson taking over at one of the safety spots.

Here are your starters on offense: Garcia, Ernest Graham (who?), B.J. Askew at FB (who?), Galloway and Hilliard (are they still below mandatory retirement age?), Anthony Becht (who?), Jeremy Trueblood and Luke Petitgout at OT, Aaron Sears and Davin Joseph at OG, and John Wade at OC (isn't he a roommate of Galloway and Hilliard at the Old Folks Home?). The OL is young, with the exception of Wade, but Dan Beunning is now recovered from injury and backing up all 3 inside spots. Expect him to take over for Wade next year. At WR, Maurice Stovall and Michael Clayton have been busts. There is no depth. The Bucs will have to address this somehow, or they are doomed in the latter part of the season. At TE, Alex Smith and Jerramy Stevens were doing fine prior to injuries and expect to return soon.

Over on the D, the aging Ronde Barber and Brian Kelley are holding up at CB with able support from the chronic underperforming Phillip Buchanon. At S, Tanard Jackson has taken over from Will Allen at FS, but Allen remains as a capable backup to both Jackson and SS Jermaine Phillips. Cato June, Barrett Ruud, and Derrick Brooks man the LB slots with able backup from former starter Ryan Nece. Up front, Chris Hovan and Jovan Haye have been solid, with support from part-time DE Kevin Carter. Outside, someone has lit a fire under Greg Spires, moving him to at least average performance, whilst Gaines Adams has come on strong. Backups have included Patrick Chukwurah, Greg White, and Ryan Sims. Assuming that the geriatrics hold out well for the rest of the season, and the Bucs inject some youth in the next couple years, the D looks pretty solid for awhile. Not outstanding, but solid.

On special teams, the ageless Josh Bidwell and Matt Bryant have held down the XK and XP slots, and a succession of players have manned the return slots.

These Bucs are put together with chewing gum and duct tape. The OL and parts of the Defense look to be with us for awhile, but the depth is lacking everywhere and there are a whole lot of aging, tired bodies manning key spots, including QB, WR, and CB. A few more injuries and we're looking at the St. Louis Rams. But, for the moment, they keep plugging along. Who woulda thunk it?

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