[This is the sixth in our series of posts assessing the offseasons of each of the 32 teams. Teams we've profiled so far:
You'll notice we're bouncing around division by division. Next up is an AFC West team. Let us know which you want to see profiled.]
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| Judge Sapp would rule the Bucs offseason to be a rousing sucess |
Tampa Bay floundered last year after a surprising 10-6 season in 2010. This offseason, they cleaned house, getting rid of 15 players, tied for the most of the six teams we've profiled. They also fired head coach Raheem Morris and brought in Greg Schiano from Rutgers. The Bucs upgraded at several positions, and it's our view that they had one of the best offseasons of any team in the NFL.
As before, we're using our weighted AV metric, based on the original AV metric from our friends at Pro Football Reference:
2009 AV + 2 x 2010 AV + 3 x 2011 AV
The Bucs lost 12 players via release, free agency, or trade this offseason:
#
|
Pos.
|
Player
|
Value
|
2011
Games Started
|
New
team
|
1
|
TE
|
Kellen Winslow II
|
46
|
15
|
Seahawks
|
2
|
LB
|
Geno Hayes
|
34
|
14
|
Bears
|
3
|
C
|
Jeff Faine
|
24
|
15
|
Free Agent
|
4
|
FS
|
Tanard Jackson
|
19
|
10
|
Redskins
|
5
|
DE
|
Tim Crowder
|
16
|
0
|
Free Agent
|
6
|
DT
|
Albert Haynesworth
|
14
|
6
|
Free Agent
|
7
|
T
|
James Lee
|
10
|
1
|
Redskins
|
T8
|
QB
|
Josh Johnson
|
7
|
1
|
Niners
|
T8
|
WR
|
Michael Spurlock
|
7
|
0
|
Chargers
|
10
|
DE
|
Nick Reed
|
5
|
0
|
Vikings
|
11
|
CB
|
Elbert Mack
|
3
|
1
|
Saints
|
12
|
DT
|
John McCargo
|
1
|
0
|
Cowboys
|
Total
|
186
|
63
|
|||
The Bucs also gained 12 players via free agency or trade this offseason:
#
|
Pos.
|
Player
|
Value
|
2011
Games Started
|
Old
team
|
1
|
T
|
Carl Nicks
|
84
|
16
|
Saints
|
2
|
WR
|
Vincent Jackson
|
53
|
16
|
Chargers
|
3
|
DB
|
Eric Wright
|
38
|
16
|
Lions
|
4
|
TE
|
Dallas Clark
|
32
|
10
|
Colts
|
5
|
DT
|
Amobi Okoye
|
25
|
1
|
Bears
|
6
|
DT
|
Gary Gibson
|
22
|
1
|
Rams
|
7
|
DE
|
Jayme Mitchell
|
21
|
13
|
Browns
|
8
|
DE
|
Wallace Gilberry
|
16
|
1
|
Chiefs
|
9
|
QB
|
Dan Orlovsky
|
10
|
5
|
Colts
|
T10
|
LB
|
Rennie Curran
|
2
|
0
|
Titans
|
T10
|
TE
|
Chase Coffman
|
2
|
0
|
Bengals
|
T10
|
DB
|
Tiquan Underwood
|
2
|
0
|
Patriots
|
Total
|
307
|
79
|
|||
Our observations:
1. On paper, the Bucs got significantly better from a numbers perspective. They gained 307 value points while only losing 186 (+121), and gained 79 starts in 2011 while losing only 63 (+16). They're the only team of the six we've profiled so far to gain numerical value.
2. In Carl Nicks, the Bucs are getting a first-team all-pro tackle entering his prime. The 6-5, 343 lb. Nicks turned 27 last month and hasn't missed a start since 2008. He should go a long way toward solidifying a Bucs O-Line who only gave up 32 sacks last year, tied for 9th best in the NFL. As an added bonus, Nicks' Twitter handle is @bigbrickhouse77. In a year when Peyton Manning made all the headlines, Nicks may be the best player in this year's free agent class. Nicks, with a value of 83, immediately becomes the highest-value player on the Bucs roster by a huge margin over Josh Freeman (54).
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| New Bucs OT Carl Nicks is stacked, and that's a fact |
3. Josh Freeman picked up some terrific options offensively in Vincent Jackson and Dallas Clark. Kellen Winslow is a loss. Together, Jackson and Clark caught 7 balls per game last year vs. about 5 for Winslow. Clark is nearing the end of his career but was only signed to a 1-year contract, and for 2012 the Bucs shouldn't lose a step. At 53, Jackson has a higher value than everyone on last year's roster except for Freeman.
4. C Jeff Faine is a loss, but replacement Jeremy Zuttah's Rutgers connection may help fill the void. Zuttah, who played for new coach Greg Schiano while at Rutgers, seems to be observing some continuity in the messaging of the man who coached him as a Scarlet Knight.
5. The one unfilled hole may be LB, where Geno Hayes departs to Chicago (where he's unlikely to even start). The Bucs have Quincy Black (27) at one OLB position and Dekoda Watson (18) at the other. Watson started 3 games last year, his second in the league. If he can make the "leap" to legitimate starter, the LB corps may remain stable.
It's always tough to tell if a team with lots of new players will gel, but the Bucs can't be faulted for trying. On paper, their roster is significantly better than it was in 2011, and they may be in line for a "new coach bump" under Greg Schiano. Could Schiano go the way of another recent college coach, Jim Harbaugh, who led the massive turnaround for the 49ers last year as they went 13-3 and hosted the NFC Championship game? That might be pushing it, but on paper, an improvement from last year's 4-12 season seems likely.
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