Milkman41's Tampa Bucs Dynasty (HC 09)

[milkman41]

Quote: Originally Posted by rdnk

How do you (and Sanchez) score so many points?

I'm not exactly sure, actually, I pretty much lean on a strong running game and a crappy but opportunistic defense (the 8 defensive TDs), but yeah, my running game was really good this season, something like 33 rushing TDs I believe. I don't know if my players somehow magically make the wishbone great or if its the other way around, but that was definitely the rock of my offense. Having explosive players helped, Aveion Cason and Josh Johnson were always a threat to bust out a big run, and Alex Smith and Terry Glenn could always get big gains, so that helps. But yeah, I relied on the run game, especially in the 2nd half, usually when I had to lead. Sometimes Cason has like 30 yards at the half, and ends up with around 100 yards, so I really have no answers, haha, sorry, but yeah, for me its the run game, for Sanchez it seems to be moreso with the passing game.

[rdnk]

Thanks guys.

Good luck in the playoffs. Hopefully your run game will hold up. I'll have to try out the wishbone sometime.

Has anyone tried Colonel Sanders' Army Run?

[milkman41]

Thanks, I'll have an update on wednesday when I'm back in town, thanks for following.

[milkman41]

Head Coach Steve Caruzzo and the Bucs are proud to announce that QB Josh Johnson, the rookie out of San Diego State who helped lead the Bucs to the playoffs with his strong passing and explosive running, has been named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. This award caps an amazing year for both Johnson and the Bucs, who leaned heavily on several rookies on their way to a 12 - 4 record and a playoff berth. The awards are listed below.

MVP: Giants QB Eli Manning (4306 yards, 40 TD, 15 INT, 108.1 rating)
OPOY: Eli Manning
DPOY: Colts ROLB Freddie Keiaho (84 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 INT, 4 DEFL, 5 FF, 3 FR)
OROY: Josh Johnson
DROY: Ravens CB Leodis McKelvin (70 tackles, 9 INT, 16 DEFL, 2 FF, 1 FR)
Coach of the Year: Giants Tom Coughlin

QB: Eli Manning
RB: Saints RB Michael Turner (148 att, 645 yards, 22 TD rushing, 71 receptions, 827 yards, 5 TD receiving)
WR: Cowboys WR Terrell Owens (133 receptions, 1862 yards, 18 TD, 17 drops)
OL: Chargers LT Marcus McNeill
DL: Texans RE Mario Williams (65 tackles, 29 TFL, 16 sacks, 2 DELF, 2 FF, 2 FR)
LB: Freddie Keiaho
DB: Eagles CB Sheldon Brown
K: Bucs K Alexis Serna

Bucs Awards:
#3 RB: Aveion Cason
#4 DL: Calais Campbell
#1 K: Alexis Serna
#4 Coach: Steve Caruzzo

Heach Coach Caruzzo and the Bucs are also thrilled to announce that the following players will be going to the Pro Bowl:

HB Aveion Cason (#2 HB)
FB Jacob Hester (#1 FB)
TE Alex Smith (#1 TE)
DE Calais Campbell (#2 DE)
DE Gaines Adams (#3 DE)
SS Chris Horton (#2 SS)

[milkman41]

Mendenhall, Cowboys run all over Bucs and end their magical season, 34 - 27

Cowboys rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall, starting in place of injured starter rookie RB Felix Jones, ran for 195 yards on 21 attempts, including an 80-yard TD run early in the 3rd to put them ahead 27 - 20 moments after Bucs RB Cadillac Williams had tied the score with a long TD run of his own. The Bucs made a valiant comeback bid, but couldn't recover an onside kick with 1:50 left on the clock, and the Cowboys ran out the clock to seal the victory. Though this game has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Bucs fans, it has truly been a magical season, and, in the end, injuries to RB Aveion Cason, C , and CB Ronde Barber, as well as an in-game injury to SS Chris Horton, proved to be the Bucs' undoing.

Despite missing Aveion Cason again, the Bucs running game was solid, if unspectacular, racking up exactly 150 yards on the day. Cadillac Williams led the way with 103 yards on 11 attempts, including a 54-yard TD run. FB Jacob Hester added 24 yards on 5 attempts, and QB Josh Johnson was held to only 14 yards on 4 attempts. The passing game was also solid, amassing 258 yards. With TE Alge Crumpler, the Bucs' key offseason signing, finally healthy, the Bucs were able to deploy their 2 TE sets with confidence, and it paid off, as Crumpler had 90 yards on 5 receptions and TE Alex Smith had 72 yards on 5 receptions. Rookie WR Kevin Robinson added 58 yards and a TD on 3 receptions, and FB Jacob Hester had the Bucs' other TD. WR Terry Glenn, a former Cowboy, was shut down, with only 1 reception for 11 yards. QB Josh Johnson engineered several fine drives, especially late in the game, and passed for 261 yards and 2 TD on 19 - 33 passing.

As has been the case most of the season, the Bucs' defense was shaky at best, but this time the Bucs were unable to overcome it. The Cowboys amassed 434 total yards (208 rushing, 226 passing), and the Bucs couldn't create any kind of pressure, finishing with 0 sacks. ROLB Derrick Brooks had the game's only INT off a deflection by MLB Barrett Ruud, and DE Calais Campbell and DT Mike Patterson finished tied for the team lead with 6 tackles.

And now the Bucs season is over, and Head Coach Steve Caruzzo and his staff must turn their attention to their off-season duties. Though this loss hurts, the Bucs will come back stronger next season, and Caruzzo is confident that will go much further in the playoffs.

[milkman41]

Playoff Report

Wildcard Week:
Titans 17 - Chargers 14
Cowboys 34 - Bucs 27
Jaguars 21 - Browns 7
Saints 27 - Bears 19

Divisional Week:
Colts 20 - Titans 10
Giants 26 - Cowboys 17
Jaguars 31 - Patriots 28
Seahawks 38 - Saints 35

Conference Week:
Jaguars 28 - Colts 21
Seahawks 31 - Giants 24

Super Bowl:
Jaguars 24 - Seahawks 17

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008 Super Bowl Champions, the Jacksonville Jaguars!

And what an interesting season it has been. Perennial favorites the Steelers were beaten by the Browns for the division (that's right, the same Browns that allowed more points than they scored), and the Bears won their division with a 7 - 9 record. The Jaguars rode their underdog status all the way to the end, toppling the Browns, Patriots, Colts, and finally a strong Seattle Seahawks team on the way to a sweet, sweet, super bowl victory.

The draft order has been finalized, and here is round 1:

1. Oakland Raiders
2. Miami Dolphins
3. New York Jets
4. Carolina Panthers
5. Washington Redskins
6. Baltimore Ravens
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from Falcons)
8. Green Bay Packers
9. Arizona Cardinals
10. San Francisco 49ers
11. Cincinnati Bengals
12. Minnesota Vikings
13. Detroit Lions
14. St Louis Rams
15. Houston Texans
16. Buffalo Bills
17. Kansas City Chiefs
18. Denver Broncos
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
20. Philadelphia Eagles
21. Chicago Bears
22. Cleveland Browns
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
24. San Diego Chargers
25. Tennessee Titans
26. Dallas Cowboys
27. New Orleans Saints
28. New England Patriots
29. New York Giants
30. Indianapolis Colts
31. Seattle Seahawks
32. Jacksonville Jaguars

Todd McShay's first Mock Draft has the Bucs picking Penn State DT Thaddeus Cheeks, a player the Bucs are interested in, at #7, and WR Thomas Dwyer, about whom we haven't heard many rumors, at #23. After last season's success, the whole fanbase is confident that head coach Steve Caruzzo and his crew will make smart decisions in this year's draft.

The club has also announced several coaching changes. The Bucs have hired a new GM, Don Ross (39 OVR), formerly of the Falcons, a new trainer, Robert Wyman (99 OVR), a new LB coach, Ricky Hunley (47 OVR), and, finally, a new OL coach, Jim Colletto (63 OVR). Caruzzo and his staff are confident these new additions will only make this team better.

Other interesting coaching changes throughout the league:
Bears: hired OC Todd Haley, who was fired by the Cardinals
Colts: OC Tom Moore retires, replaced by Jim Caldwell, who was promoted.
Jets: hired Lane Kiffin, who was fired as the Raiders' HC, as OC.
Lions: HC Rod Marinelly retires, Jim Westgate replaces him.
Raiders: Replace Lane Kiffin with Gary Hammermill, and hired Jim Zorn, former HC of the Redskins, as OC.
Redskins: replaced Jim Zorn with Bobby April.
Steelers: DC Dick LeBeau retires, John Mitchell replaces him.

Up next, free agency, and then the draft!

[rdnk]

Ah, so you got the Sweetney path.
Have fun with the first year...

[milkman41]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are proud to announce two new free agent additions: P Shane Lechler and LOLB Michael Boley. Head Coach Steve Caruzzo is pleased with the acquisitions, noting that the Bucs' punting game was often lackluster last season. Caruzzo is especially excited about Boley, who can drop back in coverage, play the run, or blitz when asked to. Caruzzo is confident Boley will be a good fit in the Bucs' new, more blitz-oriented, zone defense.

Caruzzo added that he is still on the lookout for more free agents to come in as role players (a good running backup QB comes instantly to mind). Also, look for the Bucs to be in on recently cut LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson, even if it would result in some shuffling along the O-Line.

Additionally, the Bucs have announced that they have traded a 2009 7th round pick (#215) and a 2010 5th round pick to the Chargers for HB Darren Sproles. Sproles is a dynamic return man, as he has averaged 24.2, 27.2, and 27.1 yards per return in the past three seasons, respectively, and will be used as a change of pace back (he had 514 yards and 6 TD on 145 attempts last season). Caruzzo is once again very excited about this move, as it adds to his already potent running back depth, and, just like the signing of Shane Lechler, should greatly improve a lackluster special teams unit.

Other important free agent signings are listed below:
Bears - SS Dawan Landry
Bills - MLB Ray Lewis
Browns - RG Randy Thomas
Chargers - C Casey Rabach, MLB Mike Peterson, WR Marques Colston
Chiefs - MLB Tedy Bruschi
Falcons - C Nick Hardwick
49ers - RE Bertrand Berry
Jets - HB Kevin Faulk
Lions - DT Tommie Harris, MLB Bradie James, CB Ty Law
Patriots - C Jamaal Jackson
Ravens - Terrell Suggs
Texans - QB Matt Cassel
Titans - LG Brian Waters

Up next, the NFL Draft...it was a doozy of a draft for the Bucs, stay tuned!