Fasheed Payne

[BusinessmanJ]

Gruden out, Payne in
In a press conference, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden spontaneously announced his resignation from the team after receiving an offer to be an analyst for Monday Night Football. "I just couldn't deny such an offer. I felt my time as a coach was up and that I needed a change in employment. No biggie," Gruden said, with a smile across his face.

Gruden would not just leave owner John Barclay III and the Bucs in the dust though. He recommended they hire a good friend of his, a youngster by the name of Fasheed Payne, an Orlando native. With training camp fast approaching, Barclay took Gruden for his word and hired the aspiring head coach, leaving no regrets: "If Gruden says he's a good hire, he's probably a good hire," commented Barclay.

Gruden insists Payne is a lot like himself: ambitious, energetic, and optimistic. "He'll get Tampa some publicity, that's for sure. He is a headliner." is what Gruden had to say about his good friend. Gruden said the playbooks will be changed around but that Tampa will love him for it.

Gruden seems enthusiastic about the future of the Buccaneers and says he will continue to root for them. Fasheed was unable to be reached for comment but a multitude of players have supported the decision to hire him on Facebook and on their player websites.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

Tampa Bay's 2008 Draft Picks
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
1-20	Aqib Talib		CB	6'2"	180
2-27	Dexter Jackson		WR	5'10"	183
3-20	Jeremy Zuttah		RG	6'4"	290
4-16	Dre Moore		DT	6'4"	312
5-25	Josh Johnson		QB	6'3"	218
6-9	Geno Hayes		ROLB	6'2"	210
7-31	Cory Boyd		HB	6'1"	200

The Bucs went with a balanced approach in the draft, picking up a mix of offensive and defensive players. They drafted mostly based on team need.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne


Remind me to thank Jon Gruden for this job opportunity. Oh man...I'm a head coach in the NFL. What to do first?

I know. Establish my philosophy with the team. Make it very clear too.


Offensive Playbook Control: I'll let Bill Muir call the plays as long as my playbook is used. I just don't feel ready to call my own plays yet.

Offensive Scheme: They were a west coast team before and they're a west coast team now. It's just some things are a little different. I want to keep a balance between run and pass, just like things have always been for these guys.

Defensive Playbook Control: Monte Kiffin probably won't be defensive coordinator come next year, but he will call the plays for now.

Defensive Scheme: The team is still in a 4-3 but we will be blitzing A LOT.
QB: I cannot STAND statues in the pocket. I need some mobility. He needs to be pretty accurate and does not need some rocket arm. Just please be moderately fast.

HB: A balanced halfback is necessary. He should be able to run over guys or around them.

FB: A nice fullback that can truck through fellas is always nice but I prefer dominant lead blockers at this position

WR: Gruden seemed to like taller receivers but I like the small and shifty ones that run routes precisely.

TE: I like balance at TE: you should be able to catch and/or block in any given situation.

T: Big *** tackles have always been a fetish of mine, so to say. I love big engulfing linemen on the outside that overwhelm the opposition's best pass rushers.

G/C: On the inside, I prefer skill over anything, or more specifically, balance.

DE/DT: I need pass rushers on the line to put pressure on the QB but I still want them to be competent in the run. Maybe athletic freaks would work?

OLB: I need a balance of blitzing and coverage.

MLB: My middle linebacker needs to be the shark of the defense, all over the place. I need him to be very athletic.

CB: My corners will often be in man AND zone coverage so they need to do well at both.

FS: My free safety will be patrolling the deep parts of the field and making plays whenever possible.

SS: The strong safety should be balanced: able to lay that wood but also good enough to defend in coverage.

K/P: Accuracy and foot strength are both key here.

Eugene Wilson is a perfect SS in our system so he was moved to that position with Tanard Jackson staying at FS.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne


Bucs make early cuts
The Bucs have taken the initiative and have already cut several players from the team. Fasheed Payne was reached for the first time to discuss the reasoning behind the cuts. He said, "We have a very specific philosophy here in Tampa Bay. If you don't fit the mold, you better be really good or else you might not make the squad. This was the case here."

I have made the decision to cut some guys. I've already talked to the press about it as well as the coaches.

Byron Leftwhich is something I hate: A STATUE. We have EIGHT quarterbacks on the roster, including Byron, so it needs to be cut down. He will not give us any penalty so it only makes sense to go ahead and get rid of him. He will not be starting with us.

Fullback Chris Hetherington was also released. We have two fullbacks already in B.J. Askew and Carl Stewart. One of them will be cut also.

Wide receivers Paris Warren and Michael Spurlock were cut too. I HIGHLY doubt these two can learn my playbook and they are not very good at all.

Defensive tackle Greg Peterson is 24 years old so I'm sure he'll find a new home someday. It just won't be with Tampa Bay.

The last of the cuts were outside linebackers Mike McCoy and Leon Joe. They're both relatively young and I hope they find new homes. We just had too many outside linebackers to keep track of.

We've also placed SS Sabby Piscitelli on the trade block. He has loads of potential but just isn't the type of strong safety we desire AND we already have Eugene Wilson.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne


Bucs make big trades
In a press conference, it was announced that Bucs QB Jeff Garcia and WR Joey Galloway have been traded to the Falcons & Texans respectively. Both teams gave up a 2009 3rd round pick and 2010 5th round pick to obtain these players. The Falcons now have a mentor and backup for rookie quarterback Matt Ryan; the Texans have a potential #2 option next to Andre Johnson.


Both of these guys are old and injury-prone. I just felt it was time to move on from them and maybe let some youth get their chance.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins
Sep 9, 2008	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ()	0	0	14	10	24
Miami Dolphins ()	3	7	0	7	17

Team Stats Comparison
	TAM	MIA
Total Offense	244	236
Rushing Yards	124	71
Passing Yards	120	165
First Downs	12	14
Punt Return Yards	52	55
Kick Return Yards	90	126
Total Yards	386	417
Turnovers	1	3
3rd Down Converstion	2-16	4-13
4th Down Conversion	0-0	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3/1	2/0
Penalties	12/111	5/45
Posession Time	29:42	29:52

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT B. Griese 10/12 120 1 B. Gradkowski 0/2 J. Johnson 0/6 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. Williams 10 56 5.6 2 E. Graham 6 27 4.5 D. Savage 4 18 4.5 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Stovall 3 72 24.0 D. Jackson 2 16 8.0 0 A. Bryant 2 15 7.5 1 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK D. Penn 3 J. Zuttah 2 1 A. Sears 2 A. Smith 2 J. Trueblood 1 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD D. Brooks 10 C. Hovan 4 2 S. Davis 3 1 R. Nece 3 1 E. Wilson 2 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J. Bidwell 1/2 3/3 6 31 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 M. Bryant 5 188 37.6 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Talib 2 54 27.0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Talib 4 43 10.7

Miami Dolphins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT C. Henne 7/14 83 1 2 T. Dilfer 4/12 66 1 J. Beck 1/6 16 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Brown 9 52 5.7 R. Williams 2 18 9.0 J. Parmele 7 -8 -1.1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Wilford 3 33 11.0 G. Camarillo 2 40 20.0 1 D. Hagan 2 34 17.0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK R. Mauia 2 S. Satele 2 S. McKinney 1 S. Murphy 1 1 J. Smiley 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Taylor 4 2 E. Miles 4 W. Allen 4 R. Godfrey 4 R. Ninkovich 3 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J. Feely 1/1 3 42 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 B. Fields 4 189 47.2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD K. Davis 3 75 25.0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD T. Perry 5 38 7.6

Bad opponent or not, this was a good game for us. We have progressed with learning the playbooks and have unlocked the potential of two of our rookies, Aqib Talib and Dexter Jackson. Talib may just be a bust; Jackson was worth the 2nd round pick apparently but will need time to develop.

Our next game is against New England in our stadium.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

Just realized I had the date wrong on that last boxscore. I think I just won't do dates. I mean, who really cares?

Also, I might just sim through preseason and start posting boxscores for regular season when I start actually playing the games.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne


After going 2-2 in the preseason, I made the promise to Mr. Barclay, the team, AND the media that we'd make the playoffs. Even though I wasn't impressed during the preseason, it'd be harder for us NOT to make the playoffs, considering the competition (or lack thereof) in our division.

The depth chart for this year will be as followed:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart -
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Ike Hilliard	Michael Clayton
TE	Ben Troupe	Alex Smith	John Gilmore
LT	Luke Petitgout	Donald Penn
LG	Arron Sears	Anthony Davis
C	Jeff Faine	Dan Buenning
RG	Davin Joseph	Jeremy Zuttah
RT	Jeremy Trueblood	Donald Penn
WR	Dexter Jackson	Maurice Stovall
QB	Josh Johnson	Brad Gradkowski	Luke McCown
FB	Carl Stewart
HB	Earnest Graham	Warrick Dunn	Carnell Williams
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Kevin Carter	Marques Douglas
LDT	Rob Sims	Jovan Haye
RDT	Dre Moore	Chris Hovan
RDE	Gaines Adams	Greg White
WLB	Cato June	Ryan Nece
MLB	Barrett Ruud	Jay Jay Neysmith
SLB	Derrick Brooks	Geno Hayes
CB	Ronde Barber	Aqib Talib	Sammy Davis
SS	Eugene Wilson	Jermaine Phillips
FS	Tanard Jackson	Jonathan Hefney
CB	Phillip Buchanon	Torrie Cox
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Matt Bryant
P	Josh Bidwell
PR	Aqib Talib
KR	Phillip Buchanon
LS	Jeff Faine

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne


Our first game of the season is against the rival New Orleans Saints. The Saints have a loaded offense and opportunistic defense that may just give us trouble if we are not careful.

We HAVE to control Drew Brees. We HAVE to contain Reggie Bush and keep the Saints one-dimensional. We have to take advantage of a not-as-good defense and score on them when possible. Josh Johnson must play well and we've got to control the ball with the run and try to keep this scary offense off the field.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

Saints bagel Bucs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ()	0	0	0	0	0
New Orleans Saints ()	7	23	7	3	40

Team Stats Comparison
	TAM	NOR
Total Offense	156	412
Rushing Yards	27	100
Passing Yards	129	312
First Downs	6	24
Punt Return Yards	9	19
Kick Return Yards	177	32
Total Yards	342	463
Turnovers	6	1
3rd Down Converstion	1-9	10-15
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/0	5/1
Penalties	4/50	2/15
Posession Time	18:44	33:04

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Johnson 6/23 129 6 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Graham 10 21 2.1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Troupe 2 50 25.0 I. Hilliard 2 44 22.0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD B. Ruud 13 D. Brooks 7 R. Sims 4 2 T. Jackson 4 1 G. Adams 3 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Talib 4 97 24.2 P. Buchanon 3 80 26.6 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Talib 1 9 9.0

New Orleans Saints PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Brees 29/40 326 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Bush 16 74 4.6 3 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD R. Bush 12 122 10.1 1 M. Colston 7 75 10.7 D. Patten 6 66 11.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD R. Morris 4 1 1 J. Vilma 4 S. Shanle 3 1 M. McKenzie 3 2

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne


I went pretty rough on the team after the game. I admit it. But that...that was TERRIBLE. The defense damn there let Reggie Bush rip them a new one, the offense was embarrassing to watch and didn't move the ball...not to mention f***ing SIX interceptions.

I might just have to bench Josh Johnson. He's clearly not ready. One more game of that and he will be benched and future endeavored soon after.

We have a much easier opponent in the Falcons next week. We have got to win this one. The fans are expecting us to rebound after a horrific display in New Orleans.

What do we need to do? Move the damn ball. Stop the damn ball. Then maybe we'll stand a chance against Atlanta.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

I think I'm going to sim/supersim this first season. Watching this offense is unbearable. I need to make some major changes and then hopefully I'll be able to stand this team enough to watch them year 2.

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

Bizarre loss for Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Atlanta Falcons ()	0	6	3	0	9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers ()	7	7	3	7	24

Team Stats Comparison
	ATL	TAM
Total Offense	117	277
Rushing Yards	117	116
Passing Yards	0	161
First Downs	7	15
Punt Return Yards	11	105
Kick Return Yards	139	111
Total Yards	267	493
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Converstion	2-16	4-13
4th Down Conversion	0-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/3	2/1
Penalties	12/105	4/50
Posession Time	28:39	31:02

Atlanta Falcons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Garcia 0/17 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD M. Turner 24 87 3.6 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD K. Brooking 6 1 M. Boley 6 1 C. Houston 4 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J. Elam 3/3 9 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 M. Berger 8 351 43.8 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD M. Turner 3 86 28.6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Johnson 13/36 161 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Graham 16 74 4.6 J. Johnson 9 42 4.6 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Troupe 4 38 9.5 1 D. Jackson 3 58 19.3 M. Clayton 3 20 6.6 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD B. Ruud 12 G. Adams 9 3 D. Brooks 5 M. Douglas 2 1 A. Talib 1 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG M. Bryant 1/3 3/3 6 25 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 J. Bidwell 5 215 43.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD P. Buchanon 2 58 29.0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD A. Talib 6 105 17.5 1

[BusinessmanJ]

Re: Fasheed Payne

I've decided to just sim through the 1st season and pick back up in the offseason. I will be posting full stats and season recap and everything though.

[twl221]

Boy, this has been beautifully done. What draft path are you on?