Get Your TVs Ready!
September 27th, 2011
"Let me tell you, Tirico. I'm glad all of Tampa's going to see this game. That's my coaching tree out there with Raheem and Olson. And that's my freakin' offensive line. Bill Muir and I molded those hogs. And this team runs through them. Jimminy Christmas, if I had Josh Freeman I'd be lighting this place up like Rudolph's damn nose."
Update 3:57 p.m.: Joe has learned that Team Glazer has made a donation of 250 tickets to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, details of which appear to be a late push to make sure the Monday night game is televised.
Joe’s hearing from the Bucs that Roy Cummings’ latest Tweet about ticket sales for Monday night is legitimate.
Not that Cummings would make something up. But word of only 2,000 or so tickets remaining for Monday night’s matchup against Indianapolis forced Joe to make a phone call to confirm a miracle had indeed occurred.
@TBO_Buccaneers: Roy: Word from the Bucs is that there are only about 2,000 tickets remaining for the MNF game against the Colts. A sellout is very possible.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
If Chucky had Freeman he’d be sitting behind David Garrard for reps.
September 27th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
So I normally dislike when people put comments that are completely unrelated but…… Steve Slaton was released today. Definitely worth a look; nothing against Graham but he could be in a good 3rd down back roll if he really is over his neck issues. Heck he was 6th in rushing back in 2008.
September 27th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Steve Slaton available now. Bye bye lumpkin?
September 27th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
FlMike- lmao, unless Chucky could talk Jake Plumber outta retirement! Lol
September 27th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Thank God! The streak is broken!
September 27th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Steve,
I completely agree. Slaton can spread the D out if we can get him the ball in space. Add another dimension to the Offense. Look what the Blount injection did for us last year. He’d be a great fit.
September 27th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Slaton seems like another Clayton story…great first season and nothing after that.
The Houston Chronicle’s Lance Zierlein noted that Slaton lacked confidence in himself of late.
Still, he COULD refind himself here. I wouldn’t count on his being signed though. Graham is good enough at the role he would fill. We need a big Fullback.
September 27th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
I should add I don’t recall ever seeing him play, so I’m pretty much guessing. Texans must have released him for a reason.
September 27th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
That’s interesting because with Foster and Ward both hurt, the Texans are hurting for RBs right now. Supposedly Foster will be back this week, but that still doesn’t speak well of Slaton’s abilities.
He just never got right after that neck injury.
All that said, I think the Bucs should still check him out. There’s definitely room to improve the production for the 3rd-down back — can’t hurt to keep kicking over rocks.
September 27th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Pete,
While that’s the risk you run with EVERY FA, the Texans are loaded in the back field. Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Derrick Ward, James Casey and the Obogonya kid on their practice squad. Slaton made his bed in Kubiak’s doghouse for fumbling in 09 after his breakout rookie (I believe, maybe sophomore campaign) year.
But you’re probably right about us not signing him. That definitely doesn’t fall in line with Dominik’s philosophy. But you never know. The Bengals are probably on the top of the list after working out Larry Johnson and Clinton Portis today…
September 27th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Slaton is a free agent because he is a reject. He didn’t finish his contract and now looking to part ways. He was let go. We should let it go also.
I cannot wait til Monday. I got goosebumps just thinking about it. If our D plays anything like it did a few days ago, it’ll feel just like old times. I remember when noone could hear a word when our D was on the field. Oh the nostalgia.
For you bandwagoners going to the game Monday, please pay attention. Do not get loud while our offense is on the field. Its good to cheer when we make a play but shut up while we’re in the huddle or lined up. Don’t try to start a wave. You take away our home field advantage. On Sunday Freeman tried to hush the crowd and you idiots got louder. I guess you were giddy that he acknowledged your existence. It helped get that offsides penalty but 99% of the time you’re only helping the other team.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
That is nice of the Glazers to donate some tickets, they could use the good P.R. A lot of teams donate a small number of tickets to teachers, police, fireman, etc. each year.
They also donated about the same amount to some select public schools in Hillsborough County for 2 employees that the school chooses. My wife works for the County and showed me the e-mail. They have done this for 1 game a year for quite a few years according to her.
Now it’s time for the Bucs to have a true breakout game both on the offense and defense. If the defense continues to play at or close to the level that they played against Atlanta and the offense plays like they did in the second half against Minnesota they could really be a very good team.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Slaton is vastly overrated…we need to stay away from him.
I guess a number of fans will be crying for Aaron Curry to be signed since it’s been made public that Seattle is willing to trade him. Maybe replace Quincy Black? No freaking way. If anyone has watched Curry play since he was the 4th overall pick in ’09 they would realize that he’s one of the biggest draft busts of the past decade. He’s even worse than Black, if you can imagine that.
How about we start realizing that being cut or traded during the regular season is a major red flag. Far too much risk.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Espo;
You know what’s really funny (and kind of sad) is it’s always been that way. I’ve probably been to 150-200 games through the good and bad (a lot of bad) and when the stadiums rocking they’ll cheer for anything and everything. I know I could even here them cheering when I was getting kicked out in my younger crazy days.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
As for the possible sellout, if the Bucs had lost to Atlanta this past Sunday you’d see about 10,000 tickets still available right now for the Colts game. Nothing helps ticket sales like some big wins.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Joe,
ur 2/2 on those Chucky quotes…fantastic stuff…
GO BUCS!
September 27th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
not much of a coaching tree ……bush maybe
September 27th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
@FLboy- Slaton may be overrated, but the question that must be asked is is he better than what we have behind Blount right now? I think the answer to that is yes. Slaton was 6th in rushing in 2008. Could any of our backs (behind Blount) do that behind any offensive line in the league? I don’t think they could. Slaton was in an extremely crowded Houston backfield while being in Kubiak’s doghouse. Not a good combo for success. He does have a fumbling problem, but one thing our offense is begging for is a home run threat, which is what Slaton brings to the table. Defenses wouldn’t be able to just ignore him, which is basically what they are doing to Graham. I think it would be a solid signing. Don’t forget we signed a running back during the season last year. That’s worked out pretty well for us so far. (I know it’s a totally different scenario, different players, etc. but running back isn’t that tough of a position to play and can be picked up rather quickly. He won’t know EVERYTHING, would probably struggle in pass pro, but he can get the basics down quickly).
As for fan noise, that happens everywhere, not just in Tampa. Half of the people in sports stadiums are just fair weather fans. It should be common knowledge, however, to stfu when your team is on offense. No defending that one.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Pete, we have a big FB, his name is Erik Lorig and he’s done a pretty darned good job so far this season.
On a side note… where’d all the doom and gloomers go? I think I’ve seen one post from Thomas since the game ended. Only two sentences about the typical GMC sucks stuff….
September 27th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
FGO, Texans aren’t currently loaded at RB. Casey’s a converted tight end playing FB — there was no overlap between his role and Slaton’s. Ward is hurt. Foster looks to be back. If the Texans thought Slaton had anything to offer, he’d be on the roster another week at least.
September 27th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
The bad news we were expecting — Cody Grimm placed on IR, done for season, per Stroud on Twitter.
September 27th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
I think some of you may want to rewatch Graham…he had a few bad runs, but he has been sdolid catching passes and blocking. I think you guys are hung up on those short yardage runs that we shuold be using Blount on…or even Freeman. No need to pick up the yahoo from Texas. The plan is working, relax and watch it unfold. The Eagles do not seem to be lighting it up with all their FA pick ups.
Pete, not sure what you think is wrong with Lorig but he is playing lights out. FB is not a need at this point.
September 27th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Ive been to “every” game the past 2 years, and finally gave in and got my season tiks today, glad I could help get us on the tube
September 27th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
@Joke – I don’t think that’s the case with Slaton. They only wanted to carry so many backs on the roster and wanted to get Ogbonnoya(not sure on spelling) involved. They have struggled in the redzone and Ogbonnoya gives them a lot more value inside the 20 than Slaton. If anything it’s worth a tryout. Wouldn’t hurt to bring him in, see how he looks, if they like him great, if not see ya later.
September 27th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Lumpkin doesn’t even belong on an NFL roster, and Earnest Graham is about the least explosive 3rd down back in the history of the game.
I’m all for bringing in Slaton.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Slaton had a fantastic rookie year in ’08. But in the past two years, he’s seen his carries decrease drastically due to the emergence of Arian Foster in Houston. I read that he also had some fumbling problems, but still, we should sign him and take a look at him. Lumpkin isn’t doing anything for us and shouldn’t be on the roster. At least Slaton has done something before in his career and has a better chance of succeeding. We need to look for someone else to compliment Blount.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
As living in WVU conuntry, Slaton was a pretty darn good player. He was initially offered a scholarship with Maryland, but they renigged and Slaton torched them in a game. I’d say give him a shot. Why not? His skill set is superior to Blumppkins, and he would have a huge chip on his shoulder.
Plus his YAC would be far better than Grahams.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
You guys crack me up talking Salton in a post about the possible sellout LMAO.
September 27th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Just got my tickets for week ten against the Texans. I’ve been a bucks fan way before the Texans came around so to finally see the bucs live is great. Flying from Texas to see this game. Sorry, a little unrelated.
September 28th, 2011 at 10:13 am
What has Chucky done for us lately?
Cash our checks!
Too bad ’bout Grimm-Travis McGee nods
September 28th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
That was great of the Glazers to buy up some Tickets, so Tampa won’t be made fun of on National Television. My sports fan friends from other towns LAUGH at Tampa Fans for not supporting their football team.