Hackett Rackett and Random Thoughts for an Off-Season Turnover Having begun the long and arduous process, commonly known as the NFL off-season, it seems obvious that a hell of lot of changes should and will happen before we take to the field again in September. It’s therefore a barren land ahead of us prior to the onset of any meaningful action again, and the only thing left to do is to speculate on the shuffling of players and coaches over the coming weeks. Paul Hackett’s arrival this week could become a significant one for us, as he is openly lauded by Gruden as having a similar offensive mind, and it may well benefit the team as a whole if Chucky if able to delegate some of his play-calling role over to his ally, thus allowing him to concentrate on other areas of the squad. Hackett specialises in productive offensives and winning football teams, and though he may well have his work cut out with us, the jungle drums indicate a better Buccaneer attack in 2005. Five things I think 1. I think the two Championship games bored the hell out of me. Both were games dominated on both sides of the ball by the winner, who was blatantly obvious by the end of the first quarter. I said this last year, and reiterate it again that The Patriots are a lock for the Superbowl before. They have the coach and the players to avoid the usual pitfalls, and will win comfortably in nine days time. 2. I think having read in detail the article on this site about the salary cap, I still do not have a clue how it works. I know it makes me thick but I’d rather roll on in blissful ignorance than even begin to get my head around figures, years, renegotiations etc. I suppose this means my chances of a potential career as a GM is now firmly nipped in the bud but I’ll have to live with it. 3. I think the only way Charlie Garner ever plays a full 16 game season again in the NFL will be either in a video game or his dreams. 4. I’ve harped on about this before but why the hell do the NFL have this ridiculous two week break between the Championship Games and the Superbowl? It’s a chance for reporters to think up more stupid questions, and players to arrange tickets for their posses but otherwise serves no purpose. 5. I think the famed massive season ticket waiting list for RJS will diminish somewhat over the next 12 months. Bandwagon jumpers get off the vehicle just as fast as they join it and I think we will see this effect soon enough. It’s clear that the Bucs' offensive line play and running game has been nothing short of pathetic these past two seasons, so it’s natural to expect this will be a key subject focus in player acquisition and release, and practice in the heat of two-a-days in training camp. In theory you could not rule out at least three new starters on the offensive line, along with two new backs lined up behind the arse of either Simms or Griese. A couple of speedy wide-outs and a tight-end who is little more mobile also wouldn’t go amiss, but if I went on much further I’d get depressed as to how far we may be from contending again. What I thought I would do is list the players on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, who I would profess we definitely need to keep, as their losses would represent a blow in our ability to contend. If a player isn’t listed here, it means in simple terms that I’m underwhelmed by them: - QB – Simms, Griese RB – Pittman (as back-up) WR – Jurevicius, Clayton TE – OL – Deese, Wade, Coleman, Stinchcomb DL – Rice, Spires, Wyms, Darby, White LB – Brooks, Gold CB – Barber, Kelly S – Smith K P KR- Cox As you can see from my brief but brutal assessment, I make 20 players on our roster as keepers, with the rest categorised as being a loss we can overcome. Granted we are not going to see over 30 new players on the squad next year (or are we John/Bruce?) but with Dwight Smith also almost certain to depart, we have holes all over the place and at least five big areas of need – RB, OL, TE, LB, S. Granted we have plenty of high draft picks – seven in the first 140 – but a starting line-up littered with rookies has never yet succeeded in the NFL. I think what does become obvious is that with consideration of our multiple areas of need, added to our crappy salary cap position, we cannot really expect a free agent bonanza to fill out Chucky’s wish list. We are therefore going to have to be creative in our acquisitions, Travis Henry would be a start, and also play our fair share of youngsters. This will make us quicker and younger as a team but also represents the beginning of the turnover of our roster, and the start of our journey back to respectability – hopefully. It’s a mammoth task ahead and I hope the people we have in place are up to the job. As we are now at the bottom of the NFL pile again there’s no point in looking for quick fixes any longer, and better instead to build slowly and methodically for a gradual climb back up again.