A GUARD A GUARD, OUR FIRST PICK FOR A GUARD! Now that all the hoopla and spin from the draft has died down, and thankfully Mel Kiper has disappeared back to his cave, we can look more objectively at what the Bucs did in New York and why, in a considered response to the outcry at our selections from certain quarters. When it came down to our turn to pick at #23, most people expected the names of either Santonio Holmes, Jimmy Williams or Winston Justice to be called. But when Tags named a certain Oklahoma guard as our pick, the reaction of spending a pick so high on the Guard position kicked off a wave of surprise amongst the American media and Buc fans alike. The selection of Davin Joseph at that spot threw a curveball at the so-called draft experts, though I’m sure our friend Mel had him going to us in his mock draft number 3,046. Conventional wisdom states you don’t use such a high pick on an offensive guard, and in fairness I was also somewhat taken aback. My own opinion for what it is worth is that we could have traded down with The Steelers who were actively trying to trade up at that point, and they could have gotten the player they coveted in Santonio Holmes and we would have then still gathered Mr Joseph at 32; The Giants took such a course of action two picks later so did we miss a trick here? Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it and afterwards it all looks a hell of a lot easier. A few things I think 1. I think that amongst all the pre-draft hype an important signing sneaked into One Buc and under the radar. His name is Jerald Sowell and do not underestmate his potential impact this coming season, as he will be the man leading the way for Cadillac and should also prove an improved safety valve option for Chris Simms when he’s running for his life. 2. I think I always have a laugh each year when the NFL Schedule comes out and some teams are said to have “easy” slates and others hard ones. Who in the hell can tell how good an opponent will be 6 months before the season kicks off? Every team in the NFL is one injury away from mediocrity – Steelers (Roethlisberger), Seahawks (Hasselbeck), Bucs (Cadillac) – and there’s no way you can anticipate what a team’s record will be when you come to play them so far down the line. There’s guesswork and there’s NFL schedule analysis. 3. I think that with Brian Griese’s departure, Chris Simms is very much THE man for us this year. He’s now a four-year veteran and we need him to play like that for us to be contenders. 4. On the subject of Brian Griese I’d wager with anybody that he will be The Bears starter by Week 8 in 2006. 5, I think I'm forever grateful that multiplex are not involved in any way with the construction of The Bucs new training complex. The pictures tell you what an improvement this facility will be over our current wood shed, and Im sure The Chuckster and his staff will shed few tears for One Buc or the legendary furry animal that stalks the corridors in the night. 6. I think I still can’t believe Edell Shepherd dropped that bloody ball. Further scratching of heads followed in some quarters with our 2nd round pick of T Jeremy Trueblood, who once again the “experts” felt should have gone a round later. In defense of Jon Gruden it appears we were clear on our targets and the type of players we wanted, and if you are sure of a guy’s character and abilities then you’ve got to back your judgement. The Bucs' coaching staff will have spent enough time watching these two guys, and Bill Muir’s input will have been a key factor. There’s an old saying that you can’t coach size and both Joseph and Trueblood pan out well for their projected roles at RG and RT in the coming years – Mr Muir is a master at improving technique and teaching young lineman how to play in the NFL. When you add these two players to Colmer and Buenning from last years draft we may just have a long term nucleus on the Line that suits us just fine. Offensive linemen are not glamour picks and that’s the main knock on them; however the basic essence of success in football is to protect your quarterback at all costs and give him time, whilst ensuring get in the face and head of your opponents on the other side of the ball. It does make me laugh how the American media is loaded with experts who hand out grades to every teams' draft. How the hell can you tell how good a draft is until three or four years have passed and the players concerned have had a decent crack at the NFL? After his rookie year Michael Clayton would have given us an A+, and yet 12 months later this would have dropped to around the –D range. Production at college level does not guarantee anything, no matter who you are, and it’s time people got realistic about seeing the draft as a quick fix to the post-season and beyond. Looking further at the players we selected I love the pick of Alan Zemaitis in the 4th round, who seems to fit our system like a glove. Aggression, tackling ability, intelligence and reaction time are keys for defensive backs in the cover two and his scouting reports and work ethic appears to match our needs to a tee. Comparisons to Ronde Barber are rather premature but there’s an incentive for Zemaitis to get his head down and work, and should he do so he’ll quickly find his way onto the field in nickel situations in 2006. I’ve cried out for wide receiver help these past two years and assistance did arrive in the form of Maurice Stovall in Round 3. Mr Stovall had a distinctly average career at Notre Dame until Charlie Weis came along and turned his senior season into a highlight reel. Was it the player developing or the coach’s savvy that inspired such an advance? I guess we will find out but Stovall will hopefully give us a decent big target over the middle when we need that eight or nine yards on third down to keep the chains moving. I still have a nagging fear that we are a Joey Galloway injury away from disaster at the receiver spot and Galloway injuries have been known to happen. Without him we would be thinner than John Prescott’s job description at the position and heavily reliant on a Michael Clayton renaissance that may or may not happen. Now the draft is concluded we sit in the dead period of the NFL year, with the season weeks away and all the media buzz temporarily subsided. The only thing I want to read about from the Tampa press is that Messrs Joseph, Trueblood and others have put pen to paper as rookie hold-outs are the last thing you need as a sideshow heading into camp itself. We look forward to seeing them on the field come July when the real work starts and they have an opportunity to start justifying our faith in them. Nod of Acknowledgement to …… FFL Owner Simon Butt who gets married in the next few weeks. Good luck fella, have a great day. Get in the Real World …..Winston Justice and Lendale White. These two are the most recent recipients of the harshest lesson of all; character does count in the eyes of NFL teams and despite their undoubted ability they dropped a mile in the draft thanks to recent transgressions. Time to get your heads down boys and work like hell.