You already know about quarterback Josh Freeman’s weight loss, as he’s shed about 20 pounds and looks fitter than ever. But Freeman might not be the only player who is in better physical shape when the Bucs take the field for training camp. On conditioning days throughout the offseason, the team’s new strength and conditioning staff has embarked on a major effort to reshape players’ bodies. According to general manager Mark Dominik, strength coach Jay Butler and assistant Joe Vaughn have employed some effective techniques while also doing things like setting weight targets for players to achieve during offseason workouts. Will it have an effect during the regular season? That remains to be seen, but it certainly can’t hurt. “Jay Butler has done a good ... Continue reading →
Word travelled quickly that the controversial New Yorker - also owner of American Football club Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and chief executive of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests - had died, and 'Malcolm Glazer' was the top trending topic on the microblogging site within minutes. National journalists were forced to call Manchester United and CNN in order to confirm that Glazer, who suffered a stroke in 2006, was, indeed, still alive and well. Sources at the Premier League club verified "this is not true and the actual source of the story was also incorrect". After starting the untrue information and qualifying it by labelling CNN as the source, McMullan blithely commented: "This is how Christianity spread, people." There was a ... Continue reading →
TAMPA -- Suppose your boss made coming to work today optional, and technically couldn't penalize you for not showing up. Would you?And would it matter if you knew staying home could allow co-workers to gain an upper hand on you?This, in essence, is the decision NFL players face each offseason.Outside of mandatory three-day minicamps, the long weeks of conditioning drills — followed by several weeks of offseason team activities (practices) — aren't mandatory, as clearly outlined in the collective bargaining agreement.But don't tell that to Bucs coachGreg Schiano, or any other NFL coach. They rely heavily on the offseason work to prepare their teams for the upcoming season. Outside of the lack of full contact, there is little distinction between what's going on this week ... Continue reading →
Some would call new Bucs coach Greg Schiano a control freak. Others would suggest that he's merely detail-oriented.You might say he's a tyrant. He might say that he's just really focused.Perhaps he could be called a puppet master. Or, perhaps, he's just a master leader.At a recent offseason practice, Schiano scolded players for not sprinting fast enough to get water. That sounds intriguing.Sports Illustrated's Peter King wrote that when Schiano was at Rutgers, team meetings had to be held in a room with an absolute specific temperature. That sounds weird.You can't help but wonder if the trade of tight end Kellen Winslow was, in part, Schiano's desire to set a tone that demands hard work, dedication and participation in order to wear the pewter and ... Continue reading →
Though it wasn't posted here, we mentioned in today's newspaper that receiver Preston Parker earlier this month received a contract extension that takes him through the end of the 2013 season. Previously, Parker was under contract only for 2012 after signing his exclusive-rights free agent tender. We're happy for Parker, who now is scheduled to earn $1 million in 2013 (up from his unchanged $540,000 this fall). But it's reasonable to ask why, exactly, the Bucs decided to do this? It's an odd move, to some extent. Parker has no negotiating rights after just two years of NFL experience. He would have become a restricted free agent next season, but the Bucs would still have had the ability to keep him for very little. Teams ... Continue reading →
Much has been made of Bucs players who haven’t attended offseason workouts, with absences often leading to suggestions that they’re not sufficiently committed to the team. But there’s a fundamental problem with this way of thinking: It’s not necessarily true. Take, for instance, the situation with defensive tackle Brian Price last week. When the media was permitted to watch Tuesday’s workout and subsequently reported that he was not there, there were some assumptions among fans that he was slacking off. We now know that nothing could have been further from the truth; he was in the hospital after an emotional and physical breakdown related to the death of his older sister. It’s fair ground to report who is and isn’t there on days media are ... Continue reading →
Kellen Winslow's history of speaking his mind appeared to prompt new Bucs coach Greg Schiano to trade the tight end to Seattle.AP Greg Schiano is a control freak. And that's the major explanation, at least in my mind, for why you trade a productive tight end like Kellen Winslow for something so paltry as a seventh-round draft choice, which the Bucs did Monday in dealing him to Seattle: The new coach doubted he was going to be able to control Winslow. The Bucs are rewriting the rules of their program under Schiano. A friend of mine at Rutgers once told me Schiano was an acquired taste; he was insistent, for instance, that team meetings at road hotels be held with the room at a precise ... Continue reading →
