Football season is finally here, sure it is preseason, but the Bucs play tonight and as most of you already know, I will be at the game since I am a season ticket holder.
Coach Gruden will be evaluating about 80 guys, but one sticks out more then others:
“I want to see Torrie Cox play,” said Gruden. “I want to see him out there at cornerback. He has made a lot of plays here in training camp and I want to see if he can take that out on the grass.”
MATCHUP: New York Jets (0-0) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-0)
WHERE: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
WHEN: Friday, August 11, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. ET
VEGASINSIDER.COM SPREAD: Bucs by 3
TELEVISION: NBC (WFLA-TV)
TV ANNOUNCERS: Chris Myers and Ron Jaworski
LAST YEAR: The Jets compiled a 4-12 regular season record en route to finishing in last place in the NFC East division. New York went winless (0-8) on the road in the regular season. That outing led to the trade of head coach Herm Edwards to Kansas City and the hiring of new head coach Eric Mangini.
The Bucs produced an 11-5 regular season record en route to winning the NFC South division title and securing a spot in the playoffs.
BUCS-JETS SERIES: Tampa Bay and New York have met a total of six times in the preseason, and each team has won three times.
BUCS Injury update: Michael Clayton, who missed Wednesday's practices because of a bruised toe, will play tonight, Gruden said. Right tackle Kenyatta Walker will not play because of a sore right knee. Rookie Jeremy Trueblood will start in his place. Others nursing injuries will be game-time decisions. "Some of these guys will go to the football stadium [tonight] and we'll take them out and see if they can go," Gruden said. , The Tampa Tribune August 2006
Things to watch for during this preseason game:
QB: Tim Rattay as Simms’ backup, followed by rookie Bruce Gradkowski, who seems to be outperforming Rattay on the practice field. There is talk that Gradkowski could push Rattay out of a job and maybe even off the roster.
OL: Trueblood gets the start and should win the starting job this season, this will be a good test for him. I also want to see our 1st round pick Davin Joseph. I also think he will win the starting job this season.
WR:Galloway and Clayton's spots are secure, but watch for Boston and Hilliard, who are competing for the number 3 spot. You also need to watch this new fan favorite Chas Gessner, who is a household name among Bucs fans everywhere. As I have said, I have been at training camp almost everyday this season, and fans are in love with this guy, and I think Gruden is too. Coach Jon Gruden calls him “The Golden Goose,” he has been one of the spotlights of training camp, making plays all over the field.
Safety: Bucs are a little thin at safety. The projected starters are Will Allen and Jermaine Phillips. Then the list drops off to n0 names: Kalvin Pearson, Blue Adams, Donte Nicholson and Steve Cargile. Blue Adams had a decent year last season during preseason, and he has had a good training camp. The Jets need to test these unknown guys tonight so the Bucs can get a good look at them.
Corner: Alan Zemaitis should be fun to watch and he should be a big name with our Bucs in the future.
I also want to watch fullback Jerald Sowell, who came to us from the jets. Sowell is a great blocker and has helped Curtis Martin over the years be the man that he is.
Speaking about the Jets and Curtis Martin. Martin is out on PUP with an injury, so fantasy wise, it will be nice to see the backup running back for the JETS.
I will post more on this after the game, when I return home.
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