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The Bucs cut QB Jay Fiedler yesterday. This was an easy decision for the Buccaneer brass, as Fiedler hasn’t recovered from his shoulder operation of last year. Fiedler hasn’t even thrown a pass in training camp. With the way Bruce Gradkowski has been playing, Fiedler was expendable.
The over/under for Buccaneers wins is 8. The Bucs are 30-1 to win the Super Bowl and 15-1 to win the NFC.
I suggest a play on the under because of the tough schedule that includes cold December games. Also, I’m not sold on Chris Simms as a QB.
The Bucs just didn’t look to good against the Jags. Chris Simms completed 9 of 14 passes (64.3%) for 77 yards. Bruce Gradkowski had his first rough NFL experience. Gradkowski completed 10 of 17 passes (58.8%) for 124 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT.
Ernest Graham had another good game, rushing 4 times for 27 yards (6.8 ypc).
The Jags ran the ball for 149 yards (4.0 ypc) against the Bucs. The Bucs allowed the Jags to complete 68.2% of their passes for a net of 145 yards.
Bruce Gradkowski (6th round pick out of Toledo) is making a major push to be Chris Simms back-up. Gradkowski has been super in the pre-season. Gradkowski has completed 22 of 27 passes (81.5%) for 297 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Gradkowski has a QB rating of 134.1. I know, it’s just the pre-season, but one season at Toledo Gradkowski completed over 70% of his passes for the year!
Ernest Graham has been a Buc for awhile now, but he rarely gets the chance to play. Well, this August he’s been getting the ball, and doing something with it. Graham has carried the ball 23 times for 97 yards (4.2 ypc) and has caught 4 passes for 51 yards (12.8 avg).
The Buccaneers defense is way ahead of their offense so far in the pre-season and the offense needs to catch up if the Bucs are going to return to the playoffs. The Bucs are averaging 117.0 rushing per game on offense, and are getting 3.7 yards per carry. The pass offense is averaging 185.5 yards per game through the air, but is completing 67.4% of their passes.
The defense has been devastating. The Bucs are only allowing 65.0 yards rushing per game and only 3.0 yards per carry. The pass defense is only giving up 157.5 yards through the air, but opponents are connecting on 62.9% of their passes.