The Buccaneers have a lot of quality depth at running back and that should serve them well in 2008.  Earnest Graham finally got a chance to show what he could do when Cadillac Williams went down last season to injury and he looks to have snatched his job.  Graham always seems to have his legs churning and his body moving forward.  He played in 15 games (10 starts) for the Bucs last season and he carried the ball 222 times for 898 yards (4.0 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also caught 49 passes for 324 yards (6.6 avg) last year.  Look for Graham to share the load in the running game in 2008 with Warrick Dunn who has been brought back to Tampa as a free agent.  Graham has now played in 56 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 274 times for 1,113 yards (4.1 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He has also caught 50 passes for 328 yards (6.6 avg).

Warrick Dunn might not have much left in the tank based on his play last season in Atlanta.  The Bucs probably aren’t expecting him to be much more than a third down back in 2008 but he could be very effective in that role.  Dunn played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Falcons last season and he carried the ball 227 times for 720 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 37 passes for 238 yards (6.4 avg) for the Falcons.  Dunn has had a real impressive career despite being such a small guy.  Dunn has now played in 166 games (148 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2,483 times for 10,181 yards (4.1 ypc) with 47 TD runs.  He has also caught 463 passes for 4,009 yards (8.7 avg) with 15 TD grabs.

Carnell ”Cadillac” Williams just can’t stay healthy.  When he plays, he’s been effective but that hasn’t happened much in his NFL career to this point.  With the emergence of Earnest Graham and the free agent signing of Warrick Dunn it appears that Williams will be the #3 RB on the depth chart when training camp opens.  Williams only played in 4 games (all starts) last season for the Bucs and he carried the ball 54 times for 208 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also  caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg) last season.  Don’t look for Williams to add big numbers to his career totals in 2008.  Williams has played in 32 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 569 times for 2,184 yards (3.8 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He has also caught 53 passes for 294 yards (5.5 avg) in his NFL career.

Michael Bennett was acquired during the season from the Chiefs but he didn’t get a chance to show much.  Still, he’s no doubt the fastest running back on the Bucs’ roster when he is healthy.  Bennett played in 14 games (1 start) for the Bucs & Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 61 times for 241 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 15 passes for 101 yards (6.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Bennett would likely need a couple of injuries to get a big role in the offense in 2008 but he still appears to have some tread left on his tires.  Bennett has now played in 89 games (50 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 810 times for 3,615 yards (4.5 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He has also caught 150 passes for 1,218 yards (8.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

Kenneth Darby was a rookie last season and didn’t get much of a chance to show what he can do last year.  He played in 1 game (0 starts) with the Bucs and he carried the ball 2 times for 9 yards (4.5 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg).  Darby is likely too far down on the depth chart to make much of an impact in 2008.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON:  C+

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been collecting QBs for the last couple of years.  They have brought in Brian Griese through a trade with the Bears and they drafted raw rookie Josh Johnson out of tiny San Diego.  The offense still revolves around veteran Jeff Garcia who played his best football in years last season for the Bucs.  He doesn’t have the strongest arm in the league but it’s strong enough to make all of the throws in the Bucs’ offense.  He also is still very effective with his feet as he can either take off running out of the pocket or he can buy more time to throw the ball.  Garcia played in 13 games (all starts) last season for the Bucs and he completed 209 of 327 passes (63.9%) for 2,440 yards with 13 TD passes and 4 interceptions (94.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 35 times for 116 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Look for Garcia to pad his already impressive career totals with another solid season in 2008 as long as he can stay healthy.  Garcia has now played in 112 games (105 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,020 of 3,300 passes (61.2%) for 22,825 yards with 149 TD passes and only 77 interceptions (87.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 430 times for 1,994 yards (4.6 ypc) with 25 TD runs.

Veteran Brian Griese will likely be the #2 QB this season unless Luke McCown beats him out in training camp.  Griese has an edge based on experience and the fact that he’s been effective over the years.  He did not play his best football in Chicago last season but he didn’t have much help at the skill positions.  Griese played in 7 games (6 starts) for the Bears last season and he completed 161 of 262 passes (61.5%) for 1,803 yards with 10 TD passes and 12 interceptions (75.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 28 yards (2.2 ypc).  Griese will likely get to add to his career totals this season as Jeff Garcia will no doubt get banged up a little bit because of his playing style.  Griese has now played in 88 games (78 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,642 of 2,612 passes (62.9%) for 18,367 yards with 114 TD passes and 92 interceptions (83.6 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 233 times for 583 yards (2.5 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

Luke McCown was pressed into service last season when Jeff Garcia missed some time to injury and he played very well.  He exhibited a strong arm and he was very effective at both running the ball and buying time in the pocket to throw it.  McCown played in 5 games (3 starts) for the Buccaneers last season and he completed 94 of 139 passes (67.6%) for 1,009 yards with 5 TD passes and 3 interceptions (91.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 117 yards (9.8 ypc).  McCown deserves to be the #2 QB for the Bucs but you know that politics could play a factor in that decision.  McCown has now played in 10 games (7 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 142 of 237 passes (59.9%) for 1,617 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 interceptions (75.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 142 yards (7.9 ypc).

Chris Simms will likely get either traded or released before the 2008 season begins.  He has been mouthing off about Coach Gruden about how he handled Simms’ spleen injury two years ago.  The fact remains however that Chris Simms is just not a talented QB.  He has problems with deflected balls at the line of scrimmage and he often puts the ball up for grabs when facing pressure.  Simms did not play last season.  He has now played in 19 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 291 of 492 passes (59.1%) for 3,087 yards with 12 TD passes and 17 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 30 times for 52 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Look for the Bucs to cut him before the season starts and don’t look for many teams to line up to claim him.  He might have very well played his last game in the NFL.

Josh Johnson was awesome in extended high school ball at San Diego.  The Bucs will likely try to hide him on the practice squad until they can coach him up to the NFL’s speed.  Make no mistake though, he is a very talented player.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

Cory Boyd will need to be monitored by the often by the coaches as he has had run ins with the law in the past.  Boyd runs the football like his hair is on fire.  Boyd has really good power for a man that’s 6′0″, 212 pounds and he’s just fast enough (4.5 40) to break long runs once in a while.  Boyd played in 46 games (28 starts) at South Carolina and he carried the ball 464 times for 2,267 yards (4.9 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  He also has caught 117 passes for 1,303 yards (11.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Boyd will have to behave as a rookie and play special teams but he has a big enough upside for the Bucs to stick with him as long as he behaves.

Geno Hayes is a tad small at 6′1″, 220 pounds but he runs a 4.65 40 and has the speed to make plays in the backfield.  Hayes played in 36 games (22 starts) at Florida State and he made 156 tackles, had 29.5 tackles for a loss, had 8 sacks, broke up 7 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Look for Hayes to be a special teams ace for the Bucs this season and if he can gain some weight he might get to play some on defense also.

Coach Gruden collects QBs like most people collect baseball cards.  Josh Johnson is 6′2″, 200 pounds and he runs a 4.56 40 which shows what kind of athlete he is.  He has not played against much competition in college but he was dominating there.  Johnson played in 42 games (34 starts) at San Diego and he completed 724 of 1,065 passes (67.9%) for 9,699 yards with 113 TD passes and 15 interceptions.  He will likely take a few years to adjust to the speed of the NFL.