The Buccaneers have signed 29-year old WR Vincent Jackson to a 5-year, $55.5 million dollar deal, with $26 million bucks of it guaranteed.  Jackson played in 16 games for the Chargers last year and he caught 60 passes for 1,106 yards (18.4 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 51 yards (17.0 ypc) last year.  Jackson has now played in 92 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has caught 272 passes for 4,754 yards (17.5 avg) with 37 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 14 times for 161 yards (11.5 ypc) so far in his career.  This was an OUTSTANDING MOVE for the Buccaneers.  Jackson gives them a legit #1 WR and deep threat, which should make QB Josh Freeman really, really happy.

The Buccaneers have used their franchise tag on 25-year old kicker Connor Barth.  Barth played in all 16 games for the Bucs last year and he connected on 26 of 28 (92.9%) field goals and he made all 23 of his extra points as he finished up with 101 points for them.  Barth has now played in 41 games in his first three years with the Buccaneers.  He has made 63 of 75 (84%) field goals and all 71 of his extra points, good for 260 points.  It was smart for the Buccaneers to bring back Connor Barth for 2012 as he has very, very accurate last year for them.

The Buccaneers have re-signed 25-year old OG Jeremy Zuttah to a new four year deal.  Zuttah played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Bucs last year.  He has now played in 58 games (44 starts) in his first four years with the Buccaneers.  This was a smart move for Zuttah as he will be the starting left guard for the Bucs in 2012 and beyond.

The Buccaneers have signed 25-year old TE Chase Coffman to a futures/reserve contract.  He is a huge guy at 6’5″,  250 pounds but he has a hard time staying healthy.  He didn’t play at all in 2011 due to injuries.  He did played in 6 games in his rookie year in 2010 with the Bengals and he caught 3 passes for 30 yards (10.0 avg).  Coffman has a nice upside if he can stay healthy for the Bucs in 2012, so I like the signing for them.

The Buccaneers have released 30-year old DT Albert Haynesworth.  He played in 7 games for the Buccaneers last year and he had 20 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  Haynesworth played in 13 games overall last year for the Patriots & Bucs last year and he had 23 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 123 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has 347 tackles, 50 tackles for a loss, 30.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 26 passes defensed.  This is not much of a loss for the Bucs as Haynesworth didn’t look like he had much in the gas tank.

The Buccaneers have hired 45-year old Greg Schiano to be their new head coach.  Schiano rebuilt a Rutgers’ football program that was in the dumps when he took over.  He compiled a 68-67 (50.4%) record during the regular season in his 11 years at Rutgers.  He was also a very impressive 5-1 (83.3%) in bowl games at Rutgers.  Schiano was a defensive assistant coach for the Bears from 1996-98, so he does have some experience in coaching in the NFL, but, it was a long time ago.  College coaches usually have a lot of trouble in the NFL as they can’t make their own schedule and they all have the same amount of money to spend on salaries.  I think the Bucs should have hired a veteran NFL head coach.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to load up on D in the 2011 NFL Draft and they found some keepers.  Here is a look at how the rookies did in their first taste of NFL action in 2011:

23-year old DE Adrian Clayborn was picked in the first round by the Bucs.  He was by far the best player the Bucs picked.  Clayborn played in all 16 games for the Bucs in 2011 and he had 42 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 3 forced fumbles.  He has a huge upside.

21-year old DE Da’Quan Bowers was a second round pick for the Bucs last April.  He played in all 16 games for the Bucs last year and he had 25 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed.  If Bowers can stay healthy, he could wind up being a better player than Clayborn down the road.

22-year old LB Mason Foster was picked in the 3rd round.  He played in all 16 games for the Buccaneers last year and he had 84 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and 2 passes defensed.  The Bucs want Foster to bring more thump in his tackles in 2012 and beyond.

23-year old TE Luke Stocker was a 4th round pick for the Bucs.  He played in 14 games for the Bucs last year and he caught 12 passes for 92 yards (7.7 avg).  Stocker will need to improve soon if he wants to get more P.T. as he is behind Kellen Winslow.

22-year old safety Ahmad Black was a 5th round pick for the Bucs.  He played in 4 games for the Bucs last year and he had 5 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.

23-year old RB Allen Bradford was picked in the sixth round.  Bradford played in 1 game for the Bucs last year and he carried the ball 5 times for 13 yards (2.6 ypc).  He is now on the Seahawks.

23-year old CB/S Anthony Gaitor was picked in the 7th round by the Bucs.  He played in 8 games for the Bucs last year and he had 5 tackles.

24-year old TE Daniel Hardy was also picked in the 7th round.  He was cut early in the year and he is now on the New Orleans Saints.  He didn’t get into any games for the Saints.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

23-year old QB Josh Freeman took a big step back in 2011.  The Bucs were only 4-11 (26.7%) when Freeman started at QB in 2011.  He played in 15 games (all starts) for the Buccaneers last year and he completed 346 of 551 passes (62.8%) for 3,592 yards with 16 TD passes and 22 INTs (74.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 55 times for 238 yards (4.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs last year.  Freeman has now played in 41 games (40 starts) in his first three years with the Bucs and he has completed 795 of 1,315 passes (60.5%) for 8,898 yards with 51 TD passes and 46 INTs (79.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 153 times for 763 yards (5.0 ypc) with 4 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  The Bucs are now 17-23 (42.5%) in games started by Josh Freeman.

25-year old Josh Johnson lost his only start this year for the Bucs.  He played in 9 games (1 start) for the Buccaneers last year and he completed 19 of 36 passes (52.8%) for 246 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (60.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 11 times for 67 yards (6.1 ypc) last year.  Johnson has now played in 26 games (5 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 96 of 177 passes (54.2%) for 1,042 yards with 5 TD passes and 10 INTs (57.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 37 times for 254 yards (6.9 ypc) in his NFL career.  Johnson is 0-5 as a starting QB in his NFL career.

The Buccaneers have fired 35-year old head coach Raheem Morris and his whole coaching staff.  The Buccaneers finished 4-12 on the season and they are currently on a 10-game losing streak.  The Buccaneers averaged 17.9 points per game this year and they gave up a pathetic 30.9 points per game.  Morris was also the defensive co-ordinator for the Bucs this year!  The Buccaneers were 17-31 (35.4%) in Morris’ three years in charge.  The Buccaneers got outcoached almost every week over the last three years, so Morris had to go.

The Buccaneers were down 42-0 in this game with 6:49 left in the second quarter!  The Falcons then took the foot off the gas pedal and the Bucs scored a few points.  Josh Freeman was not too good in this game.  He completed 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs (one of which was returned 26 yards for a TD by LB Curtis Lofton of the Falcons).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 14 yards (4.7 ypc) in this game.  LeGarrette Blount only rushed for 12 yards on 6 carries (2.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 14 yards.  Kregg Lumpkin carried the ball 2 times for 0 yards, but he also caught 5 passes for 27 yards (5.4 avg).  WR Preston Parker (4 rec, 74 yards), TE Kellen Winslow (7 rec, 56 yards) and WR Dezmon Briscoe (8 rec, 53 yards, 2 TD grabs) led the way for the Bucs in the passing game.  The Buccaneers finished up with only 35 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 45 passes (68.9%) for 259 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:52.

The defense was awful for the Bucs last Sunday, especially against the running game.  Safety Larry Asante (8 tackles), LB Mason Foster (6 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and CB Elbert Mack (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned 40 yards for a TD).  Safety Ahmad Black pitched in with 3 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  The Falcons finished up with 251 yards rushing on 38 carries (6.6 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 21 passes (61.9%) for 177 yards in this game.  The Buccaneers finished the 2011 season with a 4-12 record and on a 10-game losing streak.