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By Steven Ridenour - Orlando Florida Guide July 30, 2003 What a week for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following a week of intense practices at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, the Bucs had to catch a plane and travel halfway around the world for this weekends American Bowl in Tokyo, Japan. Even though this is a pre-season football game, look for the Bucs to be ready to make some great hits. You can tell that the Bucs defense is ready to make some tackles. During training camp, the lineman beat up each other in the trenches on a daily basis, but they don't allow the players to tackle. The competitiveness between the Bucs offense and defense is intense. There has been a couple of scuffles, but nothing compared to what I believe the Jets will face in Tokyo. I doubt that Sapp, Lynch and the gang will see a lot of playing time on defense. Ronde Barber is making the trip, but isn't expected to play due to a nagging hamstring injury. Derrick Brooks, last years NFL defensive player of the year will not make the trip due to an illness in his family. Monte Kiffin, the defensive coordinator of the Bucs has the defense on the same page again. I'm thrilled that the Bucs retained him as the defensive coordinator. The San Francisco 49'ers were looking to talk to him to take over the head coaching position over the off-season, but Malcolm Glazer, the owner of the Bucs awarded him with a contract to keep him in Tampa. I imagine the same will play true for the starters on the Bucs offense. It is still a long road to the regular season. Gruden said earlier in camp that it is time to "Pay the rent." I look for the Bucs to pay the rent and make it back to the Super Bowl and repeat as World Champions. The offense looks better this year. Two years under Grudens direction of the offense ... this is the first time in six years that the Bucs have been under the same offensive system and believe me, they look sharp. Brad Johnson will probably not see a lot of time in Tokyo due to a sore arm. He's looking like a potential Pro Bowl candidate this year. From what I've observed, he is making even better decisions and putting a softer touch on the ball. Sean King, the Bucs back-up QB will probably see a great deal of time in Tokyo along with rookie Chris Simms. King has improved a great deal over the off-season. His footwork has improved as well as his defensive reads and he seems to be a lot more patient in the pocket. Rookie Quarterback, Chris Simms looks like he has been around for a couple of years. The first couple of days of camp he was a little shaky, but he has improved on a daily basis during camp. It probably helps with the fact that his father is Phil Simms. Phil led the New York Giants to victory in Super Bowl XXI. Chris knows what effort it takes to be a champion. Originally, I thought that The Bucs made a bad choice in choosing a rookie QB this year, but now that I've seen him in action, I know that this kid has what it takes to make it into the NFL. Jim Miller, acquired from Chicago hasn't seen time at this years camp, he is recovering from a shoulder injury. Last year was the first year that we started covering the Bucs during training camp. The first day that I witnessed a practice, I was impressed. As soon as I got back to the office, I was on the phone w/ my former coach and told him that The Bucs were going to win the Super Bowl. I know that I stated this earlier, but I look for them to repeat. There are a gazillion things that can go wrong between now and then. Injuries. Bad breaks, etc. All the teams in the NFL are compiled with the best football players in the world. I feel for the guys that aren't going to make the team, the average length of a career in the NFL is around 4 years. Some will go to The Arena League. Some will play in Europe. Some will be return from the secondary leagues and become major stars in the NFL. Some will probably hang up their cleats for good. And for me, it is the most difficult thing to watch during training camp, because everyone works extremely hard to pursue their dream of playing football at its highest level. Special teams are looking sharp too. Tom Tupa was punting the football further than I ever seen a guy punt the ball the other day. Tom was pounding it like a cannon. Sixty-five to eighty yards on a regular basis in the air. Tupa is a big guy. He's been around for 14 years. They brought in a new punter, Andy Groom, from Ohio State and he is talented, but I do not believe he has a great chance in taking over Tupa's job. Remember, if injuries pile up at the QB position, Tupa has the experience to step in ... he spent a time as the starting quarterback with the New York Jets. Gramatica has been accurate on the field goals. He's solid. At training camp, there is an area at the Wide World of Sports where you can attempt to kick a field goal. Trying to kick a 25 yarder makes you realize how tough it is to nail a field goal. And this was without 70,000 screaming fans that a kicker will face during a game. It gives you a new appreciation for the kicking game. If you are a fan of the Bucs or even just a football fan, you have to read Andy Inebnit's article about training camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. Click here to read the article. Tanya Towne from Tampa, Florida was attending the Bucs final practice before departing to Tokyo, Japan. She predicts a 13 wins season and another championship. I asked her what she thought about Disney's Wide World of Sports experience and she said, "It is fantastic, they kept the crowd under control and everyone has been great. This has been my first time over here. And it's great. I'm a season ticket holder and I can't wait until the season gets under way." At Orlando Florida Guide, we couldn't agree more. If you have a chance to make it to training camp, don't miss it. It's a great way to spend a day with one of the finest sports organizations in the world. Steven
Ridenour Visit The Bucs Official Site for more news, information and statistics. More Sports News (click here) Orlando Florida Guide (click) Interested
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