The Raheem Morris Era Begins

Amidst the celebration of Super Bowl XXXVII, Jon Gruden took the podium and boldly declared "You Aint Seen Nothing Yet Tampa!"

Well, Jon appears to have been right about something. Since that moment, the Bucs have managed a mediocre 48-53 record, and despite two playoff berths...zero playoff victories to show for it. To top it off, the Bucs began the 2008 season 9-3 and in prime position for the #2 seed. But after one of the greatest collapses in NFL history, the Bucs failed to make the playoffs for the third time under Gruden.

The decision to fire Jon Gruden was bittersweet for me. At first I was in complete shock. The timing seemed so bizarre. Then I was mad, because I really like Jon Gruden as a person. But the more I thought about it, I realized that the NFL is all about results, and Jon Gruden was simply not getting the job done.

When I heard that Gruden was fired, my immeadiate first choice for head coach was Raheem Morris. For the past 2 years, Morris has been on my radar as a rising star in the coaching ranks. The fact that Morris has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL is concerning to say the least, but Morris just has that "it" factor. He brings energy and enthusiasm, and his players love to play for him.

To be honest, I really don't know what to expect from Raheem. I feel like the Bucs need to take a step back before they can move forward, but I'm okay with that. With nearly $45 million in cap space, and the 19th overall pick in the draft, its an exciting time to be a Bucs fan. At the very least, I hope that Morris will change the culture of the Bucs to a more positve atmosphere, while remaining very close and intact.

Many of you probably don't know the slightest thing about Morris, and your first exposure to him was a press conference in which he was rather nervous and shaky. But his energy and enthusiasm is undeniable. It is also important to point out that Morris comes from the Monte Kiffin coaching tree that includes: Mike Tomlin, Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli, and for what its worth Tony Dungy. So he has learned from the very best, and I feel like he is in prime position to do well. At the very least, he brings hope to a Bucs and Mets fan that just can't take it anymore.

Check out this clip of Raheem coaching at K-state. You gotta love him

Clifton Smith: Redefining Special Teams in Tampa Bay

For the past few seasons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lacked playmakers. But that all changed when the Bucs promoted undrafted free agent RB Clifton Smith from the practice squad in week 4. With that roster move, the Bucs instantly got themselves the best kick returner in franchise history. Smith ranks 1st in the NFL in both kick return average (29.5) and punt return average (17.6), and has taken one of each to the house. But the most impressive part of Smith's play is the timing. Everytime the Bucs fall behind, Smith is the sparkplug that gets the team going. When the Bucs fell behind the Chiefs 21-3 in the first half, Smith delievered a clutch 90 yard kickoff return TD, which got the Bucs right back into the game. Without that return, the Bucs lose to the Chiefs. And then 2 weeks later, down 17-0 to the Lions, Smith took a punt back 70 yards, which set up 35 unaswered points from the Bucs.

I know that once again, my favorite Bucs will get snubbed from the pro bowl (Barrett Ruud, Jeff Faine, Gaines Adams, and Jermaine Phillips to name a few), but my man Clifton needs to be there. Nicknamed "peanut" by his teamates, Clifton has struggled throughout has career to prove the doubters wrong. Well he is certainly seizing this oppurtunity, and if he continues to electrify the Bucs, he could approach Devin Hester status. After watching the Bucs never return a kickoff for a TD until last season, its great that we finally have a guy who strikes fear in the opposing team.


UPDATE: Scott Reynolds of Pewterreport.com reports that Clifton Smith has been named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month.