Mankins Retires, Now Who's Left?

Logan Mankins has called it a career. He has retired. He played two good years in Tampa and came to work every day. He made the pro bowl this year and his work ethics has resonated to our young line. Our back up is Gilkey, according to the depth chart. Antoine Everett is our only other back up guard so we will have to find an extra back up to fill the void. It is said that Kevin Pamphile is skilled enough to play left guard but that will leave no 2nd string for the right tackle position.

Source: USA Today


There is also talk of moving Hawley to guard and either going with Smith at center or picking up a free agent. Some of the free agents that can fill our voids are:

Alex Mack Browns
Richie Incognito Bills
Jahri Evans Saints
Willie Colon Jets
Tim Barnes Rams


Who do you think will give us the best chance to put right personnel on the field?




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Walter Camp Americans are obsessed with football, yet they know little about the man who shaped the game to make it uniquely technical, physical, and 'man-making' at once. Walter Camp, the "Father of American Football," was the foremost authority on American athletics and arguably the greatest amateur American athlete of his time. In Walter Camp: Football and the Modern Man, Julie Des Jardins chronicles the life of the clock company executive and self-made athlete who remade football and redefined the ideal man. As a student at Yale University, Camp was a varsity letterman who led the earliest efforts to codify the rules and organization of football-including the line of scrimmage and "downs"-to make it distinct from English rugby. He also invented the All-America Football Team and wrote some of the first football fiction, guides, and sports page coverage, making him the foremost popularizer of the game. Within a decade American football was an obsession on college campuses of the Northeast. By the turn of the century, it was a bona fide national pastime. Since the Civil War, college men of good breeding had not a physical skirmish to harden them. They had grown soft, Americans feared, both in body and attitude. Camp saw football as the antidote to the degeneration of these young men. When massive numbers of college football players enlisted to fight in World War I, Camp held them up as proof that football turned men effective and courageous. His influence over the game, however, was not always viewed as beneficial. Under his watch, dozens of college and high school players were killed or maimed on the gridiron. President Theodore Roosevelt urged him to reform football to prevent administrators from banning it, but Camp was ambivalent about removing the very physicality that made the game man-making in his eyes. The criticism targeted at him over the aggressiveness of football still haunts the game today. In this fast-paced biography, Julie Des Jardins shows how the "gentleman athlete" was as much the arbiter of football as he was the arbiter of modern manhood. Though eventually football took on meanings that Camp never intended, his impact on the professional and college game is simply unsurpassed.

Buccaneers Draft Day Decisions

As the 2016 NFL draft combine shuts down we have already seen signs of awesomeness from players that we didn't expect it from. We do understand that these drills usually don't translate to field production, but sometimes the drills are small glimpses of what the possibilities could be in the future. BucNation is back and forth on whether we should go offense first or defense first.

Considering we went mainly offense in the 2015 draft it would seem that defense is the way to go. Drafting at the 9th spot will not leave us with many of the main picks that we've been scouting for. It's believed that Ramsey, VH3, Bosa, and Spence could already be scooped up before it's our turn. So what do we do? Who do we draft? Here are three players that we believe will get the job done and fill the void we need regardless what draft spot they are projected and valued at.

Deforest Buckner 6'7" 290 DE (Oregon) finishes the 2015 season with 45 solo tackles, 38 assists, 17 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks. Buckner was named the 2015 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. By adding him to our DL would add massive size and strength to an already tough line (11th against the run only giving up 1,606yds). At 6'7" he can definitely help with slants by keeping his hands up and blocking the passing lanes. We also need help with our pass rush and we feel that Buckner can add needed pressure and collapse the pocket. He's not much of an edge rusher so we see a lot of DL/LB stunts in the future if we draft him.

Tyvis Powell 6'2" 210 S (Ohio State) is a top consideration at the safety position for some teams. His clutch time play has been noted by many. Running a 4.47 will give our secondary the size and speed we need to go up against the top WRs in our division. He finished with 8 INTs in his 3 year career at Ohio State. With most of our force on defense coming from the linebackers and defensive line positions, Powell will get a chance to learn on the job without fearing the deep ball coming 75% of the time.

Xavien Howard 6'0" 201 CB (Baylor) is a corner that we feel has what it takes to play at a high level in the NFL. He has practiced against a high powered offense in his two year career at Baylor. He tallied 37 tackles, 5 INTs and 9 pass break ups (31st in the country). It's said that one of his weaknesses is he's too physical for his own good. We'll take that.

We at BucNation Firing Cannons feel that these 3 players will make a strong and immediate impact to our defense if our targeted players aren't on the board.


Who do you think will help improve our team's production?

Football Touchdown! These tales from the gridiron will set fans abuzz. Fun, filled with intriguing lore from football history, and engagingly written, they're almost as exciting as the Super Bowl itself. Find out all about the pranksters and one-of-a-kind characters of the game, including Clinton Portis, who liked to wear costumes to his team's weekly press conferences (including a mad scientist wig). Speaking of costumes, hazing the rookies is an integral part of the sport. Just ask Lavelle Hawkins and Cary Williams. They were tied to a goalpost and doused with water, mustard, and ketchup. You'll read about the strange injuries, including Turk Edwards' career-ending injury during the coin toss. You'll cringe reading about how San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott gave 110%--and his pinky--all for the love of the sport. And you'll bust out laughing when you find out why coach Don Shula once took a shower with an alligator. From the Hardcover edition.

Doug-Ur-Naut Staying

Here at BucNation we are in middle of the road with Doug Martin's decisions of testing free agency market for the 2016 season. You can't blame him after the season that he had in 2015 by being the second best RB behind Adrian Peterson. He wants to see what other teams are willing to pay for his services. He's 27 and he's coming off his rookie contract of 4 years for $6.7M. We drafted Martin in the first round at pick 31 in 2012 and since day one he's been that work horse that balanced our offense when things got rough. His rookie year he made the Pro Bowl and rushed for 1,454 yds 11Tds. He caught 49 passes for 472 yards and 1 TD. He only had 1 fumble and it was lost.

Franchise Records:
Most Rushing yards in a game - 251 Raiders 2012(His hometown)
Longest run - 84 vs Eagles 2015
Rookie rushing yards - 1,454 breaking Cadillac Williams 1178
Most rushing TDs in a game - 4 (First half) vs Raiders 2012 (tied NFL record
Most TDs by a rookie - 11



In 2013 he suffered a torn Labrum which resulted in him being injured for the season. He only played 6 games before he suffered a torn labram which put him on IR. In those 6 games he rushed for 456 yards 1 TD. He caught 12 passes for 66 yards and 0 TDs. That season he had 2 fumbles and lost 1

Under new head coach Lovie Smith In 2014 he played 11 games and rushed for 494 yards and 2 TDs. He caught 13 passes for 64 yards and 0 TDs. He had zero turnovers.
That season we struggled on offense due to the sudden illness of Tedford that left his QB coach Arroyo to run the offense.

This season he was back to rookie form. Played all 16 games and rushed for 1,402 yards and 6 TDs. He caught 33 passes for 271 yards and 1 rec TD. His break out game of the season against the Eagles helped us get the win and gave him the team record with an 84 yard run. He won his second trip to the Pro bowl.

He was second leading rusher in the NFL and the elephant in the room is that he had 5 fumbles and lost all 5. So we at BucNation Firing Cannons can understand any angle the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take towards signing Martin to a $6-8M a year contract. GM Jason Licht says he's optimistic about re-signing Martin.

We feel that if the Bucs franchise tag him he can have that one year to prove 2015 wasn't a fluke. If he rushes over 1200 yards next season he will tie Adrian Peterson as the fifth faster RB who got to 5,000. If he repeats his production in 2016 then it's a no brainer to sign him for $500,000 a game for the 2017 season.

We want to know how you feel about it Bucs fans!!! Drop a comment and GO BUCS!!!!!! #BUCup








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Congratulations Coach Dungy

Coach Tony Dungy got the nod, and he's  going into the Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio. I'm really excited for Tony Dungy because in 1996 he started changing BucNation into a winning household name.

In 4 years of him getting here we were already at the NFC Championship Game. Reminiscence of coach McKay getting to the NFC Championship in 4 years.

Tony Dungy is the only coach in NFL history to win 12 games 6 years in a row. He's built up two different franchises and has won a Super Bowl. Sounds like he qualifies to me. Well deserving

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Winston Wins Fans Not AP Votes for Offensive Rookie of the Year

First off, Congratulations to Jameis Winston for winning Pepsi Fan vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year. He threw for 4,042 (3rd best as a rookie)with 22 TDs and 15 ints. He averaged 7.6 yard a throw and completed 9 passes over 40 yards. He completed 58.3% of his passes. I must say that Winston grew up big time this year. He never quit and played with passion until the last play.

Unfortunately, Winston didn't win the AP vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year. I see fans express their disgust and rightfully so. Winston had a great year and being the 3rd in rookie passing yards should be a sure lock for the OROY.

An argument can be made that Winston's past could have prevented him from winning this award. I don't believe an athletic award should have off field incidences affect it. How do you feel about Winston not winning the OROY?

It's Getting Ugly for Head Coaches in Tampa

Four different coaches in six seasons is not the way you create a beautiful image of an organization. Firing Lovie Smith after two seasons sent a message to other coaches that this ownership expect to win right now.

Many people forget that Lovie Smith's first season he catered his whole draft to an OC that claimed he couldn't continue with the team. Even before that draft he had to get rid of players that didn't fit the scheme of that OC.

Not having a good OC is detrimental to the success of the head coach. Just ask any CEO what happens when their COO isn't producing or effective.

The Bengals ownership didn't give up on Marvin Lewis the first couple of years and that team has been in the playoffs six years straight. Sometimes patience is the best.

The second year under Lovie Smith we won 6 games. At one point Lovie was considered for head coach of the year recognition. Some people may argue that the Redskins game is what costs Lovie his job.

In a league that caters to offense by rules and publicity it's no longer up to the defense to stop a team to win, it's up to the offense to keep outscoring the other team. Just like the Giants/Saints game this year.

Buc Nation, I would like to hear how you feel about the firing of Lovie Smith.

Do you think it was a good idea to fire Lovie Smith, and why?