How many of you really think without the Buccaneers signing Jeff Garcia , Earnest Graham and Jovan Haye we will be even as good as last year?I for one dont I think with 29 million under the cap we have plenty to sign theese guys to contracts that are more fitting to theese players Im sure they are not asking for the Bucs to break the Bakk and yet we have a p!ssed off QB , RB and a great D-lineman.I say pay them or lose its that simple we dont have another starting QB og Garcias caliber,Unless Gruden is going to let Josh Johnson battle for the starting spot and even that is sketchy.
How do you all feel about the Bucs unwillingness to sign our proven players when they are getting ready to sign rookies to larger contracts than our guys who have already sweated and pushed their bodies to the limit for a team that wont pay up?
If the Buccaneers dont sign extentions to Jeff Garcia , Earnest Graham and dont sign Javon Haye how do you think we will do this comming season. I realize we have depth at all those positions but at QB we dont have another guy who can come in and play as well As Garcia.what do you think will happen.I think we will miss the Playoffs if nothing happens soon.How about you?
Jovan Haye was signed today and both Earnest Graham and Jeff Garcia will be signed no later than early June. The Bucs have been very cautious with their money these past couple of years. Seems as though they might have learned a hard lesson. The June 1st cuts are coming up and I'm sure they want to check out those players as well. From what I hear Earnest Graham is asking for way too much money. I think his new agent is Drew Rosenhouse and you know what that means. With our lineup of running backs it looks like runningback by committee anyway. I'm not sure if my sources are right, but I heard Graham wants $7 million a year with $20 million Guaranteed. Seems like a lot because we have one year to go by.
I am sure that the Bucs want to wait for the waiver wire to get a little more active before they sign Graham and Garcia. Hopefully, they can give Jeff a modest 2 year deal with a decent bonus and they can talk Graham down from the numbers he is asking. Michael Bennett and Warrick Dunn both fit into Gruden's offensive philosophy better than Ernest Graham does, but it would be nice to have a bruising back on the roster when the next regime takes over.
Am I counting Gruden's days? Garcia can't bail him out forever, despite the nice offensive line the Bucs have put together.
My philosophy on any contract situation is that you should never ask for a raise, and you should never be asked to take a pay cut. Once your contract runs out, then you should start talking about the future. You're still making plenty of money. I love Earnest Graham because he's a gator and a buc, but he needs to have one more really good year. Garcia the same. He really didn't have a great year. His impact was more built on leadership.
Plus, this year we have Griese. I was so angry when they cut him in favor of Simms. Griese makes a great back-up and you still have McCown and Johnson waiting in the wings.
I'm a Gruden fan and don't think he's done anything wrong. Remember: It may have been dungy's team, but gruden did with it what Tony couldn't.
I'm with you Bucfan40. Garcia was a great leader and a decent quarterback...not great. Graham has had one very good year and already wants to get paid top dollar? I think the Bucs will work with them but the kind of money they want seems a little excessive to me. Give us more than one good year to base the salary on. Garcia was a journeyman for several years and, except for the stint with the Eagles, was not very good or injured a lot. Don't get greedy. These guys play a game many fans would love to get paid to play. Honor your commitments and you will get paid.
one good year does not make you a power house! Look I love the Buccaneers, and I don't think you can start making demands on a team when you have only been there one season. Was Graham a stud last year, yes, but that was only one year, lets see another season like the last one and yeah he should get paid. As far as Garcia goes, I was happy when he was signed, but come on now he played for how many teams over the last six seasons, like with Graham lets see anther season like this last one or one better and yeah pay the man. You can't start making demands based on one season period. I want to see the Bucs do what is right by the players, I really do but I just don't understand where these guys are coming from.
No I don't think the Bucs would have done as well last year without these guys, but they are not the be all and end all of players at their positions. I have the utmost respect for both of them, but they have to prove they can do it consistantly as far as I am concerned.
Earnest Graham and Jeff Garcia are already under contract- contracts they signed for the privilege to play in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Heck, Jeff Garcia's lucky he wasn't out of the league before he got lucky with the Eagles playoff run!
I like Garcia. I really do. I just can't stand the bitching. Every team, every year, he's bitching about something. It's old. Almost as old as him.
