Whoa--Football! Bucs sign draft picks in time for training camp

I like baseball okay. Football (American football) rules.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got their entire 2006 draft class signed in time for training camp. This is worth mentioning, and not only because it has to do with football.

Each team in the Bucs' division, the NFC South, improved by signing good players. The Saints picked up Reggie Bush. The Falcons picked up John Abraham. The Panthers signed Keyshaun Johnson.
The Bucs?
They signed a few lower-profile folks. That's where the draft class comes in. The Bucs are trying to employ the model employed by the New England Patriots. The idea is to find players who fit the system and the atmosphere. Every starter save one (Dexter Jackson) returns to the defense. The organization sets a premium on continuity and teamwork.

The team has a tough year ahead. The schedule is not favorable, and the would-be second-string quarterback (Luke McCown) has probably been lost for the year with an ACL injury. That said, the Bucs should improve this year after winning the division last season. The defense is a little bit older, but the team has acquired good depth on defense and the offense may see marked improvement--particularly if wide receiver David Boston flashes some of the form he showed when he was with the Arizona Cardinals.

The Achilles' heel of the team figures to be quarterback. Chris Simms showed a great deal of promise after taking over for injured Brian Griese last season. Griese opted to sign with the Chicago Bears after the Bucs cut him in the offseason, leaving the Bucs with McCown and Tim Rattay as the backups. When McCown went down with his injury, the Bucs moved to sign Jay Fiedler. Fiedler was about the best option available without trading an arm and a leg to another team for an established backup, but Fiedler isn't ready to throw as of now. He incurred a shoulder injury last season while subbing for the New York Jets, and it hasn't quite healed up yet. Late-round draft pick Bruce Gradkowski, whom I've raved about here, has reportedly been penciled in as the second-string quarterback going into training camp (he's practicing with the second-stringers), which seems to confirm rumors that Rattay hasn't wowed anybody with his practice-field play thus far.

The bottom line is that the Bucs' depth at quarterback is suspect even if Simms fulfills the potential that he showed last season. An injury to Simms may well derail the team's playoff hopes.
The Bucs are likely to watch rosters closely to see if a decent quarterback becomes available, especially if Fiedler's rehabilitation doesn't come along rapidly. As good as Gradkowski may become, the Bucs would be nuts to enter the season with him as their number two quarterback.