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GM Allen Says Bucs Will Work To Get Better In 2009

Tribune file photo by JAY CONNER

Bucs general manager Bruce Allen says he wants to add some "juice" to the team's offense and defense.

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2009

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Bruce Allen spoke with the media on Friday for 46 minutes about his team's disappointing finish in 2008.

The Bucs started off 9-3 before losing their last four games, which knocked them out of playoff contention.

Here are some of the question and answers from Allen's session:

Reporter: What does this team need to get over that hump late in the season?

Allen: We have to augment the talent we have on the team. There is no doubt about that. There is a fine core to this team. The cap room, you guys can identify the young players who will be coming out of contracts, whether this year or next year or the following year, that we can't wait to keep in a Buccaneer uniform. But certainly we need to help this team. We need to add some juice to this football team on the offense and defense side of the football.

Reporter: What areas?

Allen: There's not a spot that I'd want to point out at this point. I think it's fair to finish all the reports. The coaches were given vacation time to get away, to decompress, so it's not just a negative point. This team has to be looked at very closely to make the right personnel decisions for the future. At this point, I don't want to get into the specifics of that.

Reporter: Did Monte Kiffin's announcement have anything to do with 0-4 slide?

Allen: Obviously, that has been discussed and bantered around. When I think of Monte I think of someone who really had a tremendous career here. Going into this season, we had had a conversation that if Lane (Kiffin, Monte's son) got fired by the Raiders and if Lane did X, what [Monte] was going to do. And he had earned the right to make that decision. To say that's the reason we missed a tackle in the Oakland game, I think that would be shallow. I don't think we're going to face that situation again, so I don't know what I could learn from last year that would help us in the future, but I'm certain we're not going to face that; all the other kids are too young, they're not going to be coaching for a long time.

Reporter: Is having a bunch of money under the cap overrated, with so few really good players ever making it to free agency?

Allen: We've talked about it before. We're looking for a certain kind of player to come in here and be a good teammate. We want a player that's going to be productive on the field. A lot of those players do get franchised because they're very important to that team. If we didn't have plans for our cap room we wouldn't have carried it over the last three years to make sure we have it. We had that cap room to insure our players are going to remain in a Buccaneer uniform. As far as what's going to be out there in free agency this year, it is too early to tell.

I do know this is the last capped year; and with the last capped year cause a lot of special accounting rules that this league has never seen before; the league or the players' association. I do know there are two courses of action for future. One for a capped year and one subsequent to that, and that will be up to the commissioner and whoever replaces [deceased players' union chief] Gene Upshaw. But we're prepared for whichever way we go.

There are some teams that have a cap issue this year. Five years ago, I said I wanted to get out of this cap situation we were in. we fixed it. There are some teams that are going to have to make some cap decisions, especially with the last capped season that is part of the collective bargaining agreement. But if it's a player we think can help us win in September or December, yes, we will sign him.

Reporter: Are the Glazers willing to spend all that money?

Allen: Oh, yeah. That has never even been a question. What I want to do is make sure we're going to spend it on people who will be part of the Buccaneers for the 2009 season and beyond. It doesn't make sense to bring in some of the players who will be available in free agency and have them play next to players who are more worthy of the reward. Once again, when you talk about the cap, where we spend is different than the cap. The fact that we utilize the collective bargaining agreement to our benefit, we're carrying over room. Some teams don't do that. We're carrying over room to make sure every cap dollar we have is never wasted.

Reporter: Will you attempt to re-sign Jeff Garcia?

Allen: As I said, I'm not going to get specific. We have several players that are going to be free agents that we are going to evaluate, that we are going to talk to, and this is not the time or place.

Reporter: What direction have the Glazers instructed you to go in for the season ahead?

Allen: It's no different than the feeling of the fans. There was hurt at the end of the season. We're going to make sure we're going to correct it for them, and we have to correct it for them. We just have to come up with the right plan and get some breaks on who's out there in free agency and things like that. Catch some breaks in the draft, who falls to (the Bucs' draft spots). They feel confident this team is going to be better next year. It's going to be better in the future because we do have a core that is quite exciting for us of young players that are going to be better in '09 and better in '10 and better in '11. That's what we have to build around because that's what we have.

Reporter: Where does the accountability lie for a second-round pick or fourth-round pick that doesn't live up to expectations?

Allen: It's interesting. The responsibility is mine and Dexter Jackson; he didn't develop like we hoped he would his rookie year as a returner. Clifton Smith comes in as an undrafted free agent and beats out your second-round draft choice. I'm happy about that. Because you're a second- rounder, third-rounder or first-rounder does not give you, as we were talking about, playing time. Performance gives you your playing time. We're open to anybody making the team. Dre Moore was drafted because we had two defensive tackles who are free agents. We drafted him with the idea that he was going to be a redshirt player - wasn't going to play. Don't know what's going to happen with Jovan Haye and Ryan Sims in free agency, and there was no depth at the position. He worked with us the entire year, and he's going to be given an opportunity to compete this year. We'll see what happens with him this year.

Reporter: Over the last five years, the team hasn't won a playoff game and you're under .500, so how does that sit with the Glazers?

Allen: Unsatisfied. We've had opportunities. You fight to get yourself into position in November and December where you can talk and dream and go to sleep at night saying 'What if?' We've had some opportunities. We haven't closed. It's not acceptable, and we have to figure out a way to get this team better.

Reporter: Are you satisfied with what's happened the last five years?

Allen: You have to break it down. There are some good things that have been accomplished and players that have had success. I'm happy for them. What we're looking toward is the future. I'm not a historian, and I'm not a fortune teller, but I will promise that this organization will do everything it can to get better this year.

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