ABuccsFan

It’s May, which means the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have more than 90 men on the practice field and no official depth chart.

That leads to some rapid rotations during a typical two-hour workout, such as the “organized team activity” (OTA) exercise the Bucs conducted on Tuesday morning. Everybody gets a look this time of the year, which also means that nobody gets too long of a look.

Rookie cornerback Justin Phinisee found a way to get a few extra reps on Tuesday, though. After the last official period on the practice sheet, Phinisee stayed on the field with Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia and went through a rapid-fire drill of catching punts from various points on the field. A Jugs gun served as the punter, and Bisaccia was the choreographer, shifting the rookie around the field and testing him on long and short “kicks.”

Phinisee took this extra time to work on one of the skills that caught the eyes of Buccaneer scouts last fall, one of the attributes that prompted the team to draft the Oregon defensive back in the seventh round. It is the obvious and proper approach for any young player taken late on draft weekend: Try to excel in as many roles as possible, particularly on special teams.

“We like him,” said Bisaccia. “He was a good college player, he was tough, the special teams player of the year for his team. He made tackles on kickoff, he’s covered punts, he’s returned punts. He’s got a chance to show us what he can do.”

" If we played a game today, Mark Jones would return punts, Michael Pittman would return kickoffs and we’d be pretty fired up about both of them."
There’s a good chance that Phinisee will be one of the players the Bucs will use to return punts and perhaps kickoffs during their four-game preseason slate in August. However, he will have to overcome a crowded field to get return time during the regular season. Mark Jones, who handled all 51 of the Bucs’ punt returns (and 18 fair catches) last year, is back and he has the team’s confidence after averaging 9.6 yards per runback last year. In addition, starting receiver Joey Galloway is always itching to get another shot in that role; Bisaccia said Galloway is “mad at him all the time” for keeping him under wraps since late in 2004.

The team is even thicker in kickoff return options, which is a good problem to have. The Bucs have been trying for several years to get more of an impact out of that facet of the game; perhaps the closest they came was late last year when running back Michael Pittman got a late-season cameo and averaged almost 26 yards per return on seven tries. Torrie Cox, Edell Shepherd, Earnest Graham and Derek Watson also figure to get looks in that role, among others.

All the competition, however, could lead the Bucs right back to where they finished last year.

“If we played a game today, Mark Jones would return punts, Michael Pittman would return kickoffs and we’d be pretty fired up about both of them,” said Bisaccia.

Jones, of course, was drafted in 2004 and, a year later, re-signed specifically to return punts. Like Phinisee, Jones was a seventh-round pick, though he spent his rookie season returning punts for the New York Giants. Pittman, on the other hand, had last returned a kick in 2001, while with the Arizona Cardinals, before lobbying for another shot last year.

Had the Bucs’ season unfolded differently, Pittman might have been even more active on special teams throughout the fall. He started the year on at least three kicking units, including kickoff coverage, and was the second deep man on kickoff return with Cox in the first month. However, Cadillac Williams’ foot injury put Pittman back into a starting role at running back in October and he came off most of his special teams assignments in order to stay fresh for his primary job. Later in the year, with Williams once again at full strength and getting most of the handoffs, Pittman looked for another way to contribute.

“Mike has just been a guy who’s always wanted to do anything he possibly could to help us win,” said Bisaccia. “We had a conversation, Mike actually came to me, and he thought he could help us win back there. He’s done it before, and it’s more want-to than anything for Mike. He wants to do it and he’s got great talent. He’s a great worker and he’s a team guy, and I think he thinks he can do some great things this year.”

Scurvy

While I've met Jones, and he's a nice kid as well as being a threat back there, we need corner depth more than a KR threat that will be nothing more than that. Maybe Phinisee, or another kid can make a mark there in camp...someone who at least has a shot to stick around and at least learn in our sytstem, be it at corner, wr, whatever. We need depth at both.

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ABuccsFan

Mark Jones didn't see any playing time at WR at all. Not one offensive play. Finding a new punt returner would be a luxury, especially one that can be used to play offense or defense. I'm not a big Larry Brackins supporter, but for some reason this kid is a giant fan favorite. Jones loses his job and his roster spot, and we very well could see Brackins gracing the 53 man roster. Whether he is still too raw to make it on the 47 man active roster each week will remain to be seen. Even at this point I would argue that Brackins possibly is even a better WR than Jones.

Scurvy

Exactly. It could be that Brackins has come along far enough that he wouldn't wouldnt be able to keep him on the p.s., all year at least. Phinisee may not be the answer, but that may well be where the answer is for him, as a returner. He's gotta get his foot in the door. Gru loves his contingency plans, and loves being able to move guys around. He loves having his choice of weapons. Hell, he'd carry a dozen wrs on the roster if he could. The offense is growing, and we need as many options as possible to help it grow.

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ABuccsFan

I think Gruden learned his lesson in 2004. He had no contingency plan, and we got stuck with 500 year old Tim Brown fair catching. I can't say he returned punts, because he never ran forward. He fair caught almost everyone. DB is a position with a lack of depth. Drafting Zemaitis helped. It was actually getting to a critical point. Haveing a reserve DB returning punts is huge. No offense to Jones, but he is useless outside of returning punts.

gruntbygod

Do you think signing Boston will impact that decision?

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ABuccsFan

Not at all. Mark Jones while listed as a WR, never played a snap at WR. We carried him for punt return duties solely, like some teams carry a long snapping specialist. Unfortuately that is the position the team was in. Having a guy who can return punts, who can also reserve in a postion that had weak depth is actually a blessing. We opened the season last year with 7 WR's on the 53 man roster. If a reserve DB can take those duties, we can start with 6 WR's and bring up 1 of the 3 young WR's we drafted last season. Russell, who seems to be the most polished, but has attitude and character questions. Warren who is slightly less talented than Russell. Or The guy most Bucc fans can't wait to see if he makes it, Larry Brackins. Brackins is a very talented young WR, who is as raw as an uncooked steak. He played at a community college because of academics. He was recruited by USC, FSU, and one other major school for the '05. Due to serious family hardships he chose to enter the draft instead of going to FSU where he had made a verbal commitment. Had he gone to one of those schools and honed his skills, some experts think he could have blossomed into a future 1st or 2nd round draft pick in a couple years. So the jury is still out, and Bucc fans are eagerly awaiting to see his progress after spending a year on the Buccs' practice squad.

Jones losing his return job opens the door for Brackins. It may seem trivial to an outside fan, but it is actually hot news to Buccs' fans.

Scott Reynolds Managing Editor of PewterReport.com reported of the top 20 amazing highlight catches in last season's Training Camp 16 of those belonged to Brackins. He has serious talent, but needs to refine his game. I am one fan who is taking the wait and see approach with Brackins, and I'm not overly excited, but some Buccs fans are ecstatic about this kid.

The popular prediction at this point is Galloway, Clayton, Hilliard, Boston, Stovall, Brackins. as far as the depth chart goes. If Jones has to return punts again, you can cut brackins name off that list.

Professor

ill bet 20,000 pts that phinisee doesn't even make the team, LOL

ABuccsFan

I'll be adding you to my ignore list, if this is the best you can do. Maybe sticking to what you know....the Eagles board.

Professor

I still appreciate all the posts you make, because you actually bring good topics of discussion to the table. I hope that you can get past your ill will and look beyond preceived tone on a football forum. you said some pretty harsh stuff in your pm, but to me it's all good. I live my life and this is always secondary and I would never let one person affect what I look at as fun.