FanHouse GregSpires

Last year around this time, I looked at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' free agent signings, most of whom were of the grizzled veteran variety, and wondered if the Bucs were mortgaging their future to win now.

That shows how little I know. The Bucs went from worst to first in the NFC South, they added a ton of young talent to the defense in the draft, and now they find themselves more than $30 million under the salary cap.

Of course, they got there by cutting old guys. Defensive linemen Kevin Carter, 35, and Greg Spires, 34, were both cut yesterday, thanks in part to the emergence of Gaines Adams and Greg White. The Bucs only got a year out of Carter, who made 43 tackles and 3 sacks last season.

So Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen, their jobs more secure, can now focus on reducing the average age of the team. With the amount of cap room they have, they might chase after some high-profile free agents. Rumors have put the Bucs on Asante Samuel's short list, and there's certainly no shortage of wide receivers on the market if Gruden really doesn't trust the guys he has now.

To get you ready for week 13, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers/New Orleans Saints preview.

2007 Records:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-4 (1st in NFC South)
New Orleans Saints 5-6 (2nd in NFC South)

Last Game:

Bucs 19, Redskins 13
Saints 31, Panthers 6

When the Bucs have the ball: Or, shall I say, when Joey Galloway has the ball. If the Bucs want to win, they don't have to study a whole lot of game tape or devise a brilliant strategy. All they have to do is throw to Galloway. The ageless one has nine touchdowns in his last six games in New Orleans, and victimizes the New Orleans secondary more than maybe any other receiver in the league (considering how many receivers have victimized the Saints secondary, this is saying something).

Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.

This week I sat down with Jamie Kiefer of Atop the Crow's Nest, a Most Valuable Network column that covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dan Benton: "Although he was a little shaky last week, Jeff Garcia has played very good football this year. Has he been everything Bucs fans had hoped for, or do they still miss Chris Simms?"

Jamie Kiefer: "Jeff Garcia has been basically everything the Bucs fans had hoped for. You can't go wrong with a guy who had zero interceptions in the first seven weeks of the season. Chris Simms appeared to be the franchise quarterback, but due to a shaky beginning of the season last year, and his injury, he hasn't really had the chance to prove himself. I feel bad for him with all that he's been through, but I can't ignore what Garcia has done for the Bucs. The first seven weeks he had a passer rating over 100. If Garcia sticks around for the next few years, Chris Simms will be a distant memory."