Tampa Is…?

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Bears are TOTALLY smitten with the Bucs. First, Chicago hires one of our old coaches (Lovie Smith), and they copy our defense (Tampa Two). But Chicago didn’t stop there, they stole Tampa’s runningback (Thomas Jones) and their quarterback (Brian Griese).

Chicago hearts Tampa so much they even drafted a couple of Florida Gators based simply on the fact Gainesville is only two hours away; Alex Brown (who was the shiznit in college), Ian Scott (was in my 6th grade algebra study group), and Sexy Rexy (the greatest quarterback Florida has ever produced, at least until Tim Tebow graduates).

Speaking of Sexy Rexy, everyone who was calling for his benching is functionally retarded. What has Griese ever done to deserve a starting job? It’s not as if he’s some unknown element like Tony Romo was two months ago. You know what you’ll get from Griese, the same ability to throw the game away but without the ability to make game-winning plays. Or, to phrase it slightly differently, Sexy Rexy is more Favre-like, while Griese is more Ryan Leaf-like. Grossman is in only his fourth year and he’s been injured half that time, he will get better.

Bear to Watch: Ricky Manning Jr.

Not because he’s a great cornerback but because the last thing you want to be operating is a laptop when Ricky Manning Jr. enters the room/Denny’s. In fact, let me just finish this post up quickly, pack my laptop up and finish my Grand Slam breakfast just in case.

Buc to Watch: Cadillac

Cadillac has had a spot of bad luck lately, two straight games with a fumble. Making matters worse he’s going up against the best defense in the NFL. But if the Tampa Two defense has a weakness (and it actually has many) it is against a power running offense. Which, surprise, surprise, the Bucs are built for. You wouldn’t know it by Gruden’s play-calling but the Bucs have a line built for running the ball and a running back who loves running over defenders.