Latest Shouts In The Shoutbox -- View The Shoutbox · Rules

[TheBucMan]

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

OK, now we know where this season is headed.

With the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select …

It's easy to visualize that scene after Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium, when the Carolina Panthers won 28-21, moving the Bucs to 0-6 for the first time since 1985.

Now the Bucs must fight that playing-out-the-string feel as talk of 0-16 possibilities will certainly heat up (punctuated, of course, by the organization's almost incomprehensible punchline-waiting-to-happen on Nov. 8, when a likely winless Bucs team dons the orange throwback uniforms and winking-pirate helmets).

But we digress.

Back to Sunday's misery in the stands.

The crowd was announced at 62,422. According to the Tampa Sports Authority, actual attendance was 42,847 - meaning nearly 20,000 no-shows. Who thought we would ever see that again at a Bucs game?

Or this.

In the West club section, not far from the Glazer family box, four Tampa men wore paper bags on their heads. Other fed-up fans continually asked them to bunch together and pose for a group photograph.

The paper bags were decorated by handmade slogans.

The team's execution? I'm in favor of it.

I paid $7,000 for my season tickets and all I got was this lousy paper bag.

I wanna be traded.

Circa 1976.

"We're not going to get any value for these season tickets," Rob Swain said. "It has gotten ridiculous."

"We just made the bags this morning," Patrick Mickler said. "At 0-5, we decided it was time to break them out."

Rah, can I get a chest bump?

$30 million under the cap - and no beer discount.

Jon, please come back!

Man U - 7-1 … Bucs - 0-6.

"We bring in a coach with no experience, we bring in the junior varsity, and now we don't have anything to look forward to," Paul Gamber said. "Look at the upper deck. There's nobody there. We have no direction, no talent. It's so sad."

"Honestly, we love the Bucs," Kevin Riffey said. "We want them to do well. The 2002 season (Super Bowl championship) was amazing. But enough is enough. This is just embarrassing now. Now we're reduced to this - wearing paper bags."

Swain, Mickler, Gamber and Riffey were treated like novelty items as they exited the stadium.

Pretty soon, they agreed, the idea won't be unique.

"What's going to happen against the Patriots?" Swain said. "I mean, really? If both teams play to their potential? Oh, my gosh."

"When the Bucs come home to play the Packers (on Nov. 8), the paper bags are going to be everywhere," Mickler said. "It's going to be an absolute joke."

The Bucs aren't alone in this miserable state. It looks like a fight to the finish for the No. 1 overall pick among three teams - the Bucs (0-6), St. Louis Rams (0-6) and Tennessee Titans (0-6).

We surveyed 10 mock drafts, including the popular mainstream versions at ESPN.com, CBS Sports.com, The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated, searching for players who came up the most often as potential top-10 picks.

Here they are, in alphabetical order (six are junior-class players who are projected to enter the draft):

• Tennessee strong safety Eric Berry (5-11, 203, Jr.)

• Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford (6-4, 223, Jr.)

• Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant (6-2, 220, Jr.)

• Florida defensive end Carlos Dunlap (6-6, 290, Jr.)

• Washington quarterback Jake Locker (6-3, 226, Jr.)

• USC free safety Taylor Mays (6-3, 235, Sr.)

• Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (6-2, 210, Sr.)

• Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (6-4, 297, Jr.)

• Oklahoma State offensive tackle Russell Okung (6-5, 300, Sr.)

• Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (6-4, 300, Sr.)

No doubt, this subject will be revisited a few (hundred) times before season's end.


The NFL's Final 3

The Kansas City Chiefs checked out of the winless club with Sunday's 14-6 victory at Washington.

When the Detroit Lions went 0-16 last season, some people thought we'd never see anything like that again in our lifetime. But the 0-16 derby is officially a three-horse competition. Here's the racing form.

Tampa Bay Bucs (0-6) : Sunday, New England (at London); Nov. 8, Green Bay; Nov. 15, at Miami; Nov. 22, New Orleans; Nov. 29, at Atlanta; Dec. 6, at Carolina; Dec. 13, New York Jets; Dec. 20, at Seattle; Dec. 27, at New Orleans; Jan. 3, Atlanta.

St. Louis Rams (0-6) : Sunday, Indianapolis; Nov. 1, at Detroit; Nov. 15, New Orleans; Nov. 22, Arizona; Nov. 29, Seattle; Dec. 6, at Chicago; Dec. 13, at Tennessee; Dec. 20, Houston; Dec. 27, at Arizona; Jan. 3, San Francisco.

Tennessee Titans (0-6) : Nov. 1, Jacksonville; Nov. 8, at San Francisco; Nov. 15, Buffalo; Nov. 23, at Houston; Nov. 29, Arizona; Dec. 6, at Indianapolis; Dec. 13, St. Louis; Dec. 20, Miami; Dec. 25, San Diego; Jan. 3, at Seattle
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/oct/19/wa...-top-2010-pick/

[TheBucMan]

Tho with the way Morris likes to waste his top pick it will be some FG kicker that no one has heard of

[LEO]

Very good post.

[fan4ever]

As far as I'm concerned, they can take their paper bags and shove them up where the sun don't shine!!

[TheBucMan]

What is wrong with a fan showing how disgusted they are in the way things are being done. We all had brown bags in 76 because we were embarrassed to be known as a Buc fan. BUT we were still Buc Fans and it was a way to show Hugh Culverhouse that we were tired of his cheapskate ways. And now we have the Glazer boys doing the same thing again only this time they are pouring there Money into their precious Man U team instead of here at home. And besides look at it this way we all can wear Throwbacks now! Them in Popsicle orange and us in brown paper. show the spirit of 76 Go to the store and when they say brown paper or plastic answer proudly Brown Paper Please!