Allen's plan about saving "Bucs" By Pat Kirwan NFL.com Senior Analyst (March 26, 2004) -- I am frequently asked two questions: "What is going on in Tampa Bay?" and "Is there any chance the Buccaneers are headed in the right direction without John Lynch, Warren Sapp and Keyshawn Johnson?" Let me answer both by saying that there is a plan in Tampa Bay and Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen are on the same page when it comes to building a team. NFL Network NFL Network Analysis, opinions, features and more! Let's start with the decision to let Sapp go. If you look at the structure of the Tampa Bay player contracts, the decision to let Sapp go after the 2003 season was made two years ago. Ignore that the Bucs lost their ability to use the franchise tag in a clerical error over the Chidi Ahanotu contract -- they decided to pay defensive tackle Anthony McFarland in 2002 and the plan was for him to move over to Sapp's spot and use a younger, cheaper player at nose tackle. Sure, Sapp could have still helped the team, but in this era, things like this happen all over the NFL. At least Tampa Bay had an answer in McFarland when they made the move. The Keyshawn situation was never going to be repaired and the acquisition of Joey Galloway at a cheaper price isn't a bad recovery. Lynch could have helped for one more year but there was never going to be an agreement on the financial value of retaining him. Also, the team believes there are answers in Jermaine Phillips and possibly this draft or a late free-agent signing. Speaking of free-agent signings, a close look at what Allen is doing in this area is where the answers to the Bucs' immediate future lies. As I mentioned on NFL Network, Allen has accomplished three important things with his offseason signings. One, he got 11 players under the cap with just $10 million of cap space. More importantly, he used $11 million of bonus money to secure 11 players while Sapp, Johnson and Lynch received $13.75 million in bonuses from their new teams. Allen got 11 players for $2.75 million less in bonuses than his former three players, and he improved the depth on the roster. Here's a closer look: Name Cap space (in millions) Signing bonus (in millions) 1. Joey Galloway 2.0 0 2. Todd Steussie 1.4 4 3. Charlie Garner 1.3 3.7 4. Derrick Deese 1.1 2.4 5. Brian Griese 0.6 0.4 6. Matt Stinchcomb 0.6 0.5 7. Jamel White 0.5 0.025 8. Matt O'Dwyer 0.5 0.025 9. Jason Garrett 0.4 0 10. Greg Comella 0.4 0.025 11. Sylvester Morris 0.3 0 The second thing Allen accomplished is that he created leverage for the club against three contracts with big salary-cap implications: offensive tackle Roman Oben, fullback Mike Alstott and running back Michael Pittman, all of whom count for just over $5 million of cap space. With Jamel White and Charlie Garner on the roster, Pittman is now expendable. With Todd Steussie, Derrick Deese and Matt O'Dwyer, Oben could go, and with Greg Comella, the Bucs could play without Alstott. The signings have been strategic for cap management and negotiation strength. That may be the most important thing he has accomplished as he forges a new way of doing business in Tampa. Three, instead of pushing off the cap hits until next year, Allen is erasing problems this year by getting out from Lynch, linebacker Dwayne Rudd, and tight ends Roland Williams and Ken Dilger's old contracts before June 1. The Bucs are paying off $4 million in this year's cap in order to have more space in 2005. Some of the recent signings have contracts in place for next year that inflate the cap stress in 2005, but that's another trait of a Bruce Allen-built team. Numbers like $8.5 million for Brian Griese will never become a reality. Allen typically puts a year like that on a deal in order to have the time to negotiate with the agent in that year. In Oakland, Allen would be rumored to be $20 million over the salary cap a week or two before the start of a new fiscal year, and would always be under the cap with room to sign players before free agency started. There's a reason why Allen was the NFL executive of the year in 2003. He knows what he's doing, even if it is an unconventional style. Finally, if you factor in the move he made at punter, you will be even more impressed with the "Allen" plan. He passed on re-signing Tom Tupa, who had a very good year, and replaced him with Josh Bidwell, who is 10 years younger, has kicked in cold Green Bay and has done well. Financially, it was also a great move. Bidwell required a $125,000 bonus, and Tupa got $650,000 from Washington. In the first three years of the punter contract, Tampa will save $1 million of real money I DIDNT LOOK AT THIS WAY BUT ALLEN MAY BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT AFTERALL.
