Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gotta Love Young Guys Engaging in Healthy Camp Competition

“Calm down” is the message to Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans. It’s all over AM radio. It's in print and across airwaves. It’s everywhere.

And the more I think about it, the more swigs I take of that Kool-Aid.

I mean, they’re definitely onto something, particularly now that the myth that the Buccaneers had to spend a bagillion dollars by November has been dispelled, as the new salary floor doesn't kick in until 2013.

Build through the draft. You’ve heard Mark Dominik say it. Raheem Morris has said it a time or two himself. Yet fans still clamor for free-agency action and new guys to bring in, myself included.

But think for a moment about the job this general manager-head coach tandem has done in the draft and with undrafted free agents in their short tenure.

They brought you Josh Freeman, and were criticized for it. They took chances on Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount.

They sure do have a good eye for the young guys.

Roy Miller is suddenly the veteran leader on a young defensive line, and he was a third-round pick in 2009. Cody Grimm, battling for a starting safety slot, was a seventh-rounder. From a potential value perspective, Da’Quan Bowers was absolutely stolen at No. 51 overall, but the verdict will be out in 2011 on him and fellow 2011 draftees with high expectations, Adrian Clayborn and Mason Foster.

To be continued...

They’ve signed and drafted players for need and value with remarkable potency, finding a bit of both with each move. Sammie Stroughter (Round 7, 2009) and Dezmon Briscoe (Round 6, 2010, Cincinnati) are fighting for a starting gig, according to Coach Morris.

Yeah, they love them young'ns.

Ted Larsen (Round 6, 2010, New England) and Derek Hardman (undrafted, 2010) each saw time in 2010 with a handful of starts and will figure into not only the starting offensive line rotation, but will provide much-needed depth as well.

Aside from Earnest Graham, Jeff Faine and Ronde Barber, the entire Buccaneers roster (currently under contract) is on the right side of 30. No Barrett Ruud? No problem. Tyrone McKenzie is the starter for the moment, but highly touted rookie Mason Foster is likely breathing down his neck.

And who knows, perhaps recently signed undrafted free agent Derrell Smith will have a say in that competition as well.

Cadillac Williams is not back just yet, and with Earnest Graham likely to take more snaps at running back (I’ll get to that in a moment) and Kregg Lumpkin (undrafted in 2008) and rookie Allen Bradford in the fold, there might not be a parking space for Caddy.

Morris told the Tampa Tribune that the second running back spot is "really intriguing," saying that the competition will be won by "that guy who comes in and pass protects, whether it's Earnest Graham or Lumpkin or one of the new guys, Bradford.''

Myron Lewis (Round 3, 2010) and E.J. Biggers (Round 7, 2009) are battling for the third cornerback spot and the inside track on Ronde Barber’s job when the future Hall of Famer calls it quits.

Staring positions on the offensive line are there to be had. Just because the Buccaneers brought Jeremy Trueblood back on a two-year deal doesn’t mean he'll start. He has to earn his starting job back from James Lee (undrafted, 2008), to whom he lost the starting gig in 2010.

Training camp is an exciting time. Position battles don’t always mean a team is full of holes. It sometimes means a team is loaded with depth, and the Buccaneers have it. And they have it because Dominik and Morris stuck (and are sticking) to the plan: Build though the draft. Get young and stay young.

Remember: Raheem Morris is all about competition. It’s healthy. It breeds toughness, humility and success. And he has plenty of it in camp in 2011.

Again, Earnest Graham will compete for more snaps at running back than he has in recent years and Caddy might be on the way out.

Now, Dominik didn’t come out and say Caddy is out, but in an interview with 620 WDAE’s Ron and Ian Monday afternoon, he certainly didn’t sound like he was throwing pebbles at Caddy's window trying to get the veteran back into camp.

“Cadillac Williams is a guy that—with Ben Dogra as an agent—they know where we stand. And right now, our focus is kind of like seeing these young players on this football team, see what they can do, give them the opportunity and stay in contact with Cadillac and stay in contact with his agent.”

So they’ll give him a shout if they need him, because so far, despite his contributions to the Buccaneers on the field and in the locker room, there’s not much of a market for him elsewhere.

And the reason for the Buccaneers' newfound flexibility at running back?

Erik Lorig (Round 7, 2010, No. 253 overall).

Who?

Well, Lorig, the defensive end drafted two picks away from Mr. Irrelevant in 2010, has made himself very relevant in Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers signed Lorig to a four-year deal before the 2010 season primarily because Dominik said he could make an impact on special teams. He was waived just after Week 1 after initially making the 53-man roster to make room for Aqib Talib, who was suspended for the first game of 2010.

But the Buccaneers loved his athleticism so much they signed him to the practice squad and eventually activated him not as the defensive end they drafted 253rd overall, but as a tight end.

From No. 97 to No. 44 he went. And in 2011, he’ll be taking snaps at fullback, freeing up Graham for running back duties.

The way Dominik and Morris have drafted, we could see this organization operating in the coming years much like the New England Patriots do, not afraid to pay big money to crucial pieces (Davin Joseph this offseason, Freeman in the near future) while shedding the roster of elder statesmen and stockpiling draft picks, staying young and dipping into free agency only to fill glaring holes to fill immediate needs to put them over the top as a a Super Bowl contender.

Youth. Depth. Flexibility. Acquired through the draft.

Pardon me, garçon—could I have another glass of that Kool-Aid?