Much like WR, RB, LB and CB, the training camp battle should be fierce.  All of the above mentioned positions have an expected battle to be waged either for a starter’s spot or a top backup position.  Squaring off at the little used TE spot is incumbent Alex Smith, controversial returnee Jerramy Stevens, a disappointing former Titan in Ben Troupe and the one who might jump ahead of them all, John Gilmore.

I’ve spent all week cooped up in my office with very little to do (slow news week) so I very well may be a little crazy but hear me out.  Gilmore is a 7 year veteran who played very little in Chicago.  He has yet to come close to repeating his modest rookie totals of 10 catches for 130 yards and 7 first downs but he’s been a great special teamer for the Bears and is a standout blocker and there are signs that he is capable of doing more.  He will not be an elite TE but he is capable of catching 40 to 50 balls as a dump off option and last resort for the ever improvising Jeff Garcia and at 6’5” 257lbs, he’s a red zone threat as well.  I think he will catch more but he’s already the best blocker on the team.  Smith, Stevens and Troupe are not known for their blocking so if Gilmore does prove me right, he’ll be the most complete TE on the roster.  His impact on the ground game will be what people notice first though.

The other three have potential that none have fully met yet.  Smith is a good athlete with decent hands but needs to get his number called more often as well play more consistently.  Maybe there is some symmetry between those two problems.  My take: getting Smith involved more will help keep his head in the game.  He needs to play 16 games and crack 40 catches, neither of which has he done since his rookie year. 

Stevens and his return have been criticized heavily during his short stay in Tampa.  He barely played last year, his first as a Buc, until the final two games and his off-the-field problems have made him a target of a less-than-thrilled fan base.  He could be very good if he gets his act together but that is a huge if with this guy.  He has great size and is a better athlete than Smith is.  He is never going to be a great blocker but Stevens can impact a game with his pass catching.

Troupe turned in a fantastic 2005 season in Tennessee but he’s fallen of the map the last two years.  He is a good gamble for a Tampa offense that is not looking to be dynamic, just good enough to let the defense win.  He has just a good a shot at winning a starter’s job as anyone else does at this position but none of these guys are all that different from one another. 

What these guys offer is a consistency in styles.  With everyone so similar in size and style you are going to get basically the same thing each play no matter the guy taking the field.  The Bucs just need their passing game to be, well, passable for them to challenge for a play-off birth and that seems to be about what they are going to get.