Welcome to the final Bucs pick of the regular season.  Maybe the final pick of the year. With a post-season berth hanging by a thread, and that thread is a Philly win over Dallas pending a Bucs win over Oakland, there are no guarantees beyond Sunday.

    Let's see what's happened during the Holidays........Derrick Brooks practiced on a limited basis today, first time this week.  Raheem Morris was named Defensive Coordinator next season.  That signifies two definites.....Morris takes over for Monte, and Gruden is back next season regardless of what happens Sunday.  Hopefully the Bucs front office will shell out a bit more money in 2009 to maintain depth.  Depth killed this team this season.  Depth and age. 

    But let's look ahead to Oakland, the most disfunctional club in  the NFL.  They stink.  Don't give me this " on any given Sunday" stuff.  They are traveling cross-country, and are almost two TD underdogs.  Should the Bucs somehow lose this game, I would take a step back and consider a coaching change.  I would also consider attitudes of some of the players asked about their future (free-agents).  To even talk about the subject with one game left to go suggests to me they have mentally checked out, or at the very least, not keeping their eyes entirely on the ball. 

    I asked Gruden about that very thing today, and he sort of dismissed it, saying players have to answer the questions asked of them, and they did about their future.  Well, in my book, the player has a choice to answer the question or defer it to after the season. 

    The Bucs are going to win this game.  I just don't know if they have enough in them to finish four quarters.  I have never liked double digit lines.  If this wasn't for entertainment purposes only, I'd pass on this one.  But in the hopes of finishing the regular season with 10 wins, just like the Bucs, I'm going to take TB Sunday.

     So TK's pick is..................TB -13

     TK vs. spread                      9-3-2

     Happy Holidays!  Tom Korun