47° CLEAR, -
Monday, January 05, 2009, 10:28 pm
Gruden, Allen need more physical players
In case it hasn't occurred to Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen _ and the roster is full of reasons it hasn't _ they need to try a different approach this offseason.
Maybe if they somehow forced themselves to watch the wildcard round of the playoffs that the Buccaneers did not qualify for, they would have noticed the theme running through the winners, an idealogy that they need to make their mantra for upgrading the roster.
That is, find physical, forceful dominant players. Beginning with a defensive tackle.
Tampa Bay is not a very physically imposing team. It gets by on finesse. That's one of the reasons the Buccaneers' season fizzled out.
Teams that are not physical don't get very far in the NFL.
Look at the Ravens: physical. The Eagles: physical. The Dolphins: not physical. The Giants: physical. The Panthers: physical.
Who on the Buccaneers roster would be considered a physical force as a player?
It's a short list.
Earnest Graham, Davin Joseph, Arron Sears, Jeff Faine and Greg White.
Jermaine Phillips and Antonio Bryant would also deserve that label.
But they could no longer be Buccaneers, because they will be unrestricted free agents and could sign elsewhere.
Who on the defense is a physically dominant player at an elite level? Nobody.
The Buccaneers had a defensive end they cut after training camp, Marques Douglas, who created a turnover for the Ravens against the Dolphins in an AFC wildcard playoff game. Go figure.
So before the Gruden and Allen continue down the same path of getting players who fit their philosophy _ like Gaines Adams and Dexter Jackson _ they ought to examine just how effective their philosophy was this season, or will be next season, in today's NFL.
And how it failed them in December against the Panthers, Falcons, Chargers and Raiders, when it mattered most. -
Friday, January 02, 2009, 10:21 pm
Garcia: Bucs had 'no fire, whatsoever'
Quarterback Jeff Garcia told his father that the Buccaneers had "no fire whatsoever, none" in the last four games of the season that Tampa Bay lost to squander a certain berth in the NFC playoffs, if not a repeat NFC South division championship.
Bob Garcia, a former junior college coach in California, shared a conversation he had with his son in a blog chat with their hometown newspaper sports editor, Josh Koehn of the Gilroy (Calif.) Dispatch, after Tampa Bay's season-ending loss at home to the 5-11 Oakland Raiders last Sunday.
The elder Garcia wrote, "Like Jeff said, 'You know, dad, the last four games we come out and we have no fire whatsoever. None.' "
His father reminded him that all Tampa Bay had to do was win one game to clinch a wildcard berth.
He said Garcia told him, "I know, dad, I really can't explain it to you. "
Bob Garcia is convinced that his son, who will be 39 next season, has played his last game for the Buccaneers.
"I think so," he said.
He recalled the way Jeff Garcia was treated by the organization and everything that has transpired over the past year, beginning last offseason with Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen's hardball negotiating tactics when Garcia wanted a contract extension and his refusal to work out a good faith offer to re-sign Garcia; head coach Jon Gruden's courtship of free agent quarterback Brett Favre during training camp; and the benching of Garcia after the season-opening loss in New Orleans.
He said that Jeff Garcia met with Gruden on Monday and Gruden told him that he wants to re-sign him.
Bob Garcia said his son told him, "I just want to get away for about two months and let things settle, maybe clear up a little bit, and then think about what I want to do."
By the time those two months go by, NFL free agency will begin in early March, when Garcia, an unrestricted free agent, can field offers from any NFL team.
The implication here is that Garcia has thrown Gruden and his teammates under the bus. Gruden for failing to ensure that they were properly motivated in the most critical stretch of the season.
It also suggests that some of Garcia's teammates may have tuned out Gruden, or do not respond to his coaching methods.
Meanwhile, Garcia was trying to rally the team while playing with a bloody nose after taking a fourth-quarter shot to the facemask against the San Diego Chargers the week before the Oakland loss.
However, it could not be perceived as a deliberate attempt by Garcia to use his father as his spokesman, as there is no way to say whether Garcia knew that his father would go public with their father-son conversation.
Tampa Bay's season ended with the greatest collapse in team history after a 9-3 start, following consecutive losses to Carolina, Atlanta, San Diego and Oakland, and many players could not explain why last Sunday.
The Buccaneers ended 9-7 and became the first team in recent NFL history to start a season 9-3 and not qualify for the playoffs. -
Friday, January 02, 2009, 3:10 pm
Broncos' interest suggests Morris is a short-timer
The major talking point of Raheem Morris' sudden candidacy for an NFL head coaching job is that now he is in the pipeline.
Morris' name is out there, in circulation among NFL management types, and will be until whenever he gets hired for that job by some team.
And that's not good news for the Buccaneers, as they contemplate the future and building a foundation with their newly named defensive coordinator.
The fact that Morris, at the tender age of 32, is already about to receive his first interview for an NFL head coaching job early next week, means that he is probably going to be in line for future interviews.
Which means that at some point not too far down the line, he is likely to receive an offer that he cannot refuse.
So, it's a safe bet that Morris will be a short-timer as the Buccaneers' defensive coordinator, if in fact he is regarded, as some have stated, as highly as one of his predecessors and former bosses, Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach.
So the Tampa Bay organization and fan base that had grown accustomed to Monte Kiffin having put down roots at the team's facility for 13 years can harbor no such wishful thinking about the man that head coach Jon Gruden promoted only a week before the Denver Broncos opened the door to his next job opportunity.
It is highly unlikely that the Broncos would hire Morris this time around, given his limited experience as a position coach, for only two seasons in the NFL.
This time, he is basically a Rooney Rule candidate, being brought in by Denver to comply with the league's mandate that any team hiring a head coach is required to interview a minority candidate.
Morris will likely be told to go get at least a year of experience as a coordinator on your resume, then see what happens.
Just like Tomlin, under whom Morris once served as Tampa Bay's assistant defensive backs coach.
Like Morris, Tomlin was a former Tampa Bay defensive backs coach, hired by Tony Dungy and retained by Gruden.
Until Tomlin was off to Minnesota in 2006, to become the Vikings' defensive coordinator.
Then, of course, after he spent only one season in Minnesota, the Steelers snapped up Tomlin to replace Bill Cowher, for the 2007 season.
Morris _ who has not yet been a coordinator in the league and has no head coaching experience at the college level _ is nowhere near ready yet to become an NFL head coach.
So he could be with the Buccaneers for a few more years.
But remember, he is going to leave Tampa Bay way before Kiffin did, and probably before Gruden.
Unless the Glazers _ who no doubt abhor going through the process of hiring a head coach _ want to exercise the convenient option of promoting Morris when, likely within a few years, they no longer want Gruden. -
Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 9:55 pm
Pointing fingers might intensify players' effort
It's shameful enough that the Buccaneers defense was gutted these last four games, making it even more curious that nobody, not one single individual, has been called out by a teammate.
Isn't anybody, uh, enraged?
Uh, no.
It's common knowledge that the Buccaneers play better defense in the locker room, covering their own behinds, than they do on the field. What do you know?
There is nobody I heard, except for defensive tackle Chris Hovan, who has accepted personal responsibility for the meltdown of the last four games.
Hovan said Sunday, in so many words, "blame me," for the poor run defense.
But that's not the same as blaming somebody else, which is the therapeutic cleansing this team needs.
Hovan and his teammates, all they do is cover for each other, in locker room interviews and on the radio.
Maybe if quarterback Jeff Garcia had the guts to say, "Well, it's not our fault the defense let that 67-yard touchdown run out of the gate." Or, "We wouldn't have lost this game if the defense could hold a 10-point lead."
He made a veiled reference toward that end, in his post-game interview after the humiliating 31-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders. But it was indirect.
Or maybe linebacker Derrick Brooks could have said, "It's not the defense's fault that Garcia and Michael Clayton couldn't connect on that short fourth down pass,"
before the Buccaneers defense let the whole season blow up in a matter of 10 minutes.
Or, "It's not the defense's fault that Garcia didn't see or didn't throw to Antonio Bryant when he was open downfield."
Maybe that's what was lacking all along in the no-fault Buccaneers' collapse _ having somebody on both sides of the ball start pointing fingers at the other side.
Then _ challenging each other like they do in training camp _ maybe everybody might have been inspired to play harder.
Hard enough, maybe, to make sure a 9-3 team locks up a playoff berth of some sort.
How's that for accountability?
Having your unit, or you personally, called out in public, if you can't uphold your responsibility.
If they were so inspired, maybe Clayton holds onto that pass from Garcia and the Buccaneers go on to score another insurance touchdown.
Maybe the defense doesn't get on the field, where it did more damage to its own team than the opposing offense, of late.
The players talk a good game every day about team unity.
It would help, with a playoff berth at stake, if everybody played that way.
Or called out those who didn't. -
Monday, December 29, 2008, 5:52 pm
Time for Glazers to pull heads out of the sand
Where are the Glazers?
The media and the fans have been relentlessly ripping their flop of a team and yet, we have yet to hear a peep out of the owners of the Buccaneers about the season-ending collapse, the worst in recent NFL history.
It's the time of the year when even the hands-off owners demand accountability and make hard decisions about the management and coaching staff of teams that folded as badly as the Buccaneers did.
But not the Glazers.
What do they have to say about their floundering team that started 9-3 and finished 9-7, with four straight December losses?
Do they care?
We don't know.
We never know.
That's how they operate.
Like they don't owe you or I any explanations of what they think of their team's performance.
I politely told Joel Glazer and his brother, Bryan, three years ago riding an elevator at a Buccaneers road game that people like to hear from them once in a while, what they think about what's going on with the team.
So it would be advisable for them to hold an occasional press conference, just to keep the people who fill the seats at Raymond James Stadium and the entire fan base informed.
They just listened and smiled and took it with a grain of salt and nothing has changed.
Three other NFL owners have already fired head coaches who failed in some degree approaching, or matching, Tampa Bay's 0-4 finish to its season.
But none were as close to the playoffs as the Buccaneers, who only needed to win one game to qualify for the playoffs.
Either the hands-off Glazers don't care all that much about whether the team wins, just so the season tickets get sold and the advertising and marketing revenue keeps pouring in, or they are content just to keep blindly bobbing along with Jon Gruden and Bruce Allen in charge.
In keeping with their code of silence, Joel and Bryan Glazer did not make themselves available to the media on Sunday.
One of them only reportedly muttered something about being "disappointed" when a reporter did approach them, before being shooed away by security.
Eric Mangini was fired by the Jets because he couldn't win a playoff game in three years.
Gruden hasn't won a playoff game in six years, since Super Bowl XXXVII.
Apparently Gruden is still enjoying a grace period from winning the Super Bowl, which figures to continue for another couple years, because he has a contract that has three more years remaining.
My theory is that the Glazers were so flustered by the hiring process before they were able to land Gruden after firing Tony Dungy, that they don't want to go through that whole ordeal again unless somebody puts a gun to their heads.
Plus, keep in mind there is a statue of Gruden, in the Super Bowl sideline scene, in the lobby of the team's offices and practice facility.
So, in other words, Gruden's stature in the Buccaneers' organization, given that he is a member of the exclusive club of NFL coaches that have won a Super Bowl, means that he has clout in Tampa on the level that Don Shula had in Miami.
The Dolphins didn't know how to get rid of Shula once he was no longer effective, so they just let him resign on his own terms.
Maybe Gruden will be around for another 25 years with carte blanche in Tampa.
There's no word from the Glazers that would suggest otherwise, after Gruden's Bucs have missed the playoffs four of the last six seasons. -
Sunday, December 28, 2008, 10:07 pm
Kiffin's defense gives him one last meltdown
Monte Kiffin wishes he could have one more shot to clean up the mess he's leaving behind.
"That wasn't the script I would have written," Kiffin said Sunday night, in what was probably his last interview as the defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "The wheels just fell off. I take total responsibility."
Sunday's 31-24 Tampa Bay home loss to the Oakland Raiders was Kiffin's final game after 13 mostly superior seasons orchestrating the Buccaneers' defense.
He is leaving to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, under his son, Lane Kiffin, the Volunteers' new head coach.
But Kiffin's legacy as one of the NFL's top defensive coordinators has been tarnished by the 0-4 footnote of this winless December and Tampa Bay getting eliminated after a 9-3 start, largely due to defensive breakdowns late in the season.
Problems in the red zone and on third down were glaring once again Sunday.
"I feel like we let our offense down," Kiffin said.
The Buccaneers gave up 17 fourth-quarter points to squander a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, including a 67-yard breakaway touchdown run by Raiders third-team running back Michael Bush.
It looked like something you'd see against a service squad defense in a training camp drill.
Linebacker Derrick Brooks, lame with a pulled hamstring, could do nothing once Bush broke through the line of scrimmage.
In the past two games, including the 41-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers, the Buccaneers gave up 38 points in the fourth quarter. In home games, mind you.
Tampa Bay was outscored 62-19 in the past four games in the fourth quarter.
Kiffin said there was no correlation between the collapse of the defense and his decision to leave, the weekend of the Monday night game at Carolina on Dec. 8, the first of the Buccaneers' four straight losses.
"It did kind of work out that way, but I didn't plan that," Kiffin said. "I don't believe that. These players never let down, they really didn't. They busted their butts. Things just didn't work out."
Not making the playoffs after such a promising start is a reality check for a team that hangs its hat on the overrated defense that Kiffin has masterminded.
"There's probably a lot of people right now wishing 'Kiff' would take the first bus to Tennessee," Kiffin said under Raymond James Stadium. "The hardest thing is you can't come back with these players and show them we'll get it fixed.
"I just want to go back and start again these last four weeks. But you can't do that. you have to move on. That's life."
As for the reclamation project, that will be left to Raheem Morris, Kiffin's replacement, who was promoted from defensive backs coach by head coach Jon Gruden.
"This defense will bounce back," Kiffin said. "They'll get it fixed." -
Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 6:52 pm
Teammates want Garcia to return next season
QB Jeff Garcia deferred when asked Wednesday if he has earned the right to come back to the Buccaneeers with a new contract.
He knows where his support lies _ overwhelmingly, so _ and it's not in the office of the general manager.
"If you ask my teammates, they would ... love for me to be back with them. That's what matters to me _ how my teammates feel," Garcia said. "Outside of that ... management, the head coach has some control in that."
Sure enough, several of his teammates lined up to defend their gutsy quarterback, who suffered a bloody nose diving for a first down in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 41-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
"He earned the right for a new contract last year," said tight end Jerramy Stevens. "He led us to the playoffs and went to the Pro Bowl. He's done what he's been asked to do. Leading us, going through a lot of struggle and strife with the whole Brett Favre situation.
"Getting benched, then coming back and playing great. Leading us to wins when we needed it. That's hard for any player to do," Stevens said. "He's got a lot of respect in this locker room. I would love to be back and I would love to have him back with me."
"I'd want him back," said center Jeff Faine. "I love the way he plays. He's a competitive fiery person."
"Jeff's a great guy, great teammate, a great leader. Those are all the things you want in a quarterback," said tackle Jeremy Trueblood. "I think he's a winner. That's been proven. If I had to choose, he'd be back."
"He's a fighter, he's a guy you can take into battle and come out successful," said WR Michael Clayton. "Because you know the guy is going to give his best effort."
"You go in a foxhole, you want warriors in that foxhole with you and he's definitely a warrior," said WR Antonio Bryant.
Unlike Garcia, Clayton is looking forward to becoming an unrestricted free agent for the first time.
The former 2004 first-round draft choice hasn't exactly felt wanted as a Buccaneer, as he has faded into the background of the wide receiving corps, overshadowed this year by Bryant and the past three seasons by Joey Galloway.
"There's been mixed feelings. I haven't heard anything (from the Buccaneers about a contract)," Clayton said. "That's definitely not the first thought that crosses my mind entering the last game. Knowing I put my best foot forward, I feel good about what I've done here and my future as an NFL player."
He doesn't feel he's been properly utilized for the last four seasons, albeit while he's been hampered by injuries.
"We've been through a lot, we've had a lot of injuries here," Clayton said, referring to himself. "I've had several quarterbacks throw to me. It's just been a situation, that's just how it falls. I have a lot of tape. Started a lot of games, caught a lot of balls, made a lot of plays. I rely solely what I put on film every game."
Stevens, Bryant, DL Kevin Carter, S Jermaine Phillps and backup QB Luke McCown are also prominent unrestricted free agents-to-be for Tampa Bay, whose season could end Sunday if the Buccaneers do not qualify for the NFC playoffs.
Tampa Bay has to beat the Oakland Raiders and hope that the Dallas Cowboys lose to the Eagles in Philadelphia to qualify for the second wildcard berth. -
Monday, December 22, 2008, 5:13 pm
Kiffin, players say departure is no excuse
Of all the excuses convenient to Tampa Bay's collapse, the hottest one centers on Monte Kiffin, who appears to be getting the heck out of Dodge not a minute too soon.
If the long-time Tampa Bay defensive coordinator hadn't announced two weeks ago that he was leaving the Buccaneers after the season to join his son Lane's staff at the University of Tennessee, maybe his handcrafted defense wouldn't have buckled these last three games.
It's at the forefront of the team's three-game losing skid that turned a 9-3 start into a 9-6 flop, with one game to go.
The Buccaneers gave up four touchdown passes to San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers in a game they had to win to qualify for the NFC playoffs, turning it into a 41-24 loss which capped a trifecta defensive run that may become hard for the new coordinator to top.
The defense had only one sack, came up with only one takeaway, allowed 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points and let the Chargers convert seven of 13 third downs.
Sunday's debacle came on the heels of two games where Tampa Bay's defense gave up 474 rushing yards combined to Carolina and Atlanta that resulted in Buccaneer losses the past two weeks.
"I personally take full responsibility, that's why you're a coordinator" Kiffin said.
But he flatly denied his unit is falling apart because he's leaving, or that he is scaling back his effort, looking ahead to his new job.
"No way. I told you before I'm totally focused on Tampa Bay," Kiffin said. "Are you kidding me? I'm not going to let these guys down."
Kiffin said the players haven't slacked off because his career with the Buccaneers is winding down.
"No, they haven't. They've been totally focused, been to every meeting, on time, walk-throughs, concentrating," Kiffin said. "We had a great week of practice. We didn't have a great game, that's for sure."
The defensive players aren't going to buy the theory about Kiffin's departure causing problems.
"Did the defense say that? It wasn't any defensive coaches or defensive players (who said that), so that's no excuse," said Stylez G. White, the defensive end who legally changed his name last week. "We just have to be held accountable and take ownership of what we do."
"I don't think his decision had anything to do with our play," said defensive end Gaines Adams. "The last three weeks the defense kind of slacked up a little bit, just making minor mistakes.
"We hate to see 'Coach Kiff' leave. That comes with the territory. Every coach can't stay," Adams said. "Some coaches stay, some go. So you just have to move on."
The most persuasive logic I heard Sunday in the post-game locker room came from middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, who might not be a Buccaneer if Kiffin had not lobbied for Tampa Bay to draft him out of Nebraska, where Kiffin himself was once a player and coach.
"It's not like you go out there, 'Oh, Monte's leaving so I'm not going to tackle well,' " Ruud said. "It's not like that at all. In the NFL, very rarely do you see a year like the Steelers are having, where you don't give up 300 yards any week."
Very rarely do you see Tampa Bay's defense go in the tank like it has, though, with Kiffin on his way out of the organization. -
Monday, December 22, 2008, 5:06 pm
NFL shows Buccaneers holiday spirit
I'm sure it had nothing to do with the NFL or its self-serving TV networks wanting to give the Glazers or the Buccaneers a gift, just because the league operatives want to be perceived as nice people during the holidays.
I also doubt that Bruce Allen or one of the Glazers made a plea to the league _ although it would have been warranted had the NFL not taken this pre-emptive action that accidentally benefits the Buccaneers.
The NFL and the networks did Tampa Bay's management and players a huge favor on Monday by moving the Dallas-Philadelphia game to 4:15 p.m.
It thereby saved Tampa Bay's ownership from the embarrassment of watching the Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders possibly playing the second half of their season finale this Sunday in front of a nearly empty stadium.
The Dallas-Philadelphia game was originally set for a 1 o'clock kickoff, the same as the Raiders-Buccaneers game. So something had to be done.
I would have suggested putting the Raiders-Bucs game on Saturday in prime-time, and billing the game as Gruden vs. Raiders III.
That way, it would almost eliminate the possibility that there could be an encore of the disgusted fan exodus that happened Sunday toward the end of Tampa Bay's 41-24 loss to the San Diego Chargers.
It surely would have been a re-run, once it became apparent that the game was meaningless, if the Raymond James Stadium scoreboard would have shown Dallas beating the Eagles, and thus knocking Tampa Bay out of NFC playoff contention.
That's the last thing the Buccaneers organization needs, in this horrible economy _ further alienating its fans with a bad holiday experience to remember, heading into the next season ticket sales drive.
The team has already done enough to undermine fan interest with its three-game flop this month.
In the meantime _ Happy Holiday Buccaneers, from the NFL and its TV partners. -
Sunday, December 21, 2008, 2:29 pm
Bucs showing no playoff fire
Does this look like a team that's going to the playoffs? That deserves to go to the playoffs?
Aside from Clifton Smith's big kickoff return, the Buccaneers have done next to nothing.
Derrick Brooks, looking 35 years old, hobbling after LaDainian Tomlinson on a crossing route.
Antonio Bryant losing a fumble which led to San Diego's first touchdown.
Then Bryant drops two passes that ended a subsequent Tampa Bay series.
Bryant's fumble on Tampa Bay's first series turned a potential scoring drive into essentially a three-and-out and a short punt.
It's gotten so contagious that even reliabel punter Josh Bidwell shanked a punt.
San Diego's first touchdown Backup TE Brandon Manumaleuna scored San Diego's first touchdown, untouched on a tight end screen.
Clifton Smith's 73-yard kickoff return set up Tampa Bay's only touchdown, a 1-yard run by FB B.J. Askew.
A 49-yard field goal by Matt Bryant with :17 left, after Michael Clayton didn't hold a pass high and behind him, got the Bucs within seven, 17-10.
But that didn't last long.
Thanks to the worst offenders, the Tampa Bay defensive front four, which is generating no pass rush on San Diego QB Phillip Rivers. He is showing why he leads the league in pass efficiency.
And he did it again on the final drive, where San Diego's offense encapsulated all of Tampa Bay's defensive problems in one play.
Rivers completed one pass, a 25-yarder to Vincent Jackson, after a 28-yard Darren Sproles kickoff return to the 36 yard-line.
With four seconds left, the Chargers called a timeout and kicker Nate Kaeding kicked a 57-yard field goal to send the demoralized Buccaneers to the locker room, down 20-10 and needing some kind of major revival in the second half, to save their season. -
Sunday, December 14, 2008, 12:47 pm
Garcia inactive; Griese starting against Falcons
ATLANTA _ Jeff Garcia is out today and the Buccaneers will take their chances with Brian Griese starting at quarterback against the Falcons in the Georgia Dome.
Garcia is on the inactive list _ along with WR Joey Galloway _ due to a right calf strain that he suffered in practice on Wednesday.
Garcia, who did not practice Thursday, was unable to convince head coach Jon Gruden in pregame warmups that he can run at full speed.
Luke McCown _ who took most of the starter's reps in practice after Garcia got hurt _ will be the No.2. quarterback. Rookie Josh Johnson is listed as the third QB.
Griese has been inactive for the past eight weeks with tendinitis in his throwing elbow. He was 3-1 as a starter earlier this season.
He will be entrusted by Gruden to help Tampa Bay (9-4) secure a playoff berth, which it can possibly clinch for a second straight year, combined with either a loss or tie today by the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles.
Griese is facing long odds, given that NFC South home teams are 10-0 in division games this season, and 24-2 overall at home.
McCown, the fifth-year veteran who has not played in a regular season game this season, will be at the ready, in case Griese has trouble making throws.
McCown started three games last December, while Garcia recovered from a back injury.
Garcia has led Tampa Bay to a 6-2 record in his last eight starts, while becoming the fourth-leading passer in the NFC.
McCown, 27, is 1-6 as a starter in his career.
He was 1-2 last year, guiding the team to a 27-23 win over the Saints in New Orleans.
His other two starts were the 28-14 loss to the Texans in Houston and the regular season finale, 31-23, against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium.
The other inactives for Tampa Bay are WR Dexter Jackson, RB Noah Herron, LB Matt McCoy, OL Jeremy Zuttah, DT Chris Hovan and Johnson.
Jimmy Wilkerson will start at defensive tackle in place of Hovan. -
Saturday, December 13, 2008, 10:03 pm
Kamikaze sacks giving Garcia bad wrap
Jeff Garcia, the stand-up guy that he usually is, when he's not flat on his back courtesy of an NFL defensive lineman, took offense to a question I asked him the other day.
So he snarled a no-comment, and refused to give one of his thought-out, elaborate answers.
The Buccaneers' offensive line has given up 14 sacks in the past three games _ up substantially from the previous three games.
At least one of them, probably more, was Garcia's fault.
Tackle Jeremy Trueblood, who gives up enough sacks on his own, got help from Garcia on this particular sack against the Saints.
Trueblood had just released his man, thinking after enough interminable seconds in a lineman's pass block that Garcia ought to be able to manage by now.
Wrong.
Garcia was right behind Trueblood, who had no idea that his quarterback was about to gift-wrap a sack for Saints defensive end Bobby McCray.
So I asked Garcia, citing the Trueblood example, how the offensive linemen are supposed to account for not knowing that their quarterback is scrambling his way into a sack.
Trueblood answered the question with a valid point, which is what Garcia could have done.
"It's okay. Because I mean, he'll get you out of a few sacks that you would have given up with another quarterback," Trueblood said. "So, with a quarterback like that, you're right, he can go in every way.
"So basically you just stay on your guy and if he runs into your guy, there's nothing you can do about it. Obviously he was flushed from somewhere else. You don't want to get flustered as an offensive lineman, just because he runs into your guy.
"It's not that big of a deal. Jeff makes big enough plays for us that it wipes that out."
Head coach Jon Gruden understands what he's bought into with Garcia, being all over the map.
"I think the protection actually has been very good," Gruden said. "A lot of the sacks are scramble opportunities that Jeff has made. I'm really comfortable with the way the pocket looks, the pickups."
Guard Davin Joseph said that more sacks are a function of more pass attempts.
"These last few games, we've been trying to pass the ball a little bit more, it's a strength for our offense," Joseph said. "Our passing game is starting to emerge, so you'll start seeing more pass attempts, so you'll get more sacks."
But that's not true. Because the Bucs have attempted 79 passes in the past three games.
In the previous three games, Garcia attempted 116 passes and was sacked only three times by the Cowboys (two), Chiefs (zero) and Vikings (one).
There could be more sacks coming Sunday for Garcia in the noisy Georgia Dome, unless he does not play against the Falcons. He suffered a right calf strain in practice Wednesday that has made him questionable on the injury report.
If not Garcia, then third-team quarterback Luke McCown, the likely replacement starter, will be on the run.
"One thing we'll have to do better is protect the quarterback, going on this stretch run," Joseph said. "Sacks are a tricky subject. It's just not the offensive line, it's the overall scheme. A sack can come off a lineman getting beat, or a coverage sack. So it's hard to put a sack on somebody, it's hard to discuss the whole issue, because it's always different."
Trueblood figures to see Falcons defensive end John Abraham today, six days after after he got worked over by Carolina's Julius Peppers.
Abraham is fourth in the NFL with 12 1/2 sacks.
"The only thing that could be a little bit challenging is let's say I don't go against him the whole game, then he shows up in the third quarter," said Trueblood, who will be matched up mostly against Falcons left end Jamaal Anderson. "You don't get a chance to feel him out like you do in the first quarter."
Playing in dome just compounds the pass protection issue.
"It's a lot worse. When you can't hear the snapcount, you don't get off the ball as early as you'd like to. They still get off the ball at the same speed," Trueblood said. "That's always something you got to go into the game thinking about, but as an NFL player you have to adjust your techniques and that's all you have to do. It is challenging." -
Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 7:42 pm
Kiffin, Gruden talk players off the ledge
Jon Gruden and Monte Kiffin switched into their team psychologist mode Wednesday, to talk their players off the ledge following Monday night's 38-23 loss to the Panthers in Carolina.
The reason not to leap is that the Buccaneers can qualify for the NFC playoffs Sunday by beating the Falcons in Atlanta, combined with either a loss or a tie by the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles.
"You're going to have one of those (poor performances) every once in a while," Kiffin said. "You just don't want it to be on a Monday night.”
Kiffin made sure to soothe the defensive players’ psyches after the unit gave up 301 yards rushing to Carolina running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who also ran for two touchdowns apiece.
Tampa Bay’s rushing defense (115.5 yards per game) has plummeted to 18th in this week’s NFL team rankings, down from ninth a week ago.
“It's the first time we've been back together since. I told them, ‘You know what? I didn't become a bad coach. Last Sunday I was a pretty good coach against the Saints. And they didn't become bad players,’ ” Kiffin said.
“Nobody is throwing anybody under the bus right here. We're all together on this deal. Stuff happens like that."
Gruden reached deep down and pulled out a story about how the New York Giants were beaten 41-17 by the Minnesota Vikings in late November last season.
No one would have predicted after that game that the Giants would later get on a roll, win four straight post-season games and upset the unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“I’m a big big believer in analogies. I can’t get up here and put up acetates and tell stories,” Gruden said. “But I do remember Minnesota going to New York and winning a convincing 41-17 game and you would have thought all hell was going to break loose in New York for a couple days following that game.”
The Buccaneers had a similar experience in 2002, losing a home game on Monday night to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-7, before winning their regular-season finale against the Bears, and three straight post-season games en route to the Super Bowl championship.
“You have to have a short-term memory, you have to live in the future,” Gruden said. “You’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad as you think you are, no mattter what anybody thinks.
"We’re 9-4 and we’ve played a lot of guys and we’ve played hard. You’re not going to get any sympathy cards from the media or the Falcons or anybody else.
"There's a lot of good football teams that are coming off tough losses. This is about mental toughness, I think, too," Gruden said. “You have to continue what you’re doing and believe in yourselves. I think we have the character in our locker room that will allow us to do that.” -
Tuesday, December 09, 2008, 2:06 am
Monday Night meltdown forces reassessment
How much respect do the Buccaneers think they deserve now?
Before they muster enough pride to formulate an answer, let's let the demoralized Tampa Bay defenders clean the grass out of their mouths, get the stiff arms out of their face masks and license numbers of the trucks that ran over them, in front of the entire nation and all of their peers Monday night.
Then they can contemplate their downgraded post-season possibilities, which they will be clinging to by a thread come Sunday against the Falcons in the Georgia Dome, if there is any carryover from the humiliating 38-23 loss to the Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
Now that Carolina (10-3) has seized undisputed control of first place in the NFC South, the Buccaneers (9-4) are left to hope that the schedule does for them what they couldn't do by themselves.
Namely, stop the Panthers.
Tampa Bay's only consolation is the hope that the Panthers succumb to the more difficult schedule they face in the final three games that would enable the Buccaneers to back their way into a repeat as the NFC South champion.
Otherwise, they are doomed to a first-round playoff loss on the road as a wildcard team.
Surely, the Buccaneers don't deserve any better fate, the way the played Monday night.
Tampa Bay backing into the division title would be a travesty to Carolina fans, and any objective viewers who watched the way the Buccaneers defense was gashed Monday night for 301 yards by the Panthers' one-two rushing combination of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who each went over the 100-yard mark and scored two rushing touchdowns apiece. It was the first time in NFL history that a defense had allowed such gaudy rushing statistics in a single game.
Steve Young, the ESPN NFL analyst, said that Carolina's 8.1 yards per carry rushing average was so astonishing, that it would be a great number as an average gain per PASS play.
Wonder what the rest of the league thinks about Tampa Bay's defense now?
One of the game announcers made an excuse for the Buccaneers, that, 'Oh, you get these kinds of games once in a while.' "
Really? Where were all those game-changing takeaways the Bucs got last week against the Saints? Or Lions?
The Buccaneers defense showed what I have believed all year _ it is not that good when it has to be _ on the road against a quality opponent.
If you can't win on the road in the NFL, you might as well go home.
Falcons running back Michael Turner must have been smiling to himself while he watched Williams and Stewart shred the Tampa Bay defense.
Like those Panthers' running backs who were held to a combined 40 yards rushing by Tampa Bay's defense at Raymond James Stadium, Turner can't wait for his shot at a rematch to see how the Buccaneers will respond on his home turf.
The Panthers have established themselves as the power team in the NFC South.
The Buccaneers now realize they are in deep trouble next year, having to deal with Williams, Stewart and Steve Smith, all of whom were unstoppable Monday night.
Anyhow, Carolina hosts Denver on Sunday, which the Buccaneers would like to think could wind up as the Panthers' last win.
Tampa Bay is hoping that the Panthers then lose to the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants the following Sunday, before closing out the season with a loss to the Saints in New Orleans.
Yeah, that's the ticket. -
Monday, December 08, 2008, 7:10 pm
Tampa Bay looking out for No.1 -- in NFC
The shock waves of the New York Giants' loss Sunday to the Philadelphia Eagles reverberated all the way to Tampa Bay.
In its wake, the stakes became just a little more lofty than a division title repeat for the Buccaneers.
They have to be thinking about more than the Carolina Panthers.
More than even a No.2 seed in the NFC playoffs.
How about the No.1 seed in the NFC?
Who ever would have thought, back in training camp, that this team, would have this kind of shot? But who cares now? In the home stretch of the NFL season, it becomes all about riding the tide.
The top seed is what the Buccaneers might be shooting for, by the time it's all said and done. Privately, you can bet they started thinking about vaulting to No.1 as soon as they saw this score: Eagles 20, Giants 14.
Now the Buccaneers _ and the Panthers _ have a chance of usurping the top seed.
And the Buccaneers have a clear path, and some possibility of that longshot coming through, if they can get by the Panthers tonight.
If not, forget it.
But what a shot the Buccaneers will have wasted if they lose this game tonight at Carolina.
Because the Falcons are reeling after losing to the New Orleans Saints and next Sunday's game in Atlanta that figures to be the last competitive game for the Buccaneers.
If they do lose tonight, they can take consolation that they pushed the envelope pretty far, with four straight wins and six of seven, two of them being comeback wins on the road that against most teams, would have been losses, except that Kansas City and Detroit _ who have a combined record of 2-24 _ have perfected the art of losing.
The last two games ought to be automatic wins, against San Diego and Oakland, both at Raymond James Stadium, which are bankable, only if they help the Buccaneers' playoff cause.
So, there's a better than slim chance that the Buccaneers could finish 12-3.
And there's also some chance that the New York Giants (11-2) are going to lose another game.
The Panthers, who will be desperate cats should they lose to the Buccaneers, are going to be fighting for their playoff lives when they play the Giants in a couple weeks, presuming they beat the Broncos at home next week.
Then the Buccaneers will be rooting for them to do Tampa Bay a favor, and at least get the Giants a third loss.
Tampa Bay can then take its chances with the tiebreakers and see what's what.
The Buccaneers are not thinking about the No.1 seed, as they head into Monday night's game that could ultimately decide the NFC South division champion.
But if they beat the Panthers, for a sweep of their greatest challenger, it won't be too soon to start.
Tom Balog
