Garcia, Brooks questionable for Atlanta

Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia is questionable for next week's game against the Atlanta Falcons with an ankle sprain, Jon Gruden said during his news conference Monday at One Buc Place.

Garcia, who battled calf and pinkie injuries during the preseason, has swelling on his ankle. Gruden said an update would come in the next couple of days.

The status of linebacker Derrick Brooks also is questionable at this time. Brooks left in the third quarter of Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Saints with a right hamstring strain.

Gruden expects to know more about the extent of Brooks' injury in the next 24 hours. If Brooks can't go, Cato June could move to his spot, or Quincy Black could see more playing time.

''We have the capability of moving people around a little bit,'' Gruden said.

Wide receiver Maurice Stovall is questionable with a neck strain.

Also:

• Gruden acknowledged that Garcia missed opportunities to make plays in the passing game: "We can call it rust or inactivity or whatever,'' he said, "but there's plays there that Jeff normally makes.''
• Gruden said he thought the Bucs ran the ball "extremely well'' and had some good looks in the passing game but didn't convert enough on third down. He said he thought guard Jeremy Zuttah, wide receiver Antonio Bryant and center Jeff Faine played well in their Bucs debuts.

Comments

[Joe]

Earnest has to get the ball over 20 times a game. He is a workhorse. I cannot stand Dunn up the middle. Let Earnest pound it inside and get Dunn involved with screens. On a side note, Taynard Jackson will be a pro bowler this year. Guy is an absolute stud.

[george c. costanza]

"pinkie" injury just sounds funny, i don't care who you are.

[Jay]

I hate to sound like a hater, but there were a lot of mismanagement of personell and playcalling. Primary example - EG up the middle was great, but it seemed that he wasn't running through the gaps, but rather when the gap collapsed and the TE created a seam which EG exploited. Great adjustment on his part. Dunn also made great use of his opportunities, and ran / caught well. The only problem with this is, neither were used enough.

So if you see that the running game is working well, why use Galloway when you have Stovall or Clayton to crush some DB's? It's clear that pass protection was weak against the front four, but again, there was not enough time to stretch the field. Hillard / Smith / EG exploited that very well by being the relief valves, but should have been the primary look.

If the pocket keeps collapsing, start using the draw, or maybe a screen, even the old Gruden fallback, RB out in the flat. But there were no adjustments.

On defense, putting in McCoy to replace Brooks was a mistake, as you could have easily shifted June over to play WS, left Ruud in there, and played nickel / cover 3 with Talib or Piscatelli. Getting rid of Nece was a bad idea, and now we see why. I think Flip has come a long way, but his tackling skills are becoming an issue again, as he's always going for the Lynch style big hit instead. He whiffed pretty badly on at least one play, but you have to give some credit to Reggie Bush for just making a good play. Overall, it was the lack of adjustments that put the team behind.

[Ben]

good excuse to start griese...
keep jeff off the field as much as possible this season hes garbage

[Ray]

Funny nobody is talking about Favre anymore.

[Feesh]

I'm sorry Ray, but Brett Favre plays for the Jets. Why do you want Buc fans to talk about him? I think the media does it enough.

Yes, I'm one that wanted Favre to come to Tampa for many many reasons. It didn't work out..move on.

[cb550]

I have been saying since the day they signed Garcia he is not the answer.

I agree with all comments regarding the play calling. EG gets 10 carries?? come on coach. Gruden gives up on the running game before kickoff. Even Atlanta kept running yesterday, even AFTER Turner put up 100 in the first quarter.

Not sure if I am shocked the defense gave up over 500 yards. This day was coming for awhile....sad.

[Anonymous]

How in the world can Gruden say that Antonio Bryant "played well"??? He had a ridiculous amount of dropped passes that should have been easy catches for him. The cornerback on him the whole game was a good 6 inches shorter than him.

[Dave]

That offense I was watching yesterday is the same garbage I've been watching for the last 5 years.

Why in the world can't we get some playmakers at the skilled positions? Is it because no free agents want to come here and sink in this quicksand?
And why in the hell are the Bucs still 27 million under the cap?

[Brian]

PLEASE let's stop calling Gruden, "an offensive genius". He finished 17th in third down conversions last year. That's bottom half of the league. Third down is the down that showcases your "genius"! Yesterday, he didn't get one until the fourth quarter. If it weren't for Garcia making plays on his own, it would have been MUCH worse. (Just like last year.)If John the Liar is such a genius, why does he always have to rely on a scrambling, sandlot-style QB? He is a fraud.

[JOhn]

You can't tell me that Matt McCoy is a better option than keeping Ryan Nece. Yet another MONEY decision that right now is killing the Bucs. They have gone cheap and it is showing on the field! Period...

[#1 Bucs Fan]

Bucs Fans,
It could be worse, you could have just lost Tom Brady and have his replacement be....Chris Simms!
Ha ha ha.

[Andrew]

I agree with alot of the comments on here about yesterday's game. However we were in a position to win the game at the end. I felt that the ref's missed a couple of obvious calls. The pass interference call on Bryant which should've been a no call and the no call on the holding that let them convert on a 3rd down, leading to the go ahead touchdown. Why are the ref's always effecting the game in these ways.

[Ray]

Andrew - Don't forget the unsportsman like conduct call on Trueblood. Although it was a boneheaded penalty by Trueblood, the Saints should have been penalized as well. It should have at best been offsetting penalties. I also honestly, I thought the fumble returned for a TD should have been allowed. I my opinion I thought the Saints receiver had possession.

[Duane]

If Garcia, the media and some of the fans want to keep crying about why the Bucs tried to sign Farve, yesterday's game was your answer why. If you can upgrade any position on your team, you do it. Non-holding call on Adams by first year ref was a big diffference. Blatant miss! Gruden needs to run the ball more. I think we passed twice as much as we ran. Keep pounding Graham.

[Fresh Kid Ice]

I am soooo glad that I did not renew my season tix for that crap on the field.
Old, slow, fragile and BORING!

[Michael]

I would just like to point out to the people who say the Bucs gave up on the running game, I agree they didnt use it as much as tehy should have, but they did gain 140 yards on the ground. Graham had 91 on 10 carries, and Dunn had 54 on 9 carries. With the Saints torching out defense, which was the REAL problem yesterday, and a few missed calls, such as the holding on Gaines Adams, the Regie Bush fumble that was called an incomplete pass, and Regie steping out of bound at the 7, but scoring a touchdown, Gruden probably felt he had to throw the ball to keep up. The play calling wasnt bad, the excution was. And that is on Garcia, and Galloway being rusty.

[steve]

I agree with an earlier post. Why did gruden give up on running the football. Wasn't Grahmn averaging 6 or 7 yards a carry? What happened to Michael Bennet?

[Jim]

Glad I'm not a season ticket holder.

[Jay]

It's official. At 1:31pm today, John Gruden lost the pivotal "Original Members of 2 Live Crew" vote. What would Brother Marquis and Uncle Luke say? It's a sad day...

[Dave]

Sure glad I turned my season tickets in. Same garbage for the last 5 years.

[Jack]

To #1 Bucs fan,

Tom Brady's team won yesterday, right?

Glad you feel better about your situation though.

[MC Hammer]

hey Jay ...

You .. can't .. touch ... THIS!!!

[P]

GOOD PUT GARCIA ON THE BENCH AND START GRIESE.....YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT YESTERDAY!!!!

[Braheem Ackmadia]

Ohhh...Now they decide to make the proper Linebacker rotation! Why not on Sunday? The BUC Cover 2 relies on SPEED and that guy they had in there had NONE! The Saints wisely exploited him immediately on that R. Bush romp to the pylon! So whiney Garcia is at it again...It's time to put the geritol gang on the bench as reserves. Garcia & Galloway need to regain an appreciation for the HONOR to play in the NFL. Their replacements have glaring flaws like McCown's Judgement at times or Clayton's hands, but they do not lack enthusiasm or effort. BTW why not use the Speed of Dexter Jackson to stretch the field? HE IS A 2ND RND PICK ISN'T HE???????

[Clifford]

Does Allen have Simms' phone number?

[bobbyd]

Quick, everyone panic.

[C.S. #2]

Bruce, give me a call. I'm not set on new england anyway.

[DR]

My prediction for next week is EG starts off the game with back to back 20 yard runs and then Gruden calls 70 straight pass plays to trick the defense. Galloway runs a fly pattern but stops 10 yards down the field to tie his shoes. Best news from the game is Michael Clayton won the Texas Hold'em tournament held at half time in the Bucs locker room. Michael bennett regrets not raising the pot preflop, and claims he let Clayton win. Galloway starts off the second half with another horrible play. The play call was a slant, but Galloway got into what first appeared to be a fight. After a second take, Galloway and the CB weren't fighting afterall, but were playing patty cake. Gruden was mad at first but became relieved after finding out his buddy won the patty cake contest. After the game, Bruce Allen asks Garcia to take a pay cut so that they can give Galloway a bonus.

[Mordechai Bigfeather]

Gruden's approach raises more questions than it ever answers. Was the Saints D-Line really that good, or did our O-Line really just not find it in them to hold the pocket? Why didn't Bennett get any action yesterday? He was easily the most explosive player out there this preseason, despite it being "only the preseason". I'd think they'd want to find more of a role for him ... etc .. etc ..

I'll reserve apocalypse judgement for next Sunday.

[Your Momma]

Jim nad Fresh Kid Ice

Me Too!!

I would hate to sit next to NOW Buc Fans

[bobbyd]

I think the issue with Bennett is that it's only practical to dress 4 backs. They opted for 2 RB's and 2 FB's. It's hard to argue that Bennett is playing better than Graham or Dunn just yet.

[numba1saintsfan504]

c'mon guys... stop panicking and whining. the bucs played a very outstanding game, so did the saints. now i do agree that the officiating was abysmal... we got away with some stuff, so did you guys. it was a close game, two very good teams, the saints had the edge. i wish this team luck on atlanta, i'm rootin' for you guys to contain turner. i feel bad for you real buc fans, having to put up with some of these fairweather fans and bandwagon jumpers. great game guys.

[Tina]

This was the first game folks,
only One team could win. I agree there was some rust, but give them credit for keeping it close. One thing to note, the touchdown that was taken away (and it was definitely a fumble and touchdown) would have won this game.

[andres]

thank you numba1saintsfan504... i've been a bucs fan for so long and all i hear by these bucs fans is garbage (they all jump on the bandwagon when we win on sundays; and are quick to criticize and jump off when we lose)... this was a very good game by 2 of the top teams (it was back and forth right to the very end) in the nfc and yet all i hear from bucs fans is how horrible we played, and how bad garcia and galloway were, and the defense, the offensive line, etc and so forth... what the bucs should have done was run the ball more (145 yards on JUST 19 CARRIES!!!), EG was killing the saints and yet he had just 10 carries (bush and thomas combined to run 24 times and just barely eclipsed graham) that's on gruden (he kept trying to be sneaky by calling play-action and roll-outs, that he just ended up being to predictable) and i'm confident he'll have that fixed for next week... watch this team bounce back big time next and take their anger out on the falcons (i wouldn't like to be matt ryan next week)... and please stop asking for brian griese because knowing you people as soon as he plays and throws 3 Interceptions and gets sacked 8 times (he may the least mobile Qb in the league now that Drew Bledsoe is retired) you'll all end up calling for garcia again or end up saying that the season is over after only 2 games (jajaja... ridiculous), just relax and watch this team bounce back like they always do (it's a long season folks)

[andres]

by the way... you all remember we lost our opener on the road last year against an eventual playoff team (and we looked much worse then than what we looked like on sunday) and what happened, we got on a roll and ended up making the playoffs (and you all jumped right back on that bandwagon when we got on that roll and were singing the praises of this team).

[Rodger]

I have wrote this on paper in the off season when Garcia didnt get the money he thought he deserved and put it in an envelope for my son to open after week 3. it says Garcia chumps out this year. meaning he will be way below average cause he feels he got shipped on. time for Luke to take over, now before the season is wasted after just 4 weeks.

[Scott Milanovich]

I really don't understand why they're waiting on McCown. He's clearly ready to be the next coming of Christ.

[Shaun King]

That's right, Milo. He should definitely be starting ahead of two proven veterans, even though his decision making is about as sharp as a trailer hitch.

[jb]

can Gruden be put on IR

[Carmella DeCesare]

You people are unbelievable. Jeff and I are going back to Calgary........

[Doug Williams]

Hey, Jeff, don't worry. This is no different than these people have treated Quarterbacks since I was here. And they wonder why their longest tenured "greats" only played five years in Tampa......

[Ray]

I feel a deja vu. Didn't we loose the season opener to the Saints when we won the S.B. I am willing to bet there a bunch of fired up guys in that locker room that can't wait till next week for redemption. I acutally feel bad for the Falcons.

[Jackson]

Hey Carmella will you post some photos before you leave?

[Steve]

I agree with many of these posts. But one thing is clear. There are certain elements you CAN control. Trueblood's "reaction" stuffed a rally. It doesn't matter if someone else was fighting, you CAN"T do that. He could have pulled someone off the pile. I know it's tough! Now the killer was calling timeouts. Incredibly poor choices. If we'd had 3 or even 2 timeouts as we marched down the field on the last drive (and that WAS A GOOD DRIVE), we could have run more and not rushed. These are mental errors and clock management is something the BUCS should work on.

Garcia is a playmaker. Gruden knows it, the players know it too. How else did he take you guys to the playoffs. I didn't see Simms taking you guys there and he had plenty of time to do it. Seriously, how long was he there 4 or 5 years?

If the Bucs would have spent just a shot more money at the front four, Jeff would have more time.

You see most teams with their Q.B's with all the timing in the world and that's how plays happen. I give credit to Garcia for working with what he's got. Trying to make a steak dinner with vegetables.
Not only that he played in one pre-season game the rest of the team played in most of the pre-season games and were looking out there like a bunch of confused kids. They called in-eligible men down field so many times, it was very ridiculous. Even Barber had to call time-out cause he saw way too many men down-field.

Even the announcers sounded frustrated. As Jeff was driving, Trueblood cost the team big time with that 15 yard penalty.

So you see guys it was not all Garcia's fault the team as a whole has to improve or spend a little more money and get some good talent out there to help Jeff out.

[Drew]

Another season of weak excuses, recogniton of the problems and nothing done to correct it.

Where's the Tar and Feathers?

[tradewinds loser boy moser]

garcia may not play, in case anybody wanted to know favre has started 274 games in a row.

[Drew]

Has anyone seen the White Tiger? I thought he might be hiding somewhere in this Blog. Guess not, if you see him give him a message from me. Let him know the Great White Hunter is looking for him.

[Citizen Q]

Simms off to New England to win the super bowl just like Doug, Steve, Trent, and others who made it there but did not win like deberg, and chandler.