Gruden backs Griese despite interceptions

Jon Gruden backed quarterback Brian Griese while acknowledging that he has to cut down on his turnovers during Gruden's news conference Monday at One Buc Place.

Griese had a 36.0 quarterback rating after completing 15 of 30 passes for 149 yards and three interceptions during Sunday's 30-21 win over the Packers. He has thrown six interceptions the past two weeks, both Bucs' wins.

''You've got some real good stats there,'' Gruden said. ''You know he's 3-0 as a starter; how about that? We've played two very good defenses. The Chicago Bears on the road -- he was the player of the week for us last week. He threw a couple interceptions yesterday and we can't have that. He knows that. But he's a winning quarterback for us and we're going to rally around him, continue to try to improve on his strengths and try to clean up a couple plays that hurt us last week."

Gruden said Griese made a ''good decision'' on his first interception, which was tipped by wide receiver Michael Clayton into the hands of Tramon Williams. "He missed the throw a litle bit,'' and "Nick Collins made a superb play'' on the second, Gruden said.

On the third, which Charles Woodson returned 62 yards for a touchdown and 21-20 Packers lead, ''I think Brian telegraphed it a little bit,'' Gruden said.

''I credit Green Bay to a degree, but we've got to make better decision-making,'' Gruden said, "and w'ere going to work toward that later this week.''

Gruden said Griese rebounded from the interceptions to make a couple of big plays down the stretch. He also liked the way Griese commanded the running game.

''I got a lot of respect and confidence in Brian Griese,'' Gruden said. "There’s three or four throws he’s made the last two weeks that have hurt us and there are about thirty five or forty throws that have really helped us. He made some throws yesterday after the third interception that were big time plays. They changed the game in terms of field position.

''He made some decisions in the running game that were outstanding. So there is some areas I think that are very clear and obvious that we need to clean up. He knows where I stand and where our team stands on turnovers and we got to clean that up, and we’re going to work our butt of this week to get that done.”

Gruden said the Bucs will "split the reps up and get all three guys some work'' in preparation for Sunday's game against the Broncos. He said the Bucs will need all three of its quarterbacks, including  former starter Jeff Garcia, at some point this season.

"Garcia was our starter and might be our starter again at some point in time,'' Gruden said.

Gruden expressed ''some concern'' about the right elbow injury that sent safety Sabby Piscitelli to the sideline in the third quarter. Gruden hoped to have more information about the severity of the injury later today.

Offensive linemen Arron Sears and Jeremy Trueblood also left the game with injuries. The team will update its official injury list on Wednesday, Gruden said.

Griese likely to start on Sunday

The Bucs appear ready to make a change at quarterback.

Brian Griese took all of the reps during Wednesday's morning walkthrough, meaning he likely will start Sunday's home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Jeff Garcia, who led the Bucs to the playoffs last season, was not on the field for the walkthrough nor is he participating in this afternoon's practice. He suffered an ankle sprain against New Orleans on Sunday, according to coach Jon Gruden. He described Garcia as "questionable'' for the Atlanta game.

Garcia, 38, battled calf and pinkie injuries during training camp and was limited to one preseason appearance. His rust was evident against the Saints, as he struggled on third down and missed easy passes to Joey Galloway and Alex Smith.

He helped the Bucs battle back in the second half before a fourth-down pass was intercepted at the New Orleans 21-yard line with 38 seconds left. But today, some players already seemed resigned to Garcia missing the Atlanta game.

"It's a big blow," fullback B.J. Askew said of Garcia's absence. "But Brian Griese is definitely ready to step in and take over the job. . . The team has had some time to jell a little bit with him in the preseason, so hopefully we'll just pick up where we left off."

Garcia, who typically holds a Wednesday morning press conference, was not made available to the media.

Griese: 'Nobody deals with hypotheticals'

As a horde of media crowded around him after Wednesday’s morning practice, Bucs reserve quarterback Brian Griese, whose name has been linked to a possible trade that would bring Brett Favre to Tampa Bay, shrugged off the possibility that the talk is serving as a distraction. (View audio slide show)

“Watching that stuff yesterday, you talk about hypotheticals and nobody wants to deal with hypotheticals and we’re not going to do it and I think our team’s not going to do it so we just come out to work every day,” Griese said.

Told that his name was involved in rumors, Griese asked, “My name is?” and said he knew nothing of an impending trade. Griese was a conspicuous absentee from Tuesday’s afternoon session, which Griese described as a “senior day” for him. 

He said he hasn’t thought about the possibility of moving to another team.

“There’s so much for me to work on here with the game plan and getting to a point in this offense where I feel like I have mastered it.,” he said. “So I just focus on that and come out every day and work hard.”

-- EDUARDO A. ENCINA

(Pictured: Jon Gruden, right, bumps fists with Brian Griese, center, as Luke McCown, left, looks on. Times photo -- James Borchuck. Click to enlarge.)