Garcia has his say

We're not trying to start anything here. Just wanted to give Jeff Garcia a chance to respond to Lions receiver Roy Williams' critical comments on Detroit radio about Garcia's supposed selfishness during his one season in Detroit (see the next blog entry for excerpts and to listen to the audio). Williams said Garcia never would accept blame for plays that weren't made.

Garcia disputed that, then put his spin on the story.

"As a quarterback, you're always shouldering the blame," he said. "I had no problem absorbing whatever it was that I had to absorb (at times) when we weren’t able to win football games. We play this game as a team and everybody's responsible and everybody has to have accountability. That's where I felt that, at times, there wasn’t a whole lot of accountability among everyone in that locker room."

Then, Garcia, in a later interview, added the following: "I can't force players to take their playbook home with them. I can't force players to get in the weight room. I can't force players to watch more film. That's up to each and every individual player."

Wow. Sounds like things were pretty dysfunctional up there. Seems to be the opposite here in Tampa -- regardless of where the blame is placed for the way things unfolded during Garcia's tenure in Detroit.

Roy Williams: No love lost for Garcia

Lions wide receiver Roy Williams spoke out about Jeff Garcia in a Detroit radio interview this week, and he didn't have anything flattering to say.

Williams was asked why Garcia "sucked" during his season in Detroit. Williams responded by saying, "because he blamed everybody but himself. ... I respected the man. I just didn't like the fact that it would be (the receivers') fault and never his fault. It's always the receivers' fault."

Williams went on to say that Garcia's command of the West Coast offense is no big deal. "My son can run the West Coast system and he's only 2."

You can click here for a link to the interview from WDFN. The comments begin at about the 8:15 mark of the interview.

(AP photo. Click to enlarge.)

Garcia has 'big lead' at quarterback

Bucs coach Jon Gruden all but anointed free agent pickup Jeff Garcia, left, the Bucs' starting quarterback while addressing an audience of business people and fans during a question and answer session at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday morning at the Belleview Biltmore.

"There's not a lot of controversy in my eyes right now,'' Gruden said. "If you want to catch up to Jeff Garcia, our young quarterbacks have some work to do. Garcia has done a great job from day one, since he's been here.

"He understands the position, he's moved offenses wherever he's been, and right now Jeff Garcia has a big lead, to me, on the quarterback position. He brings a lot of juice and enthusiasm to our offensive team.

"I'm not discounting that there won't be a competition in training camp. I do believe Chris Simms and Bruce Gradkowski can make it interesting, and Luke McCown is also doing some good things. But Jeff Garcia is clearly the leader in the clubhouse right now, and we are excited about that.''

Galloway Licking His Chops

Joey Galloway loves one-on-one coverage. The Saints play more one-on-one coverage than most teams. So, naturally, Galloway loves playing the Saints, who visit Tampa Bay on Sunday.

There is nothing a receiver loves more than the chance to make an impact play, and man-to-man coverage gives Galloway that opportunity. With his speed, Galloway must only beat one man to position himself for a big play. Though there often is help from the safety even in single coverage, that help often comes too late to prevent him from catching the ball.

"We've seen them two times a year since I've been here, and they always come up and play you man," Galloway said of the Saints. "I love playing the Saints. . . When a team comes up and shows you man-to-man coverage, that is a challenge for any  receiver. That's what we live for."

But here's another challenge for Galloway: catch the ball. He and his teammates did a poor job of that against the Giants last Sunday. And in this season's first meeting with the Saints, Galloway dropped a pass that could have positioned the Bucs for a come-from-behind win.

If nothing else, the opportunities should be there this Sunday.

"They take their chances," Galloway said. "When that happens, it gives us some opportunities. We just have to capitalize."

Times photo by Bill Serne; click to enlarge.

First a Caddy. Now a Lincoln?

The Bucs worked out 35-year-old and long-retired offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy today, but don't bet the farm on him suiting up in pewter and red anytime soon.

Kennedy has been out of football the past two seasons, having last played in 2003 when he started 10 games for the Oakland Raiders. Since then, he has been known mostly for his role as an analyst on the NFL Network.

So, this move means one of two things: the Bucs were merely curious -- which is plausible if coach Jon Gruden is being truthful when he says Kennedy called the Bucs and not the other way around; or, the Bucs are desperate to improve their situation at tackle, where Kenyatta Walker is the best they have to offer.

Also, consider that backup Torrin Tucker is showing no sign of returning from his knee injury in time to make the final roster. Plus former third-round draft pick Chris Colmer is out of football for the foreseeable future with a recurrence of a nerve condition unrelated to football.

There was no immediate word on how Kennedy's workout went. But the outcome of his last attempt to break back into the NFL didn't pan out so well. The Cowboys earlier this month didn't bother working him out after he traveled to Dallas because he failed his physical on arrival.

Hey, at least this time he made it to the workout.

2003 Times photo by Jim Damaske; click to enlarge.

Quarterback carousel

Expect a revolving door of quarterbacks tomorrow night against the Jets in the Bucs' first preseason game.

Coach Jon Gruden said today he would start Chris Simms, of course, but then would go to Tim Rattay (left) and, later, rookie Bruce Gradkowski.

There was some speculation that Gradkowski has risen above Rattay in Gruden's QB rotation. While that might still happen, tomorrow's quarterback depth chart is probably a result of Gradkowski still not having learned the offense completely. Rattay, who has been here nearly a year, knows it well. This way, Gradkowski can ease his way in and play against mostly third-string competition in his first NFL action.

It'll also be interesting to see what Rattay has to offer. After all, with his midseason acquisition last season, he never has played here in the preseason. So, to most in the Bay area, he remains a secret. This will be our first peek and alot of people -- the Bucs coaches among -- are curious.

In other news, looks like receiver Michael Clayton has a green light to play against New York. Rookie right tackle Jeremy Trueblood will get the start in place of Kenyatta Walker (knee) who is expected to return to practice on Sunday.

Times photo by Brendan Fitterer; click to enlarge.

Fiedler making progress

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Quarterback Jay Fiedler continues to make progress in his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery, but does not have a target date for joining practice.

Fiedler threw after practice Saturday, increasing the distance of his throws from short to intermediate length.

"It's coming. Every day I get out here it's improving,'' said Fiedler, acquired as a free agent when backup Luke McCown injured his knee during offseason workouts. "I took a day off (Friday) and that really helped get it fresh. I definitely took a step forward (Saturday)."

Fiedler has not had any setbacks.

"The next step is uncorking it and letting it loose," he said.

Catch the ball

Monday morning brought a spirited practice for the Bucs in the only full-squad workout of the day. The afternoon workout will be exclusively special teams.

The deep ball was a recurring theme, with quarterbacks Chris Simms and rookie Bruce Gradkowski airing it out. Small problem though: The receivers need to manage to catch those balls. Drops continued to plague the Bucs as they did all weekend. Michael Clayton, right, Maurice Stovall and David Boston were among those who dropped passes Monday.

Also, linebackers Derrick Brooks and Shelton Quarles sat out practice just to give their aging legs a break. Neither is injured and both should return Tuesday. Rookie defensive end Charles Bennett sat out with a hamstring injury and could be sidelined for a while, according to coach Jon Gruden.

Cadillac sits out with spasms

LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Running back Cadillac Williams was held out out of the morning practice after complaining of back spasms. The injury is not considered serious and he may participate in the afternoon workout.

"'My neck just tightened up a bit out there and they sat me out,'' Williams said. ""It's really nothing.''

Running backs coach Art Valero said Williams had a heavy lifting day Thursday that might have contributed to the spasms.

In other news, tackle Chris Colmer will miss the season with a non-football related illness.

A third-round pick by the Bucs in 2005, Colmer apparently has a recurrence of Parsonage-Turner Syndrome, a nerve condition that forced him to miss the 2003 season at North Carolina State.

"We're really concerned about this because we never really heard of it to start with,''' said Bucs coach Jon Gruden. ""We were under the understanding that this was over. Hopefully he can come back and continue playing again.''

Photo: Getty Images; click to enlarge

No.1 pick on verge of a deal

Davin Joseph, right, may make it to camp on time after all.

His agent, Ben Dogra, just informed Bucs Beat that a deal is on the verge of being consummated, and that a couple minor issues that need to be worked out.

If all goes well, Joseph should be on board today.

-- Stephen Holder

Trueblood to sign today

Second-round draft pick Jeremy Trueblood, right, agreed to terms on a contract with the Bucs Wednesday night and will sign a contract today in time to report to training camp this afternoon, according to agent Tom Condon.

Trueblood will sign a four-year deal later today, though the financial details were not immediately available.

Truebloood's signing will the seventh rookie deal for the Bucs, who drafted 10 players in April. The remaining unsigned players as of this morning are first-round pick Davin Joseph, third-round pick Maurice Stovall and sixth-round pick T.J. Williams.

Joseph's agent said this morning the two sides are still working toward a deal and have made some progress. The first practice is scheduled for Friday morning at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista.

Simms must stay upright

The key to the Bucs 2006 season is keeping Chris Simms healthy. Believe me, their quarterback position is a house of cards.

Remember how sparingly Jon Gruden used running back Cadillac Williams in the preseason as a rookie last year? Expect to see that treatment with Simms.

For the first time since his days at Texas, Simms will begin training camp as a starting quarterback. He has a better understanding of the offense, which should help get the ball out of his hand faster. Beyond that, he just needs to learn how to throw the football away and avoid big hits.

How do quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre go wire-to-wire without getting hurt?

"The first thing is probably a little bit of luck,'' Simms said. "After that, I think it's just knowing how to play the game. Hey, it's no joke that the three best quarterbacks in the NFL don't seem to get hurt. They don't hold onto the ball and take sacks, they don't take the extra hits. When there's nothing there, they do a good job of throwing it out of bounds or just getting the ball out of their hand and not taking the hit. That's big.

"It's a double-edged sword, because whether it comes to scrambling out of the pocket or you want to hold the ball for an extra second in the pocket, waiting for maybe a (Joey) Galloway or (Mike) Clayton to get open, sometimes you just can't go for the glory every play. You've just got to play it smart and live to play another down.''