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Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 18 December 2006
There are quarterback changes, and then there are quarterbacks who can change the game. Tim Rattay finally did that for the Bucs on Sunday. Trailing the Bears by three touchdowns late in the third quarter, the 29-year-old veteran replaced struggling rookie Bruce Gradkowski and threw three touchdowns to help force overtime. He did it against the NFC's best defense. On the road at Soldier Field. In the cold.
The improbable comeback included a 64-yarder to Joey Galloway and a 44-yard catch and run by Ike Hilliard for touchdowns within a span of 2:29 during the fourth quarter. After Hilliard's touchdown tied the score, coach Jon Gruden fell to the turf on the sideline. "I can't tell the last time we saw huge plays like that on the other side of the ball," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "It was good."
Unfortunately for the Bucs, they couldn't muster much offense in the extra period thanks to a turnover and penalties. The Bears won 34-31 when Robbie Gould, who missed earlier in overtime from 37 yards, made a 25-yard field goal with 3:37 left. The victory clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs for Chicago 12-2.
Still, Rattay's performance raised questions about whether Gruden should have made the quarterback change sooner. Like 13 games sooner.
"I don't second-guess myself," Gruden said. "I have a real strong conviction to the quarterback position. I spend all my time there. I really believe that the time invested in Bruce Gradkowski is going to benefit him tremendously. There will be people that disagree with me, but I don't second-guess myself. I try to do the best I can to make an educated decision, and I realize it's pretty obvious that Rattay showcased some good stuff (Sunday). And you do want to raise your eyebrow and wonder what could have been. But I don't do that. I don't look back. That's not my way of doing things."
Gruden also would not say who would start at Cleveland on Christmas Eve although he made a case for returning to Gradkowski. "We've made enough quarterback changes since I've been here. I feel like a major-league baseball manager changing pitchers," he said. "We're going to try and do what we feel is best, not only for the upcoming week, but for the future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I tell you, Bruce has some talent. There are a lot of things going on right now with a rookie quarterback with the schedule that we play. And once again, we will make all those decisions after we collect all the information."
When Gruden evaluates his decision, some numbers might jump out. In two games, both in relief appearances, Rattay has completed 29 of 48 passes (60.4 percent) for 351 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for a quarterback rating of 95.1.
Gradkowski's passer rating Sunday slipped to 63.9, 31st in the league, after he went 5-of-11 for 37 yards before being replaced with 3:51 left in the second quarter.
Perhaps more important, the Bucs went 42 consecutive possessions - 218 minutes and 53 seconds, to be exact - without a touchdown. The streak ended with Gradkowski out of the game. Mike Alstott ended it with his 14-yard run with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Gradkowski, who has nine touchdown passes and nine interceptions, made some good adjustments against the Bears but couldn't deliver the football. The first play of the game set the tone. He had Joey Galloway open over the middle for a 20-yard gain but threw a pass that practically went end over end and landed 3 feet in front of his receiver.
"I was seeing things fine. I actually felt pretty good about this game," Gradkowski said. "I missed some (throws). I couldn't really see the defenders, so I was afraid of getting under some of those throws. And I was just trying to be safe with it, especially down there when we were in field-goal range and knew we had the three points. I was just trying to play smart. But it was a quick exit."
Gradkowski said he has no idea whether he will start next week. "I don't know the situation," he said. "That's up to Coach Gruden. Tim did a great job when he was in there. So we'll see what happens the rest of the season."
Rattay has spent about 14 months on the sideline since being acquired for a sixth-round pick from the 49ers in October 2005. He made his first appearance last week in a 17-6 loss to Atlanta. During practice last week, he took a few extra reps as Gruden vowed to prepare both quarterbacks to play.
It looked as though the Bucs would pull off the upset. Bears coach Lovie Smith opted to run out the clock with 1:16 and three timeouts left in regulation and the ball at his 10.
The Bucs won the coin toss. But a fumble by Alex Smith ended their first drive. After Gould's miss, they went three-and-out. After the defense held, the Bucs started at their 2, and two false starts derailed the drive.
"Basically, I'm just upset we lost," Rattay said. "I didn't play well enough for us to win the game. I'm frustrated. I'm mad, and I'm upset with myself. We had opportunities, but we didn't win."
It was too little. And way too late. "I love to play. I'm not in this to practice," Rattay said. "I don't do this to throw routes in practice and then get a front row seat at all of the games. I love to play. I've learned a long time ago that you can't talk about hypotheticals and what if's."
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