|
|
 |
Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 31 December 2007
Stopping the Giants will be the job Jon Gruden will focus on all week. But on Sunday, the Bucs coach first had to defend his decision to bench several starters and rest several others during a 31-23 loss to the Panthers.
That strategy contributed to the Bucs 9-7 losing three of their final four games heading into Sunday's 1 p.m. wild-card playoff game against the Giants at Raymond James Stadium. Momentum be damned. The G-men on Gruden's mind were Garcia, Galloway and Graham.
"Momentum is important. Momentum is making the playoffs," Gruden said. "When you run out of the tunnel and there are 80,000 fans going crazy, you're going to have momentum. You're going to be excited to play. Momentum is having a quarterback (Jeff Garcia) that is your starter healthy and walking around feeling good. That has a lot to do with momentum. And seeing (Joey) Galloway running as fast as he can run. Okay, that's what I see as momentum. I didn't like what we did (Sunday) ...but I don't like a lot of things going on in my life. And I'll do the best I can to live a perfect life for you."
Much like they did last week at San Francisco, the Bucs used their final regular-season game as a tune-up. Only this time, Garcia did not play most of the first half. In fact, he was among seven starters who were inactive, a list that also included running back Earnest Graham, receiver Ike Hilliard, linebacker Barrett Ruud and safety Jermaine Phillips.
When Matt Bryant kicked a 31-yard field goal 2:28 into the second quarter to give the Bucs a 10-7 lead, Gruden yanked at least five defensive starters.
That plan was a stark contrast to the one deployed Saturday night by Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who went all out in a 38-35 loss to the Patriots, who became the first team to finish the regular season 16-0. But it came with a price. Three Giants starters - center Shaun O'Hara, linebacker Kawika Mitchell and cornerback Sam Madison - left the game with injuries, and their status for the playoffs has not been determined.
"If we were playing New England at home on nationally televised football, we might have taken a different approach," Gruden said. "You think I wanted to sit these guys? It hurts. It's hard. It's very difficult, to say the least. But as you look at the big picture, Galloway did get a week; (so did) Barrett Ruud, Phillips. Ike Hilliard needed it. Earnest Graham needed it. We're going to be in for the fight of our lives. It's single-elimination next week."
Despite keeping many of his starters in Bubble Wrap on Sunday, the Bucs had several chances to win. DeAngelo Williams rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Moore threw for 174 yards and two scores for the Panthers. Backup quarterback Luke McCown led the Bucs to a 98-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the second half - the longest in club history.
But failures in the red zone prevented Tampa Bay from going undefeated in the NFC South. McCown overthrew an open Michael Pittman for what would have been a touchdown. Then trailing by one score, he was late delivering a pass to running back Kenneth Darby and was intercepted, snuffing out their best comeback chance.
"Again, maybe the risk was too high there as opposed to the reward," McCown said of the errant throw.
Gruden played his starting offensive line the whole game, and it cost the Bucs. Rookie guard Arron Sears suffered a sprained right ankle in the first quarter, and his status for the playoff game is unknown. After the game, players were disappointed about the defeat but were not about to second-guess Gruden's strategy.
"I guess it'll all be determined based on what I do next week," Hilliard said. "Coach Gruden made a decision to sit a few guys, and we have to make him (correct) now. So if we go out and stink it up, we make him look bad. And we've got to protect him in that sense. Unfairly putting this on him, our success is on the back of No. 7 (Garcia), and we've got to keep him upright to throw the football. We've got to keep him healthy. He's the reason why we've won a lot of football games; because he's taken care of the football."
A year ago, Garcia played just one series in the final regular-season game for the Eagles, who already had clinched the division. The next week, he defeated the Giants in an NFC wild-card game. Garcia made it clear he always prefers playing but accepted the role as the inactive quarterback Sunday.
"In a lot of ways, I have more of an old-school philosophy," Garcia said. "I'm a grinder, and that's what's gotten me where I am today. I believe in playing. I believe in getting out there and staying sharp. But Coach wanted to make sure that we were physically prepared going into the playoffs. So he made that decision, and I'm not going to question him. He's the coach. I believe in what he says, and I'm rolling with it."
Or as center John Wade said, "Who cares? We're in. Now it's either win three and get to the show or you're out. What happened in the past is in the past. It's how we play next week. Period."
|
|
|
| |
| |
|