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Gruden Will Not Change Approach

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By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 18, 2007

Updated: 12/17/2007 11:23 pm

TAMPA - You could throw a dart at the Bucs roster right now and no matter where it landed, you'd be hitting on a player who needs a game or two off to heal up for the playoffs.

Some need that game more than others. Chances are, none of them will get it.

A place in the playoffs secured, the Bucs won't rest on their laurels the last two weeks of the season. They can't afford to. There's still too much left to play for.

In particular, the third seed in the NFC playoffs remains up for grabs, the result of Seattle losing at Carolina on Sunday.

The 9-5 Seahawks still control that seed since they defeated the Bucs in the season opener. However, if the 9-5 Bucs win out and the Seahawks lose another game, Tampa Bay will control it in the end.

"We want to win, and to do that you've got to play your best players, so we'll keep the schedule as is," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said Monday. "We're not going to change much in the next two weeks."

The key word in that last sentence is much. Gruden badly wants to give some of his players a break and he will try to do that, even if it means resting them for just a few plays.

But don't look for quarterback Jeff Garcia or running back Earnest Graham or receiver Ike Hilliard to sit out for extensive periods of time unless the Bucs build an insurmountable lead.

"The problem is, unlike college football or the preseason games, you don't have the nucleus on your roster to give players games off, Gruden said. "That's the challenge in the NFL in week 15 and 16. We do have an opportunity the next couple of games to consider looking at some other combinations, getting some guys some time off, but we are still playing for something and we want to continue to get better."

According to Garcia, they need to. He still isn't happy with the way the offense is working inside the red zone, where it remains 22nd in the league with a 46.3 touchdown percentage.

And while the Bucs shut down the Falcons on Sunday during their 37-3 NFC South-clinching victory, there is still some concern about their ability to consistently get off the field on third down and to stop the run.

One area where the Bucs are clearly getting stronger, though, is against the pass. With another sack Sunday, they now have taken down the opposing quarterback 13 times in the last five weeks.

"They're doing better," Gruden said of his pass rushers, whom he was critical of early in the season. "If you watch the Giants, they're doing pretty good, too. That's what we're after, the best pass rush in football. That's the winning edge in pro football in my opinion. If you don't get to the other team's passer, they're just too good. They just cut you up; they pick you apart."

Who could pick the Bucs apart come playoff time is still unknown. It was looking like it might be the Giants until they lost to the Redskins on Sunday night. Now almost anything is possible.

At least eight teams still have a chance to make their way into the playoffs in the NFC, including Carolina, the Bucs' final opponent. That's why Gruden is concentrating only on what lies directly ahead.

"I don't think the puzzle is as clear as it seems," Gruden said. "People said you're probably going to play the Giants, although you saw the Giants lose Sunday night and lose a heck of a football player tight end Jeremy Shockey in the process.

"You see the Redskins coming on, the Saints coming on, and here come the Minnesota Vikings. I really am not very good at forecasting who we're playing. I can lose my mind, honestly, if I tried to do that. When it gets a little closer to who the reality is of who we're playing, maybe we can do that."

And maybe, when the playoffs get a little closer, the Bucs can consider resting some of their tired and battered players. They're not there yet, though.

Reporter Roy Cummings can be

reached at (813) 259-7979

or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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