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Time Running Out For Bucs

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By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2007

TAMPA - Now you know why the Bucs kept four quarterbacks on their roster. It was for desperate times like these.

The Bucs are now down to their third tailback and their third fullback. Injuries to tailback Cadillac Williams and fullback Mike Alstott - who are out for the season - and Sunday's injury to tailback/fullback Michael Pittman - who is out six to eight weeks - are the reason.

There's a possible solution in that fourth quarterback. Wasn't it interesting how Bruce Gradkowski mopped up for Jeff Garcia at the end of the Bucs' 33-14 loss to Indianapolis on Sunday?

Maybe the Bucs were getting Gradkowski some work since he has been off for a while. Or maybe they were showing him off. They're not the only team stuck in this kind of a pickle, you know.

Carolina just lost quarterback Jake Delhomme for the season to an elbow injury. San Francisco has lost Alex Smith and is starting former Buc Trent Dilfer. Matt Leinart is hurt in Arizona. Trent Green is hurt in Miami, and there are reports his career is in jeopardy.

The Bucs have assets. They have a spare quarterback. They have draft picks, too, and approximately $17 million worth of cap space. The problem is, time is running out. The trade deadline is a week from today.

The Bucs don't appear to have that long. As Coach Jon Gruden put it Monday, the loss of Williams, Alstott and Pittman has robbed them of the 'three guys that have been the go-to ball handlers here the past few years.'

Tampa Bay needs to act now and Gruden knows it. There is a problem - no one really wants to help out a team on the rise, and that's what the Bucs were until they got derailed in Indianapolis.

'It's tough,' Gruden said. 'In the last four or five years, not a lot of trades have been made. But I think we're going to go for it.'

The Bucs nearly went for it last week. They were talking to the Vikings about backup running back Mewelde Moore, but they didn't want to pay the first-day draft pick the Vikings wanted in return.

Considering the Bucs' situation, it's doubtful that price has gone down. Considering the Bucs' situation, they may have no choice now but to pay what the Vikings are asking.

There may be some other options, however.

Michael Turner is playing understudy to LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego and he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. For the right price, the Chargers may move him to a team in a rival conference.

Mike Bell, an undrafted second-year pro out of Arizona, has seemingly fallen out of favor in Denver. He almost certainly would come cheaper than Turner, and he could provide the same kind of return.

Eric Shelton, a second-round draft pick of the Panthers in 2005, is available right now. He's someone the Bucs already have looked at, having worked him out earlier this year following his release by Carolina.

Another option is to simply go with the backs the Bucs already have and promote from within. Gruden suggested that plan on Monday when he broke the news about Pittman's injury, which the coach described as a sprained ankle and a person close to Pittman told The Tampa Tribune on Sunday night was a small crack in his fibula. Gruden added that the team would know more after Pittman underwent an MRI exam.

Gruden said Earnest Graham would become the starting tailback and Kenneth Darby would be the backup for Sunday's game against Tennessee. B.J. Askew will continue to get the bulk of the work at fullback.

When you consider the complexity of the Bucs' system - Graham said Monday 'it's probably the most difficult system to learn in the NFL' - that may make the most sense.

The Bucs recently signed DonTrell Moore to their practice squad, so he could be promoted as well. But unless Pittman goes on injured reserve, any move the Bucs make will require a roster move.

Unless, of course, that move involves one of their four rostered quarterbacks or even Jake Plummer. The Bucs, who still own the apparently retired Plummer's rights, don't want to get too thin at QB because the pressure on starting quarterback Jeff Garcia just went up.

With Williams and Pittman going out in consecutive weeks, the Bucs are going to have to rely more on their passing game to move the ball. Gruden, however, said he doesn't want to become overly reliant on it.

'I don't believe we're going to throw the ball 50 times a game,' he said. 'It doesn't mean we won't. We'll see who's healthy on our football team and go from there. But you have to adjust. Cadillac was a guy who was featured on first and second down, and Pittman was the guy that was featured on third down. Now we've lost both of them.

'We adjusted to a new left tackle Donald Penn. We've had to make numerous adjustments. That's one thing we've gotten good at here recently, changing of personnel.'

Tribune reporter Ira Kaufman contributed to this story. Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or

rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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