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Bucs Beat: Time To Simplify Offense

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Roy Cummings/The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

TAMPA - It's football, not rocket science. That's what the players and coaches keep telling us. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

'22 Jet Smoke.'

That's a play right out of Bucs coach Jon Gruden's playbook. Sounds a lot like rocket science to me.

'It's probably the most difficult system to learn in the NFL,' running back Earnest Graham said of Gruden's offensive scheme.

This just in: It's not about having the most complicated system. It's about having the best system.

Let's do some math. The first integer is 32. It represents the number of teams in the NFL. The other integers are 24, 10, 22, 23 and 29. They represent the Bucs' offensive ranking during Gruden's first five years as their head coach.

This year, the Bucs offense is ranked 25th. Add it all up and it equals mediocrity. Or something worse.

Maybe it's the system. Along with Gruden, it is one of the few constants in the equation. It all makes you wonder that maybe it's time to change it.

The Bucs went looking for a running back last week, and even Gruden had to admit that search was limited by his system.

'It takes time to learn it,' he said. 'That's why you have minicamps and training camps and offseason programs.'

That system, the one that takes so much time to learn, is the reason the Bucs opted for Zack Crockett. He's played for Gruden before in Oakland. He knows his system. There's just one problem. He's 34.

Makes you wonder if maybe the Bucs could have done better. If Gruden's system weren't so complex, maybe they could have.

'We've got a lot of plays and protections for a guy to come in and learn in a short time,' Graham said.

Crockett will learn quickly what he doesn't already know. Veterans can do that. That's why Gruden surrounds himself with so many of them.

He's been accused of disliking young players. He hates that accusation, but adding Crockett didn't help his case any.

The truth is, Gruden doesn't dislike young players. But young players struggle to learn his system. If you can't learn it, you can't play in it.

'It's pretty simple to me,' Crockett said. 'But if you haven't been a part of it, it is complex.'

That's a problem. Maybe it's time to fix the problem. Maybe it's time Gruden simplified things a bit. After all, complex doesn't seem to be working.

Gruden's system has produced one Super Bowl championship, four 20-something finishes and lots of headaches for those who try to learn it.

Funny, but the defenses that have a week to figure it out seem to get it a lot faster than the players who are hired to work in it every day.

If it's so complicated that it limits your ability to replace missing pieces, maybe a change is in order. We're not suggesting it be done now. That's not feasible. But if Gruden is retained as head coach, maybe it's something he should consider.

We're not saying scrap the system entirely. We're saying tweak it. Tone it down a bit, simplify it.

Judging from the results, it couldn't hurt.

ONGOING INVESTIGATION: The Bucs' search for a running back didn't end with the signing of Crockett.

Though they don't anticipate making a trade before Tuesday's deadline, the Bucs will continue to look for a back right up to and even beyond that 4 p.m. deadline. They have no other choice.

Though everyone is hoping for the best, the Bucs have to prepare for the worst when it comes to Cadillac Williams' future. That means preparing for life without Williams. That means getting another feature back.

So while the Bucs may not work a deal this week, they'll continue to watch players such as San Diego's Michael Turner and Denver's Mike Bell because deals can be cut after the season.

And in the case of the Bucs, a deal, whether it's the signing of a free agent such as Turner or a trade for someone such as Bell, will be made. Though they may not want to admit it, they have no choice.

COMEBACK KID: Former Bucs DE Marcus Jones is making a comeback. Not to the football field, though. Instead, he's coming back as a mixed martial arts fighter.

Jones, who played in 84 games and made 39 starts from 1996 to 2001, will make his pro MMA debut on a card Oct. 26 at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

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