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Bucs Won Big This Way Before

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By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2007

Updated: 10/16/2007 12:13 am

TAMPA - They can't keep winning this way. Conventional wisdom says so, but Coach Jon Gruden will remind you that they did win big this way once.

The year was 2002. Gruden's Bucs ran for an average of 97.3 yards per game, third-worst in the league. It didn't seem to matter. They went 11-5, blitzed through the playoffs and won the Super Bowl. Go figure.

This year is shaping up to be a lot like that year. The Bucs have run for an average of 23.5 yards per game the past two weeks, worst in the league during that span. You can't say it doesn't matter; they're 1-1 in those games.

Sure, the loss came against the Colts, who are arguably the best team in the league. And the victory came against Tennessee, a pretty good AFC team with one of the league's best defenses, especially against the run.

But the victory came largely as a result of the late-game magic performed by 37-year-old quarterback Jeff Garcia and 30-something receivers Ike Hilliard and Joey Galloway.

Sooner or later, Bucs running back Earnest Graham suggested, defenses are going to figure out the secrets behind the magic and devise a way to stop it.

'That's the NFL,' Graham said. 'You'll see teams go on a couple-game winning streak and then all of a sudden they slide because people are watching tape and making adjustments.'

The Bucs are looking to make an adjustment themselves. It could come at Graham's expense. If all goes as the Bucs hope, the former University of Florida star's first start will be his last.

'We are certainly investigating the possibility of a trade,' Gruden said Monday. 'Again, it takes two to tango. But the trade deadline they tell me is approaching, so we should know something soon.'

They'll know by 4 p.m. today. That's when all trades must be finalized. The Bucs have a full allotment of draft picks, approximately $17 million worth of cap space and some players to offer.

In return, they would like a starting-caliber running back. A couple may be dangled before them, including Denver's Mike Bell, Jacksonville's LaBrandon Toefield or the New York Giants' Reuben Droughns.

They might accept a backup back such as Minnesota's Mewelde Moore or Kansas City's Michael Bennett. Word out of Kansas City late Monday had the Bucs working a deal for Bennett, a seven-year pro.

Something is likely to happen because the Bucs don't have much choice.

Tampa Bay remains tied atop the division with the Carolina Panthers, who got some magic of their own from ageless Vinny Testaverde on Sunday. And don't look now, but here come the New Orleans Saints. They beat up the Seahawks on Sunday and many believe they are poised to make a strong and successful second-half playoff run.

Gruden, meanwhile, is confident that his team will improve as the season goes on. He believes his team's suddenly ineffective rushing attack will improve.

He's not predicting it will regain the form it showed a couple weeks ago when it ran through the Panthers and Rams for more than 180 yards each, but he does expect the play of the line and Graham to improve.

'This was left tackle Donald Penn's second career start and Earnest Graham's first career start,' Gruden said. 'Left guard Arron Sears is a rookie, and the guys on the right side haven't been around for long either.

'We had some young guys going and running back B.J. Askew is new to our football team. Garcia's new here, too. We've got a lot of new guys playing here right now.'

Graham says he sees himself improving. He said he's still trying to shake off the rust that accumulated during three-plus years of virtual inactivity as a running back.

'As the season goes on, I will definitely get more comfortable and see things better,' he said. 'As time goes on, I'll react a little faster. I'll get my timing with Jeff down better.'

Better timing certainly will help, but without holes to run through Graham won't have the success the Bucs need. He said he's confident the play of the line also will improve.

'We kind of have to jell again,' he said. 'But that's going to happen. We have to jell as a unit and we have to come in and look at the tape and make some adjustments.

'I mean, at first Sunday I was thinking, 'What the heck am I doing wrong; we aren't getting anything.' But we'll look at the tape and see the mistakes we made and fix those. As long as we do that, we'll be fine.'

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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