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As Season Nears, Offense Projects Air Of Uneasiness

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2008

TAMPA - It has been a most unsettling summer for Jeff Garcia, and nothing happened Saturday night to change one bit of that.

His power play to coerce a new contract from the Bucs didn't work. He had to watch as his coach got goo-goo eyes over Brett Favre. He hurt his leg in practice and missed a lot of practice time, along with the first two exhibition games.

And when he finally got on the field for most of two quarters in a 23-17 loss against Jacksonville, he wasn't very good. No one could possibly be surprised. He threw two interceptions, including one as the Bucs were driving toward a touchdown.

"It was a tough start," Garcia said. "I have a lot of rust to shake off."

He did throw a touchdown to Michael Clayton (I had to type that; we don't get the chance to trot that sentence out much), but basically he looked like a quarterback trying, well, to shake off a lot of rust. The warm welcome that greeted Brian Griese's entry into the game late in the first half was interesting; prelude to a quarterback controversy, perhaps.

After all, this was the almighty third practice game - the time when, the wise men say, coaches come closest to treating faux football like the real thing. Garcia clearly isn't ready for the regular season to begin, which is OK since it actually doesn't begin for a couple of weeks.

Time-honored tradition says you don't expose your quarterback to injury in the final exhibition game, especially one as brittle as Garcia. This might be the time to challenge that bromide, though, because Garcia sure looks like he needs to play more than a series or two Thursday at Houston.

"I think it was not trademark Jeff Garcia, OK?" Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "I think he tried to do a little too much, too soon. We've got to get him back out there on the practice field."

Where's Galloway?

At least Garcia has played a little bit and has practiced.

We still haven't seen Joey Galloway, and that probably won't change until the regular season opens at New Orleans. You're not alone in wondering if a guy can recuperate all summer and still be ready when the hitting begins for real.

Right now, Galloway's continued absence is a bigger concern to me than whether Garcia can once again begin to look like the quarterback that led the Bucs to the playoffs last year. He hasn't been right physically for a long time, dating to late last season. What makes anyone believe he'll trot out of the tunnel at the Superdome and everything will be just fine?

No, this whole offense right now has an air of uneasiness.

After all, it's a little too close to the regular season to still not know for sure what you have.

You figure Garcia will be OK if he can stay healthy - gulp - but injuries have cut into the offensive line and elsewhere, and there's no real timetable for when all the pieces will be back in place.

No Controversy

That's a lot of uncertainty about Gruden's offense this late in the summer - questions likely to not be silenced until Garcia shows he can play like he has before. And if he doesn't, while his backups, Griese and Luke McCown, have looked pretty good, that's a whole different issue.

The faithful at Ray-Jay didn't exactly overwhelm Garcia with love when he first went onto the field. He has earned at least a little bit of whatever negative vibes are coming his way right now with his ill-advised pop-off about his contract.

He also represents the Bucs' best chance to turn the Super Bowl into a home game.

It's not too late for him to be ready by opening day.

Garcia is not the only part of this offense, though.

It looks ragged overall.

It looks anything but smooth.

It could come together in two weeks, bringing joy and harmony to all who reside in the Land of Buc. After all, these are practice games. The Patriots, for goodness' sake, have looked horrible this summer and they'll probably be OK.

Right now, though, the season is closing in and the Bucs have significant questions at quarterback, wide receiver (Antonio Bryant didn't play, either), and the offensive line.

"That's what it is. Those are the cards you have," Gruden said.

Yeah, it has been an unsettling summer all right, not just for Jeff Garcia.

Nothing happened Saturday night to change one bit of that.

We'll know soon enough how much that really matters.

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