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After Sloppy Effort, Bucs Look To Minimize Mistakes

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By IRA KAUFMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 25, 2008

TAMPA - "Charity begins at home" may be a noble creed, but it's lousy football strategy.

As a result, the injury-riddled Bucs suddenly have a lot to clean up before their Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Saints.

After two crisp preseason efforts, Tampa Bay turned the ball over four times and committed six penalties in Saturday night's 23-17 loss to Jacksonville, a setback also marred by dropped passes and a missed 23-yard field-goal attempt by normally reliable Matt Bryant.

"Preseason games don't count in the standings and I'd rather play like that Saturday than when we get to New Orleans," said center Jeff Faine, the new anchor of an offensive line that opened few running lanes against Jacksonville's physical front. "Our defense kept us in the game and we couldn't pull it out at the end."

Minimizing mistakes is priority No. 1 for Jon Gruden's offense - and the results tell you why.

The Bucs are 17-0 under Gruden in the regular season when Tampa Bay opponents fail to record a takeaway and the Bucs are 37-7 since 2002 when winning the turnover battle.

For veteran linebacker Derrick Brooks, registering a positive turnover ratio is the "winning edge" that usually proves decisive. On Saturday, the Bucs turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions, including two interceptions on passes floated by a rusty Jeff Garcia.

"It was sloppy and we didn't execute," Brooks said. "We hadn't turned the ball over in our two previous games and we won both of them. I thought we were ready to play, but it wasn't the prettiest of games. I'm glad we had one like that now rather than in the regular season."

Garcia, picked off twice by ex-Florida Gators safety Reggie Nelson, understandably prides himself on ball security.

Among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 attempts, only three passers in NFL history - Neil O'Donnell, Donovan McNabb and Mark Brunell - have been tougher to intercept than Garcia, who has missed significant practice time due to a calf strain suffered early in training camp.

"I thought Jeff made the right calls Saturday," said wide receiver Maurice Stovall, who topped the Bucs with four receptions. "Jeff's our starter, we're counting on him and his performance is not an issue."

Now Gruden must decide whether to shut Garcia down until the opener or risk playing him in Thursday night's preseason finale at Houston.

"I know I will just get healthier from here and I will be ready to go come season time," Garcia said.

Luke McCown also threw an interception and Earnest Graham set the sloppy tone by fumbling on the third snap of the game.

"We put our defense in real tough situations," wide receiver Ike Hilliard said. "As usual, our guys defended our red zone very well. But going forward, we can't do that to ourselves and expect to win."

There were some bright spots in the loss as Michael Clayton and Chad Lucas each caught a touchdown pass, Ronde Barber intercepted David Garrard for Tampa Bay's lone takeaway and defensive linemen Chris Hovan and Jimmy Wilkerson provided some pressure up the middle.

Linebacker Antoine Cash, who missed the entire 2007 season after wrecking his knee at Jacksonville a year ago, apparently escaped a significant neck injury after colliding with cornerback Marcus Hamilton midway through the fourth quarter.

While Hamilton was helped off the field, favoring his right leg, Cash was carted off as concerned teammates and coaches gathered around the third-year pro.

"I just put my head down when it happened," said Bucs wide receiver Paris Warren, who suffered a season-ending leg injury in the final exhibition game last summer. "That's my guy out there."

Cash had movement in his arms and legs after the injury and there are indications he will not suffer long-lasting effects.

"That was extremely tough to watch," Brooks said of Cash's anguish. "We went through that last year with Paris and you hate to see it in the NFL, knowing we play a violent game. I pray to God he'll be fine."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833 or ikaufman@tampatrib.com.

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