Griese is on the longest leash you could possibly imagine. Against both the Bears and Packers he allowed both teams to take the lead late in the game thanks in large part to his ability to throw key interceptions. Despite those mistakes he led the Bucs to victory in both instances and at this point Gruden (as he should) only cares about the end result; i.e. the Win Column.

As for Garcia, nobody knew he had a ankle injury until the following Monday, meaning he didnt get hurt in the opener against the Saints. It could have been a fabrication from Gruden or Garcia to be honest. What appears to have happened was Garcia did not give 110% against the Saints and Gruden saw that in him and so it royally pissed him off. Thus Garcia is now this teams third string Quarterback despite being the best QB on the roster…

Lesson learned: Don’t show up your Head Coach, especially one with the ego Gruden possesses.

Thanks for the questions!!

Warrick Dunn has looked fantastic… We have a running joke about his collective spin moves causing all of the hurricanes in the gulf this year. We thought the Bucs were attempting to do the right thing by bringing back a ‘fan favorite’ to Tampa, but Warrick has proved to be more than a sentimental signing. He provides an excellent curveball to Earnest Graham and his 4.7 run average has been a welcomed addition to the running game. All off-season fans were clamoring for Michael Bennett to get his shot, but thus far Dunn has quieted those demands…

Thanks for the question!!

The strength of our team is our entire defense. Each facet: DLine, LB’s, and DB’s have made an impact thus far through the season. Without their collective play we are probably sitting at .500 or worse right now. The DLine has surprised the fan base with its pressure early on. We knew they had it in them, but it didnt always translate to the field last season. Barrett Ruud and Derrick Brooks have been instrumental in making splash plays and securing the run defense with sure tackles. Ronde Barber has struggled a bit lately with man to man coverage, but it’s rare when he gets beat and for the most part he holds his own. I know I’m biased, but i feel we have some of the best Safetys in the league in Tanard Jackson, Jermaine Phillips, and Key-Sub Sabby Piscitelli. Tanard and Jermaine lay the thunder. While Sabby strips the ball and intercepts passes….

Our weakness is the Quarterback position. We would be undefeated right now had we had a serviceable Quarterback. Brian Griese has got the job done thus far and thats a credit to him, but 4 touchdowns to 6 interceptions doesnt bode well for future success. I respect that he’s able to step up in the pocket, but his propensity to throw the BIG interception scares me as well as the rest of the fan base.

Our DB’s vs your WR’s is the one match-up I’m intrigued to see and worried to death about. The Saints Drew Brees ate us alive due to his sound QB play and his capable receivers. Jay Cutler is just as good as Drew Brees and arguably has a better set of receivers to throw to and that freaks me out…

Thanks for the questions!!

and looks like Dunn is getting more catches out the backfield. Interesting.

A throwback north and south runner. The bucs just line him up and let him do his thing. It’s a team effort in that the receivers and o-line really get into their job of opening up holes. Graham’s m.o. is to lower his shoulder and run through the defender, but at times he uses a studder step and then he’s gone…

The Chicago Bears shut Earnest down by sticking 9 men in the box. If you can gang tackle him you’ll get him down, its when a corner attempts to arm tackle him that he usually wins he battle

are doing about as well as one could expect… It still blows my mind. He literally buried his three month old son on Saturday and led the Bucs to victory on Sunday. Amazing and Gutsy performance from him. You may notice him blowing kisses to the sky after each and every kick this season, thats his tribute to his lost son…

Thanks for the question

him. I think the majority of the fan base does as he was a low key fan favorite when he was here. I never liked the guy as he reminded me of a poor mans Eddie George. The variety that would get tripped up by a phantom tackler and one hit and he was on the ground… i hear he’s doing really well for you guys and i couldnt be happier

he’s our middle linebacker. Has two interceptions, a forced fumble, and caused an interception return for a touchdown for his teammate Phillip Buchanon. The guy leads the team in tackles and is a ball hawk. He’s very smart and a sure tackler. He pressures the Quarterback with regularity. He’s in his second season as a starter and he’s taken over very well for Shelton Quarles… He’s one of those players that just ‘Gets it’ and plays off his sheer instincts…

Honorable mention: DE Gaines Adams, he too has two interceptions and has really come on this season

the fan base wont admit to it, but he just received a three year extension in the off-season so he’s here for good. I think the fan base would be shocked at how productive his offensive gameplan would be had he had a formidable Quarterback… for some reason he can’t get GM Bruce Allen to deliver

and thats because they are a well balanced team. They can hurt you offensively and defensively. The Saints are strong on one side of the ball: offense. But they are getting there as well

I dont think it will happen though as the coaching staff as of right now if pretty concrete… but if Monte Kiffin were to ask for it, the bucs should definitely deliver

our run defense has been the bread and butter of our defense this season and our pass defense has been susceptible to the ‘Big Play’… I expect the Bucs to slow your run game to a halt, but i fully expect the Bucs to struggle mightily against your passing offense. Cutler if anything is accurate and your two gazelle’s in Marshall and Royal are poised to have good days…

Ronde Barber has been suspect thus far into the season with man coverage. Phillip Buchanon has been giving his match-ups a bigger cushion than i would like. The bucs will have to be physical early on with your receivers to eliminate that over the middle stuff. I guarentee the Broncos have a 40+ yard pass play though. Mark it down….

Gaines Adams and Greg White on the defensive line. Gaines is very instinctive (2 ints) and Greg White gets salary escalators for each sack he records aka HUGE INCENTIVE to sack the QB : )

Barrett Ruud and Derrick Brooks at LB. Ruud is a younger Brooks, he just plays the game the right way and he’s every where… Brooks still gets it done

Secondary, back-up S Sabby Piscitelli has an int and S Jermaine Phillips and S Tanard Jackson tend to separate the WR from the ball… Our CB’s can be beat however

to 4th round draft pick Dre Moore from the University of Maryland. The Bucs traded up to get him and he got cut during the pre-season and is currently on our practice squad… yeesh… the knock on him is conditioning..

for 2007 DE Greg Peterson or LB Adam Hayward in the 5th and 6th rounds, they’ve contributed absolutely nothing…

Passing… The Saints went to the air ALOT and won. The Bears went to the air in the 2nd half and should have won. The Atlanta Falcos, heh, are wet behind the ears it didnt matter what they tried. The Packers also had good success through the air when Rodgers was in the game.

In closing we can be beat by the pass

because in the local paper forums alot of bucs fans call other bucs fans band wagon fans which i find hilarious, because you have to be: #1 good and #2 nationally accepted to warrant band wagon fans and historically the Bucs have been neither.

I think we do have a very loyal fan base though. For an organization that is so inept on offense, you have to be a loyal fan to stick with this franchise. I mean you can only stomach so many seasons of defensive battles 16 times a season, year in and year out : )

And Raymond James sells out regularly, we havent had a blackout in some time and there’s a old myth going around that the Season Ticket Waiting list is 100,000 strong, but i’ve been called several times to join… so um, yeah

thanks for the question

Class organization, and class fans. After this Sunday, good luck to your team and fans alike!

(We love you guys for smacking down the raiders in the SB awhile back. Hats off to you!)

Are the games usually sold out? Is it hard to get tix?

I gave some answers to your questions over at Buc ‘em…I’m sure severaly others from MHR will be over their shortly to give their opinions as well.

too often really, the problems occur when Tampa goes up north to the colder climates, thats when the trouble typically kicks in