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The QB for the first seven games seems recovered from broken ribs and a bad virus.
By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2002
TAMPA -- Brad Johnson spent Sunday in Charlotte flat on his back. It was not Carolina's pass rush that put him there, but rather a stomach virus that also infected many teammates.
"I had such a bad virus. I was laid up in the locker room eight hours on Sunday, and I was about three nails away from my coffin shutting," he said Wednesday.
"I was hurting. So the last three days have really been an emphasis on getting rid of the virus. My whole family's had it."
The real gut check for Johnson will come Sunday against Minnesota, when he is expected to return as the Bucs' starting quarterback.
He took his normal amount of snaps with the first team during practice Wednesday, his first action since breaking two left ribs during the Bucs' 20-10 loss at Philadelphia on Oct.20.
"If he's healthy, he's our starting quarterback," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said.
"He's moving around much better. Before I can commit on anything, we'll see how the week goes."
The Bucs' only completely healthy quarterback is Shaun King, who also took some snaps with the No.1 offense Wednesday. Rob Johnson, who did not finish Sunday's game due to a gluteal strain, did not practice and is questionable.
Brad Johnson said he felt no pain in making all of the required passes Wednesday.
"I felt pretty good," he said. "I'll probably wear rib pads in the game like I always do. I'm really not afraid to take a hit and felt like I threw the ball fairly well. You never know how Jon is with things. He's got a wild hair about him. The big thing has been the virus more than anything."
Tampa Bay has not scored an offensive touchdown in eight quarters, a streak dating to Oct.13, when Mike Alstott scored on a 17-yard run during the fourth quarter against Cleveland. Gruden said the offense can only benefit from the return of its starting quarterback. "You get a guy in there who has a good command of what we're doing. He's a proven winner; not only this year, but in previous years," Gruden said. "He's a leader. He's a captain on this football team and a guy who's taken the majority of the snaps at least for the last couple months. When your starting quarterback returns, that's got to be a plus."
But because the Bucs offensive line has allowed 12 sacks in the past two games, Gruden might have some concerns about Johnson aggravating his rib injury. He left the game against Philadelphia when pain prevented him from making throws.
"That day was a compounding factor. That's right when the injury happened," Johnson said.
"I kind of took a beating on that all day. It was just the beginning of it, and that was a couple of weeks ago."
Wednesday, Johnson was asked about the velocity of his throws.
"No one ever gives me much velocity anyway. I don't know how to compare it," he said. "I guess you can ask Keyshawn (Johnson) and those guys, but the true test will come (today), Friday, Saturday and the game on Sunday. I felt pretty smooth (Wednesday) for the most part. I moved the ball, did all the throws that needed to be made."
If Johnson returns, he will be throwing to different targets. Receivers Keenan McCardell (fractured right scapula) and Joe Jurevicius (ankle sprain) did not practice Wednesday and are "very questionable' for Sunday, Gruden said. So how do the Bucs get their offense moving?
"We talk about that a lot in the meeting rooms, and the thing about it is we're doing a lot of good things," Johnson said. "But we've had some crucial penalties. We've got to work on our pass protection. We've got to get our running game going. We've got to be more explosive in the passing game. When we get down there, we've got to be able to score in the red zone. There's a lot of things that go into it, but we've got to be a more physical team.
"It starts right here in practice. You don't give up on each other. You don't point fingers. We've got a lot of injuries. You deal with it. We've had guys step up. You just can't give up. Right now, we've got to believe in each other no matter what people say or what people think. It's really up to us."