VOCAL POINT: The Bucs opened practice Saturday with a goal to look forward rather than back, and Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks mentioned that a lot didn't need to be said.
"For now we don't need any vocal leadership, we need hard work," he said.
Of course, he wasn't in the defensive-line meeting room Friday night when the absence of Warren Sapp could be felt.
"Just before the meeting started, it was kind of quiet in there," defensive tackle Ellis Wyms said. "You know if No. 99 was there in the meeting room, once he stepped in there, everybody in the building is going to here his voice." Sapp, who signed a seven-year, $36.6-million deal with the Raiders after nine seasons with the Bucs, is fresh in his former teammates' minds.
"I've got a little Sapp in me on the field," Wyms said. "I get a little fired up, but not nearly to the point that he does. Nobody does it like he does. He's a one-of-a-kind type of guy."
QUOTABLE
"I'm the fastest. Receiver, defensive back, however you want to put it. I feel like I am the fastest guy in the NFL." - JOEY GALLOWAY, Bucs receiver.
FRESH FACE: CHARLIE GARNER
HT/WT: 5-10, 190
POSITION: Running back
AGE: 32.
COLLEGE: Tennessee
BACK IN THE DAY: He may have run for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior at Tennessee in 1993, but it was Garner's performance with the Raiders in 2002 that was his brightest moment. As part of the most potent offense in the league, Garner rushed for 962 yards on 182 carries (5.3 average) and added 91 catches for 941 yards. His receptions were second on the team to Jerry Rice's 92 and the most by a running back in the league that season.
TO HAVE AN IMPACT: Part of the master plan at the start of free agency, the Bucs brought in Garner to upgrade the running game even before Michael Pittman's three-game suspension. His explosive running style, ability to block and tremendous hands will be expected to increase the Bucs big-play threat from the backfield. Garner is the projected starter and should justify his six-year, $20-million contract by getting about 20 touches per game.
LITTLE KNOWN FACT: Garner should have no problem filling Jon Gruden's needs, considering it's the third time he is playing in a Gruden system. Garner played with the Eagles from 1995 to 1997 when Gruden was the offensive coordinator, and then joined Gruden in Oakland in 2001.
QUOTE: "I know the system, I just have to get comfortable with the blocking schemes and the few intangibles that (Gruden's) thrown my way, because we have Pittman as well as (Mike) Alstott. We have a few new wrinkles that are in there. So once we get those things down, I plan on putting up my numbers again."
