The Bucs receiver says he will feel like a rookie playing his first game Sunday against the Bears.
By RICK STROUD
Published October 21, 2004
[Times file photo]
Bucs receiver Joe Jurevicius returns after an 11-month absence due to back and knee ailments.
TAMPA - Joe Jurevicius is a family man, but on Sunday morning, he and his wife, Meagan, won't be on speaking terms.
After spending a sleepless night in a hotel, he will pull on some headphones, crank up the volume on a Metallica CD and march to the beat of his own eardrums.
The silent treatment can mean only one thing to the Jurevicius clan. Joe is finally a go and about to start making some noise on the football field again.
"(Sunday) is going to be interesting. I might have to give my daughter a kiss. Other than that, I don't talk to anybody," Jurevicius said. "I try to get into a frame of mind that we're going out there for battle."
After battling back from surgeries on his knee and back that kept him out of action for nearly 11 months, Jurevicius returned to practice Wednesday. He has been cleared to play against the Chicago Bears Sunday, the first game he will start completely healthy since tearing a ligament in his right knee following a collision in the second game of the 2003 season with fullback Mike Alstott.
On Wednesday, Jurevicius was so anxious to get started that he left his home in Cheval early, only to get stuck in rush hour traffic on the Veterans Expressway.
But Jurevicius' mind was on the gridiron, not gridlock. Besides, what's another delay when he has waited this long?
"It's great. It's been a long wait, but I'm excited," Jurevicius said. "I'm going to treat it like it was my first time playing in the NFL. I'm going to enjoy the fans, I'm going to enjoy the grass, I'm going to be putting the helmet on, having a chance to catch the football and hit somebody.
"Like I said, I'm going to savor it. I'm just going to kind of sit there for a minute, take it all in, let the emotion build up and then hopefully explode on the scene. I'm looking forward to seeing the fans probably just as much as they're looking forward to me coming back."
The Bucs expected Jurevicius back when he reported to training camp. But months of intense rehab on his injured knee had caused him to suffer a herniated disc and he failed a physical upon reporting with the team to the Celebration Hotel.
The Bucs were forced to place Jurevicius on the reserve/non-football injury list, meaning he wasn't able to return before Week 7. Jurevicius says he might have been able to play three or four weeks ago, but rules are rules.
"It's no big deal because Week 7 is here and our coffin is not shut yet," Jurevicius said. "We've got a lot of work to do. I guess with Halloween coming up, there's nothing better to do than break out the coffin and scare some people."
Jurevicius' timing couldn't be better. Starting wideout Charles Lee is doubtful for Sunday's game after suffering a knee sprain Monday night against the Rams. The Bucs also dealt Keenan McCardell Tuesday to the San Diego Chargers for two draft picks.
"I'm excited for Joe, but I don't want Joe to feel like he has to do it all," linebacker Derrick Brooks said. "Just come back slowly with the mindset of contributing, obviously. But I don't want Joe to feel like he has to come and be the big savior."
Jurevicius said he isn't in football shape and won't be able to participate in 60 offensive plays. But he had no trouble taking first-team reps Wednesday.
"I thought he looked good," coach Jon Gruden said. "It's great to have him back. He's paid a great price with the rehab. The back, the knee . . . it's been a crisis for him, certainly. But he's going to play in this game and hopefully he plays a lot."
Of course, Jurevicius knows something about overcoming crisis. He and Meagan had a healthy baby girl on Aug. 9 named Caroline Elizabeth. If there was a silver lining to his back surgery, it's that Jurevicius got to spend six weeks at home with her.
The couple's first child, Michael William, who was born during the Bucs' run to the Super Bowl in 2002, died of a neurodegenerative disease after only about 10 weeks.
Being inactive gave Jurevicius more time with his wife and newborn.
"Well, I think what's great is the fact I had six weeks to enjoy her," Jurevicius said of Caroline. "A lot of people don't get to do that if you have a baby during the season.
"She'll eventually know it's time for me to go to work. I've got to make the donuts again and I'm really looking forward to it."
Jurevicius admits he has not had any physical contact since playing against Jacksonville last November except for "my daughter puking on me and jumping backward, hitting myself on the wall."
But he says he is not the least bit worried about sustaining another injury.
"I guess the one thing I've learned the last couple of months is that football can go away in a snap," Jurevicius said. "I only know how to play football one way, that's full speed, that's tough, that's hard. I'm not going to step out there on the football field and do anything else. If I go out and I'm playing full speed and I do something else, that's the way she goes."
It's a lesson he learned watching Mike Alstott, who suffered a herniated disc in his neck on the same collision with Jurevicius. The A-Train made it back by training camp and has not missed another game. He said Jurevicius' first game back Sunday will be emotional for everyone.
"You really can't describe it," Alstott said. "It's a tear-jerking time. It really is. What do we know other than to play football? We've been playing it all our lives, we grew up playing the game and when you don't have an injury to the extent that I've had and he's had too. It's going to be a great day for him, for this team, for the community and for the fans. We're all excited to see him on the field again, No. 83 running around."
