Davis shines during dark days for O-line

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published August 15, 2005

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Anthony Davis has been the Bucs' most valuable offensive lineman in the preseason. He also is becoming their most versatile.

With at least seven offensive linemen unable to fully practice Sunday, the team needed Davis to move from left tackle to left guard with the first-team offense. Veteran Todd Steussie took all the reps for Davis at left tackle.

Davis, who is winning a starting spot over injured veteran Derrick Deese , had experimented in the offseason with playing guard. But there are no plans to move him inside.

"I'm joking with the guys that it's too crowded in there," said Davis, a second-year player out of Virginia Tech. "I need my space out there at tackle. But I'll play anywhere for this team."

Deese, who has been hobbled with a recurring foot problem, did participate in some individual drills Sunday.

But coach Jon Gruden said he does not expect the 14th-year tackle to be ready to play Saturday against Jacksonville. "I think he's still not ready to go," Gruden said. "It doesn't look like he'll be ready this week."

Guard Jeb Terry is out 2-3 weeks with a sprain of his left medial collateral ligament. Also missing from practice was guard Dan Buenning (calf strain), guard Sean Mahan (elbow), tackle Jeff Hatch (hand) and guard Doug Buckles (illness).

"Somebody had to line up at guard. The choice was him or me and I easily made that decision," offensive line coach Bill Muir said.

"Typically when we go into a regular-season game, we dress seven offensive linemen. Occasionally, you may dress eight if you've kind of got (an injury to) some people. And one of the things we pride ourselves on and these players pride themselves on is their versatility. So you saw today, we were functional. A.D. went in and played guard and we were functional. That's the kind of versatility we wanted to develop."

Muir also was very complimentary of Steussie's play Friday against Tennessee.

"I thought he played a very solid football game," Muir said. "Obviously, there's some things he can improve on, no question about that. But I loved his demeanor. He really played a hard, aggressive game. I thought that early in the game he was matched with some real NFL speed off the edge. And again, not that he was perfect, but he held his own."

A-TRAIN RETURNS: Fullback Mike Alstott returned to practice and said the soreness in his neck from a pinched nerve he suffered last week is subsiding. It's still uncertain whether Alstott will play in Saturday's game against Jacksonville.

"I'm just trying to get my legs back, and my body is feeling better now," Alstott said. "The soreness is going away. I've just got to do some rehab, strengthening exercises and stuff like that. After you injure yourself, there's obviously atrophy and you need to break up the muscles."

Alstott said he was encouraged by the rushing attack, which gained 169 yards on 37 carries in the 20-17 overtime win at Tennessee.

"Excellent, it was a fast start," Alstott said. "That's what this team needs coming out of the gate, the offense scores both times on their first drive in the first half and second half. ... Obviously, it's an area we're concentrating on this year, and it looks good so far. But it's preseason."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Apparently, Gruden has affixed a nickname to every tailback. " "Earnest "Dodge Ram' Graham . I call him Ian "Go-Cart' Smart . Derek "Datsun' Watson . Those guys filled in for our "Cadillac' and did good things," he said.

ONCE A DAY: Gruden said injuries to the line and the need for more time to evaluate film from the preseason opener prompted him to cancel morning workout. "I wanted to take a good look at the film and make the corrections we wanted to make," he said. "We had a number of offensive linemen that were unable to go. After awhile, you've got to be realistic. I mean, who plays line? It's been frustrating but we expect to get some of these guys back."

[Last modified August 15, 2005, 02:30:20]