Bucs/NFL

Gradkowski should follow that QB's lead

By GARY SHELTON, gshelton@sptimes.com
Published November 24, 2006

IRVING, Texas - No one ever expected too much from Bruce Gradkowski. They just wanted him to be Tony Romo.

That's all.

After all, it is a tough league for a newcomer and a rough ride when he is a quarterback. When a newbie takes over a huddle midway through a season, the fair thing is to step back and re-evaluate the grading system.

That said, is it too much to point to Romo and tell Gradkowski: "Hey! That is the way you ought to play!"

An embarrassing season sank another foot into the cesspool Thursday when the Bucs were overwhelmed 38-10 by the Cowboys. This time, the worst part of it was realizing that if Dallas coach Bill Parcells hadn't mellowed so much in his old age, he could have hung a 51-10 score on Tampa Bay without raising his voice.

Early into the game you realized Gradkowski was the wrong kid from the wrong nowhere.

Romo? Now that's what you want in a first-year starter. He has the presence. He has the arm. He has saved his team and rejuvenated his city. If you listen to the gossip columnists, he has Jessica Simpson on speed dial. Ah, Romo. He even has the better rumors.

Gradkowski? He struggled through another lost afternoon, and by the time he left the field, it was acceptable to wonder about his progress, his arm strength and his future. He looked like a rookie whose team has asked too much of him.

If anything can throw a kid quarterback's stock into a tizzy, it is being outperformed by another kid quarterback. For Gradkowski, Romo was like that kid in science class who blew the curve for everyone.

For the day, Romo's quarterback rating was 148.9; Gradkowski's was 29.2. When Romo was finished, people wanted to compare him to Roger Staubach; when Gradkowski was finished, people were wondering just how dreadful Tim Rattay must be.

If you wish to quibble, yes, this is Romo's fourth season in the league, and yeah, you learn a little something from watching the other kids play. On the other hand, he had never thrown a regular-season pass before this year, so it isn't exactly as if he had been groomed for greatness.

If you wish to argue louder, you could point out that Romo was throwing against the Bucs secondary, which is pretty much like picking apart the Rolling Stones. I wonder: If the Bucs spent a game where the defensive line and the defensive backs swapped positions, would it have any effect at all on the pass rush or the coverage? Probably not.

On the other hand, the Bucs' Joey Galloway was so open in the first half he looked like a centerfielder, and the Bucs couldn't get him the ball.

By now, you would have hoped the roles would be different. Romo has won four of his five starts, and suddenly, Dallas looks like the team to beat. He has a confidence in the pocket that suggests he will be there for years. He is mobile enough to get outside of the pocket, and calm enough to make a play once he is there. He seems to throw to the right receiver every play, and he never seems to underthrow them.

There is Rocky. There is Rudy. There is Romo.

Gradkowski, on the other hand, spends a lot of time looking like a rookie. He will make a play with his legs, or with his arm, and you will think, "Maybe." Then he will play as he did in the third quarter - when his rating was 0.0; honestly, he was shut out - and you will think, "Maybe not."

It bears repeating that this incriminates the Bucs more than it does Gradkowski. How in the world can a pro football team get into a season with no better quarterback options than this one has?

Say what you want about Rattay and Luke McCown, but if Gruden thought either could play, wouldn't we have seen them by now? And if they can't play, why in the world isn't there someone who can? There are times you wonder if it would do Gradkowski some good to sit and watch - if indeed it did Romo so much good - for a couple of games. Evidently, that is not an option.

Of course, Gradkowski doesn't want to sit. He says he's getting better with every snap.

Perhaps, but in his eight starts, the Bucs have scored 11 offensive touchdowns. Rookie or not, that has to be better. He has to show a little more arm, a little more flair. He has to show the rest of us what Gruden continues to see.

Otherwise, Jessica is never gonna call.

Gary Shelton can be reached at (727) 893-8805.

[Last modified November 24, 2006, 05:28:32]