Consider this game almost like preseason

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
Published December 30, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Bucs GameDay coverage Audio: Joanne Korth's NFL picks Video: Bucs report First line of defense Challenges help Adams make gains Shelton and Romano: The point after Return standout not yet King Tom Jones: BucShotz NFL capsules Scouting report [Brian Cassella | Times] While quarterback Jeff Garcia will only play a few series to start the game, the Bucs' offensive line could end up playing most of the game to tune up for the Giants. "We need them to play," coach Jon Gruden said.

TAMPA - A viewer's guide to today's sixth preseason game (after four in August and last week's loss at San Francisco):

The quarterback rotation will be Jeff Garcia (for a series, maybe two, if at all), Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski. Chris Simms can run, jump and throw but is on injured reserve.

Running back Earnest Graham, known as Mr. August before he became Mr. Touchdown, needs 102 yards to reach 1,000 for the regular season. But look for Michael Bennett, on the bubble to play in the postseason, to get most of the carries.

The Bucs will get a better look at some of their draft picks - linebackers Quincy Black and Adam Hayward and defensive tackle Greg Peterson.

Greg White, the Arena Football League defensive player of the year, has a quad bruise and will likely not play, resting on his laurels and team-leading eight sacks.

It's funny. A year ago, when the Bucs went 4-12, they hated playing meaningless games in December. Now that they've turned it around and clinched the NFC South early, they play two meaningless games in December.

In a way, you can't blame coach Jon Gruden for trying to give many of his starters an extra week to heal before the NFC wild-card playoff against the New York Giants next week.

In the case of Garcia, Gruden is just being smart.

"If our decision is to play him, it'll be a decision where our plan is to play him a little bit and not a lot," Gruden said of Garcia. "And how much you benefit from that I really don't know.

"With the number of guys we have banged up at different positions, for all the people that think we're going to lose our timing, we're not gaining any timing right now anyhow. Until we get Ike (Hilliard), and Joey (Galloway) and B.J. (Askew) and some of the other guys going, there's a lot that goes into the decision that we'll make."

The exception - much like preseason - will be the offensive line, where the starters could wind up playing most of the game.

"We need them to play," Gruden said. "They're going to be blocking some of the best players in the world (against the Giants), and to have a chance to compete with them, we're going to have to play a heck of a game up front."

In some ways, the Panthers are the perfect tuneup for the Bucs. They mirror the Giants in several ways, starting with their physical style of play.

"They're massive football teams, deep backfields and explosive skill on the outside, and both teams have very good corner coverage," Gruden said. "The Panthers have three different cover guys, and the Giants appear to have outstanding players as well. That's where the meeting rooms and the practice work have to take all of it into consideration. When we get to the game on Sunday, we're going to dress 45 guys that are healthy and try to use our best judgment."

The Bucs do have something to play for today. Sure, it won't affect the playoff picture. But 10 wins certainly sounds better than nine and has occurred only six times in club history. And Tampa Bay has a chance to go 6-0 in the division after going 0-6 a year ago.

"It'd be a great feat. It'd be a phenomenal thing that we could accomplish," Gruden said. "Carolina's not just going to roll over and let us do that. They've got a lot of talented players, and if you watch the Cowboys game the other night, they're in it until the closing seconds. It would be a great accomplishment. That's what we're after."

[Last modified December 29, 2007, 18:19:26]