Griese Laid Low, Time for The Simms Show It looked painful, it made you wince and the moment you saw it again you wished you hadn’t – no I’m not talking about a Panthers team photo, but rather the play which ended Brian Griese’s season last Sunday. No blame attached to Zach Thomas who isn’t the type to go after fellow pros, but looking at the pictures it was quickly clear that our quarterback wouldn’t be back under centre anytime soon and so it proved. For all his knockers, Griese was doing a decent job for The Bucs and he didn’t deserve his season and who knows his long term Buccaneer future, to be ended in that fashion. We wish him well and will hopefully see him again in 2006. However NFL football doesn’t pity anyone and so we move on and one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This time the roles are reversed with Chris Simms now being presented with a golden opportunity to prove once and for all whether he has the ability to play in this league. All the tools are there, quick feet, great arm and good mechanics but the proof will be in the pudding once we tee the ball up. A few random things I think 1) I think the trade for Tim Rattay was a smart one. It costs us only a low round draft choice, for a potential NFL starter with plenty of game experience. He will act as insurance in case of further injury at the position, and mean we now have three shots in Simms, McCown and Rattay at getting a serviceable replacement at the most important position on the field. The odds are in our favour that at least one for the aforementioned will pan out under the Chuckmeister’s tutelage. 2) The change to Chris Simms at Quarterback places renewed emphasis on Kenyatta Walker again, who will now be protecting the blindside. Walker has shown some progression this year so let’s hope this holds up now that the pressure will really be on him. 3) I think the one downside of the bye week this year is that we share ours with the Twits from Carolina. My one solace during our week sabbatical is to root for whoever the Twits are playing, but sadly this has been taken away this year – sort it our NFL! 4) I think my FFL team is the complete pits and seems to act as a catalyst on the schedule for the offense of whoever I play against. Will somebody please have a nightmare week against me so I can win a game (said in a pathetic, whining tone)?……Thanks. 5) I think the decision to sit Cadillac these past two weeks has been vindicated. We should, touch wood, see him return at full speed next week, full recuperated, whilst in his absence we have maintained our momentum. Le’ts hope this scenario doesn’t come around again anytime soon. 6) I think even though Sunday’s game was the first full one I’d viewed this year, I still missed the legends that are Gene and Scott. It just didn’t seem the same without Gene calling “Touchdown for Juran Bolden” when Will Allen scored six. 7) I think last time our starter was knocked out for the season we went all the way to the NFC Championship Game – is this an omen, or just the pathetic straw clutching of a Bucs fanatic? 8) I think if Earnest Graham wants to feature as a ball carrier in the future, fumbling inside your own 10-yard line isn’t a smart policy in stating your case. A couple more of those and he won’t even make it to the bench. 9) I think I love our triple tag team of safeties, you know the one, Jackson goes down – Allen comes in, Phillips goes down – back comes Jackson, Jackson goes down again – back come Phillips again. The point is despite the upheaval, we haven’t missed a beat – great job fellas. 10) I think even though Simeon Rice remains slightly cuckoo in the head, he remains cat-quick off the ball and around the corner. I’d expected he might have slowed a touch once he crossed 30 but that’s not how it looks to me. The big mystery with Simms is what goes on between his ears, and this will be the key to his success – if he can take on board The Chuckster’s philosophy, and not try to make Hollywood plays all the time, the kid can do the job for us; with our running game and solid defense Chris’s role is to manage the game for us, not to have to win it all by himself, provided this is absorbed then we can proceed with optimism. What did fall in our favour was the timing of our bye week giving us two weeks to prepare, and the next game being a very winnable one in San Francisco. Time for Mr Simms to get his backside into gear and go to work. After losing Griese, Dexter Jackson and Juran Bolden during the course of the Dolphins game, along with Cadillac’s continued absence, our performance last week showed a lot of guts and plenty of the old Buccaneer spirit, particularly on defense. It was nice to see a decent pass rush again culminating in Will Allen’s TD, and we appear to be a whole different proposition against the run this year, as teams no longer can run the ball straight at us with any success. All the injuries and niggles mean the bye has fell at just the right moment and thankfully most of these should be healed by the time we suit up again, save for messrs Jackson and Griese. Reflecting on the first six weeks of play reveals a hell of a lot of positives, we have found a consistent running game, our swagger appears to be restored on defense who have re-dedicated themselves to their former aggressive style, and in Joey Galloway we have a receiver who is playing lights-out football at present. A “five dash one” mark at this stage is better than we can have hoped, and with five more dates at RJS, plus trips to Frisco and San Antonio, the opportunity for a winning season and play-off run is very much in our own hands. After the debacle of the last two seasons it’s something we can all be thankful for. Normally I hate the bye week but for the first time in a while I remain eternally grateful to the NFL Scheduler this year, and must compliment he/she/it on impeccable timing in 2005. So as we head into the break there are many reasons to be optimistic despite the loss of our quarterback. We’ll certainly miss Brian Griese but his loss must not derail us from the pathway we are on this season, nor the consistency we have shown Nod of Acknowledgement to….Michael Pittman. Last week I belittled our running game when he was in-situ but Mr Hummer came up trumps with a monster day and highlight reel TD, when he could have been dropped for a loss. I’ll forgive him for his attack of the Leon Lett’s when he got near the end zone – thankfully for us it was Jason Taylor in pursuit and not Steve Tasker. Get in the Real World Award…The Minnesota Vikings. God they love a good controversy don’t they? Not content with wasting a talented roster and a season away, they have to go one better don’t they, giving new meaning to pleasure cruise. Viking fans have been insulted by their on-field performance, and off-field conduct. Time for the owner to clean house methinks.