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Bucs Offense In Need Of A Good Season

By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Sep 2, 2007

TAMPA - Establishing a prolific offense was expected to be the least of Jon Gruden's concerns when he took over as Tampa Bay's coach in 2002.

Gruden was regarded as an offensive genius whose expertise could improve any offense. If Gruden drew up plays on a napkin, it would have been viewed as an artful masterpiece.

Six seasons later, Tampa Bay's offensive work of art has looked more like a crayon drawing, putting that unit on the hot seat this season.

Tampa Bay had one of the worst statistical offenses in the NFL last season, ranking near last in every important category. Standouts such as running back Cadillac Williams, receiver Michael Clayton and tight end Alex Smith were non-factors for the majority of the season.

In fact, kicker Matt Bryant arguably was Tampa Bay's most potent offensive weapon.

"We weren't very good last year. We and me weren't very good," Gruden said. "We had a number of injuries on the line [three starters injured when the season began], and I'm not saying that's an excuse. It's a reality. We had a rookie quarterback [Bruce Gradkowski] playing for 11 weeks. We could have had Jim Brown or Gale Sayers in there and it wouldn't have been real good."

Tampa Bay's offense has the potential to be more than good this season. It will just take a greater effort than last season.

Gradkowski, a rookie, became the starter after Chris Simms had season-ending spleen surgery following the third game. The sixth-round pick painfully struggled and completed 177 of 328 passes for 1,661 passes, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions for an NFC-worst 65.9 passer rating.

Tampa Bay addressed that problem in the offseason by signing former Philadelphia quarterback Jeff Garcia, who will be the starter.

Garcia is expected to better utilize receiver Joey Galloway, who had his second 1,000-yard season last year but was visibly frustrated by Gradkowski's inability to get him the ball. Now, Garcia and Galloway have the potential to become a lethal combination.

"I think everyone knows we expect to play better," Galloway said. "We weren't in sync like we expected to be last year. That is something we've worked on.

"We added some pieces to the puzzle. We've added some veterans and some young guys. I feel good about the guys we have, and I expect us to be better."

If any area needs improvement, it is the running game.

Cadillac Williams rushed for 1,178 yards and six touchdowns and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year two seasons ago. He rushed for 434 yards over his first three NFL games, setting an NFL rookie record, resulting in his shoes and gloves being displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Last season, Williams' numbers suffered because of poor blocking and an ineffective passing game, which failed to keep defenses honest. He rushed for 798 yards and one touchdown and had 225 carries compared to 290 during his rookie year.

Michael Pittman, who has moved to fullback this season, is responsible for creating running room for Williams, who optimistically hopes to regain his rookie form.

"I would love to be more committed to the running game," Williams said. "We got a saying, if you keep pounding that rock, eventually it's going to break. That's how I feel the running game is."

The success of Tampa Bay's offense will depend largely on how free agent signee Luke Petitgout (left tackle) and rookie Arron Sears (left guard) mesh with holdover offensive line starters John Wade, Davin Joseph and Jeremy Trueblood. Tampa Bay's offensive line allowed 33 sacks, which ranked toward the middle of the league, but the rushing offense ranked 28th.

"Our offensive line, some say they are young and inexperienced, but we didn't give up a sack in Jacksonville [in the preseason] or a ball batted down," Gruden said. "I think last year we had about a dozen sacks and a dozen balls batted down, so we're making strides up there, and that too will allow us to be a little bit different."

Tampa Bay's offense has not been a work of art, but players hope to make this season into a memorable masterpiece.

"It's always frustrating to lose," Galloway said. "We were coming off a year when we got to the playoffs, we expected to do the same and be a better team. We didn't accomplish that. We didn't get our jobs done. Of course, we were frustrated. Of course, we went into the offseason knowing we needed to get better.

"I think if you compare this team to last year's team at this time, we're a better team."

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425 or arichardson@tampatrib.com