Or if you don't recognize him from the picture, Tim Rattay.
With Griese likely out for the season with a torn ACL, the Bucs need a veteran quarterback who is familiar with the west coast offense. Rattay, who played all six seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers, was replaced as the starter earlier this season by rookie and top pick Alex Smith.
Rattay should do a fine job of holding the clipboard this season (unless McCown beats him out for that job). Let the Chris Simms era begin.
2 comments:
Interesting observation. However, I'm not sure I can agree with this statement for three reasons:
1) Michael Pittman
2) Joey Galloway
3) The "D"
First off, regardless of what one may think of Pittman (personally, I don't really like him), he's a decent runner. Although not the caliber of Caddy -- you can't exactly build a team around him -- he's strong enough a runner to be considered a threat, especially when you have a real threat like the (un-used!) A-train backing him. Again, you won't build a team around this guy, but you can count on him to be an important part of the offense.
2) Galloway = Speed. 'Nuff said. Good hands, good speed. Keep him off the IR (and given his history, this is a real threat) and we've got a threat down the field. Once Simms gets used to being a starting QB, I'm guessing he'll be a major player on the team.
3) The "D". It was the best defense in the league that won the bow in 2002, not a spectacular offence (although that wasn't bad, either). "Give us 21 points and we'll win you the game" seems to be their motto. Say it with me: "Defense. Wins. Championships."
Not predicting a Super Bowl, but to believe that the Bucs' success is tied to the fate of Caddy is overstating his importance. Remember that, as great as he is, he got his stats by beating up the NFC North, a division which has this year taking "suckage" to a new level, making even Hoover jealous.
Does he make a difference? A huge one. But I think the momentum's already in place with the team. And the "big mo'" is what it's all about.
gnorb, since I think this is your first time by the site, thanks for posting.
I agree, the Bucs D will be the center piece of this team as long as Monte Kiffin sticks around.
Offensively, Clayton is a better receiver than Galloway. As I have pointed out before Griese was locked onto Galloway, much more so than Clayton (who has been playing injured). Much like in basketball, if you give a guy 20 shots or 10 throws a game he's bound to put up good numbers, no matter who he is.
And as far as Pittman goes, like you wrote, you can't build an offense around him.
Obviously, I'm simplying things a great deal, takes 11 players to score points, yada, yada, yada. The two most important players are Williams and Clayton. Griese wasn't winning games for this team.
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