Injuries a concern for Bucs
TAMPA (AP) – Jon Gruden keeps it simple when he talks about playoff prospects for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“All I know is we have to win,” the coach said Monday, reflecting on a two-game losing streak that’s hurt the team’s bid to repeat as NFC South champions and clinch a berth for the third time in four seasons.
Two weeks after being in prime position to earn another division title and first-round bye, the Bucs (9-5) are locked in a tight race with the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles for two NFC wild-card spots.
While the schedule seems favorable with home games against San Diego (6-8) and Oakland (3-11) remaining, Gruden isn’t taking anything for granted, especially with injuries mounting and the team not playing particularly well on offense or defense.
Quarterback Jeff Garcia sat out Sunday’s 13-10 overtime loss to the Falcons with a strained right calf. Defensive tackles Chris Hovan and Jovan Haye are nursing knee injuries that have cost them playing time and two more starters, safety Jermaine Phillips and linebacker Derrick Brooks, were added to the injury report Monday.
Phillips will miss the remainder of the season after breaking his right forearm against Atlanta. Brooks hurt his ribs against the Falcons, and Gruden said it’s likely he’ll be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.
Brooks, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, has started 205 consecutive games, second-most among active players behind Brett Favre.
“I can’t say much more until I hear from (trainer) Todd Toriscelli and our doctors. We are concerned about him,” Gruden said. “I will remain optimistic because of whom we are talking about.”
With Brian Griese filling in for Garcia, the offense continued to have trouble scoring touchdowns Sunday. The defense allowed Michael Turner to rush for 152 yards after limiting him to a season-low 42 yards on 14 carries earlier this season, and the Bucs also hurt themselves with 11 penalties.
After allowing one 100-yard rusher in the first 12 games, the defense has allowed three in the past two weeks. The Panthers and Falcons also combined for five rushing TDs, humbling a unit that yielded one through Week 13.
Injuries, however, remain Gruden’s biggest concern.
“Let’s be honest. They’re mounting to say the least,” he said.
Wednesday, the coach expects to a better idea of whether Garcia, who was injured during practice last week, will be able to return against the Chargers.
“Hopefully in the next 48 hours (the calf) feels a lot better and he can become our starter again. We certainly need him,” said Gruden, who defended Griese’s struggles against the Falcons.
Neither Griese or Luke McCown, the coach insisted, were adequately prepared because Garcia got most of the work in practice.
“We were prepared Jeff to play. … We have a long extensive walk-though on Wednesday and Thursday. He took all the snaps. Neither Luke or Brian got a heck of a lot of reps,” Gruden said.
“We prepared Luke McCown to be the back-up for the game in case anything did happen to Jeff. … When we found out just prior to the game Jeff couldn’t go, knowing that neither one of those guys had taken enough snaps to be the starter, we relied on Brian Griese’s experience.”