Breaking down the Bucs

There is no debate in Tampa Bay. Jeff Garcia, now 37, is clearly the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Bucs. Talking with Garcia on Monday, I can also say that he was torn about leaving Philadelphia, where he helped lead the Eagles into the playoffs last season.

“I had such a great time there and everything about Philadelphia was very comfortable for me,” Garica said. “The players, the fans and I knew that offense pretty well. My dad says otherwise, but I think I would have been fine competing with Donovan (McNabb). But coming here figures to be my last stop and I’m hoping to make it a great one.”

The key to this move to Tampa was head coach Jon Gruden.

“I always wanted to play for him,” Garcia said. “I’d watch him on NFL Films rattling off those plays and couldn’t believe how long the verbiage was. And his intensity. I mean, too, I’ve played in the west-coast offense for a long time and Philly was a lot like it was in San Francisco for me. All these west-coast coaches are different. Mike Holmgren has made it very basic and very easy for a quarterback. Andy Reid and Steve Mariucci make it a little more complicated, but Jon has added three times as much stuff. I didn’t think it was possible to do. And his playbook? Well, it’s twice as much as everyone else’s.”

The Bucs are under the NFL radar, but there’s definitely talent here. Maurice Stovall, a second-year receiver from Notre Dame, has stood out in OTAs and the first few days of training camp. “He’s a man already,” Garcia said of the 6-foot-5 Stovall.

Then there is David Boston, who is attempting to make another comeback after failing to play anywhere last season.

“I tell you he’s a 180 percent better than last year,” said Bucs veteran Ronde Barber of Boston. “Today he makes our team; he’s been very impressive.”

And Joey Galloway? Well, Joey still runs like he’s 23 instead of 35.

There has been some rancor around the team because of the release of Simeon Rice. The team’s view is that Rice’s shoulder remains messed up or they would have kept him regardless of the $7 million salary. If they wanted to dump him simply to unload the salary, they would have done it months ago when the club could have used it to sign someone else.

“I tell you, we’re going to miss him in the locker room,” Barber said of Rice. “We all know this is a business and I’m going to trust our administration on this one. You know the saying, players play, coaches coach and everything else takes care of itself.”

The two most impressive players after three days of camp have been ex-Colt linebacker Cato June and guard Davin Joseph, last year’s first-round pick. Joseph has been dominating in practices thus far. After years of struggling, the Bucs might actually be okay this season on the offensive line.

Culpepper’s Price

If he really wants to play this season, Daunte Culpepper will have to alter his negotiating stance. The word is that Culpepper wants to sign for only one season and wants about $6.5 million. Any team seriously considering Culpepper would prefer a multi-year deal. Why would any team want to pay that much, then have Culpepper play at a high level and then sell himself in 2008 to the highest bidder?

His price doesn’t make sense in those terms even though the NFL average for a top quarterback is now around $9 million annually.

Curiously, when the Bucs met with Culpepper it was in an airplane hangar and no footballs were tossed around.

Trading Strahan

Few NFL people really believe that Michael Strahan wants to retire; most believe he simply wants to recoup some of that $15 million he lost in his divorce settlement. For example, Strahan’s after-football career appears to be in a television studio and none of the major networks currently has an opening that would pay him $1 million or more. His Giants salary calls for $4 million this season, the next to last year of what was a blockbuster contract when Strahan signed it. His deal was heavily front-loaded and for two full seasons stood as the benchmark for players at his position. Remember, when Strahan signed his current deal, the Giants were criticized a bit for paying so much.

But can and would the Giants really trade Strahan? Going someplace else, like Washington, is the only way that Strahan can get a salary bump, something he feels he deserves.

“I wouldn’t be interested in giving him $7 or $8 million a year,” one general manager told me. “How can you do that for someone who is 35 and coming off an injury? I agree that he has huge marquee value. You are also right in saying the Redskins, maybe even the Broncos, would do something like that if they could but the compensation would be fairly low.”

The Giants should have been proactive in the Strahan situation. They should have either reworked the contract, like reducing his base salary while adding big incentives so that he could earn more this season if he played and was productive. In lieu of that, they should have given him permission to seek a trade months ago. Or, at least before they moved Mathias Kiwanuka from defensive end to linebacker.

Apology to Browns fans

OK, I messed up when I wrote Braylon Edwards was your first pick last season. However, you also are aware of the significance of my comments. Edwards was the third overall choice two years ago just like Joe Thomas was this year. And I am sure that even Cleveland fans know that a quarterback (rookie of the year Vince Young was the third overall pick last year) and any skilled offensive player tends to be more valuable to a team’s offense than an offensive tackle. I like Thomas, but should he really receive quarterback-like money? Thomas signed for a year less than Gaines Adams, the fourth overall choice, did with Tampa Bay, but his bonus was $4 million more than Adams. This is the rub for Brady Quinn. Should he really be slotted or should he be paid like a top quarterback in this draft.

No Comments