Posted October 19, 200519 yr Placed him on IR today Oct 19, 2005 - After the team?s bye-week practice on Wednesday morning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Jon Gruden delivered the news that many had feared since Sunday, when starting quarterback Brian Griese went down with a knee injury against the Dolphins. Griese?s injury is sufficient to cost him the rest of the 2005 season. The team did not release any specifics of Griese?s injury ? ACL, MCL, etc. ? but Gruden confirmed that the quarterback would have surgery in the coming days and would be placed on injured reserve. Gruden, who earlier had to deliver the same information to Griese, called it a ?sad day? for the quarterback and the team. ?It was a very emotional day, really,? said Gruden. ?This guy has put a lot into the football team and his performance in the last 15 or 16 games has helped us turn the corner and at least be competitive and on the brink of winning every Sunday. It wasn?t easy and he?s got a long process, a long road ahead. He?s the kind of guy who can overcome those odds.? Griese cannot play again in 2005 after being placed on injured reserve, but he can remain with the team to help the other quarterbacks. Gruden expects his former starter to be very helpful in that regard and also to be determined in the rehabilitation of his knee in order to be ready for next season. ?He?ll continue to be with the team and help our young quarterbacks, and hopefully come back bigger and stronger and better than ever next year,? said Gruden. ?He?s a leader on this team. He?s been voted captain almost unanimously by this football team and his leadership will be a big part of our team this season. There?s no question about that, and hopefully for seasons to come.? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " Today?s really a sad day in a lot of ways because we do have closure on Griese?s situation. But we?re very excited for Chris Simms. He had a good workout today and we?re going to rally around him the best we can." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took several days to come to a final decision on Griese?s fate for the rest of the season because multiple examinations were performed and several opinions were sought. Though there have been predictions of Griese?s trip to IR since Monday, that decision wasn?t made until very recently. ?We did everything we could, and Brian wanted to do everything also, to get as much information as we could,? said Gruden. ?There was a glimmer of hope that we could put it in a cast and possibly get him back in four to six weeks. But at the end of all the research, this is an injury that?s going to cause him to miss the rest of the season.? Before his injury, which occurred when Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas rolled backwards into the lower part of Griese?s planted left leg just after a throw, the eighth-year veteran had completed 112 of 174 passes for 1,136 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. He had completed 64.4% of his passes and compiled a passer rating of 79.6. Griese?s final performance of 2005, which lasted just under two quarters, was one of his best, as he completed 12 of 16 passes for 120 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a passer rating of 116.7. Chris Simms will take over as the team?s starting quarterback. A third-year player out of Texas, Simms was the team?s third-round draft pick in 2003 and he was briefly anointed the starter in 2004. Simms? first NFL start came at New Orleans on October 10, 2004, but he suffered a shoulder injury one quarter into that game and was replaced by Griese. While Simms recovered, Griese put a stranglehold on the starting job with a series of outstanding performances. Still, the Bucs have clearly had confidence in Simms for some time. The Bucs are also comfortable with their depth at the position, particularly after Tuesday?s trade for San Francisco veteran Tim Rattay. Rattay has started 13 games over the last two seasons, including the first four this season as he beat out the draft?s number-one overall pick, Alex Smith, to start the season. ?It?s a credit to [General Manager] Bruce Allen and [Director of Player Personnel] Ruston Webster for helping us get Tim Rattay, a guy we think can really play and a guy that fits the criteria of what we?re looking for here,? said Gruden. ?He?s a quality guy, he?s a winner, he?s got a lot of experience given the history that he has behind him throwing the football.? There is never a good point in the season to lose your starting quarterback, but in some ways the timing of Griese?s injury proved fortunate. The trade for Rattay just happened to be completed shortly before the NFL?s trading deadline on Tuesday; the Bucs had actually inquired about Rattay during the offseason but might not have been moved to revisit the deal if not for Griese?s misfortune. And, had the injury happened two weeks later, Rattay would have been unattainable. ?If Brian [had] to be injured, it?s nice it happened now because you aren?t going to be able to acquire somebody who went to training camp, whose been a starter this season in the NFL, someone you feel is a good fit for our offense, after the trade deadline,? said Allen. ?He will be a great fit for our team. He will come in and be our number three quarterback, behind Chris and Luke [McCown]. It gives us some great insurance and a feeling that we can sleep at night that we have a bona fide NFL starter.? The timing of Griese?s injury also gives the Bucs two weeks to prepare Simms for his first start of the season, which just happens to be against Rattay?s former team, the 49ers, on Sunday, October 30. Simms began his preparations for that game on Wednesday, taking the first-team snaps during a one-hour practice in the morning. ?Today?s really a sad day in a lot of ways because we do have closure on Griese?s situation,? said Gruden. ?But we?re very excited for Chris Simms. He had a good workout today and we?re going to rally around him the best we can.? Bucs land Rattay Oct 18, 2005 - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have addressed their sudden quarterback shortage ? whether it proves to be long-term or short-term ? in impressive and decisive fashion. On Tuesday, the Buccaneers acquired sixth-year veteran quarterback Tim Rattay from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for an undisclosed pick in the 2006 draft. The Bucs? issues at quarterback arose suddenly, with the injury to starter Brian Griese?s left knee on Sunday, and the team had to act fast if it wished to keep all possible avenues of player acquisition open. The NFL?s trading deadline just happened to be 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Bucs had worked out several possible free agent candidates at the position, players who have not been on any NFL roster this season. Instead, they ended up with one of the 32 quarterbacks that was starting in the league on opening day this September. Rattay, who first entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick of the 49ers in 2000, is known as a smart, accurate passer who plays with poise and has good downfield vision. Since the start of the 2004 season, he has started 13 games, including the first four this year. The 49ers invested the first overall pick of the 2005 draft in Utah quarterback Alex Smith and immediately installed Smith at the top of the depth chart. However, Rattay won the job back in training camp and opened the 49ers? games against St. Louis, Philadelphia, Dallas and Arizona. In the season opener, he led the 49ers to an upset of the Rams by completing 11 of 16 passes for 165 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, compiling a near-perfect passer rating of 141.9. In all, Rattay has appeared in 32 NFL games with 16 starts. His career statistics include 356 completions in 586 attempts for 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He has an excellent career completion percentage of 60.8% and a career passer rating of 81.6. Rattay started 33 games during his collegiate career at Louisiana Tech, finishing second in NCAA history with 12,746 passing yards. He was only the third player in NCAA history to throw more than 100 career touchdown passes. Rattay?s addition gives the Bucs? four quarterbacks, including the injured Griese. Third-year man Chris Simms is expected to start during Griese?s absence, the length of which has yet to be determined. Coincidentally, the Bucs? other passer, Luke McCown, was also a standout at Louisiana Tech. To make room for Rattay on the active roster, the Bucs released rookie fullback Rick Razzano. The Bucs also made a series of changes to their practice squad on Tuesday. Rookie wide receiver Paris Warren, who was released from the 53-man roster on Saturday to make room for Razzano?s return, was re-signed to the practice squad. The Bucs also released two players from that crew: running back Ian Smart and tackle Drew Strojny. The moves leave the Bucs with one available spot on that eight-man unit. Smart had just returned to the Bucs last Wednesday. Strojny signed to Tampa Bay?s practice squad on September 7, days before the season opener. I wanted to see Simms play, but not with Griese going down, it really hurt our QB depth. I really like the Rattay trade though, we needed a veteran backup for Simms, and we got him cheap, great pick up by Gruden and Allen.
October 19, 200519 yr Good luck to Chris. I think he will get the job done. This Bye week could not have come at a better time either.
October 19, 200519 yr Author maybe Michael Clayton will have some worth again He will. If you watched a Bucs game all Griese did was look for Galloway (and don't get me wrong I love the year Joey is having) with Simms in there you will see Clayton and other recievers get more involved.
October 19, 200519 yr maybe Michael Clayton will have some worth again He will. If you watched a Bucs game all Griese did was look for Galloway (and don't get me wrong I love the year Joey is having) with Simms in there you will see Clayton and other recievers get more involved. ...which I did it was awful(as a Clayton owner)
October 19, 200519 yr Author maybe Michael Clayton will have some worth again He will. If you watched a Bucs game all Griese did was look for Galloway (and don't get me wrong I love the year Joey is having) with Simms in there you will see Clayton and other recievers get more involved. ...which I did it was awful(as a Clayton owner) On the only drive Simms through the ball in the Miami game (because we mostly ran the clock out in the 2nd half) he completed passes to Clayton, Pitt, Alex Smith, Anthony Bect, and Ike Hillard. When Griese through 16 passes in the first half he only through 5 to somebody not named Galloway!!! I know you were agreeing with me, I just wanted to throw that out there Throw him the ball!
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