Bucs Vs Jags
Injuries
Bucs
Michael Clayton and Alex Smith are both doubtful and will not play
Patrick Chukwarah is questionable
Jags
Maurice Jones Drew is questionable and has not practiced in 3 days
Reggie Hayward and Brian Williams are questionable
2 KEY MATCHUPS
1. Ike Hilliard vs Rashean Mathis
I would have to believe that with Brian Williams out, that the Jags will be forced to use Rashean Mathis on Ike. He has become our most reliable short yardage receiver, and Garcia trusts him and looks his way often. He would seemingly be a better guy to cover Galloway, but with our lack of attempting plays down the field, Ike has a much better chance of punishing the Jags. This could be key for the Bucs as it will open up Galloway to match up against Terry Cousin or Scott Starks. Whoever Mathis is not guarding should be the target of many Garcia passes tommorow.
2. Aaron Sears, John Wade and Davin Joseph vs John Henderson and Marcus Stroud
Henderson and Stroud are two of the largest and most imposing interior tandems in the NFL today. They are equally strong at stopping the run as they are at pressuring the QB. I think the Bucs will have to focus all 3 interior lineman on these 2 on non blitz plays to try and neutralize them. If Reggie Hayward does miss the game, this will leave Jeremy Trueblood matched up against Paul Spicer, and Donald Penn matched up against Bobby McCray. Spicer had a good Monday Night and is a solid player so Trueblood should have his hands full. There front 7 is huge, strong, and scary, so the whole OLine will be in for a grueling day.
My Pregame Quick Hits
– Quinn Gray looked horrid on MNF, can he improve
– Will the Bucs look downfield on a depleted secondary
– I hope MJD is out, he is the kind of RB that kills the Bucs
– Mike Tice was at the bar tonight, so….well he is an idiot anyway so who cares
– Although the Jax WR’s have been struggling, can our smallish secondary contain them
– Can the Bucs protect Garcia a little better than they did on Sunday vs the Lions
– Are we going to have to throw the ball to Ernest Graham 18 times, I hope not
– Can Ike continue his solid play
– Does Joey Galloway still play for us
– Will we continue to run the ball even though the chances of success at it our small
– Can our young guards hang with the DT combo from Jax
– I hope we can go a week without getting someone carted off
Game Previews
Brooks on Quinn Gray starting at quarterback for the Jaguars:
"“It doesn’t matter, the plays are the same. When Byron [Leftwich] was there, when [David] Garrard was there, even when Quinn played in the preseason they still ran the same plays, so that is not going to change. We really don’t get prepared for personnel; if they are putting on a jersey that is who we will expect to see.”"
DT Chris Hovan on Quinn Gray:
"“He’s a good quarterback. He kind of got thrown into the situation on Monday night. Indianapolis capitalized on it, but I’m sure they’re going to prepare him to get ready to play us this weekend.”"
QB Jeff Garcia on the Jaguars turning to a reserve quarterback:
"“I think what they have in a guy like David [Garrard], their starter, is a guy who understands their system, who makes plays, who doesn’t make mistakes, who was exceptional on third down, who didn’t put the ball in the other team’s hands, who was capable of making plays when everything broke down around him. Now you have a quarterback who is stepping in who hasn’t had the repetition that Garrard has had and so he is somewhat fresh, somewhat new, and he’s going to be learning on the run. He’s going to get a full week of repetitions, he’s going to be better than he was last week, but I think there are certain plays that you can hopefully create as a defense that may create an advantage for our offense.”"