Griese sparks the Bucs offense

JE · Sep 23, 2008

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-throwingbucs&prov=ap&type=lgns

TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Buccaneers concede that throwing 67 times in a game isn’t a recipe for long-term success.

It worked during Sunday’s 27-24, overtime victory over the Chicago Bears, but don’t expect it to become a regular routine for Brian Griese, who helped the Bucs overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit by passing nearly every play on two long scoring drives.

That doesn’t mean coach Jon Gruden won’t continue to take advantage of his quarterback’s ability to move the ball in the no-huddle offense. Griese was 17-of-29 and threw for half his career-high 407 yards during three hurry-up drives that produced Tampa Bay’s last 13 points.

It was first time the Bucs (2-1) rallied from a deficit of 10 points or more to win since Dec. 12, 1999, when they beat the Detroit Lions 23-16 after falling behind 10-0.

Griese was 38-of-67, setting a franchise record for pass attempts in a game, He also shrugged off three interceptions to improve to 2-0 since replacing Jeff Garcia’s as Tampa Bay’s starter.

“He was great down the stretch. It’s hard to duplicate that. It’s hard beat what he did the last 25 or 30 minutes of the game,” Gruden said Monday.

“Other than a couple of balls he threw to the other team … I thought he played an outstanding game against a heck of a defense. It was loud, and we weren’t able to run the ball, obviously, very effectively. We put a lot on him and he responded for us.”

Teammates were impressed, too.

“He’s just an awesome guy, man. Under pressure, nothing gets to him,” receiver Michael Clayton said.
Center Jeff Faine added: “He believes in himself the whole way and believes in us to make plays. It actually felt good after all of the backward steps he took, he’s still stepping forward and making plays.”

Griese’s 38 completions was the second-most in team history and his yardage total, including 203 on the last three scoring drives, was the third-best on the Bucs’ all-time list behind Doug Williams’ 486 at Minnesota in 1980 and Vinny Testaverde’s 469 at Indianapolis in 1988.

“I had no idea how many passes I threw until after the game. … It was a necessity for the style of defense that the Bears have. In the NFL today, you have to be able to adapt and find ways to win, and that’s what we did,” Griese said.
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Was Jacoby too hard on Griese? Perhaps... who's complaining though, let Josh Johnson learn the ropes.

Vintage · Sep 23, 2008

If you attempt 67 passes; you should easily cross the 400 yard barrier.

Griese did enough to win. And deserves credit for it. But I am not sure I would qualify it as a great performance. Though.... against a resurgent Bears defense, perhaps it is...

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Griese sparks the Bucs offense

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Griese sparks the Bucs offense

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