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Infirmary Report
FB Mike Alstott will not play against Washington after re-aggravating his neck injury
One day, perhaps, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will find a silver lining to the dark cloud that rolled in Monday night in the form of a 38-35 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Tuesday was not that day.
The Bucs have plenty of time to overcome the results of Monday's loss in the standings, but they may have difficulty overcoming all of the injuries that resulted from the game. Head Coach Jon Gruden ticked off the list of hobbled Buccaneers on Tuesday morning, and it was extensive and troubling, particularly at wide receiver, running back and the secondary.
Gruden listed 11 injured Buccaneers, nine of whom were hurt on Monday. Eight of those 11 are considered questionable or worse for Sunday's game in Washington. It appears as if the most severe injuries were incurred by FB Mike Alstott, CB Brian Kelly and LB Jack Golden. Here is a quick rundown of the injured players, their ailments and the early injury-report designation Gruden gave them:
FB Mike Alstott, neck sprain, out
FB Darian Barnes, shoulder sprain, probable
LB Jack Golden, left foot sprain, out
WR Keyshawn Johnson, left thigh bruise, very questionable
WR Joe Jurevicius, right knee sprain, out
CB Brian Kelly, left pectoral strain, doubtful
S Jermaine Phillips, right hamstring strain, probable
LB Shelton Quarles, left forearm fracture/elbow dislocation, questionable
DE Greg Spires, right calf strain, probable
RB Aaron Stecker, right knee sprain, questionable
WR Karl Williams, left hamstring strain, questionable
Alstott was actually questionable before Monday's game due to the same neck problem, but he received medical clearance and played well into the game before re-aggravating the injury.
"He is out of the Washington game," said Gruden. "We will continue feverishly to try to find the specific nature of why this problem persists. But he is out.
"To sit up here and speculate…we're talking about an injury that deserves careful documentation. I have no idea, but we are concerned, very concerned."
Gruden did not second-guess the decision to play Alstott against Indianapolis.
"I based these decisions on medical information," he said. "No, I don't second-guess that. Obviously, I'm very concerned about Mike Alstott. He's a captain, he's a friend and he's a guy that we'll miss. But I think the big thing is that we find out, once and for all, what's wrong with his neck. We're concerned about it."
Gruden did not offer a guess as to how long Alstott would be unavailable. He also said the team would gather more information before making a prediction about the date of Kelly's return. How long the 2002 NFL co-leader in interceptions is out will have an impact on how the team adjusts to his absence.
"We're going to look at the exact severity of this injury," said Gruden. "Is it a week to four weeks? Is it an injury that will require surgery? We're not quite sure yet. We do know he's very doubtful. That's the best I can do. But moving Dwight Smith to corner is an option for us. We'll look at the availability of other players. The versatility that Dwight has certainly can help us in this situation."
Smith was a good fit as the team's nickel back in 2002, his second season in the league, finishing the year with seven interceptions in 19 games, including the playoffs. After former starting free safety Dexter Jackson signed with the Arizona Cardinals in March, Smith was converted to safety in order to fill that hole and get another playmaker on the field. Now, Smith could move back down to one of the corner spots, returning second-year man Tim Wansley to the nickel and opening the free safety spot for fellow second-year player Jermaine Phillips.
At receiver, the Buccaneers' in-house options may not be enough. With Jurevicius out and Johnson and Williams both questionable for the next game, the team would be down to three healthy receivers: Keenan McCardell, Reggie Barlow and Marvin Minnis. Minnis was just signed by Tampa Bay during its bye week and Barlow has only played in four regular season games since the 2000 season. Gruden said the Bucs are likely to scan the waiver wire.
"Otherwise, we would turn into a rugby team," said the coach, showing a touch of humor on a difficult day. "It's very unfortunate – our quarterback (Brad Johnson) is playing so well. We're throwing the ball, we're protecting at this stage of the season. Jurevicius…obviously Keyshawn Johnson's a great football player…and with Karl Williams' situation what it is, we may have to look around, yes."
RB Michael Pittman suffered cramps late in Monday's game and missed overtime and part of the fourth quarter, but he was not on Tuesday's injury report. By the end of the contest, the Bucs were down to just two healthy backs – Thomas Jones and fullback Darian Barnes – and two receivers, as Minnis was inactive. That obviously made play selection a bit difficult for Gruden in the extra period, but the coach still wasn't looking for excuses the next morning.
"There were numerous factors in the outcome of that game," he said. "Indianapolis was a factor, and certainly injuries…from an offensive standpoint we almost ran out of bodies in the overtime session. We make no excuses about it; we had numerous chances to win."
Gruden will not use Monday's unfortunate run of injuries as an excuse going forward, either. However, the Buccaneers will obviously have some adjustments to make in the very near future.
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Infirmary Report
FB Mike Alstott will not play against Washington after re-aggravating his neck injury
One day, perhaps, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will find a silver lining to the dark cloud that rolled in Monday night in the form of a 38-35 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Tuesday was not that day.
The Bucs have plenty of time to overcome the results of Monday's loss in the standings, but they may have difficulty overcoming all of the injuries that resulted from the game. Head Coach Jon Gruden ticked off the list of hobbled Buccaneers on Tuesday morning, and it was extensive and troubling, particularly at wide receiver, running back and the secondary.
Gruden listed 11 injured Buccaneers, nine of whom were hurt on Monday. Eight of those 11 are considered questionable or worse for Sunday's game in Washington. It appears as if the most severe injuries were incurred by FB Mike Alstott, CB Brian Kelly and LB Jack Golden. Here is a quick rundown of the injured players, their ailments and the early injury-report designation Gruden gave them:
FB Mike Alstott, neck sprain, out
FB Darian Barnes, shoulder sprain, probable
LB Jack Golden, left foot sprain, out
WR Keyshawn Johnson, left thigh bruise, very questionable
WR Joe Jurevicius, right knee sprain, out
CB Brian Kelly, left pectoral strain, doubtful
S Jermaine Phillips, right hamstring strain, probable
LB Shelton Quarles, left forearm fracture/elbow dislocation, questionable
DE Greg Spires, right calf strain, probable
RB Aaron Stecker, right knee sprain, questionable
WR Karl Williams, left hamstring strain, questionable
Alstott was actually questionable before Monday's game due to the same neck problem, but he received medical clearance and played well into the game before re-aggravating the injury.
"He is out of the Washington game," said Gruden. "We will continue feverishly to try to find the specific nature of why this problem persists. But he is out.
"To sit up here and speculate…we're talking about an injury that deserves careful documentation. I have no idea, but we are concerned, very concerned."
Gruden did not second-guess the decision to play Alstott against Indianapolis.
"I based these decisions on medical information," he said. "No, I don't second-guess that. Obviously, I'm very concerned about Mike Alstott. He's a captain, he's a friend and he's a guy that we'll miss. But I think the big thing is that we find out, once and for all, what's wrong with his neck. We're concerned about it."
Gruden did not offer a guess as to how long Alstott would be unavailable. He also said the team would gather more information before making a prediction about the date of Kelly's return. How long the 2002 NFL co-leader in interceptions is out will have an impact on how the team adjusts to his absence.
"We're going to look at the exact severity of this injury," said Gruden. "Is it a week to four weeks? Is it an injury that will require surgery? We're not quite sure yet. We do know he's very doubtful. That's the best I can do. But moving Dwight Smith to corner is an option for us. We'll look at the availability of other players. The versatility that Dwight has certainly can help us in this situation."
Smith was a good fit as the team's nickel back in 2002, his second season in the league, finishing the year with seven interceptions in 19 games, including the playoffs. After former starting free safety Dexter Jackson signed with the Arizona Cardinals in March, Smith was converted to safety in order to fill that hole and get another playmaker on the field. Now, Smith could move back down to one of the corner spots, returning second-year man Tim Wansley to the nickel and opening the free safety spot for fellow second-year player Jermaine Phillips.
At receiver, the Buccaneers' in-house options may not be enough. With Jurevicius out and Johnson and Williams both questionable for the next game, the team would be down to three healthy receivers: Keenan McCardell, Reggie Barlow and Marvin Minnis. Minnis was just signed by Tampa Bay during its bye week and Barlow has only played in four regular season games since the 2000 season. Gruden said the Bucs are likely to scan the waiver wire.
"Otherwise, we would turn into a rugby team," said the coach, showing a touch of humor on a difficult day. "It's very unfortunate – our quarterback (Brad Johnson) is playing so well. We're throwing the ball, we're protecting at this stage of the season. Jurevicius…obviously Keyshawn Johnson's a great football player…and with Karl Williams' situation what it is, we may have to look around, yes."
RB Michael Pittman suffered cramps late in Monday's game and missed overtime and part of the fourth quarter, but he was not on Tuesday's injury report. By the end of the contest, the Bucs were down to just two healthy backs – Thomas Jones and fullback Darian Barnes – and two receivers, as Minnis was inactive. That obviously made play selection a bit difficult for Gruden in the extra period, but the coach still wasn't looking for excuses the next morning.
"There were numerous factors in the outcome of that game," he said. "Indianapolis was a factor, and certainly injuries…from an offensive standpoint we almost ran out of bodies in the overtime session. We make no excuses about it; we had numerous chances to win."
Gruden will not use Monday's unfortunate run of injuries as an excuse going forward, either. However, the Buccaneers will obviously have some adjustments to make in the very near future.
