The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been collecting QBs for the last couple of years.  They have brought in Brian Griese through a trade with the Bears and they drafted raw rookie Josh Johnson out of tiny San Diego.  The offense still revolves around veteran Jeff Garcia who played his best football in years last season for the Bucs.  He doesn’t have the strongest arm in the league but it’s strong enough to make all of the throws in the Bucs’ offense.  He also is still very effective with his feet as he can either take off running out of the pocket or he can buy more time to throw the ball.  Garcia played in 13 games (all starts) last season for the Bucs and he completed 209 of 327 passes (63.9%) for 2,440 yards with 13 TD passes and 4 interceptions (94.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 35 times for 116 yards (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Look for Garcia to pad his already impressive career totals with another solid season in 2008 as long as he can stay healthy.  Garcia has now played in 112 games (105 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,020 of 3,300 passes (61.2%) for 22,825 yards with 149 TD passes and only 77 interceptions (87.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 430 times for 1,994 yards (4.6 ypc) with 25 TD runs.

Veteran Brian Griese will likely be the #2 QB this season unless Luke McCown beats him out in training camp.  Griese has an edge based on experience and the fact that he’s been effective over the years.  He did not play his best football in Chicago last season but he didn’t have much help at the skill positions.  Griese played in 7 games (6 starts) for the Bears last season and he completed 161 of 262 passes (61.5%) for 1,803 yards with 10 TD passes and 12 interceptions (75.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 28 yards (2.2 ypc).  Griese will likely get to add to his career totals this season as Jeff Garcia will no doubt get banged up a little bit because of his playing style.  Griese has now played in 88 games (78 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,642 of 2,612 passes (62.9%) for 18,367 yards with 114 TD passes and 92 interceptions (83.6 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 233 times for 583 yards (2.5 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

Luke McCown was pressed into service last season when Jeff Garcia missed some time to injury and he played very well.  He exhibited a strong arm and he was very effective at both running the ball and buying time in the pocket to throw it.  McCown played in 5 games (3 starts) for the Buccaneers last season and he completed 94 of 139 passes (67.6%) for 1,009 yards with 5 TD passes and 3 interceptions (91.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 117 yards (9.8 ypc).  McCown deserves to be the #2 QB for the Bucs but you know that politics could play a factor in that decision.  McCown has now played in 10 games (7 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 142 of 237 passes (59.9%) for 1,617 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 interceptions (75.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 142 yards (7.9 ypc).

Chris Simms will likely get either traded or released before the 2008 season begins.  He has been mouthing off about Coach Gruden about how he handled Simms’ spleen injury two years ago.  The fact remains however that Chris Simms is just not a talented QB.  He has problems with deflected balls at the line of scrimmage and he often puts the ball up for grabs when facing pressure.  Simms did not play last season.  He has now played in 19 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 291 of 492 passes (59.1%) for 3,087 yards with 12 TD passes and 17 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 30 times for 52 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Look for the Bucs to cut him before the season starts and don’t look for many teams to line up to claim him.  He might have very well played his last game in the NFL.

Josh Johnson was awesome in extended high school ball at San Diego.  The Bucs will likely try to hide him on the practice squad until they can coach him up to the NFL’s speed.  Make no mistake though, he is a very talented player.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B