|
FBF Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: St. Pete
Posts: 30,817
|
TAMPA - For two years, the Bucs tried everything they could to keep Kenyatta Walker on the field. They gave him time off from practice, adjusted his weightlifting routine and even gave him special medical attention.
Nothing worked. The periodic fluid drainings and two arthroscopic procedures to clean up the damage in Walker's sore right knee proved to be a good salve, but they weren't a cure.
The only cure for what was ailing the Bucs' starting right tackle was season-ending surgery, and that was performed Tuesday. On Wednesday, rookie Jeremy Trueblood became the team's new right tackle.
"It's a credit to [Walker] that he played the way he did, given what he had those first three games," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "This was an injury that continued to cause pain and fluid - irregular amounts of fluid.
"He was basically playing on one leg out there, so we had it looked at and we figured the best thing to do was to get it completely healed so that hopefully he can return to playing [next year]."
Though he often was the target of criticism by fans and some media members, Walker started 73 of the 75 games he played with the Bucs and was the starting right tackle on the Super Bowl championship team.
A first-round pick in 2001, Walker signed a five-year contract in the offseason, but the Bucs had a feeling even then that his knee might be a problem. That's why they spent a second-round draft pick on Trueblood.
The Bucs were hoping Trueblood would spend this season learning the nuances of the NFL. Now, though, he's being pressed into action ahead of schedule, and at a new position.
Trueblood spent his entire college career playing left tackle for Boston College. He first played right tackle during the Senior Bowl, and he admits the adjustment has been difficult.
"It was well-documented how tough it was in the very beginning [for me at right tackle]," Trueblood said. "But since then everything has gone pretty smoothly. I've had enough time to practice, so I should be comfortable with it by now."
The difficulty Trueblood has had at right tackle mostly has come in pass protection. Before the Senior Bowl, he had never leaned on his right hand in a three-point stance, so the switch to that was awkward for him.
"It's difficult in the sense that you do things over and over and over again and so you get used to doing things that way," Trueblood said. "But it's fine now."
The Bucs sure hope it's fine. After all, with Chris Colmer, Torrin Tucker and Walker no longer with the team or sidelined for the season, they suddenly are thin at tackle. And it's not as if there is a plethora of quality tackles available on the free-agent market.
That group is so thin, in fact, that to fill Walker's roster spot, the Bucs on Wednesday signed undrafted rookie Donald Penn off the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad.
These issues are nothing new to the Bucs. They lost three projected starting linemen to injury before the first game last season, and this season opened with starting right guard Davin Joseph on the sideline.
Joseph, who has been out since Week 1 with a right knee injury, was back at practice Wednesday. He is on the brink of returning to the lineup, Gruden said, but he is unlikely to play this week.
"The goal right now is to get him active, not necessarily to start him in this game," Gruden said. "We want to get him re-acclimated to football, because we've got Cincinnati and Philly coming up, and they tell me we may need him."
When Joseph does come back, he likely will become the third rookie to start on offense for the Bucs this year. The others, should all go as planned, are Trueblood and quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
Gradkowski is taking over for Chris Simms, who is recovering from surgery to remove a ruptured spleen. But unlike Walker, who was placed on injured reserve, the Bucs still have not decided whether to shelve Simms.
"This is not a common injury," Gruden said when asked of Simms' status. "Everybody responds to it a bit differently, so we'll see how it goes in the next seven to 10 days and adjust along the way."
With Simms, Joseph and Walker out or ailing, the Bucs are making a lot of adjustments. They're making so many, in fact, that staying competitive could prove difficult, Gruden said.
"It's a big challenge," Gruden said. "It's a great challenge indeed. But I think our team has responded well to changes in the past. We'll just have to wait to see what happens this time."
__________________
av - D
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PeanutTillman @ Jul 6th ) [snapback]2042213[/snapback]</div>
Quote:
|
God, Antifreeze tastes like liquid candy. Its amazing. If it wouldnt kill you I'd chug the ****.
|
|
Walker Out For Season
Linear Mode
