Maybe the Buccaneers should have courted quarterback Brett Favre. We say that because it appears Favre and Tampa coach Raheem Morris might have developed an instant rapport.
And we say they might have developed an instant rapport because they each have trouble making decisions.
At a Friday press conference, Morris said that he still hasn’t decided on a starting quarterback.
“We will here in the near future,” Morris promised. “As soon as we reach it, you will be third to know.”
The first to find out will be ownership, the second will be the team and the rest of the coaching staff.
Morris previously vowed to make a decision before the third preseason game, emphasizing the importance of having the starter under center for the contest that represents the closest thing to a real game.
But the decision, Morris says, won’t be influenced by ownership, with a small qualifier.
“For the most part, it is information for our ownership,” Morris said. “They like information just like you guys do. You own the team; you don’t want to read in the paper about who your starting quarterback is. You probably want the guy that works for you to come tell you like a man. That’s just one of those things, I don’t want you guys to read too much into that that I have . . . ownership sitting around saying, ‘Well, I think this guy is our starting quarterback.’ No it’s not that type of deal. It’s just information respect-wise for your boss.”
Morris also disputed Byron Leftwich’s position that the team needs to know who the starters will be.
“They don’t,” Morris said. “We thrive our team on being mentally tough. These guys have to be mentally tough. This is part of it. You don’t ever know who’s going to play based on injuries; you don’t ever know who’s going to play based on positional starts, so whatever their situation may be. This is just another test for our team, just another test for our organization. These guys will fit in well. These guys have bought into all we’ve done. Byron will be fine. I’m not worried about that one bit.”
Actually, Leftwich should know that a team doesn’t need to know the name of the starter in order to thrive. Precisely 104 weeks ago today, presumed starter Leftwich was poop-canned by the Jaguars and David Garrard was installed as the starter.
The team responded to the turmoil by making it to the playoffs.
Though the playoffs might not be in the cards for the Bucs, this “none of the above” approach isn’t hurting the rest of the team -- primarily since the rest of the team already realizes that much shouldn’t be expected from the quarterback position this year.
Regardless of who’s throwing the passes.
Or, if Leftwich gets the job, loading the catapult.