John Lynch. Simeon Rice. Warren Sapp. These are few of the ghosts that haunt Raymond James Stadium. You can't see them, but they are there, during every game, every down. Jon Gruden can feel their presence. Every time he makes a move, they are there. In every postgame press conference they are there.

A recent column by St. Petersburg Times sportswriter Gary Shelton laid out the reality that Gruden at the very least needs a playoff berth to keep his job. Shelton goes on the outline the current problems with the team (new quarterback, struggling running back and receiving core, pass rush, run defense etc., etc.) and how a playoff run will be a challenge for Gruden. At the bottom of the column where readers are allowed to post comments the topic quickly changed from Gruden's current standing as a coach to a common theme: Sizing Gruden up to the biggest ghost of them all, Tony Dungy.

Ever since Dungy was fired as head coach of the Buccaneers in 2002, he has been revered in Tampa Bay. Since Dungy won the Super Bowl as head coach of Indianapolis earlier this year he has been practically deified. Dungy. Silent and stoic, respected by fans and players alike. Gruden, well Gruden seems to have different tact in handling situations. Players, Keyshawn I hope you're listening, have shown disapproval towards his coaching style. His demeanor during a game usually consists of more facial contortions than a Jim Carrey movie and looks almost demonic. He has lost favor with a good portion of the fanbase, shoveling away some extremely popular players and leading the Bucs to losing seasons in 3 of the previous 4 years.

Gruden was brought into the Buccaneers organization in 2002 to get Tampa Bay a Super Bowl Championship, he delivered. A good portion of the fanbase though seems to think that Dungy deserves more credit for this victory considering he was head coach when a majority of that Super Bowl team was assembled.

A common mantra in the world of sports is 'what have you done for me lately'. In a perfect sports world Gruden would be given more time to finish what he is in the process of creating, a refurbished Bucs team with some young talent that is just starting to come into its own. But there is the overwhelming feeling that Gruden's head might be on the chopping block if some positive numbers don't show up on the board soon, that if they don't, the ghosts of the past will consume Gruden.

- While Bruce Gradkowski and Luke McCown fight for the second spot on the Bucs quarterback roster, Chris Simms, the former Bucs starting quarterback, seems not even in consideration. Simms did not play in Friday night's preseason opener and it has been reported by many publications that his practice throws have been considerably off the mark. Simms season ended early last year following a spleen injury in the fourth game. Could it be that No. 2 might soon be on the lookout for a new home?

"He has to play better," Bucs head coach Jon Gruden told the St. Petersburg Times. "We can all talk about the elbow and the arm, but he isn't playing very well right now. When he starts playing better, he'll get a chance to play."

-Simms isn't the only former starter competing for a spot on the roster, wide receiver Michael Clayton is fighting for a place in the Bucs starting receiver core. Clayton's competition includes NFL veterans Ike Hilliard and David Boston as well as sophomore receiver Maurice Stovall. Clayton, who during his 2005 rookie year with the Bucs amassed 1,193 yards and 7 touchdowns, has had only 1 touchdown and 728 yards in the previous two seasons combined.

-Michael Pittman seems to be winning the competition for starting fullback. The position has been open since Mike Allstott was placed on injured reserve last week with a possible career ending neck injury. Pittman is competing for the job with former New York Jet running back B.J. Askew and 3-year-pro Ernest Graham.

-Kenneth Darby, a rookie running back out of Alabama, made a statement on the field Friday night, rushing for 84 yards on 15 carries. Darby, who had a disappointing senior year at Alabama, was a seventh-round draft pick for the Buccaneers.

A week after Mike Alstott was placed on injured reserve and Simeon Rice was dropped from the team for failing a physical, 37-year-old journeyman quarterback Jeff Garcia seems to be the equivalent of the boy sticking his finger in the dike to hold the water back. After a disappointing 4-12 record last season and no major offseason acquisitions, the Buccaneers are in need of a rebound or head coach Jon Gruden faces almost certain mutiny.

Garcia and Gruden, Gruden and Garcia. Both in need of quick success in Tampa Bay or they will walk the plank together. Both have followed career paths that have had them in the constant position of having to prove themselves. Both have animated game faces of intensity unmatched on the field.

Garcia though, who has spent the last five years on five different teams might be the quarterback Gruden has been looking for and one of the keys in getting the team working correctly. Garcia has proven in San Francisco and Philadelphia that he fits well in a west coast-style offense, which Gruden employs. Garcia also possesses a fiery temperament, which could be very helpful in sparking an offense that last year looked clumsy and disjointed at worst, lethargic and lucky at best. Though Garcia was only 1 of 4 for 4 yards in Friday night's preseason opener, he showed glimpses of play making ability. On the second play from scrimmage, an incomplete pass, he proved to be elusive to oncoming tacklers which provided much needed time to consider his options.

Options, Garcia provides plenty of them. Throughout his career he has proven he can handle much of the spectrum of abilities commonly attributed to quarterbacks whether it be throwing, running, ducking, dodging or sacrificing his body for use as a human tackle dummy. Gruden has recognized Garcia's versatility and recently told NFL.com Senior Analyst Pat Kirwan he plans to install the shotgun package. The shotgun and the Buccaneers in recent memory has been about as good a combination as vodka and Cheerios.

The mobile styling of Garcia will make him a double threat and open up the field for the offense, which could be useful in throwing defensives off and giving Cadillac Williams added ability to find holes in which to run. Williams, who had a record setting rookie season in 2005, was kept to mostly short yard runs last year due to nagging injuries and the inability of the offensive line to create running room. Williams is elated at the possibilities created with the addition of Garcia.

"It's big," Williams recently told the Herald Tribune. "For one, he's a proven guy. Defenses are actually going to have to play us honest. With that, it's going to make it easier on me and him both and we're going to to help each other."

In his years as the Bucs head coach, Gruden has had as hard of a time keeping a starting quarterback on his team as Garcia has had staying on a team. New York Times reporter Judy Battista recently called Gruden a "quarterback collector" who falls "in and out of love with quarterbacks at about the same rate that a teenage girl develops crushes while flipping through Tiger Beat."

For Garcia and Gruden both, let's hope this marriage works, because if not, it will be a messy divorce.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers