Rice Shows Up At Bucs' Mandatory Minicamp

By ROY CUMMINGS The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 20, 2007

TAMPA - Mindful that it was only the first day of the Bucs' mandatory minicamp and not the first day of training camp or the first day of the season, Simeon Rice did what he had to do Tuesday morning - he showed up.

Tuesday afternoon was a different story.

After spending all of about 10 minutes on the field in the morning - long enough to stretch, greet some teammates and head back to the locker room - Rice spent more than two hours working out in the afternoon.

He worked out alone, running in straight lines and between tackling dummies while the rest of the Bucs ran through drills and plays one field over. Still, it was a good sign.

The Bucs finished next to last in the league in sacks last year with 25. Rice, who usually gets half that many by himself from his defensive end position, had two. A sore right shoulder was the reason.

It robbed him of his effectiveness and cost him the second half of the season. Now Rice is back. But how far back is still unknown, because Rice isn't talking. He wasn't on Tuesday, anyway.

Opting to maintain a silence that goes back to November, when he was ordered to shut it down and have surgery, he declined several requests from the media to speak.

His actions didn't say much, either. Rice, a workout freak who regularly works well past the final horn at practice, will always be in stellar shape. That he was on the field working Tuesday surprised no one.

That said, it's not his fitness level the Bucs are worried about, it's that shoulder. For Rice to be Rice - to be effective and create the sack-fumbles that change games - it has to be right.

That's why he spent Tuesday morning working inside while everyone else worked outside, and why he spent the afternoon working outside on his own. It's about getting things right and keeping them that way.

"Why put Simeon Rice out here in a minicamp and take a chance on an injury?" Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "Let's just get him to 100 percent and make sure, and then we'll hit Orlando running."

That's the goal - Orlando, training camp. That's when the Bucs will find out once and for all whether Rice is capable of regaining his old form. Until then, they wait, seemingly with their fingers crossed.

They drafted Gaines Adams in the first round, ostensibly to replace Rice, who has a year left on his contract. But Adams has yet to play at a level that indicates he's ready to play regularly. The Bucs also signed Patrick Chukwurah as a free agent, but Chukwurah is best suited to play end on passing downs. In other words, the Bucs need Rice, and they need him at full strength.

Kiffin is hopeful. He's hasn't seen Rice take on a blocker since November, but says he's confident Rice will be 100 percent by training camp. Coach Jon Gruden says the same thing.

"He'll be ready for training camp and that's the bottom line," Gruden said. "He could have gone if we needed him to go [Tuesday], but we decided to keep him inside."

No one keeps Rice inside for long. Not Gruden, not a doctor and certainly not a sore shoulder. He always has been fueled by a unique dedication to excellence, and it was on display again Tuesday.

"He's focused," Kiffin said. "He's like all the other players on defense. Our standards have always been high here and he wants to come back and be part of something similar to [what the Bucs did in 2005]."

The Bucs, led by Rice's 14 takedowns, sacked the quarterback 36 times en route to an 11-5 record and a No. 1 defensive ranking. Rice was dedicated then.

According to some, he's more dedicated now.

"The seriousness of him," Bucs strength and conditioning coach Mike Morris said when asked if he saw anything different in Rice's approach. "The commitment he has to get back where he wants to be."

Healthy is where Rice wants to be. It's where the Bucs, still aching from last year's 4-12 meltdown, need him to be. Tuesday was an indication that Rice is nearing his objective.

"The guy's running like a horse, so just watch out," teammate Brian Kelly said. "That's all I can say. I mean, with Sim, if he's healthy, we know what we can get from him."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.