The effect of fleet feet

TAMPA, FLA. - Linebacker Chad Greenway's assignment called for him to stay in coverage, but the third-down play in his words was "so blown up it was a mess." That it left him in no-man's land.

Greenway was covering Tampa Bay running back Warrick Dunn in the first quarter Sunday when quarterback Jeff Garcia scrambled out of trouble and found an opening. Dunn took off upfield as Greenway paused for a split second, unsure of whether to stay with Dunn or peel back in case Garcia tried to run for the first down.

Garcia quickly lobbed the ball over Greenway's head to Dunn for a 36-yard reception.

"When you have a quarterback who can keep the play going with his feet," Greenway said, "it's going to hurt you."

Garcia provided a case study of that in the Bucs' 19-13 victory over the Vikings at Raymond James Stadium.

"He's probably the most mobile guy we're going to see all year," linebacker Ben Leber said. "We knew that coming in. But it's a lot harder to get it done when you get on the field."

Said defensive end Jared Allen: "You rush outside, he steps up inside. You go inside, he steps up outside."

The 38-year-old Garcia, a 10-year veteran of the NFL, completed 23 of 30 passes for 255 yards, and he also carried the ball six times for 21 yards.

"It's pretty hard when the guy is scrambling for seven, eight seconds," cornerback Cedric Griffin said. "You usually cover a receiver about three or four seconds. He just kept making plays, kept scrambling, kept giving his receivers and tight ends opportunities to make plays down the field."

The Vikings knew it would be tough to get to Garcia and disrupt his timing, even with their imposing pass rush. The Bucs had allowed only 10 sacks all season, fourth-fewest in the NFL.

"I don't know what's worse: zone coverage or man coverage," Leber said. "Either way you've got to find a guy and pick him up, all while you're trying to keep an eye on [Garcia] to see what he's doing."

The Vikings felt like they generated a consistent pass rush, finishing with one sack (Greenway) and six quarterback hurries. But Garcia's hot hand (and feet) helped the Bucs hold the ball for 20 minutes, 38 seconds in the second half, which limited the Vikings to 20 offensive plays.

"He did a good job of keeping plays alive for them," safety Madieu Williams said. "He's just very elusive. Even at his age, he's still able to find ways to make plays."