GRADKOWSKI KNOWS: The Bucs' rookie backup quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski, who'll be making his first NFL start in place of injured starter Chris Simms, is well aware of what Sunday's game against the Saints means.

And he has a way to gauge just how he might play in the Superdome.

"Anytime I throw up, I feel like I'm going to have a good game," Gradkowski told reporters in Tampa. "So I might have to. But I'm going to be excited. The nerves are going to be running a little bit. But that's normal.

"When I get the nerves running, I feel like I'm ready to play. It's going to be fun. I'm just going to go out and have a good time. Just remember: This is football. This is what I've been doing since I was 8 years old."

Gradkowski, from Toledo, will become the fifth quarterback from a Mid-American Conference school to start in the league this season. He joins Cleveland's Charlie Frye of Akron, Jacksonville's Byron Leftwich of Marshall, the Jets' Chad Pennington of Marshall and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger of Miami (Ohio).