Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday that Brian Griese will start against the Falcons on Sunday.

And it's not just because of the injury Garcia suffered during the fourth quarter of a 24-20 loss to New Orleans.

The 38-year-old Garcia was not sharp against the Saints after missing most of training camp and the preseason with a strained right calf. His preparation for the Saints also was affected by a jammed pinkie finger on his throwing hand.

"Jeff right now is not himself," Gruden said. "We're going to give him a week off and try to get him ready to go. Brian Griese is a guy who's had a good training camp. We're going to give Brian the ball and rally around him. Hopefully Jeff can get back ready to roll soon."

Garcia signed with Tampa Bay before last season and helped the Bucs go 9-7 and win the NFC South for the second time in three years. The Bucs lost in the first round of the playoffs, and little has gone right for him since.

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During the offseason, the quarterback expressed unhappiness over the lack of progress on a contract extension. Then Gruden angered him by pursuing a trade for Brett Favre during the opening week of training camp.

He injured his calf early in camp and sat out three of four preseason games.

"It's been a very interesting last few months, obviously. He had the injury that occurred late last season, he had a prolonged calf injury," Gruden said, referring to a back injury that slowed Garcia the latter part of 2007.

"I just think right now, we've studied everything he's done. I really believe in this guy as a quarterback. Right now, he's not the same guy that he was, and I want him to be that. That's all I'm going to say until I see the ball thrown with crisp, accurate velocity, a confident swagger. We're going to let him sit out a week and hopefully he can get back soon."

Garcia was not available for comment.

It remains unclear when the quarterback was hurt against New Orleans, and the Bucs have not specified which ankle was sprained. Garcia remained in the game until the final minute, throwing an interception that stopped a potential winning drive on fourth down from the Saints 24.