Struggling quarterback Chris Simms took some passing reps in the 11-on-11 drills Tuesday with mixed results.

   Simms, who did not play in the Bucs' preseason opener Friday, went 1-of-2 and ran once during his limited action. He still is far behind starter Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski.

   In the afternoon session, Simms served as the scout squad quarterback and was intercepted three times.

  ""We're trying to get him some work and you saw what happened,'' Gruden said. ""He did do some decent things and we're trying to work him back in. We've said that for the last seven or eight days. It's a work in progress.''

  Simms said it felt good to get some reps against the Bucs' No. 1 defense but he's only cautiously optimistic.

   ""I can't say I can (throw) like I did before, but it's coming along,'' Simms said. ""I'm not like Chris Simms before the injury. Definitely not. Like I said, it's just a matter of time.

   ""I'm just going to continue to work at it and keep plugging away. It's not a matter of if, it's just when. It'll come. It might not look great to you guys out there, but I can notice a difference between this week and last week. So as long as I feel improvement, I'm happy.''

   That said, don't look for Simms to play Saturday at Jacksonville. He knows he isn't ready to face live bullets and that means the Bucs face a tough decision in about two weeks.

(Pictured: Chris Simms, left. Times photo - Brian Cassella. Click to enlarge.)