FanHouse GregWhite

Teen Wolf is, of course, an awesome movie. It has Michael J. Fox, a girl named "Boof" and, well, werewolves. Also, it has Styles, Fox's lovable sidekick-type friend that has huge sunglasses and sports crazy antics. Yeah, he's awesome.

Greg White, Tampa Bay defensive lineman, thinks the character is so awesome, actually, that he has officially changed his name in order to honor the guy.

Tampa Bay's second-year DE has officially changed his name. On Monday, a Hillsborough County Circuit Court granted White's request to change his name from Gregory Alphonso White Jr. to Stylez G, White.

Circuit Judge Steve Scott Stephens signed off on White's petition and as White walked through the Bucs locker room Monday, he gleefully distributed copies of the final judgment.

White said he picked his new name from a character in the 1985 movie "Teen Wolf,'' starring Michael J. Fox.

It's the one thing every coach of a playoff-bound NFL team fears -- losing key players in the regular season games just before the playoffs and just after clinching that playoff berth.

That happened to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday in San Francisco. Maurice Stovall left the game in the 2nd quarter with a right arm injury. Later that quarter, defensive end Greg White left the game with a bruised quad. White is expected to return to the lineup for the playoffs, but Stovall was placed on injured reserve this week.

Not surprisingly, Gruden pulled Jeff Garcia and several other starters from the game in the second half, and he's already decided that most of those starters will not play in the Bucs' final regular season game, which means nothing to the Bucs' playoff status; they're locked into the #4 seed and a home game with the Giants the weekend after New Year's Day.

I suspect Gruden would not have made that decision, though, had he not lost an effective receiver and special teams player like Stovall for the season -- especially since he was on the other side of that decision last week.