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The 6-3 Buccaneers begin their playoff push Sunday when they entertain the 5-4 Vikings.
Here's the latest from Jon Gruden after Thursday's workout.
(On practice and injured players)
"We had the same players today for the most part – Alex Smith, Jermaine Phillips, Brian Griese did not practice. Everybody else returned, so that was good."
(On how Earnest Graham looked)
"He looked pretty good. I think obviously the bye week came at the right time for him. And Warrick [Dunn] appeared quick, so we're counting on those guys at this point."
(On if Brian Griese has had a setback)
"No, we're just trying to get the arm totally healed, just kind of keeping him on idle right now. We think he'll be okay hopefully in a few days. We have plenty of quarterbacks to work with."
(On if the time off helped Joey Galloway get back into shape)
"I don't know if conditioning is ever going to be the issue with him. It's getting back to total, complete health. Now it's up to us as a staff to figure how to re-merge him in our attack. At the same time, it's complicated with the fact that Antonio [Bryant]'s been playing great football for us. Joey's been gone awhile. I think game condition is maybe a better word of conditioning, not just the physical running and lifting and all those things. He's in great shape.”
(On Brian Clark getting an opportunity)
"That's something we're proud of. If we've accomplished anything here, we've been fair to every player that we've had. We've pretty much coached every guy on the roster with the intent that they're going to make it and eventually become a starter. Earnest Graham, Donald Penn…you go back to Shelton Quarles and Ryan Nece…a lot of guys have come in and played. Here's another guy that's been scratching the surface for a little over a year with us, and he's earned the right. He's a versatile guy who can play all three positions and he plays on special teams. No matter what anybody tells me, that third, fourth, fifth receiver, that third, fourth, fifth back has to play on special teams, and that goes for the backup linebackers also."
(On the Vikings' defensive line)
"You talk about not throwing the ball down the field, they don't let you get many passes off. This is a great right defensive end in [Jared] Allen, a special kind of player. Kevin Williams as a defensive tackle, he's a difference-maker in football, much like Warren [Sapp] was for us. And Kevin is about six-foot-10; he bats balls down. He is a problem, he's a real problem. He's got great initial quickness and strength, and when you do get a decent block or a good block, he raises his hands and he does reject passes. Pat Williams is one of the premier Pro Bowl run-stuffers in this decade, to be honest with you. So you put that together, and they've got a real group of young, athletic guys that they rotate in there and it's a special group that they have."
(On how the team responded to the challenge of returning from the bye)
"They did good. I don't know if they were really happy Monday when we put the pads on. We felt it was the right thing to do because B.J. hasn't worn his pads, Cadillac [Williams] hasn't been in pads since the Carolina game last year, and we wanted to get Donte Nicholson some padded work because he might be in the punt team. And our guys really responded to it. These players can say what they want but they love football and they've got a lot of respect for each other and they want to help each other and they want to win. I was really impressed with the practice we had Monday. It was a physical practice and I think the guys liked it. I think they expected it and wanted it."
(On if they need more out of Greg White)
"There are some good individual rushes he's had. He hasn't collected the sack. I just think I speak for everybody: We all need to do better. For us to stay in the race and have a chance to win it, we've all got to do better – coaches, players, trainers, equipment guys. We've got to do a better job. We need him to get home. We need him to hit the ball out of the park because those are winning edges. Those are impact plays. You've got to get to the other team's passer. Minnesota's doing a great job of that right now; we've got to do that ourselves. We need more from everybody in the building."
(On Jared Allen being a concern)
"I'd say he's a concern. Donald Penn has seen some great rushers now. He's seen John Abraham, he's seen Julius Peppers, he's seen [DeMarcus] Ware. He's seen some premier guys and he's going to see another one Sunday. I think the game's at one o'clock; he'll see another one that's really hot right now and hopefully he can play his best game."
(On what it's like to add a player like Allen to your team)
"It's huge. It's huge. Some of the teams that got into the free agent part of it and went after some of the big-name guys – I think the Jets did that with some of their marquis guys. Generally they're marquis guys because they're marquis guys. I'm a big believer in marquis guys myself. I like those kinds of players."
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