HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
(On the final game)
"I probably feel worse today than I did yesterday. Again, I'm very disappointed any time the season ends."
(On Carnell Williams saying his knee injury doesn't seem as severe as the last one)
"That's the encouraging word. A patellar injury…it's a similar injury to the one Mark Jones had. Mark Jones obviously has returned to full health. But it will be another grueling process for him. I was just excited to see him come back to life as a ballcarrier. I thought he caught the ball well. All indications are that he has a chance to be ready for training camp but it will be a long road to recovery."
(On if this is the toughest season ending for him)
"Yeah it's tough. It's very tough, obviously. We had a 10-point lead with 10 minutes left in this game. As a coach, you have to take responsibility for that. We didn't defend the run well enough. In the last four games of the season, I think we were last in the league, we gave up more yardage rushing than any team in football.”
(On how much of the problem was coaching and how much was execution on the field)
"Well, they go hand-in-hand. We missed some tackles, we missed a run fit, we seemed to make some critical errors in key situations down the stretch. We played some good football teams – Carolina's a good football team, Atlanta's a good football team. San Diego proved again last night they're as good as anyone in football. We lost to one football team with a losing record this year, that was the Oakland Raiders. We had a 10-point lead at home in the fourth quarter and I take responsibility for that."
(On the Bucs going 3-11 in the last three Decembers)
"I'm more focused on this year. The '06 team, we weren't very good in any quarter. The '07 team, we had a lot of players that didn't even play in the last couple games. I'm more focused about this season. Again, we just lost to three good football teams; we lost to a team yesterday that has proven all season on any given Sunday they're good enough to win. You give up 180 yards rushing, we have a couple opportunities to make plays in the passing game and we don't make them.”
(On what areas the team needs to improve)
"There are a lot of areas we have to get better at. We have to get better. You don't go 11 games where you don't give up a rushing touchdown and basically the final four games three different backs went for 160 yards or more. Injuries took its tool on us, certainly. We have to get more pass rush. We have to get more turnovers. You can't start at the minus-20 every series and expect to have great success. We have to take a look at every area, really. We have to take a look at our running back situation. We have some injuries there that are going to obviously impact the direction that the Buccaneers go. Again, we have to look at every area, really."
(On what he would say to fans that would like to make a head coaching change)
“I'd just assure them that I'm doing the very best that I can and I appreciate everybody's opinion on this matter. But I'm working as hard as I can and I'll continue to do that as long as I'm in this position."
(On if the team should have developed a young quarterback by this point)
"Well, it would be nice. That would be nice to do. I think the highest draft selection we've made was Chris [Simms] in the '03 season. We did our best to develop him. We got a lot out of Chris, he did some good things here. The injury, he was sidetracked a little bit. We've been fortunate – we had Brad Johnson who won a World Championship here. We had some issues at other positions that we needed to address. So it's been a little bit harder than maybe it appears. It's hard to find a guy unless you take him early sometimes. A lot of the young guys that maybe you're talking about having on your football team don't make it to free agency.”
(On the amount of roster turnover the team could face)
“Well, I think I’m always going to be confident. We’ve turned things around before. I think we had a seven or eight game turnaround when we first got here. I think we went from 4-12 to 11-5. Confident we can do it. We obviously have to do a great job in free agency, have to re-sign some of our key guys, have to acquire some guys. We found Antonio Bryant one of the best receivers in football. We’re fortunate to have a guy like that. Hopefully we can get him back. We’re confident we can do. We think there’s evidence that we have done it and can do it again.”
(On the strengths of the team)
“I think the offensive line is strong, very good. I really do. I feel very good about that position. I think our secondary when healthy is very good. S Tanard Jackson, I think, will be a great pro. [CB Aqib] Talib is going to be an excellent pro. I feel very good about our secondary. LB Barrett Ruud is one of the best middle linebackers in football. We have to pick it up in some other areas and we’ll do that.”
(On the priorities this offseason)
“I’ll talk about all that later. Priorities right now are improving in every area. We have to do better obviously at the end of the season. We had a number of injuries in ’07 and a number of injuries in ’08. I think the priority is to figure out why that is. I don’t know how we go about it but we have to find a way to have our best players available in closing time.”
(On the age of the team)
“Obviously everybody in the league has veteran players. We have some that obviously had lingering injuries during the final portion of the season and it hurt us big time. Yeah, that’s concerning. You want those guys to be playing their best football as the season folds, but the circumstances weren’t just that way this year.”
(On Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin)
“It’s been tough. That’s been tough, because it’s been talked about daily. All I can say is that I love that guy. I really have a lot of respect for him and a lot of appreciation for what he’s done here. It’s been tough, certainly. All I can say is that I won’t use that as an excuse.”
(On the team changing after the season)
“Well we went 16 games, we went 9-7. That is who we are, that is what we are. We went as far as we could go this year, believe me. We did not try to do anything but win every game. No team stays the same year in and year out, there will be changes on every team, ours included. Change is tough, it is inevitable, it is part of the game and we will do everything we can to field a better football team next season.”
(On the passing game)
“We threw the ball as good as any team in Buccaneer history this year, statistically. We feel like looking at the tape, we could have got some more out of it. But two different quarterbacks, a new split end, we had a number of new components. We like Michael Clayton now; we like Clayton and hope to get him back.”
(On the offense’s continuity)
“We have tried to build a line, we feel pretty good about that. Skilled positions, we inherited a veteran quarterback and Brad Johnson did great for us. It has been hard at that position certainly to find a guy. We are fortunate to find Garcia, who went to a Pro Bowl, helped us a lot this year. Carnell Williams was the rookie of the year; he has had a couple of serious injuries. You can’t apologize for that, that is the reality of it. Mike Alstott had a great run here, he had a serious injury. That sometimes has an impact on the decisions that you make. Michael Clayton had an unbelievable rookie year, was derailed by a number of injuries. We feel like we got a lot out of Joey Galloway when he was healthy. So to go back on the initial question, there have been some injuries and that has had a lot to do with it, we are not alone.”
(On the QB situation)
“I have a lot of respect for Jeff. Again, we will address all these things later. Jeff will have an opportunity to come back, I am sure; he will be a free agent. We will see who is available. We want to get better at every position that we can and that is our jobs, that is the profession we are in. Despite what people think, I have a lot of respect for Jeff, and I am really proud of what he has done here in his two years here as a starter.”
(On the offensive line)
“I thought their pass protection, even though we gave up some sacks, I don’t think that statistics really show the entire magnitude of what our offensive line has done. We have had a lot of different fullbacks this year, a lot of different runners. We pass protected, our running blocking has been solid, I just think that we are pretty good up there and I think people in the league would agree with that.”
(On the coaching staff)
“I don’t know that. I don’t foresee a lot of changes. We will have to see whose contracts are up and do the best we can to move forward from there.”
(On a new secondary coach)
“I would say that is something that we haven’t talked about yet. We are going to see what Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris feels most comfortable doing as a coordinator. Some guys like to walk around and have a guy coach a position; he might want to coach the secondary. We are obviously going to meet extensively here in the next few days talking about it.”
(On the red zone offense)
“Well we got down there a lot, which was good. We got down there as much as anybody in the league. To break it down, we did better the last couple of weeks in the season, I think, finishing drives. Anytime that you get down inside the red zone you want touchdowns. We had some opportunities to score that we didn’t take advantage of. Some situations we strategically played for a field goal, or a couple situations we took a knee at the end of the game, but it wasn’t good enough. That is another area that you take responsibility for as a coach, I have to get better there.”
(On if the team reached its potential)
“We went 9-7 and I have a real strong belief that at the end of year, you are what you are. We didn’t play well enough the final month of the season. There were glimpses of very good solid football early. We won some games that no one thought we would win, up in Arrowhead, in Chicago. We pulled some games out of some tough situations; unfortunately we couldn’t do it at the end. I think a lot of guys did max out. I thought Antonio Bryant had an unbelievable season. We overcame out of injuries; Carnell Williams made an unbelievable return to football. Warrick Dunn had over 1,110 yards, all purpose yardage, returning to Tampa. Jeff Faine was a good addition. We just couldn’t sustain it long enough and that is my responsibility.”
(On the team’s draft last year)
“Dexter Jackson is just in his rookie year. It is a project to a degree as a receiver; it is going to take a little bit of time. I would hate to just slam the book on Dexter Jackson today. We have had some good picks; we have had some really good picks. We have had some picks that haven’t worked out, but I can’t name any team in football that has had every pick perform to great, high standards. We like Aqib Talib a lot now, a lot, and we really thing Jeremy Zuttah is going to be a heck of football player. Clifton Smith went to the Pro Bowl. Whether we drafted him or not, he is a rookie. There were some good additions from our young class, some of the other guys have to pick it up, but I don’t think you can say that guy’s careers are written yet, after one year.”
(On being 9-7)
“I hate not competing for championships, and we are not, so it is not a very good season, not good enough. Again, I feel like this football team, 16 games this team had a chance to win the game. They were tied or protecting a lead in the fourth quarter 16 weeks. I don’t remember once, feeling like we didn’t have a chance to win, I like that. But 9-7 doesn’t feel good when you are not in the tournament competing for a championship.”
(On how the team can improve)
“I try to be as creative as I can; I feel like we have had a very good coaching staff, we have to get better in all areas. I have to work a little harder I guess, do the best I can to be more organized, be more effective as a leader and as a football coach.”
(On the injuries)
“We had a lot of guys step up, 9-7 reflects that fact with the amount of injuries that we had. Our leading ball carrier was out; our leading receiver from a year ago didn’t play much this year. We lost a number of key guys, special teams, Maurice Stovall, Geno Hayes, Byron Storer, heck; we didn’t have a fullback for about seven weeks. A lot of guys stepped up. The salary cap, I am told is in great shape. We will be in a position to once again, be able to compete for just about anybody, I am confident we will do that.”
(On if the team should use all the cap space)
“I don’t know about that. You just don’t max out your cap unless you are logically going after somebody that you think is a fine football player that qualifies, or that has earned that right to seek those kinds of dollars. We will do the best we can to field the best roster.”
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