yuccaneers
Pro Bowler
Posts : 1843
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« #1 : December 05, 2008, 06:32:39 PM »
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TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2008
HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
(on how comfortable he is with Ryan Sims in the starting lineup)
"I'm comfortable with him. Obviously we would miss Jovan because he has played a lot,
but Sims is a very good player. We will have to lean on him."
(on if he fears that Jovan Haye's injury will cost him several games)
"I don't know. I try not to speculate, but we hope to have him back if not this week then
the following week. But it could linger on. I don't know for sure."
(on if this game reminds him of the 2005 Bucs-Panthers game in December)
"We've been in big games before – I think last year, late in the year in New Orleans;
certainly the '05 season. If you're hanging around in the hunt you're going to be in big
games down the stretch. Last week was a big game. This is going to be a big, exciting
opportunity for both teams and hopefully it brings out the best in everybody."
(on if Jeff Faine has had an impact on a young offensive line)
"Yeah, not only as a player but as a behind-the-scenes leader. Those guys, I don't know
if you know, they eat together every meal. If you go sit at their table they tell you to get
lost. They hang out together. They're all tight. It's a genuine camaraderie that they have
and boy is that really exciting. Jeff Faine has a lot to do with that, and we really have
good guys, as you know. Davin [Joseph] and Blood [Jeremy Trueblood] and those guys
are great guys. [Donald] Penn and [Arron] Sears, Jeremy Zuttah, [Sean] Mahan – you
don't find many better guys. They've all come together and they root for each other and
they really hang tight together. That's something we're really, really proud of and excited
about."
(on John Fox and if the Panthers play the same type of football as the Bucs)
"A little bit. He's a good friend, he's a guy I've got a lot of respect for professionally.
Going against him when I was in Philly, he was with the Giants. Mike Trgovac, I
coached with in Philadelphia. I know how they go about their business. All you've got to
do is turn on their third-and-one reel and see that, holy cow, they take the game serious. I
look forward to these games, to compete obviously with him because I consider him
great. We're going to have to be on our game."
(on slow starts in the first half some games this year)
"I don't know which games that you're talking about. Obviously Kansas City wasn't very
pretty in the first half on either side of the ball. We did score three touchdowns in the
second quarter at Detroit. I can't really remember any further back than that. We
struggled the whole day in Dallas. We've just got to do a better job of calling plays and
maybe we can play a little bit better early, too."
(on Jovan Haye)
"He did not practice and I would think that he's on the lower side of questionable, maybe
even doubtful for this game."
(on if he's proud that the Bucs have had few off-field issues this year)
"I am proud of it. I think [Director of Player Development] Eric Vance has done a great
job with our young players. I think our veterans have had a lot to do with that. As I've
kind of said all along, we have a lot of football character. There are some guys that were
targeted for justifiable reasons earlier in the season. They're really comfortable in this
environment, they're flourishing and that's something that I credit our assistant coaches
with and our veteran players. We have a really good, united football team right now, and
I think it needs to be brought up occasionally that part of the responsibilities and
challenges that you have as a pro football player is to take care of business outside the
locker room. Our players have responded to that."
(on if the team's veterans set the tone)
"Yeah, they do. And they also know that they're responsible. They have to be
responsible. This is the National Football League, this is America and you're going to be
scrutinized not only in how you play but how you perform outside the lines. I think it's
just a big part of being on a team and being in an exclusive club like the Buccaneers, that
you have to live up to your end of the bargain. I've been pleased so far but I expect to be
pleased in that area. That's something that Eric Vance and our coaches and our owners
and our organization believe strongly in"
(on if he has to keep players away from the Monday night hype)
"Pretty much you do. You have a couple things that you say and try to reiterate during
the course of the week. You want this stage to bring out the best in you, and to do that
you have to play with poise but you also have to be well-prepared. You have to have a
great week of practice; that's why I'm pleased so much with today to give our guys a
chance to go out there and execute. But you have to keep your poise. You don't want to
go crazy at 10:30 or 12:30 in the afternoon at the hotel. You've got to compose yourself.
I hear a lot of the rookies signing the Monday night theme song walking down the hall;
they're excited. It's just one of the benefits you get here and there in the NFL, the
opportunity to play in front of your peers. I know that many of them are excited about
that."
(on a writer joking with John Fox that he was rumored to be giving part of his salary to
the University of Tennessee to help them get Kiffin)
"I'm trying to get Fox to go down there and coach the secondary, personally. I wouldn't
mind seeing that. That's the latest rumor I heard, is that Fox was going with Monte to
coach the DBs. I think it's a big-time deal. And I think Steve Smith is going to be a G.A.
and teach the young receivers. I wouldn't mind seeing that. There's a lot of rumors and
speculation. We've just got to win. We've got to find a way to win. I want our players to
be at the forefront; that's what matters the most. They're the ones playing the game."
(on Steve Smith)
"My brother makes a tape every week, we look for explosive plays and he sends me
splash plays…if you ever just watch the highlight tape of Steve Smith it's unbelievable.
It's unfair, really, some of the catches that he makes. He's great. You have him covered,
he's just a phenomenal player. What he did in Green Bay last week with the game on the
line – two plays that are just [great] against great defenders. The ball is thrown up in the
air. It's a credit to him. He's really something."
(on Smith being like a punt returner after making a reception)
"Yeah, he is. Hopefully he doesn't return punts Monday night. But they have Mark
Jones doing a good job. Every year you play him, he's had five big games against us, we
all know that. I don’t feel bad about that because he's had 35 or 40 big games league
wide. He's just a great player. He's a Pro Bowl receiver no matter who votes for who.
He's a Pro Bowler."
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