"Are You Kidding Me?!"

Bucs head coach Jon Gruden (Getty Images)

Bucs head coach Jon Gruden (Getty Images)

The usually outspoken head coach of the Bucs, Jon Gruden, was nearly speechless after witnessing Matt Bryant's 62-yard field goal that proved to be the game-winner against Philadelphia, 23-21, as time expired. When he was able to collect his thoughts, he shared his point of view with some Bucs beat writers, including Pewter Report's Scott Reynolds.



 

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden recounts the final minute of the Buccaneers’ improbable, 23-21 come-from-behind win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Matt Bryant’s 62-yard field goal, which is a Buccaneers franchise record and the second-longest field goal in NFL history, proved to be the game-winner:

“There are a lot of interesting things that happened in the last minute of the game. They scored to make it 20-20. Our guys were exhausted. It was hot. We took a timeout – we had three left. We tried to get our guys energized to block that kick, knowing that we would have two left. They made their extra point to make it 21-20. They kicked the ball off and we get the ball. We feel pretty good about … if we get the ball to the 40, a 56- or 57-yard field goal is not unreasonable. There were so many peaks and valleys. On the play before the field goal, we had Alex Smith right on our sideline for about an 8-yard gain. Everything you wanted on that play and Bruce tripped coming away from center. He got tripped. There’s four seconds left and we just let [Bryant] kick the ball. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. The swings of ‘You’ve got to be kidding me?’ to ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ And Westbrook broke six tackles on the play. It was a check down. It wasn’t like a creative, ‘they got us, they schemed us’ play. He ran through about four or five tackles and went 60 yards on the ground to basically win the game. You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve never seen anything like it. So for us to get a 62-yarder I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”

Copyright 2006 PewterReport.com

 

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