 |
|
Contract Extension Or Not, Players Support Gruden |
 Bucs head coach Jon Gruden may not get a contract extension after a 9-8 season (Cliff Welch) |
Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden is heading into the final year of his contract and may not receive an extension after Tampa Bay lost four of its last five games, including Sunday's 24-14 home playoff loss to the New York Giants. But Gruden did receive the verbal backing from his players after the postseason defeat, which dropped Tampa Bay's 2007 record to 9-8.
Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden worked wonders with a Buccaneers team that lost 13 players to the injured reserve list, including a few key starters in running back Cadillac Williams and left tackle Luke Petitgout. Other starters, such as quarterback Jeff Garcia, wide receiver Joey Galloway, running back Michael Pittman, tight end Alex Smith and cornerback Brian Kelly missed more than one game with injuries, yet this Tampa Bay team was able to bounce back from a dismal 4-12 season in 2006 to win the NFC South and finish the season 9-8 after Sunday’s 24-14 playoff loss to the visiting New York Giants.
Through the injuries, backup players stepped in and stepped up, and fantastic team chemistry and solid coaching alone seemed to push this Buccaneers team to a 9-5 record after drubbing Atlanta 37-3 on December 16.
However, Gruden chose to rest some of his ailing and tired starters for the playoffs over the last two games – both of which resulted in losses – and took some heat from the fans and media for that tactic after a third straight defeat, which came on Sunday against New York. A month ago, Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen appeared to be locks for contract extensions, as their current deals are up after the 2008 season.
But after losing four of the last five games, and with Tampa Bay’s offense – which is Gruden’s specialty – underwhelming onlookers with a 17.5 points per game average in those losses, which is two points below its season average of 19.6, there are doubts that contract extensions may be forthcoming for Gruden and Allen. Of course, any decision on contract extensions for the head coach and general manager will be made by the Buccaneers’ owners, the Glazer family, and they are typically secretive in nature with their decision-making process and rarely talk to the media.
While the Buccaneers players in the locker room were obviously disappointed with the way their season abruptly ended, most felt that the season was a successful one and expressed confidence in Gruden as a head coach. Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber was asked about his feelings for Gruden after the game.
“We're a well-coached football team, no doubt about it,” Barber said. “We have probably the best coaches in the league on defense. Jon is a great offensive mind, as well. He's got great assistants. I wouldn't put it on Coach [Gruden]. Jon's done his job and we just didn't execute well enough in a lot of different areas and they beat us today.”
Barber even went so far as suggesting that Gruden get a contract extension when asked.
“Yeah, I do,” Barber said. “It's not for me to say, obviously, but Jon did a lot of good things for us. You start to grow a love for what the guy does for this football team. Unfortunately, we let all of ourselves down today. That's frustrating.”
Tampa Bay nose tackle Chris Hovan had no issue with Gruden as his coach and seemed surprised that the media was asking questions about his future coaching the Buccaneers.
“I always expect Jon to be my coach,” Hovan said. “Jon is the coach of the Buccaneers. I can't speak to that point, but right now, my head coach is Jon Gruden. Until things happen, I don't know, but Jon Gruden is the coach and that's how I always look at it.”
In the coming days, pundits will have a field day second-guessing whether Gruden gaffed in resting some injured starters for the postseason and perhaps losing some momentum in the process.
“We really didn’t have a choice,” Gruden said. “People can question it, here I am and I’ll answer any more questions. We tried to get [wide receiver Joey] Galloway and [left guard] Arron Sears and a number of guys to the game today. The best way to do that was to get them an opportunity to rest and heal. I will be happy to take the criticism. We didn’t lose a game because of what occurred last week. We are unhappy to lose but there are plenty of people that would handle it the same way, I am sure.”
Barber said that resting some key veterans over the past two weeks had little to do with Sunday’s playoff loss to the Giants and the facts bear that out. The Bucs came out and outplayed the Giants in the first quarter – when rust would be the most evident – outgaining New York 78 yards to minus-2 and outscoring the G-Men 7-0.
“You can make a lot out of that, but I don't think we will, obviously,” Barber said of Gruden’s decision to sit out some starters in Tampa Bay’s 21-19 loss at San Francisco and 31-23 loss to Carolina. “This team was rested and ready to go. We had a good game plan. [The Giants] just out-executed us a little bit.”
Buccaneers running back Earnest Graham was very enthusiastic in his support for Gruden.
“Jon Gruden is a fantastic coach,” Graham said. “I can't imagine playing for any other coach that has you more prepared. We over-prepare, which is great in this game. That's what defenses and people in the league try to do. I've never gone into a game feeling like I wasn't prepared. He's a fantastic play-caller, he did a great job with the team this year, and the future looks great. I think the guy's a great coach.”
When asked how he would define this 2007 season in which the Bucs rebounded from last year’s 4-12 record to win the NFC South championship, yet stumbled to a 9-8 finish, Gruden said: “I’m not going to go there. There are plenty of people that can make that assessment, but we overcame what I think people predicted us to do. Combine that with the number of dramatic injuries that we suffered and it’s a great accomplishment. It’s a tremendous accomplishment by these players and I’m really proud of them for that.”
The Glazers may choose not to extend the contracts of Gruden and Allen in the offseason and wait until the 2008 season is under way before making a decision on extensions. That scenario took place this year in Tennessee with Jeff Fisher and in Baltimore with Brian Billick. Both coaches were coming off non-losing seasons but weren’t in danger of losing their locker rooms heading into 2007 despite their lame duck status. Fisher and Billick did receive contract extensions during the ’07 campaign, however, Billick was ultimately fired at the end of the season as the Ravens finished with nine losses out of their last 10 games.
Of course with one year remaining on his deal in Oakland, Gruden and his agent, Bob LaMonte, were angling for a contract extension after the 2001 season season and forced a trade to Tampa Bay when Raiders owner Al Davis refused to extend Gruden’s contract with a sizeable raise.
In 2007 under Gruden, the Bucs improved by five wins over their 4-12 mark in 2006 and won their third NFC South title in six years. Gruden’s offense improved from 29th in the NFL in 2006 to 18th in the league in 2007. The rushing offense improved from 28th to 11th, while the passing offense rose from 26th to 16th.
The Bucs offense scored 20 touchdowns, while averaging 11.9 points per game a year ago, and scored 33 offensive touchdowns, averaging 19.6 points per game – an improvement of eight points per game.
Is that enough improvement for the Glazers to merit contract extensions for Gruden and Allen? Tampa Bay has also lost two straight home playoffs games under Gruden (in 2005 and 2007), and that too may weigh on the Glazers’ decision-making process.
WATCH Pewter Report's Scott Reynolds and Jim Flynn each Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. on Sports Zone with Al Keck and Tom Korun on ABC Action News in Tampa Bay for Bucs game highlights and the latest Bucs news. And for the best local coverage of Tampa Bay sports and Tampa Bay news, check out ABCActionNews.com.
LISTEN to Pewter Report's Jim Flynn each Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. on the Pewter Pulse with Dan Sileo on WDAE 620 AM The Sports Animal, and catch Pewter Report's Scott Reynolds each Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. on the PewterReport.com Buccaneer Blitz with Steve Duemig on WDAE 620 AM The Sports Animal.
Comments
Horse
Of course some of these players and coaches don't see the problem of resting the last month of the season. They still get paid no matter what. That's why we lost. When we won the super bowl did we rest so many players the last month of the season? Of course not. That just plain BS to think that it had nothing to do with the loss. In every sport, the player pratices to the very end and then it's time for the game to start. Of course you can ease up a little just before the game starts, but you ease up in football as a team, not as individuals. This is a team sport.
Go Bucs!
8:57am, January 7, 2008
mostlarge
Hey Horse,
Did you see the first quarter?
We dominated the first period. This had nothing to do with resting players.
We got beat by a great defensive line which caused 2 of the 3 turnovers with massive pressure. No one wins in the playoffs with 3 turnovers.
I believe we didn't rest too many players during the super bowl run because we were fairly healthy and trying to secure the number 2 seed and a bye week.
Get your facts straight before you start spreading the hate!
9:17am, January 7, 2008
bucpmp
Horse,
If the Bucs would have won the game it wouldn't have mattered but they didn't and it still doesn't matter. Resting players to me sounds like an EXCUSE from fans and the media who say they shouldn't have rested them. I admire your loyalty Horse but if some fans & media get on Gruden for saying we lost our QB or any other injured player & they lose, he gets CRUCIFIED. There just isn't no excuse for the loss except that the Giants were the better team and Buc fans who could have afforded tickets to go to the game but didn't and want to complain about how many Giant fans were there, don't.
GO BUCS!
10:19am, January 7, 2008
Horse
bucpmp, I appreciate you words, but it does make a difference. Just look at this past year history in the NFL and see what quarterbacks played no matter what. How about Favre, Brady, P. Manning. All of those teams already had a lock on their Division. I can go on and on with other positions. Gruden threw the rhythm and timing off in the month of December. Now I don't believe Gruden should be fired. He did a good job and should have his contract extended for a year, but the real purpose is to make it to the Superbowl. That takes a lot of talent, luck, timing and rhythm..
I agree if a player is injured, they should rest until they are at 90%. If not, the team and players should play at full speed.
I understand we have different opinions about this. If we had won, I still would have said that we play all games as a team and only rest those that are injured. Many years ago as a jock, we praticed hard all the way up to the game day and everyone played if not injured even after we won our conference championship. Go Bucs!
11:21am, January 7, 2008
Horse
bucpmp,
I just reread my words to you and I hope that you do not take it the wrong way. We both are entittled to our opinions. We're probably both right and wrong on some of the analysis. I know that you are a big fan of the Bucs, just like me. We might come at it differently, but we both want to see our Bucs win another Superbowl.
Here's the way I look at it: various sports were created so soldiers wouldn't get bored between Wars and Battles. That same mentality used in War is used in sportsd by praticing/rehearsing which includes various tactics/timing/rhythm which is a must on the Battlefield/Playing Field if one is going to win. If you don't keep pushing the troops/players, they will slack off. There is plenty of history to prove this. It's just the way I look at it after being a jock in high school and college and a platoon leader in combat on the Battlefields of Vietnam and working for large Corporations and then successfully runing my own business before selling it. and retiring.
Go Bucs!
11:58am, January 7, 2008
bucfan47
Horse, first off, horrible examples man. I appreciate your examples of the battlefield and rhythm and timing, but resting players did not hurt this team in the game.
The offense has been the achilles heel all year long as they have not generated enough points throughout the game.
That's it. Nothing else needs to be said. The Bucs simply DO NOT have enough offensive weapons to put up 20 - 30 points in a particular game. In today's NFL world, you must have a team that can score in the high 20's and 30's. At the end of the football season, you will see that's true (SuperBowl Winner).
That's been the problem all year long, and you must know that. The reason the Bucs overcame and looked good this year was due to good coaching, taking advantage of the NFC South, which was down by leaps and bounds this season.
I still go back to the days of the Salary Cap, and for those that follow football (seriously), we all know the cap is where it's at. As a team, you either have money to spend on talent or you don't. After Richie Mckay left us in a financial mess, it's taken up until this year to get out of cap hell.
That's where Bruce Allen deserves so much credit, b/c we are out of salary cap trouble and can look for players in the free agent market that can come in to help this offense score more points. That's what they will do, just keep in mind that up until this point, no money was available to sign the best players on the market.
We now have the funds to do it and bring them to Tampa. No one ever points that out! Which I think it's funny.
Horse, I wouldn't worry too much about the loss. The players know where the team is headed, and they realize it's going to be a playoff contender for years to come.
They both deserve contract extensions, the Glazers would be insane not to give it to them. They have both done a tremendous job at turning the team around and Gruden has done a wonderful job of coaching this team despite all the injuries.
I can't wait for the off-season to see the improvements that will be made on the offensive side of the ball.
12:19pm, January 7, 2008
tjones
bucs are on the right track the team is a team ,they like there coaches .we just need to tweak it ,the offensive line will get better but in the last 4 games they just dont give our qb enough time ,garcia has been running for his life all season the 49r game showed that and now the giants game. to a great free agency and draft go bucs
1:41pm, January 7, 2008
bucpmp
We all want one thing for the Bucs and that's a World Champioship and atleast be able to compete for one every year. Look, the healthier teams usually are the teams that advance in to the playoffs and so forth. Luck always plays a part and so do good players. We were fortunate to overcome injuries we've had before in the past and we almost didn't miss a beat until yesterday. Our depth ran out and the Giants took advantage and hats off to them. We need more fans to be supporting our team instead of looking for a new coach for every bad season or bad play call or whatever. We don't run out and get new kids every time their bad. I'm not saying any of you above are but we need more fans like you who atleast see things in a bigger light. The Bucs do have a good amount of money to spend wisely as they did this year. Not just to spend the money just to spend it like the 49ers. Look this organization is growing and learning from some of their own mistakes and is getting better. The Bucs have a good coaching staff and all they need is some more depth with quality players at alot of positions. But it looks real promising.
Go Bucs & it's great to have a future
2:18pm, January 7, 2008
BucINT20
i'm pretty sure manning and the colts rested quite a few players going into the playoffs last year, and were considered to be playing soft by some - yet the came out and won a superbowl....it's not a factor, like the article said they dominated in the first quarter, and guys like galloway, june, sears, etc couldn't have played if they wanted to.
it was either play out the season with a bunch of backups of backups, or possibly plat the playoff game with a bunch of backups of backups....i'd choose the former 10 times out of 10
11:09am, January 8, 2008
Leave a Comment
INSIDER ARTICLES |
Pewter Report Roundtable
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Carolina on Sunday, 27-3. What did the...
Game Grades: Offense
The Buccaneers offense had a solid game producing 20 points against the...
Game Grades: Defense/STs
Tampa Bay defeated Carolina in convincing fashion at Raymond James Stadium...
Flynn's Focus
Which Bucs defender would replace CB Ronde Barber in nickel situations if he...
MORE ARTICLES |
