Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online

The Writers

Roy Cummings

Ira Kaufman

@TBO_Buccaneers
TBO Buccaneers
Roy Cummings
Anwar Richardson
Ira Kaufman
Ask a question

Most Recent Entries

Monthly Archives

Gruden Happy To Be 3-1

Posted Sep 29, 2008 by Anwar S. Richardson

Updated Sep 29, 2008 at 01:04 PM

Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden fielded more questions about quarterback Brian Griese’s three-interception performance against Green Bay, but chose to focus on the three consecutive wins Tampa Bay has enjoyed since Griese took over in week two.

“What I say publicly and what I say behind the doors are two different things,” Gruden said. “I’m not going to be overly critical publicly. I got a lot of respect and confidence in Brian Griese. There are three or four throws he’s had the last two weeks that have hurt us, and there about 35 or 40 throws that have helped us.

“He made some throws yesterday after the third interception that were big-time plays. They changed the game in terms of field position. He made some decisions in the running game that were outstanding. So there are some areas, I think, that are very clear and obvious that we need to clean up. He knows where I stand and where our team stands on turnovers. We got to clean that up and we’re going to work our butt off this week to get that done.”

Gruden also said S Sabby Piscitelli hurt his right elbow. Piscitelli spoke in the locker room with a brace on that arm and said he would play through the pain as he struggled to put on a sweatshirt.

In addition, Gruden was unsure whether WR Joey Galloway would play this week at Denver, while adding T Jeremy Trueblood and G Arron Sears were both banged up against Green Bay, but their playing status did not appear to be in jeopardy.

Gruden also was very complimentary of his offensive line, which has not allowed a sack in 97 consecutive passing attempts.

“A lot of that is because of Griese. He does a great job of getting rid of the ball,” Gruden said. “Our line is doing some good things, no question about it. They were very good, particularly in the second half when we were running the football. When you throw the ball 97 or 98 times in a row, whatever it may be, without a sack, that’s a credit to a lot of guys. We’re really happy with our line. We expect them to continue to get better throughout the year.”

Finally, Gruden was happy his team is 3-1 and looked forward to this weekend’s game against Denver.

“This season is so long. It seems like training camp was last year,” Gruden said. “You can isolate four games and get familiar with them and get a couple of common themes; that’s big to help your guys focus, otherwise you’re looking at the big picture instead of a few steps in advance. We have to concentrate on the next month of the season, and some players who maybe didn’t play in the first quarter, are going to have to step to the forefront now.

“I just think it’s important to get familiar with Denver quickly, isolate the things we haven’t done well in the first quarter because those are the things that will come back to bite us in the second quarter. The things that we’ve done well, we’ve got to do better. I just try to break it down in a one-month segment so we can all try to focus in on the short term. If you go 3-1 in every quarter, the last I checked that was 12-4 and you’ve got home-field advantage for the most part.”

Reader Comments

Por (John Klopfer) on September 29, 2008 (Suggest removal)

The Bucs are putting themselves in good position. Griese will get better