TAMPA - Coach Jon Gruden likes to refer to the etiquette of football, so he could not have been happy with some questionable conduct during Saturday's 30-28 loss to the Falcons.
Linebacker Nate Webster and guard Kerry Jenkins were caught by TV cameras roughing up Falcons at the end of plays. Webster put his hand through the face mask of returner Allen Rossum, and Jenkins repeatedly shoved Patrick Kerney's head into the ground after Kerney laid a clean hit on quarterback Brad Johnson.
Webster was in the middle of several shoving matches on special teams, including one in which Falcons linebacker Artie Ulmer threw a punch at Webster. Ulmer was issued a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected. Later, a holding penalty against Webster negated a 56-yard kickoff return by Aaron Stecker. Also, receiver Keenan McCardell was penalized for unnecessary roughness at the end of an Atlanta interception that gave the Falcons the ball at the Bucs 6. "There were, on both sides, a couple of plays that obviously had some individual battles that went a little bit too far," Gruden said. "You've just got to maintain your poise in those situations and (I) felt we could have done a better job of that at times."
BUTTER FINGERS: Johnson threw four first-half interceptions, including one that got away from him leaving his hand. Quarterbacks throughout the league often have lost their grip on balls that popped out of their hands.
"They used to let you rub the balls down," Gruden said. "They do to a certain degree now, but there are a lot of quarterbacks that I've been around that complain about the slickness of the ball. These are brand new balls taken out of the box and sometimes they are not rubbed down to the standards that they're maybe comfortable with."
When Gruden was a 49ers assistant, one of his duties was to scruff the game balls.
"Heck, I remember Joe Montana telling me to make sure I rubbed those balls down," Gruden said. "He didn't like those slick things. I think that is a factor, to some degree, especially early in games."
INJURY REPORT: Right tackle Kenyatta Walker (right knee sprain) is questionable Sunday against the Titans. Defensive end Greg Spires (left shoulder strain) and center John Wade (right rib bruise) are probable.
