Gruden expecting more of Clayton
The Bucs coach challenges the receiver after a poor season.
By RICK STROUD
Published March 30, 2006
LAKE BUENA VISTA - Michael Clayton had trouble running away from cornerbacks, linebackers and safeties last season, the result of a bum knee. Now he can't escape the expectations of his coach.
"We need Michael Clayton to come back and step up," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said Wednesday. "He did not play for us this year like the guy that was a threat as a rookie.
"Interstate 80 has to be open. It can't be like this I-4 with all these detours, you know what I mean? You've got to have a nice, smooth ride when you line up with whoever the flanker is in this offense.
"He didn't seem to have the same focus; we've talked privately a lot about that. He did not have the same kind of year for a lot of reasons. I think the injuries, the surgeries, all those things caught up with him."
What Gruden knows is that the 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver's playmaking ability has to run through the offense as sure as the Mississippi River winds through his native Baton Rouge.
But Clayton had three severe injuries to cope with last season. He missed the offseason recovering from knee surgery and reported to training camp out of shape. In the second preseason game, he dislocated his shoulder. By then, Gruden had built the passing game around Joey Galloway. Clayton's season ended in Week 16 with a turf toe injury.
"It's a situation I've never been in before, being injured and not being able to play up to the caliber you're expected and guys taking your place," Clayton said Wednesday. "One of the worst things you ever can endure when you love the game of football is to not be out there. I don't ever want to experience that again."
A year after leading NFL rookies with 1,178 yards receiving and six touchdowns, Clayton finished fifth on his team with 32 catches and no scores.
"The media talks are about, "Will he be a flop or a one-hit wonder?' " Clayton said. "That's the kind of thing I don't worry about.
"My confidence level, the expectations I set up for myself are higher than any coach or media. I have that much more confidence."
Gruden isn't an apologist for Clayton. But he noted the 23-year-old former No. 1 pick has spent four days a week rehabbing his knee at One Buc Place since the season ended.
Good thing. Gruden also believes Clayton might have had too many off-field commitments.
"I think he probably pushed himself to the point where everything got a little thin," Gruden said. "He had his hand in a lot of things. He's a charismatic guy. He's the kind of guy who you want to do your radio show or be at your car dealership or do these kinds of things. But he needs to go back home now. He needs to go back to the gym. He needs to shut the door, turn the music on and get down to business here, then all of the other things will come to you.
"I want him to be great. Not just make the team and be a player. I want him to be great. And I think he understands that. ... We got to get him back to what we think will be a Pro Bowl player. We know he has Pro Bowl talent."
At the NFC coaches' breakfast at the Hyatt Grand Cypress, Gruden was peppered with questions about additions the Bucs' division rivals made. Receiver Keyshawn Johnson in Carolina. Defensive end John Abraham in Atlanta. Quarterback Drew Brees in New Orleans.
The Bucs, meanwhile, stood pat. In fact, 21 of their 22 starters return, including the oft-injured Clayton.
He knows he will have detractors. But this season, Clayton says he's better prepared to weather the critics, having gotten married last month.
"Sometimes, you can take a look at your career. There are two roads, and you can go down one street or the other," Clayton said. "I can choose which street I go down, get life right and get back to the fundamentals and not losing myself under certain presures and what people say."
But Gruden doesn't want Clayton to feel the pressure. He wants him to apply it.
"You've got to practice, man," Gruden said. "These guys go year-round, man. Year around the clock. You see the bodies of some of these guys? It's insane what these guys go through to get themselves ready to play. And once you sacrifice half that, or most of the that preparation - the physical preparation, mental preparation - it catches up to you. Because the other guys are just as good physically as you are. It's a fine line. And I think Michael has learned from that. He's had a great offseason. He's been in there every day. He's upbeat, he's alive. He got married, okay? So I'm really excited about joining forces again with him this year."