The daily grind

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER, Times Staff Writer
Published August 1, 2007

Goal-line stand

The monotony of practice can be grueling, but things occasionally liven up when the offense and defense square off in the goal-line portion of a workout.

Running back Earnest Graham was a victim of the intensity often shown in this part of practice when he was drilled by safety Jermaine Phillips on an attempt to reach the end zone.

But the offense as a whole wasn't outdone. It managed three touchdowns while the defense recorded three stops.

"You really look forward to goal line," Graham said. "Who doesn't like to score touchdowns? It's for bragging rights in practice. They got us a couple times today and we got them a couple times. It's definitely something to (build) on. It was pretty much a draw today."

The Bucs don't spend a great deal of time on goal line drills, mostly because a lot of what must be done there can't be taught.

"It's about being able to react," Graham said. "So many things are happening. Guys are diving, (defenders) are jumping over the pile. You never know quite what's going to happen. It's a place where anything goes. You have to be able to process information real quick.

"Most of the time, I feel like there's something there. There's always some daylight. It's about whether you can find it or not."

Lessons learned

Jon Gruden spoke for the first time on Tuesday about the death of one of the men he most admired, Bill Walsh. Gruden said he learned many lessons from Walsh and has implemented many of them in his career.

Gruden learned "you better work at this business, and you better try to surround yourself with great people. You better work, and when you get tired, you better work some more because the other guys are working."

Player evaluation was one of Walsh's greatest strengths, Gruden said.

"Don't ever look past the player. You give everybody an opportunity to develop," Gruden said. "You know some of their players were Hall-of-Fame, first-round players. But some of their guys like John Taylor, Brent Jones, Jesse Sapolu, Guy McIntyre -- they slipped through the cracks. (The 49ers) kept working with them and developing them. And they found a lot of guys late in their careers that came to San Francisco and dominated and played great."

Aches and pains

LB Derrick Brooks (hamstring) returned and looked much improved if not totally well. QB Jeff Garcia has a hamstring strain but did not miss any practice time.

[Last modified August 1, 2007, 03:47:27]