Gruden swears he feels regret

The coach is caught cussing on the sidelines, and he's a bit sheepish about it.

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published December 4, 2007

TAMPA - Jon Gruden can, at times, get a bit emotional during games.

That, by itself, isn't really news. But the Bucs coach was caught on live television Sunday in the midst of several emotional exchanges with players and officials and, in one case, could be heard using obscenities.

Asked about his colorful language, Gruden seemed a little red-faced Monday.

"I have a lot of work to do, and I'm doing my best," Gruden said. "I regret it. I embarrass myself and my mother and my family sometimes. I have to do a better job. I wish the camera would focus on the game, too, honestly, but I have to show much more poise in those situations."

Of course, Gruden certainly isn't alone in expressing himself that way in a violent and emotional sport. And Sunday's game, with all its twists and turns, offered more opportunities than most for emotions to get the better of a coach.

Some of the frustration stemmed not from officiating but from gaffes committed by Gruden's players. Because the Bucs employed some sparingly used formations and personnel groupings, it led to unintended timeouts and, in other cases, forced the Bucs to scramble to beat the play clock.

"We used a lot of different personnel," Gruden said. "We went from three backs to no backs to four tight ends. We tried everything, and I think they took a couple timeouts because we weren't sure what our personnel was. We had some issues."

Familiar feeling: Tight end Jerramy Stevens, recipient of Luke McCown's winning touchdown pass, has had his share of success catching similar jump-ball fade passes while playing for his previous team, the Seahawks.

"I've had a few," said the 6-foot-7 Stevens. "My first NFL touchdown was on a same jump ball like that from (Seattle quarterback Matt) Hasselbeck. I'm comfortable with it, and I'm always in Coach's ear to call that play when we get inside the 5 because I don't feel like I can be covered on it."

On Sunday, while being defended by 5-10 cornerback Jason Craft, Stevens was right.

Found and lost: Free safety Tanard Jackson was in position to defend Devery Henderson's 45-yard touchdown catch from Drew Brees, and he likely would have had he been able to find the ball.

Jackson lost track of the ball in the lights and roof of the expansive Superdome, presumably when he took his eyes off the ball to peek at the streaking Henderson. When Jackson looked back, he couldn't immediately find the ball. Soon, Henderson was celebrating his score.

"When I didn't see it, I looked back down, and by the time I looked back down, it was in his hands in the end zone," Jackson said. "I couldn't have been in better position. ... Before the game, I looked up there and saw the lights when we were doing some ball drills. But (the deep middle) is our weakness in the Cover2, and we put that on film for other teams to try. We have to make sure we don't let that happen again."

Stephen F. Holder can be reachedat (813) 226-3377 orsholder@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 4, 2007, 01:20:21]