Tampa, Florida					Monday, September 06, 2010

Wrong Again, And Glad To Be
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
TAMPA—When Jon Gruden arrived in Tampa a winter ago as Tampa as the surprise new head coach of the Buccaneers, we had a little meeting and went over the roster Ton Dungy had left when he was dismissed. I’d known Gruden and his family, notably his mom and dad, the Jim Grudens for Jim had been a running back coach for John McKay and the old Bucs of the signature orange jerseys, and I had been the sports editor (Tampa Tribune) with whom Gruden grew up during his Tampa youth. We sat on the porch in rockers and looked over the bay and the Buc roster, He simply asked for a comment on players and he got it from me as a sports reporter who had covered the Bucs from their birth. I am sure he asked others, too, and I knew what I said would be one comment of many and not taken too seriously. One comment of mine that day was I wasn’t sure Brad Johnson could be a winning and a productive quarterback for the Bucs whose QBs then included Shaun King and Rob Johnson. Last year after the Super Bowl was won by the Bucs, and now again this year, particularly after the Bucs bounced back from an awful meltdown against the Colts a week ago (38-35), to dominate the Washington Redskins of Coach Steve Spurrier 35-13 at Washington, my bonehead observation fails my ego. But, that’s just dandy. It was remarkable that Johnson could take the Bucs to the Super Bowl, the decisive win there over Oakland, and now the win at Washington this past weekend, well, it was fun to be wrong. Clearly, what I didn’t know was what a good coach Gruden is and the extend of the qualities of quarterback Brad Johnson. He’s big (6-5, 260), strong, smart, absolutely selfless, can take big hits, throws the ball quickly and early, looks receivers off, and is completely without dash. He’s not quick, not fast, doesn‘t tuck the ball and run much. But he is called a warrior by his teammates on offense and defense. What I know now and did not before, aside from his personal abilities, is that Gruden is a fabulous coach who built the offense he has with the players he has, around QB Johnson, and did not hurry to do it. The Bucs last year got better by the game and peaked at the Super Bowl. Now, this weekend past, devastated by injuries, Gruden put the game plan for Washington together to make the best use of what he had this weekend, not when the season began. The Buc roster at Washington was sprinkled with first time starters, players moved to new positions, and some players unknown to Buc fans until they scored. Now, I don’t mean the Bucs lost nobodies to injuries. They lost fullback Mike Alstott for the season, receiver-returner Karl Williams, receiver Joe Jurvicious, tight end Ricky Dudley, tight end Ken Dilger who left the game hurt, safety John Lynch was hurt in the warmup, but played. It was as if Gruden was drawing up plays on the sidelines to meet the Washington defenses and to suit his talent. Johnson threw four short touchdown passes, two to TE Tod Yoder and one to TE Will Heller, all three on bootlegs to the quarterback’s right, one of 11 yards down the middle to an open receiver, Keyshawn Johnson, who, by the way, was hurt, too. The fifth score was All-Pro linebacker Derrick Brooks with a 44-yard interception return. Most reporters had to look up the name of Heller, a TE out of Georgia Tech. It was not unlike the Super Bowl win over Oakland when Buc players said it was as if they had the game plan, so well was Gruden prepared.
	And QB Brad Johnson, how about 22 completions of 30 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Four! And no interceptions. And I said I didn’t think he could lead this team. Others called him a journeyman, which Gruden loves. He said they are all journeymen. “He’s a great quarterback,’’ said the coach. “I’ve tried to say that for the last 12-15 weeks. Week in and week out he is hard to sack. He’s careful with the football. He’s accurate. He’s tough as hell in the pocket.’’ I add, and he used to be with the Washington Redskins, who let him go. Of Johnson, Washington Coach Spurrier said: “Give him credit and his receivers for making big plays. It seemed like every time he lobbed one up in the air, they came down with it on third down.’’ Of Gruden, Johnson said; “He’s unbelievable. I wish every quarterback could play for Jon. He’s going to take you to another level. Where I am right now, I can’t wait for another three more years when I play for him because I am going to be that more advanced as a quarterback.’’ “As a coach,’’ said Gruden, “I’ve been around some damn good quarterbacks, Young, Montana, Farve, Gannon, Cunningham. No one is ever the same. But, I tell you this, you want this guy on your team. He’s a phenomenal talent. “He’s got an edge. That’s one of the keys to him. He wants to prove to you and me and everyone around him that even though I’m a ninth rounder and a journeyman and everyone is talking about the other team’s quarterback, I’m going to beat you.’’ Johnson is a former Florida State quarterback. But, he was not the starter there. In fact, he played more basketball. He was second at quarterback behind Casey Weldon, a smaller, runabout quarterback who was with the Bucs for a time but now is out of football and in business in Tampa. And all of these Bucs, embarrassed a week ago on Monday Night Television with their loss late to Indianapolis who trailed by three touchdowns in the fourth period, said the rebounding win at Washington helped, some. “Sure,’’ said All-Pro John Lynch, “there was some redemption. We had to redeem our spirit. Our spirit was nicked. Whether we liked it or not, that was a devastating loss last week. But the great thing about this game is it teaches you have to move on.’’ The Bucs did, of course, moved back on the win column at 3-2 with a Super Bowl defense on their minds, with Brad Johnson the quarterback who did it once believing he can do it again, with the Gruden coaching, and his ability and refreshing humility. He finally has some advertising endorsements, for a hair stylist and Hyundai. What, not a Hummer? ##
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