Jon Gruden Good Quotations

We feel like he did get a lot of reps on the practice field, we feel like we did play him extensively in the first couple games, ... He's a good back. Hopefully, he catches on with another team. You can't deny the fact that No. 33 (Graham) has looked very good here. We drafted Cadillac Williams , Michael Pittman has been a productive back here, Derek Watson is still in the mix, so when you couple that with the fact that Mike Alstott is also going to play the tailback position, we felt it was good for Ian Smart to look elsewhere. Hopefully, someone else takes a look at him.

He's played pretty good in the two games. He's had a steady training camp, ... He's become a more versatile member of our receiving corps. He's not one-dimensional. He can play flanker, split end or in the slot in our three wides or four wides. I think he has a chance to be on our special teams. He's made a run at it.

He did some good things. Chris made some fine plays today. We just didn't get enough done.

If that is an evaluation of what we are capable of doing, that's a good sign. But I live a very short-term life. We have a long way to go.

If that's an evaluation of what we're capable of doing, ... that's a good sign.

He's creating, there's no question, but he's getting good looks, ... He hasn't been hit and stymied initially very often. We've been able to get him started, and getting him through the line of scrimmage is an outstanding thing for him because he's an exceptional runner. He deserves a tremendous amount of credit, but our offensive line has given him, I think, some consistent looks at the hole.

I saw some good signs that we can be a good running team. Who knows? If we hit some home runs, we could be a great running team.

I still think Dexter is a very good player, ... But Will Allen is a guy who, in his second year here, has made a lot of progress. He's got to become a more consistent player, but that should come in time, so that's going to be a very difficult call for us.

It is good to know, as a football player, if we get the ball back to our quarterback he can do something with it. He made a great statement today in front of a lot of people.

I think we have beaten some pretty darn good football teams and have been fairly consistent throughout the year. We've got a talented defense. We have a good running game and we are looking forward to seeing what we can do. Every year there are dark horses that jump onto the scene.

I thought he did some good things. He will help our team. He gives us a dimension that we need here.

It comes down to a lot of things, really. Are you going to keep five or six? What can they do on special teams? We do feel pretty good about the progress we've seen in these young guys.

I thought those guys battled and did some good things,

I thought those guys battled. They did some good things. Minnesota has a very good front. They've added a great nose tackle (Pat Williams) from Buffalo. ... I thought (our offensive line) handled the noise at times pretty good. I thought we had some careless errors - a couple of penalties, particularly in the second half - but those guys deserve a lot of credit.

I thought these guys battled and did some good things.

Will has done some good things, ... That's a real competitive call for us as far as who is going to be the starter. It was a valuable opportunity for Will Allen to get to the start and play extensively. He's another young guy we're counting on.

Will has done some good things. That's a real competitive call for us, as far as who is going to be the starter.

That was a real gut check. Things did not look good for a little while. We made plenty of mistakes, but we were able to hang in there, and that is what I am most proud of this football team.

The only way to evaluate your short-yardage offense is to work on it and see it in a game. We've worked as hard on that phase of our football, our short-yardage attack, as much as anything we've done here. With that said, we feel good about it.

We're trying to put it together the right way. It might take us a little time. . . . But we're all the same in this business. You're only as good as your last game.

We got two pretty good kickers. It's a competitive situation. Both have kicked the ball off very well, and outside of the last-second desperation kick we did pretty well.

We've added some guys who are not only good players but good leaders. They lead by example. Ike Hilliard's helped us. He's come in here and given us great leadership. Brian Griese's asserting himself with the football team. Chris Hovan's done some great things. Anthony Becht is a leader on the team.

We need to get him out here, ... He'll be back with us this week and we'll try to get him a couple of good quality practices. We're excited to have him back. We definitely need him.

We need to get something going on offense; that's not good enough. Every time we make something happen on offense we get a 15-yard penalty. We need to avoid that.

We've got 53 guys under contract right now. We have some closure, and we have some focus on what we need to do next. We gotta lot of good work done, and we gotta long way to go.

The O-line did some good things against the Dolphins,

North and south, no nonsense. He was a good addition back there. He runs hard, and he helped us out.

Thirty-one of 31. The last time I checked, that's pretty good. I think, too, having been in Europe, getting accustomed to a new holder is a process in itself. . . . And France is on a roll right now. These aren't just extra points. Some of these are bombs from 44-, 48-, 50-yard area. He's been good from all the hashes.

This game will play into those decisions, no question about it, ... We've got a pretty good idea what we're going to do on opening day in Minnesota in terms of who the starters will be, but the competition is still pretty tight at those three spots.

You're only as good as your last game.

I like the way we started. It was a great first drive. A couple of key drops stymied some opportunities that we had. We are doing some good things, but we have a long way to go.

I'm pleased with where we are running the football and that's a start, ... There are some good signs, some physical signs that we could be a good running team.

As you say, the salary cap is a problem. If we wanted to get Corey Simon, we couldn't have made that happen, maybe because of the salary cap. It's not like we weren't looking at every good player that we foresee being available. But we have to be honest and realistic with what we can get done given our salary cap.

It helps if you have a string of five or six or seven good drafts to develop a team. It helps when you have your draft choices on your team and in your program because guys do get better. Heck, I got better at my job in my second year.

I just have to keep reminding myself that that the game is officially over. That was a real gut check. Things did not look for good for a while.

I hope both of those guys continue to do what they did this season. I thought they were great complements of one another. They made as good a contribution to our football team as I've seen.

Cadillac Williams is off to a very good start, ... He is what he is. He is a durable guy that can run inside or out. He is a guy if he can break through there, he can get going pretty good. So, yes, he did what we hoped he would do.

He's one of those guys who, when you hand him the ball, you just know good things are going to happen,

I don't know, it seems like so long ago. We've always said Chris is going to get better with opportunities to get better. That game, as dramatic as it was, and the fact that we won and we did some good things in that game, certainly helped his progress. But I don't know if it was the turning point or not.

They've shown good aptitude kicking off; onside kicks, squib kicks; they can hang the ball high. Whatever kicks you want they can kick. Both of these guys are accomplished and they appear to me like they're NFL-ready.

You can't worry about instinct. You have to do what you feel is right at the time, do your homework and make the calls. You have to live with the calls you make and if your heart is in it, at least you feel good at the end of the night, no matter what happens.

It's a great start. We expected to win the game. We think we've got the makings of a good football team. ... It guarantees you nothing. But it does give your team, I think, a sense of confidence.

It's not good. It has not been good at all, ... The penalties have hurt us and our lack of execution hasn't been nearly what it was a year ago. We have to get that thing going.

There were 150 plays run in two hours, so the tempo was crisp, and the guys are picking up the system. The execution is clean, particularly, and defensively they've got a really good energy and confidence.

It's good to have a young quarterback with that kind of talent.

It's good to have him back. He's a guy who has played a lot of football and he's a good player, so it's good to have him back out there.

He's made plays. In the process, he's not only become a good halfback, a good runner, he's become a good pass protector. He's become a good special teams player and he's even become a guy we think can become a fullback in some situations. So he's come a long way as a football player.

I don't think these two corners get enough credit. They're really good players. Kelly is a great coverage man. Barber is a very good coverage guy. They both tackle. They don't make mistakes. I love these two guys. I feel confident that they are a great duo once again.