Jon Gruden Time Quotations

Giving the ball to a guy 25-to-30 times, if they are going to get 140 or 150 yards, there is going to be a long run in there somewhere, ... That's one of the reasons we keep giving the ball to the same guy because we think he is special and it's just a matter of time before he finds a way.

It goes hand-in-hand, ... You run the ball, you're going to have time of possession and it is going to have a favorable impact on the defense.

You do have to recognize that young guys doing things for the first time don't sometimes do it as well as they will later on,

We've got some young guys contributing here for the first time in a long time. Guys like Mike Clayton, Carnell Williams, Alex Smith, a lot of these guys are not only playing, they're starting. So this team needed an injection of young players.

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.

Veterans Stadium is a historic landmark as far as I'm concerned, ... I hate to see that place go. I lived under the Vet for three years. ... Our offices at that time were underneath Veterans Stadium. I can recall a lot of interesting things I saw early in the morning underneath the Vet. They were crawling. ... I think it's fitting for Veterans Stadium to close with an NFC Championship Game of this magnitude.

Veterans Stadium is a historic landmark as far as I'm concerned. I hate to see that place go. I lived under the Vet for three years. ... Our offices at that time were underneath Veterans Stadium. I can recall a lot of interesting things I saw early in the morning underneath the Vet. They were crawling. ... I think it's fitting for Veterans Stadium to close with an NFC Championship Game of this magnitude.

Quarles has great versatility, but we also like him as our middle linebacker. Ruud, some time in the future, will get his chance to play. Ryan has earned the job in Jeff's absence.

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.

He thinks every time I talk to the team I'm talking about him, and that's simply not true. Like I'm talking to one guy. Give me a break. I might be talking about some special teams guy. He can take anything I've said and try to attach his own meaning to it, but I know I was trying to win games and make it work.

He thought it would be best for him to sit the rest of the game and try to get right for next week, ... We don't really know the severity of this hamstring. It might just be a contusion of some kind. ... We're meeting with him at this time and I can't speculate publicly any more until Carnell and the doctors have had a chance to look at this further.

For a lot of guys, it'll be their last game as a Buc, ... It's a sensitive time for them and for us. There's been a lot of hard work put in by a lot of people. We're going to let a lot of these guys play again and get one more chance to shine.

It looks like it could be an injury that takes some time to heal,

I don't want to sit here and review all the comments I've made to him over the time we've been together. Just know that as the head coach, I was trying to make it work. I don't want to have a soap opera. All I can tell you is in my heart, I know I did the best I can do.