--The Bucs were devastated by the left knee injury to Cadillac Williams in the final game of the season following a 28-yard run -- his longest run of the season. He tore the left patellar tendon. But unlike the right one he injured last season, this time the tendon did not rupture but detached from the bone.
"That's the encouraging word," Gruden said. "The patellar injury, it's a similar injury to what Mark Jones had. And Mark Jones obviously has returned to full health. But it'll be another grueling process for him. I was just excited to see him come back to life as a ball carrier. I thought he caught the ball well. But all indications are that he has a chance to be ready for training camp. But it'll be a long road to recovery."
--The Bucs are 3-11 the past three years in the month of December and January, so late-season collapses are nothing new.
"I'm more focused on this year," Gruden said. "The '06 team, we weren't very good in any quarter. The '07 team, we had a lot of players that didn't even play the last couple games. I'm more focused about this season. Again, we just lost to three good football teams. We lost to a team yesterday that's proven all season on any given Sunday, they're good enough to win. And you give up 180 yards rushing, we have a couple opportunities to make plays in the passing game, we don't make them. You take responsibility for it as a coach, that's all you can do. That's my record and it's not very good."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm sick for our players and our fans more than anything. That's about all I can sum it up that way. We didn't play our best football in the month of December. There's a lot of reasons for that. The competition that we played and obviously I didn't do a good enough job." -- Bucs coach Jon Gruden, after losing four straight to end the season.
