The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • D1

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: SPT DATE: 08-01-2007 EDITION: FLA ZONE: FLA PAGE: D1.0 DEADLINE: 22.15 OP: pdowd COMPOSETIME: 23.27 CMYK Inside: Yankees hit 8 homers in rout; A-Rod 0-for-5, D4 SPORTS Video The Bucs' QB spot is evolving into the biggest story of camp Extra Go to OrlandoSentinel.comsports for Chris Harry's video report on who is playing well and who is struggling. SECTION WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1,2007 Orlando Sentinel Gruden finally concedes value of shotgun COMMENTARY MIKE A- -v BIANCHI Sentinel Columnist In an effort to protect new QB Jeff Garcia better, the Bucs have added the shotgun formation to their plan. Daunte Culpepper signs with Raiders I D3 turbo-charged sports car for a mini-van, Gruden no longer can fend off practicality. His offense has struggled for the better part of five seasons with the Buccaneers 29th in total offense last season with much of the mess rooted in the offensive line's inability to protect the quarterback. That's why Gruden, for the first time in his nine seasons as a head coach, has installed the shotgun formation as part of his offense.

PLEASE SEE BUCS D2 By CHRIS HARRY SENTINEL STAFF WRITER It took years, but Jon Gruden finally relented last offseason. A football coach can only take so many three-and-outs and endure so much offensive ineptitude before drastic measures must be taken. The culmination was enough to make Gruden reach for a gun. A shotgun, that is. "And believe me," Tampa Bay quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett said.

"It wasn't easy." Like the young father who eventually comes to terms with trading in his GARY W. GREENORLANDO SENTINEL Tampa Bay QB Bruce Gradkowski takes the snap in the shotgun formation as the Bucs work to install the formation into Coach Jon Gruden's offense. Jaguars seeking boost at receiver Former high draft picks Reggie Williams and Matt Jones are running out of time. UCF's football program wants to go where no C-USA team has gone before. By KYLE HIGHTOWER SENTINEL STAFF WRITER NEW ORLEANS The wall that has separated where the UCF football program is and where it wants to go always has been transparent.

When the program started in 1979 in Division III, the goal was to find a way to leap to college football's top division. When UCF got there in 1996, the focus then quickly shifted to becoming a major player at that level. Now the Knights' ultimate goal like that of every other team not in one of the six Gruden needs solutions from Walsh's legacy Even Jon Gruden knows his place on Bill Walsh's coaching tree is becoming more and more precarious. He once climbed toward the treetop, but somehow a limb broke and he has been in a state of free fall ever since. "Right now," Gruden said Tuesday on the day after Walsh's death, "I'm one of those acorns that has fallen far from the tree." If ever Gruden, the embattled coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, needed to summon the sorcery of his professorial mentor, now is the time.

Gruden's job is in jeopardy because his offense is in shambles. The biggest disappointment of the Gruden Era in Tampa Bay is that he has not lived up to his reputation as a young Bill Walsh. Isn't that what we all expected after the defensive-minded Tony Dungy was fired and Gruden was hired not only to win, but to win with cutting-edge Walsh-like offensive precision? Although Gruden never directly coached for Walsh, he knew him well, visited with him often and was an offensive gofer in San Francisco under Walsh's successor George Seifert. The offensive coordinator then was Walsh disciple Mike Holmgren, who later would hire Gruden in Green Bay. The defensive coordinator was Ray Rhodes, another Walsh disciple who would later become the head coach of the Eagles and name the 3 1 -year-old Gruden as the league's youngest offensive coordinator.

"Bill Walsh meant a lot to me and to a lot of other people in this business," said Gruden, who two years ago brought in Walsh for several days to consult with his players and coaches. Hopefully, Gruden will rediscover some of the Walsh-like tendencies he was once known for. Walsh was the inventor of the West Coast offense, but Gruden's offense with the Bucs has been more "Worst Coast" than West Coast. Walsh has been described as a maestro who conducted a grandiose gridiron symphony of elaborate offense. Gruden's offense in Tampa Bay has been more like a three-piece kazoo band.

'We've done some good things on offense," claimed Gruden, understandably defensive about his offense. "It hasn't all been horrible." No, but it has been pretty awful. In Gruden's tenure with the Bucs, his offenses have been ranked 24th, 10th, 22nd, 23rd and 29th. In Gruden's first five years, the Bucs have averaged only 1 8.2 points per game. In Dungy's last five years, the Bucs averaged 19.9 points per game.

Yes, there are legitimate reasons for the struggles salary-cap woes, youth, instability at quarterback, etc. but still you expect great offensive minds to compensate. Isn't that why they're considered great offensive minds because they don't just coach great players; they create great players? Walsh drafted Joe Montana in the third round and turned him into arguably the greatest quarterback in history. And after Montana, Bucs castoff Steve Young took over in Walsh's system and turned into a Hall of Famer, too. Not so long ago, it seemed certain Gruden would become the most luscious fruit ever to be plucked from the Walsh tree.

Even Walsh thought so. In Gruden's first year, the Bucs destroyed San Francisco in their opening round of the playoffs and were well on their way to a Super Bowl trophy. Walsh made a point that day of visiting Tampa Bay's locker room and proudly congratulating his up-and-coming protege. "He actually offered me a job," a smiling Walsh said of Gruden back then. The West Coast wizard is gone now, and it's about time for Gruden to live up to his reputation as the Gulf Coast guru.

He was joking five years ago when he offered Walsh a job. Now it's serious. He must draw upon every bit of knowledge and know-how Walsh ever taught him to save his own job. Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchiorlandosentinel.com. conferences with Knights' new stadium getting rave reviews I D5 automatic bids is to break into the Bowl Championship Series.

Can UCF be ByALANSCHMADTKE SENTINEL STAFF WRITER JACKSONVILLE Most days, Charles Sharon can't believe he's still here. Still on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster. Still in the NFL. Still allowed into Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. "For a football player," he said, "it's a dream job." Especially if the player is a receiver.

The Jags need all they can find. That partly explains why Sharon, signed as an un-drafted free agent out of Bowling Green in 2006, lined up with Jacksonville's first-team offense when training camp opened. Jags Coach Jack Del Rio and first-year offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter rewarded Sharon for his effort-filled and sure-handed offseason. Helping Sharon's cause was that the coaches were happy to send a not-so-subtle message to Reggie Williams and Matt Jones. For both of the former first-round draft picks, the time to be good and consistent has reached a pivotal period.

Williams and Jones were back with the first unit on Tuesday, with Sharon sidelined by the effects of a hit to his head on Monday night. But with the addition of free agent Dennis Northcutt, draft picks Mike Walker and John Broussard and Sharon's ascension, the message is clear. "We need somebody to step up and take charge," Del Rio said. "We're going to let the most productive guys emerge and play." PLEASE SEE JAGUARS, D2 come the first school to plant the Conference USA flag onto the BCS peak? When it joined C-USA in 2005, UCF was sold on the opportunity to compete against similar schools in a conference known for producing teams Louisville, for example capable of springboarding to the next tier. So far, however, the new C-USA has been shut out of the BCS party while other leagues have crashed it.

Boise State from the Western Athletic Conference earned a BCS bowl berth last year, capping a 13-0 season with athrilling victory against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. In 2004, it was Utah of the Mountain PLEASE SEE UCF, D5 UCF mascot Knightro hopes to plant the conference flag on the BCS mount. STEPHEN M. DOWELLORLANDO SENTINEL Charles Sharon is among a group of wide receivers attempting to improve the Jags' passing attack. COLORSTRIP:.