Jon Rests His Merry Gentlemen, Much To Our Dismay Martin Fennelly, The Tampa Tribune, published 24 December 2007 'Twas the night before the night before Christmas, when all though the house, not a creature was stirring. Heck, Adam Hayward was in there. On the 15th game of the season, Jon Gruden gave to me: The preseason. Sorry if I don't care. I had a plane to catch. So did the Bucs. Are they really good enough to do something like this? I don't think so. If you believe momentum doesn't matter for the playoffs, this 21-19 loss to the awful 49ers was your kind of game. If you think momentum matters (see Rockies, Colorado), avert your eyes - and cross your fingers. If I'm Jon Gruden on Sunday, I want to win. He didn't. Four seed and Eli, here they come. Ever think you'd see an exhibition game in which Earnest Graham came out instead of going in? Jeff Garcia, precious cargo, was in a ball cap by halftime. By the way, final cuts are today. I know: If Michael Clayton comes down inbounds with that 2-point conversion pass from Luke McCown and the Bucs go on and win in overtime, with Jerramy the Red-Nosed Stevens as the two-touchdown hero, this morning we're writing about Gruden's masterful play and a great win by a team that never quits, no matter who's in there. "We're waving momentum flags," lifted Derrick Brooks said. It sure beats white flags. Gruden waved one Sunday. He treated this like it was Houston in August. What you saw was his plan all along. He was already thinking playoffs. Note: Not all of his players were. "I like to win," lifted Bucs cornerback and captain Ronde Barber said. "That kind of stuff is best left to the powers that be," lifted Bucs defensive lineman Kevin Carter said. Strange, bordering on bizarre, to see the power that be Gruden giving up on a game, not doing everything within his power that be to win. This guy loves even the smallest of victories. After all, this is the same cat who last season kicked a field goal on the last play to avoid a shutout in Pittsburgh. In a way, this was undignified, too. I'll give him Garcia. Why get him killed? Maybe I would have let him get a two-score lead. Or maybe I would have kept the defense in to hold that one-score lead. Garcia I understand. But sitting all those others? What is this, Florida State? Gruden folded his hand. Maybe it was the sight of Garcia getting smashed helmet-to-helmet twice in one series or Greg White rolling on the ground or Maurice Stovall carted off the field. The Bucs might lead the league in carts this season. So, late in the first half, Gruden sat homecoming king Garcia after he threw for a touchdown to Stevens for a 13-7 lead and waved to his Bay Area family, friends and fans. Gruden's heart listened to his head. He better hope he didn't outthink himself. If I'm him, I want to win this game. By the way, anybody want to play quarterback this week against Carolina? McCown fumbled just after halftime and the 49ers recovered and soon took a lead Gruden never truly worried about taking back. He didn't want to hear about momentum. "That's TV talk," he said. Gruden's head told his heart that Garcia's health mattered more. And that was the right move to my head, too. The guy already went down once. But it was all those other guys. Graham was shut down and maybe with it his 1,000-yard season. Joey Galloway sat, too. The defense rested. We had Hayward, Sammy Davis, Will Allen and Jeremiah Trotter. Speaking of subs, nice seeing the old right-hander, Chris Weinke, take a snap at 49ers quarterback. He then caught a plane to Nashville. FSU needs him in the Music City Bowl. And I Heard Him Exclaim This was a calculated risk. Gruden better have calculated right. He might end up a genius, with a rested and ready (9-7) division champ. But the Bucs have now officially played like fuds in two of their past three games. To Gruden, it's about preservation. And, hey, maybe he didn't have time to game plan this week, what with wrapping presents (like this one) and writing that letter of recommendation for Rich McKay. Maybe I think too much. Wonder if Gruden did the same Sunday. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and we're $30 million under the salary cap for next Christmas." And to all a good night.