Posted by ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas
TAMPA, Fla. -- It sounds as if rookie Clifton Smith will remain as the Bucs' main return man Sunday at Kansas City.
Smith was activated off the practice squad before Sunday's loss at Dallas and placed into the return role after fellow rookie Dexter Jackson had struggled through much of the first six games. Against Dallas, Smith averaged 16.4 yards on five punt returns and 20.7 yards on three kickoff returns, but did lose a fumble. Coach Jon Gruden said Thursday he thinks Smith will handle returns Sunday.
"He did some really good things -- short-area quickness, caught the ball and was decisive," Gruden said. "You've got to take care of the ball. I don't want to say it any more."
Gruden said he was happy with Smith's straight-forward approach to the return game.
"A lot of guys go backwards," Gruden said. "I'm not saying Dexter did or does, but I'm saying a lot of guys are trained to go the other way because there's nobody there. You go forward, there's everybody coming at you. It's not a job that everybody is after. There aren't a lot of guys that want to return kickoffs or punts in the National Football League. You stand down there on the sidelines and I stand behind players. These guys are flying down there and it's not for everybody. It takes experience and you've got to acquire that experience."
While praising Smith, Gruden also made it a point to say the Bucs aren't giving up on Jackson as a candidate to handle returns at some point in the future.
"We're going to stay with Dexter and keeping working with him, but we do like the decisiveness that Clifton showed and we think he has promise," Gruden said.
Yasinskas joined ESPN.com in January 2008 after covering the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer for nine seasons. He began his journalism career with The Tampa Tribune in 1990.
