Gruden Connects Because He's Himself, Good or Bad

He's a character, and sometimes he's a caricature of himself. He knows football, and sometimes he does not know when to stop the silliness.

Still, John Gruden connects with viewers and succeeds on "Monday Night Football" (and with almost everything he does for ESPN) because he always plays the same role: himself. Sure, he's been advised and shaped somewhat by some talent coach, but Gruden's authenticity usually shines through.

A Thursday night preseason game between the Bengals and Falcons provided examples of his both extremes.

As always, the positives centered around his honesty, in this case with information largely unrelated to the game itself. In the second half as Mike Tirico and Gruden welcomed former official and ESPN rules expert Gerry Austin to discuss points of emphasis this year, the "tuck rule" became a brief focus.

That rule cost Gruden, then coach of the Raiders, a chance to reach the Super Bowl when it was applied in a snowy AFC Championship Game to the benefit of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in 2002. As Austin discussed the rule, Gruden chimed in and disagreed about how and when it was used.

In a shot of all three men from the booth, Gruden looked physically ill as the matter was discussed. He was not shy about saying the 2002 ruling impacted him personally and his career significantly. Meanwhile, Austin looked uncomfortable during what should have been just a general conversation on the matter. (It's a shame ESPN cannot find a stronger voice about NFL rules than Austin. It might be one of the weakest spots of their generally good across-the-board NFL coverage.)

But that interaction was Gruden at his best -- airing some complaints, busting some chops and sincerely approaching a topic.

Minutes earlier, he had gone a little past that line (and pulled Tirico with him) when discussing Bengals receiver Dane Sanzenbacher. While the former Ohio State standout made a catch and returned a punt for a touchdown, the on-air team had fun with the pronunciation of his name and Gruden sincerely championed the fact that he liked the way the seemingly undersized receiver played the game.

It was honest emotion and opinon, good stuff, but it got lost a little in the silliness. The broadcast duo was aware of what it was doing, though, as Tirico joked that maybe the receiver should hire Tirico as his publicist. And, in fairness, it was probably a more-than-appropriate TV approach for a preseason game.

Such lighthearted, unfocused moments might provide fodder for some critics of Gruden, and there is some room for those critiques. Still, that's nit-picking, and not something that rubs viewers the wrong way as much as observers of the business. Gruden generally scores with viewers, and his bosses know that. He's not a journalist, and he's not supposed to be. He's not always balanced, and he's not supposed to be.

He's just himself, an emotional, opinionated ex-coach and he works on TV because people respect his expertise and respond to enthusiasm.