Good news for Ruud

When the NFL last week approved the use of helmet speakers for a single defensive player, I immediately wondered how in the world Bucs middle linebacker Barrett Ruud would be able to decipher anything mile-a-minute Monte Kiffin screamed into his ears.

Kiffin is one of my favorite people in the NFL, but let's face it: when he's excited, who can understand anything he says? Even general manager Bruce Allen admitted last week that it might be tricky trying to hear Kiffin's scratchy voice in the face of all the crowd noise and activity on the field.

So, here's the good news: Ruud told me today he expects it will be linebackers coach Gus Bradley on the other end, not Kiffin. That's a very good thing.

"I assume it will be Gus," Ruud said today after the week's final workout. "Kif can go pretty fast in games. I don't want to be sitting there like, 'Uh, what?'"

Overall, Ruud, who is responsible for making the defensive calls, said he is in favor of having the in-helmet speakers. Despite the team's decision to vote against the use of the speakers, Ruud said he disliked using the armband that list plays according to numbers. Those numbers were formerly signaled in from the sideline and the player would then have to find the corresponding play on his armband. That process requires an additional step that now can be eliminated. That can be critical when there are only seconds between plays.