Are Bucs getting ‘return’ on investment?

One of the things that was lost in the craziness of Sunday's win in Chicago was the decision to substitute Michael Clayton as the primary return man on several kickoffs.

Second-round pick Dexter Jackson has been handling the majority of kicks, but wasn't on the field for at least a couple of them against the Bears.

Why?

"It's new to him," coach Jon Gruden said. "Obviously, he didn't have the greatest footing, for whatever the reasons were. We have a guy standing there in Clayton who was really feeling it, and I like the way he played. (I said) 'Get back there and do this, man. Take one back.' He was decisive and physical in the hole and, if you're going to play the Chicago Bears, you better take it north and south and keep your feet. That's the reason we made the change."

Granted, Jackson didn't return many kickoffs in college, as he was more of a punt returner. But he has had only mild success in that regard for the Bucs. He is yet to truly make his presence known.

Regarding punt returns in general, Gruden said, "I want to see a lot more, to be honest with you. We've worked at it. We had some excitement in the preseason (Jackson's touchdown at Houston). We had a potential game-breaking play in New Orleans. We've been kind of quiet. But then again, we have to keep working. There's a lot of areas we'd like to pick up, and that's one of them."

As for the possibility of seeing more of Clayton as a kick returner, especially after his three returns for 69 yards, Gruden didn't sound too open to the possibility.

"I think Mike has the ability to do a lot of things," Gruden said. "I'd like to let him zoom in on the wide receiver position. He's playing pretty good right now and I think he can play better this week. I just don't want to put too many things on his plate right now."