Football coaches are creatures of habit, particularly Jon Gruden. He'd prefer to play every game on Sunday at 1 p.m. so as to not upset the perfect order of things in his world.

But, alas, the Bucs play at Carolina on Monday Night Football, and the Bucs will have to adjust accordingly. That means that, unlike most weeks, players have two days off this week. They were free Tuesday and have today off as well. They'll return to One Buc Place Thursday morning ready to work and will hold practices through Saturday, unlike most weeks when Friday is the final practice.

Meanwhile, coaches spent Monday working on preparations for . . . . the Atlanta Falcons. That's right. Since coaches typically use Mondays for much of their preliminary game planning, the Bucs will be shortchanged next week since they play on Monday night. Tuesday, they'll have to jump right into the game plan, which needs to be complete by the time players return to work on Wednesdays.

So, although you're probably excited to see your favorite team play under the lights on national television, it certainly is a big undertaking for teams involved to make the necessary adjustments to the schedule.