updated 9:09 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2005

TAMPA, Fla. - Simeon Rice walked into the locker room with a smile that strongly suggested the mercurial defensive end had put his latest transgression with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind him.

The three-time Pro Bowl selection known for flighty behavior that can rub coaches the wrong way said he missed a team meeting before last week’s loss at San Francisco because it was held an hour earlier than normal.

The Bucs responded by sending their best pass rusher home, then losing to the 49ers.

“I thought it was our regular time, 8 o’clock. They moved it to 7 o’clock. Hey, what can you do about it? I showed up at eight. ... It was a honest mistake. Human error,” an unapologetic Rice said Wednesday.

The team’s sacks leader caused a stir last year when he said the Bucs suffered from a lack of discipline under coach Jon Gruden since winning the Super Bowl three seasons ago.

Two weeks after saying Gruden didn’t hold all players accountable for their mistakes, Rice missed a walk-through, but was allowed to play the following day in Tampa Bay’s season finale.

The 10-year pro conceded he was a “little surprised” to be sent him home from San Francisco, but agreed with the decision.

“He did what he needed to do. I’m not mad at him,” Rice said. “It’s a situation. It’s life. You move on. ... I learned my lesson. There’s no hard feelings.”

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Gruden is ready to leave the incident behind, too. Rice will return to the lineup Sunday against Carolina.

“I’m not going to publicly say anything more about it other than we’ve addressed it and we’re moving on,” the coach said.

“We think a lot of him, OK? He’s a really good guy. We need him on this football team and we expect him to play great. He’s a favorite of mine, a favorite of this team and we’re ready to roll, ready to move on.”

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Rice leads the Bucs with five sacks and is on pace to finish with 10 or more for the eighth time. With 110 career sacks, he’s 14th on the all-time list, even though he insists he’s never received the recognition he deserves as one of the games best pass rushers.

Asked if being disciplined last weekend would tarnish his reputation, Rice said:

“No. It enhances it. I’m not like a banner guy in the NFL anyway. I’m hard to deal with, hard to get along with. That’s what my reputation is ... so it enhances that,” he said, smiling again.

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Despite showing little remorse, Rice did say he was angry at himself for putting himself in a position to be sent home. He felt his presence would have improved Tampa Bay’s chances of winning.

Still, he insisted he had no plans to address the rest of the team.

“For what? I don’t answer to my teammates,” he said, adding that he has not been a discipline problem this season.

“This year? Clean slate,” Rice said. “Of course, my past is checkered. But we’re dealing with the now.”

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