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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

01-12-2002 - Post Game Quotes

Head Coach Tony Dungy

On the loss: "It's kind of a disappointing way for our season to end. I think we ran into a very good football team. It's a little bit different from last year because I think we had some chances in this game. They made some big plays. I thought [Donovan] McNabb was outstanding moving around and making things happen. Defensively, maybe it wasn't our best game but [Philadelphia] played very well offensively. We moved the ball and we had some chances, but they're a very good defense, especially when you get close. That's what they've been doing to everyone all year - keeping people out of the end zone. We really had five chances, and we ended up with three field goals and two interceptions in the end zone. That's what sealed our fate. In the second half, they made the plays and we didn't. It's a disappointing way to end, but we just have to move on from here and get ready to go."

On the play of quarterback Brad Johnson: "He's trying to follow his reads and find the open guys. We had some stuff up the field and we hit a couple. We did check the ball down a lot and we thought we could make some plays running after the catch. Obviously the three interceptions - that's something Brad hasn't done all year. They got them today and those interceptions hurt us. That's the way it goes."

On Tampa's first drive of the second half: "I thought we had a good kickoff return and a good first down play. They blitzed us and I'm not sure if Brad [Johnson] was just trying to get rid of it, but they ended up getting an interception and that really took the field position away from us. We couldn't get back down their end. Then we had a couple of long drives, but we couldn't finish them off."

On the Buc running game: "We thought we could run on them. Maybe they defended a little bit better than we thought. They got up two scores at the beginning of the second half and they took us out of the running game a little bit. They're a good defensive team."

On whether the rumors surrounding his job status were a distraction for the team entering the game: "Not at all. It wasn't a distraction at all and don't discredit Philadelphia. Philadelphia came out here and outplayed us. They have a very good football team. We were focused, we had good practices and we were ready to go, but they just beat us."

On how the Bucs will approach the immediate future: "I think we'll do everything the way we always have. We'll evaluate things and look at what we can do better in the future. I think we're going to be fine."

On whether he will meet with the Tampa front office: "We have meetings every year and we'll do things the same way we always do."

On whether he thinks this was his last game as Tampa's head coach: "I don't think so, but I don't make those decisions."

On whether he worries that today's performance hurts his chances of remaining Tampa's head coach: "No."

On his highlights as Tampa head coach: "I'm not going to speculate. We don't need a funeral here. We can talk about Philadelphia and talk about the game, but to get into speculation is not the reason to be here."

On Tampa employing three different offensive coordinators in three seasons: "I think it does hurt you a little bit. We've got to grow and get better. You take a step backward when you change. We have to get some continuity and get the same players doing the same things and I think we're going to be fine."

On the strategy of the Tampa running game: "We had a few things. They played pretty good defense and we thought we could run some out of our big back package. We had a couple of good runs that broke in there. We didn't get to run it as much in the second half as we would have liked to, but that was our fault for falling behind."

On the strategy employed by Philadelphia defensively: "They didn't do too much differently. They just played well on defense. They've got a good defensive team and I wasn't surprised that they played well."

On the Bucs throwing short of the end zone on their final offensive play before halftime: "We were trying to get it into the end zone, but obviously their defense knows that too. They played it well, so there was really no place to go. He threw it underneath hoping we could run it in, but that's a tough situation when you only have one play to try to get it in."

On whether Philadelphia just has Tampa Bay's number: "I don't know. They have a good football team. They're tough to play and they played well today. We're just disappointed that we didn't play a little bit different."

On whether losing in the playoffs hurts more than losing in the regular season: "They're all the same. When you lose in the playoffs, the finality of it is that you don't get a chance to try to move on. One team wins and one team loses and you're always disappointed. You have to go and look back at the season and see how you can improve and get better and that's what we'll do."

On whether Tampa planned to throw more deep passes: "We did. We didn't go in thinking we weren't going to throw the ball up the field. Brad has to follow his read and throw the ball to the open guys."

On whether Tampa matched Philadelphia's intensity: "I thought we did. I thought we played hard and fought, but we just made too many turnovers in the second half. Defensively, we didn't play the running game as well as we needed to."

On the Eagles interception in the end zone: "We're going to take a shot deep and somehow it's got to be a completion or an incompletion. It's tough when they intercept deep balls and that was one that really took us out of things. Somehow you have to complete that ball or make something happen there."

On what was talked out in the Tampa locker room after the game: "We talked about being disappointed which we all are. We've got to get better. We've got to grow, and that's what we have to do."

On whether coaches are judged too harshly for not having success in the playoffs: "You get paid to win whether it's regular season or postseason. When you get into the postseason, you're playing against good teams. We've won a couple [playoff games], but we haven't won on the road. That's probably the next goal - to win a little bit more in the playoffs."

Wide Receiver Keyshawn Johnson

On the game: "I'm disappointed in the way we played. A lot of guys talked a good game, but they didn't go out there and play. We have seen this a couple of times in the playoffs. I just don't understand it. With the way some people played out there, there was no excuse. There were a lot of people here who just didn't contribute to this team today."

On some of the play calling: I just go out there and do what I have to. I can't control that. I don't question the calls."

On the Eagles pass coverage: " They had some great coverage to take me out. Whatever they threw at me, it was effective."

Defensive Back Donnie Abraham

On the game: "We had a job to do and we didn't do it. We just didn't get it done. They took it to us when they needed to. It was just a matter of coming out and playing."

On the speculation surrounding the state of coach Tony Dungy: "We tried to stay away from that situation. But it was just up to us to keep our heads in the game. We didn't."

Defensive Back Ronde Barber

On the game: "We got a dose of this before and it happened again. We knew we had to try and control this game. Philadelphia did a good job in mixing up their offense. We gave (McNabb) time to throw the ball and we had breakdowns downfield. When those things happen, things won't go right. They outplayed us. We're going home, and they are not."

On the speculation surrounding the fate of coach Dungy: "As far as I know, he is the coach. I don't want to comment any more on that."

On the play of Donovan McNabb: "He is pretty tough. He made the plays to knock us out of the playoffs two years in a row. We had a chance to do something. Win-loss speaks for itself.

Linebacker Derrick Brooks

On the game: "They hurt us on the run. They moved the ball on us. McNabb came out and made plays. We knew we had to stop him. They had a couple of big plays on us."

On what coach Dungy said to the team after the game: "He told us to be men about the situation. That's what we are first and foremost. But give credit to Philadelphia. They won the game. It is frustrating that we can't beat these guys."

On the possibility of the breakup of the team: "Who know what it is going to happen. I hate to speculate. It is hard for me to imagine coach Dungy not being the coach here. It is very hard. Until that happens, I have nothing to say about it."

"You want to play to win. Different things motivate different guys. Your head coach is part of it. We just didn't play well enough to win. We have dealt with rumors since I have been here. Every year there is something. We have been able to hold together. Now, however, it will be more of a distraction because we lost the game. We just have to wait and see what happens. We'll deal with it."

Linebacker Shelton Quarles

On the incentive to win the game for coach Dungy: "Sure there was. We all know what kind of person he is. They has been all the stuff written in the papers. He is a good coach as well as a Christian on the field. That is a plus. We just didn't play like we should have and that is a disappointment for all of us."

Quarterback Brad Johnson

On their play in the second half: "When we came out we had some bad field position and they made some good plays and made some good adjustments. They came out with some interceptions and that really cost us. They came with a great game plan and we had a hard time to give ourselves a chance to make the big play in the second half."

On Dungy possibly losing his job after the season: "It does not have anything to do with us and any decisions that have to be made about personnel and or the organization will take care of itself. We have to regroup after this and get ready for the off season and let things take its course."

Center Jeff Christy

On the mood of the team if Dungy is replaced: "I think it is one of the reason that I came here to play and I cannot speak for Randall McDaniel but I think that is why he came here as well. We just have to move on."

Tight end Dave Moore

On the Eagles defense: "They (the Eagles) showed us a lot of different fronts and for the most part it should not have been anything that we should have not been able to deal with. Till I see the film I cannot give you an intelligent comment but they just totally outplayed us. "

On the game plan of the Buccaneers: "The plays were there to be made and we did not execute them the way we should have. We just turned the ball over too much and we did not help ourselves moving the ball on the ground like we wanted to. We just did not pick up the clips that we wanted to at a time and the game plan just was not executed the way that we wanted to. "

Defensive Tackle Warren Sapp

On losing to the Eagles two years in a row "The Eagles are a better team than we were and they beat us and we have to take our hats off to them. We just did not make a lot of plays and that was the bottom line. We were in the red zone three times and we only came away with three field goals and you just cannot do that against an excellent football team. They made the plays all day long and that is the reason that they won the game."

On the season and what he thinks about his team: "The character and the perseverance of this ball club. We were written off along time ago and told that we were never going to make the playoff. We fought through all that and found a way to make a playoff spot. Nineteen teams would have traded places with us. We just played some inconsistent football this year."

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