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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

08-25-2007 - Post Game Quotes

Head Coach Jon Gruden

(Overall comments on the game) "I'm proud of our team. They found a way to win and there were some good plays and ones that weren't so good."

(On throwing the ball a lot in the first drive to 3 or 4 receivers to get a lot of reps in for Joey Galloway) "No, we wanted to throw the ball 50 times tonight. We had some good plays and missed opportunities, but that was the game plan tonight."

(On the defense) "That was a nice play by Cato (June). We had a good opportunity on offense and a nice punt back by Josh. Unfortunately, we didn't play well afterwards, but it was a start."

(On Chris Simms) "Chris was in the game four or five plays. It wasn't much, but I wanted to get him in and hopefully, we'll see him more next week. It was the intention to get him in for a series."

(On Greg Spires battling for his starting spot on the team) "He's going to be a part of this team, but we've got some other players who are going to help him. We have some other players who are going to help him get better."

(On Bruce Gradkowski) "Bruce played great and I was proud of him. He made some good decisions resulting in great plays."

(On where the team right now) "We're pleased with some areas and we have others to work on right now."

(On the first half) "I like some of the things we did offensively. Defensively we have to play better. Our performance at the end of the half was not good. All in all, we did some good things in the first half."

(On the defense) "We obviously got a big turnover early on, which was a great way to start the ballgame. But we were pretty sloppy on defense. And you can't commit penalties at the end of the first half and win football games in this league. You have to eliminate that."

(On the touchdown pass to Joey Galloway) "It was a third and long play, and two veterans in Jeff and Joey did a great job hooking up on a big one."

WR Joey Galloway

(On the touchdown pass) "It was a play that Jeff [Garcia] made a heck of a play on. The route that we ran they actually covered and I went up field because I knew Jeff would stay alive and he hit me in the back of the end zone."

(On the progress of the offense) "I think we just need to learn more about each other. The more we can get on the field together, the more playing time, the more practice time, the better we will be. Jeff has gotten a lot more comfortable, a lot better with each game, and I think you can see his playmaking ability."

(On the development of the offense) "It's just tough to say before you go back and watch the film. I think that we put some points on the board tonight. We moved the ball a couple times when we had to and we'll see as the game progresses just how far we have come. I think that it's a pretty good point to start from, where we are, and we just need to continue to get better."

QB Jeff Garcia

(On how the offense performed) "I thought, when we started to run the football, and get Cadillac the ball, I thought some good things happened in that sense. There were opportunities that we could have made earlier in the game that unfortunately just didn't happen in the passing game. But, I think we are seeing things well. It's just a matter of making the connections, being on the same page. It's still a work in progress. I'm thankful we were able to make a play, and get Joey in the end zone on the one play, but we need more of those and more consistency."

(On the touchdown to Joey Galloway) "That play doesn't happen if the offensive line doesn't give the protection that they gave on that play. We were really fortunate; they did a great job up front. It was basically a reaction by Joey because the initial routes were covered up. It was third-and-11; I really didn't have anything. I looked to him first, I looked away and I came back to him, and that's when he reacted to the post, and had a step on everybody. I was able to put it in a place where he could make a play."

(On the protection) "I thought for the most part the protection was good. There are still guys that are being rotated in. We're working different players in there; eventually we need to get that solidified and just get allow those five to work together. I thought when we did pass the football, the protection was pretty good and it allowed me to go through my reads and my progression. Now it's just a matter of me making the right throws, making good decisions and putting the ball in a place where guys can make a play."

*RB Cadillac Williams

(On the offensive line) "They did a real nice job. They did a good job for me. I was able to get a couple of quality runs in tonight, which was nice. They were able to create a couple of creases, and I was able to hit them. It was good to get some positive runs tonight."

(On the game) "I feel great. I'm so excited about the season to get started. Just getting a couple of those runs tonight really has me looking forward to the regular season."

LB Derrick Brooks

(On the third week of the preseason)* "It's a growing experience. You make a big play, you have to go out there and do it again. We have a short week this week, and then we have our final dress rehearsal, and we want to get a win to give us momentum when we go out to Seattle."

(On how the preseason games are going) "We had early success; we're going to celebrate that because that's what we're looking for. Now we have to take the next step, and learn from tonight, that when we make a big play on defense, or score, we know we have to tone ourselves down and get ready and go back out there. I give them credit on the way they played, on their drives, and keeping the game alive, but there are also some things we didn't do either to keep the drive going. We got to take this as a growing experience as we get ready for our last pre season game against the Texans, and ready for Seattle and the regular season."

(On improving with practice) "The daily practices are important. We can't do what we might have done in the past and overlooked them, as a veteran football team. We have a good mix of young guys now, so we can't afford to look past anything, and we have to make daily improvements."

(On what he liked about tonight's game) "We won, on the road."

(On some sloppy defensive play) "It's about improvement, you look and see, and you make corrections. Tonight we started fast, but we weren't able to maintain our momentum on the second drive of the game. We gave up some long drives to them, and we don't want to do that. Hopefully all that will improve next week against the Texans."

(On the "Boise State play") "Well, I was out there and I saw it, I just couldn't make the tackle. You've got to give them credit for things they did, but even prior to that play we did some things to hurt them. I'm glad they hit us with it now, another team won't be able to surprise us with it, and we'll be prepared."

LB Cato June

(On his touchdown) "Defensively, we always talk about running to the football, and we've been stressing that all camp. When you run to the football, good things happen. I was just playing my position, doing what I was supposed to do. They were trying to set up a screen and I was supposed to hold down the backside. It looked like a screen and I saw the ball coming. You always want to attack the ball and I was able to get my hands on it."

(On the game) "Well, you know, we had our good things and our bad things, and things we have to learn. Offense and defense both have things to work on before the regular season."

(On how he played) "I played decent; some things I need to tighten up, but that will come. I need to improve communication with everyone, they need to do the same, and things will flow. You're always working on your game, you watch film, and you see different ways you can get to the ball, and improve how you play."

QB Chris Simms

(On getting back out on the field) "It was great to be back in there, take a hit and just drop back and throw a few. It felt really good. It wasn't the most productive night but it was great to just be back out there."

(On if he know it was going to be just one series) "Yes I did, coach said he might throw me in there for a series. He just wanted to get me out there and in his words, he said smell the huddle again. I smelled it and it smelled just like I remember so it was good."

(of if he had any butterflies) "You know I can't say that I did. I don't know if it's because it's my fifth year and maybe that's what you feel like when you're a veteran. I felt comfortable and more than anything I was just excited just to go out and be out there with the guys again."

(On if he feels pressure going into the last preseason game) "I don't know, those are the things you would have to ask coach. I'm going to just continue to work and to try to get better and I'm not going to worry about the things that I can't control. Like I said, I just want to get better and I'm going to do my best and see what happens."

(On if he is at 100% right now) "I don't know. Physically I'm fine and I can take a hit, I can run around and do all that stuff. As far as throwing the ball I'm nowhere near 100% yet but it's getting better week to week. I know you guys keep hearing me say that but it's the truth. I'll be alright."

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Head Coach Cam Cameron

(On the performance of QB John Beck) "It's kind of like we've seen all preseason. He's got a little bit of a knack for playing but he's got a long way to go, a lot of improvement to make. There were a couple there at the end, boy…make a couple of those, I think we've got a chance to win the game. He's still got to grow and continue. He's still a little careless with the ball as you saw there in the end zone, but he's coming along really as we thought."

(On the so-called "Statue of Liberty" trick play) "It's not really a trick. All it is called is "Paint – Pump". You really just pump the ball and hand it off. It's really nothing. That is vanilla. That one's pretty basic. That one wouldn't surprise me."

(On the play of RB Lorenzo Booker) "Obviously, we watch him, we see him every day in practice. He plays a lot in practices. He has some quickness to him and the ability to make some plays. I think he can learn, as people start to get a feel for him, you can see him in the game playing with some more depth, make him work underneath. I thought he did a nice job."

(On the first quarter drive) "Of course, an 18-play drive is a plus. Usually, most offenses, if you are out there for 18 plays, you find a way to self-destruct. You really do. It was nice. And you couldn't have scripted the beginning of the game any better for a preseason game. That interception for a touchdown, as the guys were coming off the field, I said, let's go score, and they go back and score and the defense comes out and stands. A lot of good things happened. A lot of things went against us, and we were able to bounce back, and those are the things that give you an opportunity to evaluate people in tough situations."

(On the lack of a running game) "We didn't try to run the football. I wanted to get our receivers involved. How many carries did we have? [21] We didn't try to run the football. All we were going to do was try to get the quarterbacks some time. We threw what, 50? That's the great thing about the preseason. You run the ball one week for 140, that doesn't mean we're really where we want to be. But then I want to find out if we can protect the quarterback and give our quarterbacks an opportunity to go back and throw. I was hoping we'd throw a few interceptions tonight. These young quarterbacks need to go through some of this. Trent [Green, QB] threw one, came back right, and made 18 plays. That doesn't surprise me. But I was hoping that Cleo [Lemon, QB] and John [Beck, QB] would throw turn the ball over a bit, honestly, to see how they'd respond."

(On the consistency of the offensive line) "Well, we'll look at it on tape, but obviously there were some good things going on there. We converted on fourth down. And we converted on third down – our conversion, we approached what we'd like to do on third downs."

(On the trick play firing up the players) "Well, I think…they saw us run this in practice and I think you practice stuff, you probably should run it. I've been around some teams [where] you'd practice all this stuff and then don't call it in the game… Gibran Hadan's [QB] brother played at Boise State, so I said, hey, what about that play your brother ran? We were just fooling around in practice, we said, how did he do it? We did it and so we practiced it. I'm kind of that way – if we practice it, either we tell them we're throwing the play out or we call it. So, I figured we'd call it. I don't think you can get away with that more than every three years. In the NFL, once they see a trick once, why even try it?

(On the play of WR Ted Ginn, Jr.) "He's growing. These aren't excuses, these are just facts. Here's a guy who'd be playing college football this year if he wanted to. We're bringing him along. His practice habits are solid, probably about as good as any young player I've been around. He's very consistent, he hasn't missed a line up, and usually that carries over to practice well. If you are involved in the game planning during practice that's going to show up during the game."

QB Trent Green

(On if the team got a kick out of scoring on a play similar to one used by Boise State to win the 2007 Fiesta Bowl) "Yeah, we did. We only practiced it a couple of times, mainly in walk-throughs. We didn't think it was going to come out that quick because we really were just kind of messing around with it this week. So it was fun to see it work and I think everybody had fun with it. I think that was pretty evident on the sideline. Like I said, it took a few walk-through reps. I just didn't have that technique down. Actually, Gibran (Hamdan's) brother plays at Boise State so he kind of coached us up on it a little bit."

(On how the team responded after the first series) "That was the one thing we talked about in the huddle. How are we going to define ourselves? How are we going to establish ourselves after having some adversity? There are going to be points and times during the season when we have adversity, whether it be early in the game or late in the game, that's just the NFL and that's how it works. We all kind of challenged each other in the huddle. Let's respond. Let's get back on course and don't change from what we had wanted to get accomplished coming into this game because we had something bad happen to us. How are we going to respond? I thought everybody responded very well."

(On frequently throwing to Ted Ginn during the first half) "We are just trying to get Ted more and more involved, trying to get him more and more involved as he gets more comfortable with the offense. We are going to continue to try and find ways to get him the ball. I think it was pretty evident he looked a lot more comfortable out there."

(On if the way the first-team offense played tonight represents the type of rhythm the offense is striving for) "There was a lot of rhythm there. That is what you'd like to have. In an ideal setting, that's what you'd like to have, get in a rhythm, have long drives, convert third down conversions, get into the red zone and convert for touchdowns and not settle for field goals. Those are all positives that you would like to have. That's ideally what you would like."

(On if the team still needs to improve before the regular season begins) "This team will continue to improve throughout the preseason and throughout the regular season. I hope we don't stop getting better. I hope we're getting better as the season goes along, but it's nice to see, I think it's pretty clear to everybody the improvement we've made from week one to two to three. I think as long as we continue to work hard and try to get those things accomplished hopefully good things will lie ahead. When you put the hard work in it's nice to see it carry over."

QB John Beck

(On his ability to make big throws) "It was good to make those plays to keep us in the game but ultimately this team is about finishing. We have things we can watch on film and are able to correct. It's just a preseason game; it actually gives us an opportunity to learn from our mistakes."

(On different situations he experienced during the game) "The more experience I can gain throughout this preseason the better it's going to be for me because this is my time to gain that experience. Those different situations are all going to be more my benefit."

(On the offense catching up to the defense in practice) "Offense has been doing a lot of hard work in practice. All that hard work has been paying off. We got to see the first team go out there and have a good drive. Each team that went out was able to put something together, and that's what this offense is all about."

(On having time in the pocket to throw) "Good blocking by the linemen. They gave me the time to be able to make the throw. And they were nice routes by the receivers, and they made the plays. My job is to put the ball in a spot where they can make the catch. Hats off to the guys who block for me and the guys who make the catch."

(On gaining experience in the NFL) "Sometimes, even though it's tough to swallow a loss you're going to learn the most from it. These don't go against our regular season record. Sometimes having a situation where it's close at the end, you don't finish enough to where you want to, it's going to make you have the drive to better yourself, watch the film and be a little more critical of yourself and be better next week.

(On how this game is different from his first two) "A little more opportunity to throw the ball this game. We were in situations where we needed to push the ball down the field, needed to throw it. I definitely got a lot of experience in some pass routes, in some pass protections."

(On the progress of the offensive linemen) "The more time they are going to be together, the more they are going to mesh. These guys, their hard work in practice is going to pay off. The young guys I'm in there with, I see them work hard everyday in practice. They do that because they have great leadership by the veteran linemen, showing them how to practice, showing them how to be a professional linemen."

LB Zach Thomas

(On if it was good to play for the first time in the preseason) "Yeah, it was good to get out there. We are still practicing, but it was good to get out there in game speed. Being in the game is a lot different than practicing. It was just good to get out there and get a little feel."

(On how the team played tonight) "I was impressed. I mean, we have some good players. You have to have depth and have guys step in. Even Paul (Soliai) did a great job up front. A lot of our defensive line is new. We lost a lot of guys [from last year's team]."

(On seeing the younger guys want to play so much) "Yeah it is encouraging. To see the guys that excited about playing. I mean, it's a preseason game, but to see them so excited…that's what you like to see in a team."

(On the scoring and play calling in the game tonight) "It was a fun game. That's what you want to see. They pulled out most of our starters after the first quarter. You really can't tell until you get to the first game. We'll have to see how good we are in week one."

WR Ten Ginn Jr.

(On the impact of the offense) "I just want to go out and do what's asked. They called my number so I had to get open for my quarterback and that's what I did."

(On the game feeling like his college days) "It felt good to get into the action, to come out and get catches, but I couldn't do it without my team."

(On proving he can be a 3rd down/possession guy) "Yeah, this is the game of football. You go out and execute your plays and something good might happen to you."

(On Cam Cameron's offense in general) "We all come together. Training camp made us grow, and with Trent being out leader he brings his 14-15 years in the league. He's been helping me out a lot after practices. We all just to keep competing as a team and take it one day at a time we'll be okay."

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