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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

08-30-2007 - Post Game Quotes

Head Coach Jon Gruden

(Opening comments) "I am obviously very disappointed that Paris Warren's season is over. It puts a real stain on tonight's effort. But I am proud of our guys. We started lousy. We couldn't have started any worse, but McCown got us going and made some plays. A lot of young guys did well for themselves tonight and there were some guys that obviously didn't do as well. We'll have to make some tough decisions here, but I like our football team."

(On the Paris Warren injury) "I believe it was a terrible dislocated ankle. It was a freak thing. On the touchdown reception you could see that the ball was slightly under thrown and he was pulled down from behind. It was ugly. I think you saw our team out there and it was a credit to see how important he was to our guys."

(On players on the bubble that made a difference tonight) "We're on the bubble here. Me, our whole team, is on the bubble. We've got to get it right here. We've got to win some games. And we'll do the best we can to keep the right 53 guys and if we don't have 53 guys out there then we'll go get some players from some other teams here but we do have some guys that did do well tonight and you saw it for yourself."

DE Gaines Adams

(On his first preseason) "Overall, I feel pretty good, but I have a lot more room for improvement. I have to come out this week and get ready for the regular season."

(On his major improvements over the preseason) "I think I became a better player by becoming a better listener. [After] listening to some of the veteran guys who were teaching me some things to help me improve my game. So really, I think I have become a better listener."

(On his goals for the regular season) "[My goal is] to come out and do my best and help this team be the best team they can be."

RB Earnest Graham

(On how do you think you performed in tonight's game) "It's the last game of preseason, so everybody is trying to put good stuff on tape because they have decisions to make on Saturday. Plays were called, so I did what I've been doing since I got here, just trying to make a play and it went down for me."

(On the preseason) "I didn't play as much as I usually do in the preseason, but I was in there, and did what I wanted to do, which was hold on to the ball, make some strong runs when I was in there. I wanted to be good on protection. I wanted to be good on special teams, so I was pretty solid all the way around. We have a long way to go as far as the season is concerned."

(On looking forward to the regular season) "I'm very excited about the regular season. I think it's going to be an exciting year, we have some things coming together."

(On personal goals for the season) "I want to go to the Pro Bowl on special teams. That's definitely a goal of mine."

QB Luke McCown

(On playing for the first time since 2005) "It feels great to get into a rhythm and get some things going. We were a little sloppy to start. We had a fumble and I have to do a better job at feeling the rush. We did some good things. We put some drives together as a second offense. We did some good things. We have to go back and evaluate it, and get ready for the regular season."

*(On rallying back from the early miscues) * "We just wanted to go out and play. As a second group of offensive guys, we wanted to go out and get into a rhythm, put some good plays together, and I think we did execute some plays and I think we did that for the most part."

(On the upcoming cuts) "You know what, for me it's out of my control. All I can do is do what I can do on the field. They have some tough decisions to make and who knows, we'll see."

(On WR Paris Warren's injury) "Paris is great player. He really is one of the classy players on this team. To do what he's done out here and play all the positions, he's such a great football player. That's what he is, he's a football player. He's a great friend and my heart is literally broken for him tonight."

HOUSTON TEXANS

Head Coach Gary Kubiak

(On injuries) "We lost Cedric [Killings] late in the game on the touchdown play when they lost their player. That boy has been a fine player for us. I don't know the extent of it, but we were running out of bodies there at the end. But I'm really proud of our guys. I thought they fought through. I handcuffed the coaches from a standpoint of who wasn't going to play and who was going to play. It was the one night our defense was on the field a lot that I'm going to be proud of their effort. I think we got to take a great look at our players, now we have to go back and make some decisions."

(On QB Jared Zabransky) "I see a tough-minded kid. His first play in the NFL, he throws an interception, but he comes back and battles all night. He gave us a chance to make some plays. We didn't protect him very good early, but that is the NFL. I think the kid has shown that he can play this game and there is a lot he has to learn, but he definitely showed us some things tonight to warrant us taking a second look at him."

(On being ready for the regular season) "There are so many things you have to accomplish in a preseason. You are evaluating your team, but you also want to play well and win games. I think we accomplished a lot of things. I think we were in position to be a 4-0 preseason team. I like the way we were in position every week. We got to look at a lot of guys. Because our ones showed us some good stuff we were able to look at some other guys, and now is the tough part. That's the worst part of the business, to be honest with you. You have 75 guys in there who have given you everything they have for the past six weeks, now you have to go tell 22 of them 'no'. It is very difficult."

(On what he told Zabransky after the game) "I told him, 'You know, those plays there at the end, son, that's an NFL quarterback.' If you can make those plays, you can put us in a position to win. He's tough on himself, and I think he's only going to get better. I like what he stands for. I think he's a tough kid. He's got to be able to play his position in his sleep."

WR Jacoby Jones

(On the team's performance tonight) "I think we played hard and worked hard tonight, but I wish we could have come out with a win."

(On the preseason) "I think we did pretty good overall this year. I think we will have a powerhouse this year."

(On looking forward to the regular season) "I treat the preseason just like the regular season. I get a feel for the game and just basically getting ready for Kansas City."

RB Wali Lundy

(On performance and making the final cut) "I think I showed them I could get on special teams and help the team out. I had one tackle on special teams. I ran the ball well. Our offense did a good job blocking and I got into the end zone. Hopefully, everything will work out tomorrow."

(On what he needed to show in tonight's game) "[I needed to show them that I could] just that I can make plays. I felt like I had a good camp, and I didn't make enough plays in other games. I felt like I had to come out here and make some plays and show them what I could do with the ball."

QB Jared Zabransky

(On his expectations for the future) "I hope that I can stay with this football team. They have a great group of talent. That is part of the reason I came here and chose Houston. Coach Kubiak is a great coach and has been a major help in making me a better player."

(On how he was able to calm himself down when he came into the game) "My goal was to take my drops and make my reads. I felt like I took care of the ball and made some good throws. The guys played hard. It was a great feeling to be able to throw my first NFL touchdown."

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