John Lynch
(on the Bucs-Eagles rivalry) "You know, they had us knocked down for awhile. I make the analogy of Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed – they're both knocking each other out. They had us down for awhile and now we've knocked them out. Last year, when we lost to them up here (in October) we had a feeling we'd be back here again, playing them in some form or fashion. They're probably thinking the same thing right now. Somewhere down the road, we're probably going to meet again."
(on keeping the starters in late in the game for the shutout) "Yeah, we wanted that shutout. That's just the way we play. We talked about playing one play at a time. We came together in our huddle and and said regardless of their tempo, we're coming with our A game. We wanted that shutout bad."
(on Shelton Quarles) "It's beyond Shelton. I think he's lighter than Nate. He doesn't look like it, but he is. Our system, it doesn't matter. We don't care about weight. (Monte Kiffin) wants those guys light. You have to be able to play sideline-to-sideline, you have to run the whole field. I guarantee you Nate Webster and Shelton Quarles are stout enough to do that."
Keyshawn Johnson
(on Brad Johnson) "He has control of our huddle. To me, he's one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. In this league, and especially with the media, they're statistically crazy. He's not a statistical guy. He's a guy who is efficient and who wins football games. What more do you want than a guy who continues to get 'Ws?'"
(on getting the ball out of the pocket quickly) "Yeah, you want to get the ball out of there quick, get it in my hands, let me do some things with it, get it in Keenan's hands, let him do something with it. We want to exploit guys when they're on the field."
Simeon Rice
(on the Eagles) "They've been talking all summer about how they're going to get us back. Then my boy didn't invite me to the wedding, which crushed me. I remembered that. But we've still got love for each other. And it's understood that we're that good. We're just that good. Once you come to the understanding that you're that good, all you have to do is continue to play hard. You don't have to do anything different – it just gets better. And I think we got better from last year. As a team, three years in, chemistry-wise, the players and the team just continue to get better. All the guys – I can't even single anyone out. We just continue to excel and get better. People really don't realize how good we are."
(on the crowd noise) "All those things are just distractions. When it comes down to it, you're just playing football, and we're playing football at its highest level. We understand that's what we do. We depend on each other. We're like Kaiser Soze – we've got the world fooled."
DT Warren Sapp
(on the shutout) "That's what our biggest thing was coming in here – not the shutout, but once we got it rolling, you know how we are. We're like sharks and piranhas with blood in the water. We're coming."
(on the goal-line stand) "They got us in a hole but we told ourselves, 'We'll give them three, but they're going to have to earn it. We'll give them three, because they're not going to get to seven. They tried one more and they didn't get it."
(on Ryan Nece and Nate Webster) "They played like we expected them to play. That's one thing – we always expect our backups to do well when it's their turn to play. They're learning the same things I'm being taught over and over again. If you don't get it, there's something wrong with you. We're not afraid of putting those guys on the field. We've always had good depth. We always say, when you're on the field, you're a starter."
