Skip to main content
Advertising

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

09-17-2006 - Post Game Quotes

Head Coach Jon Gruden

(on the game) "I would like to congratulate the Atlanta Falcons. They are a very good football team. Offensively, what they did today speaks for itself, and defensively they have a veteran crowd that knows how to play.

(on the play of Tampa Bay) "Field-goal kicking. We are 0 and 2 and we have been beat by two good football teams. We have to regroup and play a hell of team in Carolina. I am not going to present the illusion that I am completely in the tank, but I am very disappointed in myself. I would like to be playing better right now but absolutely we have a ways to go. We had some chance and there is no question about that. All I can say is that we will take a good look at it and go from there. We had many opportunities today to make a play here or there and that is what you have to do. We are going to do everything we can to remedy this situation and improve it because we are not scoring.

(on QB change) "Not thinking about a QB change at this time. I'll address the QB position in the future as we move forward.

(on the team's number one problem) "It has been a combination of things. We don't get the ball in good field position and we don't get the ball early enough in games. We missed a foul game in the first half. When you fall behind 14-7 or 14-3 and you have a young football team, it is just not going to happen."

QB Chris Simms

(on putting up over 300 yards passing) "I don't even know what our numbers were. We moved the ball but didn't take advantage of opportunities. I made some plays and got unlucky too. On the second interception, the first drive of the second half, the ball bounced off of the guy's ankle and got intercepted. That's just bad luck."

(on if there were opportunities) "I think that's fair to say that. We missed the opportunities that we had all day long. Whether it was a penalty or interception by me, a receiver falling on a route, we just didn't get a break."

(on his confidence) "I'm just disappointed in myself. I feel like I'm letting my teammates down. I feel like I put us in the hole 14-0. On the last interception I missed Joey and DeAngelo Hall intercepted it."

(on how much last week's performance affected this one) "It didn't affect me at all. I came out ready to play. I made some bad mistakes. They are a good team and I will not take that away from them. They have a lot of good athletes in their secondary, great linebackers and a good front four. I'm just mad at myself, especially the first interception when I misread (Michael) Clayton coming across the field. I tried stopping my throw and ended up even making a worse throw. I'm just disappointed."

(on the interception by Hall that was intended for Galloway) "That's a touchdown if I throw a good ball. It just slipped out of my hand. I didn't throw a good ball. There is no excuse for it."

WR Joey Galloway

(on the offense after two games) "We'll watch the film. We all know what it was last week. We'll watch the film and figure out what we did wrong and try to correct our mistakes."

(on the offensive breakdowns) "Generally speaking, that is what stops offenses. In the 4th quarter it was still 14-3 and it was anybody's game. We still had our chances. We didn't finish. That is something, on the road against a team like Atlanta, you have to score points when you get in the red zone and we didn't do that today. We never really got it going."

(on the struggle to score points) "I think when you get in a situation offensively where you need to put points on the board you do it any way that you can. I've been through a lot of offensive struggles, but the key thing now is that we are 0-2. We have a tough game next week. Tomorrow we start getting ready. We just have to be better than we were these past two games."

RB Carnell Williams

(on the team's loss) "They're defense came out and played a heck of a game. You, also, have to tip your hats to Atlanta. They came out and were a better football team today."

(on the lack of points scored through two games) "I just can't put the finger on it. We just have to jell together. We just have to dig deep, and hopefully it will get corrected soon."

(on keeping his head up after two losses) "We have 14 more (games). As a team, we are taking the approach that our season is not over. We got beat by two pretty good football teams."

(on his lack of production so far this season) "I'm just frustrated as a player, as a teammate, because with this offense, I see so much potential, but we don't put it to use. We need to figure out something, come together, and get going, because our defense has played extra good enough for us to win the game."

(on being the focus of the Atlanta defense) "I feel like its going to be that way all year. Teams are going to come in and stop the run. I don't care how many people they have in the box. As an offense, we should be able to run the ball. We are getting better. I feel like in time we are going to be OK."

S Jermaine Phillips

(on reasons behind today's loss) "There's nothing to be said. They were just the better team today. We fought hard out there, but it wasn't enough. So it's back to the drawing board Monday and focus on the next game against Carolina."

(on the Falcons effective rushing attack) "Well, they have the number one rushing offense in the NFL. They had the top rushing attack last year as well. We just need to continue to improve, and that happens in practice. We'll be back at it this week."

DT Chris Hovan

(on his take of the loss) "They had better opportunities and better field position than we did, and they won the game. It's real simple. We move on and get ready for next week's opponent. There's no way to pinpoint exactly how we loss until we see the tape."

DE Simeon Rice

(on Vick's spectacular performance) "Mike was the answer they were looking for today. With him, they kept us off balance. They really allowed Mike to be an athlete. They allowed him to freelance. My hat's off to them. They played well. Mike played well"

(on how Vick improvised) "It was the impromptu part of it. It was the make it as you go thing. They didn't require him to stay in the pocket behind the center position. They allowed him to make plays with his feet today. He got up field. He held on to the ball. The bootleg worked well. Listen, they were on point today. They did their thing. They put pressure on us in every facet."

K Matt Bryant

(on Tampa Bay's tough loss) "It's one of those days, try to put it behind you, move on to the next one. Just go on to the next game. It's one of those days."

ATLANTA FALCONS QUOTES

Head Coach Jim Mora

(opening statement) "That was a pretty typical Falcons-Buccaneers game. It was a dog fight to the end. They are a very good team and we are trying to become a good team. We did some good things today, but there are a lot of things we can improve on. The obvious thing that everyone is going to ask about is the kicking. It is an issue, but we're not going to disregard that. I feel very confident that we have the people in place who can rectify that situation between Joe (DeCamillis), Steve Hoffman and Michael Koenen and our offensive line to protect. We ran the ball well today again and I thought Michael (Vick) was very efficient. I thought our defense played outstanding and I don't know that I've seen a performance out of a cornerback like the one I saw out of No. 21 today - he had a chance at about five interceptions. He's a remarkable athlete, he's a remarkable player, he's a remarkable competitor, and he's really a lot of fun to coach and really a lot of fun to watch play on Sunday. We will come in tomorrow and we will look at this game and analyze it in detail and try to figure out what we need to do to get better and then we'll focus on New Orleans."

(on team's talent level and how they performed) "I think it's a constant pursuit of perfection and that's what we're after, but you never arrive. It's our goal to get better and better every week. I think we're a good team and I think good teams do it consistently over and over and over to seasons and through the year. I don't mean to disregard the talent on our football team."

(on calling run-pass options to give Michael Vick out of the pocket) "Some of them were run-run options and some of them were run-pass options. Some of them were just him pulling the ball in and taking off, being the great improviser that he is."

RB Warrick Dunn

(on having fun today beating the Buccaneers) "Well, I think, just playing the game I always enjoy myself. I just think you have to go out and always act like you're playing street football, playing a kid. So I try to always make the game like I was growing up. So, of course, I'm always trying to have fun and enjoy myself."

(on the Falcons' offense) "I just think if you have an opportunity to be in a system for a few years, I'm really comfortable and I just think the line, those guys are comfortable, and Justin and Fred, those guys are doing a great job of leading me in the right direction. I just think after that, it comes down to me just making that one cut, making the read and making it happen."

CB DeAngelo Hall

(on his first interception) "It was actually a blown coverage. I was sitting in cover two and I saw the play fake and I first thought it was run, so I cut down on the edge to take away the run. Then I saw Simms bootleg and I knew the route was coming. I just played his eyes and tried to get into position to make a play. I was just able to make a play."

(on guaranteeing two interceptions in the tunnel before the game) "I always guarantee, that way you can always be right when you get them. The ability to actually make good on it is wonderful, I love it."

(on not giving up a touchdown in two games) "I know. This defense is playing tremendous."

(on the defense dropping interceptions) "We were mad at ourselves. Those are plays that we have to make. We just need to be able to make good on chances. I was able to get two, but I could have had three or four."

LB Michael Boley

(on dropping some potential interceptions) "I didn't really get too much of a hand on it. It was one of those plays that I have to make. I didn't get it this time, but I will get it next time."

(on setting the tone from the beginning) "Coming out, I didn't really think I had a good game last week. I tried to make an impact from the beginning of the game."

(on the game being a little crazy due to the chance of interceptions) "There were a lot of tipped balls out there and unfortunately we didn't get all of them, but we got a couple of good tips. Sometimes it falls your way and sometimes it doesn't. When those plays come we have to make them."

(on the defense not giving up a touchdown in two games) "It feels good. It is a nice turnaround from where we were last year. Last week, we held Carolina to almost the minimum and coming in this week and doing pretty much the same thing feels great."

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.

Latest Headlines

Advertising