"Gerald" and "McCoy" are just about the last two words a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan wants to see on the official injury report, so hold your breath if you click on that link.

Then exhale. McCoy was one of two Buccaneers, along with running back Doug Martin, who did not practice in any capacity on Wednesday as the team began its preparations for the Washington Redskins. However, while the Pro Bowl defensive tackle is dealing with a groin injury, Head Coach Lovie Smith said this on Wednesday:

"He should be good to go; we held him out."

McCoy still has several days to get back in the mix, and Smith's tone seemed to suggest that his defensive linchpin was not a serious concern. The next two days will shed further light on whether that optimistic interpretation is correct.

Those two days will also give the Buccaneers a chance to get several key players closer to game-ready. Tampa Bay played its last game without the services of starting left tackle Anthony Collins (foot), starting right defensive end Michael Johnson (hand) and starting left cornerback Alterraun Verner, and those represent three of the positions commonly considered some of the most important on the field. Collins, Johnson and Verner all took part in Wednesday's practice in a limited fashion. Right tackle Demar Dotson, who missed part of the fourth quarter on Sunday with a neck injury, was also involved Wednesday, if limited.

"[The] rest of the guys are getting better," said Smith after that Wednesday workout. "Verner was able to practice on a limited basis today, which is a good thing. Michael Johnson, you know, guys that didn't play [against Atlanta], all were back on the practice field, so hopefully we'll get a few more guys back."

Quarterback Josh McCown hurt his back on a nasty-looking pileup near the sideline in the fourth quarter on Sunday, though he came back into the game on the Bucs' next drive. He was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and doesn't expect to miss Sunday's game.

"It's better, it's getting better," said McCown of his achy back. "We've been doing our treatments and all of that stuff and it's feeling a lot better. I feel like we'll be fine."

The Bucs' injury report wasn't the only topic being discussed at One Buccaneer Place on Wednesday. Below are some additional thoughts from Smith, Quarterbacks Coach Marcus Arroyo and several players.

**

Head Coach Lovie Smith

Opening statement:
"Injury list first: Doug Martin and Gerald McCoy weren't able to practice today. Gerald has groin injury. He should be good to go; we held him out. Doug is making progress, but he's not quite there. Beyond that, Wednesday practice for us. Another chance to get this bad taste out of our mouths."

On the thinking behind changing the weekly schedule to give players a day off on Tuesdays:
"Change up. No more than that. They have a day off and we may even give them – with other things coming up – we may even give them another day off. It's not necessarily just locked into that. We'll move it around and what works for our schedule that week the best. Nothing major on why we did it though."

On his process he goes through when challenging plays during games:
"I have guys upstairs watching it and everybody down on the field watching it. Hopefully at home, we'll get a good picture up on the [scoreboard] – that's how we determine."

On if he is starting to see the offense taking steps in the right direction:
"I definitely think if you're looking for the glass half-full, you can see signs. Going back to the Cleveland game, we had a lot of opportunities. We missed some, but were able to move the ball fairly well. This past week, we'd like more points. Third downs and almost having 400 yards, that's moving it better than we have been – and that's without any takeaways, without anything from anybody else, just strictly offense. Most of the teams you see throughout the league, if they have a lot of points, they've been set up for a couple. We need, on the defensive side, to set the offense up a little bit more. We've talked about some of our weapons on the offensive side that are starting to step up."

On if punter Michael Koenen is sacrificing yards on punts in order to prevent big returns:
"I don't look at it as a sacrifice. Yeah, that's the job. It's not necessarily gross [punt average] and sometimes even – I mean, of course net punt [average] is pretty important, but you have to look at every punt and what we need to do. A lot of it is about the placement and where you put the ball. That takes priority over everything else. Yeah, we didn't hit the ball as well as we needed to the other day, but we did have a plan to – for a player like [Atlanta wide receiver/returner Devin] Hester – to try to make him fair catch it or kick it out of bounds; [that] was pretty much what it was."

On the performance of the team's punt coverage last Sunday against Atlanta:
"OK. They go hand-in-hand. As you talk on defense, it's about the rush and the coverage, it's about, of course, the kick and the coverage part. The more we get players back, we can get some of the guys that normally would play on the special teams back, and that has to help a little bit. But besides one return on Sunday, the coverage was decent."

On what was changed besides the quarterback that resulted in a higher conversion rate on third downs against Atlanta:
"The game plan changes each week, but there's only so much you can do. I'm talking defensively, you can double the receivers and if you get one-on-one situations on the outside, it's about protecting and then throwing and catching. Right now, our guys catching are really making plays. It's tough duty for one guy to be able to guard them. Of course, getting into third-and-short situations helps quite a bit. But I think the quarterback position too. A couple of them, it's about using your feet to run and pick it up that way. And lately – of course, this last game – I think we were able to do all three things."

On Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III trying to resurrect his career after his ankle injury:
"Well I think he's a young player to be resurrecting his career a little bit. A lot was put on him because of how he came into the league. Just the development of a quarterback, you go through an awful lot. And most of the time, it isn't come into the league with a bang and it stays there; you go through a period of time like he's gone through. I just know now, that seems like it's all behind him. The last time he played, it's not like he's become a drop-back quarterback – they're still running the read or zone option plays with him, he's still scrambling around. Again, I think that's just life and as an NFL quarterback, you're going to go through a few valleys along the way."

On how Robert Griffin III played against Minnesota:
"Pretty good to me. Again, I haven't seen a lot of what he was able to do before that, but he looked pretty good to me. I didn't see any signs of a player that's injured or anything like that. it seemed like every time I'm looking at him, he's looking like a pretty good quarterback on the other side of the ball."

On if they have to rush differently against a quarterback that can run:
"I think you have to have built-in things to take care of a mobile quarterback, where you can't just have coverages where if the receivers release, there's nobody in the middle of the field. You have to have someone that can – I don't want to necessarily say spying on him – but there should be base parts of your defense that you can go to where you have someone hovering around the quarterback, and you use that on different players that have mobility like that. If not, a quarterback just taking off can really hurt your defense in critical situations."

On the attitude in the locker room and if players are still fired up:
"No doubt they are. I know a 1-8 team is supposed to be really down and just – it is hurting that we're there, but guys are showing up. It's one thing to be getting blown out; we see that we're close, and I think that that helps. Every man is just trying to do a little bit more. You've seen the guys in the locker room, they're staying the course is what they're doing, and eventually, it will change."

On if they are using a running back by committee approach:
"Doug isn't playing right now, so I don't think you can talk about a player that's not playing being your 'bell cow' right now. Marcus [Arroyo] is focused on the guys that we have playing right now, but there will be a starter in that group and we're going to play multiple guys. That was the case when Doug was here, Doug started, but other guys were going to play and that was a part of the plan then and the plan hasn't changed. It just right now it's a different guy starting, but the other guys will play still."

On if McCoy's groin injury affected his play on Sunday:
"Yeah, but all guys are nicked up a little bit. Gerald is not going to – he played most of the game, he had an opportunities. If you're out there – yeah I guess you can be nicked up, but if you're injured we'll get you out of the game and if you're out there then we expect you to make plays, Gerald and everybody else, it's as simple as that."

On if the play of wide receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson are starting to play like the team envisioned:
"I would definitely say that is the case. We knew with Vincent, he's been in the league and the target size and we talked about that. Mike as a rookie has had to come in and become the guy that we thought he would be, to go through some rookie challenges and learn from those situations. You want to the see the arrow pointing up and I think it's safe to say that's the case. I'm very pleased with what both of our receivers have done lately and it seems like it's weekly. They're feeling it, wanting the ball more and we need to just keep feeding it to them, but not become just a one dimensional team, we need to be able to get our running game going along with that and I'm going to go back to protecting the football. Even though we did a lot of things Sunday, we had a couple of turnovers and that really hurts."

On if he's concerned with linebacker Lavonte David mentality:
"No, zero, no concern at all for a player like that. Normally when you have a stud like that, they just keep pounding it and keep showing up and that's what Lavonte David does. If anything, it's 'I need to do more. Lovie, what more can I do?' By his play, he's saying that because it's been pretty much his same consistent play throughout. Lavonte would say it's a couple of plays, he had a couple of bad plays the other day, but you're going to get the same guy from him. He's the same player and that's not going to change without the record. When we're winning most of the games, you'll get the same player in Lavonte."

On if David is trying too hard to do more than he is supposed to do:
"In being a linebacker in our system, it's about discipline and doing your job. It's as simple as that and he's bought into that. No, I don't think that will be the case at all and eventually we're going to – right now he's getting a lot tackles, he hasn't had an opportunity to get his hands on a lot of balls and that will come in time also."

Quarterbacks Coach Marcus Arroyo

On the team's offensive production over the last two games:
"You'd like to score more points when you start to move the ball a little bit. The objective is to score more points than they score. If we'd had 11 more points we'd be excited about that, obviously. We have done a good job, I think, for the last couple of games, putting out a little more production. Now [we] have got to have a few more calculated points on there to help overcome the difference between us and them."

On what issues the team faced in Sunday's game that limited their scoring:
"I think any time you look back and find out where it is that's holding you back – it's a game of execution in a lot of ways. Executing and not having what we call 'drive-killers' - things that slow your drives down, whether it's penalties or holding calls or a sack or a loss of play, you try to avoid those things, things that slow down your drives."

On wide receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson:
"I've said all year, I think those two guys present some obstacles and some problems for defenses, because of their ability to play – they're great players, let alone their obvious skill sets. What obviously adds to that: their size, their speed, their ability to catch. They are on opposite sides of the field a lot, which is tough for defenses. I know at times we put them together, which is another way to add something to the defense, as far as scheme goes. Those guys are doing a really good job, and I think they're growing together and separately in their own individual ways. We're trying to continue to find way to maximize their potential and our potential as a unit and I think they've been a big part of what we've done in the last couple of weeks."

On the team's success on third downs against Atlanta:
"I think it's execution. 71 percent is a pretty good number, that's a winning statistic. It's still got to match the rest of your formula, your keys to victory, that's one part of it. In your critical situations, that was really great to see, I'm not going to underscore what we've done great because our optimism is a force multiplier on our side of the ball with what we're doing. It's just our way to highlight some good things. I think there's a lot of good stuff on there and they did a lot of good things. Converting 71 percent gives you a chance. We've just now got to take the rest of the keys to victory – turnovers in critical situations, being in the red zone, fourth quarter, mental errors, penalties, things like that – just tie everything together. That's what we're really trying to do, no matter who we're playing. That's time-tested and infallible football, winning those things. In a lot of ways, it's hard to argue."

On running back Charles Sims' debut:
"Charles did some really nice things. Obviously his skill set is going to be really special – it is really special. You've got to take time to develop that too. You're not just going to throw out there 15, 25 plays for a guy and expect him to go on his first opener, just go 'Hey, let's go, we're going to put it on your back.' I think that does an injustice. He had a nice little role, he did some really good things. I know he wishes he had the fumble back, I'm sure, but the reality of it is we're going to keep going and he's going to be a really special value to this offense, with what he does."

On the team's penalties:
"I think it's pretty multiple and I regret it because you've got to look at it – which ones are they? Are they mental? Are they pre-snap? Are they physical? Are they holding? All those things have got to be calculated. As you said, we are all aware of them. Guys in the locker room are aware of them. We are aware of them, they are what every team is doing before the week and coming back after the week saying 'Ok, we've got to make sure we don't beat ourselves.' Just speaking for in-house, the Bucs can't beat the Bucs on offense. We've got to avoid doing that. Again, I go back to – there's keys to victory in a lot of ways that a lot of us believe in and hang our hat on and that's one of them, the mental game and doing things – winning that penalty battle and not beating yourself, to give yourself a chance. We've got to continue to try to hone in on not doing that. The first drive, there's one in there. It just slows you down, puts you behind the sticks and it's hard to overcome."

On quarterback Josh McCown's performance Sunday and his emotions after the game:
"Josh's play was, I think we've talked about before, we brought Josh here because we saw the things we saw Sunday in a lot of ways last year and most recently why he's here. He's done those things. Whether you believe it or not, if a guy has done it once, can he do it again? Can you get that out of him? You've got to be optimistic in that approach as a coach. If you see something, can you find a way to get that again? He played the way we believe he is capable of playing. I do, for the humanistic approach, hope everyone who is this engrained in something at this high of a level has that passion. If you don't, I hope you find it, I hope you do. I hope someone who's at that type of level that has something that anyone, any one of our team, any one of us coaches, anyone who is doing their job at that high of a level, I wish that type of passion on you, because that's what makes it special. No matter how that comes out, you can keep your head high. His passion for the game, I won't excuse him for that [or] anybody really."

On if having a leader like McCown showing emotion sets a good precedent for younger players:
"I don't believe you do that to have other people see it. I don't know what that accomplishes in a lot of ways. I think every guy in that locker room knows that he's that passionate about this game, they don't need to see that stuff, he doesn't do that for them. This is a tough game, it is. And guys are all in and it's long and it's hard and we all know that and it is what it is. I know he's not doing it to show anybody anything. He's doing it because he's that locked in and many of our guys are that way. Whether, because he's the quarterback and we saw it and he's standing there in the middle of the locker room, or if it's the guy in the back or it's the coach in the back or it's the trainer – whoever it is, when you're that invested, people know."

On running back Mike James being used a short-yardage running back and converting all three third downs he rushed on against Atlanta:
"Great job again on third-and-one, everyone included: o-line and Mike and blocking that play and his role with that last week and Sunday was great. 'Hey, go get that tough yard,' and he did – he almost popped one really. Big back, runs hard, does good things and his role was great, very successful."

On if the team has a featured running back:
"I don't think we need to say that, there's no need for that. You've got three good ones and you get guys in third-and-one situations who can carry the flag and you've got a guy who can carry it in certain situations, that's a great thing to have. I think a lot of teams wish they had that kind of flexibility sometimes. Sometimes you just have that one ['bell cow'] guy and he can't do that one thing and all of a sudden it's a wideout on this one play – we've all seen those – or it's a Wildcat or it's somebody else in the backfield. We've got some options in there, all guys we're really excited about, obviously. They do a lot of really good things."

On how the team decides which running back gets the ball in which situation:
"Just [the] game plan. The game plan is who is getting the touches on which combinations of concepts: what protections, different types of runs, different types of screens, third down-and-one, things of that nature - just trying to put them in position to do the best."

On wide receiver Russell Shepard lining up at quarterback:
"He did that before LSU. That was his deal, he's done that a lot. He's got a good feel for it actually, probably a better feel that we anticipated. We could have gone a whole bunch of different ways with it. It's a small little package. We were on-script and we stayed on it. Whether it's something we can build off, we will find out."

On calling Shepard's play on the first drive:
"That was on-script. We stayed on that. We only get off-script on third down and stayed in it. If it's not a penalty, it's a four-yard gain. But again, that's something we're just trying to build, trying to find different ways to mix it up and keep things honest and get guys to burn chalk and that's part of the deal."

On calling screen passes for the running backs and why they have been used sparingly:
"I don't know the exact reason why [there haven't been more] – the times we've had a game plan for the screens, we've had them up. I think we've run a few slow screens almost every game since Pittsburgh. That's five games, going back. I think we've developed a little better screen package – maybe not as elaborate as maybe some have, but for us it's been a little element of what we're doing. It's been pretty successful. Screens, depending on how you look at them, if they're unsuccessful, there's still elements of it that make a defense slow down. Whether lineman are getting out, the defensive line slows down, they've got to go sideline-to-sideline, whether you show the illusion of it, it still exists, changes perspectives on defense. But we've been fortunate, we've had a few of those and they've hit. Whether there's more in the future or not obviously depends on the game plan and who we're playing. If it arises, they've been successful so maybe that will create it a little bit more."

On the play-call to roll McCown out on third down against Atlanta and what the team was looking for:
"The same conversion as the one before. We had a small little sprint package in for different types of looks, without getting too specific, and those presented itself at the right times and unfortunately couldn't see over [Demar Dotson] initially, so he had to get around him and by then it was too late. Austin [Seferian-Jenkins], for two yards [was open], unfortunately he couldn't see through it. You play behind a 6-8 tackle and sometimes he's going to be standing there unfortunately. Obviously, if we scheme better or find a way to get the guy on the ground – you try to cut him, he's a stand-up 3-4 [linebacker], hard to do sometimes, they can play off the ball, all those little elements. Unfortunately that play didn't work on third-and-two – worked on the one before, [but we] come back to the drawing board and try to get the next [one].

QB Josh McCown

On the health of his back:
"It's better; it's getting better. We've been doing our treatments and all of that stuff and it's feeling a lot better."

On whether he feels that he'll be able to play this week:
"Yeah, I feel like we'll be fine."

On wide receiver Mike Evans' development:
"He's been great, especially these last few weeks. He's coming along. We picked him No. 7, so he is certainly kind of living up to those things that you would hope for with a guy you picked that high. More than anything, just the way that he's developing his work ethic off the field and how he's going to prepare for games. You can see him becoming a pro, so to speak, and that's the best part, because that is what carries you through your career. Your talent is what gets you picked No. 7, but becoming a pro is what really solidifies your ability to play consistently and maintain that level of play. It feels like that's where Mike's headed right now, and that's a good thing for us."

On whether he has heard from other people regarding his emotional postgame press conference last week:
"I've gotten a few texts and stuff like that. You don't think about it, but people, I think – it was just, in that moment, you guys were there. For me, after the fact, to have people reach out is cool. For people to get it, to understand, that they feel where you're coming from and how bad it hurts. So, yeah, people have reached out."

On whether he thinks the offense feels more complete:
"I think so. I felt that way during the game Sunday and part of the emotion for me was because I felt like we did everything we talked about doing. For me, I played the game mentally the way I wanted to play, and then to come up short at the end and have those things happen, it was just so disappointing. I think we are closer to that now than we've been, and none of us, certainly, envisioned that happening this late in the season, but, at the same time, when you're building something and trying to put things together, you want to see that start happening, so we feel good about doing that. Now the thing is that we have to go do it again and become consistent with it."

On having two large receivers:
"I think that was the good thing about that game, to see Vince [Jackson] and Mike [Evans] both be involved, be involved early, and to really get those guys going. That's the key. When they're involved early, now as a defense it stresses those guys and you obviously want to put as much stress on them as you can. So, you have two guys like that and it makes it hard for a defense to figure out. Are they going to take their best corner, are they going to follow, who are they going to follow? How much man coverage do you really want to play now, because you're leaving somebody on an island. All those things. You're always glad to have two guys like that, because it creates matchup problems for a defense."

On having been the leading rusher last Sunday and the Tampa Bay run game:
"I don't ever anticipate being the leading rusher. Hopefully that won't happen again, but, you know what, if that's what it takes for us to win then so be it. For us it's just, and I don't know exactly where we were per carry to the day, but we were better in that area. It's just finding and continuing to find that balance and get those guys more touches. But for us, as we've said before, we want to be able to do both. We find ourselves in the game where we are able to throw the ball around and move the football and that's what we need to do. But at the same time, typically, when those [rushing] yards get at 100 or above, you're putting yourself at a good chance to win the ball game, so we have to find a way to get ourselves there."

On his return to the starting role and feeling more comfortable:
"Yeah, because, I think early on I just pressed. I really – I don't know if 'doing too much' is the right phrase, but I felt kind of like, I don't know, I was pressing is the best way to put it. Sunday, I felt more at ease – maybe stepping back allowed me to do that – but I felt more at ease and knew, especially after watching the last few games, that the passes are coming. Marcus [Arroyo] is really finding a good rhythm as a play caller, so you don't have to try to make it every throw, because another one's coming. Another opportunity is coming to throw the ball, and I think for me personally it just helped me settle into a comfort zone and not feel like I had to press and get it all in one play every time."

On improving as an offense and needing to score more points each game:
It's just executing better. We were two-for-three in the red zone the other day. That first drive, I mean, you open a game and have an 18-play first drive, to settle with three points, you can't do that. We've got to finish that. We've got to finish that. Then we had the one fumble and then the turnover, the pick at the end, and so we have to eliminate those things, because those kill drives too. We just have to finish them. We feel good when we get down there, but it's pressing on down into the red zone. And we talked about having two guys like we have, and, even with Austin [Seferian-Jenkins], you have three guys who are over 6-4, you feel like in the red zone, especially, you're going to have the chance to put the ball in the end zone. That's the next part of it: consistency in moving the football and then finishing drives. It's gotta happen. We have to get to that 24, 27 points-a-game rhythm. That's where we are in the league these days. Hopefully that's coming, but the first part is to move the ball consistently. I feel like we're starting to kind of hammer that down. We can get in the game, move the ball, but now we have to finish drives."

On showing his emotions after the loss against Atlanta and whether he feels other people are equally emotional:
"Oh yeah. I think so. I've seen guys. It's person to person. I don't know how you deal with emotion, but we're all different. Some guys stand up here and pound the podium, they get angry and they punch a hole through it. It was just how I felt the other day and that's how I was processing it. It was just processing the disappointment. So I don't back off of it; it's who I am. Everybody processes it differently. And I respect that, whoever you are, however you go through that. When you're feeling genuine hurt, it's just whatever comes out then is what comes out. I hope, especially on our team, but you hope that everyone invests the time and realizes the time invested from the people around. And it is disappointing when you don't win, because that's the key. If you're not disappointed with losses, then something's wrong."

On comments that he showed too much emotion:
That's what I mean. All I'll say is what would be the difference – if I would have pounded the podium and got really mad and processed it that way, is that now okay because that looks more manly? What's the difference? We're both disappointed, just one guy processes it differently. That was just the way it came out that day. I'm frustrated, but the fact that it fleshes it out that way doesn't mean I'm any less or any more – that was just disappointment, that was hurt."

On still working toward goals despite the slow start to the season:
"You always want to do that, because the reality is this is still a bunch of new people here. It's a first year head coach, his first year here, so we understand that we're building something. We have high expectations of what we want to be this year, and that has not changed. We work with that same urgency, just like you said, from a practice-to-practice and day-to day standpoint, and then a week-to-week standpoint. But you do. So we're saying start moving the ball, well now where's the points? You do want to have some tangible things when you look at the tape and go and look statistically and go, yeah, we've improved, we're better, and there's momentum moving forward one week to the next. So absolutely there's that urgency. When you find yourself in the situation where it didn't go as well as you wanted it to, you learn a lot about your locker room and the guys that you have and who's willing to continue to work and see the big picture and try to continue to improve and understand that, even individually, as long as you're a part of a team and have a job, you ought to bring your best to the table. You just should. And you ought to keep trying to improve. I don't care if you're in Year 1 or Year 13, you should keep trying to get better. And I think we do have the right guys and that will be the mindset moving forward."

On the challenges posed by Washington's defense:
"They mix it up defensively. [Jim] Haslett does a great job with his defense and they're physical up front. We know that. We'll have our hands full. It's a really good defense and they have some veteran players on the back end, especially safeties with [Ryan] Clark and [Brandon] Meriweather, so they're going to have guys lined up in the right spots and flying around. We know we'll have our hands full, especially with their pressures and things they do blitzing-wise that we're going to have to have a plan for."

On hurting his back against Atlanta and whether he thought about coming out of the game:
"Initially, yeah, the pain I felt, it was kind of iffy. I sat there with the doctors and Bobby [Slater] and made sure everything was structurally OK, and then jogged a little bit and got it to a point where I felt like it was manageable. From Marcus' standpoint, I think he wants to know from me, can I execute what we're going to do? Can I carry out the plan? I told him I wouldn't go out there if I didn't think I could, so that was kind of it."

LB Lavonte David

On if Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III looks different after coming back from an injury earlier in the season:
"He still looks the same and it looks like his didn't miss a beat at all. That just goes to show you what type of worker he is and how dedicated he is to the game and being great."

On quarterback Josh McCown becoming emotional after the game on Sunday:
"That's just what the game brings. When you're real passionate about the game, you get emotional at some points and when you really want to win, all of that starts to come out. It wasn't just from him, it was from a lot of different other guys and this team we work hard at it and we're just trying to get wins. When you're not getting that result, then it becomes tough for us."

On if the team can rally around that kind of emotion:

"Yes, we have great character in this locker room, starting with Josh and guys are just striving to be great and that's what we want to do."

RB Bobby Rainey

On what running back Charles Sims brings to their position group and how it affects his preparation:
"For one, he's just making plays for us. As far as my preparation, there's no change in that. Like I said, when Doug [Martin] comes back I'm still going to practice as a starter, regardless if he's starting or not, so when my time comes I'll be ready and no step is lost."

On Quarterback Coach Marcus Arroyo's play-calling being stronger now than it was earlier in the season:
"I've been seeing a lot plays being made with the guys who the plays are going to. I guess he's figuring out everybody's [strengths] and building confidence in who is going to make the play. The play-calling has been stronger in that way I think."