Below is a selection of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quotes from today's earlier media availability. Full video of press conferences can be found on Buccaneers.com.

Head Coach Dirk Koetter

(On what he would do if a player protested during the national anthem)

"That's a call above my paygrade. We'll have to see. The league said they were going to put down a policy. They haven't done it yet, so I don't know what to tell you on that."

(On if he has had a conversation with the player about what he would like them to do during the national anthem)

"You guys know my stance. You know the Bucs' stance on that and that hasn't changed."

(On if there is anticipation in Week 1 to see how new players will fit)

"Yeah, not just your new player. You just want to see how this team plays – how this team plays together. Because you're turning over approximately a third of your team every year, so are the Saints. There's all kinds of picks out there and predictions on what's going to happen, but nobody really knows. That's why you play the game, right? That's why you play the game – to see what's going to happen. We're anxious to play."

(On what defensive tackle Beau Allen and defensive end Vinny Curry have brought to the team in terms of having a championship mentality)

"We brought them in 100 percent because they're good football players. Anything they bring above that is just a bonus. Those two guys have done a good job – as have several other guys – but those two guys have done a good job of being positive in the locker room and that's important. The main thing is that they're good football players."

(On Curry and Allen being durable in their careers)

"Number one ability is availability. That's for everybody – even Donovan Smith."

(On how he thinks the rookies will handle the regular season)

"I think no matter where you played, that first NFL game is a little bit different and especially in the [Mercedes Benz] Superdome. We've got guys that have played in huge conferences, played in big games, but as someone who coached for 25 years in college at a bunch of different places, the speed of an NFL – and again I love college football, but a college football game is in slow motion compared to the NFL game. Just the pace of game, that it's condensed into three hours instead of four hours, 12-minute halftime – that's another huge thing, just the way the warmups are structured. It's going to be fun to see those guys react."

(On if he has any advice for rookies on what to do the night before a game)

"Stay in your routine. We try to get these guys to talk to the vets and get a routine going once the season starts – a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Every day of the week – what day are you working on your body? Obviously, we have our hard practice days. When you break a Friday practice, you usually have 48 hours until kick. Hydration comes into play. Treatment comes into play. Sleep comes into play. Nutrition comes into play. Studying your game plan comes into play. When I first came in the league, hearing Fred Taylor talk about his weekly routine, it's impressive, so we try to get our vets to talk to our young guys about that."

(On if the players can keep hydrated with practices being in the indoor)

"It's hard to measure. We actually have a test that the guys take every day to measure where they're at hydration-wise, and we've had that ever since I've been here and even before I was here. We have a test that measure that. Trainers keep track of it. If a guy is severely dehydrated, they'll try to hold him out."

(On if he has walkthrough inside because he doesn't want to be outside all day)

"Just imagine trying to concentrate when it's a walkthrough period. Guys can practice when you're playing full-speed, but when you're walking, and you've got coaches talking to you in the walkthrough, it's much harder to keep your concentration with the sun beating on you. The guys don't like it. I don't like it. If you have to do it, you have to do it. Some teams hold walkthroughs in hotel ballrooms or in a gymnasium-type setting, but having the exact field marking, the air conditioning – you guys weren't in there, but we did punt walk through, punt protection with crowd noise in a walkthrough setting. It just gives you a lot more advantages, perfect film angels. There's just a lot of advantages – one of them is the noise factor that we practiced a lot this week."

-BUCCANEERS-