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

Quarterback Jameis Winston

Linebacker Lavonte David

Head Coach Dirk Koetter

(On if it helps to have 53 players available to play and the status of wide receiver DeSean Jackson's injury)

"Yeah. On the 53 [man roster] yes, it's always better to have all 53 out. When guys are missing practice, that just put more stress on everybody else. That can just lead to more injuries, more wear and tear on other guys. As far as DeSean goes, he did more today and looks fine."

(On if there can be a 'crisis of confidence' with a young player like wide receiver Chris Godwin)

"I think there definitely can be, but really deep down I don't think that's the case at all. Chris is a little nicked up and he fought through it. He had a similar thing last year and then he actually finished pretty strong. I know I'm the one that said last week that it wasn't to be too concerned over and then he didn't have any catches again. I don't think it's a huge deal and I don't think he's lacking for confidence. I just think these last few weeks he's been playing a little bit more from a volume standpoint, but I still think Chris is going to be a really good football player."

(On safety Justin Evans' performance this season and if he 'plateaued)

"I wouldn't use the word plateaued. Usually I think it's best if we evaluate guys at the end of the year. Justin didn't have the season that he hoped for or probably the season that we had hoped for, for him. I'm not laying awake nights thinking about that kind of stuff because we've got two games left to play. That something that'll need to be studied when the season is over. Injuries definitely played a part in it. Those toe things can last a long, long time, but he did start out fast and it wasn't the season he was hoping for. I'll just leave it at that for right now."

(On if linebacker Adarius Taylor's wife had her baby)

"Well he got a call. He got a call during the middle of practice, so we'll see. That's another prediction I was off on. I'm 0-for-2."

(On what it means to the team to have Mike Evans near breaking the single-season receiving record)

"I don't know if it does for a team, but I'm sure it does to Mike. Mike has aspirations of owning every record and higher than that. I would just say if he doesn't get it this year, he's going to get it. If he stays healthy, I would say he has a great chance to get it this year and he deserves it."

(On the Cowboys having two good linebackers in Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch)

"Dallas actually has three extremely athletic linebackers. Sean Lee hasn't played as much this year and he might be better than both of those guys. I think that's probably the strength of Dallas' defense is their speed at linebackers. Those young guys have come out and said what a great mentor Sean Lee is for them, even though he hasn't been playing, as kind of a player-coach for them. I think their resurgence, where they won the five games in a row, a lot of that was centered around the speed of those linebackers. Those two guys have really – looks to me like gained confidence as the season had gone on and are playing up to their speed or playing as fast as their timed. Their defense is not complicated, but it's successful because they rotate that front four and they just play extremely hard and they run to the ball. We know that you've got to get those linebackers blocked if you're going to move the ball against these guys."

(On if he will give younger players a chance to get more snaps)

"Remember, your health of your team is changing every week. Based on who – 46 of your 53 guys up. First of all, when we go out there and practice every day, the players are well aware of every single move that's made. How do you look other players in the eye and say – if they know that guy's not the best guy – and say, 'Hey guys we're really trying to win this week – let's really finish strong, but we need to look at X, Y and Z.' I don't even know how that works. I don't even really know what that looks like. I would not want to be a part of that. There's times, if the game was out of hand one way of the other or something like that, you've got a limited amount of reserves on your team. It's not like you're a college team and you run your second and third team out there. I don't think too much about that."

(On running back Peyton Barber's performance this season)

"I just think when you really look at all of Peyton's carries, Peyton's yards after contact, his reads have been spot-on for the most part and his acceleration through the hole. If we get guys covered up, Peyton's going to make yards. He's either going to squirt through or he's going to get that first contact and get two or three yards on top of that. I'd start with Peyton and the O-Line, tight ends and scheme that George [Warhop] is working on – those things all come into play as well. I just think Peyton Barber if the season – if we hadn't been behind as much or you're ahead and you're able to run the ball the same way – I still think Peyton is 1,000-yard plus back in this league. He's got to get the number of touches to have the chance to do that."

(On what he's seen from guard Ali Marpet from a leadership standpoint)

"Ali's just a really steady, going to always do the right thing, always set the example from a work standpoint in the meeting room, in the weight room. He's not the most vocal guy, but yet I think that year playing center, from a communication standpoint – I think if every O-lineman in the league can spend one year of their career playing center, it would help their communication. Communication, when we talk about our musts every week, that's almost always in our musts for an offense is communication. Somebody's got to be doing the communicating and Ali is a good communicator – has been a great asset to Ryan Jensen as far as learning the calls and learning the direction of turning the line and protection. I think Ali's play has been really solid. I know you asked last week about the Pro Bowl and we've talked enough about the Pro Bowl, so here I go again. Again, they picked three guys in a whole conference out of [16] teams. I still think that winning teams are going to get a little more than losing teams are. I still think Ali is still at that level as a player."

(On how he would asses offensive tackle Donovan Smith's performance this season)

"Better than most people think. Every time I get asked about this and I say what I'm about to say then the critics come back and they name off the people they'd rather have, but guess what? Those people they'd rather have aren't available. Those elite left tackles you think you're going to get are under contract by another team and they're not going to come free. I think Donovan is a much better player than he's given credit for. Can he have some plays at times that don't look great to the eye test? Yes – most players do. I just think that Donovan is a much more valuable piece than people think."

(On if Smith is becoming more consistent)

"Yeah, he has been. I think that's still something he has room to grow on because Donovan has incredible talent, incredible athleticism for a man his size, incredible power for a man his size, excellent communicator. Donovan has everything it takes to be as good as anybody in this league at his position. To be the best at a position, it starts with you have to have the ability, you have to have the God-given talent. There's a lot of talented guys that don't last in the league because they're not consistent enough."

(On why linebacker Lavonte David is deserving of the Ed Block Courage Award)

"The Ed Block Courage Award is something that originated through the team trainers. Bobby [Slater] talked to the players on Wednesday about four nominees this year. In my mind, all those guys are deserving because on what they go through on a week-to-week basis. The way I understand it, it's a combination of overcoming injuries to stay on the field and also community service comes into play. We have a lot of guys that are deserving. I wasn't the vote counter, so I'm not sure what the vote was, but Lavonte won. Will Gholston was our winner last year. Will gave a little speech in the team meeting about the banquet held up in Baltimore. You go visit some hospitals and he said what a great experience it was. I think something that players – on the three teams I've been associated with – the players take it seriously. It's a nice honor. I just think we have more than one guy [worthy], but Lavonte was the winner, yes."

Quarterback Jameis Winston

(On how much he has grown this year and how much he has left to improve)

"I think you never reach a limit of growth. Every player's going to continue to grow every single year. I think I've grown in a lot of ways as a football player and as a man since I've been here. I would never put a cap or ceiling on how much I can grow. I will continue to get better – that's it."

(On how guard Ali Marpet has grown as a leader)

"Ali has always been a great guy for this team. I think he's taught me a lot just as far as seeing things from a different perspective. He's a true professional and I admire him. We've got a lot of good leaders on this team. He was one of our offensive captains along with Mike [Evans] and he really deserved it. He leads by example. A lot of guys, they gravitate toward him."

(On what it means to have Mike Evans near breaking the single-season receiving record)

"That's Mike, man. He's one of the best players to play the game. He's going to keep getting better. That's all of our goals, to get better every day as best as we can. That's Mike, man. I'm just happy I get to throw that guy the ball."

Linebacker Lavonte David

(On what it means for him to receive the Ed Block Courage Award)

"It just means I earned respect from a lot of these guys in the locker room – not only as a football player, but as a person and what I try to do in the community and how much I try to give back. It means a lot for those guys to vote for me because we're not just teammates. I don't just look at these guys as just teammates – we're all friends outside of the locker room and things like that. I've just got a great relationship with everybody. They know how much I care about obviously playing football, but also the things I do in the community."

(On what kind of legacy he wants to leave when he's done playing football)

"As long as I'm in this league, I just want to have the respect of my peers. I just want to be remembered as somebody who played the game the right way, played the game hard and had a lot of love for the game. It was no doubt in [anybody's] mind that whenever I'm out there they're going to 100 percent from me and that's what I try to do. No matter the accolades that come with it, I'm just out trying to have fun and win football games."

-BUCCANEERS-