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

Defensive Coordinator Mark Duffner

Wide Receiver Mike Evans

Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy

Head Coach Dirk Koetter

(On if wide receiver DeSean Jackson playing adds to the team's explosiveness)

"He's one of the most explosive players in the league, so you would think so. We'll just have to see how the week progresses here."

(On if Jackson was having any problems with his thumb at practice)

"No. You guys saw it. You were watching."

(On how the Cowboys defense has changed since they last faced each other in 2016)

"They still play extremely hard and that's just a sign of a Rod Marinelli defense – how hard that front four plays. The main change is with Kris Richard coming in, they're much more of a single-high team. They used to be a lot more of a split-safety team. Now they're just way more single-high coverage."

(On if playing single-high coverage allows the Cowboys to be more active)

"One safety, yeah. 38 (Jeff Heath) is a down safety, so he plays like a linebacker. They're in eight-man front pretty much every play."

(On what Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper has added to their offense)

"Just from what I heard – I wasn't watching them then – but they said they had felt like they were lacking an explosive playmaker on the outside and he's definitely been that. We had him as one of our game wreckers today and finding clips of him making explosive plays wasn't hard. In the Washington game and the Eagles game – both – I mean, he made huge plays. I think he had close to 200 yards in one of those games, if not over that. He's definitely given them a lift on the outside and they've had some injuries this year at tight end and some of their other wide receivers. They've got the number one rusher in the league (Ezekiel Elliott) and Cooper's definitely given them a lift on the outside."

(On no Buccaneers players being voted to the Pro Bowl)

"It's a contest. It's a voting contest. I'm the first to say I'm not qualified to vote. It's great that they have it and the system is what it is. The third, a third, a third. If you really drill down and look at the votes, take quarterback out and look at how many votes win in some position. Plus, there's a lot of good players in the league. If you're picking three guys at a position from a whole conference, there's 32 team chockful of good football players. I thought we had a couple guys that were deserving, but there's guys deserving on every team."

(On how much time he spends voting for players to make the Pro Bowl)

"More than I care to be spending on it. Of course, I admit I'm not qualified to vote for guys I haven't seen."

(On linebacker Adarius Taylor being back at practice and if the team is expecting him to play on Sunday)

"Hopefully. That baby should be coming here pretty soon. Hopefully tonight. I'm going to break out my crystal ball and say tonight."

(On having how much having Jackson back helps wide receiver Mike Evan)

"Dallas isn't really a big roll coverage team. They're pretty much a straight up, one-on-one team. DeSean in the game – again he's one of the fastest, one of the most explosive players in the league. That's going to help everybody on offense – not just Mike."

(On if Jackson has played up to the team's expectations)

"Definitely in the first half of this season – there's no doubt about that. He's been out for a few games now and we had a couple games where we didn't get the ball to him, but definitely in the first half of the season."

(On if he's seen a more prideful player than defensive tackle Gerald McCoy)

"I've seen a lot of proud players in my time and Gerald is an extremely proud player. He's been an excellent player for a long time in this league. That's what professional football players do. If they don't have that – any guy that doesn't have that, he better be really talented or he's not going to be staying in this league very long. It doesn't surprise me that Gerald said that. Also, you're putting your work every week on tape for all 32 teams to see. Some guys are at the end of their contract."

(On if other teams are starting to realize quarterback Jameis Winston's success outside the pocket)

"No because like you said, most of those scramble plays are Jameis turning it into a scramble based on the rush on that particular play. You can't really predict how those plays are going to happen. They happen for a variety of reasons. O-line might be off a little bit or a guy just wins on the defensive line or they have a pass rush game that disrupts the pocket, or the coverage makes him hold the ball."

Defensive Coordinator Mark Duffner

(On defensive tackle Vita Vea's progression)

"I'll tell you again, the positive right now is just what you said – he's getting better game after game after game. That attribute to Coach [Brentson] Bucker and Coach [Paul] Spicer and certainly to Vita and his preparation weekly. He's playing dominantly at the moment and we'd like that to continue. That helps the entire defense. When you're strong up the middle, you're going to be strong overall. We're anxious for him just to continue to have that kind of production. I think again, it's reflective of his preparation, but it's also just again the more reps he's getting. He's kind of now more in the midseason for him because of injury and so forth early on in the year. We're anxious to continue to see him be in that productive mode."

(On what Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper adds to their offense)

"He's added speed, which they already have, but he added speed and productivity and long-ball opportunity. Just another explosive weapon in an offense that's got very, very good players, another one comes aboard and it gets even more prolific. This team is playing at a high level right now. They've been really – from a run and pass standpoint – productive and scoring points. It's going be, like I said, a very formal task for us."

(On how the secondary has improved over the season)

"I think they've not allowed big plays. They've kind of kept things in front of him and played with I think a little better technique. I think that that's probably the biggest thing right now is that they're playing with some confidence and making plays. I'm pleased that these people when they do come in they're accepting the opportunity with the role they get and doing their best with it and that's all you can ask."

Wide Receiver Mike Evans

(On the last two games of the season)

"We just want to win when we can. It feels good to win. Even though we're out of contention, it still feels good to win. Christmas is coming up. It'll be good to have Christmas sitting on a W."

(On breaking Mark Carrier's single-season receiving yardage record)

"Hopefully I can get it. I should be able to. I've just got to have a good week of practice this week and I think I should be able to get it this week hopefully. If not, then next week."

(On how he will face the Cowboys secondary)

"Just playing my game. Do what I've been doing all year. They play a lot of man coverage and I like going against man coverage, so just beating man coverage and whenever they give me some odd looks, other guys will be open."

Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy

(On if it's special to go to Dallas to play the Cowboys)

"For me, yeah because I grew up really liking Dallas. I'm from Oklahoma City, so 'our team' was the Cowboys. It's always fun to compete against them. Going there a lot of family get to watch me play. That's it – nothing other than that."

(On the key to getting Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott out of rhythm)

"First, it's going to start with stopping the run and forcing him to just pass as much as we can. We've got to make him one dimensional. He's at his best when they can get that run-pass option. Not a real RPO, but if they get the run going, they get the play action going and keep you on your heels. It's going to start with us stopping the run because you know they're going to run it. They've got top one/two/three running back in the league (Ezekiel Elliott)."

(On Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper)

"He's always been a gifted receiver, dating all the way back to college. Got a breath of fresh air in Dallas and he's allowed them to open the playbook. He's a big play receiver. He can catch it short and take it the distance or he can beat you over the top. We've got to make sure we [have] eyes on him."

(On how they plan to slow down running back Ezekiel Elliott)

"We've got to get 11 hats to the ball and make sure we wrap up. He's hard to bring down with just one person, so make sure we are gap sound, control the line of scrimmage and get as many people to the ball as we can."

-BUCCANEERS-