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
Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson
Head Coach Dirk Koetter
(On how impressive it is to see running back Adrian Peterson playing at such a high level)
"He got after us pretty good last year and he's definitely – you see the same if not better on film. He's having a heck of a year."
(On how the Redskins will adjust to losing two starting offensive linemen)
"That's going to be there issue. We're just going to have to adjust to whatever they do. They already had their starting left tackle out, they had the two guards go down in the game, their right tackle was out for a while – came back. I've been in that movie before where you're down to four O-linemen and playing your tight end at tackle for a quarter – that's tough. We were talking about that last week with only dressing seven O-linemen, which is what every team does on gameday. It's a tough situation. I have seen it before where you've had to bring a guy in and start him in the same week and I think that's what Coach Gruden said that's what they might have to do this week. That just depends on the guys they've got. Looks to me like all the guys they've signed have starting experience, so usually those guys can get up to speed pretty quickly."
(On where the team can improve)
"We need to start winning the turnover battle. There's no secret about that. The 14-to-five thing – I don't know if that's going to happen. We didn't play very well last week, but with nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter, we were down one score and we've just got to play better. We've got to play more consistently. Same thing I've been saying since Sunday: we've got to tackle better on defense, we've got to play more consistently on offense. If we do those things, you can't talk about five games, four games, everything starts with one game. We've got to worry about what's happening this week with the Redskins. Guys did a good job of that today – got off to a good start this week. That's all you can do."
(On if the players are making a strong effort to strip the ball)
"Yeah. How many times do you see that happen in real football though? In the NFL, how many running backs in the NFL get stripped and fumble? I'm just asking – you don't see it very much and I think if you really look interceptions across the league are down significantly. The quarterbacks in this league are playing at an all-time high level. Yeah, what do we need to do? We need to cover tighter, we need to get more tipped balls, pressure. Where's the biggest turnovers in the NFL right now? Coming on sack fumbles, the quarterback fumbling because he's got the ball in a passing position as opposed to a running back who's got it locked down. You just don't go out there and practice stripping the ball more. That's not the key to it, even though we that. That just doesn't happen that much. That might happen in high school football. That doesn't happen that much in pro football."
(On Redskins quarterback Alex Smith protecting the football)
"He's a 14-year vet. That's probably the thing he does best. That's probably why he's had the successful career he's had. He takes care of the ball. He takes very little risk. If you looked up the MO on Alex Smith, call up the Chief fans and see what his MO was. See what his MO is in Washington. That doesn't mean that doesn't win. His record speaks for itself – he's won a lot of games, but Alex Smith from whenever he started clear back with Urban Meyer, University of Utah, he has done a great job of taking care of the football his entire career and that's why he's been a starting quarterback for 14 years."
(On if he's surprised at the lack of production on defense)
"Nothing really surprises me in the NFL."
(On if he's disappointed in the defense)
"It is what it is. These guys are fighting and scratching and clawing. We have to do better as a football team. I don't ever look at it as this group is letting us down or this guy is letting us down. Our football team has to play better and that's how I always look at it."
(On how the left side of the offensive line is playing)
"Good. They've really meshed well together. They communicate well. There's plays where they both have issues because they're playing against good guys on the other team, but for the most part they've done a good job."
(On if wide receiver DeSean Jackson is a good teammate)
"Yep. Very much so. Very much so. In fact, he's going to be a captain this week."
(On if asking for a trade is being a good teammate)
"I don't know why we're talking about something that's in the past. He didn't ask me about it, so you're talking to me about stuff I don't even know what you're talking about."
(On if he has had any conversations with Jason Licht about Jackson requesting a trade)
"I have. Why are we talking about stuff that's old news? So, what's my part in this?"
(On if asking for a trade is being a good teammate)
"I don't know that he did. That's about the hundredth time I've answered that question. I have no knowledge of that. I don't comment on other people's speculation."
(On if Jackson has expressed his frustrations to Coach Koetter)
"Yeah, of course. DeSean is extremely frustrated. I've told you guys this before, every great player I've ever been around in my life is frustrated because they want the ball every play. So what?"
(On why Jackson hasn't been producing at the same rate he did earlier in the season)
"He's averaging 22 point something a catch. Again, the object of the game is to get one more point than the other team however you get there. The object of the game isn't to get DeSean more catches. Every time we start talking about catches and touches my question is: whose targets do you want to switch? You want Mike [Evans] less, you want O.J. [Howard] more, you want DeSean more? That's not how the game is played. DeSean's a really good football player. Did you see in the game when we threw the deep shot to him and got about a 70-yard touchdown and it skimmed off his fingers? Like, why didn't we complete that? Well, because Fitz (Ryan Fitzpatrick) missed it by six inches, 70 yards down the field. What do you want me to say to that?"
(On the Redskins having a physical team)
"Extremely. Right there. I mean, look at how their team was built. They're last two first round picks on the D-line on the inside. They've got – when he's healthy – arguably the best left tackle on offense in the game. They're offensive line, one of the best in football even though they got hit hard by injuries here in the last week. They've got a really physical running back. They play a 3-4 team with Coach Greg Manusky as their D-coordinator. They're I think eighth or something in the league stopping the run. They've gone from last in the league against the run two years ago to I think sixth in the league against the run right now. They're definitely built to be a physical football team and so far this season they've done that."
Defensive Coordinator Mark Duffner
(On if tackling is difficult to practice during the season with the NFL regulations)
"Every team's got the regulations we've got, so you find ways to – we're not taking players to the ground in practice – execute tackling at its very, very best. The coaches, we continue to work on that on a daily basis and will continue to – we have and will continue to. Some of the tackling too is angles to the ball. That's the pursuit part of it I'm talking about. All those remain foremost in our focus in terms of where we're trying to be on defense. If you don't tackle well, it makes no difference what you're running and what you're calling. We or somebody else is going to have trouble. We continue to work on that both by position and collectively."
(On what has contributed to running back Adrian Peterson having a 'second life' in his career)
"He has – the better question would be for him, but I would say to you I know he's a fierce competitor. He's taken on the challenge of when he wasn't playing, to get ready to play. Now he's hell-beat to make that a very productive situation. I admire what I've seen from this guy. This guy's been a great player for a long, long time. I think he's fifth in the league in rushing right now – really is a force to be reckoned with. He's running the ball well, he's catching the ball well – big challenge for us."
(On if there is an effort to strip the ball from the other teams)
"We want that to become a little more of a contagion. I saw it the last two weeks in practice probably the most because our players did it. It happens in practice. It's something that it's not by accident that it happens in the game. We've just got to continue to do that."
(On if the teams is getting interception in practice)
"Oh sure, we are getting them in practice and again you practice like you're going to play. When you practice hard, when you execute, finish and tackling and all those things – again, we want it to carry over to the game. We expect it to happen in the meeting room, we expect it to happen in walkthrough, we expect it to happen on the football field and carry it to the game. That's all part of the process."
Wide Receiver Mike Evans
(On what he sees in the Redskins secondary)
"Really good secondary. Really good front [seven]. I feel like each defense that we've been playing this year are really good defenses even though it's been an offensive year this year. People are sleeping on the defense that's being played. Guys are making big plays, but there's some really good defenses and we've been playing a lot of them."
(On corner back Josh Norman)
"Everything, he reads the quarterbacks well. Guys don't think he can run, but he can run pretty well He has a long stride, deceptive speed and he just knows football. He's going to talk a lot of trash and he backs it up most of the time."
Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson
(On addressing on his podcast that he wants to retire as a Buccaneer)
"That's where I'm at right now in my career. I'm here, I never try to get in a sense of thinking about where I have been or where I want to go. Just doing a good job of staying here keeping my feet underneath me where I'm at today. That's where I'm at, here in Tampa Bay. I love the fans, I love my teammates. I just want to translate that over to winning. I've won a lot in my career, I've lost some as well too and I know what it feels like to win, I know what it feels like to get in the playoffs and play in crucial games – that's something Tampa's been missing. I just want to help do everything I can to get us back there."
(On if he is looking forward to going against the Redskins cornerbacks)
"All [those] dudes. Like I said, I've got a great relationship with all [those] dudes from Josh Norman to 'Swag' (D.J. Swearinger Sr.) to Quinton Dunbar. All them are great friends of mine. It'll be a great opportunity to go play against some familiar faces and talk some smack. In between the white lines, no friends. After the game, maybe before the game, we can talk a little bit, but I between that line, I just want to win."
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