Head Coach Bruce Arians
(Opening statement)
"Not practicing [today were] obviously Alex Cappa, Jack Cichy, Demar Dotson, T.J. Logan, Breshad Perriman, Ndamukong Suh, all with minor injuries – some major. Chris Godwin's limited and Josh Wells took a personal day to be with his wife – they're having a baby, so hopefully everything is going well. [It was a] good start to the week. Obviously, it's a different week, but it was a really good practice. [The Carolina Panthers are a] quality opponent – a little different than we played them last time, obviously offensively with Kyle Allen. [Christian] McCaffrey has been lights out the past few weeks. If there's one thing I feel that we've done well, it's identify one person and take them out of the game. That'll be easier said than done this time. They're using him a whole lot more like [Alvin] Kamara in the passing game and stuff now. Offensively, we've got some new guys on the right side of the line – they'll be fine."
(On the decision to release LB/S Deone Bucannon)
"It's just a roster move."
(On if OLB Jason Pierre-Paul is still expected to be back in Week 8)
"He can start practicing next week and we have a schedule set up for him, and [we'll] see how it goes."
(On what it will mean to get Pierre-Paul back in the lineup)
"It's huge – just leadership alone, but then a great player also. It'll be a lot of fun with he and Shaq [Barrett] and Carl [Nassib] and all those guys rushing the passer."
(On how much he expects to practice during the bye week)
"None."
(On if Pierre-Paul can practice on his own next week)
"He can practice. We have a practice set up for him."
(On if it hurts to not have T Josh Wells at practice today)
"It would do no good to have him here because his mind would be there, so I told him, 'Stay there, get it done.' He's a smart guy, he knows what we're doing, so it's not a real complicated game plan."
(On if he expects Wells to be in London)
"I'm hoping. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong."
(On what he expects from ILB Noah Dawkins)
"A run-and-hit, smart, fast linebacker whose special teams tape was pretty nice in the preseason. Their [Cincinnati Bengals] special teams calls are identical to ours, so it was an easy learning curve for him and we'll see if he's ready."
(On if he expects to start ILB Devin White on Sunday)
"Yes."
(On if it's still the same game even though it will be played in London)
"Yeah, just the crowd never shuts up – you don't know who they're rooting for. It's non-stop noise, so you have crowd noise on both sides. It is a lot of fun because there's so much energy in those stadiums."
(On how much he is relying on sports science as opposed to his gut when traveling to London)
"Sports science all the way – my gut stinks. It doesn't know anything. We've got outstanding people and the plan has been set in stone for months and I think our guys are following the plan pretty well."
(On players taking Melatonin to help regulate their sleep cycle with the time change)
"If you're going to take it, you need to start taking it Monday. They were on schedule with all the prescriptions – whatever they needed for them to start going to sleep earlier, not watching the Rays – which was great, go Rays. I didn't follow protocol because I watched the game and I know O.J. [Howard] didn't because he was at the game. But, yeah, there's certain things for each guy."
(On TE O.J. Howard catching a foul ball one-handed at the Rays playoff game)
"I was just checking and looking at his fingers – everything was OK."
(On if the offense is trying to find new ways to get the tight ends involved)
"We've had five to eight plays scheduled to go that didn't look good so we didn't call them because of what we're seeing, and areas of the field where they can be heavily used. We've got three wide receiver, two tight end sets [with] no backs we've been using to try to get those guys involved. It's just a matter of where the ball goes. They're not doing anything wrong, that's for sure."
(On if he wants to utilize the tight ends more in the passing game)
"Yeah – you try to get the mismatches you're looking for."
(On if he is taking any different approaches to traveling to London than when he went with the Arizona Cardinals in 2017)
"Yeah, we're doing this one totally different because we left Monday, but it was a 13-hour flight from Phoenix. We practiced there the entire week rather than play on the east coast, lay around the stadium for four hours somewhere if you played a game before you can get into Heathrow. We're not going into Heathrow. We're doing a lot of things differently than some teams have done."
(On what he saw over the offseason that gave him the confidence to predict that WR Chris Godwin will have 100 receptions this season)
"Watching him practice and knowing the position that he plays. That position catches a lot of balls in the history of this offense, and I [knew] he was going to play the position really well, so just barring injury, that he'll have targets [and] he'll have catches."
(On what he learned from playing in London in 2017)
"Don't let your quarterback break his arm."
(On what challenges the Panthers' offense presents with QB Kyle Allen)
"Some of the things they're doing – they're doing a lot more motions, a lot more screens [and] a lot more quick passing than they were doing. The jet motions and the sweeps and things, getting [Christian] McCaffrey out in space – which they had done a little bit against the Rams when we broke them down – but he [Kyle Allen] is an accurate passer. He's playing really well."
(On if the humidity will affect the team in London)
"No, I don't think so whatsoever."
(On how the secondary will recover after giving up 345 passing yards to the Saints)
"The Saints and the Rams. It's a matter of pass rush – it's a collective group – pass rush, tighter coverage. They've done a good job of stopping the run and making teams one-dimensional – now we've got to handle that other part."
(On if CB Jamel Dean will be healthy enough to play)
"Yes, he'll be active and playing."
(On what the Saints did to limit OLB Shaquil Barrett in the pass rush)
"There was a ton of chips, and that's just coming with the territory."
(On if other defensive linemen have to step up with Barrett getting extra attention from offensive lines)
"Other guys have got to get home. Carl [Nassib] was close three times and had him wrapped up one time and just didn't get him down. Vita [Vea] – [Ndamukong] Suh came through [and] got clipped but it wasn't called, but he got some pressure. We moved him off the spot enough. We've just got to tighten up on the back end."
(On if having ILB Devin White back will help the pass rush)
"I can say that Kevin Minter played excellent in his absence, but Devin is such a special player, so yeah, it would help too."
(On if the players feed off of other Tampa sports teams playing well)
"Yeah, you can feel it around town. It was a great crowd. I wish they were out there every night for the Rays, just like I wish they were all there for us. But if the Rays win, I don't know if that Yankee crowd might take it over. It's great – I love it when other teams in our cities are winning."
Quarterback Jameis Winston
(On how he is preparing for the trip to London)
"Probably sleeping earlier – I'm treating it like a west-coast trip. I'm trying to listen to the doctors and the sports science people that we have on staff as much as I can in terms of the travel to London tomorrow. I'm sure they've got some stuff planned for us."
(On if he has consulted teammates who have previously made the trip to London)
"I've talked to Blaine [Gabbert]. Blaine has been over there a couple of times. I'm not really focused on all that stuff. I'm focused on the Carolina Panthers and playing a good football game."
(On if Carolina has made changes to its defensive scheme since their Week 2 matchup with the Buccaneers)
"The only thing different that they're doing is they're being more simple. They've been getting to the quarterback often and they've always had a really good front, but that's the only thing."
(On the challenge of losing two starting offensive linemen due to injury)
"It's challenging, but that's this league. It's next man up. We're going to have two guys that are ready – we have two veteran guys, so it's going to be good for us."
(On Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns)
"He is a great pass rusher [and] a great football player. He is equipped with great guys around him. They've got a new leader in Gerald [McCoy]. Mario Addison – he is a Birmingham boy, he's a dog. Kawaan Short – I don't know if he is going to be playing, but [Burns] has a lot of great people around him to help him take advantage of the opportunity that he's been given, and he's truly gifted."
(On if it helps playing a team twice in four weeks)
"Yeah, it does. It helps when you've seen a team already. But, they're on a hot streak, so we've got to come ready to play."
(On the Tampa Bay Rays versus Houston Astros playoff series)
"It's always good when you've got teams from Tampa in the playoffs. We've got to be one of those teams, so that was big, and I've got a couple of friends on the Astros that I played some baseball with. That was big – I am happy they evened the series out. It's going to be a big game. O.J. [Howard] won't be able to make it to this one, so hopefully they can do it without him."
(On the having the playoff atmosphere in Tampa Bay)
"It's always good to see the fans coming out to support. The good thing about us is we don't even need to fill our stadium and we're going to have 30,000 people there, so that's the great thing about football – we can reach so many people. That's why I said it's good for the community when teams are getting in the playoffs and being successful. We love it and we feed off of it."
-BUCCANEERS-