*Head Coach Bruce Arians *
(Opening statement)
"Out for this ball game [will be] Anthony Nelson and M.J. Stewart. Everybody else will be ready to go and [we're] looking forward to it."
(On what he saw from OLB Carl Nassib during practice this week)
"He got better a little bit each day. He did more today and we should be able to use him Sunday."
(On how much it helps to have depth at outside linebacker so Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul don't have to play every snap)
"[It's] huge – that's not what we want to do. We want fresh bodies out there, and Carl [Nassib] is probably our best run stopper at outside linebacker. It'd be great to have Anthony [Nelson], but we don't have Anthony. But, Sam [Acho's] done a good job, so we'll keep rotating those guys."
(On OLB Jason Pierre-Paul returning from injury in the middle of the season)
"I don't know of anybody else that could do what he's done. He's finally getting into shape and ready to roll, and [I] expect good things out of it."
(On K Matt Gay being 18-of-20 on field goal attempts)
"Don't jinx me, c'mon man [laughter]."
(On how Gay has performed this season)
"I said that that kick in New York against the Giants would not define his career. He's a talented kid, he's overcome it and he's been very consistent. I think he leads the league in kicks over [40 yards], so it's a huge weapon for us."
(On OLB Jason Pierre-Paul's emotional investment in the team)
"He's the ultimate pro."
(On what it's meant to have a leader like Pierre-Paul)
"Like I said, you didn't know how much you missed him until you got it back."
(On if there is a distance he believes K Matt Gay can kick a field goal from)
"Indoors, probably 60 [yards]. After London, we worked on free kicks and he's probably at 68 for a free kick."
(On if he had Gay practice a free kick specifically after the London game because they encountered that situation)
"Yeah, in this stadium [Raymond James Stadium], I said, 'Make sure we know what a free kick distance is in our stadium.' It might be 70 [yards] indoors."
(On if he had encountered that situation before the Week 6 game against the Panthers)
"I've seen it, but never had one on our team."
(On how the team has responded in practice this week after the loss in Week 11)
"Outstanding – it was really another good week. I can't ask for any more effort on the practice field or in the classroom – it just needs to show up on Sunday."
(On if he would rather have divisional games early or late in the season)
"I'm kind of used to having them late. It seemed like in Arizona, we ended up with Seattle every year for the division for a couple of years and kind of got used to it at the end."
-BUCCANEERS-
