HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On getting yardage on early downs to give themselves a better chance to make third and manageable downs)

"Yeah, I think it's a great example. It's a lot better than having third-and-seven-plus – that makes it a lot harder and it opens up blitz packages for people and they have to play the run and the pass, and if you have manageable yards to get, you have a better chance of getting it."

(On how impressed he is with CB Jamel Dean's performance and progression)

"Extremely impressed – especially with the mental part of his game. He's coming along four years, as far as being naive and green – he's become a great film study guy. He understands what's happening to him and what people try to do to him and he's taken all of that and kind of put it together and he's playing fast. He's having a heck of a year for us, so I'm proud of him."

(On how the rookies have performed)

"Those guys have been doing great. Jason [Licht] and them do a great job of identifying guys that are mentally tough and mentally smart enough and the game's not too big for them. They just love to play football and it doesn't always come in the form of maybe the most talented players, but the guys that come in are ready to play right now. They do a great job of studying, as well as understanding what they need to do on the field and those guys have come through big for us."

(On G Nick Leverett's progress and if he will continue to start)

"Luke [Goedeke] is still hurt right now. There are more games to play, obviously. We like what he's doing right now. Nick has always been tough and physical for us – he played a big part in the run game yesterday. We'll evaluate when Luke comes back, but [Nick's] playing great right now. He's earned an opportunity to play."

(On the extra dimension that WR Julio Jones brings to the offense)

"[Those are] some of the things [we saw] when we signed him. Hopefully, he's getting over that hump now – he played well yesterday. He gives us an added dimension, he takes some pressure off of the other two receivers that we have right now and he opens up the run game some. What really went unnoticed – he did a fantastic job of blocking down the field. The receivers did a great job of blocking and giving Rachaad [White] some extra yardage."

(On if this is what he envisioned for the pass game)

"Yeah, along with the run game. The run game opens up more play-action passes, and we got the ball rolling yesterday, so we were able to suck some people up and then throw behind them."

(On if RB Leonard Fournette will play against Cleveland after the bye week)

"Too early to tell, right now. We'll get the treatment, and we'll reevaluate next week."

(On if there is a chance that S Logan Ryan could return after the bye)

"It's possible, but I doubt it right now – I haven't seen him running yet, so it's way too early to say he'll be back right now. We'll just wait and see as it goes."

(On how the coaching staff prepares for the bye week)

"We try to get ready for Cleveland, we'll start looking at them early. You don't go overboard with it. You start looking at them early and kind of space your days out instead of watching them in two days and trying to cram everything. You kind of space your days out some and try to look at every little thing and see things that we can try to do better the second half of the season. You kind of lock in on it towards the end of the week and get started next week."

(On how proud he is that the defense was able to successfully contain Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker)

"I didn't mention him 47 times, it was probably more like 99 – we thought the game, their offense started and ended with him. As much talent as they have on the outside, we thought he did the most damage and to try and limit him from running the football because he has great vision, great feet – we think he's an outstanding back – probably one of the best young backs in the league, if not one of the best backs in the league. To hold him down, was very important for us. So, I'm proud of that part from the defensive front – the corners as well."

(On if there were any problems with the turf)

"It was slick. I mean, it was a slick field for both teams, we understood that. Everybody had on their long cleats, but it was still a slippery field. I don't know how much you can do about that when the field is slick, don't know if the rain had anything to do with it, but you play on those surfaces and kind of adjust, but it was a slick surface."

(On the decision to start RB Rachaad White and if he will get more snaps moving forward)

"We have different packages for guys, and we just started out with that package. It was a change-of-pace package that we started out with and the plays we had scheduled for Rachaad happened to be one of the plays we had scheduled, so that's how we came out with the game.

(On if TE Cade Otton will start moving forward or if it will be more rotational)

"It will be rotational. Obviously, we have guys we like to rotate in with Cam [Brate] and Cade and Ko [Kieft] as well, so it will be a rotational basis depending on what we have up."

(On his thoughts on Seahawks QB Geno Smith)

"Obviously, he played tough, he played gritty. He got them back in the ball game, he's been playing like that all year. We knew the game wasn't over and he made some plays, obviously, to get them back in the ball game, but I told him how proud I was of him after the ball game and to keep going, keep working and you know, just happy to see him have success."

(On how the defense's play has improved these last two games)

"Communication has picked up. Communication has picked up and guys are talking to each other more than they have been. Obviously with [Antoine] Winfield down and Logan Ryan down, we lost a lot of communication, but a lot of guys have stepped up and started believing in each other and playing for the guy next to him, and I think that's picked up and changed a lot."

(On if there are benefits to a pre-snap rotation on the front seven)

"Well, sometimes because they can run the ball on you, if you have people out of place too much. Obviously, with the people we had out there, with Joe [Tryon-Shoyinka] and [Genard] Avery, we thought they were athletic enough to go behind the ball and give a different look and still be solid in the run game as well. So, we try to tweak some things as we go and we're starting to get into certain things and doing different things for the second half of the season that we think can help us going forward)

(On OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka's coverage of Seahawks TE Will Dissly)

"Well, Joe's a good athlete. He can cover a lot of people and do a lot of things for us. Obviously, we don't ask him to cover much, but in that situation, he did a good job going down the sideline. If I say this too loud, he's going to get a big head, so there's some things he can get better at, obviously, but we'll go from there."

(On LB Devin White's maturity to take the adversity on and off the field and channel it into a positive direction on the field)

"I mean, great players understand that criticism comes with it when you're not winning, and he'll be the first to be hard on himself, so anything else he gets from the outside world probably doesn't even affect him as much as he beats himself up, but he's a pro. He'll put his head down and go back to work. He'll look at the little things, he'll study tape and he'll come back and work harder than he has to and he'll try to make it right and he's been doing that the last two weeks, so we're happy with him."

-BUCCANEERS-