HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On the status of OLB Yaya Diaby)

"He has an MCL sprain. I'm not sure how much [time] he'll miss. We'll see how the week progresses and then we'll kind of go from there."

(On if Diaby could potentially avoid being placed on Injured Reserve)

"I'm hoping so, yes."

(On if outside linebacker is a position that he feels comfortable enduring an injury at given the team's depth there)

"It is. You don't want to sustain it, but we feel like we've got good depth there."

(On Tampa Bay's defensive performance in the Week 8 shutout win over Atlanta)

"I thought we played tough up front, defensive line-wise. For the most part, we were gap sound. I thought the [cornerbacks] tackled. [Josiah] Trotter and [Alex] Anzalone did a great job coming downhill – I really thought they set the edge for the most part. We let them out one time and we gave up the pass at the end, but they played pretty sound football."

(On the defense's success in short-yardage situations against Atlanta)
"[We were] just determined to get off the field. We knew what kind of game it was. It was going to come right at you. It was either us or them, so that kind of made it pretty simple."

(On OLB Rueben Bain Jr.'s performance against Atlanta)
"I thought he played well. I thought he played physical. I thought he played in the backfield. I thought he played like the guy we drafted. In that type of game, even though it was a run-type of ballgame, I thought he was very physical."

(On TE Bauer Sharp's development and increased playing time lately)
"He's coming along. He's one of our best athletes at that position. Obviously, he can catch the ball and run routes, but he's really getting the run game down. He's really a willing, physical blocker, putting his face in there. He's getting the scheme down, so he's seeing more time."

(On C Graham Barton playing through an illness against Atlanta)
"He took some IV's and meds…When you get that thing, it usually puts you down for about 24 hours, but he was determined to play, and we monitored him every time he came off the field. He did a heck of a job. He probably needs to play like that a little more often [laughs]."

(On comparing Barton's performance to Michael Jordan's 'Flu Game')
"Let's not put him in Jordan's category [laughs]."

(On when he knew T Luke Goedeke would be available against Atlanta)
"We knew if he came back Saturday feeling good [following the] the Friday practice that he would be good to go."

(On the condition of the playing surface at Raymond James Stadium)
"I mean, it's been the same since I've been here [and] I've been here eight years. USF (University of South Florida) played on it, and it rained that night, so you knew it was going to kind of be messed up the day of the game. It rained all day – it wasn't light rain either, it was kind of a downpour, so [you] can't judge it off that. Both teams played on the same field…I'm not a grass surface expert, and I don't play on it anymore in my retirement days. So, it kind of looks fine to me. I don't know for sure."

(On whether players needed to adjust their cleats due to the field conditions)
"Yeah, we had to go to seven studs."

(On S Antoine Winfield Jr.'s performance in his return from injury in Week 8)
"I thought 'Win' (Winfield Jr.) played a heck of a ballgame. He was very physical in the run game, very smart, getting people lined up. He anticipated things very well. I thought him and Tykee [Smith] played a tough game."

(On the players taking ownership and helping turn the season around)
"I mean, it starts in practice. It's been like that, but now it feels like everybody is on board and they're on the same page. The effort has been there, but being on the same page is important. Everybody is seeing why we lose, why we make this mistake, why we do something good, how we do it, what's our formula…It looks like everybody is buying in there and seeing it and repeating it on a daily basis. It's kind of turning around for us a little bit right now."

(On whether WR Jalen McMillan or CB Josh Hayes could return to practice this week)
"No, not this week."

(On if WR Emeka Egbuka could be in play for Week 9 if his foot continues to heal well)
"Yeah."

(On his level of confidence in the passing game despite not needing to throw the ball much over the last two weeks)
"I've seen it in practice. Like you said, the conditions [didn't require it]…Carolina just got away in the second quarter, and we kind of got ahead. Yesterday, it was kind of impossible to throw, especially early on. In the last part of the ballgame, we had the lead and we really didn't have to throw the ball. You saw what happened when they threw the football. But we see it every day in practice, [I am] very confident. I thought Baker [Mayfield] had a great week of practice throwing the football, but we knew what the conditions were going to be. Obviously, as they turned out, it was pretty much a monsoon most of the ballgame, so we didn't have to throw it. We kind of [grinded] it out, but [I'm] very confident our passing game will be fine."

(On WR Emeka Egbuka's chances of playing this week against Chicago)
"I don't know. He was kind of 50-50 last week. We'll see how he progresses."

-BUCCANEERS-