OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BYRON LEFTWICH

(On being outscored in the second half over the last few games)

"It's something we're thinking about – something we're working on. If it was something we could put our finger on, we would try to fix it. We're just trying to get better, really. We're trying to get the ball and do a better job, really, of scoring whenever we get it. Obviously, we haven't been as good as we've been after the half. I don't think we've been as good as we've been [in] either quarter, to be honest with you. I just think we've got to get better. I like the way we're working. That's all we can do – try to continue to find a way to get wins."

(On the challenges of not having a full arsenal of offensive weapons)

"That's just health. We're trying to get healthy each day, each week. From a personnel standpoint, I don't think that's stopped us from doing anything. That [doesn't] really get in the way of us, but we would like to get all our guys healthy so we can practice. I think that will help us play better."

(On if he still feels that QB Tom Brady elevates the standards and expectations of teammates)

"Tom is Tom. Especially to be a skill guy, to be an offensive lineman – to have the opportunity to really play with him. When it's all said and done, they're going to call him probably the best ever. I think all those guys really appreciate having that opportunity to play with him, to compete with him, to go into these different situations that they're in with him. I think it's the same, I think it's the same since he's been here. These are the questions that happen when you lose, right? When you lose, everything is questioned. We're just going to keep grinding, keep pushing and see if we can find a way to win a football game."

(On if Brady is not playing like he normally does)

"I just think we all need to be better. We all need to be better – playing [it], coaching it – we could all be better."

(On how the extra time off because of Thursday Night Football has been))

"You come right back in the next day and you go to work, right? You go to work on the next opponent. It just makes the week feel like it's been forever since we played a football game – to be honest with you – when you're over here every day putting as much time as we do into it. We're just excited to have another opportunity to play this game [on] Sunday. We've got a good opponent coming in here. We've got to find a way to win football games. I love this group – if I can do this with anybody, I want to do it with this group…good times and bad times. We're in a little rut right now and we're going to try to get ourselves out of it."

(On if the long break after Thursday Night Football is an opportunity to reset the season)

"We're just trying to find a way to get a win. We just need one of them – before you can get two and three of them, you've got to get one. We're not in position to be thinking that far down the line. We've got to focus on Sunday. We're focusing on Sunday, trying to play our best football [and] try to find a way to win."

(On how he feels G Nick Leverett played against the Ravens)

"Nick played well. Nick played well. He's a guy who's been around who's really been just waiting on his opportunity. We stuck him in before in the past – he played well for us sparingly when he had to play. I believe that's who Nick is. That's who Nick is – you can trust Nick, you see the energy that he comes with every day; it doesn't just show in the game, it shows itself in practice. I think Nick played well."

(On if Leverett will be the starter moving forward)

"We'll see. We'll see."

(On QB Tom Brady's personal situation)

"I'm not getting into [anything] personal – that's a question for Tom."

(On if there will be any changes to his offensive philosophy following the extra time he has had to reflect)

"Who's in the huddle always determines what we're calling, really. Who we have in the huddle, that always determines what we're calling because we're trying to put these guys in the best position to have success. It's always about who's in the huddle…about our mindset and how we're going to try to attack and approach people."

(On if the offense feels added pressure to perform better to help out the defense)

"We feel as though we've got to pick it up to help the team – to help special teams, to help [the] defense. Our approach has always been to score points – that's my biggest philosophy: find a way to score points. One thing that's a hundred percent: [if] you score more points than the other team, regardless of what happens, you win the game. That's been my approach since I got here in 2019. We just have to do a better job of scoring points. You go throughout the game…you have games where you're not good enough on third down, not good enough [in the] red zone – all the situations of football, but you find ways to win because you score points. We've got to find a way to score more points to win football games – especially the way the game is played. You've got to score points to win football games."

(On if sustaining drives is as important as scoring points)

"That's why we're not scoring – if you can't sustain drives, you can't score. You need to be able to sustain drives to be able to have rushing attempts…If you look at the game last week, we had a three-and-out, coming right back [and have] a four-and-out – those are opportunities we wasted to have plays within the drive. We didn't do as good of a job [on] a couple of those drives – that put us kind of behind the eight-ball. It didn't allow us to get to the things that we wanted to get to."

(On if the team needs better production from a third receiving option outside of wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin)

"I just think it's [about] health. I think we'll get production from our guys as we go. The more we're able to spend more time together, practice together – because we're talking about guys that [haven't] been here for two [or] three years, right? The more time we get together, I think you'll see better play from guys around other than Mike and Chris."

(On why the team doesn't call as many play-action passes)

"We've got to do a better job of running it, right? There's no such thing as play-action pass without running it [well] enough for it to be true. We've got to play better across the board. We can run it better – I can call it better. There's a lot of different things we can do better to help the whole part of our game, really. That's really how we look at it – we don't look at it as one thing. [Play-actions] come off how well you're running the ball – it's always been. Or you're just wasting time doing a [play-action] – it won't do the job that you're setting out for it to do. We just need to play better across the board."

(On the difficulty of needing to run the ball more but not being efficient when doing so)

"Me, personally, if you want to know how I really view it – I never count runs. I never count runs. I think you've got to score points, and however you get to runs…I see certain passes as runs. I see everything as a way to get rushing yardage. I don't really count runs and passes – I don't think you need to run it this certain amount to win, or pass it this certain amount to win. We're always trying to do whatever we need to do or feel as though we need to do to win that football game that day."

(On if the team needs to use RB Rachaad White more)

"I just think Rachaad and his series…we didn't execute well enough to keep the drive and the series going, so he had [fewer] plays."

(On if he feels QB Tom Brady has been nervous in the pocket)

"I think football is football. No, to answer that question, I don't feel that way. I think it's hard to not know which actual play you're talking about but I just think football is football. I think Tom is fine. I think Tom is fine. I think we could play better around him, I think I can coach it better, I think he can play it better. That's really our focus. The great thing about this group – we've been around each other. We've had a lot of success, so the last thing we do is point fingers. We all look at each other and say hey, what do we have to do to get it better? I trust in this group getting that done."

(On what it will take to get the offense back to where it's been)

"I don't think it's one thing – I think it's football. [There's] 11 people out there at one time – there's a lot going on. It's not as simple as you guys make it, or as simple as we made it look in the past. It's tough to do what we've done here for the last three years – it's not an easy thing. If it was, everyone would have been doing it. It's tough to do it and we're just in a spot where we've got different people here and there, different things going on here and there. But I trust in this group that we'll get it fixed, ultimately. Hopefully we can start Sunday with that."

(On the team bringing back WR Tyler Johnson)

"He's a guy that's been in tough times with us. He's been in the good times [and] the bad times with us. He's a guy that Tom knows well, we all know well. The most important part: he's been in the huddle in championship games – he's been in the huddle in playoff games, so he knows what it takes. It's good to have him back."

RUN GAME COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE LINE COACH KACY RODGERS

(On what challenges the Rams pose offensively)

"They do such a great job of getting [Cooper Kupp] the ball and getting him open. So that's the task as we look back. [The Rams] do a great job of really spreading us out, isolating [Kupp] and creating a matchup they want for him. Then a couple times we look back – we didn't tackle well either. So, from our standpoint, we know we have to be better [at] tackling, we have to know where [Kupp] is at all times. And the thing is, they do a great job of making everything look alike, the way they game plan and everything. So, we have to be excellent with our eyes and understand what they're trying to do."

(On generating more takeaways)

"You know, sometimes the ball just bounces your way. We were looking at the last time we played [the Rams] – two balls we got, two balls came out and really, the last one, with [Matthew] Stafford – if we got that one, it might be a different game, you know what I'm saying? [Takeaways] come in bunches. [If] we keep working at it, keep working at it and pretty soon it'll start coming back our way."

(On if it's difficult to get takeaways when the ball is getting out so quickly)

"The thing is, the way [the Rams] have attacked us in the past, if we're going back and studying, on first down, they're getting a lot of quick gains. So, we're getting second and short, so third down is already manageable. So then, they mix in the run and now you're dealing with third-and-two or first down and they keep the drives going. So, we've got to figure out a way to hinder their drives."

(On if it's a risk to underestimate the Rams)

"You shouldn't underestimate them at all because as we look at them, they're extremely, extremely talented. They picked up Allen Robinson in free agency, they've got [Cooper] Kupp, [Tyler] Higbee…they've got an excellent coaching staff. They do a great job of putting those guys in a position to make plays. They're a lot like us where once they get that one play, they're going to roll."

(On the possibility of getting DL Akiem Hicks, CB Carlton Davis III and S Antoine Winfield Jr. back)

"We were just talking about it – this league, unlike college, because you know my alma mater (Tennessee) has a big game this weekend – but you sit there and in this league, your starters are your starters for a reason. So, the minute you can get those guys back, the better off [you'll be]. Now, in this league, we also understand that it's the next man up. So, if injuries are going to occur, the next man is expected to go in and do the job. But obviously, when you get all your guys back, you feel much better." 

QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY

(On Tampa Bay's offense not scoring in the third quarter in recent games)

"Coach talked about it today, playing four quarters of football. We just haven't put four good quarters together. Yeah, it's frustrating because in order to win games you have to play well consistently throughout the game. We just haven't done that. It's tough getting up here every week figuring out how to not be overly disappointed in what we're doing, but we're fighting hard and we're going to try to make it better."

(On if this part of the season is a chance for a reset)

"Yeah, I mean we're right in the middle of the year, here in the thick of the fight, and it just has not…we just haven't played well enough to get our record to a point where we can be super-excited about where we're at. We have a lot of football left and we've got to do a better job, and the way you think about it is, what did we work on today? Did we improve it? What are we going to work on tomorrow? How are we going to improve that? Then prepare yourself for a game and then go out and play well. There's a lot of football to play and we've got to play better. That's just the reality of the situation we're in."

(On how the Buccaneers were able to change things after a lull in the 2020 season)

"I think we talk about it all the time and I think we have a great relationship with everybody to talk about kind of where we're at and what we think we need to do better. I think everything kind of speaks for itself – slow starts, have had opportunities to make two-point plays, we haven't been great in third-and-one, we haven't been great in the red area, third-and-longs haven't been great, we haven't been running the ball [well]. There's a lot of reasons why things go well and why they don't go well. When you're in the situation we're in, every play feels like it's critical. That's the tough part. You don't feel like there's a lot of margin of error and that's why it's a tough sport. We've got to fight through it, there's no other way to it. It's not like it gets easier, it's not like it gets any less competitive. No one feels sorry for us, nor should they. They're trying to win those games, we're trying to win them and we just haven't done a good job the last six weeks of doing that."

(On what can be done to alleviate the pressure that mounts as plays go badly)

"I know we talked last week about us doing a good job executing, and that's what it comes down to. Great players need to go out and execute well. Guys that are in there, their first year or two – Rachaad [White] or Nick [Leverett] or [Robert] Hainsey, Cade [Otton], Ko [Kieft] – it's hard to put too much on those guys. That's the reality. They're getting used to playing. They haven't played a lot of football. So the guys that have played a lot of football, we've got to do a better job, and that's part of what leadership is all about. It's pushing people in practice, and it's trying to get a bigger sense of urgency. When everything's going well, it feels really good and easy. And when they don't go well, it feels really hard and it feels like a challenge. I think the point is you either back down to the challenge or you step up to the challenge. The fact that we're in this situation, hopefully you can look at it at the end of the year when all the games have played out and you realize, 'Alright, we dug really deep and we learned a lot about ourselves and we tried to figure these things out and we battled through them,' because it doesn't always go the way that you want. It's the reality of this sport, so just keep fighting as hard you can. You believe in your teammates, you communicate, you try to make it better and that's what you work at every day."

(On how much getting another shot at opponents like the Rams play a role in his coming back)

"Yeah, a lot. This is a good football team and it's a team we haven't played very well against the last couple years. They run a good program. They've got good players, they play well, they play well under pressure, a lot of guys step up for them. They've got some of the elite players in the NFL. It's good competition. And we've had that, we just haven't matched it. We've played against other teams and we just haven't got off to a good start. When you don't get off to a good start you pump a lot of air into their belief that, 'Oh, this is their day.' And sure enough, it ends up being their day. I think the reality is when you play teams that you feel like you're better than you've got to make plays early and you've got to get a lead and you've got to play from a lead. We haven't done very much of that. When you get a lead, as you alluded to, in the third quarter you've got to stay with it and you've got to execute. Our execution has not been good. If it's been good, we wouldn't be talking about all these things and what situation we're in. It all comes back to us not [executing] the fundamentals of the sport – throwing, catching, running, blocking, making people miss, shedding blocks, making tackles, rushing the quarterback, winning your matchups. Everyone can win their individual matchup, we just obviously, based on our record, have not done a very good job of that."

(On Tampa Bay still being just a game out of first in the NFC South)

"I think that, eight games, whatever, you could be 7-1 and be one game out. You could be the record we're at, but the reality is there's a reason why we're 3-5. You've got to fix the reasons why you're 3-5. It's one game, but it's not like we have a huge margin of error when we take the field. We don't, so we've got to make the plays that are winning plays. There's winning plays and there's losing plays. There's winning football, there's losing football. We just haven't been on the right side of winning very much this year."

(On him approaching 100,000 career passing yards)

"I think for me it's a credit to all the guys that I've played with, and who have blocked for me, who have caught passes. I think all those things are a great celebration to all those guys. I think I can't do [anything] in this league without guys doing what they are amazing at, too. I'm very fortunate to play with great players, people who catch the football, great coaches, and being down here has been an amazing experience for me. Playing with Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin], and that's why I came here, because of guys like that. I played with Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) all those years. Obviously I could name every player that I've played with and how meaningful they are to my life and what they've contributed in terms of the memories I have from this sport. So I feel like these are all…they're great achievements, but for as much as people want to say, 'Oh, this is what Tom Brady did,' in my mind this is what myself and all these other people who have contributed to my life have done as well."

(On if he would have said somebody was crazy for saying he would get to 100,000 yards when he was beginning his career)

"I think everybody would have said we're crazy, including me. The fact that I'm still playing 23 years in is pretty…you know, it's something that I love to do, and I've always enjoyed playing and the competition of this sport. So yeah, all these kinds of lifetime achievement awards, they're great to celebrate with everyone and one day I'll look back and think that it was pretty cool, although my kids probably won't care at all. That's alright. It's a credit to all the people that I've played with. Thank you."

(On if he has reminded WR Mike Evans not to give the ball away when he hits that milestone)

"Put out an APB (all-points bulletin) or something like that to all the offensive guys? Yeah, I mean those things are…I'll probably keep my jersey. I've been keeping more of those lately. But whatever happens, happens. It's just a football."

(On people wanting to know if he's okay)

"That's a very generic question, that's a very generic question. I said the other day, I wrote something on my social media, it's…yeah, I've always tried to do the best I could do here, and then when I leave here I try to do the best I could do. That's what we all try to do. I'm sure everyone sitting in this room, everyone sitting at home is trying to wake up every day doing the best they could do for their families and their career, and I'm no different. Just do the best you can do every day. That's what we certainly try to do."

LINEBACKER DEVIN WHITE

(On what has changed defensively since the team's strong start to the season)

"I think we've just got to hone in on our assignment more and just be more locked in – stay locked in and do a little bit of everything. You've always got to take it to another notch when you're winning, because people are going to find ways to attack you in ways that they see fit."

(On if the team is missing energy)

"Every time we step on the field, it's fun. Making plays is fun. For some people, when they're not making plays, obviously the energy can be lacking. Sometimes it can be hard to cheer for something that's not happening. I think that's where you've got to pick your brother up and be happy for other people's success. I think that's where you find the energy at. If you're lacking it with yourself because you're not making plays, be happy for somebody else's playmaking ability."

(On how critical this week's game is)

"I feel like every [game] is a must-win, but this is the next one. We're playing a great opponent who does a lot of [challenging things]. I feel like we've got to be on our 'P's and Q's' so we can get a win this weekend. We most definitely need it."

(On his response to criticism on 'easing up' on certain plays)

"I don't [have any] response to that. I mean, people that know football know what was going on. I was on the far side of the field on our sideline just because of my coverage and the play happened on [the Ravens] sideline, so I took off running. Obviously, I wasn't running the fastest over there, but my teammates know what was going on and you know, what comes with me on the field and effort. [I] really [have no] response on that, man. Salute to [Warren Sapp], he did a great job, he won a Super Bowl here and it's freedom of speech – he can say what he wants to say, so respect to him."

(On if there is a 'quick fix' to get this defense back on track)

"Oh, yeah. It's a great fix – we've been having guys in and out of the lineup at different positions who didn't start the season and probably didn't expect to play as much. [I] think that's why communication [has] to go to an all-time high – just to bring guys up and be on the same page because everything that you see out there might look like one thing, but a guy could be missing in action or, you know, a guy could [do] the wrong responsibility and it can hurt you, so that's why when you talk and bring guys with you, everybody will be on the same page."

(On what's happening in the second half of games defensively)

"I think the attention to detail just [has to] be even greater. I mean, I think that's the only thing I saw out there. [We] just got to hone in on the second half and be consistent. [I'm] not saying you're going to get everything right, but the effort and the detail [has to] be there."

(On if there is someone who has stepped up to fill Ndamukong Suh's role)

"I mean, you've got various guys who have kind of stepped up in that role. I mean, the guys in the room right now, we're depending on everybody, everybody's got their hand in the pile. You can look across the line – especially 'Nacho' (Rakeem Nuñez-Roches), he's a guy who's always been a tone-setter for us."

(On the lack of producing turnovers)

"I mean, we made an emphasis on punching at the ball. As far as the ball going down the field, we tend to see a lot of quick gains – quarterbacks are getting the ball out of their hands – just to move it down the field in that way. So, it's a little hard to get [the ball] that way, so that's why we've been putting an emphasis on punching at the ball, trying to get it out."

(On what allows Rams QB Matthew Stafford to uncover coverage disguises)

"He's a good quarterback and they have a great scheme, so I feel like [head coach] Sean McVay helps them a lot, and also [Matthew Stafford] just being a great quarterback. himself. I think we've got to hold our disguises a little longer, so he can see one thing and when the ball's snapped, he can see another coverage. I feel like that's kind of been an emphasis with us as a whole – just disguising, trying to trick him and play mind games with him. We know how good he is on his own, so we've got to play a part in what he's seeing out there and kind of mess with him a little bit."

(On if exposing their coverage frees him up in the pocket)

"Oh, yeah because once he sees that coverage, he knows where he wants to go with the ball. We've just got to make him make the wrong decision."

(On what he has to do to step up and make plays)

"I mean, it's a team game, so I just play a team sport."

-BUCCANEERS-