OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOSH GRIZZARD

(On how the team is feeling heading into the final stretch of the season)

"It was good to have a couple down days right there, to be able to watch some football and then get back to it. [We] believe no matter what happened [in] that Saints game, we're going to have a mentality to win every game in general. To see that happen, of course, doesn't hurt, but there's definitely some juice, and everything we want is right ahead of us. [I] thought we had a good day today, we were able to practice yesterday coming off of the short Bye to actually get out there and have some full speed reps which is really good to see in terms of execution and timing and those kinds of things. Everybody is fired up, [we are] ready to get a win this week and keep it moving."

(On QB Baker Mayfield saying to blame him for the loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and what happened on the final offensive drive in the game)

"1000% to echo on what 'Bake' (Baker Mayfield) said where you see the end of the game and it's looked at like it's the defense, but to your point, especially once we got the ball back with the four-minute drill, to be able to hold onto the ball and not give it back to them and either get seven [points], three [points], whatever it might be, we ultimately let them down to put them back out there. We have a big third down conversion to Chris [Godwin Jr.] on their sideline and then we're able to run the ball again, and that first run play went for minus four [yards]. When you do that, you're not putting yourself in a position to ice the game away. They were not able to connect on the next throw to 'Mek' (Emeka Egbuka) and now you got third-and-14, which everyone knows is a tough down. I thought about it, the first thing I'm thinking about was that run right there going backwards and putting those guys in that position. We [have] to be able to ice the game not to give it back to them."

(On the toss play that ended with negative yardage on the final drive)

"It was really a standard play. It was more of a day-one install play and the three-technique shot the gap and we didn't block it properly."

(On having the top four wide receivers on the field for the first time and season and how it helped open up his playcalling)

"It was fantastic having those guys back out there. The juice they brought, you could see in 'J-Mac's' (Jalen McMillan) and Mike's [Evans] reactions -- that was some vintage Mike Evans right there. To be able to have those guys out there, [they] brought juice in practice that week, it carried over to the game, and I think you see a glimpse of how we want to play, how we want to attack people, being able to distribute the ball amongst all the playmakers we have. It was good too see; it was far from perfect in terms of being able to finish the game. [We] definitely need to run the ball a little better than we did at times, but I think it's a little glimpse of a building block that we can add to this week to continue some of that momentum."

(On RB Bucky Irving having limited snap usage in the red zone and if it is more injury prevention or scheme)

"It's definitely not injury prevention. There are different packages we have based on the back and based on things that are going on. Some of those plays are tempo plays that we've had where the people that are on the field end up staying on the field. [It is] not really anything injury related, just more the packages and how we see fit in terms of how we want to attack some of those coverages and fronts down there low red [zone]."

(On how well he knows Panthers' Head Coach Dave Canales)

"I've never spoken to him, never met him. [I have] only heard great things [from] the guys that were here with Dave and really the rest of that staff, but always heard great things about him. There are some things that they implemented when he was here that we still use today, so a lot of respect for him and a great job he's doing there in Carolina."

(On the Panthers' defense)
"They [are] much improved, I would say, from where we saw them last year. They've done a really good job in terms of free agency [and] adding some younger guys. [It is a] similar scheme [to] what they had last year. This is a scheme that we've faced a multitude of times this season, really coming from that Vic Fangio tree, so something we're pretty familiar with when it comes to that. What they've been able to do, especially a couple times we've played them -- one time [Jaycee] Horn didn't play, and [Derrick] Brown wasn't out there, so these guys are playing really hard. The scheme is very good, very sound, try to keep the top on the defense, try to limit explosive [plays] and they're playing at a high level right now."

(On if QB Baker Mayfield can recoup his "MVP-level" play from earlier this season getting healthier and having his top four wide receivers back on the field)
"Absolutely. He, to your point, is much healthier than he was, and then being able to get these guys back and be able to move the ball around to different playmakers, whether it's in the run game or the pass game. [It was] a little bit of an anomaly there with the rain game a couple weeks ago, but he's in a great spot. I think he played well, and you can see when he can move the ball around and they can't focus on a certain guy -- some of these guys being more open than normal -- so he's in a great spot."

(On if the energy that WR Mike Evans and WR Jalen McMillan bring can be felt throughout the offense)
"100% because we talk about it all the time on the element of receivers making plays, whether it's Mike on a fade ball, what that does to our sideline, you guys hear what it does to the fans. Even in the run game, when a receiver has a big block that springs somebody from a four-to-five-yard run and they're getting up and they're celebrating it, the sideline is going to see that, it should energize not only the offense, the defense, the special teams, whatever it might be. [With] those guys being back and the battles that they've been through -- which I'm sure were very dark at times -- is really a testament to their commitment to the team and trying to get back to get a good playoff run here."

(On how he can compare the offense now to three months ago)
"It's always hard to tell how long it was going to take for someone like 'J-Mac' (Jalen McMillan) or there's still been some injuries on the line when it comes to losing 'Breds' (Ben Bredeson) a couple weeks ago. It's always hard to forecast that far out with it being such a week-to-week league, but I do think with the group that we've put out there on Thursday was closer to how you envision calling games and elements of run game and pass game, and it's definitely working closer towards that as these guys can get their rep counts up and things of that nature."

(On TE Devin Culp's touchdown catch and his role on the offense)
"He did a nice job on that play, that was a great play, it was a great read by 'Bake' (Baker Mayfield), the safety didn't cheat over there, so it was definitely a good hit down there. I thought he's done a good job, what his role would be week-to-week is really on a week-to-week basis in terms of how the roster is and how we see him fit for that week in terms of the coverages and how we want to play either 11 [or] 12 [or] 13 personnel. That was a great play and he's in a good spot with that."

(On C Graham Barton and if he's seen progression in his second season)
"Definitely. For one, being able to play tackle and then moving back into center, which seems like a year ago at this point. His ability to do that and then come back to center and take off where he was in the offseason with his progression on the communication with those guys, and then the fact that he's now playing with -- hats off to [Dan] Feeney and hats off to Mike [Jordan] for the role they've done in stepping up, but not now his communication with those guys and being on the same page versus when it's Cody [Mauch] and when it's 'Breds' (Ben Bredeson) in there, who have more banked reps with him, so he now takes on a bigger role just because he hasn't played as much with those guys. He's clearly a leader of this team. His progression, his arrow is up, I think he's done a hell of a job so far."

(On if moving from center to left tackle then back to center impacted C Graham Barton at all this season)
"I wouldn't say it messed him up, I would say it was definitely a challenge. The way that you're setting on a defensive end versus setting on a shade is completely different. It goes from being the one making the calls on who the mike is, how we're going to fix the protection, to being at the mercy of that time of 'Breds' (Ben Bredeson) who's in control of that, Baker [Mayfield] was in control of that. With him, he was able to do that pretty flawlessly; to be able to do that at the NFL level I think is very impressive."

(On if there has been an evolution in pure progression and coverage reads)
"Yeah, I definitely think you've seen a change, and it'll definitely be a conversation for if we could sit around here for a couple of hours. It's one where you definitely see more of it in terms of just this is how you're starting on the progression, you're going one, two, three, you're going across the board, versus if it's middle-field open we're going here, if it's middle-field closed, we're going there, if it's man coverage, we're going here, if it's zone coverage we're going here. I would say as much as anything, it's more pure progression on how we view things. I know a lot of that [Kyle] Shanahan system comes from that. You see the evolution of that through a lot of the head coaches, whether it was under Shanahan or under Coach [Sean] McVay that are now head coaches, so you see that more and more. We could definitely talk about that for a few hours."

(On how the team can turn around the momentum of a season)
"I think it's the attention to detail from the meetings into the practice. If you were at practice today, I don't think you would feel like we've lost those games because, at least personally, I can't speak for the entire team, but whether you had a big win or it was a loss, by the time you get to today's practice in the middle of the third down period, you're not really thinking about it. You might think about it later on in the day like, 'I wish we would've done this then that to get the victory,' but because it's so process-oriented that you have to do the same thing every time, same time everyday for four-to-five days in a row, it's about what are we going to do to pick up the blitzes on third down 10 minutes ago and then what are we going to do in the red area tonight? So, once you get to that part of it, you don't really think about the loss side of it and it's all about the Panthers and trying to get the win."

PASS GAME COORDINATOR GEORGE EDWARDS

(Opening Statement)
"[We have] Carolina this week. They're playing really [well] offensively. They've got two good running backs; the running game has really been pretty consistent for them all throughout the course of the season -- both running backs have done a good job. Up front they've done a good job with their offensive line. They've done pretty [well] in situational football, looking at the third downs as we're working through the process of the week in getting ready for them. The quarterback looks like he's settled down into the offense. [It] looks like they really bought in and [are] doing a good job with it. Our work will be cut out for us this week."

(On how OLB Jason Pierre-Paul looks in practice for his second week on the team's practice squad)
"I think he's coming in and getting back acclimated systematically with some of the things we're asking him to do. I think he's been very attentive and is bought in to recalling some of the stuff that he's done in the past. He's here working hard every day, so we'll see where it goes from there."

(On if there are any differences in the defense that he's noticed in the last couple of weeks compared to the start of the season, and how he can get the mistakes corrected)
"I think the biggest thing is putting our focus on those situations. That's the one thing we try to go through and make sure each player understands the situation that we're in. We just [have] to continue and when we make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and just continue to get better in those situations with whomever is in a game, because you just never know with injuries and those kinds of things when your number is called to be in those situations."

(On what he says to CB Benjamin Morrison who will play a bigger role against the Panthers due to injuries in the secondary)
"I think the one thing he has done, even though he's had some injuries and been in-and-out of the lineup, is that he's been here everyday, he's been attentive, he understands what we're trying to get accomplished. From that aspect of it, I think whenever his number gets called, I think he'll be prepared for it and be ready to go."

(On if other teams speed up the defense in order to mess with their communication)
"As we've gone through the course of the season, there are some teams that have tried to speed us up from that aspect of it, but it hasn't been something that has been consistent from week-in and week-out. There are some teams that want to go right on the ball on third down so we can't sub personnel to get in there for third down, but that's pretty customary across the league, everybody kind of does it, so it's not anything that has gotten us off balance or prevented us from making certain adjustments or certain calls or anything like that."

(On Panthers' QB Bryce Young's progression this season)

"There's no doubt. There has been some critical plays that they've had during the course where he's delivered a ball right where it needs to go and receivers have made some tough catches for him. You can just tell he's a lot more comfortable after being in [Head Coach] Dave [Canales]'s philosophy offensively. You can see that they're a lot more comfortable across the board at all positions, just the timing of their offense and different things they're doing in different situations, as we go through the course of the week, you can just see they're a lot more comfortable in it."

-BUCCANEERS-