OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BYRON LEFTWICH

(On why there wasn't a timeout called at the end of regulation against the Browns)

"Ultimately, to say why…That's more of a head coach question, really. That's something that Todd [Bowles] would answer."

(On if Todd Bowles is the one who calls the shots in situations like that)

"As assistants, you can't [call timeouts] – we can't call them. It's got to be somebody on the field or…But those are things that are always questioned when things don't work out your way. Obviously, if we'd have had something that we wanted, we would have gone at it and got something. We didn't get what we want – that was the outcome."

(On if he's surprised that QB Tom Brady didn't call a timeout in that situation)

"No, I'm not surprised by anything."

(On if a timeout would have been called if he or Brady urged Todd Bowles to call one)

"Communication between us three, I'll leave between us three."

(On if he understands why people are curious that a timeout wasn't called)

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. I get it, I understand."

(On the completion to WR Julio Jones near the end of regulation against the Browns)

"It was a great pass, a great catch by Julio [Jones]. We just ran out of time. Obviously, when you're in that situation, once you get the play to Julio, you wish you had more time at that standpoint."

(On if he was afraid that QB Tom Brady was going to throw an interception near the end of regulation against the Browns)

"No, we wanted to see what we [had], though. We wanted to be smart, we didn't want to put us in a bad situation. We wanted to see what we [had]."

(On how big of a challenge it will be to contain the New Orleans defensive line given the loss of T Tristan Wirfs)

"Anytime you lose that type of guy – he's a special guy. The most important thing is he's a guy who's always dependable – you didn't have to think about Tristan over there. You put him in situations and try to think about everybody else. It's tough when you lose a guy like that. He means so much to us. But it's football – nobody is feeling sorry for us. We've got to go out there and do what we've got to do to try and find a way to win the football game."

(On if there's been any thought to providing some blocking help to the left side of the offensive line)

"A lot. Yes. Yes."

(On why they haven't provided the help to the left side of the line already)

"There's a lot of situations that go into a game…You're trying to help a couple people. Football. Football happened – we didn't get the job done. It's not about that – we didn't do a good enough job coaching [or] playing to win that football game."

(On why the Saints have been able to limit Tampa Bay's offense in recent years)

"I think they're a good football team. They're a good football team who's been together a long time. That's what you get when you see your core guys have been together six years – that's how it tends to look. They've got a lot of good football players, so when you have that and those guys have been together for so long, that can be the result sometimes. That's a good defense. You cut the tape on, they tend to play well versus everybody."

(On why TE Cade Otton wasn't a bigger part of the gameplan against the Browns)

"That's just football – his number was called, sometimes the ball just didn't get his way. That's football."

(On the connection between QB Tom Brady and WR Mike Evans)

"I wouldn't say it's just Mike or Tom, I just think we've got to do a better job offensively of just connecting on everything. Making sure we're communicating well, making sure we're really all on the same page. We put a lot of work in throughout the week – things happen on Sunday. It's just football, really. It's not really Mike and Tom – it's really us as a group. We've got to do a better job of just making plays, executing, coaching better – all of the above, really, to get better results."

(On how the team should practice in order to get better execution)

"Everything helps, everything helps. Communication in practice is the most important thing – it's not always physical. It's not always physical. Sometimes it's just communication. The more communication we can have…We've been in situations like this before, but we've made the play in gray areas. We haven't made those plays in gray areas right now, but it's football. We expect to keep communicating, keep trying to communicate better and try to make those plays."

(On if QB Tom Brady asked for more one-on-one drills in practice a few weeks ago)

"We've been doing it a little longer than that – a lot longer than that."

(On if Brady was the one to ask for them)

"I don't know."

(On keeping WR Mike Evans and other players locked in emotionally against the Saints)

"The most important thing for Mike is Mike has to understand how important he is for us and what he means to us. Losing whoever they would lose on defense and [us] losing Mike, that's an advantage [to] them, the way I see it. I think he's that important for us as an offense. He understands that, there was a lot of communication after that first game on how important he is to us and what he means to us. I think he understands that."

(On what the key is to harnessing emotions in a positive way on the field)

"He'll be okay. He'll be okay."

(On players understanding how many games and practices are left to feel the sense of urgency)

"It's just communication to let everybody know where we're really at. Where we're really at, what we've really got, and what's guaranteed to us. What's really guaranteed to us is those games and those practices. Anything after that, we've got to earn. [If] we want more than that, we've got to find a way to earn more than that and that's what we're doing throughout the week – trying to find a way to earn that one more practice, one more game – one day at a time."

QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY

(On the last drive in regulation against the Browns)

"Yeah, you know, I think I'm on to the Saints. I'm not thinking about last week. It's Thursday and that was last Sunday, so…"

(On the media not getting to speak to him since the game except in the postgame press conference)

"Yeah, you missed an opportunity. What happened? No, seriously, I'm thinking about this week. Last week's gone; we can't do anything about it. So we move forward the best we can and try to put ourselves in a position where it doesn't come down to one play. Try to play better, that's what we're going to try to do."

(On how the Saints have done a good job of limiting the Bucs' offense in recent years)

"Well, they're a very good defense. They're very good at the D-Line; I think they have one of the best linebackers playing in football in Demario [Davis]; very good in the secondary. I think they have invested a lot in their defense. Just very talented, and I think they make it a very physical game, tough to run the ball, they challenge you in the pass game. Turnovers have been a big story against us, in the times we've won and the times we've lost. So we're going to have to take care of the ball, we're going to have to make the plays when they're there. We've got to stay balanced, we've got to play a great game in all three phases against a good football team that's been a tough team for us, no doubt. Certainly at home we have not…we're not winning scoring zero points. We're certainly not winning, probably, scoring three points. So we're going to have to do a good job and hit the ones that are there."

(On if the story of the Bucs' season has not been written yet)

"Yeah, we've got six games and everything will be determined by what we do going forward, and I think that's important for all of us to realize. Everyone, every team faces different adversities and we've faced quite a few in different ways, wins, losses – we've had some really great wins, we've had some really tough losses. No one likes the fact that we're 5-6, believe me. We're not celebrating any of that. We have not played the way we're capable of playing. I think the thing we can do about it is this week we can try to go out and play the way we're capable of playing. But we're going against a team that's a very good team and they're not going to let us off the hook. They're not going to give us touchdowns and give us easy runs and give us easy throws. They're going to challenge us. That's what they always do."

(On if he needs more competitive practice drills to keep his connection with WR Mike Evans strong)

"Yeah, I think practice is very important for all of us. And I think the more we can do in practice to simulate what goes on in the game, the better we do and the more we gain confidence in one another. I think the passing game is certainly about confidence and anticipation. You get a lot of those reps in training camp, and you get into the season and there's always a balance between keeping guys fresh. Certainly a guy like Mike [Evans] and I, we have a lot of years together now. I've thrown him a lot of balls. I have a lot of confidence – he and I, I have a lot of confidence in what we can do and what we've done. We're just going to keep working at it. Football is a very humbling game for all of us. You can't every take anything for granted. There's times I walk in and I think I'm the worst quarterback that ever played. And that's just the way it is. You just try to go out there the next day and do a better job, and you get it back. That's just the way football goes. I think when you're losing everything is horrible, and when you win you think everything's great even though not everything's great. And when you're losing you think everything's horrible even though it's probably not all horrible, it's just not good enough. There's a long season ahead for us and still a lot of football left to be played, and hopefully our best is ahead of us."

(On how to handle it when you don't feel good about your performance)

"I think you have teammates…that's why you have teammates, too. So when you're not feeling great they help you feel better. And you've got people that support you. That's why it takes everybody. We're all out here working hard, trying to do our best, and sometimes it doesn't always go well. Decisions are made in split seconds and, yeah, when you look back there's things you wish you would have done different. I'm sure every competitor would want something different over the course of a long game. There's very few games I think I've played in my career where I'm like, 'Wow, that was really, really great out there.' Probably very, very, very, very, very few. So you're just trying to evaluate where you are in the moment and try to do a better job going forward. And it's not just you – you've got to communicate to everybody because I could think one way and the receiver thinks another, the running back thinks another, lineman thinks another. Well, that doesn't matter because we all have to be on the same page. So you try to communicate it. That's the challenge. It's a lot of people. It takes a lot to get everyone on the same page, and you just work on it through communication and practice reps and film study as much as you can."

(On why he believes the offense can turn things around)

"I think we have to go do it. Hope is not a strategy, so you've got to go out there and you've got to earn it. You've got to do it."

(On WR Chris Godwin now looking like his old self after coming back from injury)

"Yeah, [I am] super just happy for him and proud of him to get back to this point. I think it's a very tough injury to go through ACL reconstruction, and really a contact one like that. It's a lot of physical rehab; I think there's a lot of mental rehab to go through as well. And I can just tell his confidence in how he's feeling. He does so much for us when he's out there. The guy's a winner, he's a clutch player, he comes up big in every moment. Everyone can tell that…you always know it's going to take some time, even when you get back, to feel like yourself. I've had that experience where, man, yeah you're out there but it's a little…it doesn't feel quite like…you had a full offseason to prepare. You were rehabbing, you weren't [doing], I would say, performance-enhancement training. You were rehabbing, there's a difference. So you've got to get to that point where, okay, now you're actually back to actually just trying to be a better football player, not to be rehabbing. Chris has worked really hard. Everyone believes in Chris, loves him and is so happy when he has success. He deserves it."

(On how to keep emotions from becoming an issue during a game with the Saints)

"I think it's an emotional game, and it's a very hard-nosed team that we're playing. These guys have been together for a long time, they play well together and they're confident. It's part of the sport. Mike [Evans] obviously doesn't want to get kicked out of the game. I'm sure Marshon [Lattimore] doesn't want to get kicked out of the game. Everyone wants to compete and play hard, but you play to the letter of the law. When it goes beyond that, things happen unfortunately, but you learn from it and try to move on and try to be better."

(On if his approach to practice has worked)

"Yeah, I think I've done quite a bit this year. I've practiced a lot this year. I haven't missed many days throwing. I just take it week by week. You've got to just try to keep moving and stay active and stay sharp, and see if I can play as well as I can."

CORNERBACK CARLTON DAVIS III

(On the repetitive message he tells himself to 'lock it in')

"It's just to understand that we control our own destiny and that we've got to lock in to the small things. We've got to do whatever we need to do to get the [win] no matter what the circumstances are – we've got to come out with a win no matter what. That's just what we've been preaching all week."

(On if the secondary will still be versatile even if they are missing a few players)

"Oh yeah. I mean, that's what we pride ourselves on – having the next man step up and continue the job and keep up with what we have to do on the field and keep our standard, so we're not too worried about that. We trust our guys to come in and make plays."

(On if a Super Bowl appearance is still within reach)

"Of course. Always. Don't ever count us out, man."

(On if the odds are stacked against them to reach the Super Bowl this year)

"I mean, the odds have been stacked against so many people – like the [Philadelphia] Eagles when they won, they were underdogs and it's the NFL – anything can happen. Especially to this team right here. We have just a great group of guys to do it, and it doesn't always show, but this team is special. And this team does have what it takes to win the Super Bowl, for sure."

-BUCCANEERS-