OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DAVE CANALES

(On the decision to name QB Baker Mayfield the starter)

"Lots of positives from both guys, looking at it. Thinking about what Baker has been able to do…[for] a little bit there in the middle of camp, Kyle [Trask] showed he's the real deal. Baker felt the heat and had a couple of days where it wasn't quite sharp. He turned it around, had a fantastic first preseason game with a couple drives – took us down, had a touchdown, the communication was smooth. Then he just kind of settled right in for that following week leading up to the Jets, showing up in that practice and [it was] just really like a good feeling like, 'We're settled here with this guy.' Everything felt like it was running smoothly. Kyle played fantastic in the game, so it really made it challenging. We're fortunate, going into this thing, that we didn't just name a starter going into it without giving Kyle a chance to show what he can do, because I think he earned a lot of respect in the locker room, on the coaching staff, in the fanbase for Bucs fans out there to see Kyle is real – he is the real deal. I couldn't feel any better about our quarterback situation going into Week 1."

(On how he is feeling as a play-caller)

"It [was] a little choppy [in the] first week. The receiver that you have on your belt, there's a button that you have on the side and there's a button the top that allows you to just talk to the staff – I pressed that one a couple times and Baker [Mayfield] has his arms out like this [gestures] and I was like, 'Oh, shoot, other one.' I had to get used to the mechanics, the mechanism of calling it. But as far as calling the plays go, I've had a lot of good mentors and they're like, 'Hey, don't overthink it, just call the next one. You liked all these plays going into it, you've repped it, the guys know what they're doing, just call the next one.' I'm getting a lot of great feedback from upstairs. Joe Gilbert is telling me right away what they're doing, defensively. David Raih is giving me coverages, Jeff Kastl: 'Left hash, second-and-3.' In between series, Jordan Somerville is telling me, 'Hey, this is what you're doing on the first plays of drives, this is what you're doing on an earned first – you might want to mix up the tendency there.' So, I've got a bunch of help. I feel really covered. I feel really good about that and am starting to settle in more. The two-minute drive stuff is really fun, but it's hard – trying to keep an eye on the clock, take information, and then make those plays."

(On if he believes QB Kyle Trask can perform at a winning level in this league)

"Oh, absolutely. And the cool part about us is we've got all the film, so we get to watch all the quarterbacks that are playing in the preseason, whether they're playing the starters for a few series or the backups for a few series. If you watch Kyle's film and you throw on any of the games across the league, you'll see this is a real talent – this is a real starting level talent at quarterback. He just has [calmness] in the pocket, he's accurate and he just stays cool throughout the whole thing – good or bad series, he's right back on it. Pretty cool"

(On how the players are receiving the new offensive scheme)

"They're excited about it. They're really excited to get back to practice because we don't get to really show everything that we're doing in a preseason game – it's about just having plays we can execute to see who can block, who can make yards after the catch, or with the ball in their hands, who's going to make the plays down the field. Trying to evaluate talent [while] keeping the plan a little more simple has been the goal, but the guys are really excited about the full complement of what we're doing. Especially because it all starts with the run game, so the big guys up front are really, really fired up about it."

(On how to generate more yards after contact in the running game)

"I think it's just volume. What happens is: contact balance, contact adaption – if I run this way 10 times and the tackler keeps coming from inside out to the left, I have a plan for how to make him miss, how to break that tackle. Whereas, if you only run it twice, you don't get the same feel. Just by sheer volume, our running backs in Seattle learned how to make those extra yards on different run types. We're going to run it, so they'll get really good at that. We'll grow from there."

(On how important it is to convert short-yardage situations)

"I think the key is just to have a core of plays that you're going to run. We had improvement from the first week to the second week on that. But just having a few plays [where] you know how to block every defense, because the name of the game for the defense is to gap you out and put different players on the edge to make it challenging for you. We can't be so predictable, we have to have enough variation but the menu won't change a lot – it's just [throwing] different looks at them to make a yard."

(On the importance of physicality on short-yardage situations)

"Absolutely. At the end of the day, this whole game is about winning those one-on-one matchups, whether it's up-front blocking, whether it's the running back with the linebacker in the middle of the hole. Can you make a yard? Do you have the attitude it takes to make that yard? Of course, from a coaching standpoint, if I'm putting my guys in a situation where it's always mano a mano, that's dumb coaching. We have to have enough variety to say, 'You guys aren't going to just pin your ears back and go. This isn't just a tackling drill. You also have to deal with these things that attack the perimeter.' So, [it is] having enough of those answers, too, to soften them up."

(On what he's seen from offensive linemen Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke)

"I see a really athletic, aggressive side of our offensive line. They're both in the 300s – Cody is obviously lighter than Luke, but the athleticism they bring, their ability to adjust when the defensive line moves and they're just nasty on that side. I'm excited about that side being the athletic side and then I've got this massive left side with Tristan [Wirfs] and [Matt] Feiler. [Robert] Hainsey is kind of like the brains that hold it all together right now."

(On the game that the quarterbacks play in practice)

"It's front-pin golf. So, it's punt, pass, kick, and then whoever wins the week before [gets] to choose the order but you only get one of each. Today was punt, kick, pass. Baker [Mayfield] won again."

(On if QB Baker Mayfield has won every iteration of the game they play in practice)

"No, just the last two. Thad [Lewis] won before that. I think I snuck a win in there at some point."

(On how much he collaborates with Head Coach Todd Bowles to complement the defense)

"That's the part we're most excited about: at least from Coach [Bowles], his encouragement to say, 'Keep doing what you're doing.' It'll be a little bit unconventional – second-and-11, I call a run, we gain seven on it, we're in a decent third down, he's like, 'That's good football.' He encourages me throughout the [game]. Or [he says], 'Hey, you can do this or this here,' at end of half, end of game type of stuff. It's been really cool to talk that way. We'll obviously have to continue to grow, one game at a time. I'm excited about working for him and that support I'm getting for how we're trying to play offense."

(On what RB Sean Tucker has brought to the offense)

"Juice. Youth. This is a young man's game. You get that young, hungry rookie back. We've had a ton of them in Seattle and he's the next one up. Rachaad [White] is obviously young, too. He's lively and it feels like he's making more than what's there on checkdowns, on runs. I'm excited about what he's going to bring to us."

(On if he's surprised about how many QB Baker Mayfield skeptics there are)

"I think it's merited to some extent, having been bounced around a couple times. Whatever the circumstances were, it's real… You had the shoulder deal there. If you look at his whole career – I think all of us have kind of followed it – first pick overall, [he] wouldn't say this is exactly how I saw it going. I think the skepticism is warranted, [but] I don't care about it. I think, 'What is this play and where does the ball go first,' that's all I care about. 'What's this run play, get us to the best one here,' and he's doing all of those things great. For me, I feel a level of comfort with [him] handling the offense. Hopefully he's not listening and feeling like he has to prove anything to anybody but himself."

(On if Mayfield has been any different since being named the starter and what his relationship with QB Kyle Trask is like)

"They're doing fantastic. I can feel how serious Baker is taking this opportunity, this chance with this team. It's an exciting time for us and I can feel that he knows the weight of it. That's good, as long as he can put it in his rightful place, handle that pressure, carry it well and then just keep everything else really simple with it. Then, that's okay. He doesn't have to act like the pressure isn't there or that the situations aren't real. It's about looking at it, dealing with it, and continuing to perform at a basic level."

WIDE RECEIVER DAVID MOORE

(On how the team has responded to Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales' coaching)

"Well, the way Dave puts it out there, it's easy for a lot of guys to pick up. It's been [really] helpful the way that he has done it and taught it, and the way that Brad [Idzik] has taught it. Then just coming from Seattle, they taught it the same way, so it's just picking back up where I left off."

(On what he saw from QB Kyle Trask throughout training camp)

"I like Kyle. He can really deliver the ball, he has a great arm and he is smart, too, as well. I really liked the way he was going the whole time and still [is going] – how he came out firing away and staying on top of it."

(On working with the other receivers in the room)

"It's been good. The room is great – there are a lot of great guys in that room. Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin], for sure – two different guys, but two of the same competition-wise, like, they just come out here, have fun and get after it. [Those are] the type of guys I like to work with. So, heck yeah, it's been great, everybody in the room. You've got Trey [Palmer], he's funny, a lot of the other, younger guys too. The younger guys came in really ready to work and it's been a great camp, for sure, for everybody."

(On the chemistry between QB Baker Mayfield and the wide receivers now that he has been named the starter)

"They've been rotating quarterbacks throughout the whole camp and OTAs and stuff, so everybody has been getting a chance with all of them. He has been working with everybody, so it's kind of like nothing is dropping off. We're just picking up where we left off since OTAs and keeping it going."

(On the feeling in the locker room as compared to outside expectations)

"Just control what you control. Go out and compete at all times. [It's about] just really having the guy next to you's back. No matter what people say [and] no matter what people have got going on, worry about what we worry about and control what is in our room."

(On if there are any defenders he likes going against)

"I would say 'C.D.' (Carlton Davis III) and [Jamel] Dean. Pretty much all of them, but the starting two – those are some good dudes. I like to get some releases with them, too, after practice. I like going up against those two for sure."

OUTSIDE LINEBAKER CAM GILL

(On what advice he gives to rookies about the last preseason game)

"I preached to the young guys, don't try to play the numbers game [or] try to count, try to figure out where you fall in, [or] where you might fall out. Just come out here, keep preparing hard, give your all at practice, really use these games to make plays, shine, and show what you can do on the field."

(On what it is like playing in Head Coach Todd Bowles' defense)

"It's fun, man. You line up all over the field, you blitz, you drop, [and] you get to do it all. It's a fun scheme to learn and it's a fun one to participate in for sure."

(On what he sees from OLB Shaq Barrett post injury)

"I wouldn't say he looks like his old self, I think he looks better than what he used to, so I'm excited to see what he does this year. He's done a great job with leading us whether that's by example or by his actions. I would say, Shaq is one of the best teammates I have ever had on any level from high school, college, [and] to pros now. He is definitely a guy that I look up to and try to emulate my game after."

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