Tampa
Bay Buccaneers
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TAMPA
BAY BUCCANEERS OPEN LOCKER ROOM
OCTOBER 23, 2002
Kenyatta Walker #67 T
(Does it help playing two good defenses back-to-back)
“I guess. It’s just another Sunday, you have to go to work.
We need a win, that’s all I see it as. We have to get a win and that’s
all that matters.”
Anthony McFarland
#92 DT
(Anything change from going to Donovan McNabb to an untested quarterback)
“Not really, our first big priority is always to stop the run and
then try to get some heat on him, just like we did Donovan. You change
a couple things on where you bring your pressure from, but other than
that not really.”
(How does
a team prepare for a quarterback that there is not much tape on)
“You don’t necessarily prepare for a guy, you look at the base
plays that they run, the things that they do, then you understand what
they are trying do to you as a defense. And after that, you worry about
yourself.”
(What emotion
does a team bring to a game after a loss)
“It’s going to have a lot of emotion. The thing about this NFL
is it’s a 16-game season, every Sunday is a new challenge. You have
to have a short memory sometimes. It’s like playing corner. You might
get beat one play, you have to come right back the next play. And we got
beat last Sunday, you learn from it and move on. If you don’t, if
you let that linger into Sunday, it backfires.”
(Does the
Philadelphia loss make the defense want to get better?)
“It makes our team want to get better, not just our defense, but
our team wants to get better. It makes our team want to continue to improve,
continue to get better. Look at the reality of the situation. We’re
5-2 and since I’ve been here, it hasn’t been and we have a chance
to be 6-2 in the first half of the season. That’s our goal and that’s
our focus and that’s what we’re looking to.”
Rob Johnson
#11 QB
(Feeling on preparing to start)
“I’ve gone from about 10 reps a week to every rep, which is
great. I’m so excited. It’s been tough the past couple of days
because I was excited, but we lost. I feel sorry for Brad (Johnson), you
never want to get your chance through injury, but it happens. I’m
going to be real excited. I haven’t played in a while, and I missed
the last eight games last year due to an injury. I’m just very excited,
I have family coming out, it’ll be like the Monday night game for
me.”
(What he
brings to the offense that Brad does not)
“We’re different types of quarterbacks. He makes very good decisions
inside the pocket, gets rid of the ball and doesn’t take a lot of
sacks. I’m going to get out when things aren’t there and try
to make plays that way. That’s probably the biggest difference.”
(Did the
little playing time against the Eagles help his preparation?)
“It was just one series. Practice is bigger this week, when you don’t
get practice reps for seven weeks you don’t forget your offense,
but you’re not sharp with it. This week is key for me and having
a good week of practice.”
(How sharp
could he be?)
“Very sharp. I expect to be real sharp. I’ve done this before.
Me and Doug Flutie did this back and forth in Buffalo a lot. So I’ll
be ready to play.
(How frustrating
has it been?)
“We’re 5-2 and Brad’s been playing well, so it’s not
that frustrating. It gets frustrating when the team is not playing well
and you’re not winning, and you’re still sitting. Then it gets
frustrating. I have no complaints so far.”
(Does the
game plan change w/ you at quarterback?)
“I’m not sure, the game plan seems to be the same. I don’t
know, you’re going to have to ask (Coach Gruden). I don’t think
he is going to change much.”
(Feelings
about Carolina)
“What they can do is get pressure on you with four and cover with
seven, so it’s tough. It’s going to be a challenge for us this
week. I think they are top five in the league in most defensive categories.”
(Surprised
there hasn’t been a quarterback controversy)
“When you’re winning and playing winning football, keeping the
defense off of the field, have long controlled drives, and the last couple
of games we have not played as well offensively. You go through ups and
downs, and hopefully when I get in there, we score 40 points, when he
comes back in, we want to keep it rolling.”
(Can his
mobility slow down a pass rush?)
“I don’t know. They might be a little more careful to open up
a lane. I don’t know, though. I’m going to look 1-2-3 and if
it’s not there I’m getting out and make some plays. It can be
a problem of mine, because I’ve taken a lot of hits and taken some
sacks, but I don’t like giving up on plays and throwing the ball
away too much. I’ve learned and am learning to throw it away and
when not to and it’s a fine line. Like Donovan, he gets sacked more
than a lot of pocket passers, because you’re trying to make plays
on every play instead of just throwing it away.”
Simeon Rice
#97 DE
(How to dictate what Carolina’s offense does)
“By doing what you need to do. In terms of a player, if you do what
you need to do everything else is inconsequential. If you’re sacking
a quarterback, getting a running back tackled for losses, getting interceptions,
causing turnovers that’s to our favor. That’s how we try to
play every week. Nothing more, nothing less.”
(Is it hard
to enjoy the games?)
“No, the game is what we are all here for. The game itself is genuine.
The game is lovely. The game is where we can all exploit our abilities
and go out there and celebrate what we have and go showcase what we are
really trying to get accomplished. Everything else, the cameras, day-to-day,
week-to-week, the meetings, for me is mundane. It’s just a routine
and whether we win or lose, you’re going to get the same answers
maybe in a different way. I’m trying to bring life to this, but it’s
kind of hard. It’s a joy, don’t get me wrong. But it’s
Wednesday, Sunday is a whole other ball game.”
Derrick Brooks
#55 LB
(With Gruden’s offensive track record, how much confidence does he
have in a turnaround by the offense)
“We just hold other teams’ offenses from scoring, that’s
our job. I think our focus has always been on that and it will continue
to be. Coach Gruden’s record speaks for itself, concerning what his
offense can do. And I do have confidence that things will get turned around,
I just want to be able to hold out until those things happen. As I said
last week, we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
(How do you
prevent a losing streak?)
“You just go out and win this week. There’s nothing to talk
about, there’s not an aura of panic like everyone is writing or talking
about. We’re 5-2 and that’s the big thing. We’re trying
to be 6-2 and that’s something we haven’t been in this franchise
in a long time. We’re going to keep our focus on the big picture.”
(Facing an
inexperienced quarterback)
“It’s the same plan as every week, take away the running game,
make a team one-dimensional. And then we’ll get after the quarterback.
Obviously, the quarterback now that’s coming in is a lot more mobile
than Rodney Peete or Chris Weinke, and I’m glad we got to see a little
bit of that when Weinke got hurt last week. We’re just going to go
out and do our job.”
(Has adversity
been a good thing?)
“It has, you look at our history at this point of the season, we
have always been in adversity. I guess it is something we are used to,
but at the same time we like our position. We wish it was better, but
we’re not going to complain about it, and we are going to try and
get our sixth win on Sunday.”
Keyshawn
Johnson #19 WR
(Is offense trying to keep up with the defense)
“We’re not trying to keep up with the defense, we are just trying
to keep up with ourselves. We just have to continue and keep pumping,
and avoid the problems we had in Philadelphia. If we do that, we’ll
be all right. We just need to try and win the rest of them, that’s
all.”
(Does he
ask Rob to throw him the ball more?)
“I don’t need to ask anyone to throw me the ball, that’s
just a title of a book. It’s just a title of a book.”
(What’s
the team’s identity?)
“I don’t know. We haven’t really gotten on track. We really
don’t know, we’re all still vibing. I know we will find it not
before too long.”
(Has the
offense stepped forward or backwards since week one?)
“I think we are getting better as we are getting more comfortable
with the situation. We just need to continue to keep working at it. No
one expects us to come out and set the world on fire. The first couple
of weeks out of the box, you never know, a light switch might turn on
this week or it might be four weeks from now and we’re sure, when
it does, this offense will keep going.”
(Does Rob’s
presence change his route running?)
“No, when (a quarterback) breaks the pocket, you just run around.
You just try to get open. When Brad breaks the pocket, you run around
and try to get open, so it doesn’t change anything for us. If Brad
was to run (like Rob does), you need to block too. I need to keep playing
no matter who’s at quarterback.”
(Does the
team need to be more committed to the run)
“We tried to run the ball a little bit, we got behind, so we obviously
don’t want to slow the clock down, we needed to throw.
(Importance
of getting in a rhythm with Rob during practice)
“I think it’s important. We’ll get in a rhythm. It doesn’t
take that long to figure a guy out. I played with him in college, Keenan
played with him in Jacksonville, so I think we’ll be fine. I know
him a little bit. I know what he’s expecting and he knows what I’m
expecting, so even though it was seven years ago, I don’t think our
timing is off that far.”
(Preparing
for Carolina defense)
“It’s more about what we do offensively. They have a great defense.
Julius Peppers is obviously a guy you have to account for. So we just
have to take care of the offense, and once we do that the defense will
let us do so much. But we need to continue to keep pounding it and pounding
it and eventually we’ll put some points on the board.”
(Is adversity
a good thing?)
“What’s the adversity? We’re 5-2. We’re trying to
be 6-2. That’s a good thing. I don’t look at it as adversity
at all.”
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