	October 2009

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10/22/2009

HEAD COACH RAHEEM MORRIS QUOTES - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

(Opening statement)
“We did more preparation on New England today. Chris Hovan was full participation today, Clifton Smith was limited, Michael Clayton was full participation, Barrett Ruud was full, Ryan Sims was full and Aqib was limited. We will give you the status of the guys in the middle of our eight hour flight tomorrow as far as the game. I’ll send it via fax down from the flight (laughing). We are extremely ecstatic.”

(On Kyle Moore’s chances to play on Sunday)
“I don’t know. It’s a battle. We have a tight bunch of guys going. We have Michael Bennett, we have Kyle Moore and we also have Dre Moore. Pretty much I have been basing this thing off of practice reps and how they have been doing in practice. We’re rewarding the guy that’s giving us his best effort, we’re rewarding the guy that looked like he deserves it and looked like they earned it. Sometimes it’s a little hard for guys that play different positions. You have to plan throughout the week on what you can do with them. The way they have been practicing, I have to reward the best guy.”

(On Clifton Smith)
“I’m always worried about any guy that gets a shot delivered to them and gets a concussion. You always worry about it, obviously. He is in good hands with our training staff. I trust those guys more than anything, Todd Toriscelli and his staff, our doctors. We just have to listen to what we have going on there.”

(On if Clifton will make the trip)
“I’m pretty much guaranteeing everybody’s going to make the trip. We’ll all be out there.”

(On if Clifton will play on Sunday)
“Like I said, this guy has to be determined by tomorrow. I just have to go with that and wait to see what my doctors say.”

(On how the Patriots are doing without Richard Seymour)
“(Laughs) Well, they have two other big giants down there too. They have Warren and this big guy in the middle named (Vince) Wilfork and all kinds of big time studs, so they just keep rolling them in there. It’s like USC. They just recruit people and line up other big men in spots to be physical and tough and violent.”

10/16/2009

DE ADAMS TRADED TO CHICAGO

The Buccaneers announced today that they have traded defensive end Gaines Adams to the Chicago Bears for a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Adams played in 37 career games with 29 starts, totaling 124 tackles, 13.5 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 13 passes defensed. He entered the league as Tampa Bay’s first round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft.

OPEN LOCKER ROOM QUOTES -
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2009

DL MICHAEL BENNETT

(On this being a good opportunity for him)
"Yeah, it's really good. They're looking for pass rushers and I'm glad they took me and gave me a chance to go out there and play."

(On making a transition to defensive tackle)
"I played both so it's not really different. I'm getting used to learning how to play end and tackle. When you play tackle, it's really physical and then you take that out there with you to end. You take on a lot of double teams when you're inside, and then come out and play end and you can take on multiple blockers."

WR ANTONIO BRYANT

(On if the first division game is like a fresh start to the season)
"That's a good way to put it. Every game is important, especially in the NFC because at the end of the day that's how you get in the playoffs. It's just a matter of not even worrying about the record or anything that's going on around us but just going out there and getting a win."

(On if he is eager to practice)
"Most definitely, because the only time I get to be me is on Sunday. That's the only time I can move, run or do anything. I want to go out there and practice because that's important to me. I'm a practice person. I work hard in order to get the results on Sunday. I don't think I'm doing my team or myself justice by not practicing. It's just a matter of going out there."

(On if it would be fitting to end the losing streak against Carolina)
"When you play those division games, at the end of the day it's always a playoff-type of environment. A lot of guys that have been doing well are going to be challenged because everybody is hunting these types of wins. They're very important if you want to make it to the postseason."

C JEFF FAINE

(On what to expect from the Panthers)
"They showed last week that they're looking to stop the run against Washington. They stacked the box pretty well and they've got some good talent there up front, with Hollis Thomas and [Damione] Lewis. It's just all the usual suspects. It's going to be a good challenge for us."

(On if he'll get a feel for his readiness at practice on Wednesday)
"Yeah, I think I'll get a pretty good feel for it today and we'll basically see where I'm at after practice. Right now it's feeling pretty good and hopefully I'll just keep taking steps forward."

(On how much of his playing is a matter of pain toleration)
"There is going to be some pain, that's just part of it. I think the smart part about it is realizing that I got an okay from the doctors that it won't tear again, unless it's another injury. There's no more risk there than anywhere else on my body, so that is why they gave me the okay to go. But there is going to be some pain there that I've just got to deal with."

WR YAMON FIGURS

(On his tryout)
"I was running routes and doing different things. I really didn't know [if I did well]. I just went out there and did my best and let them decide if they liked it or not."

(On if he's familiar with the offense)
"Basically, offense is universal. It's just getting used to the terminology, putting it into words that I know how to use. I'm in the playbook now and I'm trying to be in there the whole time."

DT CHRIS HOVAN

(On the season)
“It’s tough right now being 0-5. At the same time, we have to think of it right now as an 11-week schedule. We have to start fresh, we have to go, especially against Carolina. They are a heated division opponent. It’s going to be a tough matchup this weekend, physical game.”

(On how tough it is to reset after the losses)
“It is tough mentally. You have to put yourself in a position to win. We have made our bed, we lost five games. So be it. Now, we get to start over. We get to start up at Raymond James against Carolina. We have to put the past behind us, move on, go forward and get our first victory.”

(On what adjustments need to be made)
“I think first and foremost, just being ourselves. Right now with certain parts of the game and on defense, we are giving up the big play, we aren’t doing this, we aren’t doing that. We are just beating ourselves. I think once we hone in and know what our responsibilities are, or assignments and getting to the ball, we will play so much faster. The key for this weekend is to just be physical and not beat ourselves.”

QB JOSH JOHNSON

(On the identity of the offense)
“I wouldn’t say it is more so different. A lot of times so far we haven’t really had the opportunity in the fourth quarter to stick with the run game. In the Washington game we were able to do that because it was a much closer game. In the Philly game last week, the score kind of got out of hand and it is tough to really keep trying to grind the run when you are down by a lot of points. You try to come back all at one time. I feel like it’s still a good balance. On Sunday when the game was closer, we tried to keep a balance with run and pass. They did a good job with stopping our run game. We had a couple of heavy set play actions where I was able to hit Antonio Bryant on one of them. We had a couple of more opportunities but the pressure they were bringing kind of allowed us to get out of it. I had to make the audible check because it wouldn’t have worked out as well. We still are the same thing but the circumstances aren’t allowing us to do it.”

(On Johnson talking to his team on the sidelines at the Eagles)
“I felt the need to do that. I am more so a reserved guy. It being my second year you kind of try to play a role a little bit. On Sunday, I feel like it is my team. It’s my job. You try to go into that, just having that leadership role so those guys know that they can depend on me. It felt like at that time we needed that. We needed that push. It was obvious. I was trying to get everyone to play football like we know how and put some points up on the board.”

(On the difference with Jeff Faine being back)
“Jeff is a great center. Mahan did a good job while Jeff was out, but Jeff is back now. That’s just another good thing for the offense, getting some guys back because he is really one of the most important players on the offensive side of the ball.”

(On if the receivers are getting open enough for the team to progress)
“I think so. We have a lot of open guys. We are getting open, we are getting opportunities to make the plays and as an offense, we have to do that. Once we start doing that I feel like we can do some good things on this side of the ball.”

(On Kellen Winslow being the most productive guy)
“With Kellen, you can do a lot of things. You get certain matchups and situations where you can use him to our advantage. That’s kind of what happens when Kellen has a big game. Teams let him be one-on-one which is a bad matchup for a linebacker or when you have him in the slot, a nickel guy. It’s an added advantage to our offense. You can move him around and play him in different places to try to get him the ball and when he is getting the opportunities, he is making great plays.”

(On if the games slowed down for him)
“I just knew from the first week that I was too fast. I had to slow myself down and that’s what I was doing last week in practice. I had a better feel with the timing with the guys so that when I am getting ready and set up to throw, they are getting out of their routes. We got more in sync last week and hopefully we can improve upon that this week.”

DT ROY MILLER

(On the Panthers' offense)
"They run that ball and they do it well. They do a great job with blocking. The running backs do a great job of hitting the hole. They can throw it too, they've got great receivers out there."

(On how to approach the Panthers' offense)
"Just like any week, go in there and watch tape and try to see what you can do. We've just got to be us, get better, stop the run and try to find a way to get after the pass. There's no telling what we can do."

T DONALD PENN

(On if he's thinking of moving to receiver after his catch-and-run last weekend)
"No, I'm going to stick with left tackle. That will probably never happen again. I always dreamed about that happening; I wish I would have scored. I'm just trying to be a left tackle."

(On if teams will be able to continue to blitz the Buccaneers' offense)
"I think they aren't going to be able to blitz as much because we're learning and building on all the other stuff that we've got the last couple weeks. When we see something similar, we'll be ready to pick it up, so I think it's going to help us. That's going to open up a couple holes."

(On if the team is seeing signs that things are close to clicking)
"You can't really talk about signs. We've been seeing signs. We know what we can do; we just have to go out there and do it. We have all the talent in the world. We've just got to put it all together and go do it."

(On Carolina DE Julius Peppers)
“He’s a different breed, if he would have caught that pass last week he would have taken it to the house. That’s Peppers, he is a great athlete.”

(On how many times he has faced Peppers)
“This will be my fourth time. My first year playing he was predominantly on the other side. We have been back and forth battling. He is a good battler. We have mutual respect for each other.”

WR MAURICE STOVALL

(On what the team is doing to get a win)
“We are working hard in the weight room and working hard on the practice field. The coaches are coaching us harder. We are going to be professional, correct the things that need to be corrected and get ready for Carolina.”

(On the dropped balls)
“You have to realize that you are going to have dropped balls. When you do have dropped balls you are going to be exploited. When you lose a game, it is easy to point a finger and say that’s the reason why we lost. We have a great group of guys, guys that are able to make plays and if we feel as though they couldn’t, they wouldn’t be here on the team or in this organization. All we can do is dust that off. We have to take a loss like we take a win. Enjoy or suffer from it for 12 hours and come Monday, get ready for the week of practice and prepare for the next team.”

T JEREMY TRUEBLOOD

(On what needs to be corrected)
"Obviously, there are some things that need to be addressed internally and fixed, so that's what we're going to do. We're going to approach this week like we do every other week. You can't go in there with any other mindset than doing the best you can do and doing your job. When you do your job, if everyone does their job and you don't have to do anybody else's job, then everything will be fine."

(On if this game is like a fresh start)
"It works for me. It has to. This is a division game, a big game. Carolina is a rival so they're going to come in here ready. We really just need to prepare like we have every other week and just do your job."

(On dropped passes)
"I've never once looked at any of the receivers after they dropped a ball and said, 'Come on.' Because 80 times in a game I'm asked to block, and truthfully I'm not going to make every block properly. I'm going to try to my hardest but I'm not going to. You guys don't see that every time. You don't see on a running play on the back side if I miss a block, but you see if someone drops the ball. Those guys are asked to do a lot of things, and all of them are some of the best blocking wide receivers in the whole game. If they're going to bring that to the table and then drop a few balls…it's not acceptable but I'm not going to get on them about it. They don't get on me about missing blocks so I'm not going to get on them."

DE STYLEZ G. WHITE

(On how much it would mean to get a win after last year’s loss to Carolina)
“That and it’s a division game. We have to play them twice this year. We did well against them in the first game last year and later on we didn’t. This is a division game that we must win, like any other game.”

(On what he took out of last year’s Monday Night game in Carolina)
“They were a better team that day. They kept doing well and we just didn’t. They came to play, they beat us, it is what it is. We watched that film and use it as motivation.”

DE/DT JIMMY WILKERSON

(On the rest of the line putting up similar numbers as his last week)
“It would be nice and we are capable of doing things like that. I think our rushes are coming along. We are playing the run better than what we were doing earlier on in the season. We are really ready to go against Carolina.”

(On QB Jake Delhomme)
“Pressure can help with any quarterback out there. We just have to stay consistent with our pressure and our rushing. We have to give the defensive backs and linebackers enough time to cover their guys. It works the same way. They cover their guys and you can get to the quarterback. If we get to the quarterback then they can get picks or batted balls, stuff like that.”

10/12/2009

DL BENNETT CLAIMED OFF WAIVERS, OL DILE RELEASED

The Buccaneers announced today that they have claimed DL Michael Bennett off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks and released OL Marc Dile.

Bennett originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Seahawks on April 26, 2009. He registered two sacks, nine tackles, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery in the preseason with Seattle. He was waived by the Seahawks on October 11.

Dile originally signed with the Buccaneers on May 4, 2009 as an undrafted free agent. He was declared inactive for the Buccaneers first five games this season.

10/10/2009

S JACKSON ACTIVATED; DE EVANS RELEASED

The Buccaneers announced today that they have activated S Tanard Jackson from the Exempt/Commissioner Permission List and released DE Maurice Evans.

Jackson finished fourth on the team in tackles last season with 102. He also recorded one sack, one interception, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 2008.

Evans was signed on October 7.

HEAD COACH RAHEEM MORRIS QUOTES - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

(On if Gaines Adams is questionable)
"Yeah, he's questionable. He kind of hit his ankle a little bit this week, but he's been limited, he's been out there. So we'll just have to see where he is on Sunday."

(On if Adams did anything on the field on Friday)
Today, yes, he did the walk-through. He did some of the walk-through stuff, the walk-through looks. That's what makes him limited."

(On Tanard Jackson's status)
"Tanard's playing. Tanard's going to play. How much will be determined by the coaching staff at some point here, how often. He looked good this week, came back, looked like he was in shape. He's been doing the right things, obviously. He had no problem with the heat. It was great. We got a record-breaking week [of temperatures] for him so it was good to get him out there and run him around."

(On if the team has to make a roster move to activate Jackson)
"Yeah, we've got to make a roster move. We'll evaluate that right now and go upstairs and get with Mark Dominik. Some of the guys that came in did a good job, so that's always good when it's a tougher decision than you thought it would be at the beginning of the week."

(On if Jackson will start)
"Joe Baker and I still have to talk about that. If he doesn't start, he'll still be in there pretty quickly with the rotation. If he starts, obviously he'll still be in a rotation, trying to get him acclimated to the game."

(On players having faith in the system and being mentally strong)
"The faith part has to happen in the meeting rooms and what they're learning in the progression of deals where they're getting better. Last week versus Washington, without a win, that's what people mean I guess about moral victories, even though there's no such thing. They see themselves getting better on defense. They see themselves go out there and have the opportunity to have production, make plays. On offense, you've seen yourself go out there and you executed. You did everything you should have done. You had an opportunity to win the game. You lost it, missed two field goals. So you had a chance. As long as you're giving yourself a chance and you don't have too many games like the Giants one, that keeps them into it. The mental toughness has to come from within. That has to come from the test every day that we go out there with. As far as not taking off the pads, that's developing our mental toughness. We're a young football team. When you're an older football team, you can go out there and those guys know how to show up on Sunday, they know how to play pad level, they know how to play the fundamentals. Two days ago, for example, we had a practice, we came back out, the fundamentals looked sloppy to me – the finish, the tackling. I know you're not tackling, but how you approach, the shoot, your awareness and all those types of things looked a little sloppy so you bring that to their attention. You talk about us being a fundamental football team, us building through the fundamentals. You talk about finishing strong, and right now we've got to finish. We've got to finish. That's what we've got to get to, to be able to finish strong. That's how you keep your team going. That's the tools and the weapons I've used so far. You've got to make sure they produce some wins here soon."

(On if he senses that the players are getting it)
"I do. Last game on defense especially was a clear-cut sign of what they can be and what they could be. It was a nice picture of what you want to look like. You take away a couple plays in that game here and there…you've seen the breakout play of Geno Hayes and how fast Quincy [Black] can play; Aqib Talib when he's really matched up, going one-on-one with a wideout; Ronde Barber showing the excellence that he showed that game; and Gaines Adams coming out of, I guess, the Gaines Adams slump, his calling card or whatever. You've seen our D-Line rushing, how we're starting the game off, getting the sack-fumble, having the ability to come in there and throw a pass that Antonio Bryant dove for, looked good and scored. You go into halftime with a 10-0 lead; if you can come back out and finish that thing off, cap it off, you're feeling really good this week going into this game. We've got to build on that. We've got to get ready for that and be ready to play."

(On if being 0-4 changes your focus)
"I think you play one game at a time anyway, but I think you've still got an opportunity to get 10 so you want to get 10. If you get 10 in this league, for the most part you're going to be in the playoffs unless you're the Patriots from last year. But you've still got to focus on one game at a time. It's always got to be one game at a time. So right now, we're definitely one game at a time, trying to get our first win, but in the back of your head somewhere you're saying, 'Man, we can still pull off 10.' You can still get it some how. You can still get into these playoffs, you can still somehow find a way to win in this league. This league is ever-changing every weekend. That's why you play the games. That's why you don't just make the schedule and set the playoffs the way everybody thinks it's going to go. That's why you go out there and play them."

(On him still thinking about 10 wins)
"Of course. It's obviously going to go through my head. That's what you want to do, that's what you're hope for. But obviously you just want to get better and better every week. You want to get better as a team. You're looking for that first win and this game we're about to play against the Philadelphia Eagles is the most important. I really can't look at the next game. I'm not even sure who it is on the schedule. I've just got to get ready to keep playing and keep playing and keep playing, and play the Philadelphia Eagles."

(On if there are parallels between this year and 1996)
"Yeah, that was my whole basis a couple weeks ago. I had the luxury of going back and being able to study some of that tape when I first got back to see how it was started. Actually, it wasn't a luxury. I think Rod made me go watch it because he wanted me to see where it came from, how it started from Ground Zero. So you go back and you watch that tape. And then you get another bunch of young guys that are out here right now, you see them play within the system, a different system but at the same time a lot of the same philosophies and beliefs, a lot of the same hustle-and-hit types of deals. That's the stuff you sell, that's the stuff you push, that's the stuff you believe in, your fundamental core beliefs like we've been saying from the beginning. Now you're starting to see it get better and better and better and now you're starting to see the players play faster and faster and faster, and you hope you can translate some of those things into win. Now you've got another great challenge in the Philadelphia Eagles, who present a whole different sort of problems than Washington did. Let's go see if we can match up against these guys."

(On Gaines Adams being limited in practice but being able to play against Washington)
"I was thinking maybe he would go out there, start the game, hopefully I could get him in really on some pass-rushing downs. He ended up starting the game and playing really strong. There was a point where you're kind of looking at him saying, 'Hey, Todd [Toriscelli], is he okay?' You've got people watching him, and he fared well. I'll kind of be in that same mentality this week. If he has the ability to play, I'll have somebody watch him. I'm sure our trainers will be watching him, I'm sure our coaches will be watching him. You'll peek over at him every once in awhile and see how he looks, see his demeanor, see his body language. All those things help you in a football game, so I've kind of got to go with that same deal again, being limited. It's the same way with a couple guys on our team, all the guys that are limited, all the guys that are questionable and probable and all that type of stuff."

(On what he thinks of K Shane Andrus after the week of practice)
"You never with know with kickers, to be honest with you. [Mike] Nugent went six-for-six every week here in practice. So you never know with kickers. That's just something where you've got to throw the young man into the fire, let him go out there and kick it under the lights and with all the people screaming and see how it goes. You never want to give a kicker any projections, especially me. I can sit here and make some stuff up to you about technique and operation time and all that type of stuff, but I'm looking at it like you right now. I'm a fan. Does it go in? Good."

(On if he's comfortable with Andrus in the mid-50s range on field goals)
"I'm going to ask my special teams coach what his comfort level is."

HEAD COACH RAHEEM MORRIS QUOTES - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009

(On practice)
"Dallas preparation today. I'm kind of simulating a Friday for us; we'll get kind of a bonus day a little bit. Injuries: E.J. Biggers, he did not participate today; John Gilmore, no participation; Adam Hayward, no participation in practice today. Antonio [Bryant] and Michael Clayton were limited today. Having a bonus day, just make those guys limited and be smart. Kyle Moore did not participate today – a little soreness and we'll update that tomorrow."

(On where Kyle Moore is sore)
"He has a little baby groin type of deal that's bothering him.”

(On Kellen Winslow being the only player on the field in full pads)
"Why is that the first question? I think you stumped me for the first time. Kellen is a full-pad guy. He wants to be as ready as he can be for Sunday. Sometimes, we've got some players, they feel things and they've got a natural progression of things. He wants to get used to Florida and he wants to embrace the heat. He may be buying into what I say a little too much. At the same time, it's a Thursday and if it was a normal week we'd be in pads, we'd have our uppers on. The national anthem isn't about to go off, but he practiced like that all day. He went hard, did everything we asked and I was happy to see him out there being productive. He wants to get used to it. That was just a decision we came up with, me and him."

(On some players having pads on)
"We used to do that all the time on defense. Coach Gru [Jon Gruden] used to have us all take our pads and Ronde [Barber] and Flip [Jermaine Phillips] and Derrick [Brooks] and a lot of those guys would want to leave their pads on so they would for a couple plays. Even sometimes when we came out and we didn't have pads on, you would see those guys do it. They like to put their pads on and move around. Everybody's got to prepare for themselves, everybody's got to prepare in a different way. Kellen's the same type of way, he likes to have his pads on, three shoulder pads on sometimes. As long as he's got his footwork right, he's okay. Everybody's different, everybody has their moments, their little pet peeves. I don't think anybody even realized he was the only one in pads out here. I don't think anybody said a word, so it was fine."

(On Quincy Black)
"Seeing Quincy grow, seeing Quincy become an older player, watching him fly around and gain more confidence…he's always been a physical presence that you look at and say, 'Wow, when this guy gets it and the light comes on he's going to be pretty good.' I think the light's starting to come. He can't wait for these live-action bullets here to start flying. We'll get him out there in that realm and we'll judge him on that. But he's done everything we've asked him to do, he's been smart, he's been detailed, he's moved around a little bit for us. You talk about position flexibility. Special teams, he's been dominant. I'm fired up about Quincy this year and the year he's going to have."

(On if Black is a player the defense can be built around)
"I'd like to think so. You're talking about a guy who is hopefully going to be our starting 'backer for a long time. Him, Barrett [Ruud], Geno [Hayes] giving us our foundation and hopefully they become the guys that take the torches and run with them. They're in constant communication with all our older guys. Once you're a Buc, I think you're always a Buc. I know [Warren] Sapp talks to him a lot. I know all those guys call back here and they're a part of this football team. We're fired up about that. We're fired up about these young guys taking this thing and running with it."

(On signing a punter to the practice squad)
"You've got to bring guys in here for competition. You're always looking to get better. You don't want anybody to get comfortable. We've got Dirk [Johnson] in here, he's our punter. We've got [A.J.] Trapasso to see what he can do. We want to see his leg in live action, see his leg out here on grass, see what it looks like in Florida. I don't know if this is Mile High or anything, I don't know if the punts go higher or whatever, so we want to see all that type of stuff. We want to see him work with our special teams coach, see him hold, see him do all the things a punter should do. Then you've got to make decisions based on what you believe as far as how long you can keep him and all that stuff. But Dirk's our punter. We'd just like to bring him in for competition. You've got to get your best 53."

(On his comfort level with Dirk Johnson)
"I'm feeling really good about Dirk. Dirk did everything we asked in the preseason. He's a very good directional punter. He's an older guy, he's been around the league, he's sharp, he's bright, he can do all the things we ask him to do. He's taken all the information well. He's savvy; the other day we had a misstep and he caught the ball and got it off quickly. Some of the things you see that you like about him, that you like about having a vet like Dirk in here, are pretty good. So I'm feeling comfortable with him."

(On the physical offensive line of the Cowboys)
“You always know that. You have to do some things to try to get around this offensive line. They are monsters, who are we kidding. They are big guys. Maybe you want to use some movement, you want to try to go around them and you have to outwork them. You have to do some different things on them. You are talking about an offensive line that is stacked. You are talking about big bodies in there that once they get on you they can absolutely maul you. They are strong, they are physical and they are violent. They are very good. We just have to hope that we can hold up.”

(On how RB Clifton Smith fits into the mix in the backfield)
“You are talking about Clifton; you are talking about our Pro Bowler. He is our punt return Pro Bowler, our kickoff return Pro Bowler, you are talking about a guy that can do some other things for us on offense, you are talking about a guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield, motioning. He just brings so much to the table. You have to have some wrinkles in there for him. You have to be able to put him in the game, put the ball in his hands, use him as a decoy, a bunch of different things. I’m excited about Clifton. Everything he brings to us is just another option, more valuable tools in the toolbox that we pull out when we need.”

(On if Smith is going to be mixed in immediately)
“You are going to have to wait until Dallas on that one. I don’t want to be giving any secrets. Clifton is a major part of this team. He will have a helmet on and is one of the 45, I will tell you that much.”

(On where WR’s Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton are at with their conditioning)
“You have to talk about our football conditioning and where it’s going to be on Sunday. We are going to see that from everybody, those two in particular because they missed a couple of practices down the stretch there. We have a great strength program. We have Kurtis Shultz, we have those guys running. We know it’s nothing like football ready but they are going to have to fight through it to be ready to go. If they are not, they have to be ready to go as far as their backups, the Brian Clark’s of the world, the Maurice Stovall’s and Sammie Stroughter’s. All of those guys have to be ready to step in and play a major role. Like I said the other day, ‘there is nobody on this football team that has to play 60-minutes, except for Barrett [Ruud] and the left cornerback and guys like that.”

(On how much Clifton Smith will be used on offense because of his value as a kick-returner)
“You do, that’s just a natural career move from being a young head coach. You don’t want to get him out there and ruin your guy, but you have to use his talent. He is dynamic when he gets the ball in his hands, whether it is a kick return or a punt return, a halfback pass or a screen, whatever you can do with that guy. You can just do so many things. He is talented.”

(On how important field position is on special teams)
“You have Clifton Smith; obviously he can change field position in a hurry. That’s what you need. The guys who have to win for us are the guys that are holding up those flyers on punt team. You have to have those corners and that goes to your corner battle. Whoever is out there at the time, whether it is Aqib Talib, Torrie Cox or Elbert Mack. They have to win for you with those flyers to give Clifton a chance. You are talking about your coverage units. Your coverage units have to be on point when they are going down the field, whether it is kickoff or punt. When you’re covering you have to win those battles and then on defense and offense. We have to be successful; we have to move the ball to give ourselves a chance to get a red zone punt out of there. We have to be able to stop those guys to get them to be backed up to us. You have to win that game; it’s going to be a constant battle throughout the day. We’ve embraced for it and are ready to deal with it.”

(On if WR Sammie Stroughter could be a receiver going into traffic in the middle)
“I hope so. We have to see if he likes it. We had a guy around here that was doing that for a long time, Ike Hilliard. He got in there when it was ‘sticky’, what we called it around here and made those ‘sticky’ catches. He wasn’t afraid to get his face peeled off like he did a couple times and he got up, from some of them. Some of them we carried them off. Antonio likes to say, ‘sometimes we go in there and it’s daytime and sometimes you come out and it’s night.’ You have to be ready to deal with that when you are a wideout. That’s the nature of the beast and we’re going to have some of our guys to do that.”

(On if Derrick Ward’s familiarity with the Cowboys when he played for the Giants would help the Buccaneers)
“You would think so. It’s like us playing a divisional opponent. You know them so well, they know you so well. Nobody is trying to trick each other that week. You might as well call each other up and tell them what you are going to do because it really doesn’t matter. He’s done it for a while, I’m sure he is sharing it with his room, I’m sure he is sharing it with his coach. Anything that he has that might have worked for him, it has to help. It’s a natural thing.”

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