BUCCANEERS POSTGAME QUOTES 10-10-21
HEAD COACH BRUCE ARIANS
(Opening Statement)
“A really, really good team win. I loved the effort after the first five minutes of the third
quarter. Offensively, I thought it was a hell of a game. Byron [Leftwich] had a hell of a
game plan. Good job run, pass, great mix. Good protections all day. Defensively, I loved
Todd [Bowles]’s game plan. I thought it was excellent. You know, give up 17 points,
which is our goal for the season. You know, we scored a little bit higher than normal. Our
guys executed that well. We don’t know anything about Lavonte [David] yet. It appears
to be a high ankle sprain but we’ll wait and see.”
(On his thoughts of Antonio Brown and what he was able to do in today’s game)
“Yeah, I mean when you got Chris [Godwin] and Mike [Evans] and he gets the third guy,
that ain’t a fair fight. You know, now that he knows the offense, Byron [Leftwich] is
putting him in a position where he knows what he’s doing, he can be really, really fast.
Tom [Brady] trusts him. Yeah, we like that matchup usually week in week out. You know,
I’m sure it’s going to switch pretty soon. One of those other guys is going to feast.”
(On why he feels Tom Brady is clicking and having such a great connection with his
teammates.)
“You know, last week’s redzone was kind of an anomaly. This week, we executed much
better down there. But yeah, I think for Tom [Brady], he sees it. He sees and he’s got a
lot of weapons. I thought O.J. [Howard] step in really good today – critical situations. So
yeah, there’s contribution from everybody and he trusts guys. So, his understanding of
what we’re trying to do down inside the 25. Outside the 25, he can still throw that deep
ball as good as anybody.”
(On when Tom Brady hurt his finger)
“Whenever it happened, it happened early so it didn’t affect him too much.”
(On what it’s been like to see Antonio Brown’s growth)
“Yeah, I mean that was when we first talked, there were no second chances. So, he’s
grasped this opportunity and run with it. I’m really, really proud of him.”
(On how impressed he’s been with Richard Sherman over the past two weeks)
“Yeah, I kept checking with him today because you know, he didn’t play in this heat in a
while. You know do you need a blow, do you need a blow? Because Pierre [Desir] can
take a rep for you. He said ‘No, I’m go to get oxygen and I’ll be back. I’m good’. We
scored really quick. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ I can’t say enough about Sherm. And even
Pierre [Desir]. Pierre ready to roll at any time. I’m really happy to see [Jamel] Dean
bounce back.”
(On how proud he was of the secondary performance in today’s game)
“Extremely. I think Todd [Bowles] gets all the credit in the world. I told our pass-rush they
need to get in the weight room. Shit they had [Jacoby Brissett] wrapped up about five
2
times and couldn’t get him on the ground. Jacoby’s strong. We harassed him, but we
need to get those sacks and finish those things. You know got a couple big turnovers
and again, we protected the ball offensively. Situational football – I would have loved to
have seen [Bradley] Pinion make that 60-yard field goal.”
(On how well he felt the team played complementary football)
“Yeah, I think every time we got a touchdown after a turnover. That’s what is key. We got
a three and out, we went down. Special teams I thought were solid so it’s a good team
victory. Offensively we led the way. Every time they would get back, we would answer
the bell and that’s what you expect. You know, I think this was the first fourth quarter we
didn’t give up any points. I can’t swear to that. But that was a big step forward also.”
(On how impressed he’s been with Leonard Fournette)
“Yeah, Lenny’s – you know, he’s playing outstanding. He’s always had great hands. He’s
taken it on himself to concentrate better in the passing game and see’s how much of a
threat he can be in the passing game. Pass protection same thing. He’s become an all
around really, really solid back. You know that’s what he was drafted for that high and
he’s playing to that level”.
(On the run blocking)
The offensive line and tight ends blocked extremely well today. That’s a good front.
Same old story – do you want to play a two-high shell? You’re going to get run on. If you
want to come down there into an eight-man box, you’re going to play one-on-one
outside. When we can run the ball like that, it’s going to be pretty effective.”
(On Giovani Bernard’s performance)
“I was pleased with it at the end. I didn’t like when he got run over on his pass protection
and that will cost him his job if he can’t pass protect on third down.”
(On what he has seen from Antonio Brown that he will continue to stay on the right path)
“I think he’s matured so much in his everyday habits. He’s doing everything I asked of
him so I would not expect anything else.”
(On Jason Pierre-Paul’s contribution)
“I think JPP’s energy always helps. He batted a couple balls. I thought Shaq [Barrett]
had a hell of a ballgame, but JPP is one of the leaders out there and we always need his
energy.”
(On if there are any signs that Antonio Brown has lost a step at 33-years old)
“Probably in a 40 [-yard dash] a half a step, but not in quickness. When he catches a
ball, he’s so sudden. When you’re catching a drag route and you can turn straight north,
you’re going to lost that guy behind you. There are very, very few guys who can do what
he does.”
(On if he ever imaged a 44-year old quarterback doing what Tom Brady is doing right
now)
“No, never. Like I said, every day he comes to practice, he’s 12 [years old]. I think it’s
[son] Jack out there. He’s like a little kid every day.”
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(On what improvements he wants to see”
“Coming out of halftime. Right now, the only think I can say negative about this game is
the first five minutes of the third quarter. But for us right now, we can’t celebrate this
game. We’re working tomorrow, Tuesday, getting on a plane Wednesday and it’s a very,
very short week. We can celebrate this one next week if we take care of our business
this week for Thursday night.”
QUARTERBACK TOM BRADY
(On witnessing the growth that WR Antonio Brown has made over the past year)
“Pretty amazing. I just give him a lot of credit — he has been through a lot and has shown
a lot of mental toughness, a lot of resilience, a lot of support from a lot of different people
in his life at different times. Everyone just really wants him to succeed and B.A. (Bruce
Arians), Byron [Leftwich], they just do a great job with all the different guys we have – we
have a really unique group of guys. Very talented – obviously – but very selfless too. The
ball is going a lot of different places and all those guys are getting opportunities to make
plays and it’s just fun to see when everyone is involved, how fun it could be.”
(On what Antonio Brown’s presence has meant to him since arriving in Tampa)
“So much, I think since the day we met – obviously I’ve admired him and watched him
for a long time and obviously played with him briefly in New England and [we] just struck
up a great relationship and [I] really wanted to see him get things. Sometimes things
take us away from what we really love to do in football – I think he’s done an incredible
job personally of putting a lot of those things aside and just focusing on football and just
showing everyone how great he is. Mike [Evans] is a great player, Chris [Godwin] is a
great player, Tyler [Johnson] made some plays. So everybody is really contributing and
it’s fun to see from my standpoint, all these different guys of different ages all kind of
coming together as a group and being, I think, the best group of receivers in the league.”
(On how much playing against an opposing coach or defensive coordinator who has
coached him affects his play)
“I’ve kind of had it last week and different times over the course of my career, I’ve kind of
played against some different coaches who have coached against me in the past and
have coached with me. Just try to prepare every week the same, that’s just the reality –
those coaches aren’t the ones on the field playing, it’s the players playing and I’ve got to
get to know those players. Obviously understand the scheme that they’re in, and what
the coaches are trying to get them to do, but I just work hard to prepare every week just
like my teammates do. I think my teammates are doing a great job preparing – we’ve got
a short week, a quick turnaround – last year we didn’t do very well on a short week so
we have to put a lot into this coming game. Playing against a good football team in Philly
that does some good things.”
(On his hand being wrapped up)
“In my younger days I probably would’ve never showed you guys that I wrapped it up
because I probably would’ve tried to keep it a secret, but I think I’m older so I don’t care
as much. It’s just a football injury so, [I will] do my best to get ready for this game. We’ll
see what happens.”
(On being sharp in the red zone today as opposed to last week in New England)
“We did a good job. I think we’re just trying to work hard to be on the same page. I think
all of us, 11 guys seeing it the same way executing toward the same thing. Everyone
playing a different role at a different time. Some guys are getting it, some guys are
blocking for it, some guys are blocking in the run game, some guys are blocking in the
pass game, some guys are catching it in the pass game. So, we’re just going to have to
be on the same page.”
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(On how difficult it is to play on a shortened week)
“It’s a challenge, but they (Philadelphia) have the same challenge too – it’s football. We’ll
be ready to play Monday nights, Sunday nights, Thursday nights, Sunday days. It’s good
to win a one o’clock home game, I know that those feel good. We all have the night to
get a lot of hydration, get a lot of treatment and get a good night’s sleep and then be
ready for the week.”
(On scrambling three games in a row)
“I know! Do I look faster? I mean I feel fast, do I look as fast as I feel?
(On getting designed plays to take advantage of his scrambling)
“[Maybe] some QB outside pitches (laughing)? I’ll leave those to the guys who are much
more talented than me. Most of the guys in the NFL probably make like 30 yards on a
run like that – I turned a 30-yarder into a 10-yarder better than anybody, but it was
good.”
(On if distributing the ball evenly to his receivers was a part of the game plan)
“Absolutely, I think try to spread it around to everybody – Cam [Brate] made some plays,
O.J. [Howard] made plays — the backs made plays in the pass game – Lenny (Leonard
Fournette) did, obviously all the receivers did. So it’s what we’re going to need to keep
doing – we need to keep spreading it around and make them defend. There’s a great
saying in football: ‘Make them defend every blade of grass.’ So that’s what we’re going
to try to make them do.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER SHAQUIL BARRETT
(On it being a competitive game until the third quarter and finishing the second half the
way they did)
“It was big for us, Coach [Todd] Bowles came in and gave us a message, the message
was received, and we wanted to go out there and play the way we were supposed to be
playing all four quarters and we were able to do it.”
(On LB Lavonte David leaving the game due to injury as the ‘heart and soul of this
defense’)
“It most definitely is tough on our defense. We try to rally around ‘Vonte’ (Lavonte
David). With him being gone [the goal was] just make sure we win the game. I know
when people get hurt and are not in a game, being a player like ‘Vonte’ – he could have
affected the game in any way possible. We wanted to make sure we closed it out the
way we were supposed to for him. But it hurt for sure not having him out there. We
missed his leadership, his energy, and his play-making ability.”
(On the continuity of the defense with players rotating in and out of the lineup)
“It’s a little harder when we get to the middle of a game and someone is thrown in there
like that, but in practice, we work on it a lot in practice when we know someone is going
to be out or down. We work on our communication. We work on everything that needs to
be worked on in practice. But in the middle of the game we still threw ‘Mint’ (Kevin
Minter) in there. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s been around for a while. He
knows our system through and through. He was able to come in and make some plays
for us to help us seal the game.”
(On how difficult this coming short week will be)
“I don’t think it is difficult at all. I love playing football. I am ready to go as soon as the
game is scheduled. I want to play as soon as possible every week. I’m glad we are
playing on Thursday, as long as everyone is healthy, that’s the only thing about it is
being healthy with that quick turnaround. It is not difficult at all. We both have the same
thing. We both played at 1:00 o’clock games and we both play on Thursday, so we are
battling the same odds.
WIDE RECEIVER ANTONIO BROWN
(On being fastest player to 900 catches)
“That is something I am very grateful for, but you know, I couldn’t do it by myself. I’ve
been able to play with some great quarterbacks – Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady. It’s a
blessing to play with guys like that and be able to get the ball and be on that trajectory. “
(On his performance on Sunday vs. Miami)
“I’ll continue to show and improve my love for the game. Today was awesome to be able
to put that on display.”
(On QB Tom Brady looking for him when a big catch is needed)
“It is a great opportunity when the general believes in you, and we don’t take that for
granted.”
(On proving people wrong and continuing to succeed on the field)
“In life, we all need conflict. We all need to go through things to shape our purpose and
make us better. If we always sat here and didn’t go through anything, we would not
appreciate life, or we wouldn’t be able to grow. I think the things I went through were
able to prepare me to grow and make me a better person. I’m glad to be here today.”
(On depth of the receiving core)
“Well, we are just excited about our opportunity. Each one of our guys could be the
reason we win. We are all unselfish and we know the greater cause is winning. Our
business is winning, and we are just here to inspire each other and win the ball game.”
(On watching Brady get in a groove and do his thing on the field)
“So much inspiration from Tom. Constant pro, constant professional, constant leader.
Not only making sure that he is doing his job, but making sure all other 10 guys are
doing their job too. He never ceases to amaze me, man. He just continues to up the
standard and raise the bar. I am grateful to be on his team.
CORNERBACK JAMEL DEAN
(On how it felt to be back out on field and having an interception after not getting one in
week three)
“It’s a great feeling knowing I can make up from that easy interception I dropped in week
three. I set goals for myself. I said I was going try to get five this year, so now I can just
say that’s one out of five I got so far.”
(On how his knee felt throughout the game)
“It held up pretty good. It didn’t give me any problems.”
(On what the defense did differently after allowing 10 points in the first two Miami drives)
“We had to go back to the fundamentals and really start communicating more with each
other. Allowing us to know what other people are seeing. So, really just communicating.”
(On the addition of Richard Sherman and Pierre Desir and how they have helped a
young secondary)
“I mean, it is good having vets there so they can give us like tips and pointers like what
to expect and how to watch film. It is just showing us the ways. We didn’t have that going
into our rookie year so, now that we are getting it, we have something to build from.”
(On if he was able to learn from Sherman through mental reps)
“You know, watching Richard Sherman, I’ve always looked up to him as a kid and I
always tried to mimic my game after him. Now, being able to watch him live, it is really is
helping a lot because I am more of a visual learner.”
(On the interception and if defense was in zone or man)
“It was in zone. So, I was just reading the quarterback and once he threw the ball, I ran
to it and realized the receiver tipped it. So, I was like, ‘I can’t miss this one,’ I’ve had two
layups so I can’t miss both.
RUNNING BACK LEONARD FOURNETTE
(On contributing such a meaningful performance in this game specifically)
“We had to come out and get that monkey off our back. Prior to the third quarter ‘Rich’
(Richard Sherman) came over and said he has never been a part of a team with so
much talent. I said, excuse my language, but man this is different. Any time you have
multiple Hall of Fame, Pro Bowl players, all over the field. That is not to mention we are
missing ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) too. This whole team as a unit, we can really do a lot.
We come out focused, have our minds together, understand the game plan and stay
focused to the course.”
(On feeling the absence of missing TE Rob Gronkowski)
“You could definitely feel like it because Gronk’s energy is unmatched. We miss him out
there, but we also have guys who can play up to his level too. Cam [Brate], O.J.
[Howard], guys like that. One thing about this team, we don’t miss a step when one guy
goes down.”
(On improved running game and getting the ball consistently)
“It’s alright. I know that at any moment, at any given time, we have two of the top running
backs in the league. Me and ‘Ro’ (Ronald Jones II) – not to mention we have ‘Gio’
(Giovani Bernard). Just going in there with whatever they give me and just trying to
make a play. My biggest focus is to help the team out. “
(On the increased trust QB Tom Brady has in him as a pass catcher)
“I have just been working on it. It is all about earning trust too. You can’t go ahead in
practice, dropping a lot of balls. In the back of his mind, he is going to know that he can’t
throw it to me and that I won’t catch it. I try to make every catch that he throws to me and
try to make it easy for him.
