Quotes From Bucs Win Over Chiefs
October 14th, 2012Here are quotes from various parties of both teams after the Bucs beat the Chiefs this afternoon. Quotes are courtesy of the two teams’ media relations staffs.
GREG SCHIANO
(On limiting Kansas City’s run game)
“I thought, in general, just shutting down the run game that was the challenge. They came in as one of the best running teams in the National Football League. I thought the guys did an incredible job – I think it was something like 2.7 yards per carry. If you can do that in the NFL, you have a chance to really play good defense.”
(On the Tampa Bay defensive performance)
“I think Bill Sheridan and the defensive staff have done a really good job of getting the guys to understand each play is its own entity, and you have to do your job on that play. Today I think our guys really did a good job of executing their jobs. That’s the whole secret with us: if you do your job and 11 pieces add up, it can be a good result.”
(On QB Josh Freeman)
“It’s a big day for our offense and for our team to get back on track. For Josh, especially; I thought he kept his cool throughout the game when things didn’t go well, and I think he did a great job on some of those runs that popped. That was all him. He identified and it wasn’t an easy identification. He identified, changed the play and we hit some nice runs. So not only throwing the ball, (but) it’s that hidden stuff that I think he’s really growing in and becoming a complete quarterback. Sure, there are going to be throws he’s going to wish he had back and things he wished he did differently. It’s a slow process, but he’s getting better.”
(On RB Doug Martin’s big reception)
“I think it was really similar stuff. The one pass he caught and made the big gain on, he was not the primary receiver. I thought that was an excellent job of Josh going, ‘1-2-3, okay, I still got him,’ throw the checkdown, and let Doug do the work. (Doug) had a guy right on him and he made him miss; it’s like a 35-yard gain after that.”
(On finishing the game)
“I think it’s important. I promise you we never relax; the (earlier losses this season) we didn’t finish out (and) we have to learn to do that. This is too simple and people don’t want to hear this, but all it is is staying focused on your job and doing it the whole 60 minutes. I thought our guys did that, but you could hear it on the sideline. It was very, very evident: play this whole game. I’m proud of the guys for doing that.”
(On enjoying the win)
“Very rarely are you 38-10 in any league, so that was a nice way to have a little fun with players. We work so hard and I’m always, ‘on to the next thing and on to the next thing.’ I want to make sure when we do something like this, we do enjoy it a little bit. Tomorrow we will watch the tape and be sick about 1,000 things and have to get it fixed. The nice thing about a one o’clock game is that you actually have a couple hours to enjoy it, then we will get back on and get ready for New Orleans.”
(On the receiving corps)
“Just having Vincent (Jackson) out there helps coverage scheme-wise. But I tell you, Mike (Williams) has done some incredible things with body control. I saw it when we first got here and our coaching staff saw it and said, ‘Well let’s see if it happens in a game.’ It’s happening. Five games it has happened. Mike is an incredible weapon. If they are going to try to take away Vincent then just keep going and all of the sudden Mike makes a few, now you start going to Vincent. That’s a nice ham-and-egg there that you can do. We need to make sure we keep doing that. Then Tiquan (Underwood) makes that big play in the slot, great concentration, that’s a big play in that game. We keep growing at that position and Josh keeps growing, that can be real potent.”
QB JOSH FREEMAN
(On the playmaking ability of his receivers)
“Mike (Williams) is a guy that has been (making plays) since his rookie year. Vincent (Jackson) is a guy that we know is going to make those plays. It’s only my first year with him, but, even then, he’s made so many plays for us. Even Tiquan (Underwood) stepped up and made that play that he did. We have all the faith in the world in those guys. When we get a one-on-one matchup, we like to take advantage.”
(On what he expected from WR Vincent Jackson this season)
“We knew the kind of player Vincent was. You know he’s going to go out and make plays. It’s great to have Vincent, great to have him as a teammate, a fellow captain. He’s a leader and he goes out and he makes play after play on Sundays.”
(On WR Mike Williams’ 62-yard touchdown reception)
“He makes those catches. If you have one-on-one with a DB you just give him a high ball, give him a chance. I can’t say I’ve ever seen or played with a guy with the ball skills like Mike Williams. It doesn’t really matter where you put it, he’s going to find a way to make a play on it.”
(On putting the game away in the fourth quarter)
“I thought it was great to come out and see how we ran the football. I mean, Doug (Martin), LeGarrette (Blount), and the whole offensive line were at their best when we really needed it at the end of the game.”
(On bouncing back from his early interception)
“You can’t let a negative play or a really positive play affect how you approach each snap. You’re going to throw interceptions, it’s the National Football League, but you can’t buy into the, ‘Oh, you threw a pick, now the rest of the game is downhill.’ You just have to play it one play at a time.”
(On how big of a win this is for him personally)
“Nothing anybody says outside of our building has any effect on us. People will say they want to throw the ball deep or they want to run the ball, but we know who we are and you just have to continue to work, continue to prepare like we’ve been preparing, then go out on Sundays and just play. We’ve got the talent, we’ve got the pieces, we just have to go out and play.”
S RONDE BARBER
(On the victory)
“The win is what we want. I think everybody had a little bitter feeling going into the bye week after three straight losses. It wasn’t that we weren’t playing hard, it (was) just that none of our hard work was reaping any rewards for us. We all went in (to this game) with a purpose, came out with a purpose, had a good plan and executed very well, got some turnovers, and won a good football game.”
(On his 78-yard interception return for a touchdown)
“Just two slants, (and) I was covering the inside slant. EJ (Biggers) actually made a great play; he’s gotten the assist on a couple of my interceptions the last couple of years. Give him more credit than me, I just snatched it off the ground before it hit, and then it was a pretty easy 78-yard run from there.”
(On being a statement game)
“We’re not trying to make any statements; we are playing one week at a time. This is our Kansas City season, as Coach (Schiano) likes to say, and we won that one. We’ll look at it tomorrow; see the good things, obviously some bad things in there as well. Get ready for the next season. We’re not gloating – just like we didn’t pout when we lost those other games – we just keep going to work.”
S MARK BARRON
(On his interception)
“I was excited about it. I actually wanted to score with it, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t get my balance and get my head up, but I was happy with it.”
(On being a rookie)
“I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable with each game I play. That’s going to help me out a great deal, because once I get comfortable, I can play faster, so hopefully I just keep getting better and better as the season goes on.”
(On slowing down Kansas City’s running game)
“It was just execution. Everybody communicated, everybody was on the same page, everybody did their job, and when we execute, we can play like that.”
WR MIKE WILLIAMS
(On his touchdown reception in the first quarter)
“It was just called ‘double go.’ I told Josh, we knew they were going to give us single-high man press coverage. We [have] been saying all week that it’s disrespect towards us. They [are] both good corners, but we still think that’s disrespect towards a receiver when you play single-high man coverage and he [Josh Freeman] called double go and he threw it up.”
(On catching the ball at its highest point)
“That’s just like I’ve been saying my whole career. Every time somebody asks me, man, just put it in the air. I’m not going to fail you, because it’s either going to be incomplete or it’s mine.”
(On his relationship with WR Vincent Jackson)
“It started throughout training camp, us gelling together, us working together. Us realizing both of our strengths and weaknesses [so] that we can go out here and do some damage to some corners out here with some defenses if we work together, and that’s what we’ve been trying to do.”
(On Jackson as a teammate)
“It’s great, man. They couldn’t have brought in anybody better. It’s outstanding, I’m glad they got him. He’s an awesome teammate. I hope we play a lot more years with him. He helps me after practice, before practice, before games, in the film room. He changed my game a lot by meeting the mental aspect of the game.”
RB DOUG MARTIN
(On the victory)
“To come out with a victory is awesome. It feels good; we did a good job on special teams, defense, and offense. It was a full team effort.”
(On his long runs)
“The line did a good job on staying on blocks and finishing guys and the holes opened up and sometimes I did my job and made the guy miss. Overall, the offense was just clicking.”
(On G Jamon Meredith)
“He stepped in and played very well. He had a good practice and he’s doing an awesome job. He did a good job staying on blocks and staying low.”
WR TIQUAN UNDERWOOD
(On his 62-yard reception)
“It was a great play by the defender, he got inside and had a great PBU (pass break-up) but fortunately enough, the ball bounced where I could still catch it. I just had good concentration and just tried to make a play for our offense.”
(On the offense)
“Coming into it we knew these guys played a lot of man (coverage) and rightly so, they got some great corners on the outside in (Brandon) Flowers and (Stanford) Routt. Guys stepped up and just made plays today. Josh (Freeman) put the ball where it needed to be and we were executing pretty well throughout the day.”
(On what the offense did well today)
“We know as an offense that, when we’re balanced, we’re pretty tough to stop, and we did that today. We just executed pretty well and the defense helped out giving us the ball. We’re just going to build on top of this victory.”
WR VINCENT JACKSON
(On the offense)
“That’s the way we play, you know what I mean. We are going to take our shots each and every week. You know if we got a one on one matchup we are going to be aggressive. We always talk about being aggressive toward the ball. We may not make every play but we’re going to fight for it and we’ll win our share of battles out there.”
(On his relationship with WR Mike Williams)
“It’s been great. You know, Mike (Williams) has been a professional. He jumped in when I started with the team in March and we came in, sat down and talked, and our relationship has been great. He’s a hard working kid, he wants to be great. We come out each and every day, we make sure we work hard and make each other better. With a guy like Josh there’s no room but to improve and sky’s the limit for us.”
(On how he has helped Williams)
“Probably just focusing on daily routines. Just each and every day, and each and every practice, focus on the small details of your game, whether it’s releases or block-ins, just trying to be a complete receiver.”
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
ROMEO CRENNEL
(Opening remarks)
“We are disappointed about the way we played today and the final outcome. I don’t understand why we played the way we played. We were still in it at half time, but we came out in the second half and couldn’t get anything done. At this point if we keep turning the ball over, keep getting penalties and keep giving up scores like we did on defense, it’s going to be hard to win games. So we got to go see what we can do to try and fix it and that’s all that we can do. We will try to work on it and try to get it fixed, but it was disappointing today, the way we executed. It was not the quarterback’s fault; he came in and he wasn’t as sharp as he would have been if he had plenty of reps, but he wasn’t the cause of it. It was a team effort that screwed things up and we got to fix it as a team.”
(On Tampa Bay S Ronde Barber’s interception)
“We thought that it hit the ground and then bounced up and he caught it, but they couldn’t tell definitely on the replay, so they ruled it as a touchdown.”
(On today’s game)
“We couldn’t make the plays today. That hurt us, but when the talent does what it’s supposed to do, then they perform pretty good. When we don’t do what we are supposed to do, then it hurts us and it hurt us today.”
(On the team’s performance)
“Well, we didn’t take a step forward, you can’t say that. Like I said, until we tighten up the penalties and tighten up the turnovers and execute the way we are supposed to execute, it will be tough.”
(On QB Brady Quinn’s interceptions)
I thought he commanded (the offense) pretty nicely. He wasn’t as sharp with some of his throws as he needs to be. But, like I said, it wasn’t his fault, it was a team thing and everyone was involved in it.”
(On the Kansas City run game)
“The (Tampa Bay) defense made it tougher. But that doesn’t mean we are not going to run the ball, because they are a pretty good run defense. You’ve got to attempt to run and there were some spots we thought we could gain some yards and we weren’t able to gain the yards we felt we could gain.”
QB BRADY QUINN
(Opening remarks)
“Going into today, we felt extremely confident. We knew the task at hand in regard to the running game and (that Tampa Bay) did well at stopping the run. We needed to utilize more outside, which we did at times, but, overall, there wasn’t enough consistency. We continued to stall out and shoot ourselves in the foot. There were, again, turnovers that continue to plague us or penalties.”
(On Tampa Bay S Ronde Barber’s interception)
“I got hit on the play, but thought I put the ball in a good spot. All of the sudden, I looked up and saw him running. It was a tremendous play on his part, and I couldn’t tell on the replay. From my point of view it hit the ground, but he made a great play.”
(On keeping team morale high)
“For me personally, it is going to come down to my faith and belief in each other and ourselves. We put in a lot of work and I think the hardest thing for us right now is when you see plays like (Barber’s interception), where you see a (opportunity) and then it turns into a big play for the other team. At some point the luck is going to turn our way and I think we need to keep believing in ourselves and the tides are going to turn. We’re going to get a win and get on a roll. So it is just a matter of getting that win, getting that feeling again and then moving forward.”
(On the season)
“We’re at where we are at. We can only control each day, one day at a time. I think if we continue to work hard, continue to go to the drawing board, try to do the things we do best, and be competitive, I think we can be a good team. But we can’t continue to stop ourselves. Hats off to Tampa Bay, they played a good game, but we can’t continue to do things that are stopping us out there on the field.”
(On what to continue working on)
“Hopefully we’ll be able to find some things that we can lean on in tough times or tough parts of the game – that’s our go-to, whether it’s an offensive play call or coverage. We just have to find some things that we do best, continue to execute that and find a way to get a win.”
LB EDGAR JONES
(On his touchdown)
“I was surprised. Once I saw (Tampa Bay P Michael Koenen) pick the ball up in the end zone, he looked as if he was running the ball, but he just kind of looked at me and threw it. So, I’ll take it. They had guys downfield. I was even downfield. I was trying to block my guy, but the only reason I turned around was because I heard the fans. So, I turned around and I was thinking he’s just going to run the ball but he just threw the ball to me.”
(On the game)
“All we can do is keep fighting. A crazy day, but that’s the game of football. A lot of things happen. Some things we can control, some things we can’t control. But we just have to keep taking it one day at a time and focus on what we can do to make ourselves better.”
LB DERRICK JOHNSON
(On the overall team performance)
“We didn’t perform well at all. Hopefully we can bounce back. We had won one game; they had won one game. It could’ve been a lot better of a game than it was.”
(On what needs to be improved)
“In general, we just have to play better overall. We were just messing up in everything and we’re not playing like a very good football team right now. So, we got to make changes real soon.”
(On Tampa Bay’s performance)
“They just made more plays than we did. That’s all. They didn’t do anything different than what we had prepared for. They just made more plays. They wanted it more.”
S KENDRICK LEWIS
(On what happened in the second half)
“I can’t tell you what the exact problem is. I’ll just tell you that we have to get better. We’ve got to learn how to play defense for four quarters no matter how the game is going and that’s the bottom line.”
(On how he felt)
“I wouldn’t have gone out there if I didn’t feel comfortable. I put my best foot forward and did what I had to do. There are still some things that we need to correct, need to concentrate on to make ourselves better as a team, and that’s all it’s about, looking at each individual and trying to better ourselves.”
(On the upcoming bye week)
“It’s good. At a time like this we need it. It could not have come at a better time, even though we planned on coming in here and getting a win. Now, we can sit back and reevaluate ourselves and know how to attack the second half of the season.”
WR DEXTER MCCLUSTER
(On the Barber interception)
“It’s just one of those things that happens one (time) in a million and that was the one.”
(On the bounces going against his team lately)
“They’re definitely not going our way. It has been happening to us and there’s nothing we can do about it but just keep fighting. We just hope it will start going in our favor now.”
(On playing in front of friends and family)
“At the end of the day I am home and they did come to support me, but the mission was to come out here and get a win. I’m happy they’re here, they were able to see me, they rarely have the opportunity to, but we didn’t get the win so that’s kind of disappointing.”
CB STANFORD ROUTT
(On the game)
“It’s football, you know what I mean? It is what it is. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you never get down on yourself. It happens. Sometimes you got to go and tip your hat to the other guy.”
(On the season thus far)
“It’s always sunny because there is always another day. We only have one win right now and we have to get our second one. I know the season is not lost.”
DE JAMAL CHARLES
(On the Kansas City running game)
“(Tampa Bay) had a great game plan on trying to stop our run. They were coming for some of them.”
(On the game plan)
“We feel like if we would have stayed in the game plan, feel like we would have got a better chance to win.”
October 15th, 2012 at 12:17 am
hey Joe do you know what the link is to watch the full bucs game on nfl.com i cant seem to find it.
October 15th, 2012 at 12:47 am
Go BUCS!!!!
October 15th, 2012 at 3:18 am
Joe, really like the format of this article, hopefully this will become a post game staple article in the future.
October 15th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Any Koenen quotes about his passing prowess?
October 15th, 2012 at 10:13 am
I actually saw the Little General smile when the goofy bastard realized that he won a NFL game. First time it happened he looked like he was in shock.