OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR LIAM COEN

(On avoiding turnovers)

"That was the key going into that game. [The Dallas Cowboys] hadn't really turned it over much. Going into that atmosphere, obviously understanding what the ramifications are of the game, you're not trying to play tight, but you're also knowing that minor mistakes or major mistakes could hurt the team. I thought [Baker Mayfield] did a pretty good job overall of taking care of the ball, and then the one in the end zone, everybody is [gesturing touchdown] and then you come out of it and it's going the other way. That was a critical time in the game, obviously. There was about six minutes and 40 seconds left or so, and we don't score, then the next drive, the defense has the interception in their hands, and they don't get that one and then we end up, obviously, fumbling at the end of the game when we just needed a field goal to go win it. Yeah, extremely disappointing to turn the ball over as much as we have. It's something that's going to take a long, hard look in the offseason."

(On if he would have rather had QB Baker Mayfield take the sack on Tampa Bay's last offensive play against the Cowboys)

"I think maybe we might have had an opportunity to potentially throw it away. They did a good job of bringing a pressure that they hadn't given us all game. In his defense, I don't think he saw the nickel pressuring in that situation where you hope you can just maybe get the ball out of bounds to the left side, or the concept started over there. He saw that it was somewhat covered over there, he went to come back right and there was a guy in his face. That's a good scheme by them. We probably just need to [have our] internal clock [say], 'Hey, maybe just make a play and get it out of bounds and play second-down-and-10.' He's going to compete to the end, which I appreciate and wouldn't want it many other ways. It didn't bounce our way."

(On if QB Baker Mayfield needs to throw the ball away more than he does)

"It's hard for me to tell him what to do when he's playing. I've never really gotten into that with a quarterback, in terms of forcing that down their throat because I'm not the one playing the game. We can educate, we can talk through scenarios, show different scenarios around the league and talk through them…At the end of the day, that's not why we lost the game."

(On if there is a common thread to the team's turnovers)

"I think you look at that last play and you say maybe ball security might be a little bit of an issue there where [Rachaad White] is trying to make a play in what we would call almost desperation time. It was an off schedule, scramble-ish-type play where [Baker Mayfield] gets it to [White], he's fighting for extra yards, the ball is out here and he never gets it back into his body. We practice ball security, we talk about it, it's part of our core fundamental values on offense, and right now it's not showing up."

(On if he is looking forward to WR Jalen McMillan being able to have a full year in the NFL strength and conditioning program under his belt)

"Yeah, yeah, that's kind of been a discussion since we drafted him – saying, 'Hey, how do we get you to be as physically strong going into this thing?' Knowing how long this season is, what it does, especially to rookies at a young age coming in [with] how long it is and how grueling these things are on these guys. [It will be a] big offseason project, for sure. He understands that – he's echoed that. Not just because of that one play, just in general, I think it will help him moving forward, for sure."

(On the decision to run the ball more following the team's opening possession)

"It was more like a couple of times when Micah [Parsons] came out, we were trying to take a couple of opportunities when he was out of the game. We got a couple of penalties on some of those, which, at the end of the day, hurt us. The second play of the game, I believe, we had a run called, Baker [Mayfield] checked out of it to throw it and we ended up getting a hold, I believe, on the second play of the game…That wasn't ideal. We go for it on fourth down and had the guy open but [we] don't catch it and that was our first drive of the game. We knew we wanted to run the football; we didn't want to throw it as many times as it became that kind of game. When you're down 20-3, you might need to throw it a little bit to get involved and that's just kind of the way the game went."

(On if there's a greater sense of urgency this week)

"I thought we had a really good week of practice even last week – going into last week. I mean, I think we've had five good weeks of practice, honestly. I think [Head Coach] Todd [Bowles] does a really good job of letting these guys understand what is at stake without it being like an insurmountable task. He brings it up, we talk about it, but these guys are mature enough, obviously they're grown enough, to understand what is at stake and that we don't have a lot of wiggle room anymore."

(On which players need to step up over the final stretch)

"I think Ryan Miller will step up into one of those roles there. Obviously, every time he's called upon, has made some plays and plays hard and does what we ask him to do…He's made some plays. You hope Kam Johnson continues to progress, hopefully. Then, those other guys: 'Rock' (Rakim Jarrett) and Trey [Palmer] – Trey made a big catch on the over route later in the game. Really, the core needs to continue to step up and help Mike [Evans] out in some ways, and they've done that. They've played better. We had a couple of balls hit our hands last week and didn't make those plays, which we need to make."

(On being able to interchange different running backs in a two-minute drill)

"I would have obviously liked to get [Bucky Irving] more touches with how good he is. It was more of a throw, hand it off to keep them honest type of thing…It wasn't really a 'Alright, hey, we're huddle-calling designed plays at that moment.' The screen game…We were hitting some screens, we had some, but the way the thing was going, was just very much pass heavy and we, at the time, felt better about Rachaad [White] being in there for protection, check downs, he makes people miss in space, he's our best protector…We definitely want to get Bucky [Irving] more touches and carries as we go, for sure."

(On his pre-game talks with Tom Brady when Brady has called Buccaneers games on FOX)

"[Buccaneers Chief Communications Officer] Nelson [Luis] gave me one of the best gifts I've ever had, which was a signed picture of he and I together. That means more to me than he probably knows. Just listening to somebody's experiences and learning from him – even in those short conversations, you can learn so much just from the way he attacks things, the way he approaches the game, how he sees things…You can learn from anybody. It's like talking to another coach, essentially. Yeah, I love having those conversations from a fan [perspective] but also from a coach [perspective] and trying to gather information as much as possible. [He has been] super supportive so far and really wants to see us do as well as possible."

(On Brady being complimentary of Coen's work)

"Yeah, that is pretty cool. You always want to put the best product out on the field, for sure. To have somebody that, obviously, you looked up to as a kid, acknowledge that work, I guess you could say, and appreciate kind of what we're doing…That's pretty cool."

(On what he learned about the Panthers in their first meeting of the season)

"I think, just, their coverage structures and some of the different things – the nuances, how do we really want to try and go at it? I think, obviously, we ran it pretty well the first time around. Some of their coverages got us a little bit in some instances with the quarterback and the reads and just trying to define some of those a little bit more. We really dove a little bit more into how they're playing us maybe different than some other teams in some ways. I think we really did a better job this week – or, not a better job, but when you play somebody the first time, you get a little bit of an opportunity to study it more, see it, dive into it…I think we have a little bit better of an idea of maybe some of the things that are going on out there and maybe how they want to play us a little bit differently than some other teams."

(On Carolina's red zone defense in the first meeting)

"Yeah, they played a little bit more post middle safety there and played a little softer. They've always kind of dared you to say are you going to run it in? That's what a lot of people are doing now, where they're playing a little bit softer in the back end and still trying to fit a safety in a little bit later in the down…Trying to say you're going to run the ball into the end zone. Points are going to be at a premium, especially this week, and we've got to start fast."

(On TE Payne Durham's extended playing time against the Cowboys)

"I think Payne did some nice things. I think he's always really locked into what we're trying to do – very attentive, detail-oriented, plays hard…I think he needs to continue to play with a little bit lower pad level because he is such a tall guy, he has a hard time, at times, playing with low pads and getting underneath himself and playing from an athletic position. I thought he did some nice things and can continue to grow from this experience and continue to get more reps as we go, knowing that he's probably, most likely, going to be the 'Y' [receiver] moving forward."

(On the importance of starting fast as the Buccaneers are 8-1 when they score first)

"It's telling, I guess you could say…We always talk about starting fast – always. That doesn't mean the game is over because we didn't start fast. I don't think our players feel that way, but it certainly, I guess you could say, looks that way on paper. I don't think that's the way it is. That game got a little bit funky. We go down, they score, we go down, fourth down, drop a pass, don't score…It was just one of those games. I've got to credit Dallas for some of the things they did against us. We obviously didn't coach or play our best football. That's been the case, I guess you could say, but it's not something that I don't think we feel as a group or anybody panics when that occurs. It's just one of those things that's kind of occurred this year. It's definitely something that we can continue to kind of hammer home with the guys and continue to be just a little bit more accountable to and diligent towards that process. If we don't score first and they do, what happens? Keep playing. Keep playing the next play, see what happens, and play your tail off until the whistle blows at the end of the game."

DEFENSIVE LINE/RUN GAME COORDINATOR KACY RODGERS

(On being 8-1 when the team is the first to score this season and 0-6 when not)

"Every time, they say you want to start fast so that's a perfect example of why you want to start fast. To me, it's a fluky stat. I'm glad you said that. I didn't know that. It's hard to wrap your finger around that one."

(On S Christian Izien being placed on Injured Reserve and how valuable he's been to the defense)

"We were just talking about it in the hallway – you're talking about a guy that plays nickel, plays safety [and] if you remember early in the year, he finished a game at corner[back] so he wore a lot of hats for us. To lose him, we just have to somebody else step up but he has been invaluable for us – the things we asked him to do and the different complexity of our defense and he had three different spots. That's a lot."

(On NT Vita Vea's play this season and the tackle he had on third down against the Cowboys)

"That was huge. [We're] still talking about that play. We talked about it in the offseason – when he came back, his weight was under control, he was a different guy. Since Calijah [Kancey] got here, his leadership level has grown because he's kind of taken [Kancey] under his wing and they're kind of two peas in a pod. Just to see the growth with Vita, because this is my sixth year working with him since I walked in the door and you see him from this stage go to [that] stage as a leader. He's the type of guy that really [doesn't] say a lot but you know he's coming to the game with you on Sunday and I couldn't say enough about the guy. We kind of talked about it this preseason, but in order for us to do anything, he has to make plays. You didn't expect him to be drop off No. 3 or making a tackle on No. 2 over there – that's probably asking a lot but [those are] the kind of plays we expect him to make."

(On what he's seen from LB Vi Jones and LB Antonio Grier Jr.)

"When you talk about Vi, first you talk about the athleticism that you can see, the traits that you want to develop and then Grier Jr. – he's been running [scout] team for us. That is just his instinctiveness. You have two young, ascending players that you kind of see getting better and better every day. We try not to throw too much on them or put them in situations but sometimes, necessity might force our hand a little bit. Both of [them] are rising players definitely."

(On what has helped the defense have success against the run)

"Once we got to the Bye, we figured out what we can do. We've always kind of hung our hat on being able to do that so we said, 'We have to get back to doing that. If we can kind of try to limit this, we can attack that.' Every team has weaknesses, so we try to make this a positive [and] then we're able to do [that]. Plus, the guys really bought in. It would be different if I was walking in saying they were just whooping us physically – we would have a misfit here, a missed tackle there, then it was all very explosive. Not that that was good, but that was a lot [better] than sitting here [saying] they physically whooped us and there's nothing that we could do – now we have a problem. I think everyone is buying in and we're all accountable, so we all have to be exactly where [we're supposed to be], and that helped us. We are a lot better when we make teams one dimensional."

(On missing S Antoine Winfield Jr. over big stretches of games this season and how it impacts the defense)

"You're probably talking about if we were sitting here this time last year, Winfield Jr. [was] probably the No. 1 player on our defense last year. The playmaking ability – what did he have? Five, six sacks, caused fumbles, two game-saving touchdown plays I remember – so you lose that, and then when you get him back, he's trying to get back up to speed and then we lose him again. [It's] just tough because you're right – the next man is up but the next man is not necessarily Antoine Winfield Jr., so that's the battle you have to [face]. Now you have an injury here, you have to rob Peter to pay Paul in so many ways and that's kind of the juggling match we're facing right now."

(On the biggest takeaways from the Panthers offense after the last game against them)

"We know going into this game that they look back at it and [we're] trying to see how they saw it. Well, they're looking at it as a game maybe they had a good chance to win. They missed a couple of field goals, fumbled at the end. They're coming here like, 'We should have beat them the last time. Here we come.' And you look at their last Arizona game, I think they ran the ball 36 times for 243 [yards]. When we spoke to the defense on Tuesday, this is the ideal blueprint you would think they would want to play. They ran the ball, averaged almost six yards a carry, six explosive runs. You're managing a young quarterback so you give him a running game, now it opens every thing up. Now the problem is he played a major role in the running game because he had about 80 yards rushing of that himself. Their recipe that they showed against Arizona is really very indicative of how we think they want to play and how we feel like they will attack us."

(On Panthers QB Bryce Young starting to come into his own and having a good game against Arizona in Week 16)

"It all worked together because the rushing – you know, we just watched him again as a [defensive] line group and they… There was one series [where] he had a 34-yard run and two plays later [he] had a 23-yard [run] so he had 57 yards rushing on two plays in the same drive. That's just taking pressure off him because he knows he can make plays with his legs if it isn't there on the throw, then he has a really good tailback behind him. Offensive line, they spent a lot of money on so it's kind of coming together for them."

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