OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DAVE CANALES

(On if he thinks the offensive line is starting to display continuity)

"Absolutely. Again, it's a great opportunity to talk about 'Goodie' (Harold Goodwin) and Joe [Gilbert] and the job they've done with those guys. Luke [Goedeke] going over to another spot which he played before in the past, Tristan [Wirfs] flipping on the other side. There's a lot of different analogies you can think of – trying to use your left hand to brush your teeth, for example. It's a really cool thing to see them come together, to see Cody [Mauch] develop, to see [Robert] Hainsey really get a full season of work to see all the things he needed to see. [Aaron] Stinnie of course had some playing time in the past, but that chemistry has been huge. I've just seen them stick to the fundamentals and focus on the basics of their play. That's what's really come along for us."

(On if the offensive line started performing well once LG Aaron Stinnie was inserted)

"He's a part of it, for sure. I think [Matt] Feiler was doing a really good job for us in there. I felt like he and Tristan had some really good chemistry on the backside, especially in pass protection – just the experience that those guys have. Definitely, Stinnie, his power and the different things that he can do has been a really cool thing that he's added to that line. Again, going back to the chemistry of just hitting those combo [blocks] with Tristan [Wirfs] and with [Robert] Hainsey – those things just get better and better as the season goes on and as we continue to stay committed to trying to find ways to run the ball."

(On what he's learned from Head Coach Todd Bowles)

"Are you trying to get me to cry again up here? That was a one-time deal, okay? We got it out for the year [laughs]. I think I've talked about this before with Coach [Todd] Bowles, is his consistency. I think that I've just watched him – with the ebbs and flows of the season, the roller coaster that this season has been – to watch him just be steady and to be the same guy with the same message to the team, same message to the staff, the same belief. Even through that four-game losing streak, for him to talk to the guys after the games in the locker room and say, 'Guys, if this was an effort problem, I'd be really concerned, but you guys are playing so hard,' and just reaffirming the good parts of what our group means and the character of this team. He kept reaffirming those things and saying, 'However, we've got to work on these fundamental things,' and just going right to it, attacking it, showing it in front of the team so that everybody is accountable to it – coaches included. We all have our things to work on. He just kept it about those things, he didn't make it about these bigger stories or anything like that. He kept it about the ball and that's what I really appreciate about him."

(On potentially having two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher)

"I think it just speaks to the balance of what we're trying to build here. From the first press conference – it's this attacking style of offense that has a run game that's viable, that has play-action plays that come off of it, the screens that come off of it, and then the timing and rhythm of the pass game. It's taken us all season to really get the whole thing working on all cylinders. I think that it's really cool. Again, for me, I just want to build something that we can be proud of. That's where my heart is, to say that we're not a laughing stock – we're not out here just throwing the ball around and doing those things or searching for the next big play. It's something that we can hang our hat on, to say, 'This is our system, this is how we do things, and here's all the stuff that comes off of it.' We're continuing to expand, even now, as we solidify some of the things that we want to be consistent for us. There [are] plays off of plays that are starting to come alive for us. To have that kind of productivity coming out of the quarterback, the skill players that we're trying to get going – to make the focal point of the offense – means that we're doing a great job of putting them in a spot to be successful."

(On if he ever questioned himself during the team's losing streak)

"Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm human. For me, I didn't have a choice but to continue to believe. I didn't have a choice but to say, 'This is what I know.' Again, I've talked about some of the veteran coaches: coach [Nick] Rapone, coach [Kevin] Ross on the defensive side – Todd [Bowles], of course. I've got a bunch of experience on our side [and] Keith Armstrong. These guys who have been through it all – they've been at the highest of heights. All of these guys have Super Bowl rings, and they've been on some really rough teams, too. The consistent part of it is, 'You don't change. You continue to be about the fundamentals, about the ball, about eliminating those pre-snap penalties. About all the simple basic things.' If we can make our focus about daily growth – can we have a great Wednesday? Can we have a great Thursday? Then we can block out all the other pressure – myself included. When I start to get a little discouraged with what's going on here, it's like, 'Okay, forget about all of that. Don't look down the road, just look at this game film. What can we improve on?' That brings us all back to grounded. That puts our feet firmly on the ground and gives us something to really work on. So, for sure, but it was a real test for me, too, as a first-time coordinator, to say, 'Are you going to stay with it? Are you going to be about what you said you were going to be about?' … [I] continue to encourage the group like, 'This is all we have boys, so let's continue to grow that way.'"

(On what would be the most gratifying part of this year if the team were to win the NFC South)

"I think that's a great question. I think there are a lot of angles that you can go [down]. From a family standpoint, my wife and I, she was there at my very first game I coached. It was at Carson High School, I was the head J.V. coach playing Venice High School. We got beat 34-13 and it was the greatest day of my life. I was in my element and I was like, 'This is what I want to do.' She really breathed this vision [into me]. She was like, 'You're really good. You're really good at what you do, you're really good with the players. We can go as far as you want to with that.' To have her backing, she's basically saying, 'If you want to go for it and try to go college and do that, I can help to make that happen. That'll be our dream.' That's a big part of this – our dream to be able to have an offense… We were joking out on the field a little while ago, one of my coaches in Seattle, 'Tater' (Carl Smith)…I always had all these ideas as a young coach. 'Man, I don't think this play is going to work, this guy is going to [do] this or that, or what I would do is this or that.' He'd be like, 'That's great. Go get your own offense.' That was always his final [way of saying], 'Alright, I'm tired of hearing all your ideas. If you want to do that, go get your own offense.' I think that's been so fun for me, to say, 'Okay, this is my offense, this is our offense.' To be able to make it come to life and to have some success doing it is really gratifying. Of course, the other side of it is just the offseason, training camp, the challenges of the middle of our season [and] staying together as a group. I saw a really selfless group of players stay together and not point fingers. I saw a really selfless group of coaches who weren't concerned about blaming other groups or other positions, but a group that just said, 'We all have stuff that we can work on while we're trying to figure out this or that.' For everybody to work together, to be pushing in the same direction, playing meaningful games in December, that'll be a really big part."

(On working for two head coaches who are very different in Pete Carroll and Todd Bowles and if they share any similarities)

"It's all about the ball. They both care about turnovers – creating them and preventing them on offense. The fundamentals of football – effort first. If I could make it simple, high-effort and take care of the ball and play smart. That's the one thing that, coming from Seattle and then being here with Coach [Todd] Bowles, from the minute that we got on the grass against each other in the spring, we were practicing situational football. We were in two-minute situations in different spots – it's game on the line, you've got 20 seconds at the 18-yard line, we're at the 10-yard line with eight seconds, you're at the minus-35[-yard line] with 1:26 and two timeouts. He just kept throwing these really difficult situations at our guys. That challenges me as a play-caller and that of course challenges the defensive guys to get their calls in. I think those are some of the biggest similarities. Of course, consistency of messaging. Pete's messaging in Seattle, the language that we used – the discipline of the language there. Here, with Todd [Bowles], being the spokesperson and the mouthpiece for our vision for our team and being consistent with this language. Those are some of the things that are really impactful for me as a young coach, saying, 'If I ever get a chance to do this, I've got to be really consistent about the messaging and emphasize the things that we care about as we put a team together.'"

(On how important having production from a third wide receiver has been)

"It's huge. It's been Rachaad [White], it's been Cade [Otton], it's been 'D-Mo' (David Moore, Trey Palmer, 'D.T.' (Deven Thompkins) in the first New Orleans game, making some great plays for us there. A lot of guys have been doing their part and their role in what we do and that just makes us really balanced. They have to cover the whole field when those guys come to life."

(On the intensity that OL Luke Goedeke brings to the offense and if he's seen the recent 'Mic'd Up' clip of Goedeke)

"[It was] seven minutes of pure fun to watch that. [Buccaneers] fans, if you haven't had a chance to watch that, please check it out. I think it's great for our attitude and who we want to be. It's about toughness, this game. At the end of the day, it's about these one-on-one matchups. You see a guy who, from snap one until the end, all the way through, he's challenging the guys across him. I think he liked being mic'd up a little bit, too. There's a little showmanship in there that I didn't know he had. It was pretty cool to see."

(On what makes people want to follow QB Baker Mayfield)

"He cares. He cares about his guys. He cares about all of us. He came here and from the jump, he wanted to meet with certain guys and really start to develop the relationship. The chemistry he has with the offensive line – he belongs in that room with those dudes. At the same time, he comes into our QB room and we have a level of conversation in there where we've got to kind of talk about everything. He's got that chameleon effect, where he's able to make his way into any group and be really comfortable in his own skin is a big part of it. And then, [he is] a guy that bets on himself. At the end of the day, he's like, 'Game on the line? I want the ball in my hands. Let's go.' That's his mentality throughout the game. I think that he's done a great job of balancing that with when to try – when to take care of the ball. A sack is not the worst thing in the world. I know we don't like it from a statistical standpoint, looking back at it, but sometimes, taking a sack when they have a clear advantage on a rush or on a blitz…He's made some great decisions for us. That's the kind of ball that's going to take us further. One of the first things we do in the spring is we watch crossover film of all the playoff teams and we watch the quarterback play from a pocket-standpoint, to see how really good playoff quarterbacks manage games [and] know when to try, know when to say uncle and say, 'Okay, we've got a great defense on the other side, let's just keep playing football. We're going to flip the field.' They have that in the back of their minds, so to watch him grow into that and take our team in that direction is another great attribute that Baker brings."

(On if he has a football New Years resolution)

"Honestly, [it is] just day by day. Day by day. If we can continue to focus on having great effort, controlling our attitude, and continuing to improve fundamentally. There is so much stuff every game that we have to grow off of. I guess it's just recommitting to the foundational pieces of what we're about that is going to take us as far as it will. No real big resolutions."

PASS GAME COORDINATOR/INSIDE LINEBACKERS COACH LARRY FOOTE

(On LB Devin White's performance vs. Jacksonville)

"That's the way to come back from [injury]… I think he missed three games. [He] set the tone for the game – great play, great interception. I've been joking with the guys [that] I've finally got one guy in the room that can catch [laughs]. It was a great catch. I looked at it and it was a great play. It got us jumpstarted. Hopefully, we will see more of that going forward."

(On rookie OLB Yaya Diaby improving as the season goes along)

"He's a gamer. You look at his size and his athleticism, so you're not surprised when you see him making those plays. He made a play today on the practice fields that caught everybody's attention. He is getting better. He is in the room with a lot of good guys that know how to play the game. Coach George Edwards is doing a good job with him. He likes to play. You see why he [was] drafted in the third round. It's very encouraging to see going forward, and he's only going to get better."

(On the ups and downs of the 2023 season and what made the turnaround possible)

"Good leadership. You've got to have good leadership in the locker room. It is a typical NFL season. You see it everywhere. I think we lost three in a row this year – you don't want to do that, but ups and downs [happen] during the season. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. You rely on the older guys in the locker room to keep the guys going. You've got to stay confident. Us coaches, we've got to figure out ways to keep those guys locked in, still try to keep punching and see what happens in December. We're sitting good right now – we've just got to finish."

(On the importance of limiting New Orleans Saints WR Chris Olave)

"It's going to be a tough task. One of the plays early in the game, I think [Antoine] Winfield got a fingernail on the ball. We know what type of weapon he is. They've got weapons on that side. I've known that rivalry since I got here. It's just intense. Records are thrown out. It's tough, but this is what you want. Win the division against your opponent at home. It's going to take all hands on deck and it's going to be a challenge for us."

(On CB Zyon McCollum's versatility in the secondary)

"Well, he had the physical traits. We all know that. He's getting better in year two. You can't have enough DBs (defensive backs). You cannot have enough DBs. At the end of the day, experience, I believe, is the best teacher. You can get them on the board all day, you can yell at them, scream at them, but making the mistakes on the field – believe it or not – is better than the coach [saying it]. I always tell the guys, learn from the other guys' mistakes, but definitely experience is the best teacher."

(On the younger guys gaining experience over the course of the season and it being a 'young man's game')

"Don't tell '54' (Lavonte David) that. Do not tell 54 that. He is the oldest man out there, but he's running around. Some people say we give him a break on Friday and that's the reason he's fresher than everybody. Somebody was messing with him the other day like, 'What is he taking?' – after the Jacksonville game when we [saw] some of the coaches. What a leader. Everybody should look towards [him] and try to be and emulate him. He's a pro. I tell guys – not just linebackers – [to] watch him and see what he does. I know it's Pro Bowl voting time, and I don't really put too much into the Pro Bowl, but if he's not All-Pro, shame on us. You guys in the local media – shame on you too, if he's not All-Pro. He's having a tremendous season. He's such a pro. What he does… last week, holding that tight end (Evan Engram) and covering that guy, he did a tremendous job. He's up for the challenge. You guys have been here, you know how talented he is. I wish the whole outside of Tampa [knew] that. He is special and I can't see another linebacker playing better than him right now. He's a good example for the young guys. Everybody should just look at him and try to copy everything he does."

RIGHT TACKLE LUKE GOEDEKE 

(On the mood in the locker room after overcoming a losing streak)  

"I mean, we were never like down or anything, per se, but yeah, the mood has definitely changed. You get a four-game winning streak now, right in the midst of making the playoffs here. Hopefully, [we] win this next game, and then yeah. Definitely, the morale is much higher and everything. We knew what we had to fix, it was just a matter of time until it was all going to click."  

(On if there's a reason why he talks trash during the game) 

"I definitely try to get under guys' skin and everything. I mean at the end of the day, it gets me going as well, it's fun, it's all part of the game, and everything. I'm out there with my brothers, we're out there battling, it all just adds to the experience, and the fun of the game."  

(On him and QB Baker Mayfield calming each other down)  

"He tries to calm me down sometimes. I mean he tries to hold me back a little bit, but I know where the threshold is, and I've never taken it too far yet and I don't plan to."  

(On QB Baker Mayfield being more like an offensive lineman than a quarterback)  

"Yeah absolutely, I feel like he kind of has that poise about him, and just kind of that juice. He kind of has that confidence and aura that he carries, and I love that about him. It's great to block for him and play for him."  

(On his experience transitioning back to right tackle)  

"I feel great. I feel like I have grown over the year, and I'll continue to grow. There is stuff I'm really trying to continue to improve. Going into practice each and every day, I like to try to pick one or two things to really emphasize on in the week, and really try to improve on those things." 

CORNERBACK ZYON MCCOLLUM 

(On the mood in the locker room after overcoming a losing streak)  

"Yeah, winning does fix everything, especially as in mood. There is not really too much difference I [would] say. Like, guys are juiced and have a lot of energy, but we always knew the end goal, and what we had our minds set on. So, to see it start coming together, that gives us a lot more energy. But we still show up to practice every day like it's the first day of camp." 

(On how it feels getting play time and experience in his second year in the NFL) 

"It's everything. It's everything that I wanted. I knew as long as I just keep getting reps, I'm going to get more and more comfortable. To be finally getting those reps, and seeing the game finally start coming together makes me feel really, really confident."  

(On what makes OLB Yaya Diaby and S Antoine Winfield Jr. so special)  

"They show up today, every day with an eager spirit. You can tell these guys really love what they do. They love showing up early in the morning, no matter if it's for a meeting or a practice, they have the same energy that they have on game day. When you have guys at all three levels, the D-line, linebackers, and the safeties, that really care about this game, you can really have an elite defense." 

(On what has surprised him the most about Diaby) 

"How quickly he can get over mistakes. You'll see him make a mistake, but he'll smile about it. He'll just get to the next play, and he'll keep going. He has steady improvement from week to week." 

(On how bouncing from position to position made him a better defensive player) 

"Oh yeah, for sure. For me, knowing all of these different spots, safety, linebacker, corner, nickel, when I line up in one spot I know exactly where my help is because I know where I would be if I was playing those spots. So, it's really just helped me get more and more comfortable with the defense. I can depend on my safeties, and my help a little bit better because I know exactly where they are supposed to be."  

(On if he played safety before last Sunday's game) 

"A little bit in college. As a corner, you know, I go back up there for matchups and stuff, but nothing like I did on Sunday, no."  

-BUCCANEERS-