HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On if there is any update on NT Vita Vea's knee injury)

"Yeah. He has an MCL sprain, grade two. Right now, he's day-to-day, but not ruled out."

(On if there are any updates on any of the other injuries)

"Not at the moment, no."

(On how he thinks the defensive tackling went overall, especially late in the game)

"For the most part, I thought it wasn't bad, you know. The 'YAC' (yards after catch) yards were down. They got some, but they didn't get as much as they got last year. It was pretty much catch and getting them on the ground – there were a lot of guys rallying to the football."

(On what contributed to the Lions having 33 plays inside the Tampa Bay 30 yard-line and still only scoring16 points)

"When you're in it, you don't look at it as that, you look at it as you need a stop so, those guys – led by Lavonte [David] – they had great leadership out there. All of them were trying to make plays. They understood what they were seeing, and they were going up after it and making some plays so keeping them out of the end zone was important."

(On how proud he was that the defense was able to hold it together and step up after NT Vita Vea was injured)

"Well, you make this team for a reason. You know, we keep you and you do things that we know you're comfortable doing. We try to put you in those situations and a lot of guys stepped up."

(On what he can say about S Christian Izien)

"Izien is a baller. We knew that last year when we got him. No matter where you put him, if you put him in the game, you're going to see him and he's going to flash and he's going to make some tackles and he's going to make a play."

(On S Tykee Smith being sick leading into the game and S Christian Izien not knowing what role he would play)

"I thought he [Tykee Smith] played well. He played nickel for us. You know, he played a bunch of snaps – almost 60 snaps as well. We call it the 'Michael Jordan Flu Game' for him. He had a bunch of tackles, he made a bunch of plays – I'm sure they're too young to understand that, but you know, I'll break it down to him at another [point]. I thought he played well."

(On the young DBs being smart and versatile and how well they've handled their roles in the first two games)

"They have and [I] didn't want [or] expect to use it that early, but we practice it. We practiced it in the spring, we practiced it in the summer, and they're comfortable out there in their roles – which ever they have to play, and they came through."

(On CB Zyon McCollum's steady improvement)

"Zyon is a very good corner. Coach [Kevin] Ross does a great job with him. The mental part of the game has slowed down for him. He understands where his help is, he understands what he's seeing, he's a heck of an athlete. He wants to get better, he's out there every day before warmup trying to get better and work on things and it's all coming together for him. We think he's a heck of a player."

(On CB Jamel Dean's ability to bounce back after the long catch by Detroit WR Jameson Williams)

"That was great. They got us on a quick snap on the first play of the game, so he was out of position a little bit, but he made the tackle, and he made the play and the ball didn't go over his head after that. He made some very good tackles on the perimeter for us."

(On the defense staying composed when Detroit had potential scoring possessions twice late in the game)

"[We] have some good leaders over there like I said, Lavonte [David], K.J [Britt] led, [Will] Gholston was over there. Yaya [Diaby] as well, Jordan [Whitehead], and those guys – they were determined because we didn't play well in the two minutes last week against Washington when we gave up a touchdown in the waning moments, so we harped on that all this week. They understood the assignment and we closed out the game."

(On what he saw in Tampa Bay's rushing attack on Sunday)

"It was tough sledding. That's a good defense over there. They made life tough for us, safeties came down fast and filled some holes. We have to do a better job of working around that and getting some positive plays."

(On if there is any update on any of the remaining injured players and if they will play this week)

"It's too early to tell right now. I'll know more on Wednesday about them."

(On how he thinks Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen did in his second game with the Buccaneers)

"I thought he did some good things. You know, we made some plays. We'd like to finish out and close out the drive at the end of the game as we grow as an offense, but we had our chances to make some plays. We made some and they made some. You know, we made some key plays that counted. Every game is not going to be smooth and you're not going to be clicking on all cylinders, and you have to grind out some games and play the game the smart way and I thought he did a good job."

(On the defense having to stay on the field for more than 80 snaps)

"We didn't look at it as that. We were caught in the moment just trying to win the ball game. We didn't look at it from a play-count standpoint. After the game, you look at it and say, 'That's a lot of plays,' but those guys are willing to do whatever it takes to win. You don't want to make it like that but early in the year, you have some games like that. [I'm] just glad we won."

SAFETY CHRISTIAN IZIEN

(On what he thinks about the way so many of the starters played big roles in win against Detroit)

"I think it was important just for everybody to play together yesterday, you know, whether you're playing your normal position or playing another position. Trust the preparation we do here throughout the week. We had a lot going on this week [with] Tykee [Smith] being sick, not practicing much, we weren't sure who was playing and who wasn't playing, so just dealing with that [and] staying true to the game plan."

(On what helped the defense have so much success, especially in the redzone)

"We emphasize the redzone. I think last year we were like top five in redzone defense as well. [It's] something that's important to us and bending not breaking, so making teams attempt to kick threes is the most important thing for us. We know if they don't score then we win most games, so just having a good idea of the concepts down there and playing fast on them."

(On playing next to S Jordan Whitehead)

"It was fun. I haven't played with a safety like Jordan [in] my entire career – college and NFL included – so just having someone really similar as far as aggression and energy wise, having him out there with me, it felt like I was playing with another version of myself. [I] had a good time out there with him."

(On his appreciation for a player like LB SirVocea Dennis whose role also requires him to come on and off the field a lot and what it's like playing behind him)

"It's tough. Going from being in college, playing every snap whether it was at nickel or safety to, like you said, going on – running off the field, not getting a complete flow of the game, but me doing that yesterday – it felt great, you know, just having a good feel for him. He did a great job just rallying down, making tackles, being in the right spot. He's always been great in coverage since he's been here. I like playing with somebody like him who can play the run and is really good in the pass as well."

-BUCCANEERS-