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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Top 10 Quotes of the Week, Nov. 28

How have the Bucs improved their red zone fortunes? What kind of threat does veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck pose? Those topics and more in our top quotes from One Buc Place this week.

Between the end of their blowout win in Philadelphia and kickoff this coming Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had time to break down their most recent game tape, devise a game plan for the Colts and hone their plays on the practice field. They also found plenty of time to discuss the week's most pressing topics, from the possibility of a Buccaneer playoff run to the team's injury situation.

  • Here are the top 10 things we heard from Buccaneers players and coaches in Week 12 of the 2015 season:*
  1. "Jameis is exceptional, though. Nothing is really surprising me that he's doing. We see him in more and more situations and it seems like each week he shows us something we haven't seen. I think it's going to be that way. [He] is just a good football player. When you are a football junkie like that and you just are constantly working on making adjustments, acknowledging what has happened, what you need to do better, you see results like that."
    - Head Coach Lovie Smith on the steadily improving play of rookie QB Jameis Winston

  1. "I'm not a big statistics guy. Like I said before, if I go out there and do my job and play hard, the stats will come to me, the yards will come, and that's what happened [on Sunday]. I didn't even know I had run for that much until the fourth quarter, so I just let the game come to me."
    - RB Doug Martin on being close to 1,000 rushing yards on the season after his 235-yard day in Philadelphia

  1. "Yeah, I think so, man, I think so. We've been going through a whole lot these past couple years, and now we're in a situation where positive things are happening and we can finally try to take advantage of it. That's the mindset right now. But like I said, we're not looking ahead. We're focused on the right-now. We're going to go out there and start our work for the Colts. At the end of the day, we've still got room for improvement. We've got to keep on going out there and working like we've got a chip on our shoulder, like always. Five-and-five is just five-and-five."
    - LB Lavonte David on if he thinks the 5-5 Buccaneers can be a playoff team this year

  1. "Jameis gave guys a chance to catch the ball. One of our things is give him a chance, give him a chance, give him a chance. Know where you are going, know what the coverage is, use your indicators and then give your guys a chance like on the first fade route to Mike [Evans]. That was pretty well covered…gave him a chance. On the one to [Cameron Brate] in the middle, very well covered, [he] threw it in about the only place he could throw it and we work on that one. The one to Chuck, Charles Sims, [was] borderline dangerous, but he gave him a chance. The one to [Vincent Jackson], a slant route, he threw it on time and he lasered it in there. I'd say more than anything he gave our guys a chance to make the plays and they made them."- Offensive Coordinator Dirk Koetter on how Jameis Winston was able to succeed in the red zone last Sunday

  1. "It's nothing different really. I think it's just a different mentality when you are on the road. When you are home you get the sense of comfort because we have our fans and we have everyone behind us. When you are on the road, Tampa Bay is already viewed as the lower team to everybody so we have a bigger chip on our shoulder going on the road because we know we have to bring our A-game to have to go in somebody else's house and possibly beat them."- QB Jameis Winston on the Bucs' success in road games this year

  1. "We've seen him so many years and it just doesn't seem like he should still be playing, especially playing at that level. Are they doing some things differently than with Andrew Luck? Yeah, some things, but for the most part they're running their offense. As a starting quarterback, Hasselbeck is doing a heck of a job. When you have been in the league that long, there's nothing you haven't seen. There's no new blitz or anything like that. He knows exactly where to go with the ball. For us, we need to be able to get pressure on him and not [have him] be able to sit back there and know exactly where to go with the football."- Smith on facing veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck due to injuries to Colts QB Andrew Luck

  1. "Extremely quick, fast, dangerous once he makes the catch, good with run after the catch – he's a very good player and one that you have to account for every time you line up on defense. We'll have our hands full trying to contain him, but you've got to limit his explosive plays, but he's one of those game-changers for sure. There [are] some good receivers in this league and he's right up there with the best of them."- Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier on trying to contain Indianapolis WR T.Y. Hilton

  1. "I think guys are just kind of tired of [not winning], so I don't think guys are going to let up. We like the feeling we've had the last couple weeks and we just want to keep it going."
    - DT Gerald McCoy on trying to build on the current winning streak

  1. "We're in good shape, though. We have [only] a couple guys that are out and at this time of the year that's a good thing. We're excited about playing, we know what's at stake and we want to see improvements from last week. When we talk about two guys being out for sure right now, you can't beat that. It seems like there's not one position where we're really in a hole, so we're in pretty good shape."- Smith on the health of the team heading into the game in Indianapolis

  1. "Anything is possible. We worked hard since training camp, since OTAs, and definitely it's in our hands."- Winston on the possibility of a Buccaneer playoff run
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