BUCCANEERS HEAD COACH GREG SCHIANO POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Talk about the start offensively and defensively. Little rough for you guys, it would seem.
GS: Yeah, I mean we didn't protect the passer very well - three sacks in two series. It's going to be hard to overcome that. Defensively, we got a drive going, it was a longer one and we had snap counts for guys pulling guys off the field as the drive goes. And, we were committed to stick to the plan. We had a lot of good work up here this week and we decided in the calmness of a meeting room that this is how many plays each guy is going to get. So, we were going to stop and we weren't going to just keep doing it. But, whoever goes in the game has got to make the stop. It was like a 17-play drive, that first drive. They shot themselves in the foot a couple times and overcame it, which can't happen. So, overall, you know we didn't come out playing very well to start the game. I thought they, the guys, continued to fight. We missed a few things as well. Again we haven't spent a ton of time game planning or practicing, particular to them. We just kind of went out and practiced against them. We got to play better than we did in the first quarter, that's for sure.
Q: Talk about Doug Martin and how he is.
GS: Well, I think Doug is going to be fine. He got hit in the head, but he cleared really quickly. I saw him at halftime and he was fine. He was going to play one more play and he had five plays, two carries. And that was it, so when he went in, we just said, keep him in.
Q: Anything serious with Anothony Gaitor and Tiquan Underwood?
GS: I don't know, they had to leave the game. So we'll see. Those are all going to be evaluated.
Q: Would you have hoped that maybe Josh Freeman would get the offense clicking? He's been sacked four times now in the first couple games. Is it hard to get the offense going when you've had that much pressure early on in the first two games?
GS: Yeah, I mean, you can't throw when you are getting sacked. I thought the one play he stepped up nicely in the pocket and did what he had to do to keep the play going. And I thought, threw a good ball. How do you judge a guy on 8-play and 6-play performance? Next week he will play more and then we'll get a better picture. I think he has practiced well, with the exception of only a few days. I think he has really practiced well. But, we'll see, it's coming.
Q: We saw Mike James for some extended time tonight. How did you like what he did?
GS: I thought he ran downhill, made some good cuts and made some people miss. So that was promising.
Q: Talk about Da'Quan Bowers and what the plan was for him tonight and how he played.
GS: Well, I don't know how he played. I am not sure. I will have to watch the tape. The plan was to play first, second and third down, and at different times. And he made the play count and we got him out.
Q: Coach, you already said it, but you practiced against these guys this week. So was Tom Brady as sharp as he was during practice? Can you comment on that?
GS: Well, he sure looked good. You know, we messed up a few things and you can't mess up. I mean, if you do things right he may complete the football and, you help him, he is definitely going to complete the football. So we needed to play better to slow them down. But, it was good work for us all week, and good opportunity to play in a game.
Q: Are we going to see a lot of Adrian Clayborn moving to the left side on certain types of plays?
GS: Yeah, you'll see him move back and forth. There will be some of that.
Q: Over these first two games did you hope there would be more pressure on the quarterback?
GS: I don't know. I'm going to have to take a look at it. I think we created some pressure – we're not pressuring much other than four-man – we'll do a little bit. I don't think it's too far over the edge where you sit there and really be – it's not where it's jumping out at you either. Especially in the second half we got more hits on the quarterback which some of those young kids that we think can be promising pass rushers are getting better.
Q: Looking at the game tonight, what did you see that you liked?
GS: I thought that both Peyton Hillis and Mike James ran the ball hard, so obviously when that happens that means the [offensive line] is doing a good job. I thought Mike Glennon played well [and] responded well to the interception – really our goal was to make sure he got a bunch of snaps in these first two games and he has. I think he got maybe 40 in the first game and 50 this game, so that's great – 90 NFL snaps. He got crocked one time and I was anxious to see how he got up and he caught one right between the numbers and popped up. We asked him to do a couple different things managing the game, we created some situations with him, asked him to manipulate the clock a little bit at different times just to see if he could handle it and I thought he did a good job.
Q: How fast is Mike Glennon picking up the offense?
GS: He's picking it up. It's hard for a rookie; it's a lot of stuff and exponentially when you put a defense like New England's that does a lot of stuff – it's 3-4 and it's 4-3 it can kind of get on you. He didn't get a lot of plays in practice that was by the plan. He got some, but Josh was going to get most of the practice and Mike was going to get most of the game and that was the way we wanted to do it.
Q: Defensively were you disappointed with the start of the game?
GS: Disappointed with mistakes, yeah. Had we done our job and still got whooped then that happens – you're playing against a great player and you got whooped. [Mike Glennon] didn't have anything to do with us making a mistake that's the problem.
Mark Barron, Safety
(On the joint practices)
"We came up here and got better and that is the whole point of the preseason, to get better and get more comfortable with things, new teammates. Whatever it may be, as far as playing the game and game situations. I feel we accomplished a lot and it was good to come up. "
(On playing against Tom Brady)
"We did the same thing last year so I knew what he was, and it is pretty much like people say about him, as far as what you see on TV, he is a great quarterback, a smart quarterback. He can make all the throws and he is a great leader. "
(On starting the season)
"I am very excited to start the season. We have new players and new pieces to the puzzle and I am looking forward to it. "
(On the secondary stepping up this season)
"That's the plan. We most definitely don't want to be where we were last season. We have a lot of talent and more depth and I am looking forward to seeing what happens with it. "
Da'Quan Bowers, Defensive End
(On how it is to practice against a team and then play them in a game)
"I thought we had a good week of practice. Those guys are competitive so there was a lot of competing out there. I thought we had a very, very solid week against those guys. I thought we had a decent game, thought we did a lot of good things and there's some things we need to fix so we'll go back to the drawing board tomorrow and get them fixed. "
(On Brady completing his first eleven passes)
"When you watch the way that guy practices, him being 11 for 11 doesn't surprise me. He's a competitor; he likes to get things done the right way. He's the leader of that offense and once he gets going, the rest of those guys get going and they are hard to stop. "
David Douglas, Wide Receiver
(On the touchdown catch)
"Mike *(Glennon) *made a good throw and saw how the defensive back was playing me and he just put it in there. It's just fun, especially when the backups get in there, we get a chance to compete in a close game like that. It was great to make a drive and go down there and score. It is just too bad we didn't come out with a win. "
(On fighting right to the end)
"Everyone is fighting for a spot, and you got to go out there and compete and show them that you want to be out there and you want to play when the games on the line. "
Josh Freeman, Quarterback
(On the rough start)
"It was a couple of things, they ran a couple of pressures, and got some match ups on our backs early. We just have to find a way to overcome that. We took a sack on the first play; we were able to get it down. The first third down conversion we got to find a way to make it happen. Whether it's the throw the catch whatever it is. Moving forward just finding a way to get the ball up quicker. We've got to find a way to get everyone involved. I'm excited about this next coming week, we are going to get a majority of the game, and that will get us back in the groove. I thought the young guys stepped up and played well. A lot of guys stepped up and made plays tonight. I thought overall the guys came out and battled to the end. We knew it was going to be a physical game and Coach challenged us to play physical.
Dashon Goldson, Safety
(On the trip)
"It was worthwhile. We got a lot of good looks. They are a good football team and it definitely helped out. "
(On Tom Brady)
"Oh man, Brady is Brady. He is a good quarterback, phenomenal. He knows what he is doing. He is a smart football player and a lot of people say he is a great teammate. You definitely want to go out there and compete every time, especially when you go against a caliber team like this. It gets the best out of you. It was great practicing against them. "
Mike James, Running Back
(On the running game)
"We just found our holes and tried to make our money where we could. We gave it our best shot and took advantage of our opportunities. "
(On his contribution in the passing game)
"Coach Sullivan was calling some great plays and the quarterbacks found some opportunities against the defense. I was able to get an opportunity to catch the ball out in the open and do some things out there. It was a great opportunity and I'm thankful for it. "
Donald Penn, Offensive Tackle
(On the time in New England)
"Being ready to go home is an understatement but we got some good work done here. We went up against a good team. "
(On the game)
"We didn't play as well as we wanted today, at least the first group on offense. But it was great work. We were going against a good team and a great coach. We lost, I wish we would have played better, and I am talking about the first group as a whole. We could have played better today. But we got a lot of good work and they have a lot of good players. They have a lot of good players on defense so we got a lot of good work against those guys. It was helpful for us. "
(On the Patriots defensive line)
"They are pretty good. It speaks for itself. We got some good work against a quality defensive line. We have a quality defensive line too, but we go against them every day. It was good to go against someone new and different. They have a good defense over there, my hat is off to them. "
Eric Page, Wide Receiver
(On returning the ball)
"Tonight I had a touchback and one that I kind of danced. But kickoffs there is always a chance to run it back and make something happen. I think it is a little easier to get something going on kickoff returns than punts. I focused on both of them. "
