Mike Gesicki – October 10, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Postgame – Tampa Bay
TE Mike Gesicki
(The offense was able to generate some downfield plays today. What did you think were the reasons that came to fruition?) – “Repetitions in practice, taking chances out there and then guys going out and making plays. We got enough guys to go out there and make plays. I think we were able to showcase it here and there throughout the course of the game.”
(What can you say about QB Jacoby Brissett’s toughness? I’ve never seen a guy leave on a golf cart and come back on a golf cart before. I don’t know if you have.) – “Yeah, I mean I’ve been saying that since he stepped in against Buffalo. He’s done a phenomenal job just being tough back there, keeping plays alive with his feet, getting knocked down and getting back up and being a leader and a fighter for us.”
(You guys got to 10 wins last year. You’re 1-4 right now. What’s the belief that you can get back to double-digit wins?) – “Take it one day at a time. I don’t think there’s any negativity in our locker room. I think there’s a lot of guys wanting to improve, guys wanting to get better. Nobody sets their sights on 10 wins or nine wins or 11 wins or whatever. That’s what you guys can talk about, but that’s not what we’re interested in. We’re one day at a time.”
(In terms of this offense, obviously a lot of hope is when QB Tua Tagovailoa comes back that everything will be basically fixed. How much of that is a reality in terms of things that you guys can work on?) – “I don’t think that it’s a one-guy thing. I think it’s 11 guys out there so we all got to come together and do our jobs and make plays when our opportunities present themselves. It doesn’t matter who’s back there. I think it’s a lot more than just one person and one guy. It’s collectively a unit and a team.”
Raekwon Davis – October 10, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Postgame – Tampa Bay
DT Raekwon Davis
(How did it feel to be back out there after missing three games?) – “It was fun. It was fun being back with the fellas.”
(What specifically were you hoping to show in your first game out? Moving forward, how do you feel heading into next weekend?) – “Just come in, try to get back in that rhythm. Try to get going, get that little rust off. That was about it. Help the team in the best way I could.”
(Coming from Alabama, you guys won so many games. Have you ever been a part of a four-game losing streak?) – “Unfortunately no, I haven’t.”
(So now you’re here, how do you help turn it around?) – “Bring the team together. Try to get everybody on the same board, same mission. Try to turn things around. Do the best you can.”
(What was it watching three weeks in row when especially when the run defense struggled all those weeks?) – “I don’t feel like they struggled. Other opponents, they get paid too. They get paid the same. There are more good teams out there. It’s football. It’s the NFL.”
(You get to see QB Tom Brady on the field, what makes him so good from your eyes and what you see in the trenches?) – “He gets the ball out fast. He’s quick, he reads coverage real nice and he just gets the ball out fast.”
(Does that ever get frustrating? Playing against a quarterback with a quick release like that?) – “Yeah. Yeah.”
Preston Williams – October 10, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Postgame – Tampa Bay
WR Preston Williams
(Obviously this was your most extensive playing time since the injury. How did you feel it went and I know the result wasn’t what you wanted but how did you feel your contribution was?) – “I felt pretty good. You never feel as good when you lose. Still feel like I have to get better so I’m just going to go back to the drawing board, watch film and fix up my mistakes that I made in the game.”
(That first catch, the toe-tap on the sideline, how much did that help you confidence-wise just right out of the gate to have a play like that?) – “We practice stuff like that at practice individuals with ‘Coach Grizz’ (Josh Grizzard), work sideline catches, toe-taps, foot drags and all that stuff. Its’s just practice.”
(Did you think they might overturn it?) – “No, I felt confident in the catch. We work that stuff.”
(So you were in bounds?) – “Yeah, I was in bounds.”
(What was your mindset once you found out WR DeVante wasn’t going to be available today?) – “We always got the mindset that anybody can go down at any time. Just be ready to pop in wherever. Some people get put in positions where they haven’t played. Just have to know your playbook and be ready.”
(You have this confidence about yourself. Where do you think the confidence is with the team and you guys can turn this around?) – “I think it’s still there. We’re a good team that I feel. I rock with my brothers till the end.”
(What was it like believing that you could contribute to the team, help the offense and not having that opportunity in comparison to today when you get the opportunity? Can you talk to me about the contrast?) – “Coach always talks about just next man up because usually you never know. We got COVID that can take people out. You can wake up one morning, be in that and not be playing. I just stay ready so I don’t have to get ready.”
Jerome Baker – October 10, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Postgame – Tampa Bay
LB Jerome Baker
(What do you see as the biggest problem with the defense? A lot of you guys haven’t been able the success from last year to this year.) – “That’s a hard question to ask. It comes down to just execution. We are not executing at all. That’s the main thing.”
(How good is this Bucs offense?) – “They’re talented, definitely. They have all the weapons. They have the o-line. They were just playing complementary football today. They were running the ball, passing the ball, they just did it all.”
(What was the most surprising thing about today’s game?) – “I don’t know. Just how much we didn’t execute. I think that was the main thing. Just the mistakes we made, that was the most surprising thing I guess you could say.”
(I know it’s still early in the season but how do you guys get the mojo back? How do you get this going in the right direction?) – “It sounds simple, but take it one day at a time. Come in tomorrow, look at the film, see where we made mistakes at and take it one practice at a time and just turn it in one play at a time, one game at a time. Kind of just have to lock in and get that focus back.”
(We’ve heard from TE Mike Gesicki a few minutes ago and he said there’s no negativity in the locker room. What’s the challenge of keeping that negativity out of the locker room especially when as you guys say, you practice well and it just doesn’t translate on game day?) – “The challenge? It’s hard. At the end of the day, it’s hard. It’s just hard at the end of the day. That’s where the leaders come in, that’s where we believe in ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and that’s where you look at guys that really lead this team and you just got to believe. That’s the main thing. You just got to come in, get back to work and at the end of the day, we can’t change what happened today. Got to focus on the next one.”
Byron Jones – October 10, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Postgame – Tampa Bay
CB Byron Jones
(How are you feeling this game? I know you dealt with your injuries this week. Did you feel 100%?) – “Yeah, my health is completely fine. Just wasn’t a good showing for all of us today.”
(What would you say the biggest problem with the defense is right now? What’s the solution to fixing that?) – “Just keep chipping away. We’ve had some tough games, no question about that. I thought we saw some good things here and there, but it’s not consistent. It’s not for the entire game. Any time you go against good competition like that, you got to understand how you are going to be attacked and just attack it that way and understand these are our challenges. They put a lot on our shoulders for a reason because we are good. We’re good on defense and that’s one thing that we didn’t come up with today, was a play to give our offense a chance to go back at it and take the ball away or something like that. We’re working on it. It’s something that I look in the guys’ eyes and they’ve still got that brightness to it. There’s still that challenge we want to keep going and fighting forward and try to be the best defense that we can be. Football is a tough game and we’ve got a lot of tough men in that locker room.”
(How do you keep that brightness?) – “Just understanding – the game that I saw today, I know the score didn’t reflect it, I saw a lot of guys making good plays here and there. It just wasn’t consistent and it wasn’t throughout the entire game. Just to see the energy from the guys coming out, we got some big stops here and there. Obviously, it wasn’t enough, but that’s the challenge of football. We understand how long this season is and how hard it can get at certain times. We talk about it during camp. That’s why camp is tough, because it’s a microcosm of what the football season is going to be like. This was a tough stretch for us, no question about it; but it’s how you respond, and I think we’ve got a lot of high-character men in that room that are going to do the right thing.”
Austin Jackson – October 10, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 10, 2021
Postgame – Tampa Bay
T Austin Jackson
(When did you find out that you would be playing guard today?) – “I don’t really remember honestly. I watched a lot of film. Just studying and taking coaching points from our coach when he’s not only coaching me just helped me a lot to be able to go in and understand what needs to happen, and I just am doing anything to help this team.”
(How did you feel today went playing the guard position?) – “I feel good, feel blessed to be out there still to play, to do what I do. There are some learning experiences and things definitely I can learn from and get better at. But it felt good to be out there fighting with my guys trying to get a win. Just to be able to help this team get a win, and we didn’t do that but that’s what we’re working for.”
(You had your hand around WR Jaylen Waddle walking in, what were you guys talking about?) – “We were just talking. Just talking. It’s a very emotional game we just had. He’s come in as a rookie; I was there last year so just, yeah, tough game.”
(Have you ever played left guard before?) – “Well yeah, in the Army All-American game when I was like 17. I went down there and they had brought like nine tackles, so big Tristan Wirfs was at left tackle and I was at left guard. It’s kind of ironic, he was out there this week, too. That’s funny.”
(On where T Tristan Wirfs is on the field.) – “He’s at right tackle, but you know.”
(What can you say about QB Jacoby Brissett’s game today, especially playing through the injury?) – “That’s our guy. I think he did a great job leading us. Just preparation all week. He sits down with the o-line and we go through those extra hours of film without the coaches to make sure we pick up stunts right and I think he a great job just being himself.”
