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What they had to say after the game
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The Tampa Tribune, published 4 November 2002
Jon Gruden
(On the game) “The key today was our ability to make some big plays on third down. We had a good balance today between the run and the pass, but we certainly would like to be able to run the ball better. We were happy to win the football game. I’m proud of our team. We stayed focused and overcame some injuries.”
(On performing well in the middle of the season) “It’s important for a champion to be strong in the middle rounds, and I emphasized that to our guys this week.”
(On whether Keyshawn Johnson’s two touchdown catches today will give him more confidence) “I don’t think Keyshawn needs more confidence. If anything, I try to suck some of that out of him and spread it to some of the other guys on the team.”
(On Brad Johnson’s performance) “Overcoming the loss of a couple of key players...I think he (Brad Johnson) still had some cracks inside of him, but it was a great gut check today by Brad.”
(On the importance of the bye week coming when the Buccaneers are 7-2) “I don’t know. It depends on how you perform coming off the bye.”
(On the team) “We’re going to keep working hard and try to put together an offensive football team that is not only competitive but also hopefully excites our fans.”
Brad Johnson
(On the game) “The biggest thing for us today was scoring on the opening drive. It really set the tone for us for the rest of the day.”
(On the game) ''This was a big day for us. Today we made some runs when we had to…some big runs. We did a great job today with making some long drives. The offensive line played tremendously today, especially with what I was going through with the rib thing. I really didn’t get hit all day. Those guys dominated up front and helped us play the way that we did. It was a good day offensively.”
(On his health) “After being out for four days with the virus, I felt like I had great practices on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and I felt sharp. In two weeks, I should be 100% for Carolina. I’m very happy with my health right now.”
Warren Sapp
(On Minnesota’s offense) ''They went back to their old offense and we didn’t practice for that, so we were getting different looks. We had to adjust our rushing and adjust what we were doing, but we kept them pretty well contained to get ourselves a win.”
Kenyatta Walker
(On the game) “We did what we were supposed to do. It was supposed to be like that. It feels good. It’s a good win. It feels good to finally impose our strength on a team. Now I’m ready for Carolina. That’s going to be a good game. We have a big stretch coming up, but we’re 7-2 and it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Ronde Barber
(On the play of the defense) “It was sloppy. It was a very sloppy game. It always seems sloppy when we play Minnesota. It’s not something that they do, it’s things that we do. I missed a tackle and they went 50 yards. We had a breakdown in coverage, and they hit a deep ball.”
(On being 7-2) “It’s obviously one of our best starts we’ve had. Even our two losses, we had a chance to win. This is a big momentum gainer going into the bye week.”
(On Brad Johnson) “He got hot early. Special teams gave him an early lift. Then our running game made it easy for him. When the offense is clicking like that, he’s going to have big days.”
Karl Williams
(On the opening drive) “I knew we would have a chance to make plays and have a big day. We needed a breakout day. We have a lot of weapons on this team and I said earlier it only takes one guy to step up and make a play. It sparks a chain reaction. I think the offensive line did a great job up front with Brad coming back. He was able to find open receivers and he threw strikes all day.”
(On Brad Johnson) “With Brad you can expect anything. He’s a soldier. He’s going to go back there and he’s going to do anything he can to help this football team, and it’s contagious.”
John Lynch
(On playing hard before the bye) “I’m very proud. The credit goes to Coach Gruden. He prepared us extremely well. He said if he caught anyone talking about the bye, they were out of here. He told his wife not to talk about the bye. He told our wives not to talk about the bye. It wasn’t on our minds.”
Keyshawn Johnson
(On stepping up his play with the injuries to the wide receivers) “No, not really. I play the same way. You know, I’m not the guy who calls plays. I’m not the quarterback. I’m not an offensive lineman. The only thing I try to do is make plays anytime the ball is delivered to me.”
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