HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN

(On Sunday’s game and injuries) 
“Obviously, it was a late night. I don’t have the official update in terms of injuries, but Barrett Ruud hurt his knee. His status right now, we’ll call it questionable for the game. And Brian Griese, his right arm, his elbow and his shoulder, will be evaluated further today. His status right now I would say is questionable. Strange game yesterday, a hard one to lose. I’m proud of our team. They gave a lot of effort.”

(On if one QB played better than the other on Sunday)
“Well, you know what? Brian played pretty well. Jeff did pretty well. Denver used some strange tactics yesterday. They’d been a man-to-man team throughout the first month of the season and yesterday they rushed three 23 times. I thought under the circumstances both quarterbacks did some good things. Obviously, field position and we talked about the penalties yesterday and the sacks that we had hurt us. But both guys did some decent things.”

(On if the Bucs ran the ball enough)
“Yeah, I think we were running the ball yesterday. Obviously, when we got behind in the down-and-distance, when we get in the two-minute drive at the end of the first half and the end of the game down by 10, we’re not going to run the ball there down by two scores.”

(On the running game being productive)
“Well, we said we’ve got good backs. We’ve got some good linemen. We’re running the ball pretty good strategically and physically. I think our guys are doing a good job. But once again, when you get in second-and-10, when you get in third-and-10, you’re going to have to throw the football in this league. We are pleased with the running game as a whole. We think we can do better.”

(On the run play at the end of the first half)
“It was a run; it was an audible in that situation against an all-out blitz. That play has the chance to be a big play and unfortunately we didn’t hold up on the perimeter as long as we would have liked.”

(On LB Adam Hayward)
“He did some good things. That is a tough spot but I thought that he did do some good things. We are encouraged by him. He has some versatility to play inside or out and in the mix downs so it was positive.”

(On the defense’s play)
“Both teams I think, played good defense. We played a lot of zone, they played a lot of zone, to try and neutralize their big play ability of Marshall and Royal. I thought we did some good things. Unfortunately we had them backed up on the one or two yard line, and they got a big naked bootleg to get out of trouble. Would have liked to see us get off the field late in the game and give us a chance. Our defense played extremely well for the most part. We just need to get some turnovers and we have to try and get better field position, which was a big part of the game yesterday.”

(On playing without WR Joey Galloway)
“Well when you see a defense like that, third and two, third and ten, third and eight, passing situations where you are getting a three-man rush, you could have Houston McTear come in here and you are going to have a hard time getting down the field. We miss Galloway, I am not going to sugarcoat it, we do miss him. He has had three straight 1,000 yard seasons for us. He led the NFL in yards-per-catch last year and that is a key guy that we are missing. But our guys are playing hard and we just have to do a better job of coaching.”

(On G Davin Joseph)
“He played good. It’s his first start. We tried to go after him early right behind Davin let him come off the ball. I thought he did do some good things particularly in the running game showed good inside presence. His foot didn’t appear to be a problem.”

(On Dexter Jackson and the return game)
“The Green Bay game he played pretty good now. He played pretty good in the Green Bay game. All the kick-offs really with the exception of one were bolted 8, 10, 12 yards in the end zone. He’s capable. He’s a talent. He’s done some good things. He has some areas that we’d like to see more from, but he’s a work in progress and we got a lot of confidence in him.”

(On Carolina)
“They’re nasty, man. They’re really good. What they did yesterday, and the week before and the week before on defense is very impressive. They’re all over the place, very physical. Julius Peppers is back to the Peppers that I think everyone has really learned to respect. He’s healthy. He appears to be a dominant type of player that can take a game over. Jon Beason is the ring leader here. He does a great job from sideline to sideline. They’ve got three very good corners between Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall they can do some things. They’re doing a great job defensively. Jake Delhomme, obviously, is a key to their team. They missed him last year. He’s playing confidently. He brings a model of consistency to their offensive football team. Between Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith and those two running backs, they got all the ingredients to really be a force in this league and it shows on the tape that I’ve seen.”

(On the play in the red zone)
“You know, we’ve missed some open targets. We missed Stevens wide open yesterday. We scored in the red zone on another possession and then we had another drive late in the two minute drill. So, yeah, I was pleased yesterday. We like to score touchdowns, but you got to make plays down there when you get the opportunity.”

(On the importance of the Carolina game)
“Big. You look at the NFC south. Atlanta with their young quarterback, impressive win on the road. Saints are playing well. Carolina as we already said is playing very well and we got a very good football team. This will be a heck of a game and we’re looking forward to it.”

(On the competition in the division)
“I knew it would be competitive. How do you not think that this is a competitive league? People get better every year. Carolina’s got some key acquisitions. They draft a left tackle, Jonathan Stewart, Muhsin Muhammad and Jake Delhomme is back. They’re talented. Atlanta’s got a blue chip quarterback in the fold now, Michael Turner. They’ve always had defensive players. A lot more stability there, I think. Certainly New Orleans, a lot of people think is one of the more talented team in the league. I’m not surprised and it’s going to be a dog fight. We just got to find a way to get back on track and win.”

(On the passing game)
“I like the way we’re moving the football. I’d like to throw for more yards per attempt. Again, I’m happy with moving the football, converting third downs and scoring points and against that style of defense yesterday you’re going to have to complete the pass and make some yardage after the catch against the zone defense and a loaded zone defense at that. We missed some opportunities, yes. We’ve missed some opportunities in the last couple of weeks, but for us to be a good offensive team we’re going to have to run the ball and throw it and we need to make improvements in both areas.”