Arians is ready to play Dolphins./TIM WIRT
Tuesday, 3 a.m.
By now, we know that Bruce Arians is a positive old cuss.
We know that too many mistakes irritate him. We know he believes in his quarterback, whether he should or not. We know he sees the running backs as a positive.
But how about the men who work for him?
How about the assistant coaches?
After all, they are the sergeants of the unit, the hands-on coaches who will help decide the fate of the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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And this is what they have to say:
Head coach Bruce Arians
(On the protocol for the upcoming practices with Miami): "Everything is just to get each other better, not to get anybody hurt. There will be absolutely no fighting. If you fight, you're out of here. It's just a matter of practicing against somebody to make you better and having good respect for each other."
(On the ground rules for joint practices): "It basically will just be practice, just like we do every day with ourselves. They'll thud, nobody's tackling downfield. We'll have two live periods, one a goal-line period and one a two-point play period at the end of practice both days. Those will be the only ones."
(On if joint practices used to be more physical): "If you let it — nothing ever good comes out of it. The teams I've been on, I think only one of all the joint practices have we had a problem ... You never get anything done. It's all about helping each other get better, not (proving) who's tougher."
Running backs coach Todd McNair
(On how running backs Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones performed on the Buccaneers opening drive in the game against Pittsburgh last Friday)
“I was pretty satisfied with how they played. Of course, it was brief — they had only a few plays. I think (they had) three carries a piece. Peyton caught one (and) Ronald caught one. But, I’m pleased with their development and how they are coming along right now. We’ve still got a ton of work to do, but so far it’s been pretty positive.”
(On RB Dare Ogunbowale’s performance last Friday against the Steelers and his overall progress throughout training camp)
“Dare has had a pretty good camp. He has been making plays and doing a lot of stuff for us simulating the offense. He is a really sharp guy and is very smart. He has been making those plays throughout training camp and he had a really good night the other night. He punched two in the end zone and made some plays, so we are happy about his progress.”
Wide Receivers Coach Kevin Garver
(On having so many young players in his receivers group): “I went through this last year in Arizona. I had a lot of young guys on that roster also. You know, it helps though to have vets in your room. Mike Evans obviously has done a lot of great things in his career. Chris (Godwin) has had the opportunity to have a couple years under his belt. ‘BP’ (Breshad Perriman), same thing, going through some struggles early on in his career and having the opportunity to come around. In saying all of those things, it helps having those guys in the room because they are able to help them through the ups and the downs through training camp, through learning, understanding offenses and then really just trying to teach these guys the approach and what it takes to be a vet and what it takes to play at a high level.”
(On WR Spencer Schnell and his 119-yard preseason performance against the Steelers): “It’s kind of funny because I was telling Coach El (Antwaan Randle El) after the game, he came here as a tryout guy. Really the reason why he made the team is he was just snagging the ball — he was catching the ball so well. I think it was a little bit frustrating for ‘Snell’ (Spencer Schnell). His reps go down and you maybe haven’t seen him do as many things as he has been able to do, so I was really proud of what he has done. I haven’t seen it as much in practice, but at the end of the day it matters what you do in the game. You prove to everyone that you can get it done.”
Cornerbacks Coach Kevin Ross
(On Head Coach Bruce Arians’ comment that CB Sean Murphy-Bunting was in positions to make plays in Friday’s game at Pittsburgh but didn’t make them): “That’s called ‘Welcome to the NFL’ — you’re close, but you didn’t make it. He’s going to be OK. I’m not worried about him a little bit — he’s going to be OK. He just has to have the experience of playing in a big game like that right there, with all the situations. Like I said, he’s learning the situations as well. He’s getting baptized as we speak. All of them are in the same boat.”
(On how the young cornerbacks backs respond to being criticized by Bruce Arians)
“They understand the nature of the position now. This is the most scrutinized position in the NFL. When they give up big plays, it’s easy to see them. They’re not A-gap, B-gap players like linebackers and linemen. They’re field players — they take guys all over the field and they understand now what it’s going to take mental and physically wise how to play the game.”
Defensive Line Coach Kacy Rodgers
(On installing a new scheme for the defensive line while trying not to show too much during the preseason): “That’s really what practice is. We’re just getting all our installs in now and right now, going into the preseason game, we’re just really showing a lot of our base stuff and really, like you said, (trying) not to reveal what we want to do. So, really right now we just want to get the base fundamentals in and understand the basis of the system, then once we get into the season, everything’s fair game.”
(On how beneficial it is to practice against a different team) “It’s really good to go against somebody else because sometimes going against yourself, you get a false sense of security or you don’t really get a true evaluation until you see it against someone else. Then, you can really assess what you have or what you don’t have and go from there, or see where the improvements need to be made, but the work against somebody else is truly invaluable.”
Linebackers Coach Mike Caldwell
(On how Devin White is commanding the huddle): “I think he’s doing a good job. Coming in as a rookie, being a Mike linebacker, (there are) a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and he’s taken to the job, he’s studying and he’s making all the calls.”
(On ILB Lavonte David having a veteran presence even while recovering from an injury): “It’s always good to have a vet in the room, and he’s a true vet. He’s out right now but he’s in every meeting [and] he’s helping the young guys. What I can’t see, he sees, so it’s just like having another coach on the staff and it’s real helpful.”
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