HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
(On injured players)
"Pretty much everything's the same. Alex Smith did more today than yesterday, which is a good sign. Jermaine [Phillips] did well this week. We'll just have to make some decisions, obviously, on game day."
(On Jeff Garcia being in better form now than he was in the season opener against the Saints)
"Yeah, there's no question. He was idle for a long time before the first game. He missed the whole camp, basically. He had a calf strain; I think he hurt his ankle in the Saints game if I'm not mistaken. So, yeah, he's playing really well for us. I think his last six starts show that."
(On getting a pass rush on Drew Brees)
"This guy is a different kind of quarterback. We had good pressure in New Orleans. Sometimes the guy gets rid of the ball; the guy gets rid of the rock, man. This guy's phenomenal. This guy's one of the best in the world at what he does. Sometimes you have a heck of a rush and he still slithers and slides and throws it sidearm or throws it left-handed. He's a hard guy to get to. He knows where the hot receiver is, he knows how to change protections. Blitzing him, getting there, is easier said than done. It will be a big key to the game, though, I know that."
(On how Carnell Williams came out of his first game and this week of practice)
"He came out really good. He needed that. I think a lot of the offensive guys are probably disappointed that we didn't throw it, but we wanted to give him repeated runs. And they were hard looks, too. They knew we were running it and we made no mistake about that. But he was able to get 12 or 13 carries in a 15-play span and I think he got confidence back from that performance. He ran hard, made a couple nice jump-cuts in the hole, protected the ball. Earnest Graham's out for the year; he's going to have to pick up the slack for us."
(On keeping Jerramy Stevens involved in the offense)
"He's always been part of our thinking. He's getting better as a complete tight end. He's a guy we're confident can stay in the game and be a blocker. He deserves to play more. That's what happens. When you get out there and get a chance to perform, if you perform well you get chance to keep performing. We'll try to use all three of those tight ends because we consider them to be good players."
(On if Stevens had room to improve in his blocking when he got to Tampa)
" He was in more of a receiving role as a tight end in Seattle. He's really doing some good things. I've said all along, I consider him a really talented guy, and if he can do it all he'll be on the field a lot more."
(On if Phillips will wear a protective cast or some cushioning on the arm he injured)
"He'll wear something. I don't think he'll wear a cast but we'll put something creatively on there to give him a little extra padding. But he's been cleared to play and I think he's confident in the arm. The forearm area feels like it's healed well enough where he can go play."