Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter talked to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via conference call on Thursday.
The Bucs (4-9) will host the Falcons (8-5) at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Raymond James Stadium.
Here’s what Koetter had to say:
On how the injuries have contributed to the 4-9 record: "Injuries are just an unfortunate part of what every team is going through. We are no different. You can't use that as an excuse. We've had our opportunities. We just have to be a more consistent football team."
On Gerald McCoy's status: "I think you'll see on the injury report that Gerald is not going to practice today. We'll just have to see how the week goes." (He suffered a potentially season-ending biceps injury against Detroit.)
On if Peyton Barber has moved ahead of Doug Martin at running back. "It's tough to make it with one running back. The Falcons are a good example of that. We're going to get the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win. We obviously will continue to use more than one running back."
On how Jameis Winston playing: "I get asked that almost every week. The thing is, Jameis is continuing to improve and continuing to gain experience. Just look in our division. We all have division games left. Look at the other quarterbacks in our (division) in Matt (Ryan), Cam Newton, the two previous to MVPs of the league and then Drew Brees. What do all of those three guys have over Jameis? They have experience. So, we've got a heck of a division when it comes to quarterback play and I just think that the more Jameis plays, the better he's going to get."
On rookie tight end O.J. Howard: "I think O.J. has been fine. We have several guys on our team that get targets, so it's not like O.J. is getting 15 targets a game, but he's certainly has made the most of his opportunities."
On rookie wide receiver Chris Godwin: "Chris Godwin from Penn State, he's a really good young player. All of our draft picks, we're happy with. We think the future is very bright for Chris."
On the plan for Julio Jones: "We're going to put 10 guys on him and then just leave one guy over the center. You think Atlanta would do anything if we did that? That's about what it would take. I've seen Julio have a couple other games like that when I was there. When Julio gets that hot…Julio is good all the time. When he gets that hot, it's tough to stop him."
On matching cornerback Brent Grimes on Julio Jones: "We have talked about that."
On the play of the defense: "The numbers are not good. The main thing is that we struggled to get a consistent rush with four guys. If we're not bringing pressure, we have a hard time affecting the quarterback. As good as the quarterbacks are in this league, that's usually not a good sign."
On playing hard on Monday Night Football: "I believe that's still a factor, but you are dealing with pros and every time they go out there…we haven't had an issue with playing hard. We've had an issue with getting the lead and holding the lead. We've played several close games. Our issue has not been lack of playing hard. That was evidence in our first game (against the Falcons) when we were down by three scores in the second half and got back into it. Our guys have been fighting this whole time. I would expect them to do the same on Monday night."
