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Game Vs. Buccaneers: Eagles Defense

Eagles LB Brandon Graham

On moving forward:

"There is only one way to go, that's up. The worst has happened to us. There is only one way to go. The crazy thing is that we still have a shot. We have six games left."

On whether he would rather have a short week coming up after a loss like this:

"Oh yeah, I am so happy we have a short week. I am not going to lie to you. Now I am focused on the Lions. Today was one of those games where it's like, 'Wow, what happened?' Now we have to make the corrections tomorrow. I am so happy we have a short week. We have to go to Detroit and win on Thanksgiving. We have to get this bad taste out of our mouths. Then we have to get ready for those Patriots. Man, that is going to be a statement game, too. If we can pull that one off, then we are heading in the right direction. 

On whether he wonders if his teammates are all on the same page:

"I know we are on the same page. It just sucks that it's not translating with everybody. One day the defense is balling, and the offense or special teams are off. We just need all three phases firing together. Today, man that was not like us on defense, especially on the ground. We are going to make the corrections and see what happened. I don't think it was because - I just think that they were making the plays and [RB] Doug [Martin] was just bouncing off us. We had to get him down and we didn't."

Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins

On whether the defensive problems can be attributed to effort or execution:

"The effort was there, but the execution just wasn't there."

On his responsibility as a leader following the penalty for 12 men on the field:

"I feel like that responsibility is spread amongst everybody as individuals. At that point in the game, we're trying to fight back and scrap our way into the game, and we had too many guys on the field. That's just embarrassing. Nobody should have to be riled up to have some pride for the name on the back of the jersey. As a leader, it's not something that I should be handling. It's just got to come from everybody as individuals."

On the feeling in the locker room following the loss:

"Frustration. I think that after this game, it's just embarrassment. Guys are always upset when we're losing, but to come out and play in the fashion that we did is just unacceptable."

On the defense's struggles getting off the field on third downs:

"We've been middle of the pack all year – good at some times, and not so good at other times. This is probably the first time that we literally just could not get off the field."

On what the defense is at this point at the season:

"We are what our record says we are. Let's not get that twisted now. Who we believe we are as individuals and as a team is yet to be defined until the season is over. But you are what you put on tape every week. A lot of us are going to have to turn on the tape and watch that and swallow that pill. The good thing is that we can always change that next week and obviously we get a game that is a lot closer than next Sunday. I think we'll look forward to putting something different out there."

On the defense surrendering 521 yards in the defeat:

"I don't think we've given up anything like that all year. I don't plan on ever giving that up. We could be the worst defense in the league statistically, and that's still an unacceptable number. We'll look at the tape and see what it is and hopefully guys will own up to their own stuff.  It's not just one guy and it's not just one call. It's literally everybody pitching in to create what we created today."

On the frustration that he exhibited during the game:

"I think it was the 12 men on the field penalty. We're trying to scrap our way back into the game and we're on third down and we have 12 men on the field. It's embarrassing because it has nothing to do with football. You just have no clue as to what you're doing. It looks bad on the coaching staff and it looks bad on the players as individuals, especially at that time because you're holding onto every ounce of enthusiasm and momentum that you have, and you just give it back by having a really elementary [mistake]. It's tough."

On how much blame Chip Kelly should get for the defense's performance:

"With games like this, I never look at Chip. He never steps into a defensive meeting and he has nothing to do with stopping the run. We'll never put Chip Kelly in pull technique and ask him to two-gap. This is completely on us as a defense. When it comes down to the offense, Chip is the face of that so we can let him wear that hat. As far as what we did defensively today, he's the head coach so he'll get blamed, but he has nothing to do with that."

Eagles DE Fletcher Cox

On the performance of the defense:

"It was a total embarrassment – a total embarrassment. It starts with me. I have to go home and look myself in the mirror."

On having to bounce back quickly on a short week:

"It was an embarrassment. It was an embarrassment today. We'll get ready to go on Thursday."

Eagles DT Bennie Logan

On the play of the defense:

"We just didn't get the job done. They outplayed us all around. We just have to really let this sink in. It's a good thing that we have a short week so that we can get this taste out of our mouths and get ready for Detroit. If we let this loss linger into Detroit, it will be another embarrassing loss. We just have to put this away tomorrow after we watch film and make corrections. We have to make sure we evaluate ourselves and make sure that we're honest with ourselves and just go from there."

On the play of Tampa Bay rookie QB Jameis Winston:

"Like I said earlier in the week, he's a rookie quarterback who has done a real good job lately of managing the game and taking care of the ball. A couple of times we had him in sack situations and he was just trying to get the ball out of his hand. He didn't want to take negative yards and he was just trying to do whatever it took to get his team a win."

On the 235-yard rushing performance by Tampa Bay RB Doug Martin:

"He was a real shifty back. He did a lot of things that we didn't see on film. He's a good back, but it was really two big runs that gashed us. One was an inside run where we have to be more patient, and the other one was a toss that was just leverage. He's a really good back and you definitely can't take that away from him."

On whether he was surprised by the defense's struggles:

"It's definitely a shock because we've been playing pretty well. Like I said, you really have to evaluate yourself on games like this to see where you stand as a person and as a player. You just have to correct your mistakes, clean them up, and get ready for Detroit. That's all you can do. You just evaluate the film honestly and evaluate yourself."

On the defense's morale following this loss:

"It's definitely a punch in the gut and a reality check. You have to sink your teeth into this film and you can't overlook the small things or anything. You really have to study and evaluate yourself and be honest with yourself. When that much yardage is put up against you in both the running game and the passing game, you really have to evaluate yourself and see where you stand as a player."

Eagles CB Nolan Carroll

On the team's performance today:

"We have the right players here, we just have to go back and look at the film. They had a great game plan today. It's frustrating, but we have to watch film, see what we did wrong, and own up to our mistakes."

On playing again in four days:

"We have to see what we did wrong and move on.  We have to get ready for Thursday. The game is coming up quickly so we can't wallow in this one."

Eagles S Walter Thurmond

On the 45-17 loss:

"There were tons of mistakes being made, but I don't think we ever lost focus. [The Buccaneers] just played a harder game than we did out there today for all four quarters. We're going to go back and watch the film and assess the areas of correction. We have to put it behind us and get ready for Detroit on a short week. We have to put this one to bed and get ready for our next opponent. No one ever wants to lose games, especially when you give up over 500 yards on defense." 

On the performance of the Eagles defense:

"We need to do a better job of tackling, especially in the run game. Their offensive coordinator likes to scheme up his opponents, so they came out very prepared and executed their game plan. We didn't do a good job of executing ours. We have to go back and see what we did wrong today, make the necessary corrections, and stick together. There's not a lapse of communication between the coaching staff and the players, it's just a situation where the players have to be able to execute on game day."

On Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston:

"He made all of the throws today. They had a great game plan, so hats off to them. Jameis was very poised out there and made all of the necessary throws, and we weren't able to capitalize and make plays. When you are able to run the ball and have success running the ball, it makes it that much easier for you in the pass game. We had some situations where we got them in third down, but [Winston] was able to get the ball out quick before the pressure could get there. They were able to move the chains in that way." 

Eagles LB DeMeco Ryans

On the mood of the defense after the loss:

"It's terrible. It's a bad feeling when you go out and get beat like that. It's a horrible feeling. You just have to suck it up and take it. They outplayed us today. The only good thing about this is that we have a short week and we get to go out and redeem ourselves on Thursday."

On the Buccaneers' ability to run the ball today:

"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but they hit us with a few big plays. I can't say exactly what it was."

Eagles LB Connor Barwin

On the team's mindset following the loss:

"I think everybody understands how bad that was. Just look at the score. We played them at home and they beat us by 30. It was bad all around. It was very disappointing and very embarrassing. We're going to watch the film and evaluate what we did in the game and how we prepared for the week, but obviously what we did wasn't good enough or right. It was a bad game all around. You can't say anything about what the defense did today because we gave up 300 yards rushing. We have to get that fixed."

On his message to the fans:

"I apologize for how we played football today. They deserve better. We have to play better and get it fixed beforeThursday. These fans deserve to see better football."

On the Eagles record:

"We're 4-6. Today we were not a good football team. Some weeks we've been good, some weeks we've been okay, today we were a bad football team. It's a week-to-week season for everybody. All that matters is making the corrections and being a better football team on Thursday when we play Detroit. I don't think the team has lost confidence. I have confidence in all of the guys in this locker room. I have confidence in all of the guys I play with. We didn't play well today. We need to see what happened and get it fixed. Everyone is looking at themselves. No one is pointing any fingers. Everyone made mistakes and didn't make plays when there were plays to be made. This is what happens when you don't do that."

On Buccaneers RB Doug Martin:

"He has had success on everybody. Obviously, he was more effective on us, but he's a great back. He runs hard, he's small, he is very patient, and he's hard to bring down. He's a cut-back runner and they split us a couple of times today."

On Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston:

"He wasn't a No. 1 pick for no reason. He made some plays today, so we have to go back and watch the tape. We especially have to be better on third down."

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