Aug/06/08 10:13 PM Filed in:
Phillip
Buchanon
(On working on his
hands to catch balls better) “I
would like to rate my hands to be one of the best
hands on the team, I always tell all of the
players that. When it comes to plays like that, I
like to make those plays. Sometimes I can’t
but I will keep working on it.”
(On his knowledge of the defensive
system) “I am just playing, I am just
playing football, and I think I am just playing. I
don’t know how good of a camp I am really having,
I know I am breaking some balls up, but I am just
playing the game of football that I love. What
[Defensive Coordinator] Monte Kiffin tells me, and what
Raheem tells me, I am still learning, and Ronde is
still teaching me, so I am learning from him. I am also
learning from other players in certain things that they
do. I am enjoying myself to the best of my ability, and
I am playing the game of football, something I love. I
am just going to keep on working hard, and keep pushing
myself.”
(On what he looks to work on in the first
preseason game) “Just work on timing and
just trying to make the right fits and just trying to
get back into the game process and everything. [I am]
just taking it step-by-step. I am going to go out there
and just build off of some of the things I did last
year and then try to fix some things so I will be ready
before the opening game at the New Orleans
Saints.”
(On improving his tackling skills)
“I would say a better environment. I never
figured myself to have a problem with tackling anyway.
I think the situation that I was put in, it was down, a
lot of losing, a lot of stuff going on behind closed
doors that people don’t really know about it, it
was kind of depressing. At the same time, I just came
here with the mindset of me just coming out here
playing. It is just the environment, they respect you,
they make you feel like a man, and at certain places
they never really make you feel that way. They have a
great deal of respect here and that is one thing that I
love about playing in Tampa.”
(On the need to be able
to tackle in the secondary) “Being here,
we take pride [in our tackling]. When you watch Ronde
and Derrick Brooks, and all these other veteran
players, they lead by example. So if you don’t
fall in line, you are going to be left behind. It is
real simple to just fall in line. I like the way that
they approach practice, the way they approach the game.
They study and they are just on top of things. They are
never perfect, you can never be perfect, but you can
try to be perfect and that is Ronde’s and Derrick
Brooks’ motto.”
(On where the defense can improve)
“You can always improve every year, because we
were number two so we want to be number one, so we can
improve in that area. If we can improve on making more
impact plays, to help our offense, to give our offense
some more [yards] and put them in a better situation,
because Tampa’s defense prides itself on getting
turnovers and scoring with them, so that was always the
whole implication once I first got here. So if we can
emphasize more on that, and being more physical,
stripping the balls, and trying to get the ball back
and scoring with it, not just turning the ball over but
scoring with it. That is more of the improvement that I
see, that we can make a big improvement on. As far as
that, just having fun and everybody just showing effort
and hustling.”
(tampablab.com)