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© St. Petersburg Times, published January 12, 2002
Monte Kiffin
On stopping Eagles running back Duce Staley:
"He's a tough back. I think he has 66 receptions going into the last game. He's a tough runner. He's a bulldog. If you don't put some wood on him, you're going to be in trouble. He's tough, and so is the young guy (Correll) Buckhalter we saw last week. They'll play both."
On the favorite targets of Donovan McNabb:
"James Thrash is their go-to guy. They've got a good corps of receivers. And they have a good tight end. Chad Lewis is up there in receptions, too. It's the Green Bay offense because they were with Mike Holmgren. Remember when they had Mark Chmura? It's the same offense. The West Coast offense is a lot of five out (in the pass pattern), but not always when they play us."
On whether the swagger has returned to the defense:
"I think our defense really finished strong. We kept relating it back to 1999 when we went out to Oakland, had a bad ballgame and we came on strong at the end of the year."
Bucs offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen.
On blocking Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas:
"You start with having a strong sense of him. Last year was a great example of how he changes a football game with a sack and caused fumble, and that changes the whole momentum. Another matchup is our wideouts on their corners. They are very good players and if we're not controlling them, we're going to have trouble."
On running behind Mike Alstott and fullback Jameel Cook:
"I think it'll be really important to run the ball inside. It would be hard to turn it into a wide open thing against them with how good their corners are. You've got to get the running game established and stay out of the long third-down situations. It's hard to rely on the passing game when you're playing an exceptional defense in an exceptionally tough place to play."
On the Eagles' array of blitzes:
"Their blitzing creates more concern than opportunity. One of the keys to the game is we have to handle their blitz. They're not shy about bringing it, and they're good blitzers. The second half gets ugly if you have to throw it against what I think is the best defense in the league."