Jaguars-20, Buccaneers-7
Q. Third down was a problem for you guys tonight on defense, especially third and long. I'm sure that had to irritate you guys.
TODD BOWLES: It was a problem on both sides of the ball. I think we were 18% on offense. Defense we bust two coverages -- one on third and 17, one on third and 16. Gave up two first downs -- or one first down and one touchdown. Young guys got to communicate. They got to play better.
Q. At the same time your pass rush showed up at least from the outside linebackers with Ramirez getting three sacks. Can you speak about what you saw from your edge rushers tonight?
TODD BOWLES: That's the one thing that showed up on defense. Obviously there were a lot of missed tackles in the run game. Not pleased with that. Not pleased with third down, but we got five sacks. Doesn't count in the loss, but the young guys made some progress.
Q. What can you say about Elijah Klein and him moving along the offensive line playing both tackle and guard tonight?
TODD BOWLES: That's tough. You know, we put him in some tough spots that he hadn't played in a while. Late in the game especially. That makes it tough on the quarterback when you are trying to move like that, but he is gritty. He's tough. He's play anywhere. That's says a lot about his character.
Q. What happened to Wolford on that sack?
TODD BOWLES: They ran a twist game, and we didn't pick it up.
Q. What happened to John? Is he okay?
TODD BOWLES: As far as I know. I think it was his ribs. I don't know how bad. We'll see.
Q. What about Kaevon Merriweather? He had an injury early in the game.
TODD BOWLES: Yeah, I have to get more information.
Q. Ramirez, you saw a lot of him on the practice squad last year. Can you talk about his development and just how you've seen him grow as a pass rusher?
TODD BOWLES: We knew he was a pass rusher. His thing was learning the defense and playing the runs so he can learn every down. We have to watch the film from that aspect.
He came back in shape. He came back lean. He gets off the ball. He uses his hands well, and he understands to get to the quarterback.
It's the other aspect of his game that he has to bring along with that.
Q. Can you talked about Sean Tucker's performance tonight? He had another explosive run, averaged eight yards a carry. Didn't get a lot of touches because you guys didn't have the ball that much. What have you seen from him in the preseason and specifically tonight?
TODD BOWLES: He looked like he did early last year in preseason. He's healthy. He understands where he has to go. He knows his cuts. He knows his fits. He is confident right now, and he's playing good football.
Q. Cody Thompson made some plays today with a touchdown, drawing a penalty. Seems like he's built a lot of chemistry specifically with Kyle Trask throughout training camp. What was your assessment of his performance tonight and really throughout this whole preseason?
TODD BOWLES: He's really one of the guys we wanted to see tonight. He got a lot of time. He got a lot of plays. He made a lot of plays.
Got to look at the totality of it, but he showed up. The lights weren't too big for him. He knows assignment football. He understands the game, and he catches in traffic.
Q. Something you talked about a lot in your preseason interview was the communication and you wanted to improve. How do you improve that? It looks like there's still work to do.
TODD BOWLES: With the young guys there's going to be work to do. There are things that they have to talk to each other. They're making calls, but they're not making them to each other.
One guy is doing one thing; the other guy is doing another. They have to get on the same page. Have to keep working at that with them.
Q. You didn't have the ball much in the first half, but how do you think Kyle played when he was in there?
TODD BOWLES: I thought he played with poise. Defense didn't give the offense enough opportunity to have the ball from dink-and-dunk plays and missed tackles, but I thought he played with a lot of poise and took advantage of the times when he had to throw.
Q. Chase McLaughlin was a great kicker for you guys last year. He has missed a couple in preseason, including one tonight. Is that bothersome to you? Does that concern you?
TODD BOWLES: Any time a kicker misses a field goal or an extra point it's bothersome to me. He was great last year. We've got to iron it out, and we have to get it done.
Q. What would you say was the main issue for the offense in the second half? It seems like they couldn't get in much of a rhythm? There were a couple of three and outs that they had.
TODD BOWLES: Had some penalties. Really protecting the quarterback. If we can't keep the quarterback upright, it's hard to move the ball.
Q. After a solid week of practice, how do you think Chris Braswell did tonight in carrying that over into the game?
TODD BOWLES: Wasn't really looking at him. I got to look at the tape to see more.
Q. You mentioned after the Cincinnati game that you could possibly get some (indiscernible). Who was calling plays for the defense tonight?
TODD BOWLES: Coach Rodgers called it tonight.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports