What we’ve tried to do is minimize the damage (from) a system which at its core is designed to penalize good drafting teams. I think we’ve minimized the damage as much as we can.

We need a deal because the competitive balance that exists in this league is directly related to the fact that we have a salary cap. For the long-term future and health of the league, it...

He watched all of it and said it helped him to root the team on. He wanted the players to know how proud he was of their effort.

I don’t know if we’ve got anything set in stone in terms of the depth chart, because we still have an entire August camp.

The thoughts and prayers of everyone in this building are with Tony and [wife] Lauren, their children and their extended family, and for the repose of James’ soul. This is a tragedy for the Dungy...

It’s a small increment but it makes a difference. It might be enough to keep a Mike Peterson as opposed to losing him. It might be enough to keep a Marcus Washington as opposed to...

That’s been the history of it, I can’t deny that.

He fits our style perfectly in terms of what we want our running back to do: catch the ball, get on the corner on the stretch play, hit the stretch play and go 100 miles...

My gut reaction is to tell you I want to see the way the market goes before we would even entertain any major expenditures beyond those which we’ve already made.

We’ve got to find out from the powers-that-be . . . where he is with respect to the program and with respect to the progress he’s made in the program. If he’s made significant progress,...

Tony made it clear to myself and Jim that he wished for the team and organization to carry on. We will.

Had we had a different system, I’m sure we would have gone through contraction just as baseball has done. Certainly Indianapolis and Buffalo and Green Bay, if they existed, would be somewhere else.

I have an affinity for this kind of athlete,

The football gods weren’t smiling on us. The one guy with two bad legs (Nick Harper) picks up the fumble. Anybody else, maybe he goes all the way.

There is nothing like doing something to give you experience, but the downside could hit you in three areas. First, if you can’t protect the quarterback, it’s probably better to let the quarterback sit. Second,...

It’s normal, very normal. There’s nothing here that’s unexpected.

Obviously, we are glad to have Adam here, we know he’ll do a great job for us. He had a great career in New England and we hope he has a great career here.

We have room for some contingencies, but when you count all the (projected) expenditures we don’t have a lot of room.

And I don’t know if you can draw enough lines, even if you wanted to. And you may not want to because it would weaken the team so much in other capacities.

It’s a pleasure coming to work every day. It’s fun because (Dungy) makes it that way.

In terms of our kicking game this spring, I think it’s pivotal that we get two or three specialists to step up and really take the bull by the horns and take one of those...

We presumed after such a long time in New England and two franchise designations that they’d reach a long-term agreement and he’d go finish his career there. I don’t think very many people around the...

When you draft a guy and you see him develop and you watch him grow and he becomes a really good player, you clearly don’t want to let him go. But that’s the system.

It’s hard to fathom what this means unless you’re a parent, and if you are a parent, there aren’t any words to express the kind of pain that I’m sure they’re feeling.

That’s a theory that holds about as much water as my thumbnail. But it’s out there. And who cares about it? I don’t.

We’re 15 weeks into a 17-week season, and nothing has been decided yet. These guys have heard me say since June that this is going 17 weeks, and that’s what it’s going to do. It...

We hope he has 10 good years here. We know he’s going to do a great job for us.

They’re both good tacklers, and they pack a wallop.

We have no details with respect to events surrounding the cause of the cut. As is our policy, our security department will conduct an investigation and report back promptly. As always, we will share the...

(We have to) decide what we’re going to do in terms of applying the franchise tag, if such is the case, how much money we’re going to have to spend. And all of that is...

The public profile is always the first round. You’ve got three quarterbacks that every guru puts in the top 10. That makes it interesting.

I think there was the feeling that he was going back to the Patriots .

I hope this is one place he can find some peace and consolation.

I don’t think there was an iota of difference from top to bottom among those eight or seven. The last three years, it’s been so competitive that just the slightest little blip on the radar...

At least in the AFC, and that’s what I’m familiar with, the competition is so close that the slightest little thing can tip the balance.

We re-signed Dominic knowing full well that he could contribute at a high level. Dominic Rhodes is our starting running back. Whoever we add is going to be a contributor. He’s going to have to...

We felt that Mike?s effectiveness here had run its course. We felt the leg strength was diminishing and it was time for a change. It was obvious that (Vinatieri) was the best alternative for us.

I don’t think there’s anyone here that would wish to play a football game under these circumstances, but it’s our obligation and we’ll fulfill that obligation because that’s what Tony wants us to do.

We are going to be resolved to get this worked out, we are going to be resolved to be better a football team next year and we are going to be resolved to be a...

The offensive line was the problem Sunday, plain and simple.

I’m going to talk to Drew this week and see where Edge is right now, so I’d say it’s probably 50-50. But that’s an uneducated guess because I haven’t spoken with Drew.

It was not easy, and it was somber, to say the least.

Dominic’s done it for us in the past.

We’ll either sign (Wayne) to a long-term deal or we’ll franchise him, but he’s not going anywhere.

People say we’ve got to find a a guy who can run it up in there, and maybe we do. The bottom line is we’ve got to be a better goal-line running team and a...

He said the three hours he spent watching were the best break he could have. He wanted the players to know how proud he was of the effort they made.

He’ll probably elect to go somewhere else, so that’s probably a position we’ll have to fill.

We traded up to get him because Tony, because we all knew what he could be, … We all understand the blueprint now. It’s not hard. It’s fun.

That has not been fleshed out yet. The future is uncharted at this point, but having said that, we’ve always found a way to make it work and hopefully we will in the future.

We have the greatest role model there is in Tony Dungy. And as Jim said to the team this morning, we’ll emulate our leader.