Buccaneers

Coverage was supposedly a question mark for Buccaneers second-round LB Josiah Trotter, but he answered those doubts in a big way in Week 1. The rookie was in the right place at the right time and snared an interception from Bengals QB Joe Burrow that he returned for a touchdown, putting Tampa Bay back in the game even though the Bucs still came up short. Trotter finished his debut with that interception, a sack and over five tackles. 

“I knew what I could do coming into the draft, but at the end of the day I knew in the meantime I could show everybody that I can cover people,” Trotter said via the team website. “Now I’ve got to do it next week, I’ve got to make more plays, more things I can still clean up in the passing game, but just thank God I was able to go out there and play, trust my instincts, and ultimately get a pick and help my team out.”

“It’s a good play on his part,” added Bucs HC Todd Bowles. “It’s a play he blew from practice, he learned from it, and made a play from there. He made some good plays for us in the run. Obviously, there are some things he still has to learn and get better at, but you know, you can tell he’s a gamer, just seeing him get that play and help us get back in the game.” 

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales threw his support behind DC Ejiro Evero after the team gave up 59 points.

“I like our system, I like our scheme,” Canales said, via Panthers Wire. “I’ve seen this scheme work at a high level, and I’ve seen us work in this scheme at a high level. And we need to find that week in and week out.

Saints

Like many players, Saints WR Chris Olave was initially resistant to wearing the Guardian cap because of aesthetics. The soft helmet cover gives players a big-headed look like a bobblehead or the Nintendo character Toad. But Olave’s history with concussions prompted him to try the cap this summer (and it didn’t hurt that the cap was redesigned to look a little sleeker), and he said he absolutely noticed a difference. After popping off for nearly 200 yards receiving with the cap in Week 1, he said it’s here to stay. 

“Y’all know all the head injuries I’ve had in my career,” Olave said via NOLA.com’s Luke Johnson. “… I’ve got kids now. I want to be able to live the long game. It’s not all about football; I want to live a regular life after I’m done with football. I love my kids to death, so I don’t really care how it looks no more. I just gotta throw it on, and it did me good today.”