|
|
 |
| |
Thursday, August 16 AM Practice
|
| |
Thursday, August 16 PM Practice
Head Coach Jon Gruden has cancelled Thursday's camp-ending practice. Players were free to leave camp after the team's 7:00 a.m. breakfast.
|
| |
Wednesday, August 15 AM Practice
The Buccaneers moved their Wednesday morning practice inside and turned it into an extended walk-through in order to give the players' legs a break. The practice was held on the gymnasium floor of the adjacent Milk House, which until two days earlier had been partitioned into four basketball courts for a variety of tournaments. The Milk House has a very high ceiling, which meant the team could even throw long passes or kick a couple low punts if necessary. It also has extensive seating, and fans were allowed to come inside to watch the workout.
The Bucs will work outside on the practice field on Wednesday afternoon, as scheduled.
Despite the slowed-down speed of the walk-through, Head Coach Jon Gruden wanted to keep the tempo of the practice up. Near the beginning, when he didn't like the rate at which the offense was getting out of the huddle, he yelled, "Get your butts in gear. Get out of the ice tub and get into your playbooks."
In their continuing efforts to practice any special teams situation that might arise, the Buccaneers used one part of a kicking-game portion to work on lining up on offense as if going for it on fourth down and then letting QB Jeff Garcia pooch punt the ball.
There wasn't much full-speed action for the crowd in the Milk House to enjoy, but WR Joey Galloway got a rise out of them when he made a leaping, one-handed grab of a pass down the right sideline.
|
| |
Wednesday, August 15 PM Practice
After getting to practice indoors on Wednesday morning, the players also got a break in the afternoon when a smattering of clouds blocked the sun for most of their time on the field. That, combined with a steady breeze and even a little light rain, made the afternoon much more bearable than the three previous afternoons had been.
Proving even Pro Bowl veterans aren't immune from the occasional
misstep at training camp, LB Derrick Brooks bit hard on a play-action
pass. After the play, Brooks could be heard saying, "They got me on
the run fake. They got me. I couldn't get out of it."
The offense was on the field in Period 3 of practice, running against the scout team and specifically practicing in the red zone. On one snap from about the seven-yard line, WR Joey Galloway caught a touchdown pass over the middle and, as has become his practice at camp, he tossed the football into the crowd.
The next period was for the defense, but even though it was an scout-team offense on the field, the Bucs used their first-team offensive line for the first few snaps. That line read: LT Luke Petitgout, LG Arron Sears, C John Wade, RG Davin Joseph and RT Jeremy Trueblood.
Rookie P Sean Douglas once again got to show off his kickoff ability during the special teams period. Douglas handled all of the kickoffs and blasted his first one through the end zone. A few kicks later, he hit a skipping liner on which WR Chad Owens made a very nice play to catch it on the hop at the goal line.
On the first kickoff return unit that took the field, LB Ryan Nece was in the middle of the five players who line up on the front line, 10 yards from the kicker. This player, as it turns out, is like the middle linebacker on defense, calling all the plays for the rest of the unit. In this case, he mainly calls the direction or type of return that will be used.
Running Backs Coach Art Valero gave S Sabby Piscitelli a little one-on-one advice after one of these kickoff return reps. Piscitelli has been on the front line, and he had dropped back with the rest and set up for a block. The rookie's block on his player was okay, but it actually took the other player towards the path of the return man. Valero reminded Piscitelli to know where the returner is going.
During full-team drills late in practice, LB Antoine Cash flashed
his speed on a deep pass over the middle of the field. Running stride
for stride with WR Kyle Smith, Cash blanketed the receiver and managed
to break up the pass from QB Chris Simms. In the Bucs' system, the middle linebacker needs this ability to cover receivers deep down the middle.
At one point during a defensive period, the scout team got on a bit of a roll when three different receivers turned in very nice catches on consecutive plays. WR Chas Gessner started it with a leaping tip-toe number on the sideline, and Smith was next with a spinning, one-handed grab. WR Paris Warren finished the set with a jumping catch in the middle of the field, after which even Head Coach Jon Gruden doled out a, "Nice catch."
The last period of practice was a move-the-ball drill with the reserves on the sideline. On the very last play of practice, QB Jeff Garcia's pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and rookie CB Marcus Hamilton intercepted the high rebound.
|
| |
Tuesday, August 14 AM Practice
The offense completed its first seven passes of the WR/DB one-on-one period on Tuesday morning. However, most of those routes were fairly short. The momentum swung when the receivers started to run some deeper routes, and the defense at one point denied seven of eight pass attempts. CB Phillip Buchanon also broke up a short one, recognizing a quick fade stop by WR Mark Jones and stopping in time to get his hand on the ball. The fade stop, in which the ball is thrown to a spot and the receiver stops suddenly and turns to the ball before the defender can react, is a very difficult route to cover.
WR Chas Gessner did succeed on a nice deep route during the one-on-ones, though. Gessner gave the defensive back an outside-in move and got just enough separation to allow QB Jeff Garcia to throw it to the tall receiver over the shorter defensive back.
WR Chad Lucas turned in a few nice catches in that period, most notably a one-handed grab over CB Torrie Cox as the two sprinted down the sideline. Cox appeared to have Lucas blanketed, but the receivers exceptional catch brought cheers from the crowd and disbelief from Cox. "You can't get any better coverage than that," Cox said, shrugging his shoulders as the two jogged back to the huddle after the play.
Several plays run by the Buccaneers' offense today featured TE Jerramy Stevens spilt out at wide receiver. The Bucs most likely are looking to take advantage of Stevens' fluid route running and his size, which gives him the edge in one-on-one matchups with smaller defensive backs.
Second-year WR Maurice Stovall served as one of the "gun-control" players on the punt return team during the special teams period, meaning he and another player were charged with stopping the gunner from getting to the return man. In this case, the punt was into the red zone and the return man called for a fair catch. When that happened, Stovall stopped at about the same spot on the field, horizontally, as the return man. Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris corrected the young receiver on his technique, telling him to continue running past the returner and set up about five yards behind him in case the punt was muffed or fumble.
P Josh Bidwell was on his game during this period. Kicking from about midfield, he consistently hung high punts that came down inside the 10. Most of them were fair caught, but the return man let the last one go and it hit at the four and bounced back, away from the goal line.
During the seven-on-seven period, LB Barrett Ruud nearly had an interception on a short pass over the middle to Gessner. Ruud reacted instantly as the pass was thrown and got there at the same time as the ball. The two players fought over the ball for awhile before it fell to the ground. CB Ronde Barber scooped it up and started to run, though the back judge then whistled the play incomplete. Defenders are taught not to assume that the play is an incompletion and not a fumble until it is confirmed.
Head Coach Jon Gruden ratcheted up the intensity of Tuesday morning's practice by inserting a spirited one-on-one drill right before the final full-team period. After setting a prize of an extra hour before curfew for the winning side, Gruden drew the team around him in a circle and called out a series of one-on-one matches. After DT Chris Hovan won the first one for the defense, Gruden yelled, "Get your intensity up! Give me Davin Joseph!" Unfortunately for the offense, DE/DT Kevin Carter unleashed an incredible power/speed move that Joseph couldn't stop, giving the defense another point.
A later matchup in the one-on-ones had second-year T Donald Penn trying to stop rookie first-rounder DE Gaines Adams. It was close, but the decision went to the offense, setting off an enormous celebration among the white-jersied players.
The final matchup was LB Quincy Black on TE Alex Smith, and Gruden announced that it was winner-take-all. Both sides yelled encouragement to their men, and advice such as, "Stay low, Alex," could be heard as well. Smith got a good initial block but Black managed to break free and get to the taped-up towel square that is used to represent the quarterback. The towel was tossed into the air as the defense swarmed over Black in celebration.
QB Chris Simms received some work Tuesday, running the Bucs' offense near the end of practice. After practice, Head Coach Jon Gruden said Simms did some things well during that period and that the team would continue to try and get Simms more repetitions.
|
| |
Tuesday, August 14 PM Practice
Several players were absent from Tuesday afternoon's practice, including DE Greg Spires, DT Chris Hovan, DT/DE Kevin Carter, C John Wade, G/C Dan Buenning, G Arron Sears, CB Ronde Barber, CB Brian Kelly, LB Derrick Brooks, TE Matt Herian, WR Joey Galloway and RB Michael Pittman. Most of the veterans were simply given the afternoon off for the purpose of rest.
Early in practice Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia set up an interesting drill. Simulating the end of a punt, Bisaccia lobbed balls from the 20-yard line and had his players run down the field in an attempt to down the ball inside the five-yard line.
Bucs wide receivers worked on their moves during the first portion of practice under the direction of Coach Richard Mann. The pass catchers formed a line and proceeded to jog to cones on the field at which they stutter-stepped and wiggled right before cutting to the left and proceeding to the next cone. Mann urged each receiver to get his hips low and sell the fake.
During seven-on-seven drills, S Kalvin Pearson made a nice play on the ball while covering RB Earnest Graham, who was running a route down the sideline. Graham had slipped behind Pearson, but Pearson managed to get his hand up at the last second and deflect the ball away from its intended target. Pearson, generally pretty reserved, also did a lot of talking after the play, and he seemed to be indicating to the nearby referee that Graham had grabbed his shorts.
With several offensive linemen sitting out, G Jeb Terry got an extensive run with the first-team line on Tuesday afternoon. The Bucs put this line on the field with the starting offensive unit: LT Luke Petitgout, Terry, C Matt Lehr, RG Davin Joseph and RT Jeremy Trueblood. While the backs, receivers, tight ends and even quarterbacks were rotating in and out liberally during the two offensive periods, that five-man line stayed intact for every play.
The first offensive period wasn't focused specifically on the run or the pass, but the offense did conduct a number of running plays in a row at one point. Though the defense on the field was a scout team, Head Coach Jon Gruden still thought it was important for those defenders, many of whom will play extensively on Saturday night in Jacksonville, to face a lot of running plays. Referring to the Jaguars, Gruden at one point yelled, "These guys are going to freakin' run the ball."
With Barber and Kelly getting the afternoon off, CBs Sammy Davis and Phillip Buchanon started the defensive period with the first-team unit. Also, the team fielded a first-team defensive line of RE Patrick Chukwurah, DT Jovan Haye, DT Ryan Sims and LE Gaines Adams.
|
| |
Monday, August 13 AM Practice
LG Arron Sears and S Sabby Piscitelli participated in Monday's practice. Sears returned after missing Sunday's workout due to a mild ankle sprain, while Piscitelli made it out to his second straight workout. Tackle Luke Petitgout, who returned to Sunday's practice in a limited fashion, was able to take part in all periods in Monday's session.
During the individual position period, Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris had the safeties working on how to react given where the tailback headed after taking a handoff. In some cases, the safety's job wasn't necessarily to go directly at the ballcarrier for the tackle; rather, the DB sometimes was supposed to take a certain route that cut off a runner's option and forced him toward another Buc tackler.
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Coach Larry Coyer turned up the heat on his students Monday morning, allowing nothing to escape his attention. Seeing first-round pick Gaines Adams get pushed backwards by the Bucs' offensive line, Coyer yelled for Adams to get lower and fight harder. "It's all in the fight, men; it's all in the fight," Coyer said as he forced Adams to repeat the drill. Later when DT Darrell Campbell managed to only hold his ground and not drive forward, Coyer was quick to point out the flaws in Campbell's techniques, saying, "Your feet quit moving! Don't ever let your feet quit moving!" Coyer finally found what he was looking for, courtesy of DT Ryan Sims. On the snap, Sims exploded into RG Davin Joseph. The collision between the two big men could be heard from the sidelines, as could Coyer, who said, "That's the kind of violence we've got to have!"
During the nine-on-seven drill, the Bucs used a power formation that had running back Michael Pittman providing the lead blocking for fullback B.J. Askew.
The coaches sprung a "sudden change" period on the players in the middle of the practice, centered around this situation: Fourth-and-two at the opponents' 38, with the away-game crowd roaring over the speakers. Though this will sometimes be a running play, the Bucs focused on trying to pass out of this situation, and the defense won the first two plays. On the second one, QB Jeff Garcia successfully communicated an audible to the entire offense, but CB Torrie Cox wasn't fooled on the subsequent route and his tight coverage forced an incompletion. The offense did move the chains on the third play, a quick out to WR Michael Clayton.
K Matt Bryant made five of his six field goal attempts, connecting on tries of 35, 39, 42, 47 and 49. His one miss came on a 45-yard attempt and it was hooked a bit to the left.
The Buccaneers' first-team nickel defense featured RE Patrick Chukwurah, DT Chris Hovan, DT Kevin Carter and LE Greg Spires. CB Ronde Barber manned his traditional spot in the slot, and CB Phillip Buchanon played opposite of CB Brian Kelly. Linebackers Derrick Brooks and Barrett Ruud remained on the field.
The Bucs' "special category" drill for the morning focused on plays run out of an empty backfield. On the second snap, Chukwurah appeared to beat his man for a "sack." Since there are no sacks in practice, Garcia went ahead with the throw and it was nearly picked off by Barber, giving the defense a win all around.
LB Derrick Brooks gave the D another victory a few snaps later. The Bucs were bringing a heavy blitz and Brooks figured out the quarterback's hot read, covering a short pass over the middle to RB Earnest Graham and knocking the ball away. A few plays after that, Brooks nearly intercepted a short pass out to the left flat to WR Mark Jones. Brooks was giving kudos for his quick read, but he was very angry at himself for not getting to the ball in time. After banging on his helmet a few times, he dared the offense to try that play another time.
Garcia and WR David Boston hooked up for a beautiful ball down the right seam during the seven-on-seven period. Boston got behind the defense and Garcia hit him in stride over his shoulder.
|
| |
Monday, August 13 PM Practice
With the Bucs back to a two-practice schedule and temperatures soaring throughout the day, the team unsurprisingly elected to give a number of veterans the afternoon off. Among those who watched from the sideline were CB Ronde Barber, LB Derrick Brooks, DE Kevin Carter, WR Joey Galloway, RB Michael Pittman, DE Greg Spires and DT Ellis Wyms.
During the defense's period against the scout-team offense, WR Kyle Smith made a nice sliding catch of a 25-yard pass over the middle of the field between two defenders. Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris would have preferred the play not work, but he gave Smith credit for giving the defense a "good look."
During the punt period, Smith and fellow receivers Chad Owens, Ike Hilliard and Mark Jones handled all of the returns. WR Maurice Stovall, on the other hand, was up the field trying his hand at the gunner position, along with CB Phillip Buchanon. Among those assigned the important position of "gun-control" (that is, blocking the gunners) were S Tanard Jackson, WR Chas Gessner and CBs Sammy Davis and Alan Zemaitis.
QB Jeff Garcia and the number-one offense was particularly sharp during the offense's scouting period against the Jacksonville defense. After hitting a number of quick underneath patterns, Garcia aired one out with success. WR Chad Lucas got wide open deep with a sudden post move and, seeing this, Garcia launched a towering spiral. Lucas actually had to put it into another gear to catch up to the pass, but he got there.
S Tanard Jackson nearly got an interception during the offense's period on a play deep over the middle. On the next snap, LB Ryan Nece did get a pick on a short pass right over the middle.
After the 12-12-12 scouting periods, the Bucs finished with one set of offense vs. defense with the second teams on the field. On the very last play of practice, QB Bruce Gradkowski hit Owens on a very deep pass down the right hashmarks.
|
| |
Sunday, August 12 AM Practice
There was no morning practice on Sunday.
|
| |
Sunday, August 12 PM Practice
LB Barrett Ruud and S Sabby Piscitelli returned full-bore to practice on Sunday afternoon. Both Ruud (knee) and Piscitelli (hamstring) missed Friday night's game with minor injuries and were limited for much of the second week of camp. Barring setbacks or additional injuries, both should play next Saturday at Jacksonville. T Luke Petitgout returned to practice but not without limitations. Petitgout did not participate during the full-speed Jacksonville scouting periods in the middle of the two-hour session.
The searing heat of last week didn't dissipate over the weekend while the Bucs were away. The base temperature at the start of practice was around 97 degrees, and the heat index on the field at 3:00 was 106 degrees.
When the quarterbacks and receivers got together for some "routes vs. air" during Period 2, they spent some time working on how to react when a play breaks down and the quarterback starts to scramble. The receivers were supposed to notice the QB scrambling to their side, then break into a very specific route rather than just running around looking for open space. WR Mark Jones had two very nice reps in a row during this part of the period, running his scramble routes with precision.
FB Mike Alstott, who was placed on injured reserve on Thursday with a neck injury, was true to his word when he said he planned to remain involved in the team's day-to-day preparations this season. Alstott not only came to the first practice after his move to IR, he was right in the middle of the running backs' individual workouts, helping the coaches pass on pieces of advice.
The first half of Sunday afternoon's practice was largely devoted to reviewing and correcting various aspects from the Bucs' preseason opener against the New England Patriots. The Bucs' offense, defense and special teams all lined up against scout teams that simulated what Tampa Bay saw from New England Friday night. After those sections, the team then switched to three non-scouting, offense-vs.-defense periods. The players took off their helmets and ran the last three periods at half or three-quarters speed.
During the offense's period against the scout-team Jaguars defense, Anthony Davis took the first few snaps at left guard, with Donald Penn playing left tackle. Then Davis slid over to left tackle and Dan Buenning came in at left guard. After a few snaps of that, Buenning stayed at left guard and Penn came back in at left tackle.
DE Kevin Carter lined up at left defensive end for the first few snaps of the defense's period against the Jaguars offense, with usual starting left end Greg Spires moving to the right side. When Carter came out, Spires moved back to the left end spot and Patrick Chukwurah took some snaps on the right side.
li>Much of Head Coach Jon Gruden's focus during practice was centered on the short-yardage attempts by the Bucs' offense. During one such play, Gruden could be heard yelling, "We've got one inch to go, and we didn't make it! Making me go for it," Gruden barked incredulously. "I needed one inch."
Though practice was only at walk-through speeds today, Chukwurah found himself one-on-one with RB Kenneth Darby, as the back ran a route down the sidelines. While both players jogged, Chukwurah was not willing to give up anything to the rookie even during a walkthrough, speeding up as the ball arrived and swatting it away – all the while wearing a big grin.
|
| |
Thursday, August 9 AM Practice
The Bucs' only field work on Thursday was a brief walk-thru, the team's typical practice for the day before a game. The workout was only supposed to last one hour, but the team actually finished up in about 40 minutes.
After the walk-thru, Head Coach Jon Gruden announced that FB Mike Alstott would definitely not play in Friday's game. Gruden said decisions have yet to be made on S Sabby Piscitelli (hamstring), linebacker Barrett Ruud (knee) and Michael Clayton (hamstring).
After Friday's game, the Bucs will be given Saturday off and will practice only in the afternoon on Sunday.
|
| |
Thursday, August 9 PM Practice
|
| |
Wednesday, August 8 AM Practice
Absent from this morning's practice were FB Mike Alstott, WR Joey Galloway, LT Luke Petitgout, S Sabby Piscitelli and LB Barrett Ruud. Head Coach Jon Gruden said that Alstott is getting some time off due to general soreness.
During an early period in practice, the crowd in the east field bleachers really got into a drill being run right in front of them by the backs, receivers and tight ends. The team had set up four standing dummies with a few yards in between them, and several coaches stood right past them holding large pads. Each player in turn had to zigzag through the dummies as quickly as possible, and as he came through each gap, a hard pass was fired at him. Without stopping, the player was supposed to catch each pass and quickly fire it back, until the last throw, which he was to tuck while he ran out of the dummies and into the gauntlet of pad-wielding coaches. WR Ike Hilliard may have the surest hands on the team, so the crowd jumped on him hard when he surprisingly dropped one of the four passes. Most of the skill-position players completed the drill perfectly.
QB Luke McCown may be having an excellent training camp, but that hasn't excused the young signal caller from Gruden's on-the-field quips. The most recent came this morning when McCown was receiving reps during the group install portion of practice. Before the snap, Gruden pointedly yelled, "Here's a blitz against a young quarterback who doesn't know what to do."
LB Sam Olajubutu looked good during the team's nine-on-seven drills, which primarily consist of running plays. Bucs Linebackers Coach Gus Bradley was quick to praise the rookie linebacker for his strong play against the run.
Second-year G Davin Joseph was good during this drill, too. On the first play, the big lineman showed off stunning mobility by pulling very quickly on a sweep play to the right.
DT Darrell Campbell showed good quickness, shedding his blocker at the line of scrimmage and promptly wrapping up the running back for what would have been a one-yard gain at most. Defensive Line Coach Larry Coyer could be heard saying, "That's it, Darrell! That's it!"
During the receiver/DB one-on-ones, S Jermaine Phillips drew praise for a play on which he didn't give up. WR Mark Jones got open for a catch on a deep out, but Phillips managed to arrive in time to poke the ball out of Jones' hands. On the next play, CB Sammy Davis turned in an outstanding bit of coverage, staying with the ultra-quick Chad Owens on a stop-go-stop route and getting the PBU. To complete the trifecta, CB Carlos Hendricks matched speedy WR Chad Lucas on a fly on the next play and knocked the pass away.
The defense's streak came to an end on the next snap in the one-on-ones. Actually, CB Marcus Hamilton kept good coverage on WR Maurice Stovall's fly down the left sideline, but the pass was delivered perfectly to Stovall's outside shoulder and the receiver used his body well to keep the ball away from Hamilton.
LBs Quincy Black and Adam Hayward got a set of reps during the OL/DL one-on-ones again and showed they weren't afraid to drive hard right at the bigger offensive tackles. Still, Hayward's best rush came on a play in which he made initial contact with the tackle, then spun quickly and to the inside, going low to get under the tackle's arm.
During the same drill, DE/DT Kevin Carter showed off a vicious club move against T Chris Denman.
Later, Carter saw time at left end in what appeared to be the Bucs starting nickel defense. DE Greg Spires received reps with the second team defense.
During the special teams period, the Bucs worked on punting. In protection, RB Earnest Graham and LB Jamie Winborn lined up on the two ends of the line as the players set off by a yard or two. This is a demanding position, as that player often has to make a split-second decision on which player to block when several are coming from his end. After Graham and Winborn, the next pair of players at that spot were S Will Allen and LB Cato June.
During a full-team period, TE Anthony Becht caught a quick slant over the middle. As he did so, a coach yelled, "Go to the house," and Becht responded by picking up speed and continuing the play all the way to the end zone, 50 yards downfield. Becht than capped the extra sprint with a spinning flip of the ball in the end zone.
|
| |
Wednesday, August 8 PM Practice
The second practice on Wednesday was conducted under stifling heat and humidity. A thermometer on the field measured the heat index at 111 degrees at 3:15, and it was just under 110 degrees when the team left the field a little before 5:00. Disney officials who had worked previous Buc camps said they believed the highest they had seen it read for a Buccaneer practice before was 112 degrees.
WR Maurice Stovall gave the crowd something to cheer about in the early going of practice when he pulled in a nicely thrown fade pass from QB Luke McCown in the end zone. Afterwards, the usually reserved Stovall sprung to his feet and emphatically spiked the football.
During an offensive period against a scout team defense, QB Jeff Garcia reacted to a red zone blitz well by throwing a perfect lob over the middle of the field to WR Mark Jones for an apparent touchdown. A few plays later, QB Luke McCown showed off his outstanding mobility by turning a rollout right into a quick sprint into the end zone.
With WR Chad Owens (hamstring) not practicing, the Bucs split the kickoff return reps during the special teams period between Jones and CBs Phillip Buchanon and Carlos Hendricks.
The second offensive period against the scout team was used to work on short-yardage and goal-line situations. Such plays usually feature a lot of heavy hitting in live action, but these were run at about three-quarters speed since the players weren't in pads. Still, LB Cato June did give rookie FB Byron Storer a little bit of a pop when Storer tried to provide a lead block in a hole over left guard. Storer was driven back a bit by the hit.
LB Ryan Nece and S Kalvin Pearson each had an interception during the second defensive period against the offensive scout team.
The Buccaneers' defense lined up in an interesting 3-4 alignment this afternoon, and it wasn't the scout team defense simulating a New England front. The formation featured Patrick Chukwurah, Ryan Sims and Julian Jenkins as down linemen, flanked on each side by linebackers Cato June and Quincy Black. Linebackers Ryan Nece and Jamie Winborn were also in on the formation along with the first-team secondary.
DT Darrell Campbell continued with the high-effort evident in his morning session. The big tackle again worked his way free to meet the running back behind the line of scrimmage and a few plays later batted down a pass.
The Bucs used the last period of the practice to work in a two-minute situation. They also reserved those snaps for mostly young players, with QB Bruce Gradkowski leading the offense.
|
| |
Tuesday, August 7 AM Practice
The Buccaneers took their morning practice indoors on Tuesday, converting it into a walk-through inside a large hotel ballroom. The practice was not open to the public and was closed to the media after 10 minutes.
The morning walk-through was nine periods long and largely aimed at specific situations, such as short-yardage, goal-line and blitzes.
Because the morning workout was a walk-through, it was not a particularly accurate barometer of the progress of several injured players. However, Barrett Ruud did return to the first-team middle linebacker spot after missing several days with a bruised knee.
The Bucs will go outside for their afternoon practice, and will devote the entire two hours to New England scout work in advance of Friday night's game.
|
| |
Tuesday, August 7 PM Practice
In a move that was most likely a concession to the sweltering heat this afternoon, the Bucs opted to practice minus pads. Still, Head Coach Jon Gruden continuously urged his players to hustle. At one point, Gruden could be heard prodding LB Jamie Winborn. As Winborn jogged on to the field, Gruden yelled, "Come on, Winborn! You've got a lot of hits left in you!"
Tuesday afternoon's practice was largely aimed at preparing for the New England Patriots, who the Buccaneers will face Friday in their first preseason game of the season. As such, both the Bucs' offense and defense ran plays against scout teams. Simulating the Patriots' 3-4 defense made for some interesting sights, such as defensive end Julian Jenkins playing on the line of scrimmage as a stand-up left end. Rookie linebacker Quincy Black also lined up at that position.
During the individual position work the team conducted before getting into its New England scout work on Tuesday afternoon, the quarterbacks and receivers worked on some very specific situations, with Wide Receivers Coach Richard Mann leading the way. For instance, the receivers and passers practiced how to respond when the receiver noticed the cornerback that was covering him suddenly leaving that spot in order to blitz. After that drill, the receivers worked on adjusting their routes against a cornerback who was clearly trying to reroute them.
DT Ryan Sims, who has missed a lot of time recently due to a foot ailment, practiced fully on Tuesday afternoon. However, T Luke Petitgout, LB Barrett Ruud and TE Matt Herian remained out.
WR Chad Owens made a one-handed circus catch while playing for the scout-team offense. Owens and the quarterback made a blitz read and threw a quick pass out to the left flat, but Owens had to reach out with one arm and snag the hard throw that was sailing off target.
S Will Allen snared an interception off an underthrown deep ball during the starting defense's first crack at the Patriots scout-team offense. Later, CB Marcus Hamilton maintained impressive coverage on a long crossing route by TE C.J. Leak and broke up a pass right on the left sideline.
During the first few reps of a kickoff return drill, the Buccaneers put the following players on the field in what looked like a possible starting unit: safeties Kalvin Pearson and Donte Nicholson and linebackers Antoine Cash, Ryan Nece and Jamie Winborn on the front line; guard Jeb Terry and tight ends Alex Smith, Anthony Becht and Jerramy Stevens in the wedge; and running back Earnest Graham as the fullback escorting return man Mark Jones. The next rep featured the same players but with CB Phillip Buchanon switching out with Jones.
QB Chris Simms ran the Bucs' scout team offense, giving the team's defense a chance to see some probable New England formations and play calls.
If the purpose of training camp had to be described with one visual, it no doubt would be that of first-round pick Gaines Adams getting tutored by DC Monte Kiffin and fellow defensive lineman Kevin Carter, a 13-year veteran. As players shuttled in and out of formations, the rookie Adams could be seen off to the side with a typically animated Kiffin as well as Carter. The trio appeared to be working on Adams' recognition of and reaction to specific offensive movements.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|