It's usually quite difficult to tell which team is "winning" a joint practice during training camp. For instance, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets sharing the field (three fields, to be exact) this week, tackle Luke Goedeke said his side had "held its own" and been "solid but not good enough in Tuesday's session. Over the course of two days and about four hours of joint work, the Bucs and Jets each had their ups and downs and their moments of apparent control or being controlled.
All of that said, the Buccaneers found a way to end the joint work on a high note. The very last drill of Wednesday's practice focused on two-minute situations. The Buccaneers' first-team offense, led by Baker Mayfield, drove down the field and scored a touchdown. The Jets' first-team offense was stopped and held without points. That's a pretty clear "win" for the visiting Bucs.
"That was awesome," said center Graham Barton. "We kind of marched down the field, receivers made some good plays. From what I could tell at least, [we] protected well up front. That's what you want for your first live look at a two-minute drill."
The drive ended in Mayfield's touchdown pass to tight end Cade Otton, with wide receiver Ted Hurst III and running back Kenny Gainwell contributing big plays to get the offense in position to score. The unit also managed to rebound quickly from a failed running play that could have scuttled the drive early.
"The run look was tough," said Barton. "It made it hard on our backside combinations. To be able to get stuffed, get back up to the line and be able to call a play, get the blocking scheme right, get the snap off and find an open receiver that quickly is not easy. This early in August to be able to execute like that, it's pretty cool. Definitely a good building block for us."
Cornerback Ayden Garnes had a lot to do with the defense's two-minute stop, breaking up a pair of passes. That continued an impressive camp for the undrafted rookie. Getting a chance to run with the first-team defense on Wednesday in the absence of Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison, and thus getting some reps against Jets star receiver Garrett Wilson, was good preparation for Friday's preseason opener.
"He made some [plays] in two-minute, and he's got some things to learn in the other periods as well – red zone," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "As far as team periods, he's got to understand situational football, but he's getting a crack at it with the ones right now, so he's getting valuable experience playing againstGarrett Wilson. He made a play at the end of the two-minute. He's a very confident guy and he's very athletic. It'll be great to see him play Friday night."
