The Bucs look to show the fans their improvements going into 2016
The summer heat rolled in early Saturday morning, but that didn’t stop Bucs fans from filling the bleachers at One Buc Place. A full crowd showed up to witness the Bucs first training camp practice open to the general public. The Buccaneers came on to the field to a loud ovation before getting down to business.
The Bucs wore shoulder pads for the first time since camp started today. After partaking in some stretching and short positional drills, the offense and defense came together for nine on nine drills as the clouds began to gather. Winston looked sharp early on besides a long bomb that was a little behind Adam Humphries and fell incomplete. The offensive line seemed to hold together well and Doug Martin took a run to the outside and gained eight yards before the Bucs defense swarmed him. The offense seemed to be winning the battle. After the twos ran a few plays, the heavens decided to open up and a rain delay ensued.
Coming back from the delay, the tides seemed to turn. The defense seemed to step up their game. While the offense is running the same system as Dirk Koetter continues to call the plays, the defense has taken a new direction with new defensive coordinator Mike Smith calling the shots. Winston seemed to miss some throws in 7 on 7’s, but Doug Martin remained sharp making cuts and looking to be in midseason form. The defense was able to knock down passes and get penetration into the backfield in the second go around.
There were some negatives. Safety Major Wright absolutely unloaded on tight end Brandon Myers on a pass play. A hit that would have resulted in a 15 yard penalty and more than likely a fine from the NFL front office. Those kind of plays need to be eliminated, especially against your own team. Yes, you want to get into game playing mode during training camp, but staying healthy needs to be everyone’s number one goal. Dirk Koetter was not pleased with the play. The penalties were a little excessive with the first team players, a problem last season that needs to be taken care of if the Bucs want to be successful this season. A small scuffle did break out between the offense and defense, but with the heat that’s to be expected, and the problem was quickly alleviated.
Even with the issues, the Bucs continue to move in the right direction to live up to the expectations of a team on the rise.
