Tempers Flare At One Buc Palace
July 30th, 2014
Man, it got good — and nasty and tense — about an hour into training camp practice today at One Buc Palace when 11-on-11 play resumed and was sparked by starting center Evan Dietrich-Smith coming after backup defensive tackle Matthew Masifilo.
Dietrich-Smith was holding on and fired up in the defensive backfield when a crowd had to be broken up. But the action didn’t start and end there.
Intensity really jacked up at that point, but it all seemed sparked by two fierce hits on Bobby Rainey by Mason Foster, both in the backfield or near the line or scrimmage.
After the skirmish, Bucs icon and linebackers coach Hardy Nickerson, who always seems to be smiling, turned angry. Hardy marched into the middle of the field and was screaming at his linebackers. Man, Joe wouldn’t want to get on Nickerson’s bad side. Whether Nickerson was fired up for their tough-guy play, or something else, is unclear.
A few plays later, after a lot of helmet collisions and a short gains, Gerald McCoy emerges holding guard Oneil Cousins by the arm and firmly talking and walking Cousins back to the offensive huddle. This was not a friendly chat.
The session ends a couple of plays later when Tim Wright, after taking a dumpoff pass from Mike Glennon, gets a borderline late lick from backup linebacker Danny Lansanah.
Fun stuff from the first half of practice.
Stick with Joe through the night for more from One Buc Palace and Day 5 of training camp.
July 30th, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Love it mane… Fat Pat voice. Go Bucs!!!
July 30th, 2014 at 6:14 pm
Love the fire…..this is exactly what we need…..real spark…..part of it is caused by backups trying to impress….but you gotta love it!!!
July 30th, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Gulfcoast
Luv the Fat Pat reference…
July 30th, 2014 at 6:22 pm
I’m getting more fired up by the minute. I cannot wait for the preseason to get started. Emotions will be flying high and they’ll be able to take it out on another team. Gonna be fun to watch.
Thanks for providing the insight on attitude floating around that practice field. OUR BOYS ARE READY TO HIT!
July 30th, 2014 at 6:22 pm
If you listen to Ian Beckles when he talks about Hardy “back in the day” Beck doesn’t hesitate to say that Hardy was a bit on the “dirty” side……Hardy’s the guy who brought some attitude to the team back then and helped get the Bucs off the basement floor.
July 30th, 2014 at 6:28 pm
Seems like all your reports are saying this o- line is going to suck. Seems they keep getting blown up in practice daily
July 30th, 2014 at 6:31 pm
I know Cousins has to be tough but man if McCoy is taking you back to the huddle you need to calm down! McCoy is the franchise and doesn’t play on the field! Leadership showing more and more from him!
July 30th, 2014 at 6:43 pm
I saw plenty of that stuff with previous camps. Results are what I look for, not show.
July 30th, 2014 at 8:34 pm
Fat Pat!? Haha! What y’all know about that!? Lol
July 31st, 2014 at 11:50 am
Thanks for the report on Nickerson, he was the first brick of one of the best defenses in NFL history and certainly has a lot to offer now as a coach. Smart move bringing him on board Bucs!