Training Camp Day 5 – Notes & Observations
August 1st, 2016
Lively second day in full pads at Buccaneers training camp. Grab a cold one and/or a footlong; Joe’s got your need-to-know.
*Loads of special teams work today. Fun watching coaches toss bouncing balls toward Adam Humphries and others to work on picking up wacky bounces.
*Alterraun Verner getting time at kick returner and looks pretty good. (full story on JoeBucsFan.com home page).
*Mike Glennon with a rough overthrow of Mike James.
*Bucs working through drills with soft coverage. Eleven completions in a row (seven America’s Quarterback, four Glennon). Very crisp sharp stuff.
*”I’ve Got the Power” by SNAP has the players moving between drills. Could this be Noah Spence’s theme song? Or Rudy Humphries?
*Lots of 1-on-1 work — pass rushing vs. pass blocking. Always great to see the hogs going at it in a controlled setting. Joe didn’t catch a lot of the first session, but saw enough to know Demar Dotson is stout. Looks like a revived man this training camp — so far. First session ended with Clinton McDonald and Joe Hawley getting very chippy at the end. Angry ending that led to a heated gathering of O-linemen and D-linemen. Noah Spence and Kevin Pamphile had a little shoving session.
*Sad to see rookie fifth-round pick Caleb Benenoch on crutches and in a boot. The 6-5 tackle/guard out of UCLA is in a tough spot, especially after he had to miss time in the spring due to goofy NFL Pac-12 rules.
*11-on-11: Jameis with a quick slant to Luke Stocker.
*Doug Martin runs right through a huge hole — gargantuan. Major celebrating by the O-linemen after that one. Hawley was pumped, slapping hands and accepting congratulations.
*Jameis to Cameron Brate. Complete with Bradley McDougald all over him 10 yards down field.
*Back to Brate again over the middle.
*Glennon complete to tight end Brandon Myers. Defensive end Howard Jones in coverage 10 yards down field. Mike Smith’s defense is not traditional.
*Lots of d-line stunts. Clinton McDonald chases Jameis out of pocket despite being held by Joe Hawley.
*Ah, one of Joe’s all-time favorite songs, “Unchained,” blares from the loudspeakers. God bless Eddie Van Halen.
*SACK! Kwon Alexander and Gerald McCoy team up. Of course, Jameis does not get hit in practice, but this would have been a nasty sandwich. After practice, Jameis noted McCoy is giving the O-line fits.
*Tipped pass. Joe didn’t see who, but Robert Ayers was in quickly off the right edge on Donovan Smith.
*Camp meat alert! Nice connection from No. 3 QB Ryan Griffin to wide receiver Andre Davis, but in real action Griffin would have been hit on his release.
*More special teams. Nice coverage work from linebacker Josh Keyes, who was with the last year.
*OK. Now it’s back to another session of 1-on-1s, O-line versus D-line. Robert Ayers has some great inside moves.
*Sackless George Johnson schools Pamphile, but an immediate rematch goes to Pamphile.
*McCoy is lightning quick on Marpet. Wow. Cannon-like.
*Clinton McDonald getting strong push on Evan Smith.
*Gosder Cherilus seems to like to play nasty and on the edge of the rules.
*Noah Spence literally beat undrafted rookie Leonard Wester like he wasn’t even there. Quick swim move from right edge.
*Johnson gets loud love from defensive line coach Jay Hayes after beating undrafted rookie tackle Kelby Johnson.
*Uh, oh. Welcome to the big leagues Noah Spence. Donovan Smith owned him and put him on his butt. Just too strong a punch.
*Akeem Spence too much for undrafted rookie Joel Hale.
*Marpet with a clear win over McDonald.
*Dotson owns Jacqueis Smith. Stone wall. A minute later, Smith attempts a rip move on Dotson and gets thrown to the ground. Again, Dotson was a monster today.
*Howard Jones jumps off sides, then Jones beats undrafted rookie Leonard Webster.
*Back to 11-on-11: Kwon Alexender is in the backfield on two consecutive plays. Once to catch Doug Martin running left, and then at the line of scrimmage to meet Martin running inside.
*Chemistry? Sharp quick slant to Mike Evans from Jameis.
*A standup rush from Noah Spence!
*Jameis to Russell Shepard on a slot route in the seam. Complete! 15 yards.
*Wide receiver Evan Spencer with back-to-back strong grabs from Jameis and Glennon.
*Mike Evans along the right sideline drops a Jameis pass that was right in his breadbasket. Jameis scrambled a bit in the pocket and found Evans wide open about 30 yards down field. To be fair, it was a bit underthrown. Still, when the ball hits you in the gut, that should be a catch. Dirk Koetter has stated that Evans is motivated by reading all the reports of his drops. Dude must be unable to sleep at night.
*FUMBLE! Jacquies Smith strips Charles Sims. Great pursuit by Smith.
*This Jonathan Krause, late of the Patriots and Eagles, who the Bucs were “awarded” (?) recently has made a splash in practices. Today, he hauled in two catches while laying out for the ball. Impressive.
*Kwon flashes again on Mike James.
Bucs are back on the practice field Wednesday. Please check out all kinds of stuff from Joe all day every day.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Thanks Joe….great notes…
Again, was ASJ at practice….did he catch a pass, drop a pass, go offsides? Or was he seen on the sideline luxuriously getting cool water poured on him while the rest of the team labored in the hot Tampa sun?
August 1st, 2016 at 1:09 pm
Here’s to an injury-free offseason
Man it sounds like Kwon is having an outstanding offseason
Thanks Joes!
August 1st, 2016 at 1:26 pm
Again, if a player goes unmentioned in notes, he likely didn’t do something that would grab people’s attention. Remember, it’s not like a TV game when only 11 guys on the field.
If Joe doesn’t mention a player, it doesn’t neccesarily mean anything bad. Just didn’t stick out or flash.
Think of it like you are at the beach. You don’t notice the ugly chicks but you do notice the babes.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:31 pm
Foaming at the mouth……football is near!
August 1st, 2016 at 1:36 pm
These are great!
August 1st, 2016 at 1:46 pm
Great coverage here Joe. Love the..camp meats too!
August 1st, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Evans drops: Check out “Highlights from Day 3” on Bucs website. 9 or 10s seconds into the video, look closely at Evans catching the ball but CLOSING HIS EYES! Bad habit.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:50 pm
Hey Joe!
Any word on Javien Elliott? I know you’d consider him ‘camp meat’ but has he even been on the field? He’s a great ‘hard work and perseverance can get you somewhere’ story but I’ve never seen him mentioned. Not sure if that’s because he’s not even there any more or like Kenny Bell, he’s ‘invisible’.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Humpries exceeded my expectations last year and he was just a rookie, he will continue to get better. Also not as small as you’d think, he towered over Wes Welker in a photo he took with him. We may have a potential gem at our #3 WR spot.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:56 pm
I’m not sure if Ryan Griffen qualifies as camp meat anymore, i saw him practice in person and he was impressive for a #3 qb, made good reads and throws a nice ball. Jameis refers to the qb group as the “3 headed monster”. Dan lefevour is however, camp meat.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:57 pm
“Think of it like you are at the beach. You don’t notice the ugly chicks but you do notice the babes.”
True but even in TC & Preseason a lot of babes end up looking ugly come the regular season and vice versa. Andy Dalton / Cam Newton come to mind who looked absolutely rotten in the pre-season. I really thought Dalton couldn’t throw more than like 20 yards downfield based on his ducks in preseason lol.
Encouraging to hear good things about the secondary & d-line & Winston. But in general I am trying to take everything with a grain of salt until week 1 of the regular season.
I was so pumped for week 1 last year and then re-evaluated my entire life after that embarrassment.
August 1st, 2016 at 1:57 pm
Thanks for the notes Joe
With Caleb Benenoch banged up, and J.R Sweezy recovering from offseason surgery
– I’m a Little concerned w/ the depth at guard.
(Quick Snapshot – If season started today)
LT Donovan Smith
LG Kevin Pamphile | J.R. Sweezy
C Joe Hawley | Evan Smith
RG Ali Marpet | Taylor Fallin ???
RT Demar Dotson | Gosder Cherilus
*Et Cetera:
During underwear football I heard a lot about C/G Prospect Ben Gottschalk.
But now that the pads are on – I haven’t even heard a whisper. Any thoughts on this kid out of Memphis T/G Taylor Fallin – Joe? Been hearing he’s getting some snaps with 2nd unit at guard.
August 1st, 2016 at 2:02 pm
One thing that is encouraging here
I remember reading these last years and it felt like almost every other bullet point was “drop by receiver X” – I remember saying then how concerning that was and it obviously carried over into the season.
Yea, it seems like there’s a drop here or there just from reading these updates but nowhere near what it was like last year. That’s slightly encouraging
August 1st, 2016 at 2:02 pm
good to hear andre davis getting some action….great notes joe!!!…GO BUCS!!!!!
August 1st, 2016 at 2:02 pm
CreamsicleBananaHammock
Good Point
August 1st, 2016 at 2:14 pm
Hey JOE
What is your evaluation on Jameis?
compared to last years camp w/ pads…Is jameis going to have a monster season?
what % is he better than last year?
How is jameis compared to freemans best training camp?
thanks
August 1st, 2016 at 2:16 pm
Thank you again Joe..now it’s DAYS, no more months before the first preseason..
The only thing I have seen ASJ do is ham it up in the stands…at least he’s trying to get the fans on his side..but he still needs to get the work done..
HAPPY for Dot! NOW they should give him the money he wants..
Andre Davis! He should make the squad..he’s solid..good guy too…
Again, you are so appreciated..
August 1st, 2016 at 2:30 pm
*Sad to see rookie fifth-round pick Caleb Benenoch on crutches and in a boot. The 6-5 tackle/guard out of UCLA is in a tough spot, especially after he had to miss time in the spring due to goofy NFL Pac-12 rules.*
Looks like a fortunate(?) trip to the IR this year to get a year of NFL schoolin for a rookie who probably would not have made/borderline made the team
Lucky Break(?)
August 1st, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Not liking to hear about Benenoch with a boot. Oline is dangerous place to play and with Sweezy and Benenoch out at the moment, I dont know anything about our backups
August 1st, 2016 at 3:04 pm
As far as Benenoch is concerned….maybe we will put him on IR like we did Bell….I don’t think we should cut him if he has potential….and, I believe he is guaranteed his rookie contract even if cut, so might as well keep him.
August 1st, 2016 at 3:37 pm
The feel I get from these notes in comparison to last year’s notes this time is they come across a whole lot more aggressive in nature. I likey.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:05 pm
Good quarterback, great leader. Count Joe as one of the few who is concerned the “lighter Jameis” may mean more likely to get hurt.
Koetter has Jameis using a lot of short rollouts.
Freeman was not an accurate quarterback, in practice or games. If Mike Evans can learn to catch, it would help Jameis out a lot.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:10 pm
How’s the QB competition going between Mike Glennon and Jameis Winston? Dirk Koetter said he wanted to see competition at every position. Glennon has looked really good!
August 1st, 2016 at 4:11 pm
Not familiar with him and for a fourth- or fifth-stringer to catch someone’s eyes, he really has to do something huge. Most of these guys practice on the backfields. It is near impossible for one to see everything on a football field in training camp. At one time there can be 60 guys working on the field at the same time. That is one reason why Joe focuses on guys higher up the depth chart. The other reason? The general public doesn’t care much about camp meat until they make the final-53.
Joe can write this: This Krause receiver the Bucs claimed off waivers recently, he has shown way more in one week than Kenny Bell has early in into his second training camp.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:13 pm
There is none. Jameis is your starter. Duh.
August 1st, 2016 at 4:18 pm
I checked on the nature of rookie contracts….(Benenoch)…..the vast majority are not guaranteed…..only the first half of the first round may have 4 year guarantees…..the second round players maybe the first two years & so on….
so….it is likely that the Benenoch salary is not guaranteed….only the signing bonus…
So, the Bucs could put him on IR like Bell was last year… but they would have to pay him (not much)
August 1st, 2016 at 4:23 pm
Any word on how Josh Robinson is doing? Is he out there playing? Haven’t heard much if any on him….
August 1st, 2016 at 4:29 pm
Again, if someone makes a play or stands out, Joe will write about it. That doesn’t necessarily mean a player not written about is practicing badly, just means he didn’t do anything to make one take notice.
Thinking Joe mentioned him in notes the first or second day of practice.
August 1st, 2016 at 5:27 pm
My first impression of Caleb Bennoch was “man, this guy has some skinny legs for a tackle”…..now he’s in a boot, wouldn’t be surprised if he turns out to be injury prone.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:31 pm
Tbbucs3
Good Point about the skinny legs.
I had the same knock on Darren Mcfadden coming out of college.
Big Up Top – Skinny on the bottom
Lets hope he can get some conditioning advice from Demar Dotson.
I don’t know if you remember – But DOT had some bean poles coming out of Southern Miss. Took’em a couple years – but he’s balanced out some.
August 1st, 2016 at 6:40 pm
*Demar Dotson (Injury History)
2010
Bucs placed OT Demar Dotson (knee) on injured reserve, ending his season.
Dotson sustained a knee injury in the preseason finale that will take 3-4 months to recover from.
2015
Dotson missed the first half of last season with a sprained MCL and wasn’t 100 percent when he came back
August 1st, 2016 at 6:55 pm
Bennoch = injury settlement ala ernest graham.
August 1st, 2016 at 7:24 pm
Evans needs to open those eyes and look the ball into his hands. I feel certain Monken has already told him that. If this keeps up Evans needs to see a psych who will try to unravel what is causing this. He certainly didn’t do that as a rookie. And Joe you have mentioned Robinson before.
August 1st, 2016 at 9:20 pm
Joe It just hit me Commander Kwon Alexander.
August 1st, 2016 at 9:56 pm
Great to hear Marpet out there. He’s going to be a pro bowl player by next year. Beast
August 1st, 2016 at 10:01 pm
Lmao QB competition.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:06 pm
Sac:
Greg Schiano is/was the commander.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:30 pm
Man I’m feeling either foolish or just too old…I gotta admit I do notice ugly chicks at the beach…especially if they’re wearing the right bathing suit!!
But I’m a total slut…what can I say,
August 2nd, 2016 at 3:16 am
Schiano is gone Joe. I only said commander because Kwon is taking to his role like a soldier. It has a nice ring to it.
August 2nd, 2016 at 5:47 am
Stpetebucsfan
LMAO
August 2nd, 2016 at 8:55 am
Think of it like you are at the beach. You don’t notice the ugly chicks but you do notice the babes.
_________________________________________________________
Sheet. I notice every single one of them. 😉