Day 4 Training Camp Notes & Observations
July 31st, 2016
The pads came on for the first time in 2016, and Joe’s got your need-to-know from Sunday’s practice. Grab a cold one and dive in.
*”Play That Funky Music” has fans groovin’ in the morning heat.
*Quick strikes in drills from America’s Quarterback to Cameron Brate and Mike Evans. Excellent precision.
*Charles Sims is stuffed on a two yard run. Bucs’ defensive line isn’t getting moved in the run game often today. No surprise. They were outstanding against the run last year.
*Mike Glennon to Donteeya Dye with very tight coverage by cornerback Josh Robinson, who has had a quiet training camp to date.
*Third-team duty. Danny Vitale catches a pass from No. 3 QB Ryan Griffin, and Vitale’s speed shows up big against future luggage handlers and rental car agents. Crowd loves it.
*Through four days of practice, Brent Grimes’ elite athleticism has been on display. Today, it was a different kind of skill — on the sidelines. Grimes is seen soccer juggling a football. Bucs general manager Jason Licht was standing nearby and seemed intrigued.
*Bernard Reedy drops a punt.
*Adam Humphries catches a punt and falls down. It was not a fair catch.
*11-on-11 work. Manbeast defensive end Will Gholston swallows Doug Martin for no gain. Martin again up the gut for little gain. Interesting, that was first-team work with Glennon at QB. Jameis on a side field working with QB coach Mike Bajakian.
*Bad snap? Joe’s not sure. A whistle sounded, Kwon Alexander pounced on the ball, but it seemed coaches marched the offense backwards on the next play. Training camp needs replay!
*Martin with a sweet cutback run. Broke through clean that time.
*Pro Bowl caliber breakup by Brent Grimes covering Vincent Jackson on a quick roll right by Jameis. Damn, Grimes has a different gear.
*Charles Sims screen from Jameis to right. Beautiful. Perfect. Jameis lobs such a pretty pass on screens. Sims looks electric in open space.
* Lightning Spence and GMC give fans a taste of what might be by chasing Jameis.
* Martin squirts though a pile after taking pitch from Jameis and dodges a hard-charging Lavonte David near the right sideline.
* Lightning Spence flies in to put pressure on Jameis but pass is complete to Brate near right sideline.
* Bucs defense just flies and swarms. Think Bucs fans so in love with Tampa-2 are in for a (needed) culture shock.
* Twisted Sister blaring over the loud speakers.
*Glennon with a nice crossing route connection to the Great White Hype (Danny Vitale). Soft touch.
*Glennon with a throwaway. Everyone covered.
*Penalty on the second-team O-line.
*Scrambling Glennon, with no one open, runs off left tackle for about 15 yards.
*Martin explodes off right tackle. Vitale almost lost/slow on lead block from fullback position. Coaching moment forthcoming.
*Rudy Humphries wins battle with Hey Jude to haul in long pass from Jameis. Hey Jude even had a hand in Rudy’s face.
*Shazam has players bouncing during brief break.
*Rookie Ryan Smith at safety breaks up Jameis pass for the Great White Hype at tight end. Pass was on target. Solid play by Smith.
*Hey Jude on a blitz forces Jameis to get rid of ball. (Shades of Ronde Barber blitzing from the corner.)
*Mike Evans on a crossing pattern goes low for a ball which hits him in the hands… and then the ball hits the dirt.
*INTERCEPTION! Alterraun Verner snags a deep Jameis pass, but in a real game it never would have happened. Hey Jude blitzed from nickel cornerback and would have gotten Jameis but had to lay off. Nobody touches the QB.
*Razor sharp Jameis to Evans Spencer, a comeback route on Grimes. Still good coverage by Grimes. Crowd like the execution all around.
*DROP?? Vitale can’t squeeze the ball. Did Ryan Smith dislodge?
*Oh, the horror. Roberto Aguayo clanks an upright for the second consecutive day from 45 yards. Everything else from him was money. Joe saw a 50-yarder that appeared to still be rising when it cleared the uprights.
*7-on-7 work: Great hands Humphries, from Jameis on a seam route. Hey Jude was all over him.
*Diving grab by Cameron Brate coming across the field. Neatly led by Jameis.
*Lavonte David strips Reedy. Not a great day for Reedy. But wait! Reedy recovers on the next play and beats Vernon Hargreaves deep on the right side. Another welcome to the NFL moment for Hargreaves.
*Glennon to Evan Spencer. Can’t hang on in traffic but ball was in his hands.
*Austin Seferian-Jenkins catches a rope of a throw from Jameis about 15 yards nestled in zone coverage.
*Defensive screwup. Luke Stocker catches ball on left sideline with nobody around him. On the play, Grimes was on Vincent Jackson like a glove.
*Quick inside completion to V-Jax.
*Hargreaves with a sweet breakup on Brate. The rookie is pumped!
*Back to 11-on-11, INTERCEPTION. Tipped ball on a short route to Vincent Jackson on the left side and linebacker Daryl Smith squeezes the rock. HOWEVER, Robert Ayers pulled a very quick spin move on Donovan Smith and beat him inside. In a real game, Jameis probably doesn’t get a shot to throw that pass.
*Kenny Bell and Grimes collide as Grimes elevated behind him and subsequently got submarined and came down hard. Bell was extremely apologetic for extended time. Soon after, Bell is drilled in the groin during another collision with Grimes in tight coverage. Bell gets up clutching groin.
*Linebacker Luke Rhodes stuffs Mike James for a two-yard gain.
*Doug Martin runs right and rookie linebacker Devante Bond and Cameron Brate collide hard while blocking. Nice to hear the true helmet crash of a real football. Bond plays with a lot of fire from Joe’s limited chances to see him.
*SACK! Noah Spence on Jameis. Much more of a coverage sack, though.
*(SEE VIDEO on JoeBucsFan home page) Kwon Alexander fires in on blitz and Charles Sims can’t handle him in pass protection. Jameis is nearly picked.
*Demar Dotson stones Jacqueis Smith’s pass rush. Dotson is one beast of a man when he gets low and has his feet right.
* After practice, there was a long line of children, maybe 50-70 youngsters, waiting for autographs from Bucs players. When Jameis walked toward them, they squealed with delight, “Jameis… Jameis… Jameis!!!” No other player caused much of a stir but the arrival of America’s Quarterback evoked near bedlam. Jameis spent a long time signing a lot more autographs — and posing for photos — than just those 70 or so fans.
July 31st, 2016 at 12:33 pm
I’m a grab a fresh cup of coffee and read this..Thanking Joe(s) ahead of time..
July 31st, 2016 at 12:51 pm
Wow..it looks like Brate and James mental bro-connection is probably going to get ASJ eventually out of here if he doesn’t produce this year..
I really think our LB corps are going to lead the league..wow..can’t wait to see Aug. 11 with the rookies at play..
Thanks Joe..
July 31st, 2016 at 12:57 pm
Sounds like #3 has his game razor sharp both on and off the field!
Whenever I see or read about the effectiveness of Brate or Humphries I can’t help but think about that Wesley Snipes/Woody Harrelson movie..”White Men Can’t Jump”. These two may not look like NFL players in the locker room but on the field they seem to be getting it done.
July 31st, 2016 at 12:59 pm
Great repirt, joe
July 31st, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Seems like coach Smith not playing when it comes to bringing that pressure. D about to look a whole lot more aggressive this season. Kinda getting a better understanding as why so many fin fans infiltrated JBF the night we signed Grimes. He appears to be showing himself in some way everyday.
July 31st, 2016 at 1:04 pm
And I also wanna second, great notes bro.
July 31st, 2016 at 1:14 pm
I will third, very well covered Joe! I was out there today and you managed to catch every thing. The made 50-yarder by Aguayo was a straight bomb, he clearly is a unique talent. Jameis and co. looked very good in the screen pass plays today, I can’t wait to see that pop this season!
July 31st, 2016 at 1:15 pm
Thanks for the kind words.
July 31st, 2016 at 1:33 pm
Thanks Gooooo Joe.Tampaaaaq
July 31st, 2016 at 1:40 pm
Great White Hope? c’mon man. What about our brown bomber the kicker? Or our black boy qb? Can we leave the race crap out of one thing in life. Pewter and red is the only color that should be mentioned.
July 31st, 2016 at 1:59 pm
Amen Dewey!
July 31st, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Man it was hot out their today. Favorite play was a interception from the D and Jameis runs over and batts the ball out of whoever has it out of bounds. Was a great lunch at Abe’s. The only thing that was disappointing, a lady and her kid must of not had a watch on, because we waited till 11:20 to leave. They never got back on the bus to Abe’s. Good deal from all involved.
July 31st, 2016 at 2:45 pm
Pads and hittin starts now. The real..crème da la crème surfaces. Cry Havoc..Let lose the Dogs of War!
July 31st, 2016 at 2:58 pm
Nice recap. Black white green red, can I bring my friend to bed, pink brown yellow orange and blue, I love you. All together now -Beatles
July 31st, 2016 at 3:13 pm
Finally, a little noiz from Bond! Thanksď
July 31st, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Reedy dropped a punt? Too bad Lovie aint here or hed have a job!!!!
Ive had my share of defense of Lovie, couldnt help myself on this one.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:24 pm
Good to see Ryan Smith playing good safety and I think he has the skill to run back kicks too. Come on Bell and ASJ and get with it! Not seeing any better pass blocking by Smith. We need to swap our Offensive Tackles. Pay Dotson and let him protect Jameis’s blind side.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:28 pm
Wow great notes……You can almost see the rise in intenstity in the written words now that the pads are on.
I loved the bit about Grimes vs Bell……..Bell playing dearheart only to get blasted on the next play!!!!!!! I think Im happy we got Grimes.
July 31st, 2016 at 3:41 pm
Great stuff Joe, thanks!
Let’s hope Bell can do something with pads on in the preseason.
July 31st, 2016 at 4:13 pm
This everyday defensive pressure in training camp will only help Jameis for the regular season.
We are going to have a top 5 defense in 2016. but our offense will suffer against the top defenses in the league ala seattle, arizona,and denver
we lack playmakers
July 31st, 2016 at 4:32 pm
They putting in work, time to separate the cream from the rest of the crop!
July 31st, 2016 at 5:27 pm
I must say…Humphries and Bell need to lose the “nice guy mentality”….our opponents aren’t going to be sorry when they hit them….let’s grow some nuts, sack-up…and take it to them $%$^es!
July 31st, 2016 at 8:25 pm
have to agree on joe ‘s play by play.Nothing short of great reporting!feel like I watched every play.
July 31st, 2016 at 8:28 pm
Enjoying the reports, Joe.
I knew I liked Humpries for a reason.
Seems to me the o-line seems pretty bad.
July 31st, 2016 at 8:41 pm
any news on the O-Lineman from UCLA who got carted off is he ok haven’t heard an report on him
July 31st, 2016 at 9:35 pm
@Dewey Selmon Says:
July 31st, 2016 at 1:40 pm
Great White Hope? c’mon man. What about our brown bomber the kicker? Or our black boy qb? Can we leave the race crap out of one thing in life. Pewter and red is the only color that should be mentioned.
Great comment! I totally agree.
July 31st, 2016 at 9:39 pm
Great reporting Joe.
Roberto will be a weapon year 1
I am confident he will play at a pro bowl level.
July 31st, 2016 at 10:15 pm
Thanks for the compiments guys.
July 31st, 2016 at 10:33 pm
For once I actually have optimism about the defense. Even when Coach My Scheme arrived I wasn’t too sure. I have a damn good feeling.