Ex-Eagles DT Beau Allen assesses practice

The Eagles have a heck of an ongoing tradition for grueling practices. The Buccaneers do not.

Does it matter?

Andy Reid got the ball rolling with a physical, hitting training camps and running. Chip Kelly ran things at 100 miles per hour. And Super Bowl champ Doug Pederson is known for following the Reid way.

Of course, all that matters is Ws, as Jameis Winston and Dirk Koetter like to say.

Tampa Bay now has two defensive linemen off the Eagles’ Super Bowl roster in the building: Beau Allen and Vinny Curry. Joe talked about spring practices with Allen today, specifically what’s different — and the same — in Philly.

Allen said it’s hard to compare what he was used to because of the mountain of new information and installations he’s absorbing in Tampa. But he said the pace is reminiscent of Kelly’s.

“With Chip we were uptempo all the time,” Allen said. “And we’ve been doing a lot of uptempo stuff with Coach Koetter, just in our team sessions, which I think is really good. I think there’s no other way to acclimate to the heat. That’s the way to do it, man.

“So I think it’s a little comparable to Chip. It’s definitely not the same, but well-run and very well-organized.”

Allen acknowledged that he’s craving the competition of a physical Bucs training camp, especially with the depth of talent on the Buccaneers’ overhauled d-line. He said he plans to spend the entire summer training in Tampa rather than going home to his native Minnesota or Wisconsin where he grew up.

“I want to work in this heat, really take it on,” Allen said.

A lot of Bucs fans are wondering if Koetter will run a harder, meaner training camp this year. With a brutal early schedule, Joe thinks that could help the team in September, but that’s certainly just guesswork. Koetter opened 2-2 last season and should have been 3-1 if there was a competent kicker in the house.

After talking to several players, Joe is confident Koetter will have plenty of eager bodies and minds in the trenches and beyond if he’s willing to let guys get after it more often in camp next month.