Bruce Arians photo by Kevin O’Donnell, FOX-13.

The pads came on for the first time today in training camp, about 17 days later than initially expected.

This was no typical August practice, however. The Bucs continue to be in a ramp-up phase.

Today’s session was from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., which includes warm-up time. By Friday, the practice time window will extend to 11 a.m., as will all of next week’s dates.

Joe’s already written about what Bucco Bruce Arians had to say about last Friday’s session after watching the film. He liked the pace and explained why. Without watching the film yet of today’s practice, the head coach also liked the pace but also appreciated the intensity.

The sweet sounds of football are in the air.

 “I liked the effort, I thought the enthusiasm was good and [with] the hitting, you could hear the practice,” Arians said.

You just knew Tom Brady’s first practice in pads would be a standout helmet-cracker. It’ll be interesting to see if Arians’ troops can keep up the pace, and what he does to prevent burnout in the swelter.

The first Brady screaming session should be fun, too. Joe’s going to guess Brady unloads on somebody on Friday, to set the tone for next week.