Training Camp Notes (Practice No. 12 — Controlled Scrimmage With Dolphins)
August 10th, 2022
Russell Gage pulls in a pass (before his injury) and Dolphins corner Kader Kohou looks for a flag.
Standing room only crowd at One Buc Palace for the first of two controlled scrimmages with the Dolphins. Everyone seemed a little amped up as it was a major break from the monotony of training camp. No one seemed more geeked than the players.
* This is not a play, but an observation. In one-on-one offensive line/defensive line drills, the Bucs offense went against the Dolphins defense. And maybe for the first time, Joe got to see up close just how quick Tristan Wirfs is. Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins blew past Wirfs, which was jarring to see. However, Wirfs’ recovery was something special. A Bucs staffer stood as the “quarterback.” When Wilkins got past Wirfs, in a blink of an eye the All-Pro turned his back to the quarterback, zipped to his right and stood between Wilkins and the “quarterback.” Despite Wilkins getting fully past Wirfs, the Bucs’ third-year right tackle positioned himself where Wilkins would have to go through Wirfs to get to the quarterback. Wilkins failed. The speed and the footwork of Wirfs were really something. No wonder this guy is so good. Dang.
* Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich just loves running up the middle. Virtually each practice (Joe has been to every one), Leftwich begins each 11-on-11 session with a Playoff Lenny run up the middle. At least Leftwich is consistent. Of course, the run was a road to nowhere.
* With this continued failure to gain yardage on inside runs, maybe it is not just the Bucs’ defensive line that was just that good. Seems the Dolphins also have a solid defensive line against the run.
* Kyle Rudolph starts with the first team offense. Cam Brate is still sidelined. so once again the rookie tight ends are getting a lot of snaps.
* Tom Brady tries to hit Tyler Johnson on a crossing pattern from the right and Brady’s pass was tipped.
* On that play, Playoff Lenny had a big-time block on Wilkins to keep Brady upright.
* Brady throws to Julio Jones down the left sideline and while covered really well, Julo still got the pass. Oh Julio, did you get away with a push off there? Hhhmmm?
* Rookie tight end Ko Kieft can block, folks, at least that element of his draft bio from #DraftMedia was accurate. Kieft was lined up on the right side and came in motion to the left. Playoff Lenny took a handoff from Brady and began running right. A Dolphins linebacker knifed through a hole and was about to tackle Playoff Lenny from the backside and Kieft lit up this dude’s world. Kieft hit him with his upper body crossing the linebacker’s waste almost parallel to the turf. Very nice. Joe enjoys this physical style of play.
* Blaine Gabbert tried to go to Kieft on the next play in the right flat and Dolphins corner Keion Crossen raced in and broke up the pass, nearly picking the ball off.
* Rachaad White up the middle for no gain. Sense a pattern?
* Cade Otton had a diving catch of a Brady pass. Joe is going to go ahead and call it: Your Bucs starting tight end for 2023 will be Cade Otton. And it wouldn’t shock Joe if at some point this fall Otton is a starter. He’s getting better and better each practice.
* J.J. Howland dives for a Gabbert pass along the right sideline. The crowd roars its approval.
* Brady throws to Playoff Lenny to the left and Brady’s pass hits Playoff Lenny right in the hands. Joe is going to be spoiled with Brady’s pinpoint accuracy. Whoever the quarterback is next year, a rookie or a veteran, he won’t match Brady’s standard.
* So far, the offensive line is holding up just fine in pass protection.
* Julio is wide-@ss open on a crossing pattern from the right side, gain of about 20. Not unlike Otton, Julio each day gets more involved in the offense.
* Joe read the following on Twitter: What kind of twisted world do we live in that Julio Jones is the healthiest receiver on the Bucs?
* Brady fakes a handoff to White up the middle and instead hands off to Scotty Miller racing in from the left, a favorite play of Bucs fans from the Lost Decade, the good ol’ “Benn’ed Around.” Like its namesake, Miller was stopped for no gain.
* Gabbert hits Kameron Brown in the right flat right in the hands and he drops it. Meat, that’s no way to find a new team.
* Brady pumps left and throws the ball way onto Practice Field No. 2.
* Kenjon Barner with a huge gain to the left.
* Gabbert connects with Jerreth Sterns on a short pass to the right. But Sterns hits the jets and gets a bunch of YAC.
* For the first time Joe saw a Dolphins defensive lineman get in Brady’s face. Brady calming just dumped the ball off over the middle and dirted it.
* Nice: Vyncint [not a typo] Smith catches a Gabbert pass that was tipped at the line. He was the intended receiver so nothing out of the ordinary happened here, right?
* It seems Dolphins linebackers do not like Playoff Lenny. On several runs, there is a bunch of jawing and hooting and hollering and shoving between Playoff Lenny and Dolphins linebackers. Often the zebras have to race in to separate dues. The packed bleachers have Playoff Lenny’s back and bark at the Dolphins defenders.
* Playoff Lenny tries to tunnel his way up the middle through a mass of humanity and as soon as the whistle blows, the refs run in again to try to calm down the hassles.
* Playoff Lenny tries to run between the right guard and tackle and gets nothing. Broken record.
* Ouch! The immortal Cyril Grayson on a crossing pattern from the right is hit in the hands by a Brady pass and he flat drops it. With such competition in the wide receiver room, every little mistake is magnified.
* Brady throws left and no one is home. Did Tyler Johnson run a wrong route?
* Playoff Lenny runs left and it sure looked like a Dolphins linebacker got Playoff Lenny in a bulldog headlock and slammed him from the backside into the turn.
* Brady screen pass to the left for Playoff Lenny and he gets a nice gain out of it.
Bucs defense vs. Dolphins offense
* Tua tries to go left and Sean Murphy-Bunting breaks up the pass by selling out. Love how the Bucs defensive backs are just flying and diving all the time.
* Chase Edmonds catches a slant pass from Tua right in front of Devin White and he flies past the Bucs star linebacker.
* Tua aims for Cheetah Hill on a short pass to the right and splits the double-coverage by Carlton Davis and Mike Edwards.
* Lavonte David flies in on a blitz right up the middle (but doesn’t get home) and Tua just dumps the ball off over the middle into the dirt. While David didn’t get a sack or a hit he sure blew the play up.
Two-minute drill (Bucs offense)
* Brady has a pass to the right tipped at the line by Zach Sieler.
* Scotty Miller goes over the middle toward the left numbers, catches a Brady pass and is nearly bent in half by the tackle. The hit was so forceful it lifted Miller off the ground. But he bounced back up. Be careful out there, Scotty!
* Gio Bernard is the target of a Brady pass in the right flat.
* Brady moves right to dodge the Dolphins rush and finds Bernard over the middle.
* Brady finds Deven Thompkins medium down the left side and Thompkins turns on the jets and is gone. Seems like these smurf receivers of the Bucs are able to burn the Dolphins defense with YAC.
.@TomBrady 👉 @juliojones_11, joint practice edition 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RXoq872RJn
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 10, 2022
August 10th, 2022 at 3:05 pm
Scotty Miller had a great day today. He was all over the field
August 10th, 2022 at 3:10 pm
Sounds like the old Dunn for None up the middle play is back.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:16 pm
Favorite band Talking Heads…great link. Lets hope the run game doesn’t stay a road to nowhere as they practice in the Swamp.
These notes read as lots of mistakes out there. But that’s what camp is for I suppose.
Who is returning kicks?
Suh.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:16 pm
@Joe
Did they do a good job? The South Florida Sun-Sentinel beat writer thinks that Zach Sieler “beat up” the Buc interior offensive line. Did you notice, or was he trying to say something positive about the team he covers?
Has there been a problem with passes tipped by the defensive line during camp so far?
August 10th, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Quick reminder that the preseason is vanilla flavored, nothing intricate, playbook isn’t wide open and these guys are repping alot of their base looks in all 3 phases.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:23 pm
I just asked this question on another thread but I’m going to ask again. I just read that Brady would have been sacked 3 times in a row and was hassled all day by the dolphins defensive line. Is this true?? Do we have a serious problem or was this lies written by the other side??
August 10th, 2022 at 3:26 pm
Obvious:
Joe didn’t see any problem.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:27 pm
Passing:
Joe wrote what he saw.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:28 pm
Joes you are propping up the oline again…yet it sounds like offense didnt do anything from summary. (and i know gage evans and godwin out)
But no running plays worth a dang …especially up the gut…just like against our own defense
So not sure why you keep calling out some alleged haters when it sounds like oline is ehhh to date in the interior positions we have all new guys
August 10th, 2022 at 3:31 pm
Joe wrote what he saw. He’s not propping sh!t up. If you don’t believe Joe, then why are you on this site?
Would it make you feel better if Joe wrote Brady got drilled each snap? Because that never happened.
If the line sucked, Joe would have written it.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for the great notes Joe!
HC Grover Says:
“the old Dunn for None”
Sounds like revisionist history to me – Warrick Dunn almost ALWAYS squirmed and slithered forward for at least a yard or 2 after being “tackled”. For a smallish RB – Dunn had a real knack for gaining yards between the tackles. He rarely took big hits and usually got more than you would expect after contact…..
BTW – Dunn is the 23rd most prolific RB in NFL history with 10,967 yards rushing. Dunn is also the 15th best overall RB in NFL history with over 15,300 total combined yards…..
August 10th, 2022 at 3:34 pm
I am not worried about the running game. Most of their best runs were just off guard or off tackle. They weren’t up the gut. Besides, when they start throwing the ball over the place and teams are spread out using 7 DBs… They will be fine
August 10th, 2022 at 3:34 pm
Ko Kieft can catch too, not just block.
He played for our old Coach PJ Fleck in College and no way you play for PJ Fleck as any kind of receiver, w/o being able to catch the ball well.
As for the Dolphins, they are billing their receivers as “The Legion Of Zoom” because 3 of them have 4.3 speed.
I can’t wait for the pre season game against the Dolphins!
August 10th, 2022 at 3:35 pm
Gotcha. I found it hard to believe. Seems we have a battle of accurate info going on behind the scenes. Getting two totally different write ups between us and them. Very different btw….
August 10th, 2022 at 3:42 pm
Maybe the Bucs O-line without Jensen, Cappa, and Marpet simply sucks at run blocking.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Wow some people are thirsting for everything out of basically a scripted practice. Won’t gleam very much out of this or the preseason as they will be very basic not wanting to show much of anything before the season.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:50 pm
Pickgrin, usually that phrase was an slam on the play calling, not the RB.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:50 pm
Glad someone is reading.
To be fair, Miami had a decent defense last year, no?
August 10th, 2022 at 3:53 pm
When I saw some of the Dolphins’ sites saying Brady was “frustrated,” I knew there was some extreme home-cooked bias going on and didn’t take anything they said as accurate.
August 10th, 2022 at 3:55 pm
Got family in Washington and all I hear is Otton is a stud, he’s smart, works his tail off and good character guy. They keep saying he’ll blow up like Vea.
Sucks the injury bug was going around. Guess I missed the part about Jensen and what exactly he had blow out in his knee. Was it just an ACL? Or was it all of the knee?
August 10th, 2022 at 4:11 pm
so, you’re saying that BL still can’t get past up the gut on 1st down?
say it aint so??????????? will he never learn
Brady is a pass 1st offense. the pass opens up the running game after a short bit. and 12 year old madden player would be a better play caller. the only time the TB offense gets clicking is when they discard the BL playbook or he actually does come out throwing.
this is NE offense, not Alstott and Dunn
August 10th, 2022 at 4:15 pm
GraffikDetail … The truth usually lies someplace in the middle. According to Joe’s superb notes, there were a number of drops and at least 1 wrong route? Not to mention that the running game isn’t exactly lighting it up. Brady’s extremely competitive as we all know, and ANY miscues are gonna frustrate him.
August 10th, 2022 at 4:38 pm
DT is my underdog of this camp. Do yourself a favor a find his YouTube clips.
He is 100% football player
August 10th, 2022 at 4:39 pm
Glad to have these hammy issues now instead of week 1.
Hopefully Julio isn’t also prone.
Must be the Tampa humidity that makes these guys think they are loose.
We seem to have the Lion’s Share of hammy issues EVERY YEAR.
Good to see Miller and Thompkins produce in practice against the Fins.
August 10th, 2022 at 4:42 pm
Doesn’t seem like our stellar offense did too well….
BL running up the middle on 1st downs…..the definition of insanity….
August 10th, 2022 at 4:47 pm
The Dolphins team and their press seem to really be pumping up the team. It seems every good pass Tua throws ends up on UTUBE. on the other hand, it does sound like a few tipped passes and a throw to field #2, that maybe Tom was a little frustrated.
August 10th, 2022 at 4:51 pm
They had to run it up the middle to test those folks (OL) and find answers on how to get better. Get all the film they can so that BL will hopefully get it out of his system prior to regular season. That migyt be asking to much from Ol Lefty, though
August 10th, 2022 at 5:05 pm
First play against dem boyz will be, let me guess, Lenny up the middle.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:13 pm
Darden had a great day today he was burning DBs all morning
August 10th, 2022 at 5:14 pm
If you go back and watch the divisional game against the Rams Miller had clutch catches (as did Johnson) so stop with the Miller is a fringe receiver crap!
August 10th, 2022 at 5:21 pm
Thompkins continues to impress… I hope he makes the team. Last year I was cheering for Grant Stuard to make the final 54. This year it’s Thompkins.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:23 pm
This time around, Dolphins defense flusters Buccaneers’ Tom Brady
By Omar Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Aug 10, 2022 at 4:52 pm
TAMPA — Tom Brady had the type of look on his face that screamed: “I need to speak to a manager.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who is in the discussion when it comes to the greatest quarterbacks of all time, stomped off the field following a third-down pass he was forced to threw away because of the pressure he was under and walked up to Bruce Arians as if the retired coach had a customer service badge on his team-issued gear.
Based on Brady’s mannerisms, Arians, who now serves as special assistant to the general manager after abruptly retiring as head coach of the Buccaneers this offseason, was clearly getting the brunt of Brady’s frustration following Wednesday’s joint practice with the Miami Dolphins.
Miami’s defensive front had its way with Tampa Bay’s offensive line, which is having its interior rebuilt after an offseason of free-agent defections, a retirement, and early camp injuries.
The Dolphins’ blitzes rushed Brady on several throws, the defensive front’s physicality limited Tampa Bay’s running, and Miami’s defenders would have produced a couple of sacks if the action were live, like it will be on Saturday night for each team’s first preseason game of 2022.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:27 pm
Shocking news Joe…45 is far, far from being a “star” linebacker. As I’ve said over and over again….watch the replays from last year’s games and focus on White…a very long way to go to become a STAR linebacker….
August 10th, 2022 at 5:27 pm
Omar Kelly disqualified himself of intelligence with this:
‘who is in the discussion when it comes to the greatest quarterbacks of all time’
Granted TB12 is indeed in the conversation, but its because he is the GOAT. Omar’s statement leads me to believe Omar does not think TB12 is the GOAT.
Thus, I disqualify Omar. I trust Joes’ eyes.
Suh.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:33 pm
@#8
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has a Dolphin fan readership, so I’d expect him to pump up the volume on their positives. Still, I thought I’d share the story as it is always good to present another point of view.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:37 pm
@abucaway
“They had to run it up the middle to test those folks (OL) and find answers on how to get better. Get all the film they can so that BL will hopefully get it out of his system prior to regular season. That migyt be asking to much from Ol Lefty, though”
while I agree a test might be needed for some plays….this is WAAAAAAY, WAAAAY past that. Every perso in the league knows JL goes up the gut on first. That’s like going to ME on a deep route every first time. They’ll double and triple him. It is not a fair fight when the other knows EXACTLY what is coming. Hell Tyson would have lost every fight if the other boxer knew excatly what punches were coming. It’s swinging at the air.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:41 pm
@Passing-
I’m with you–more being cheeky.
But I do trust Joes’ over this dude–he makes Miami sound like 1972.
as always…Suh.
August 10th, 2022 at 5:43 pm
Joe we really eat this stuff up! Can you get Zach back on staff for more of this stuff?
August 10th, 2022 at 5:47 pm
wake up bowles 2 wr with hammy issues our center needs iv for dehydration a 10 am -12 practice in florida heat use the indoor facility
August 10th, 2022 at 6:06 pm
Did any of the Dolphins have cramps,hydration, or muscle proplems?
August 10th, 2022 at 6:22 pm
That Cade Otten catch was awesome.
August 10th, 2022 at 6:22 pm
If I was a defensive coordinator playing the Bucs, I’d put 8 guys in the box every time on 1st down until they made me pay for it
August 10th, 2022 at 6:47 pm
People are still surprised about Leftwich running up the gut on 1st down?
He’s been doing this for 3 effin years already, lol…
August 10th, 2022 at 6:48 pm
What happened to Zach…..what’s he doing now?…….If possible, an update would be welcome.
August 10th, 2022 at 6:57 pm
@Joe don’t you dare ask BL about that up the gut on 1st down thing again those daggers from his eyes might hit ya this time. Lol
August 10th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Beej Says:
August 10th, 2022 at 6:22 pm
If I was a defensive coordinator playing the Bucs, I’d put 8 guys in the box every time on 1st down until they made me pay for it
_____________________________________________
100%
And the Bucs would make them pay… eventually. Like maybe in the 3rd or 4th quarter lol.
August 10th, 2022 at 7:16 pm
@pickgrin
Thanks for speaking up for Warrick Dunn.
August 10th, 2022 at 7:24 pm
Short pass is the same as a run
August 10th, 2022 at 10:12 pm
I go light on Leftwurch right now because, run it up the middle now , and every scrimmage, and every preseason game…..and then do a Fitzmagic play action bomb to one of the speedsters not named Dardung, against Dallas .
August 10th, 2022 at 10:13 pm
This is where we miss AB and CG hard cuts and intermediate routes.
August 10th, 2022 at 11:02 pm
Runs up the middle….SMH
August 11th, 2022 at 11:06 am
“Rookie tight end Ko Kieft can block, folks”.
Thanks Joe!